Russell was the first to step into the Rune Array Apocalypse had created.
Golden microscopic forces and blazing white ancient energy flowed across each other on either side of the passage. The world around him stretched into streams of color rushing past.
One instant, he saw a blue sea. The next, rolling clouds. Then the surface of an unrecognizable celestial body.
His sense of time stretched and warped inside the passage, as though he were crossing not just space but folds in time.
When the ground felt solid beneath his feet again, Russell found himself beneath an entirely different sky.
It was deep purple, with faint silver patterns glowing through the clouds, like traces left by some vast cycle of energy.
The concentration of energy particles in the air was more than four times that on Earth's surface. Every breath brought a faint electric sting through his nose and lungs.
Emerald grass spread beneath his feet. Its blades swayed without wind, giving off tiny golden sparks like fireflies.
And before him stood a city.
White buildings climbed the mountainside, low but densely packed. Their surfaces bore the same silver patterns, as though covered in a living material that conducted energy and breathed slowly.
All kinds of people walked the streets, dressed in clothing spanning thousands of years. Some wore white robes from ancient Egypt, some heavy medieval armor, and others modern hoodies and jeans. A few even wore tight suits resembling starship uniforms.
Their faces and skin tones differed, but deep in their Genes, every one of them carried the same distinctive signature.
Mutants. Every last one of them was a Mutant, with an active X-Factor.
Professor X emerged from the Portal in his hovering wheelchair and set foot on land he had never visited before. As he slowly looked