Shaken from his shock, the boy Todd quickly said, "This isn't a good place to talk. Come back to my house with me, and we can discuss it there."
Clearly frightened, Todd seemed to think his home would be safer. He glanced around, seeing familiar surroundings, and sighed in relief before pulling Apocalypse toward his small, rundown home.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a dilapidated house.
Todd creaked open the wooden door and led Apocalypse inside.
The interior was dark and sparse, with only an old television as the primary piece of electronics.
Noticing the environment, Apocalypse asked, "What happened to your parents?"
As Todd began tidying up the messy room, he casually replied, "When they found out I was a mutant, they kicked me out. They still send me some money each month, so at least I don't starve…"
Todd noticed Apocalypse's gaze lingering on the old television and said, "I picked up this TV. Do you want to watch it?"
He turned on the television.
As the screen lit up with color, Apocalypse approached and touched the screen. The moment his hand made contact, the image flickered as if it was being disturbed.
"What are you doing?" Todd asked, puzzled.
At that moment, Apocalypse's eyes turned white, indicating the activation of his powers.
"I'm learning…" Apocalypse said.
His mind was flooded with various images—TV shows, news broadcasts, and even information from search engines.
In a short time, Apocalypse absorbed and learned a vast amount of modern knowledge from the internet, at a speed surpassing that of artificial intelligence.
"Weapons…"
Images of modern weaponry appeared in his mind, including firearms, missiles, and even nuclear explosions.
"Superpowers… Great nations…"
He saw depictions of various countries, finally focusing on America.
"Weak humans, ruling this world…"
"They betrayed me…"
After absorbing this information, Apocalypse assessed, "These false gods and rulers will cease to exist."
"Because the only god in this world, Apocalypse, is about to return…"
Todd, overhearing the mutterings, became even more confused.
Apocalypse continued to mumble, "This world needs purification and salvation. It will no longer belong to them…"
Todd was bewildered. "You're really strange. Are you really from Antarctica, dreaming of ruling the world like those people said?"
Ignoring Todd's comments, Apocalypse was absorbed in a peculiar realization.
After acquiring and learning so much modern knowledge, he realized that the world had recently undergone significant changes, likely due to some strange force.
"What has caused all this…"
While he pondered and absorbed modern knowledge, a video of his recent massacre of the soldiers began circulating online.
Due to the Messiah and the man in white, mutants had already attracted considerable attention, and the display of Apocalypse's power in the video quickly drew widespread notice.
"Where did this mutant come from?"
"He looks so terrifying!"
"So many powerful mutants?"
The video left many people astonished.
At the same time, the earthquake triggered by Apocalypse's emergence from the pyramid drew attention from afar. Many people felt the ground shaking.
This event also captured the attention of Professor Charles Xavier, who was speaking with Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. while in his wheelchair.
Coulson was sorting through some documents as he spoke. "Since the appearance of mutants, we've been investigating mutant records."
"We've discovered some intriguing information about the world's first mutant."
"He was an ancient figure, who disappeared thousands of years ago…"
Professor Xavier and his team, including Cyclops, looked surprised.
"Mutants existed so long ago? Aren't they a modern phenomenon?"
Coulson shook his head. "It's indeed astonishing, but according to our intel, mutants might have existed tens of thousands of years ago. The progenitor of mutants is believed to have emerged during that period."
Coulson then got to the point. "Though this progenitor disappeared thousands of years ago, there are rumors he might return…"
"He has appeared?" Xavier asked in disbelief. "He has survived to the present day?"
Cyclops and others shared the same sentiment of disbelief.
A mutant who had lived for tens of thousands of years?
Coulson explained, "According to records, this progenitor had a unique ability to transfer his consciousness to other beings."
"Whenever he was near death, he would seek to transfer his consciousness to ordinary people or mutants."
"Importantly, when the transfer was complete, he also absorbed the powers of those mutants…"
"A universal mutant?" Xavier asked.
"Exactly!" Coulson said seriously.
"Recently, we detected an earthquake in the capital of Egypt. According to our sources, it's likely caused by this progenitor."
Although records indicate that the modern era has the most mutants, ancient mutants were rare. Over tens of thousands of years, no one knew how many abilities this progenitor might have accumulated…
With so many powers combined, the potential strength was daunting. It was uncertain how powerful he might be.
Hearing this, Professor Xavier and the X-Men felt a sense of gravity.
Coulson concluded, "Professor Xavier, we need your help to locate this progenitor. Can you assist us?"
Xavier nodded in agreement.
Shortly after, they arrived at the entrance of a secret chamber.
Suddenly, Coulson asked, "This is the Cerebro room, right?"
"Professor Xavier, have you considered using it to locate the Messiah and the man in white?"
End of Chapter