Against a colossal beast like this, human strength was so insignificant. Charles could already imagine what would happen next: seawater would engulf this beautiful nation, and an entire civilization would be destroyed.
So was an ordeal like this what had turned Qiqi into what she was now?
Charles could not help speculating.
But when he looked through Qiqi's eyes, he noticed something he had overlooked all along.
Directly above the enormous sea beast floated a small mountain, with what appeared to be an elaborately decorated building perched upon it.
Charles wanted to confirm what it was. Current human technology could not possibly support a building in midair. But if it was not a building, what principle allowed that mountain to hover in the sky?
He had no time to investigate. A dazzling golden light suddenly burst from the floating structure, shooting into the heavens, tearing through the dark clouds, piercing the cloud cover, and illuminating the entire sky.
Rumble!
A tremendous rumbling came from the floating building. Then the entire structure, together with the mountain beneath it, seemed to lose whatever energy held it aloft and plummeted straight toward the vicious beast in the sea.
Boom!
A deafening crash rang out. Towering waves churned, fierce winds howled, and the powerful shock wave from the explosion drove the beast's body toward the seabed.
The wretched beast was still struggling in the water. It tried to rise out of the sea, but no matter what it did, it could not succeed.
Roar!
In an instant, the beast sank beneath the sea, consumed by resentment and unwillingness to accept defeat.
Charles had never expected such a turn of events. For a sea beast capable of destroying everything to meet its end this way was truly beyond his expectations.
The sky cleared, and sunlight shone upon the ground once more. This beautiful city, this fantastical nation, had survived the crisis with a fright but no lasting harm.
Once the sea beast no longer posed a threat, Qiqi seemed to lose interest in the gradually calming waters. She shifted the arms she had braced on top of the wall, apparently considering how to climb down from its lofty edge.
It was rather steep here. It would be bad if she fell.
When Qiqi had climbed onto the wall, Charles had only thought it was a little high. Now that the little girl was preparing to descend, he finally realized just how dangerous this spot was for her.
Although he knew she was no ordinary girl, Qiqi had already exhausted her strength earlier. Charles felt the little hand in his field of vision slip, and his entire viewpoint plunged downward.
Charles inwardly cried out in alarm, but as a mere observer, he could do nothing.
Oh no! She fell!
"Solid as a rock."
Something unexpected happened.
A steady, composed voice rang out, and after a jolt, the scene before Charles's eyes came to a halt.
He could see the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. That meant Qiqi had not reached the ground but had stopped in midair. What was going on?
Charles was filled with confusion.
Only as Qiqi sat up did he discover that the little girl had been lying atop a towering rock.
Fortunately, the rock beneath her had caught her. Otherwise, Qiqi would surely have been hurt.
But why had he not noticed such a massive rock here before?
Charles remembered it clearly. There had been no rock along the route Qiqi had taken to climb the wall.
While he was puzzling over it, the little girl stood up on the rock.
That single movement allowed Charles to see everything beneath her feet.
It was nothing like what he had imagined.
He had assumed the rock had a broad surface, since Qiqi had been able to lie on it with her entire body. But that was not the case.
The rock had an exceptionally regular shape, as though someone had deliberately measured and cut it. Within its dark stone ran veins of a deep, steady gold, glittering in the sunlight.
The rock had sharply defined edges and continuously radiated golden light. That light surrounded the entire formation in a grid, while a powerful aura emanated from it without cease, making Charles's heart pound involuntarily.
"Do you need help?"
It was him. Charles's heart tightened.
It was the man who had spoken a moment ago.
Hearing his voice, Qiqi looked in a certain direction, finally allowing Charles to see what the man looked like.
With such a mature, steady voice, he had expected a middle-aged man. Yet the voice did not quite match its owner. In terms of age, he looked far too young.
The young man's hair gradually shifted from dark brown at the crown to a sunset orange at the tips. Such an unconventional, bold hair color was something only the young would dare to try.
That was what the bald Professor Charles thought.
Yet this unusual color looked perfectly harmonious on the young man, perhaps because the shading at the corners of his eyes matched his hair.
But all of that was secondary. What made it hardest for Professor Charles to look away was the young man's pair of sharp, soul-piercing golden eyes.
A single glance made his soul tremble.
What kind of eyes were those? It was as though an awakened dragon lurked within them. Once they fixed upon someone, death was certain.
Those eyes were as keen as a pair of swords, leaving no way to evade them.
As Charles gazed into those eyes, he felt a faint, stabbing pain in his consciousness.
Who was this man, to possess eyes like these?
This man was anything but ordinary, Charles thought.
"Mm, Qiqi... has no strength left."
Standing at the edge of the towering rock, the little girl lowered her head and answered the man.
The young man seemed to know Qiqi, and his tone held a degree of familiarity.
"In that case, allow me to lend you a hand, my young friend."
The moment he finished speaking, the young man darted forward. Charles could not even make out his movements before Qiqi's feet were already on the ground.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhongli."
Qiqi thanked him.
"No need to thank me. It was a simple matter. But why did you climb that high wall, my young friend?"
The man looked at Qiqi as he asked.
"Because Qiqi wanted to see the sea."
"Mr. Zhongli, what was... in the sea?"
Qiqi curiously raised a finger and pointed toward the other side of the wall as she asked.
Charles, too, listened intently, eager to hear the answer.
"He is Osial, Overlord of the Vortex. During the Archon War, Morax pinned him beneath the sea with stone spears."
Zhongli spoke unhurriedly.
"Today, Osial broke through the seal and attempted to return to the mortal world. It appears, however, that his plan has already failed."
Charles committed every word Zhongli said to memory. There was an enormous amount of information in that statement.
He had never imagined that such a formidable beast could be subdued. It left him deeply curious about the Morax Zhongli had mentioned.
What were these gods Zhongli spoke of? Were they all like Osial and Morax, each possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth?
Only at that moment did Professor Charles become certain that Qiqi was not a mutant, as they had originally suspected. Everything he had witnessed in her memories went beyond his understanding.
She did not belong to their world.
Charles's thoughts ran wild. The scenes and people within these memories were so real that he could not suppress his desire to investigate.
Perhaps everything he had just learned was too shocking, or perhaps his intense curiosity about this unknown world drove him on. Whatever the reason, Charles could not resist extending a thread of psychic power outward.
Yet the instant his psychic power touched the boundary of the memory, Zhongli, who had been speaking gently with Qiqi, paused. His gaze suddenly changed.
"Who dares?"
Charles's head rang. An overwhelming force struck him head-on. Before he could even resist, his consciousness was immediately hurled out of Qiqi's memories.
And that was not all.
In the real world, before he could even cry out in pain, he slumped limply in his chair.
This startled the X-Men around him and the watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Professor!"
"Professor Charles!"
"The professor has passed out!"
"Quick! Get a doctor!"
Before you continue