Under the relentless onslaught of Sunshine Radiance, Apocalypse's invisible shield held for only a few seconds before being eroded and decomposed.
Exposed to the sunlight, Apocalypse's body began to disintegrate. His armor vanished piece by piece, his blue skin deteriorated, and his red flesh was gradually exposed.
Sensing his imminent end, Apocalypse looked up at the floating figure of Syd bathed in radiant light. He spoke with a grim determination.
"Child, your talent and power are astonishing, but this world cannot accommodate you…"
Using some unknown ability, Apocalypse's voice reverberated far beyond, reaching not only Syd's ears but also those of Magneto, Professor X, and others a hundred meters away.
He continued, "Everything has already been predetermined…"
As he spoke, his flesh continued to disintegrate, revealing his skeletal structure. Even though his flesh attempted to heal itself, it couldn't keep up with the rate of decomposition caused by Sunshine Radiance. His flesh eventually vanished, and his bones began to disintegrate as well.
As the light gradually faded, onlookers saw that Apocalypse had vanished, along with everything in the place he stood, as if nothing had ever existed there.
"The progenitor of mutants, Apocalypse, is dead just like that?"
Magneto, Professor X, and others watching from a distance were in disbelief.
Such a formidable opponent had fallen so easily?
Initially, they thought Apocalypse would be an equal match for Syd…
It seemed they had underestimated Syd's abilities.
"The Messiah's power seems to have become even more terrifying."
"This Omega-level ability is truly formidable…"
Cyclops and the others were stunned.
The viewers watching via drones were equally shocked.
The progenitor of mutants has died? His defensive abilities seemed much stronger than Syd's. Despite surviving numerous attacks, he fell to the Messiah's Omega ability?
Fear and apprehension spread widely.
With the added speculation about Syd's growing power, people became even more intimidated. Omega mutants truly were no simple matter.
Initially, they thought Syd was inferior to the White-Clad Mutant, but now it was clear that their assumptions were mistaken. Both Omega mutants were equally monstrous!
If Syd's power truly grows with time, who could stand against him?
Syd, meanwhile, floated in the air, restoring his internal light energy.
Had floating not consumed so little energy, he might have already fallen to the ground.
Defeating Apocalypse hadn't been as easy as they might have thought.
If not for the recent surge in his internal light energy, which amplified the power of Sunshine Radiance, it would have been far from easy to defeat Apocalypse. There was even a possibility that, if pushed to the limit, Apocalypse could have survived with just a skeletal frame and come back to life.
"Sunshine Radiance is still too low a level. Besides the berserk state, there's a significant gap compared to the Phoenix Force…"
Syd mused.
Recalling the berserk state, he noticed that when fully unleashing Sunshine Radiance, a new feature appeared on his chest.
It seemed like a tattoo?
However, this tattoo was faint and not very stable.
"Could it be that as my power increases, I might gain new forms?"
He thought back to his berserk state. Although it was indeed formidable, he felt that the Sunshine Radiance he used then was incomplete, limited by its current level. Its full potential hadn't been realized.
It seemed the ultimate state of Sunshine Radiance was not yet reached…
"Never mind, I'll improve it eventually…"
Shaking his head, Syd set aside the thought and considered Apocalypse's final words.
"Everything has already been predetermined…"
He recalled that Apocalypse, when dying at the hands of Jean, had spoken of the inevitability of fate.
But that had been based on what Apocalypse saw from Professor X's memories—visions of Jean's nightmares or premonitions of the Phoenix Force's power.
At that time, he understood that the vision of the fiery inferno was a representation of the Phoenix Force's eruption and his own demise.
Foreseeing his end was predetermined and unchangeable.
Since Jean's whereabouts were unknown and Professor X hadn't glimpsed her nightmares, Apocalypse's claim that everything was predetermined seemed to be a direct reference to him.
"I don't quite agree with that notion…" Syd replied inwardly.
With that, he glanced at Magneto, Professor X, Logan, and others, then turned and flew away.
"It's a pity that Magneto's power wasn't activated by Apocalypse; otherwise, he might have evolved from Magneto to a true master of magnetic fields."
Only an Apocalypse-activated Magneto would reach his full potential. Instead, due to his intervention, Magneto remained as he was.
As Syd's figure disappeared, Professor X and the others looked on with complex expressions.
"Erik, I never expected that this child would come to save me. Was it you who called him?" Professor X reflected.
"Professor, you should ask Chris. He said the Messiah might come to rescue you, and we didn't expect it to be true…" Cyclops glanced at the burly Chris.
"Uh…"
Feeling the weight of their gazes, Chris looked somewhat awkward, hesitated, and wasn't sure whether to reveal the truth.
As they discussed and Syd vanished, in a distant lion-headed figure, in a blood pool, a corpse floated within.
At this moment, consciousness and life essence began to stir within the corpse.
...
Some time later, in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Director's office.
Nick Fury sat in his chair, staring intently at the video on his laptop, replaying the footage of Syd's battle with Apocalypse.
A figure knocked on the door and entered the office.
"I told you not to disturb me unless it's urgent," Nick Fury said impatiently as he looked up.
Then he froze.
"What brings you here?" The golden-haired woman looked at Nick Fury with curiosity.
"And what are you watching?"
The visitor was none other than Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers.
(End of Chapter)