Charles didn't want to keep living, especially after remembering what he had done while out of control. Those memories tormented him endlessly.
Logan, however, wanted him to survive, especially after hearing Ethan's explanation and realizing that the professor's situation wasn't hopeless.
"Professor, you know it wasn't your fault."
He hoped to convince Charles to accept Ethan's solution. If he himself had a chance to live, then the professor should as well.
They were the last remaining X-Men. Compared to Caliban—who had once been an enemy—Logan desperately wanted Charles to live.
Ethan remained silent.
He had already explained his method. Whether Charles accepted it or not was his decision.
As Ethan had said before, he wanted to change some things, but only when the other person was willing to let them change.
If Charles refused, Ethan wouldn't force him.
He wasn't here to convince people. He was here to make himself happy, not to give himself unnecessary trouble.
"I still want you to save Logan," Charles finally said. "As for me…"
He listened quietly to Logan's pleas but turned to face Ethan once Logan finished speaking.
"I do have one request," Charles said. "I want you to preserve my psychic essence and deliver it to someone worthy of receiving it."
Ethan was caught off guard.
At first, he thought Charles had changed his mind about dying.
But this?
This… was unexpected.
Ethan quickly considered the implications, but even he wasn't sure if he was overthinking things.
"You want to store your knowledge and experiences within your psychic energy," Ethan said slowly, "and then transfer it, along with your consciousness, to another version of yourself?"
Charles nodded.
"I know you can do it."
Ethan almost asked how he was so sure, then realized his own words had already given it away.
Professor X wasn't just the strongest telepath in the world.
He was also one of the smartest humans alive.
Now that his mind had temporarily returned to its peak, he hadn't ignored a single word Ethan had said.
And after careful analysis, he had drawn a conclusion, one that even Ethan found shocking.
"This young man can freely travel between multiple worlds and timelines."
That realization alone was terrifying.
If it had been Charles from a few years ago, he might have wanted to sit down and discuss multiverse theory with Ethan.
But now?
Now, his first thought was:
"How can I use this to save mutants?"
"How can I stop this disaster from happening again?"
"You do understand that the multiverse is parallel, right?" Ethan said. "Even if you transfer your memories and experiences to another version of yourself, it won't change what happened here. This isn't like the time travel you've done before."
Once, to stop the Sentinel threat, they had sent Logan's consciousness decades into the past. That had successfully altered history.
The new timeline had overwritten their original existence.
Aside from Logan, everyone had lost their memories of the original timeline—they had simply continued living in a new version of history.
"I know," Charles said.
When his psychic energy had gone out of control earlier, he had instinctively touched Ethan's mind.
Although Ethan's mental defenses had immediately repelled him, Charles had still managed to catch glimpses of something, fragmented information about the multiverse.
Charles didn't try to hide it.
He openly admitted that he had learned some things from Ethan's mind.
Ethan sighed.
He already knew that Charles had a terrible habit of invading people's thoughts.
The first thing Professor X did upon meeting someone was try to poke around in their head.
If Ethan hadn't been mentally guarded, Charles might have extracted even more.
But because Ethan had been thinking about how to explain the concept of the multiverse, those very thoughts had ended up getting exposed.
"At the very least," Charles said, his voice turning solemn, "I can make sure that another version of me doesn't repeat the same mistakes."
His eyes dimmed slightly, and his psychic energy fluctuated violently.
Ethan immediately noticed.
Charles' brain was starting to shut down.
He was forcing himself to stay conscious through sheer mental will.
Even Logan noticed something was wrong.
Hurriedly, he pulled out a bottle of medication, ready to give Charles a dose, to stop him from slipping into another psychic episode that could kill all of them.
But before he could act, Charles weakly grabbed his wrist.
"Let me finish," he whispered. "I can hold on a little longer."
Summoning the last of his strength, Charles spoke:
"I don't have much time left. If you're willing to help me, then… when the time comes, extract my consciousness. I'll cooperate as best I can."
His gaze shifted between Ethan and Logan.
"If you don't want to help… then at least give me a proper burial."
Ethan understood what Charles was saying.
If he agreed, then he would be responsible for transferring Charles' psychic essence into a proper vessel for safekeeping.
If he refused, then Logan would be left to bury Charles once he passed.
And Charles knew his time was short.
Right now, he was burning through the last of his life force just to remain conscious.
Once he slipped into unconsciousness again, he would never wake up.
He would die soon after.
This wasn't exactly what Ethan had planned.
But if Professor X himself had no intention of continuing to live, then Ethan wouldn't force him.
As for the matter of delivering his psychic essence?
That… was something Ethan was willing to do.
Because if he accepted this request—then Logan would have no choice but to go with him.
Logan would have to stay by Ethan's side.
After all, he would want to make sure Ethan actually kept his promise.
And that…
That was exactly what Ethan wanted.
"I promise you," Ethan said firmly.
"I will deliver this gift of yours to another version of you. And I guarantee that nothing will go wrong."
Ethan was serious.
He knew he had countless flaws.
But one thing he had always been proud of, was that he kept his promises.
If he gave his word, he would see it through.
It wasn't a matter of trying—it was a matter of making sure it happened.
He never made promises lightly.
And he never made promises he didn't intend to keep.
Charles looked at him for a long moment.
Then, finally, he smiled.
"I believe you."
Charles nodded at Ethan. Then, without taking the pills Logan had prepared, his head simply drooped, as if he had fallen asleep.
But Ethan knew better.
His expression turned serious, more serious than even Logan's and he immediately instructed him, "Quick! Lay the professor on the bed."
"Why?" Logan asked, though he was already moving to follow Ethan's orders.
"Because he's burned through the last of his vitality. We need to extract his psychic essence now—if we wait too long and his body dies, his consciousness will suffer irreversible damage."
Logan didn't understand all this talk about "psychic extraction," but he knew enough to realize that Charles' condition was critical.
Once Charles was settled, Logan could do nothing but step aside.
Ethan, on the other hand, reached into thin air and pulled out a thick, ancient-looking book.
As soon as he opened it, glowing lines of energy appeared in the air, forming complex symbols that slowly combined into intricate magical patterns.
Even if Logan wasn't well-versed in the supernatural, even he could tell—Ethan was no ordinary mutant.
In fact…
Maybe he wasn't a mutant at all.
He looked more like the sorcerers from legends and movies.
"Are you… using magic?" Logan asked.
"Yes."
Ethan didn't look up. It wasn't until the countless glowing circles had fully formed around him and Charles—completely surrounding them—that he finally exhaled and answered.
"So magic really exists in this world?" Logan muttered.
"I don't know if it exists in this world," Ethan replied. "But have you forgotten? I'm from another world."
Logan realized his mistake and rephrased his question.
"So… what you've been using all this time—it's magic, not a mutant ability?"
"Obviously. I'm not a mutant."
Logan felt his head starting to hurt.
"Then why the hell are you here helping us?"
That was what he really couldn't understand.
If Ethan had been a mutant, Logan could have at least somewhat understood why he would show up and offer help.
But he wasn't.
He had nothing to do with them.
So why would someone like him, someone capable of traveling between worlds, go out of his way to interfere in their problems?
More importantly.
How was Ethan so sure he would be able to successfully complete Charles' request?
"...Are you hiding something?"
Logan clenched his fists lightly.
A dark thought crossed his mind.
What if Ethan had always been after Charles' psychic abilities?
What if this was all a setup?
Absorbing psychic energy to enhance his own power… using Charles' consciousness for some kind of dark ritual…
It was something right out of a horror movie.
"Relax," Ethan said flatly. "I have zero interest in the professor's psychic essence."
He glanced at Logan, unimpressed.
"In fact, taking it would actually hurt me."
Logan frowned. "How?"
"For someone like me, purity of mind is everything," Ethan explained. "If I absorbed Charles' mental power, it wouldn't make me stronger—it would corrupt my consciousness. All my years of training would go straight down the drain."
Logan still didn't fully understand.
But before he could ask anything else.
A glowing, translucent figure slowly rose from Charles' body.
It was Charles himself.
Or rather—
His psychic essence.
Professor X's spiritual form hovered just above his physical body, looking as calm as ever.
He turned to Logan and smiled.
"Don't worry," he said gently. "I can feel it. Ethan truly is here to help us."
(To be continued.)
***
Forgot to post the bonus for last week's 400 PS, here it is.