"I want to know the truth about this world."
"It might be a bit disgusting."
"But I still want to know."
There was unwavering determination in Tony's eyes.
"Professor X, why don't you start and tell us what you know?"
Kino looked at Professor X, who had remained silent until now.
The others might not fully understand, but Professor X definitely knew something.
Professor X sighed deeply and began to speak slowly.
"Ever since the Sentinel Program was launched, mutants have suffered endless tragedies. Countless died. It seemed as though humanity had won a decisive victory.
But fifteen years ago, the sun disappeared—it no longer rose. Crops around the globe withered, livestock died in droves.
Human society descended into civil war. The victors took control of some of the Sentinels, consolidating their power. As food became increasingly scarce, those in power enacted a series of cruel laws to maintain their luxurious lifestyles—one of which even prohibited suicide.
That man who desperately wanted to die, just so his family could eat a full meal, is the embodiment of this absurd tragedy.
Now, humanity is walking toward extinction. In the war between humans and mutants, there are no winners."
"Professor… then the food we've been eating…?"
Iceman's voice trembled, fear and unease seeping through his words.
Shadowcat and Blink had already covered their mouths, on the verge of vomiting.
"Don't worry. That wasn't part of it. Erik and I stored food in advance."
X's words brought some relief to the group.
"Then let me share what I know," Kino continued. "The reason this world ended up like this is because the timeline was pruned."
"What do you mean by the timeline being pruned?" Tony frowned.
"TVA—the Time Variance Authority. Their main job is to maintain order across all timelines. If a timeline threatens others, it gets pruned. Think of it like cutting off a branch from the main trunk."
Kino mimed cutting with scissors.
"Under normal circumstances, this timeline should've been destroyed the moment it was pruned.
But someone—using incredible power—twisted the linear timeline into a loop, allowing it to survive. Barely. It's just clinging on."
Everyone looked stunned.
If anyone else had said this, they would've thought that person was crazy.
"Then why was this world pruned?"
"No idea. I'm not with the TVA. Could be anything—the death of a timeline anchor, the Sentinels becoming a multiversal threat in the future, or even a mistake on TVA's part."
Kino shook his head.
"They destroyed an entire world over something like that?" Professor X asked bitterly.
"In their eyes, that reason is more than enough.
Sure, the TVA has its problems, but its commitment to protecting the multiverse is real.
It's like when a tumor grows in the human body—the quickest and most effective solution is removal."
Kino's face remained calm.
The TVA in the past might have been different, but now it's likely under the control of the God of Stories—Loki.
Also known as the old friend that the mage had mentioned.
The local mutants looked increasingly dejected. They had struggled for so long, sacrificed everything just to survive—and now they were being told it was all for nothing. Their world was going to be destroyed anyway.
"Kino… what about our universe?" Jean asked, worry creeping into her voice.
"I have powerful people backing me. They wouldn't dare touch our timeline."
Kino's words brought a wave of relief to the others.
"Who in this universe has that kind of power—to sustain an entire world alone? A mutant?" Tony asked curiously.
In this world, the only extraordinary beings seemed to be the mutants.
"I have a suspicion. That's why I plan to find her."
"Where is she?"
"In the past."
There was nothing left to see in the human settlements.
Everyone returned to the spaceship, waiting for the right moment.
Time passed quickly.
"It's time."
Dr. Zola closed his eyes.
His consciousness turned into data and began invading this world's central AI.
[Warning. Warning. Warning...]
The AI rapidly built firewalls, trying to eliminate this unknown data.
"Useless. I've upgraded myself 274 times. You low-level intelligence can't resist me. Become part of me!"
Zola's data used over a thousand Sentinels as a medium to launch a full-scale attack on the AI core.
In an instant, Sentinels around the world went offline and fell from the skies.
The Sentinel factories began malfunctioning; production ground to a halt.
In various human settlements, people stared dumbfounded at the lifeless Sentinels, then picked up weapons and began marching in a single direction.
"F**k! What the hell is going on?"
A fat ruling elite, naked and panicked, slammed buttons in a frenzy, trying to reboot the Sentinels. His voice trembled with fear and rage.
The kneeling slaves and women surrounding him stared silently. Their eyes slowly changed.
One of them stood up. Then another. And another…
"Who told you to stand?! I command you to kneel—kneel down!!"
The ruler screamed, mashing the buttons until the remote sparked violently—completely fried.
He stared at the smoking remote in disbelief, as if his brain had shut down.
Then one of his slave women crawled into his arms—and plunged a golden utensil into his stomach.
"Aaaaaahhh!!"
The ruler shoved the woman away, clutching his bleeding, fat-covered abdomen.
But the other slaves continued to surround him.
"Wait! I was wrong! I'll share my food—I'll give you everything… Ahhh!"
The mob overwhelmed him, and all that remained visible was one pale, chubby arm sticking out.
Suddenly, the Sentinels that had gone offline rebooted, but ignored the humans entirely, flying straight into the sky.
Across the globe, Sentinels began transporting factories and materials.
Dr. Zola opened his eyes aboard the Demon King ship.
"Commander, all 1.56 million Sentinels worldwide are under our control. They're being gathered at three designated sites. We also rescued a mutant who was being experimented on."
"Good work," Kino nodded.
Three portals opened in front of the Demon King. On the other side, masses of Sentinels surged through frantically.
As the Sentinels vanished into the portals, conflicts began erupting across the remaining human settlements.
"Rogue!" Shadowcat called out joyfully.
"Kitty? What's going on?" Rogue still hadn't figured out the situation.
"Dark Phoenix, it's up to you now. Target time: 1973."
Kino opened the hatch.
Without Speed Force, magical travel was too troublesome—better to use brute force.
"No problem."
Dark Phoenix transformed into a massive flaming phoenix, crashing through the space ahead and disappearing.
The Demon King ship followed close behind, vanishing from this world.
Quote of the Chapter:"When timelines become tangled in tragedy, the strongest force is not technology or power—but the will to defy fate."
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