"Ugh~"
"Charles! Is that you?"
Seeing Charles wake up, everyone immediately gathered around, full of concern but also ready for combat. Though Apocalypse had fallen, they weren't sure if Charles' body had been taken over.
"Ugh… Should I strip down for you to verify it's really me?" Charles shook his head and joked.
"Looks like it's the real one."
"No one else would be this shameless."
"Apocalypse might be evil, but at least he had some dignity."
…
Faced with Charles' teasing, everyone was finally convinced—this wasn't an imposter.
"How are you feeling?" Raven asked with concern.
"Feeling… pretty good. Hey guys, you really should have seen it—I gave him a serious beating."
"You?" Everyone looked skeptical.
"Am I really that untrustworthy?"
"Of course we trust you!"
They answered, but their eyes clearly spelled out, "We don't believe you."
"Looks like I need to work harder on my image," Charles said, shrugging helplessly.
"Alright, everyone, it's not over yet," Erik reminded with a smile.
At that moment, everyone's eyes turned to the three awkwardly standing prisoners: Tolaris and his companions.
Faced with a dozen sharp gazes, the trio instinctively wanted to flee, but Sunfire immediately grabbed Tolaris, absorbing the flames he had just conjured, leaving him limp on the ground; Wayne didn't even have time to fully armor himself before Erik used metal to tightly bind him; and Ator, the fastest among them, had just taken a step when he froze—one more move, and his neck would have kissed an energy blade.
"Gentlemen, we officially arrest you on charges of robbery and murder," Charles announced.
"Alright, you win," the three surrendered sensibly. Even Apocalypse had fallen to them—what more could they do?
Prison might be unpleasant, but it was better than death.
Only now did they finally relax the tension that had been gripping them.
The brutal battle was over. In their exhausted state, if Tolaris and his men had fought with a death wish, they really couldn't guarantee what the outcome would have been.
Just as they were about to leave with their prisoners, Mu appeared.
"Mu! Why are you here? Wait… So you're the examiner this time," Charles and the others quickly realized. Since this trial had been assigned by Melin, it made sense there would be someone evaluating them.
"So, how did we do?" Erik asked with a grin.
"By His Lordship's standards, you've passed…"
Upon hearing this, everyone lit up with joy. They had fought so hard to earn Melin's recognition—otherwise, why not just send a Saint to deal with it?
"…However," Mu continued without giving them much time to celebrate, "by my standards, you've failed."
Hearing Mu say this with a smiling face was like being stabbed straight in the heart.
"Why!?"
"Yeah! We defeated Apocalypse with our own strength!"
"Especially Charles, who charged straight into Apocalypse's mind!"
…
Everyone was indignant, except Charles, who seemed to realize something, his expression turning a little bitter.
"You helped me, didn't you?" Charles asked.
"Yes," Mu admitted, nodding.
"Charles, what are you talking about?" everyone asked, confused.
"Honestly, I did feel something was off. I was about to lose, but then this sudden surge of strength allowed me to turn the tables. There wasn't time to think about it then, but looking back, Apocalypse becoming weaker without reason—it all seemed unnatural. It must have been you helping me," Charles said, mocking himself a bit. He had been so proud, thinking he'd defeated Apocalypse with sheer willpower—only to realize someone had been cheating for him.
"And it wasn't just that, right? When Apocalypse first broke through our blockade, you saved us then too, didn't you?" Erik added.
Mu looked a bit surprised. Compared to helping Charles in the mental world, his earlier intervention had been much more subtle. He hadn't expected Erik to notice.
"You guessed?"
"Not exactly. It was more of a feeling," Erik replied.
At this, Mu grew serious, and he activated his Cosmo to inspect Erik. The results…
"Remarkable, Erik. Though very faint, your Cosmo has begun to awaken," Mu said.
"What!?"
"Are you serious?"
Everyone was shocked. Erik stared at Mu in disbelief, hoping he wasn't joking.
"I'm not joking. Erik, you have the potential to become a pioneer—to break the natural limits placed upon mutants," Mu said.
"This… this…"
Erik was so emotional his eyes reddened, and the others looked at him with burning envy.
Why were Saints so powerful? Because they cultivated their own Cosmos through rigorous training.
Mutants' X-genes, although extraordinary, were ultimately uncontrollable and capped at a limit. They couldn't normally transcend into the Seventh Sense or higher realms through training.
Long ago, Melin had told Erik that mutants could not cultivate Cosmos. Erik had spent countless hours trying regardless, but had always failed—and had eventually given up.
Yet now, against all odds, he had created a miracle!
This wasn't just about Erik becoming stronger—it meant a new hope for the entire mutant race, long trapped by their innate limits!
"I'll report this to His Lordship immediately. I'm sure he'll be very pleased," Mu said.
"Mm." Everyone nodded.
"Now, back to the trial," Mu continued. "My intervention was anticipated and isn't the reason you failed. The real reason is…"
Mu turned and unleashed a Starlight Extinction attack on Apocalypse's corpse, grinding it into nothingness. Only after ensuring not a trace remained did he turn back to the group.
"You must not leave loose ends. Apocalypse lived for centuries—we don't know what other abilities he had. After killing an opponent like him, you must also destroy the body, in case he had any powers like feigned death."
Hearing this, everyone felt ashamed—and a bit frightened.
Mu was absolutely right. If they had just left like that, and Apocalypse had resurrected, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Charles, Erik, and Hank also thought of another terrifying possibility—someone could have used Apocalypse's corpse for cloning research.
Cloning was already theoretically possible—banned publicly due to ethical concerns, but secretly many countries and organizations continued the research. If someone cloned Apocalypse…
They didn't even want to imagine it. The thought alone was horrifying.
"You're right, Mu. This was our mistake. It won't happen again."
"Good. But remember—while it's right to destroy a dangerous enemy's body, when facing a worthy opponent, respecting their remains can also be a form of honor. You'll have to find the right balance yourselves. I'll be returning to Sanctuary now—Erik's situation must be reported immediately."
"Understood. We'll be right behind you."
Mu nodded, and with a flash, vanished from sight.
Tolaris and his companions stood there, stunned. So there had been a bigger boss hiding the whole time, just watching them? Their battle with Apocalypse had merely been a trial for the X-Men? And the golden-armored man wasn't even the highest authority—there was someone even higher up!?
Tsk tsk, divine beings truly were on another level. Apocalypse, who could have destroyed the world, was merely a trial to them…
If they had even a sliver of hope to escape before, it was now completely crushed.
…
Back at Sanctuary, Mu went straight to the temple to meet with Melin.
"My Lord."
"How did it go?" Melin asked. Although his Cosmo could envelop the entire Earth, his attention was focused on searching for Athena, so he hadn't been monitoring the trial closely. He trusted Apocalypse would fall—both out of faith in the X-Men and in Mu.
"They passed, though there were minor flaws." Mu then gave a full report of everything, highlighting both their strengths and their shortcomings.
"Decisive, courageous… Charles has made great progress as well. As for the flaws—they still have time to grow," Melin said, nodding with satisfaction.
"My Lord, there is one more thing… Erik's Cosmo has awakened."
"What!?" Even Melin, usually unshakable, was stunned by the news.
Decades ago, when he had rescued Erik, he had concluded that mutants couldn't cultivate Cosmos. He had even attempted several methods to help—but had given up after repeated failure.
And now someone told him that verdict had been overturned—that mutants could indeed awaken Cosmo?
This… was incredible!
The uncontrollable nature and ceiling of mutant powers had always concerned Melin.
Unlike the old Sanctuary, the new city at the mountainside served as the first line of defense—and mutants were its outermost shield. Facing ordinary enemies was fine, but when faced with gods and their warriors, mutants were outclassed. If their ceiling couldn't be broken, they would suffer catastrophic losses in the coming Holy Wars—something Melin absolutely wanted to prevent.
Now, however, there was hope.
"When they return, have Erik meet me immediately."
"Yes, my Lord."