Chapter 65: The Death of the Professor
Aiden couldn't deny the trepidation he felt due to Professor Xavier's presence, which stayed his trigger finger from carving a bloody path out of the clock tower, his usual method of escape. He believed that if a single bullet of his struck anyone within the tower, it would send the situation spiraling out of control. To the mutants, the Professor was more than a teacher; he was family, their patriarch.
Wiping his rain-soaked face, Aiden's thoughts sharpened with the chill, while the Professor's mind, conversely, seemed to descend into chaos.
Aiden harbored doubts; the Professor had always maintained the creed that entering another's mind without permission was a grave breach of etiquette—a principle he had voiced and lived by.
Yet, in facing Aiden, the Professor had forsaken hesitation and delved directly into Aiden's mind. Cyclops' words echoed with reason: no matter how hopeful and loving the Professor was toward the world, Aiden remained a demon drenched in blood—an indisputable fact.
Perhaps it was Aiden's unique experiences, his identity, and the Professor's desperate desire to redeem him that had led to this extraordinary breach.
But what none within the clock tower could have predicted was how this action would plunge the wise old man into an abyss. This was why Aiden, upon returning, had refrained from any rash moves. The always composed Professor now trembled violently, his eyes wide with disbelief, his hands clutching his bald head, muttering, "No, it's not like this, not..."
"Professor? Professor?" Storm, like a daughter to him, rushed to his side, kneeling, her face etched with panic as she grasped the elder's arm, trying to pull his hands from his head, fearing they might crush it.
"What have you done to him?" Storm demanded of Aiden when she couldn't halt the Professor's frenzied behavior.
No one could comprehend the Professor's state. The man of wisdom, always steady, had never been seen in such a state of panic, so lost, almost mad.
"I am, we all are, mere characters," the Professor whispered rapidly, his usually bright eyes now hollow, looking up at the ceiling, "I am fictional, created, I..."
Storm, drawn by the Professor's murmuring, leaned closer to catch his words but remained perplexed.
"Whatever you're doing, stop it now!" Cyclops, too, abandoned the command not to kill Aiden. When the Professor's safety was at stake, he'd rather face criticism and disappointment than allow any harm to come to him.
"My, my children," the Professor seemed to regain a shred of sanity, gently stroking Storm's white hair.
"Yes, I'm here, I'm right here," Storm replied, nodding eagerly, only to be met with the Professor's disappointed gaze.
"Professor, what's wrong with you? Let's go back, shall we? Back to the school?" Storm was shaken by the sight, unprepared for such a crisis, witnessing the strong-hearted Professor reveal such despondency.
At the mention of "school," the Professor's eyes grew more desolate, shaking his head vehemently, "No, it's all false. I am false, the children too..."
"All the pain and confusion I've experienced, every setback and hardship, they were assigned, predetermined."
"We've survived countless dangers, overcoming obstacle after obstacle, all part of a scripted story."
"All efforts, all emotions, they're all inconsequential. Erik, Raven, kinship, friendship, it's all an illusion..."
"I've died countless times and been resurrected just as many, brought back as long as I hold value, as long as the audience desires, the story rewritten to please."
"My painstaking efforts to save and empower the children, all leading to an outcome that never truly materializes."
"My beliefs, my goals, the upliftment of our kind, they're unattainable because they need this world, this backdrop for their plots..."
"My lifelong pursuit, it was fated, never to be realized."
"No matter the effort, it's futile, the future is pre-written..."
The Professor rambled like a madman, his words rapid and partly murmured internally, leaving listeners baffled.
Yet from his disjointed speech, Aiden gleaned crucial intelligence—the esteemed elder had realized something shocking.
The Professor's hands pressed fiercely against his temples, his body shaking violently, veins bulging, eyes bloodshot under the dark sky punctuated by lightning. His convulsing form momentarily stilled.
"Then, my goal, my faith, my life's pursuit—is it truly what I seek? The revitalization of our race, is it indeed my aim?"
When one's lifelong beliefs are questioned, when the convictions that have sustained them through suffering are shaken, when their very purpose is negated, no one can predict the outcome.
The Professor, who had devoted his life to the mutant cause, now faced an inconceivable reality: he couldn't discern whether the goal of "uplifting mutants" was truly his own or merely a narrative imposed upon his character. In a stunning twist, the once-vigorous man aged in an instant, his eyes, once full of wisdom, now empty, leaving only bloody tears—or were they tears at all?
Aiden, intellectually outmatched by the Professor, couldn't fathom the turmoil within. The elder, who had seen epochs, endured countless tales of life and death, couldn't contain the blood flowing from his eyes. His head, once raised, now drooped, his trembling ceased—perhaps into absolute stillness.
"Professor!? Professor!" Storm cried out in horror, shaking his shoulders, but there was no response.
"Ding!
Mission initiated: The Villain's Path - Novice.
Mission type: Chain.
Objective: Eliminate ten renowned heroes from the Marvel Universe.
Objective completed: The Professor.
Character verification: Mutant, pillar of the X-Men. Fits mission criteria.
Mission completion: 110%. Reward: 1 Orb."
"Ding!
System Check:
Deceased character: The Professor, mutant sovereign, supreme leader of the X-Men.
Reward: 1 Treasure Chest."
Dead? Just like that, dead?
Aiden could never have imagined the Professor dying simply because he couldn't accept the truth.
A vision flashed through Aiden's mind: the Professor, facing Deadpool, who knew all, bled from every orifice, his brilliant mind leading him to brain death amidst the massacre of the Marvel Universe.
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