Chapter 172 – Limits of a Realm Lord

[2009 – October]

"I- … He- … He healed me?", Celeste voiced out shocked, her thoughts drifting to the dark-haired young man whose powers seemed rather incomprehensible to her.

She knew that the reason for her sisters' death was a birth defect and she also knew that even though she had survived until now, her fate was already sealed. Or at least that was what she had thought.

Celeste didn't call for help to escape the Facility in hopes of living a long and peaceful life. She had done so to have a chance at keeping her promises to her sisters.

She had never expected to be 'cured', to have a life waiting for her.

Smiling gently, her mother who had woken up from her rest and seemed even more beautiful now, as well as a bit regal and more in control, replied: "Elijah just stabilized your condition and ensured that you can live normally as long as his power is active. Another mutant girl named Jean, who is his lover, will heal you completely in the future when her control over her own power is sufficient."

Celeste wanted to say something, try and put into words the immense gratitude that she felt, but in the end, she could only hold onto her mother's hand as she cried bitter tears.

She realized that she was truly saved now, the dark clouds that had pressed down on her mind and suppressed her hope vanishing under the tyrannical might of a dark-haired young man. The relief that she felt was nearly overwhelming as she finally felt truly free, the shackles of her unnatural birth lifted from her delicate shoulders.

And yet, her heart couldn't help but ache, the grief that she had held in at the loss of her sisters washing over her violently.

Celeste knew that it was too late now but knowing that there existed someone that could have saved them just made their deaths seem even more tragic.

…

Softly brushing through the silken strands of blonde hair, Emma stood by the bedside of her crying daughter as she tried to console her as best as she could.

She knew very well that sometimes being saved was more painful than being tortured and abused. Because only now that she was truly safe, did all the pain and sorrow that had been suppressed in Celeste's heart come crashing down on her.

"You're safe now.", Emma whispered lovingly, "No one will ever hurt you again."

She didn't know if Celeste heard her or not as the girl just kept crying in a heart-breaking manner. But it didn't matter either way as Emma didn't plan to leave her side and just kept soothing her with words that she wished someone had said to her in the past.

…

Having parted ways with Laura after she had woken up and they had gone back to the mansion, I descended underground to the training area and walked to one of the training rooms that Jean used regularly.

Ignoring the handprint scanner that served as a lock for the room, I just used an ethereal shield around my body to shift the frequency of my molecules into a range that allowed me to just pass through the alloy door that had hermetically sealed the training room.

And what greeted my sight was a world of fire that could turn a normal human to ash in seconds. The flames had a light purplish tint to them while they also shifted from brighter colours to darker ones.

It was a beautiful spectacle for those that were strong enough to survive looking at it. It was also rather obvious that this was no normal fire.

My gaze passed through the layers of flames as my eyes lit up with a white light, and I could see Jean sitting in the middle of the training room, near-corporal flames around her that made her look as if a pair of fire wings extended from her back and was wrapped around her lithe form.

Unbothered by the cosmic flames, I moved through the field of fire as my body absorbed whatever flame came into contact with it, not only storing the immense energy within my Energy Vessel but also filling up the metaphysical reserves that served as the source of my Self-Creation.

Naturally, this was only possible as Jean did not intend to hurt me since I could not withstand the true might of the Phoenix' flames even as a Realm Lord. Though, at this point in time, my lovely redhead couldn't yet summon such strong flames by herself, so what I saw was a mere shadow compared to true phoenix flames.

To be even more specific, I was also just the Realm Lord of this Universe's Darkforce Dimension.

Compared to the Dark Dimension, which was a dimension that existed beyond time and space, being an extra-dimensional realm of much much greater power than the Darkforce Dimension, my power was naturally inferior to Dormammu's, even though we both were Realm Lords.

In a way, the Darkforce Dimension was restricted in its growth as it was a secondary dimension that was tied to this Universe's space-time while the Dark Dimension was not.

So, while I had the full might of a dimension within my grasp, I was very clear on my level of strength on the scale of all realities. Jean for example was the Phoenix's incarnation, the nexus of psionic energy of all realities, while the Phoenix Force was an entity that stood above the Infinite Multiverse.

I had ascended from a mortal lifeform and my strength was incredible compared to most living beings in this Universe but that didn't mean that I didn't still have a long way to go.

This though was a rather comforting thought as it told me that my journey and the pursuit of my dreams was not yet over, it had barely even begun.

My thoughts shifting, I reached deep within my soul activating a power that I had gained after fusing with the nexus core of the Darkforce Dimension, my physical form turning into wisps of abyssal smoke and shadows that were a manifestation of pure Darkforce.

I shapeshifted into a large black nebulous Chinese dragon and coiled around Jean, her flames and my darkness turning into a shadowy firestorm that covered the whole room.

Cosmic fire and life-devouring darkness, our energies did not interfere with each other as they flowed and tangled around one another in gentle harmony.

Partially opening my mind to her, I let her sense my surface thoughts as I rested by her side, part of my focus diving into the Darkforce Dimension as I planned to meet a rather special 'squatter'.

…

Jean couldn't help but smile to herself as she felt Elijah's presence all around her, his smokey draconic form protectively coiled around her seated figure as she trained her fine control over the cosmic flames that represented the Phoenix Force's greatest strength.

He didn't say anything but she could feel the quiet joy that he felt at being around her, which was more meaningful than a great many words could ever hope to be.

She knew that Elijah didn't like other people sensing his thoughts but when around her, he sometimes removed parts of his mental shield, knowing that she was as much a being that lived on the psychic plane as she lived in the physical world.

Her telepathy was part of her, her psychic senses many times more sensitive than her physical ones. Feeling his presence with her mind and his thought with her own thoughts, it was a kind of intimacy that only telepaths could understand.

Her love understood this and opened himself up to her, something he did for no one else.

Sending him a wave of deep affection and longing as well as the telepathic equivalent of a kiss, Jean laughed softly as she felt his wild and possessive passion that rumbled through the psychic connection in response.