CHAPTER 91 – THE BLACK AND WHITE CITY
The second guardian strode forward, every footfall a quake. MODT—towering, obsidian-skinned, arms thick as mountains. His voice was no cheer like Jahf's. It was doom given sound.
"NO PASSAGE. NO MERCY. ONLY OBLIVION."
The X-Men closed ranks. Cyclops shouted above the rumble. "DON'T LET HIM THROUGH!"
Colossus charged first, steel body slamming into the giant. The ground split beneath the impact. For a heartbeat Piotr pushed him back—then Modt's hand swung down, swatting him into the dirt like a fly.
"PETER!" Storm cried. Lightning flashed from her hands, bolts ripping across Modt's chest. The guardian didn't even flinch. He turned his head slowly toward her. His mouth opened, and a roar of energy blasted her from the sky.
Logan tore across the battlefield, claws flashing. He leapt, slashing across Modt's face. Sparks flew. But the guardian's arm lashed out, catching Logan midair, hurling him through a wall of stone.
"Can't… can't stop him…" Jean gasped, fire dimming around her.
Banshee staggered upright, still broken from Jahf. He tried to scream, but the sound faltered—his throat shredded, voice cracked to silence.
Thunderbird and Sunfire attacked together, warrior fury and searing flame. Thunderbird hammered at Modt's knee while Sunfire poured plasma into his back. Modt turned, caught Thunderbird in one hand, and slammed him into the ground. His other hand swept up, backhanding Sunfire into the air like a spark.
The Starjammers surged in. Hepzibah leapt onto his shoulder, claws carving furrows in black stone. Raza's blade flashed, sparks flying as he hacked at Modt's joints. Ch'od roared, slamming his bulk into the titan's legs.
Still, Modt moved forward. Unstoppable.
"CYCLOPS!" Corsair shouted. "You'll never bring him down like this!"
Scott gritted his teeth, visor blazing. "WE KEEP TRYING!"
But then Raza froze. His eyes fell on D'Ken—standing smug behind the ranks, laughing, untouched. The sight twisted his face with fury. His voice ripped raw.
"ALL OF THIS—BECAUSE OF HIM!"
Raza lunged. He seized the Emperor in a rage, lifting him bodily by the throat. D'Ken's eyes went wide, his hands sparking in panic.
"YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS!" he shrieked.
Raza snarled. "NO. YOU WILL ANSWER TO THE CRYSTAL YOU WORSHIP."
And with a howl, he hurled D'Ken straight into the blazing facets of the M'Kraan.
Light swallowed him.
The universe screamed.
The battlefield cracked open, air twisting into white fire. Every soldier, every X-Man, every Starjammer was wrenched upward, pulled toward the Crystal. The Guardian Modt roared, his voice shaking like thunder, and even he was dragged in.
And then—silence.
The world shifted.
The X-Men staggered to their feet in a place that wasn't a battlefield. No alien sky, no army, no valley. Just endless streets, stretching in every direction. Streets of stone, buildings without doors, walls without windows. All painted in shades of black and white, as if color itself had been drained from the air.
Storm whispered, her voice trembling. "This… city… what IS this place?"
Nightcrawler looked around with wide eyes. "It feels… empty. Like a stage waiting for actors."
Behind them, Modt rose again, black and immense, his eyes blazing. "I FAILED MY MISSION. THUS I AM BOUND HERE. YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE."
Jean's fire flickered faintly around her shoulders as she helped Scott to his feet. "Wherever this is… it's tied to the Crystal. I can feel it. We're inside it now."
They walked forward through the hollow city. Every footstep echoed. No life, no wind, no sound but their breathing. Until, at last, the streets opened into a vast square.
And at its center stood the sphere.
A perfect golden orb, floating above a pedestal. Its surface pulsed with light like a heartbeat. It was beautiful. Too beautiful.
Logan squinted at it, claws twitching. "'Pretty. Which means it's about to bite us in the ass."
He was right.
The orb flared. From its heart, lances of red light burst forth, each one striking an X-Man, a Starjammer, pinning them in place.
Jean screamed as the beam hit her, dragging her down—only for it to break instantly. She staggered free, chest heaving. "No… NO. I won't fall again. I've already died once. You can't trap me like this."
She lifted her head. All around her, her teammates writhed in invisible bonds. Their faces twisted, each caught in their own nightmare.
Cyclops' visor glowed wildly. His head snapped side to side, eyes blazing red. His nightmares boiled so deep he fired without control, optic beams cutting into walls, splitting the square apart.
Jean's heart froze. "SCOTT!"
She lunged forward, wrapped her mind around him, and pressed him down into darkness. His body went limp. His blasts stopped.
The golden sphere shimmered. A crack split across its perfect surface. Light poured out, bleeding across the city like veins.
Jean felt it in her bones. "Oh God… it's dangerous."
And the Phoenix fire rose in her eyes.