"Completely outmatched…"
The instant he was swallowed, Fenris felt as if he had been cast into a world made entirely of flame. Blazing heat scorched him without pause, as though it meant to melt him down completely and turn him into its own nourishment.
His skin, hair, sinew, and bones all gradually dissolved within that searing heat, breaking apart into gleaming blue motes of light that slowly drifted away.
He could feel his body's defenses being steadily breached. Even his power to connect to the dimensional gate had been completely severed. Waves of agonizing pain crashed over him one after another like a rising tide.
Fenris could not help letting out a long sigh. He gathered every last shred of his remaining consciousness into the Titan Codex, then slowly closed his eyes.
A low hum rang out.
In the next instant, the Titan Codex, which had lain dormant inside Fenris all this time, finally stirred.
Its pages turned on their own, flipping straight to the second page.
Mothra unfurled her radiant, iridescent wings, and the scales drifting from them transformed the once-empty sea of Fenris's consciousness into a glittering galaxy.
In an instant, countless streams of dazzling light burst forth, illuminating the chaotic mental space as brightly as day.
At the same time, fine multicolored patterns began to spread across Fenris's skin, flowing and flickering like living things.
And the moment those brilliant markings covered his body, his battered form, which had already been ravaged by the Phoenix Force to the brink of collapse, suddenly seemed to bloom with life again like a dead tree in spring. His ruined flesh began healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"What?"
Outside, as if she had sensed the change in Fenris, the Phoenix abruptly opened her eyes.
Fenris's resistance completely enraged her. Tangible crimson light exploded from her body at once, like blazing fire, pouring madly toward him.
Boom!
The heat around him instantly multiplied several times over. At the same time, a powerful energy vortex emerged beside Fenris and began ruthlessly devouring the surging Phoenix Force pouring into him.
As the energy churned violently, a massive flaming cocoon slowly took shape at the center of the vortex, woven from pure Phoenix Force itself.
Time passed little by little. No matter how furiously the Phoenix raged outside, the giant cocoon remained suspended amid the violent force of destruction, lashed by endless crimson light, yet utterly unmoving.
From within the scarlet cocoon came the faint, rhythmic sound of a pulse.
As the energy continued to roil, that heartbeat grew clearer and clearer, as if some sleeping beast were on the verge of waking. A vigorous life force suddenly spilled outward, blooming with rich vitality in the middle of the chaotic currents.
When Mothra is born, she must pass through the stages of larva, cocoon, and finally imago. Only within the cocoon can her power be slowly nurtured.
And the Phoenix Force represented chaos and immortality. It was the embodiment of mind and life, and at this moment, it was the perfect power for Fenris.
Thump.
Thump.
The heavy heartbeat seemed to carry a strange kind of magic, a power capable of soothing fury and savagery alike.
That power gradually pierced the barrier the Phoenix had formed. It also broke through the heavy storm clouds pressing down on Jean Grey's consciousness, letting her see hope of breaking free once again. She immediately began to fight back with everything she had.
A few moments later, the heartbeat gradually calmed, and fine tremors began to ripple across the surface of the giant cocoon.
Countless multicolored patterns spread outward from its core, staining the entire space in magnificent color.
Seven-colored radiance burst from the cracks in the cocoon. At first, it seeped out in threads of drifting light. Then, in the next moment, the glow flared violently brighter, transforming into a dazzling pillar of light that shot into the sky.
A holy power spread out from within it and fell across Jean Grey. The darkness that had filled her eyes slowly began to fade, and clarity gradually returned to her gaze.
"No!"
As if realizing that once this power forced her down again, she would not be able to reappear for a very long time, the Phoenix launched a sudden desperate counterattack.
Brilliant crimson light condensed behind her, taking the form of a gigantic flaming bird more than a hundred meters tall, dyeing the surrounding waters a terrifying fiery red.
A horrifying heat followed, as if it meant to boil the entire lake dry. Amid rising sheets of white steam, the flaming phoenix shot into the sky together with Jean's body.
The surging shockwave whipped up a violent storm in the air. Its aftereffects spread all the way outward, making even the Blackbird hovering in the distance shudder uncontrollably.
Inside the cabin, Scott and Ororo gripped the controls with all their strength, barely keeping the jet from going out of control. Only after a few moments did it steady again.
"Professor, what is happening?"
The clash between Fenris and the Phoenix beneath the water had caused such enormous upheaval that the others, who had already lost hope and were unable to help, had chosen to stay and wait for what came next.
After Professor Xavier confirmed that it was Fenris fighting the out-of-control Jean, everyone was instantly overjoyed.
No matter what, the fact that both Fenris and Jean were still alive was the best news they could have hoped for.
But the series of terrifying impacts that followed forced them farther and farther from the battlefield until they had no choice but to watch from a great distance.
"I don't know either…"
Faced with everyone's questions, Professor Xavier only shook his head with a frown.
The Phoenix Force within Jean Grey had actually been extremely, extremely weak. The power she possessed was far from complete. If Jean's own will resisted as well, then the fraction of power the Phoenix could actually bring out would be minuscule.
Even so, that power was already terrifying enough.
But from the moment the Phoenix completely swallowed Fenris, and the strange power erupting from him appeared, Professor Xavier had lost all ability to observe the situation clearly.
Silence fell.
Seeing Professor Xavier equally powerless, the others could only stare through the cabin windows at the distant sky.
As the Phoenix soared upward wrapped in flames, nearly the whole sky was dyed a striking red.
Under the interference of some mysterious force, the thick clouds above began to slowly take on the shape of a giant bird, its wings spread wide and its neck lifted high, as if it were crying out to the heavens.
Then, just as the lake had finally calmed, its surface churned once more, and a multicolored pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky.
A clear, ringing cry echoed out.
A figure covered in radiant multicolored markings, wrapped in seven-hued, suddenly tore through the water and shot upward with unrestrained force.
As he spread open his two pairs of long wings, one large and one small, seven-colored light surged outward like a tidal wave. It pierced the gaps in the clouds and expanded violently, carrying traces of red-hot heat with it.
The heavy cloud cover was swept away completely. In the blink of an eye, the gloomy weather gave way to a clear, brilliant sky.
At the same time, the crimson radiance emanating from the Phoenix, already at the end of her strength, dimmed beneath the illumination of that dazzling multicolored light.
Fenris stretched the two pairs of enormous light wings at his back to their fullest, one large and one small. Brilliant patterns and flowing colors shimmered across them, and wherever his trailing wings swept, they left behind circles of gorgeous light.
The dazzling seven-colored radiance lit up the heavens, making him look like a god descended into the mortal world.
A final unwilling phoenix cry rang out.
Then the flaming phantom rapidly contracted until it was completely drawn back into Jean Grey's body.
And after that agonizing struggle for control, Jean, who had finally reclaimed her body, looked once at the reborn figure of Fenris in the distance, then weakly began to fall from the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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