"I thought I'd get a new skill from that… but whatever," Ashburn muttered, shaking his head. "I'm going to rest. Call me if anything happens." With that, he used [Ruler's Authority] to lift himself into the air, flying toward the Baxter Building.
Landing smoothly, he entered one of the clean, unused rooms, collapsing onto the bed. But before allowing himself to drift off, he went through his rewards.
[Dragon Fear] A debuff skill. Dragon's Fear allows the user to release a mana-infused roar from their very soul, forcing anyone weaker than them into a state of intense despair and panic.
'I wonder if I can infuse my shadow power into the shout.' Ashburn thought, already considering ways to enhance the skill.
[Weapon Overlord] You're now a master of all weapons. Simply holding a weapon grants you instant knowledge of its ins and outs, how to wield it, how to maximize its efficiency, and even how to create new techniques. Any weapon-related skills you create can be improved over time through use. They start out as basic techniques, but as you use them, they can reach absolute perfection.
Bonus: Gain a 5x stat boost when wielding a weapon.
'This is huge,' Ashburn thought, his mind already racing. "I need to start creating techniques as soon as possible… though they'll be trash at first if I keep using them, they'll evolve."
His eyes narrowed. 'I wonder if I can create a cloning technique.' That would allow him to train multiple skills at once—a massive advantage. 'I'll look into it when I wake up.'
[Detoxification]- Immune to all diseases, poisons, and harmful status effects. Any toxins entering your system are immediately neutralized.
HP regeneration is 2x faster than normal and 10x faster while sleeping.
.
[Tenacity]- When HP drops below 50% in battle, any further damage is reduced by 50%.
.
[Longevity]- You no longer age naturally. Your biological age remains locked unless you manually alter it. You retain youth and vitality indefinitely. Completely immune to the effects of time.
.
[Shadow Fusing v2]- Can now fuse up to 5 shadows permanently. No cooldown. Once fused, they remain that way forever. Fused shadows cannot be unfused.
A fused shadow cannot be fused again, meaning the five chosen shadows determine its final form.
.
[Shadow Mood]- Fuse with your own shadow, becoming one with darkness. X10 boost to all stats while active.
Cost: 10,000 MP per second.
.
[Shadow Enhancement]- Infuse shadows into your abilities, evolving skills into stronger versions.
Unlock Shadow Abilities: If an ability successfully evolves into a shadow ability, it will now cost 0 MP to use.
.
'Beautiful.' Ashborn grinned, his mind swirling with possibilities. Tomorrow… he was going to create as many abilities as possible. With that final thought, he closed his eyes… and fell into a deep sleep…
On Earth, it was a bloodbath. The zombies never stood a chance. Ashborn's shadows spread across the world, moving with inhuman speed, using [Shadow Extraction] to raise every fallen zombie into his ever-growing undead army. The entire planet was cleared within seconds.
Of course, not all of them went down easily. Deadpool, for example, was a problem. His mutant healing factor allowed him to regenerate even from ashes. The shadows had to disable his mutation first, stripping him of his immortality, before killing him for good. And he wasn't the only one.
"Brother…" Vulcan whispered, his voice laced with disbelief as Cyclops approached. But something was wrong.
Cyclops wasn't alive. His body radiated darkness, his optic blasts glowing with eerie intensity. Vulcan instinctively raised his hands, his Omega-level mutant powers reaching out, seeking to manipulate the very energy that now composed Cyclops' form. He was seconds away from taking control when His body stiffened. His mind went blank. And then… darkness.
Charles stood nearby, his eyes glowing faintly as he shut down Vulcan's mind before he could even process what had happened. In an instant, one of the most dangerous energy manipulators in existence collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
And just like that, he was killed. A moment later, his body stirred. With darkness surging through him, Vulcan rose again, no longer as himself, but as one of Ashborn's shadow soldiers.
***
"Susan… what is this?" a young man asked, his eyes narrowing as he examined the force field trapping him. His confusion deepened as he turned to Susan, who stood just beyond the barrier. She looked different. Darker. A shadow of herself. But that wasn't what confused him most.
"Why are you doing this?" he pressed. He wasn't alone. Four others were trapped alongside him. Among them was Eva Bell, also known as Tempus. A mutant with the ability to manipulate time itself.
She could slow it down, speed it up, and even reverse it. Her powers were so formidable that even Doctor Strange himself had once acknowledged them, claiming that her control over time was unmatched. And yet, here she was, trapped. Helpless as Susan's barrier even blocked her powers
The third was Hope Summers. Her powers? Simple, yet terrifyingly powerful. Hope's primary ability allowed her to copy the powers of any nearby mutant. Unlike others with similar abilities, such as Rogue, she didn't need physical contact. There were no side effects for the original power user.
She could instantly wield the abilities she copied, with no need for training, no need to even see them in action.
And the scariest part? She didn't just copy powers—she used them at their fullest potential. It didn't matter if the original wielder had spent decades training or had zero control over their ability, when Hope copied it, she mastered it instantly.
There was no known limit to how many powers she could hold at once, but using too many at the same time took a toll on her. If she pushed herself too far, the abilities would fade over time— distance and usage playing a role in how long she could maintain them.
But that wasn't all. Hope could strip mutants of their powers, restore them, stabilize unstable mutations, and even amplify abilities.
Yet, despite all of this, before Susan… she was powerless. Her abilities were useless against nonmutants.
The fourth was Joshua Foley, known by his mutant name, Elixir. His power? Absolute control over biology. Elixir could manipulate his own body and any living organism down to the genetic level. With a mere touch, he could reshape flesh, mend broken bones, and even restore lost limbs.
Healing was only one side of his ability. At his peak, Elixir could perform instant regeneration, heal minds, reverse mutations, and even bring the dead back to life. But just as he could heal, he could also destroy. He could inflict disease, accelerate cellular decay, and shut down organs with a single touch. Life and death, both rested at his fingertips.
And yet, despite all of this power… Before Susan, he was nothing.
The fifth was Fabio Medina, known as Egg. His mutant ability? Producing gold balls. From any part of his body, spheres of solid gold would pop out, varying in size, bouncing aimlessly, and emitting an obnoxious "Poink" whenever they hit something.
These five weren't just mutants—they were the foundation of mutant resurrection. Together, they formed the backbone of the X-Men's greatest secret: The Five.
A systematic loop of rebirth. With Fabio's eggs acting as the base, Proteus' energy giving them viability, Elixir's healing accelerating cellular growth, Tempus' time manipulation rapidly developing them, and Hope's power synergy ensuring their abilities worked at peak efficiency, they could recreate any mutant body from preserved DNA.
Then, with Charles Xavier's Cerebro, their minds and memories were restored—a process that outright defied death itself.