Days as a Spiritual Mentor in American Comics Chapter 6052 - 5068: The Fate of the Fighter (14)

The news reports always emphasize the grand scenes of battles between heroes and criminals. In reality, the actual grand scenes last only a few minutes, with most of the time devoted to the extensive cleanup work. The damaged church needs repair, the injured need transport and treatment, the surrounding populace requires reassurance, and even the journalists must align their narratives.

The team brought by Hill organizes personnel evacuation; this time, those seriously injured are mutants. Even if they are seasoned fighters, injuries may destabilize their mutant abilities; hence, they must all be brought back to the Rebirth Alliance instead of being sent directly to the hospital.

The usually boastful members of the Mutant Brotherhood were now disheveled and limping onto the car. The air was thick with the smell of blood, and even Magneto didn’t use his mutant abilities but got on the Rebirth Alliance vehicle together.

It was Wanda who remained stunned in place; Jarvis called her several times before she followed Jarvis out and got into the car with Aisha. At the moment she sat down, she wrapped her arms around herself, her whole body trembling.

Jarvis hurriedly pulled her into an embrace, and Aisha hugged Wanda too, but Wanda showed no expression, appearing lost in her own thoughts, unable to escape.

"Wanda... Wanda? Darling, wake up, I’m here." Jarvis called softly, "I’ll protect you, you’re safe, and our child is safe too..."

Wanda slowly returned to her senses, her lips moved, and then she said, "Is there any way to deal with the Sentinel Robots?"

Jarvis sighed lightly; he understood Wanda very well. Wanda’s determination to protect her family far exceeded anyone’s imagination. She would find a way to resolve anything that might threaten her family.

Though Wanda was willing to believe the Sentinels in the Central Universe had long been dealt with by Shiller and posed no threat to them, in the current situation of multiversal exchanges, it was hard to say if Sentinels from other universes wouldn’t come over to harm mutants in the Central Universe.

Based on reality, Sentinel Robots are unlikely to cause a big stir in the Central Universe, and might not even break through the Magical Defense Network. However, Wanda tends to think the worst of these things, which inevitably fills her with worry.

Jarvis knows if she could, Wanda would try every means to eliminate Sentinel Robots in all universes, but that’s not feasible. The Sentinel Robots are quite effective in countering mutants, while Wanda’s power of Scarlet and word spirit can cause limited damage to these robots.

With her own abilities offering no further room for improvement, Wanda had to consider how to weaken Sentinel Robots, and this inevitably involved addressing why these robots are so effective at countering them.

This is a problem nobody has been able to figure out despite racking their brains. Mutant abilities are diverse, with some not even needing proximity, capable of killing from miles away, yet none of these abilities work on Sentinel Robots.

In the original comics, almost every large-scale war scene involving mutants focused on being slaughtered by Sentinels or joining forces to fight Sentinel Robots. From the initial Mark 1234 models to later Fortress, Nimrod, and Mother Module, mutants have never gained an advantage, barely winning with pyrrhic victories, displaying the power of this "mutant nemesis."

In the Rebirth Alliance’s medical room, Aisha was taken away first for examination. Wanda was supposed to go too, but she adamantly refused, leaving the nurse no choice but to take Aisha away first.

Wanda didn’t even knock but barged into the Mutant Brotherhood’s room, causing everyone’s expression to change in surprise as they saw her enter. Since the "No More Mutants" incident, Wanda was in a state of exile; mutants didn’t exactly hate her, but felt helpless, preferring not to see her to avoid inviting trouble.

Wanda, however, was completely oblivious, holding onto the door with one hand, staring at Magneto. Magneto waved his hand, getting the other members of the Mutant Brotherhood to leave first.

Once everyone left, Magneto extended his hand toward her. Wanda walked over to him, and he embraced her, gently stroking Wanda’s hair.

This universe’s Magneto and Wanda had moments of warmth like this, but all was built on a foundation of lies and manipulation. Wanda and Pietro were not his children; he only needed their power, hence used familial bonds to tie them.

Magneto’s love and reassurance were conditional; Wanda needed to be obedient and firmly stand by the mutants, acting as his sharpest tool, only then would he be willing to offer fleeting comfort. The Wanda from another universe appeared more intimate with mutants, and closer to him; Magneto knew this was a good opportunity, thus hesitated not to show his warmth.

"I must find a way to destroy the Sentinel Robots." After leaving Magneto’s embrace, Wanda slightly tilted her head, "I absolutely will not allow such a hidden danger to exist; it must be eradicated, completely wiped out from the cosmos..."

"It’s very difficult." Magneto sat back in the chair and said, "This is the mutants’ curse, one that cannot be unravelled."

"How would you know unless you try?" Anger poured out from Wanda’s eyes, "Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t; no matter how strong it is, I’ll find a way to smash it to pieces!"

"Do you know where its strength lies?" Magneto wasn’t angered by Wanda’s attitude, he simply said, "You’ve noticed it restrains every mutant equally; this in itself is unreasonable, do you think this is achievable with some technique?"

Wanda felt somewhat bewildered; she said, "But it already exists, so it must be reasonable, perhaps it’s merely due to our technology being inadequate, hence the reason it hasn’t been cracked..."

"Existence doesn’t always equate to reason." Magneto hinted, "If certain occurrences conflict with your logic, then perhaps you should ponder if it’s a jest of fate."

"Fate?" Wanda’s eyes focused once more. "I never believe in fate. I can control my life. No one can stop me from getting the life I want."

"You always say that, Wanda." Magneto seemed to be looking at her, yet also at this universe’s Wanda. "You have great fortitude and tenacity, a fighter who never bows to fate. But the more you are like this, the more you are bound to a tragic fate."

"When I was young, I also thought that as long as I worked hard enough, as long as I never bowed my head, I could lead the mutants to glory. I fought for it all my life until I realized there are things you can’t change no matter how hard you try."

"Just give up like that?!" Wanda’s eyes were red as she clenched her fists. "Seeing your loved ones and friends slaughtered, watching them die tragically in front of you, and you want me to kneel to that monster and beg for my life?!"

"This has nothing to do with your attitude." Magneto’s tone was calmly detached. "Whether you want it or not, things will develop in this direction. The more you struggle, the more you will step into fate’s trap."

Wanda finally sensed something off. On the surface, Magneto’s words seemed to be urging her to accept fate, but each sentence carried a hidden meaning, like a warning, a reminder.

"You want me to believe in the existence of fate?" Wanda looked up at this tall old man.

Magneto nodded gently, having to admit that the Wanda of the Central Universe was clearer-headed, with more room for rational thought, unlike this universe’s Wanda who had been driven mad, with a mind almost beyond communication.

Wanda gradually calmed down, sitting on the sofa as she pondered. Various pieces of evidence swirled in her head, forcing her to seriously consider whether the "unchangeable fate of mutants" Magneto spoke of truly existed.

The most unreasonable part was the Sentinel Robots. These things defy logic. They shouldn’t exist at all. Just what she saw today was already incredible. Apparently, these things come in different models, and today’s kind might be a mass-produced model, not the strongest. None of this adds up at all.

It’s like a clumsy writer who’s reaching the finale but doesn’t know how to kill the protagonist, so they forcibly create a ridiculously powerful antagonist. Since it’s made up on the spot, there’s no way to make sense of it, just emphasizing that the antagonist’s power is because "that’s how it is," as if implanting a rule into the universe.

Thinking of this, Wanda had a sudden flash of insight. Universe rules? Who writes the universe rules?

Wanda doesn’t know much about this, but JARVIS took the Cosmic Construction Science class and mentioned it a few times, so she knows there are Universe administrators. If they want to deal with these entirely unscientific Sentinel Robots, they must first deal with the universe administrators.

But Wanda also cannot be entirely sure who manages these rules. Could it be Eternity? Or Death?

As long as there’s something concrete she can fight against, Wanda’s heart settled considerably. She sat up straight, leaning forward, and asked, "Have you ever killed a cosmic entity?"

"What?" Magneto did not understand why she asked this.

"You know Eternity, right," Wanda said. "Death? Oblivion? The Court of Life? Have you ever killed them?"

Magneto had a look of "do you hear what you’re saying." People from Old 616 Earth understand abstract entities, and precisely because of that, they know killing these things is nonsense.

Eternity is the cosmos itself. Attacking eternity is akin to destroying the universe, like fighting oneself. Although Eternity has indeed been annihilated before, it was mostly M-Bodies, mere clones. If the true Eternity were destroyed, the entire cosmic structure would cease to exist.

Magneto felt a bad premonition. He realized that Wanda of the Central Universe might not be more clear-headed, but crazier. She seemed less radical because she wanted more, not merely the destruction of mutants but to fundamentally change this universe from a higher dimensional level.

This was undoubtedly extremely dangerous. Magneto wanted to open his mouth to persuade her; Wanda made him, even as part of the Radical Faction, seem conservative.

Yet this silver-haired old man also heard the echoes within his heart, that younger voice from many years past, still questioning him within: Are you really going to accept fate?

He once painted a grand blueprint of the Mutant Kingdom in his heart, where his like-minded comrades dug into the already barren land, dedicating their youth and lives merely to add one brick to the building of ideals. After countless trials by blood and fire, they built walls to shield themselves and their compatriots from storms.

Until a storm struck, and everything collapsed in an instant, leaving nothing but ruins, rendering efforts and sacrifices non-existent. Yet there were still those who pressed forward, raising walls continuously, only for them to be destroyed repeatedly.

Without stones, they used bodies. Without mortar, they used blood. When they themselves built a mound out of flesh for themselves, it was no longer for seeking shelter but was more like a silent shout — if fate’s tempest would execute us piece by piece, our flesh and blood will coagulate together in a miraculous place, breaking free of the weakness of individual godfolk, forming a whole new enormity, no longer needing someone else to suffer for us, but saving ourselves, taking control of fate, near godhood, resembling gods, greater than gods.