21. Illusion

A thunderous roar, like someone fiercely beating a stick on one's head. The entire mind was instantly released, the spiritual world seemed to be stuffed with countless vast and complex information, this energy accumulated rapidly, filling the entire brain, and then exploded.

A violent sense of falling suddenly descended.

Like the feeling of free fall from ten thousand meters high, the weightlessness hit President X abruptly. He felt all his senses spiraling out of control, while the chaotic voices in his mind gradually "quieted" down.

President X couldn't remember how long it had been since he last felt this tranquility. He only remembered that after inadvertently probing the brain of his gardener, various voices inexplicably emerged in his mind.

Those voices were like the murmurs of a dreamer, completely illogical, but slowly and gradually, President X could clearly perceive that 'they' were awakening, continuously learning, expanding, and polluting his brain. But he had no way to resist. He wanted to resist, he tried to resist, but he failed. After he crushed the brain of the first person who tried to attack him with psychic power, everything spiraled out of control.

Just like at this moment. Those sorrowful, uncontrollable, fearful memories, even the thought of them made him suffer so much that he couldn't breathe, gradually surged, trying to confuse his mind again, floating above his head.

President X widened his eyes, silently resisting. He didn't understand how this humble human in front of him dared to defy 'his' will, even taking off the helmet that could protect his mind right in front of him. But when President X really touched his brain, the fierce onslaught of psychic power made 'President X' lose consciousness in an instant, and when 'he' was ready to resist, it was too late.

"No!"

President X didn't speak, but a deafening roar echoed in his ears, resonating in various languages from around the world, quickly becoming the only voice in President X's mind.

At the moment when the two minds contacted, a connection had already been established. Even though President X desperately tried to retract his mental connection, it was futile. The other party's spiritual world was like a black hole, attracting all the invading information.

President X felt as if he were forcefully dragged by an immensely strong force, or tied to a swiftly moving roller coaster. Soon, this roller coaster entered a tunnel filled with darkness and depth.

President X didn't know how long this tunnel was or what its endpoint was.

He only knew that those things that had troubled him, prevented him from sleeping, and surrounded him like a thick, sticky mud, were being stripped away from his mind bit by bit. Then, President X suddenly felt a solid touch on his back—it was a chair's backrest.

The out-of-control body revived again, and the control of his body returned to him. President X couldn't help but gasp for breath heavily. But when he looked up, he found a huge screen in front of him. With a blank expression, President X was somewhat puzzled. He tried to say something, but couldn't make a sound. He glanced around and realized that he was sitting in an old-fashioned cinema.

Many 'people' were scattered around, sitting like him on seats. President X couldn't be sure if those things were really 'people' because they didn't have facial features. Their faces were as clean as a piece of paper, without even imperfections.

They were of both genders, dressed in various clothes, motionless on their seats, like mannequins deliberately placed here, extremely terrifying. Although they had no facial features, President X could feel that they were 'looking' at him. It wasn't visual through their eyes but a more advanced form of scrutiny, at the spiritual level.

This feeling, in such a quiet environment, seemed extremely eerie.

Just as President X was about to be overwhelmed by unease, a sudden brightness behind him caught his attention. He withdrew his gaze, and President X realized that the large screen behind him had lit up, and he was sitting alone in the center of the front row.

The screen flickered and then turned pure white, the surroundings dimmed, and President X didn't know what was happening, but he understood that the movie had begun.

A young, handsome man appeared on the screen, facing him was a federal investigator. Although it was the first time President X had seen that person, he was somehow sure that the handsome young man was himself, even though he looked nothing like himself.

But President X knew, it was him.

"Hank has modified this radar device into a transmitter, which can enhance brainwaves to strengthen your psychic abilities, helping us to find more mutants." The screen started playing, and the sound came through the speakers.

"I thought you had already found them," a man suddenly stood up. "If a new species is discovered, it should be discovered by its own kind. Charles and I are here to find new mutants, not you humans."

President X slowly opened his mouth, as if trying to say a name, but he couldn't. He knew what he should say, but he couldn't remember that name no matter how hard he tried.

"First of all, that machine belongs to us humans, and secondly, this is also Charles's decision. Charles doesn't mind the CIA's interference, right Charles?"

"No," President X and the man on the screen said simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, but I agree with Erik's statement. We should be the ones to discover them, not humans," the man on the screen said calmly.

"What if we disagree?"

"Then I wish you good luck using this device without me."

As if only a second had passed, or perhaps a breath, President X felt as if he had passed through an invisible barrier, and the grandiose fantasy that was enough to burst his brain occupied his mind, flooding into his spiritual domain.

It shouldn't be like this. Everything is wrong. Since when did it start? When did history deviate from its course?

The countless flashback scenes, the smiles of trust and respect from those who trusted him, President X stared dumbfounded at everything, unaware that the cinema had long disappeared, everything around him decomposed, dissipated, leaving only endless illusions and voices.

"Wanda."

President X murmured softly, like the last moan of an old man on his deathbed, but this voice came from a young girl in her prime. Alex calmly stared at the Scarlet Witch who had already been occupied by President X.

He took out the pistol from his chest—a replica of the one used by Nick Fury, slowly aimed it at the woman in front of him, and asked.

"What did you see?"

The Scarlet Witch's eyes had already fallen into a trance. Layer upon layer of flashback scenes reflected in her eyes, but they were things only he could see, like a hallucinatory, ephemeral world.

After a moment, the Scarlet Witch's vermilion lips moved slightly.

"I saw myself happy."

The next moment, Alex pulled the trigger.

...…

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22. Awakening.

23. Definitely Not The End.

24. 1407 Graymalkin Lane.

25. As You Wish.

26. New World.