Marvel: Death Knight

The area near the factory was still suffused with residual energy—a unique trace left behind by Apocalypse's teleportation.

In truth, a Death Knight's Death Gate could be opened even without pre-set markers, provided the user possessed sufficient mental fortitude to sense spatial coordinates and execute the teleportation.

The ground began to tremble violently, and in the distance, near the direction of Auschwitz, dust and debris swirled into the sky, mingled with fragments of buildings.

Magneto, Erik Lensherr. His power had grown immensely under Apocalypse's tutelage.

The combination of Apocalypse and Magneto posed a significant challenge for them. Adding Storm, Angel, and Psylocke—all formidable mutants in their own right—complicated matters further.

Suddenly, a portal shimmered into existence before them. Garus felt a surge of excitement; he had merely attempted to open it experimentally, yet his enhanced abilities allowed him to summon a Death Gate without relying on preset markers.

On the other side of the portal was Logan's location. Before arriving in this world, Garus had placed a mark on Logan's soul. He knew that after the events of Days of Future Past, Logan had been swept into the river and subsequently retrieved by Stryker.

Using his connection to the mark, Garus successfully opened the Death Gate.

"I'll head off first. Wait for me in Cairo, but stay safe," Garus instructed. The portal wasn't stable enough to allow everyone to pass through, so he decided to go alone.

As Garus disappeared into the Death Gate, Pietro sighed in resignation.

The moment Garus stepped through the Death Gate, a guttural, beast-like growl echoed nearby.

It came from a massive iron cage. Logan was inside, and Garus could sense the mark's energy radiating from within.

Observing the machinery nearby, Garus fiddled with a few controls. The iron door creaked open, and Logan, seemingly awakened, tore through the chains binding him and burst out of the cage.

Meanwhile, in the control room, the monitoring staff watched as alarms blared on their screens. Seeing the experimental X-Weapon escape and an unfamiliar intruder nearby, one of them urgently reported to Colonel Stryker:

"Colonel, the X-Weapon has broken loose!"

Stryker's previously composed expression darkened. "Damn it! Stop him immediately and bring him back!"

Some events seemed inevitable. In this alternate world, Logan had still become Weapon X, subjected to experiments that infused his body with adamantium.

"Move! Don't let him escape!" Stryker's orders sent squads of soldiers rushing toward the lab.

On the other side, Garus intercepted Logan, who had lost all memories of his former self. When Logan saw the unfamiliar figure, his primal instincts took over. Unsheathing his claws, he lunged at Garus with a feral snarl.

"Clang!" The sound of metal colliding rang out as Garus's sword blocked Logan's strike.

Chains of Ice.

Frosted chains materialized out of thin air, snaking around Logan and immobilizing him. The ice crawled upward, locking him in place.

"Calm down," Garus said, his voice steady. "Once you've settled, I'll figure out a way to help you recover your memories."

Summoning a ghoul, Garus had it dismantle the machinery still attached to Logan. Despite Logan's grimace, the ghoul hoisted him onto its back. If Logan's stomach wasn't already empty, the stench of rotting flesh would have undoubtedly made him vomit.

As they exited the lab, they encountered squads of soldiers who had arrived to intercept them.

"Open fire!" the lead officer commanded without hesitation, aiming at the ghoul with his weapon.

Ping, ping, ping! The bullets ricocheted harmlessly off an ice wall that had suddenly appeared in front of the ghoul.

Facing dozens of armed soldiers, Garus invoked the power of blood, seizing control of the very lifeblood within their bodies.

"Aargh!" The soldiers screamed as blood seeped from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Their veins seemed to boil from within.

Splat! Splat! Blood vessels burst, and crimson fountains sprayed through the air, filling the corridor with the metallic scent of blood.

Back in the monitoring room, Colonel Stryker's unease deepened as he watched the carnage. He wondered if anyone in the facility could stop this intruder.

After eliminating the soldiers, Garus lingered instead of leaving immediately. Rescuing Logan was only part of his mission; he also intended to locate the captured X-Men.

Elsewhere in the base, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, and Scott Summers were stealthily searching for their captured comrades.

"Someone's ahead!" At a corner, Jean alerted the group to Garus, who was engaged in battle with the base's guards.

As Garus dispatched the last soldier and approached them, Jean hastily used her telepathic abilities to obscure their presence from his perception.

"Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Scott Summers?" Garus asked, his eyes narrowing as he noticed the trio standing motionless in the shadows.

Jean gasped. "You can see us?"

Realizing the situation, Nightcrawler prepared to teleport them away. But Garus quickly called out, "Wait!"

With a wave of his hand, Garus enveloped Nightcrawler in a field of necrotic energy, disrupting his connection to the external world.

Nightcrawler's teleportation flickered and failed, leaving the group still rooted in place.

As Scott raised his hand toward his ruby quartz visor, ready to attack, Garus interjected:

"I'm not your enemy. I know your professor, Charles Xavier."

Professor Xavier should recognize him, right? They had met in the future.

Hearing this, Jean hesitated. She was about to speak when a voice suddenly echoed in their minds:

"Listen, everyone in this world. This is my warning to you..."

"What's going on?" Nightcrawler looked around, startled, but found no one else nearby.

Jean, however, recognized the voice immediately. Though it had changed slightly, she could still identify it.

"It's the professor," she murmured.

Seeing their bewildered expressions, Garus asked, "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear that voice? The one in our minds?" Jean asked.

Garus shook his head. He recalled that this must be Apocalypse using Charles' abilities to broadcast a telepathic message to everyone. However, his own mind was shielded by the system, leaving him unaffected.

The world was descending into chaos. Earlier, all intercontinental missiles and nuclear warheads had been launched skyward, rendered useless as they disintegrated into scrap metal. Now, someone had invaded the minds of everyone on the planet. World leaders and defense ministers alike immediately suspected mutants. Would this fragile peace be shattered again after over a decade?

Scott and Nightcrawler's expressions were filled with fear. They recalled the devastation that had occurred previously, where the entire academy was destroyed in an instant.

Meanwhile, Jean detected another, more subtle voice within the message. It whispered:

"Jean, if you can hear this, focus on my voice. Cairo. Find us..."

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