Mago watched Mystique go, theurned his attention to Wanda. His voice was cold and trolled.

  "Only time will tell, my child. But I have seen many heroes rise and fall, their dreams of a better world crushed beh the boots of oppression and fear. Even those with the best iions are swayed by the weight of their own power. Humanity has no capacity freatness. Their fate was sealed the moment they learned of Aron's resurre powers. They will destroy themselves eventually... one way or another."

  Wanda frow the venom in his words, but she could not refute his argument. For as long as she had known him, Mago had always spoken of the human race with disdain. His belief that they were ily predisposed to violence, bigotry, and hatred had never ged. He saw them as a threat to be taio be kept at bay from mutants—the true iors of the world.

  He walked to a table where a chessboard y, its pieces arranged in mid-game. "e," he said. "Py with me."

  Wanda came to his side and sat down. She studied the board for a moment, then moved a pawn. "You py chess like you live your life," she remarked. "Always five steps ahead, always ready to sacrifice pieces to achieve yoal."

  "It's a game of strategy," Mago replied, moving his own piece. "And the goal is to win."

  "What happens when there's no oppo left?" She tered, capturing his knight. "No oo challenge your will? What will you do then?"

  Mago studied the board, his expression unreadable. "There will always be someoo challenge my will, Wanda. That is the nature of flie side always rises, and another falls. And I io make sure it's never me."

  His hand hovered over a rook, then he moved it io capture Wanda's bishop. "Checkmate," he said with a slight smile. "Never let se distract you from victory."

  Wanda nodded, aowledging her defeat. But as she looked up at him, she saw the fairace of sadness in his eyes. It was a glimpse of the man he had once been, a man who had known love and loss and carried the scars of both.

  "What about Jean Grey?" She asked suddenly. "You found anyone who take her on? You have wasted too many resources just to get a hold of her and failed over and ain. You even failed to find Quintavius Quire. Perhaps, I should give it a try."

  "She is powerful," Mago ceded. "But so are you, Wanda. Your potential has yet to be fully realized. O is, no one will stand in our way."

  Wanda met his gaze, her expression unreadable. "How long are you going to give that excuse to keep me here?"

  Mago raised his eyes and looked at her.

  "Yes. I read your thoughts," Wanda said with a cold smile. "I read them all, but I respect you enough not to pry into them. So, how long, Father? How long will you keep me locked up here, away from the world, away from the humans?"

  "Until I know you trol your powers," Mago replied evenly. "Your emotions are tied to your abilities, Wanda. They make you uable, dangerous. I already lost my family, I won't lose you and Pietro. But I guess you already knew what's in here." He tapped his forehead.

  "Couldn't you just trust me once? I'm not a little girl anymore," Wanda said, standing up. "I take care of myself. And I won't lose trol like that again."

  Mago watched her walk away. As she reached the doorway, he said softly, "Fine. Go. Fet Jean. I want you to focus on Aron. All the information we have on him is useless at this point. Iigate him. Find his weakness, strength, or any information that will help us uand his powers or his character. I want to know everything about him. And, be careful out there."

  "I'll try," Wanda said, walking out. The space around her began to ripple and she disappeared into thin air.

  Mago stared at the doorway, his expression unreadable. Theuro look at the chessboard, his eyes fixed on the white queen. It was a beautiful piece, carved from ivory and polished to a gleaming finish. He lifted it from its pd held it in his hand, admiring the craftsmanship. Then he rearrahe pieces on the board and moved them back to how they were before yed.

  "The pawns are in pce," He smiled and took the tiny device that was stuck at the back of his earlobe and pced it oable. It ecial device created by a certain someone who has high-level teology skills. It prevents the user from revealing his thoughts and masking them with fake ones. It works only on telepaths below Omega Level, but for Wanda, who has barely scratched the surface of her real power, it was enough to mislead her. "The bishops are ready, the knights are ready to ride. But to win a war..." He took the queen. "... you have to sacrifice everything. Even if it means losing your queen." He pced the white queen in front of the bck king and sighed. "I'm sorry, Wanda, but it has to be done."

  Magook out his phone and dialed a private number. After a few rings, an eerie female voiswered, "Yes?"

  "It's time," Mago said. "Pietro must die by Aron's hands. Do whatever it takes to e happens."

  "sider it dohe voice replied. "But you sure it's necessary?"

  "It's the only way to help Wanda unlock her true potential. Pietro's death will awakeent power, making her an unstoppable force. She'll bee reatest on against humanity and once chaos unfolds, you'll capture Rogue and brio me," Mago said with a smirk as he disected the call.

  ...

  [trol room]

  Mystique sat in the trol room. She kept an eye on Eric for some time now after notig a ge in him. She stared at the s as Mago's versation repyed in her mind. "Pietro must die." The words ed in her gut like poison. She had known Eric for years—had followed him through the darkest of paths—but this? This was different.

  She leaned ba her chair, her fingers drumming softly against the sole. For as long as she'd been by his side, she'd trusted his judgment, and believed in his vision of a mutant future. But sacrifig Pietro? A child she'd watched grow, a young man who still carried fragments of inno a world that had stripped them of so much? It was unthinkable.

  Mystique's fingers hovered over the sole keys. The work system gave her access to everything: unications, pns, files—even hidden files Maghought no one else could reach. She tapped a few keys, bringing up encrypted logs of ret activity. If she was going to act, she o uand the full scope of Mago's pns.

  As she sifted through the data, Mystique couldn't shake the feeling that Eric had been spiraling for some time now. The old Maghe one she had followed without hesitation—had a purpose, a fire that burned with crity and vi. But this Eric? He seemed ed by desperation, a man willing to destroy everything, even his own people, to achieve his goals.

  She opened a secured file. It tained a secured mail sent by someohrough an untraceable el: "Wanda's Awakening – Trigger Required: Signifit Personal Loss." Mystique felt her stomach twist. He wasn't just pnning Pietro's death—he was orchestrating it to manipute Wanda, to onize her grief, and to unleash the chaos he so desperately needed.

  Her fist ched. This wasn't the way. It couldn't be. She tried to track the sender but failed. Whoever sent the message must know ower. So, it's either someone who sense or see the tent power or someone very familiar with Wanda, like Hydra, who performed tless experiments on her before.

  'Could it be?!' Mystique's eyes wide the thought. 'But what does he want with Rogue?'

  She stood up and began walking around the room, the weight of the choice pressing down on her. If she stayed silent and allowed Mago's pn to unfold, Pietro would die, and Wanda would be broken in a way that could never be undone. But if she acted against Eric, she risked everything: his wrath, her position, the fragile unity of their cause.

  She thought of Pietro, his cocky grin and unyielding loyalty to his family. She thought of Wanda, struggling uhe weight of expectations and the power she barely uood. Then there was Rogue. Mystique remembered that lonely girl, who always kept her distance from others in fear of hurting them due to her power. "Sigh!" And thehought of Mago, the man she had once admired but now barely reized.

  Taking a deep breath, Mystique made her decision. She would not let Pietro die.

  Mystique knew she couldn't front Mago directly. He was too powerful, too deeply entrenched in his own narrative. So, the only one who came to her mind was Charles. After all, it was Charles who taught her how to use her powers, who showed her to use her power for something productive. If anyone could stop Eric, it was him.

  'I o get out of this isnd.'

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