The three figures who had been standing on the balcony vanished without warning, leaving the air strangely hollow. What had been a tense but lively gathering suddenly cooled, as if the warmth of conversation had been carried away with them. Silence settled across the balcony, broken only by the faint clink of glass as someone set down a drink.
Charles remained where he was for a while, staring into the distance. The weight of recent events still lingered in his mind, but after taking a slow sip of his drink and letting the moment stretch, he finally seemed to pull himself free from the grip of guilt.
"Mr. Voss," he said calmly, turning his attention to the man beside him. "I saw you rescue Jason earlier. What do you plan to do with him?"
Jason—William Stryker's son—was the master of illusions and once one of Charles's students. That fact had always sat heavily on Charles's conscience. Jason's powers had spiraled out of control, and despite Charles's efforts, he had never truly managed to guide the boy properly.
The tragedy that followed had scarred everyone involved. Under the influence of Jason's hallucinations, his mother had been driven into madness, eventually drilling a power tool into her own temple. That horrific moment became one of the deepest roots of Stryker's hatred for mutants.
"Jason?" Ethan Voss repeated thoughtfully, leaning back against the railing. "I'm not even sure if he can still be saved. What do you think?"
"There is hope," Charles replied without hesitation. His voice carried a quiet determination. "I won't give up on any of my students. I only hope you'll help me give him another chance."
Ethan nodded easily, his tone relaxed but sincere. "I'd be happy to help. We're all citizens of the same country, after all. Someone like him shouldn't have to live the rest of his life trapped in that kind of nightmare."
"Thank you," the professor said, genuine gratitude softening his expression.
Storm, who had been quietly observing the conversation, finally spoke up. "Professor, there's another issue we need to address. The academy has been completely destroyed. What are we supposed to do now?"
Charles turned toward Ethan with a faint smile that carried a hint of calculation. "I imagine Mr. Voss already has a solution for us, don't you?"
Ethan chuckled at the look Charles gave him, as though the professor had already decided the outcome. "The outside world is getting more dangerous by the day," he said. "So honestly, staying here might be the safer option."
He gestured toward the vast landscape stretching beyond the balcony. "You could pick a suitable location nearby and build a proper mutant city."
Mystique, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. "Wouldn't that get lonely?" she asked, her tone cautious.
"If you feel lonely, you can always move into Noah Town," Ethan replied casually. "Wolverine is planning to establish a mutant community there first. It's meant to be a starting point."
"At the same time," he continued, "anyone living here can apply to return to Earth whenever they want. The portal located at Typhon Manor makes that easy."
Charles nodded slowly as he considered the proposal. "I still need to make one thing clear," he said. "I will not abandon Xavier's School."
"Of course not," Ethan replied.
"From now on," Charles said thoughtfully, "mutants will have two paths. One is Xavier's Academy in the outside world. The other is this new mutant city."
He understood the implications immediately. For the time being, it would be best if Jean remained in the divine realm. Jason's unstable power would also require Ethan's assistance to suppress, meaning he couldn't safely leave this place anytime soon.
After discussing several more practical details, Charles and the others eventually decided to explore the surrounding land and begin planning where the future city might be built. Their footsteps gradually faded as they left the balcony together.
Only Mystique remained behind.
She studied Ethan carefully, her sharp eyes filled with suspicion and curiosity.
"Where exactly is this place?" she asked. "And who are you?"
"This place is called the Kingdom of God," Ethan replied calmly. "You can think of me as its administrator."
"Administrator… or emperor?"
He shrugged slightly. "Either description works."
"I'm not a good person acting out of pure kindness," he continued, his tone even. "But I'm also not some villain hiding secret schemes."
"Inside the Kingdom of God, people are free to come and go. If you prefer, you can think of me as someone who offers a small bit of mercy."
He leaned back against the balcony rail, gazing across the endless horizon.
"I give people a chance to survive," he said. "Whether they accept that chance or not is entirely their decision."
Mystique took a moment to process everything he had said. When she finally looked at him again, confusion lingered in her expression.
Ethan stepped forward to the edge of the balcony and spread his arms wide, as though presenting the entire world before them.
"I'm working on the greatest plan anyone has ever attempted," he said.
"Saving mutants was never the main goal. It was simply something convenient along the way. At best, they've sped up my plans by a tiny fraction."
"To me, they don't hold any special value."
"What I've given them in return," he added, "is a sanctuary where they can live peacefully forever."
Mystique remained silent for several seconds before asking quietly, "You're not planning to hurt us… are you?"
Ethan glanced at her, his expression almost amused.
"What I'm about to say might sound harsh," he admitted. "But the truth is, from my perspective, you're not that different from the flowers, grass, and trees on a mountainside."
"They're occasionally pleasant to look at, but they don't hold much value."
"The only reason I've helped mutants at all," he continued, "is because some part of my instincts resonates with them."
Mystique stared at him, unsettled by the calm certainty in his voice.
For a moment, she felt as if she wasn't speaking to a human being at all.
It felt more like standing before a god.
"Why do Charles and the others trust you so much?" she asked. "What exactly did you tell them?"
"I told them the truth about this world," Ethan replied.
"What truth?"
He gave her a faint smile. "We're not allies. In fact, we might even become enemies someday."
"So why would I tell you?"
Mystique shook her head. "If what you're saying is true, then we're not enemies."
"That's not your decision to make," Ethan said calmly.
"The professor, Scott, and Logan are good people. I'm willing to trust them."
"But you?" His gaze sharpened slightly. "You work with Magneto. I don't trust you."
Mystique frowned, clearly wanting to argue, but Ethan raised a hand and cut her off.
"Let's not waste time," he said. "Tell me what you've decided. This matters to you."
Mystique lifted her glass, taking a slow sip before answering. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"I want to see Erik."
"You can."
"I also want to bring more of my fellow mutants here," she continued. "Even if the X-Men become famous heroes, there will still be people out there who hate mutants."
"That's fine," Ethan said. "Have them report to Typhon Manor or Typhon Tower. Someone will receive them there."
Mystique nodded, though it seemed like she still had something on her mind.
"Anything else?" Ethan asked.
"I know some mutants who might be willing to come," she said slowly. "But they…"
"A criminal?" Ethan finished for her.
"Most of them aren't bad people," Mystique replied. "They just made mistakes while trying to survive. You know how hostile the world can be toward people like us."
Ethan considered this briefly before nodding.
"I can choose to trust you," he said. "Bring them."
"But make sure they understand one thing clearly."
"This is not a lawless place. If they break the rules here, the punishment will be far harsher than anything they've faced outside—and there will be no escaping it."
The Kingdom of God had always been a refuge. For many people, it was a paradise that saved them from poverty and suffering.
Ethan had no intention of allowing that fragile stability to collapse.
Fortunately, he possessed more than enough power to monitor every resident within this realm—and if necessary, to change them.
Mystique later met Erik on a hidden base carved into the mountainside. Despite everything she told him, Magneto remained stubbornly committed to his belief in mutant superiority.
Even after hearing about the existence of the mutant city, he dismissed the idea as nothing more than a dependent lifestyle and looked down on it with contempt.
In Ethan's eyes, Magneto didn't truly believe in the nobility of mutants at all.
What he believed in was the nobility of himself.
The real reason Magneto rejected the idea of a mutant city was simple—it wasn't something he had built.
During the events of the Alcatraz conflict, Magneto would rally countless mutants to attack the facility. In reality, aside from a few powerful individuals, most of them were nothing more than disposable cannon fodder under his command.
He wasn't trying to create order for mutantkind.
He was trying to create an order for himself.
Magneto's order.
After seeing Mystique off, Ethan considered the mutant matter temporarily settled.
Flushing, New York.
A few days earlier, he had received an invitation to attend the Stark Industrial Expo.
The elegant card read: "We cordially invite Mr. Ethan Voss, shareholder of Stark Industries, to attend."
The signature at the bottom was unmistakably flamboyant.
Tony Stark.
At the Stark Industrial Expo, tens of thousands of people gathered beneath the night sky. Fireworks exploded overhead in brilliant colors, lighting up the entire venue while waves of cheering rolled through the massive crowd.
Stark Industries had announced that Tony Stark himself would appear at the opening ceremony wearing the Iron Man suit.
Ethan arrived ahead of schedule.
By the time the clock struck eight in the evening, anticipation had reached its peak.
Suddenly, a blazing streak of light tore across the sky.
The flamboyant Iron Man descended dramatically from above, landing in a theatrical pose that sent the crowd into a frenzy of applause and cheers.
After delivering a showy speech full of confidence and charm, the giant screen behind the stage lit up with archival footage.
Images of Howard Stark began playing for the audience.
As Ethan watched the video quietly from his seat, he murmured under his breath.
"The futuristic city behind Howard… that must be the key to the Arc Reactor."
"A brand-new element capable of perfectly replacing palladium."
He leaned back slightly, studying the screen with growing interest.
"Howard Stark and Tony Stark… father and son, both absolute geniuses."
"They managed to accomplish things decades ahead of their time."
"If Howard were still alive today… wow!"
.....
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