At Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, the esteemed Lalia Azali serves as a dedicated teacher and is also this universe's Scarlet Witch. Endowed with formidable powers and a destiny she must face, Lalia confronts her fate amidst the school's hall...
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- Logan
I stood there, watching Lia lying on the lab bed, her chest rising and falling steadily. The Professor was beside me, his face a mask of concentration. He had sent Storm and Simon to comb the woods for any sign of trouble, while Scott and Jean locked down the school.
"Logan," the Professor said, breaking the silence. "I can't get inside her mind. There's a force blocking me. But her breathing is stable, and there are no external injuries."
I stepped closer to her, looking down at her pale face. "Is she gonna be okay?"
The Professor sighed. "Lalia Azali is one of the world's only and most powerful power wielders. Her potential is practically limitless. The Darkhold has pushed most of her conscious thoughts and feelings away, and therein lies the danger."
I frowned, trying to wrap my head around it. "What do you mean?"
"When I first brought her to our institution, I endeavored to impart upon her a degree of control over her burgeoning abilities, creating a dual personality. However, as she gradually transforms into the entity known as the Scarlet Witch, all that was once suppressed within her has now surged to the surface. The essence within her has not yet fully matured, but it is striving to manifest itself."
I glanced back at Lia, a knot tightening in my stomach as confusion washed over me. Turning to the Professor, I whispered, "What is a Scarlet Witch?"
The Professor sighed deeply, his eyes darkening with a glint of sorrow. He took a moment before he spoke, his tone grave and measured. "The Scarlet Witch is not just a title, Logan. It's a mantle of immense power and responsibility. She is a nexus being, one with the ability to alter reality itself. Her powers are derived from chaos magic, a force so ancient and unpredictable that it defies the natural laws of the universe. The Darkhold, the book of the damned, has awakened this power within her."
He paused, his gaze fixed on Lia's unconscious form. "In the lore of our world, the Scarlet Witch is a being forged through immense suffering and conflict. Her powers are both a gift and a curse, capable of creating life and destroying it with equal ease. She can manipulate time, warp reality, and bend the very fabric of existence to her will. But this power comes at a great cost. The more she uses it, the more she risks losing herself to the chaos within."
I clenched my fists, frustration bubbling up inside me. "So you knew she was going to turn into this? You knew the risks?"
The Professor met my gaze, his eyes heavy with unspoken regret. "I was aware of the potential, Logan. Yet, I placed my faith in her ability to master it, believing that her surroundings would not provoke such a transformation. However, with the Darkhold's influence now at play, it is imperative to determine whether the Lia before us remains the one we know, or if the artifact continues to corrupt her mind."
I glanced back at Lia, my instincts screaming that something was off. "She looks pretty peaceful to me."
"That's because I'm keeping her that way," the Professor responded, his voice steady but strained. "I'm creating psychic blocks to suppress her mind until we figure out how to extinguish the Darkhold's influence."
