From Today On, Only I May Stand Above

Cairo!

Inside the giant pyramid, the reincarnation ritual was underway. As the metal hexahedron rose into the air, streams of golden light began winding through every corner of the chamber.

Apocalypse and Charles lay side by side on stone beds, though not the same one.

As a villainous boss who saw himself as a god, Apocalypse was remarkably disciplined when it came to women. He killed a perfect woman like Mystique without hesitation. In that respect, he resembled Russell—he was not interested in men, either.

The golden streams spread to the stone bed beneath Charles. The unknown substance carrying Apocalypse's psychic power launched an all-out invasion.

It failed!

Apocalypse tried twice, yet failed to erase Charles's mental will. The strange situation left him deeply confused.

Though both possessed telepathy, Apocalypse and Charles displayed their abilities very differently. Charles could perceive others' thoughts and remotely control their brains, while Apocalypse focused more on invading and defending minds.

In attack mode, Apocalypse was invincible in a one-on-one fight. In group battles, though, Charles left him so far behind that he could not even see the taillights of a Star Destroyer.

And this time, he had lost even in a one-on-one contest!

Apocalypse was stunned. After several examinations, he finally found the reason for the failed invasion.

Another powerful psychic energy resided within Charles's brain. Its nature was identical to Charles's, but in both quality and quantity, it was far beyond anything Charles could compare to.

What surprised Apocalypse most was that this psychic energy could merge perfectly with Charles's. When mingled together, the two became completely indistinguishable.

Every time Apocalypse attempted reincarnation, his consciousness could not identify a fixed target and split into two streams, ultimately preventing him from taking Charles's body.

"Interesting!"

Apocalypse was extremely curious about the owner of this