Alex quickly pushed the strange man away from the hug, and in less than a second he realized what he was dealing with.
A curse.
And not just any curse—this one was at least a hundred times stronger than Vox. The amount of cursed energy it carried was absurd. Alex wouldn't even be surprised if it claimed to be Sukuna's successor.
Still… Alex himself had far more. Even so, he was surprised—he had never seen that much cursed energy in someone before. It was like staring at an entire lake.
What confused him even more was the fact that this curse was calling him "father." That was strange… Vox hadn't done that.
But then, thinking about it more carefully…
Vox had done exactly that.
It had come to him, gurgling, wrapped itself around his body, and said something in a language Alex had never understood.
So maybe… it had reacted the same way. Alex just hadn't realized it.
Noticing something was bothering his father, the being tilted its head in confusion.
"Father, what's wrong?"
Alex was caught off guard by the question. He still refused to call it anything other than "that being" or "curse"—anything else would feel too strange.
"I'm fine… just a little confused about who you are and why you're calling me father."
Realizing his father probably had never seen or known him, the being tried to find a way to explain its own existence.
"Some time ago… I was born from a large concentration of your cursed energy. I don't know how, but I kept absorbing cursed energy to grow… and yesterday I woke up and started looking for you."
Hearing that, Alex frowned, trying to remember when he had released that much cursed energy.
Then it clicked.
The moment he awakened his powers… when he used his strongest slash so far.
Back then, he hadn't felt his energy lingering in the area as much as it should have.
Now it made sense.
'Damn… I can't deny it.'
Realizing he had created something beyond just Vox, Alex understood he was in deeper trouble than expected. If that amount of energy created this… then what about what he released yesterday?
Letting out a quiet sigh, Alex looked at the new curse before turning and walking into the base.
"Come. We have a lot to talk about."
As soon as he entered, he tossed all the money and lockboxes into a corner and started looking for Vox and Ray.
But what he found surprised him even more.
Vox was wrapped perfectly around Ray, almost exactly like it had done with Alex—but this time, it looked… right. More natural.
Ray, on the other hand, was in complete panic. Vox refused to let go no matter what he tried. He had already done everything—even taking off his shirt—but Vox simply passed through it and stayed wrapped around his body.
The situation was a bit comical… but also deeply strange. Even Alex didn't really know what to do.
"YOU'RE BACK! GET VOX OFF ME!"
Seeing Alex return, Ray shouted in desperation. But as soon as he did, he noticed something else—another presence in the room.
A terrifying aura. Similar to Alex's… but weaker.
While Ray panicked, Alex calmly examined the situation, while the new being wandered around, curiously exploring the warehouse.
After observing carefully, Alex realized something important.
It was impossible to separate Vox from Ray. Their cursed energy had merged into one. Vox had essentially become part of Ray—not physically, but on a deeper level.
Like an extra branch growing from his soul.
"Alright, Ray… I've got some bad news."
Hearing that, Ray froze, imagining the worst. But what Alex said next, while shocking, was at least better than dying.
"Unfortunately, it looks like you and Vox are now one. It's like he became an extension of your existence."
Ray went still. Fear crept in—but compared to dying, this was… manageable.
Even so, the thought of living with Vox wrapped around his body forever was far from comforting.
"Seriously… there's no way to take him off me?"
Alex simply shook his head and gave Ray a light pat on the shoulder before standing up. He grabbed a rusty barrel, sat on it, and stared at the curse with a serious expression.
"What's your name?"
Hearing the question, the being realized something.
It had never had a name.
It never truly understood what it was—only that it was born from Alex's cursed energy… and that it represented depression itself.
"I… don't have a name."
Hearing that, Alex realized how stupid his question had been. Of course it didn't have a name—it had been born two days ago, already in an adult body.
"Ah… yeah, I guess I really am becoming a dad."
He sighed, then looked at it again.
"Alright. Your name is Tyon. Now explain what you know—and why the hell you were looking for me."
Hearing that, Tyon froze for a moment, confused—and even more confused by how easily he had just been given a name.
He had imagined it would be something much harder to obtain.
But honestly… he was happy.
"Tyon… Tyon… TYON!"
He started shouting his name excitedly across the entire base like a child who had just received a gift.
Seeing that, Alex put a hand over his face and sighed in regret.
"TYON! GET OVER HERE AND EXPLAIN WHY THE HELL YOU WERE LOOKING FOR ME!"
Startled by Alex's shout, Tyon quickly calmed down, realizing he had overdone it. After all… he really was like a child seeing the world for the first time.
But the question made him freeze again.
Why was he following Alex?
"I… I don't know. I just wanted to find you… because you gave me life."
Hearing that, Alex froze.
That meant there was no real reason. Asking him was like asking a coconut why it had water inside.
Letting out another sigh, Alex gave up and walked toward the lockboxes on the ground.
"Fine. If you're going to live with me, come help. I'm already giving shelter to a homeless guy—what's one more weird being?"
Hearing that, Ray wanted to argue… but he was technically homeless, so he just stayed quiet and went back to trying to remove Vox.
Tyon, without any real understanding, walked over to Alex and watched him sit in front of a pile of money and strange boxes, starting to go through them curiously.
Alex ignored the curious Tyon beside him and began forcing the safes open, trying to break them apart.
"UGH!"
He pressed his hands against one of the safes, straining with all his strength, but it only creaked as if refusing to move. Thinking it was pointless, he was about to give up—until he applied just a little more force.
The safe burst open under the pressure of his arms.
The loud noise startled both Ray and Tyon, especially Ray, who knew very well that safes weren't supposed to be broken open with bare hands.
As the safe opened, jewels scattered across the floor along with bundles of cash. Ray stared at the money, almost hypnotized, but Alex was focused on something else—something he had just realized.
Ever since he became aware of himself as a person, Alex had always held back. Fear of being judged. Fear that people might not like him.
He had understood that before, but never truly grasped how much he had been restraining himself.
Breaking the safe made it clear—he had been holding back far more than he thought.
Because the truth was, it hadn't taken much strength at all. Once again, Alex had restrained himself, and while he didn't know by how much, he was certain he hadn't used even 50% of his physical strength.
'Damn… how much have I been holding back?'
He exhaled quietly and pushed the thought aside. There was money to count. So, back to breaking safes.
A few hours later, Alex, Tyon, and the fused form of Ray and Vox stood in front of a pile of money and jewels worth roughly five million dollars.
Ray was stunned. He knew Alex had gone out to do something suspicious, but coming back with five million in just a few hours was absurd.
"Five million…?"
As it turned out, Ray was deeply into jewelry. He could identify who made each piece and estimate their market value with ease.
When Alex asked why, Ray shrugged.
"I used to be really into jewelry… even had a big collection once."
He paused.
"Before it was taken when I got arrested."
Seeing that losing his collection saddened him, Alex gave him a few pats on the back.
But his mind was elsewhere.
How the hell was he supposed to spend five million dollars? He and Ray were being hunted by the Institute.
Tyon couldn't be seen by normal people, and relying on Vox wasn't exactly an option.
Sigh.
He was rich—and couldn't use any of it.
They couldn't even hire someone to fix the building without exposing themselves.
Not knowing what to do, Alex sat down in a corner of the hideout, staring at the money.
Money… with no way to spend it.
Noticing that something was bothering him, Ray walked over and sat beside him.
"What's wrong, my friend?"
Alex gave a small smile.
"We have five million… but neither of us can use it."
Ray frowned slightly.
"But we have that new guy, don't we? He's weird, but we can figure something out."
Alex blinked, realizing he hadn't explained anything.
He had just thrown Ray into all of this without context.
"Ah… you don't know about cursed energy. Come here, I'll explain."
Seeing the confusion on Ray's face, Alex began explaining everything—cursed energy, Vox, and Tyon.
By the end, Ray's face was completely frozen from the sheer amount of information.
After several long minutes—almost turning into hours—Alex finished explaining everything he knew about cursed energy and how to use it.
At first, Ray laughed at how insane it all sounded, but when Alex demonstrated a slash, he went completely silent.
"But wait… you said I'm absorbing this energy right now?"
"Yeah. You're just doing it unconsciously. I think that's why you can see curses like Vox and Tyon."
That was the theory Alex believed the most.
If only mutants could see curses, someone else would have already noticed Tyon wandering around the city.
"So… you're saying I can do slashes like yours too?"
Alex hesitated. He almost said yes—but something told him otherwise.
"I… don't know. Honestly, you're the only other person I've seen with this energy."
Ray's excitement dimmed slightly.
Having powers like Alex's would be incredibly useful.
"But if you have cursed energy inside you, you can probably use it to strengthen your body."
When Alex said that, a spark lit up in Ray's eyes.
Ever since he started being hunted, he had always wanted to fight back.
The problem was that, aside from being a giant snake, he had no real advantage—bullets could still pierce his scales easily.
He had been hunted for almost two years.
He couldn't take it anymore.
He wanted to fight back.
No matter how difficult it would be.
"Can you teach me how to use it?"
"Uh…"
Alex hesitated.
He wasn't sure if he could explain it properly.
He had only learned through instinct—the way Sukuna had taught him.
"I can try, but the way I use it is kind of natural… so it might be hard for you to understand, okay?"
"I ACCEPT!"
Ray didn't even let him finish.
Anything that brought him closer to returning to his wife and daughter was worth it.
"Alright… let's start with meditation. I'll explain as we go."
After about an hour, Alex realized something.
It worked—but not very well.
Ray had learned to feel cursed energy, but not to control it.
"It looks like it won't be as fast as it was for me. But hey… if you can feel it, that means you have a chance. Don't give up."
"Thanks, Alex… but damn, I really wish I could use it. Just from what you showed, I can tell I'd be able to protect myself instead of just running."
Alex wanted to disagree—but seeing that hope in Ray's eyes, he stayed quiet.
"I'm going to think of a way to make this place at least somewhat livable. You can keep training."
Ray barely paid attention and went back to meditating.
Tyon, in another corner, was doing the same.
Alex hadn't taught him—but he had listened and was now experimenting on his own.
Watching that, Alex let out a small laugh.
Then his gaze drifted back to the pile of money.
Several thoughts crossed his mind—but one stood out the most.
Gwen.
How had he not realized she was Spider-Woman?
He had already met her before.
It should have been obvious.
And yet… he didn't notice.
Still, that wasn't his biggest problem.
Five million.
And no way to use it.
He had two options.
Find someone trustworthy to handle it.
Or find a way to bring Ray back into society.
But the second option was risky.
Ray was still an unknown.
Trusting him completely could be dangerous.
Sigh...
Alex relaxed slightly and looked at Ray and Tyon meditating.
A small smile formed on his face.
"At least… it won't be as lonely as I thought."
________________________
Hey guys, sorry for disappearing. I ended up catching a really bad flu and even had to go to the hospital because it almost turned into pneumonia.
But I'm back—well, kind of. I'm taking things a bit slower while writing, but don't worry, I'm doing fine.
My doctor said that as long as I don't push myself too much, I'll be okay.
So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a while to finish because of the flu, but it's all good now.
I'm back, baby.
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