Ahmed's body swelled almost beyond his control, transforming into the pitch-black Life Stele in the blink of an eye.
He let out a roar, hurried out of the basement housing the cultivation pod, then bolted outside in a blind panic.
Ahmed could not control himself at all. Wisps of energy kept burrowing into his body, and as he ran toward the outskirts of X Academy, the Life Stele continued to grow.
"No, no! Master, what happened?! Why am I losing control?!"
Seeing everyone from X Academy gather around him with concern in their eyes, the Life Stele used the last shred of his lucid strength to roar at them.
"Stop me! You have to stop me! Stay away if you're weak! I'm dangerous!"
Ten meters, twenty meters, thirty meters.
The Life Stele's size instantly surpassed Charles's castle, and he kept growing.
"What's going on?"
"No idea. We can't reach Brad!"
"Stop him first! What's left of Ahmed's consciousness is still making him run away, but if he goes any farther, he'll destroy the city!"
The X-Men assembled at once and took off in the Blackbird to pursue the fleeing Life Stele.
Meanwhile, in a remote laboratory in the United States, Clone 4-a perfect, full-scale replica of Brad's original body-stood up.
Clone 4 replicated Brad's current physical state. He had likewise been injected with the Human Optimization Serum and undergone the modifications that made his body half metal.
Moreover, he had no awareness that he was a clone, and certain key emotions were impaired.
Brad had done all of this deliberately.
But through Consciousness Transfer Technology, he possessed almost all of Brad's memories and emotions. With the other three bodies asleep, he was Brad!
Brad shook his head in confusion. He remembered uploading the final program for the Planetary Modification Project