Liam Hayes stepped into the villa lobby, his expression tightening the moment he saw what was happening inside. The air itself felt wrong, heavy and distorted, as if reality was bending under the pressure of something far beyond human comprehension.
At the center of it all stood Uk.
The leader of the Debari had her hand pressed against Jean Grey, and streams of fiery red energy were pouring into her body. The Phoenix Force flowed like a living current, surging endlessly into Uk as her face twisted into an expression of pure, almost manic pleasure.
It wasn't just power—it was something intoxicating, something that overwhelmed the senses.
Liam's eyes flashed crimson.
A red shockwave erupted from him without warning, slamming straight into Uk and blasting her away before she could react. Her body was thrown across the lobby, crashing violently into the far wall.
He didn't even spare her another glance.
Instead, he moved instantly to Jean's side, catching her before she could collapse further. "Jean, can you hear me?" His voice was steady, but his gaze sharpened as he assessed her condition.
She didn't respond.
Her body was limp, her breathing shallow. It was clear she had already lost consciousness during the forced extraction of the Phoenix Force.
Moments later, the others rushed in from outside.
Cyclops was the first to reach them, his usual composure gone as he dropped to Jean's side. "Jean—" His voice tightened, the worry impossible to hide.
Storm and Polaris followed close behind, with Wolverine lingering just behind them, his posture tense and ready.
"Wes, what happened to her?" Storm asked, her tone edged with concern as she looked over Jean's unconscious form.
"She'll be fine," Liam replied calmly. "Uk only managed to siphon off a portion of the Phoenix Force. It's not enough to seriously harm her."
Even as he spoke, he was already looking toward the interior of the villa.
Uk was getting back up.
The damage from the earlier blast had already vanished, her body restoring itself as if nothing had happened. Around her, that same crimson Phoenix energy coiled and flickered, unstable but undeniably powerful.
Liam's expression darkened slightly.
"Take Jean and get out of here," he said without turning around.
Polaris hesitated for a split second, her gaze flicking toward Uk before returning to Liam. She understood immediately—this wasn't a fight they could interfere in.
"Be careful," she said quietly.
Liam gave a small nod.
Within seconds, the others were gone, retreating with Jean and putting as much distance between themselves and the battlefield as possible.
Silence fell.
Then Uk stepped forward, her expression cold and filled with disdain. "Humans should have been wiped out long ago."
The Phoenix energy in her hand surged violently, forming a blazing wave that she hurled straight at Liam.
He didn't move.
"Pathetic," he said flatly.
His fist shot forward.
The blazing Phoenix energy shattered on impact, dispersing into nothing as if it had never existed. The sheer force of his punch ripped through the attack effortlessly.
Uk's expression didn't change.
"You don't understand this power," she said, her voice low as she rose into the air.
The Phoenix Force around her erupted.
A violent wave of crimson energy burst outward, swallowing everything in its path. Walls disintegrated. The ground cracked. The entire villa began to collapse under the overwhelming pressure.
Liam narrowed his eyes slightly.
So she had absorbed more than he thought.
But even then…
It was still nothing compared to the true Phoenix Force within Jean.
Outside, the others had barely made it clear when the explosion consumed the villa entirely. The structure crumbled under the force, reduced to ruins in seconds.
"Weiss!" Polaris shouted, her voice filled with panic as she searched for Liam's figure.
Cyclops looked up sharply. "There!"
High above the destruction, Liam hovered in the sky, completely unharmed.
Polaris exhaled in relief.
Above them, the real battle had already begun.
Liam looked at Uk, his expression calm but laced with faint mockery. "You're wasting it."
Releasing the Phoenix Force like this was reckless. It burned through energy far too quickly, draining what little she had managed to steal.
Uk, however, seemed completely lost in it.
"You'll never understand," she said, her voice filled with conviction. "This is absolute power."
Liam shook his head slightly.
"Let me help you wake up."
Dozens of glowing spheres appeared behind him, hovering in perfect formation.
"Atomic Collapse."
The spheres fired.
Blinding beams of white light tore through the air, cutting straight toward Uk.
"It's useless!" she snapped, raising a barrier of Phoenix energy in front of her.
It shattered instantly.
The beams pierced through her body without resistance, leaving multiple holes that burned straight through her torso.
Uk's eyes widened.
"Do you really think you're the Dark Phoenix?" Liam's voice carried a sharp edge of contempt.
There was a difference between wielding power—and being its true vessel.
Uk was nothing more than a thief.
"It's over."
Liam raised his hand.
The space around Uk distorted violently.
"Space Reversal."
Reality twisted.
The very fabric of space folded in on itself, tearing her apart from every direction at once. Her body fragmented instantly, ripped into countless pieces as blood scattered across the ruined ground below.
The Phoenix energy flickered—and vanished.
Liam lowered his hand, his expression returning to calm.
"Too weak."
He turned, already preparing to leave.
Uk had never stood a chance.
But before he could take another step—
A surge of power exploded in the distance.
Crimson light erupted into the sky, so bright it turned night into day.
Liam's expression changed instantly.
"That's not good…"
The Phoenix Force hadn't been contained.
It had been provoked.
Without hesitation, he vanished, reappearing beside the others in an instant.
They had been thrown back by the sudden eruption of power, their footing unstable but their bodies unharmed.
"Wes!" Cyclops looked up, his voice tight with urgency. "What do we do? Jean's losing control!"
"If this keeps going, she won't come back," Wolverine added, his tone grim.
Liam didn't respond immediately.
His gaze was fixed on the sky.
Jean hovered there, her body surrounded by a blazing inferno of Phoenix energy. Her presence alone warped the air, distorting everything around her.
His mind raced.
Calculations ran endlessly through his thoughts, every possible outcome simulated in an instant.
Every result was the same.
Defeat.
Unless—
His eyes sharpened.
"Wait… what time is it?" he asked suddenly.
The question caught them off guard.
Polaris blinked. "It's past midnight. Why?"
A faint smile appeared on Liam's face.
Perfect.
That meant the system had reset.
He turned his gaze toward the remains of the Debari nearby.
"Time to level up."
[Ding! Would you like to sign in with the Debari?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Sign-in successful. You have obtained: Super Ability – Adaptability (100 EXP).]
Information flooded his mind instantly.
Adaptability—the ability to adjust to any environment, to survive even in the vacuum of space. A powerful ability, and one that perfectly suited the Debari's nature.
But more importantly—
It pushed him over the threshold.
The moment the upgrade completed, something inside him broke free.
Liam rose into the sky without realizing it.
The world changed.
Thunder roared across the heavens. Lightning tore through the clouds. Flames blazed like a second sun before freezing winds swept across the land, turning the air bitterly cold.
Space itself cracked.
Fractures spread through reality, only to be repaired moments later by an unseen force.
The entire world seemed to tremble.
It looked like the end of everything.
....
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