BOOM!
With a sonic crack, Alex's figure appeared instantly above a bustling plaza in Krakoa.
"Not good—Teacher Jean's lost control again!"
"Professor Jean is out of control!!"
"Everyone get out, hurry!"
The plaza was in complete chaos.
Panicked shouts, screams, and the frantic stampede of fleeing residents filled the air.
People ran like terrified prey chased by a predator.
"Everyone, don't panic!"
Alex raised a hand.
A vast wave of telekinetic force swept out, enveloping every person in the plaza.
In an instant, he moved all civilians out of the danger zone.
Only then did Alex turn his gaze upward—
To Jean Grey.
The Phoenix.
She wasn't awake.
She floated horizontally in midair, eyes closed, like someone trapped in a nightmare.
Her facial expression kept twisting with pain, cold sweat dripping from her forehead.
And as her emotions surged—
The Phoenix Force surged with her.
A terrifying storm of cosmic energy swirled around her body.
Every pulse of that storm…
Turned everything nearby into dust.
No—
Into atoms.
The Phoenix Force was truly horrifying.
"Jean! Calm down!"
Below her, the X-Men had all gathered.
Like Alex, they were staring upward with grim faces.
Even Erik could not hide his alarm as he shouted into the sky.
Of course—
It accomplished nothing.
Jean wasn't conscious.
Her mind was trapped deep inside her own psychic realm.
Charles, beside Erik, was straining with everything he had—
Eyes locked on Jean—
His psychic ability pushed to its absolute limit.
He had already entered her mind.
But in there—
A cataclysmic psychic storm raged.
Charles couldn't even locate Jean within the storm.
Let alone reach her.
Worse—
Even he was on the verge of being torn apart by Jean's psychic eruptions.
"The situation is this bad?"
Alex frowned.
Jean was one of Krakoa's elder figures, tied deeply to the three leaders—Alex, Charles, and Erik.
He understood her condition well.
And this wasn't the first time he'd seen her lose control.
But this level of instability…
Even in Jean's long history of Phoenix flare-ups…
Was extremely rare.
"Ah—!"
Charles suddenly cried out in pain.
Anyone could see he was at his absolute limit.
This had already exceeded the scope of what Charles could handle.
"Alex! Do something—Charles is about to collapse!"
Erik shouted urgently.
"No. I won't let that happen."
Alex made his decision instantly.
He turned his hand—
And the Infinity Gauntlet appeared.
HUMMMM—
The six gems burst into radiant light.
"Charles! I'm linking the power of the Infinity Stones to your psychic field.
Don't resist!"
The gems pulsed.
Charles' contorted expression gradually relaxed.
At the same time—
Jean's violent trembling stopped.
Her breathing steadied.
The cosmic storm around her vanished.
And like a child finally freed from a nightmare—
She floated peacefully in the air, asleep.
"Finally…"
The X-Men exhaled collectively.
Thank the heavens Alex had the Infinity Stones.
Otherwise Krakoa might have suffered apocalyptic damage.
"Alex, there's something you need to know."
Charles floated down, face serious.
Seeing his expression, Alex immediately understood—
This was no small matter.
He nodded and followed Charles, Erik, and the core leaders to the meeting hall.
"Alex… this is about Jean."
Charles' face was grave as he began.
"You know she's been stable for many years now.
Ever since adulthood, she's barely had any incidents."
"All the minor earthquakes she used to cause… they all stopped."
"But three years ago, something changed."
"Jean began hearing… a voice."
"She told us that some kind of power was calling to her."
"And after that… you've seen it.
She started losing control again."
A voice?
A calling?
Alex's eyes narrowed.
Was this the Phoenix Force acting independently?
"What did the voice say to her?"
Alex asked.
"Ta Lo."
Erik replied immediately.
"That voice told Jean to go to a place called Ta Lo.
It said Ta Lo was very important to her."
Ta Lo?
Alex blinked.
Why did that sound so familiar?
Then—
His eyes sharpened.
Could it be…
That Ta Lo?
The mystical land from Shang-Chi?
Where Shang-Chi's mother was born?
A realm straight out of a xianxia novel—
Protected by ancient guardians
And housing a divine dragon.
And beneath it—
The soul-devouring demon beast sealed for millennia.
The Dweller-in-Darkness.
In the movie, that creature had constantly manipulated outsiders—tempting them to break the seal.
Was Jean now another target of its psychic manipulation?
"Alex… it seems you've thought of something?"
Charles asked.
Alex nodded slowly.
"I have a suspicion—but I need to confirm it with Jean."
Everything so far was only his deduction.
He needed to speak with Jean to verify it.
"Then let's go. She's awake."
Charles said.
His psychic senses had already detected it.
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