"WHOOSH!"
The moment the Ancient One finished her grave pronouncement, Magneto moved. He was not a man to wait for destiny or debate philosophical quandaries. His answer was pure aggression.
A spike of irresistible magnetic force shot out, aimed not at the frail figure in the robes, but directly at the glowing, intricate Eye of Agamotto pendant resting on the Ancient One's chest. He intended to strip her of whatever unknown artifact gave her such an appalling awareness of the future.
The pendant lifted—it clearly registered the magnetic pull—but it utterly refused to leave the Sorcerer Supreme's side. It hovered in the air as if caught in an invisible, unyielding resin. An absolute void existed between Magneto's power and the artifact, a dimensional gap that even the Master of Magnetism could not bridge.
"If you had been born a century earlier, Eric, I doubt I would have been capable of countering your power so easily, for you have a unique mastery over this plane," the Ancient One said, her voice gentle, yet holding the weight of mountains.
She smiled faintly at Magneto's fury. "But even now, your kind are so profoundly blessed. A simple act of awakening allows you to surpass the painstaking efforts of many great mages. You are truly Earth's favorite children."
Her gaze shifted, sweeping past Magneto and Charles. "And that young woman outside, Jean Grey—the power stirring within her is so immense it borders on the impossible, stirring an unease even within me. If your previous manipulation had been successful, Charles, I fear all matter and spirit on this planet would have been annihilated, not by the machine, but by the cataclysmic awakening of her spirit."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Magneto, completely ignorant of the Phoenix Force, scowled, his confusion overcoming his rage for a fleeting second.
"And you, young man," the Ancient One turned her full, mesmerizing attention to Huang Wen. "Your life is a tapestry woven with variables, and you carry even more with you now."
Huang Wen instinctively straightened, the full force of her insight washing over him.
"I have witnessed countless timelines: timelines where the original you died tragically in your father's collapse; where you succeeded in your desperate quest for revenge only to be captured and weaponized; and timelines where you failed your vengeance and descended into deep, consuming darkness. Yet, right now, you stand in the single luckiest stream of possibility."
The Ancient One's eyes sparkled, hinting at complex, non-linear perceptions. "Although I cannot discern the precise origin of your current strength, I sense no aura of any true, extra-dimensional evil clinging to you. The very fabric of this universe is rife with infinite possibilities and countless shifts. Even I, the appointed protector of this dimension, cannot perceive every thread or claim omniscience."
Huang Wen blinked, a slight warmth blooming in his chest. He realized the "he" the Ancient One spoke of was the original Huang Wen, the one who existed before his transmigration.
This confirmed that the Sorcerer Supreme did not perceive him as a literal foreign entity from another world, merely an extreme anomaly, a nexus of unforeseen change. This was the best possible outcome.
"Master Ancient One," Huang Wen spoke, nodding toward the furious, immobile Magneto. "You are here to prevent his actions. Why, then, are you hesitating? Why not simply incapacitate him?"
"My actions are already complete," the Ancient One replied, her smile widening. "Charles is fully awake now, isn't he? That fact alone means this catastrophic timeline has been successfully averted."
"Master Ancient One, if I may," Charles interjected, his voice weak but clear, looking with pained eyes at the collapsed, whimpering Jason Stryker. "Could you please… neutralize this poor, broken child? End his suffering and his capacity for harm?"
The Ancient One glanced at Jason, and her face took on a rare expression of deep sorrow. "No, Charles. I cannot interfere in that. His destiny, once again, has reached its conclusion. He is no longer himself; he is a husk, a puppet of his father's darkness. And you, deep down, already know that truth."
As she spoke, the reality around them shattered. The intricate carvings on the walls cracked like thin glass, the metal ceiling peeled away, and the intense pressure vanished. Everyone found themselves abruptly back in the cold, metal control room. What had just transpired had been a brief, controlled excursion into a Mirror Dimension created and sustained by the Ancient One.
"Very well. My part is done. What happens next is squarely within your hands," the Ancient One stated, her tone final, an absolute dismissal of the drama. "But heed my warning: resolve the threat of Jean Grey quickly and without undue chaos. I do not wish to return. My presence cannot be spared from the Sanctum for long."
"Whoosh!"
As the Ancient One finished her mandate, a faint, golden ring of sparks appeared in the air beside her, coalescing into a stable, burning portal—a Sling Ring gateway. She stepped into the halo and, with a subtle snap, the portal closed, leaving the three masters—Huang Wen, Magneto, and Professor X—alone with the broken body of Jason.
"The Dream Butterfly Escape is superior in its instantaneity, requiring zero casting time," Huang Wen mused, analyzing the Sorcerer Supreme's power. "But the sheer power of the Sling Ring to cross vast distances and dimensions instantly is terrifying. Still, I was aware enough to leave the Mirror Dimension if I chose. That's a good sign."
He was shaken from his thoughts by a sudden, intense sucking sensation originating from the very center of his chest—the location of the Rebirth Dragon Chapter!
"Magneto!" Huang Wen's eyes narrowed instantly, his blood running cold. He immediately understood the danger. The Master of Magnetism, sensing an opportunity in the aftermath of the psychic trauma and the Ancient One's exit, was attempting to strip the Adamantium-laced Rebirth Dragon Chapter from Huang Wen's very bones.
Without a second thought, the Invincible Vajra Divine Art was instantly activated. The golden aura erupted around Huang Wen, and the sucking sensation vanished without a trace. The force of Magneto's pull simply couldn't overcome the transcendent defense of the Vajra Skill.
"Huh? What is that power?" Magneto and Charles simultaneously narrowed their eyes. Like Logan, they instinctively classified the glowing, golden figure as a variation of Colossus.
But their analyses quickly diverged. Charles, with his refined telepathy, sensed no mutant signature whatsoever emanating from the golden body. Magneto, with his mastery of metal, found that his field could not gain purchase on the golden sheen; it was shielded, isolated, and completely beyond his control—unlike his interactions with Colossus.
"I hadn't even gotten around to settling the score for your little ambush, and you attack me first!" Huang Wen sneered, his golden body radiating contempt. The arrogance of Magneto's attack was utterly infuriating.
"Hmph!" Magneto retaliated instantly, his face cold and utterly devoid of emotion. With a flick of his hand, every loose piece of metal in the entire control room—the wiring, the console paneling, even the heavy, reinforced door—was ripped from its moorings and smashed together, forming a colossal, high-velocity metal projectile aimed at Huang Wen.
In the ensuing whirlwind of metal, Jason Stryker's ruined wheelchair, a piece of mundane equipment, was caught up. It slammed against the ceiling and disintegrated.
Jason himself, already injured and unconscious, tumbled to the floor and was crushed beneath several tonnes of falling, twisted metal. He died instantly, a casualty of his own father's revenge plot and Magneto's chaotic counter-attack.
"CRASH! BANG! CRUNCH!"
The massive projectile of compressed metal smashed into the glowing Huang Wen. But the golden figure stood firm. With a light, almost dismissive punch, Huang Wen shattered the entire mass of metal.
The alloy deformed and buckled the moment it impacted his Vajra-protected skin, proving once again that in terms of sheer, unbreakable fortitude, it was superior to the raw, unrefined steel Magneto wielded.
"Swoosh!"
Before Magneto could initiate his next wave of attack, Huang Wen lashed out. A silent, potent ripple of Shen power—the Dream Butterfly Escape Technique's core pressure point strike—shot across the small gap, aiming for Magneto's Fengchi sleeping point.
"CLANG!"
A sudden, thick shield of dense metal plates materialized an inch in front of Magneto's face, brought up by the mutant's instantaneous reflexes. The telekinetic attack struck the shield, barely denting it, the attempt to bypass the defense failing.
"I was anticipating that very maneuver!" A smug, victorious expression flashed across Magneto's lips. He had been burned once by Huang Wen's unexpected ability to induce sudden unconsciousness, and he was not about to be caught out again. His focus was absolute.
"Were you, though?" A mocking, knowing grin spread across Huang Wen's golden face. His palm blurred, unleashing a rapid sequence of precise, concussive telekinetic strikes aimed at Magneto's major pressure points—a classic Wing Chun combination, translated into pure psychic force.
"Hmph! The same trick again! I've protected myself this time!" Magneto scoffed, yet his caution was evident. He completely encased himself in a seamless, thick sphere of metal, creating a personal, impregnable fortress against the unseen pressure-point attacks.
The force of Huang Wen's telekinetic strikes hit the surface of the sphere, causing a dull thunk. But just as the energy began to ripple and fade, the sphere vanished.
"Poof!"
One second the sphere was there, a perfect defense. The next, it was gone, leaving a shocked, contemptuous Magneto exposed inside a thick vacuum of metallic air. The series of telekinetic blows, delivered with the precision of a master martial artist, slammed into Magneto's vital sleeping points.
Magneto's eyes rolled back. His mind, already strained by the previous psychic chaos and his intense magnetic output, offered no resistance. With a guttural sound, the Master of Magnetism collapsed to the ground, unconscious, his body twitching with momentary nerve spasms.
Object Swapping! An advanced refinement of his former card-swapping skill, designed for precisely this kind of surprise attack. Huang Wen hadn't hit the sphere, he had simply swapped the sphere with the empty space directly behind Magneto, leaving the mutant wide open for the subsequent physical strike.
"Eric!" Charles screamed, his pain turning into a fierce, protective rage. A colossal, formless wave of raw mental power surged from his mind, bypassing the still-glowing Huang Wen and aiming directly for his consciousness. He wanted to subjugate Huang Wen, rip the secrets of his power from his mind, and demand an explanation for the attack on his oldest friend.
"Hmph!" Huang Wen coldly snorted. He instantly redirected the vast majority of his internal Qi and Shen—his spiritual energy—to meet Charles's psychic assault head-on.
The two forces, one the amplified telepathy of the world's most powerful mutant mind, the other the transcendent, refined Shen of a martial arts master, met in a silent, explosive clash deep within the mental plane.
"Charles! Boss! What is happening?!"
At that moment, Logan, having just finished his violent confrontation with Stryker, burst back into the chamber. He saw the glowing, golden Huang Wen standing over the unconscious, twitching form of Magneto and the crushed body of Stryker.
The rest of the X-Men—Jean, Ororo, John, and the others—followed closely behind, having just rescued the terrified children. Their eyes, wide with horror, instantly fixed on the perpetrator: the gold-skinned, impossible figure of Huang Wen. They were immediately, intensely hostile.