Chapter 133: The Phoenix Force

"Can you sense its existence?"

Jean Grey’s originally calm expression gradually turned shocked.

"Of course I can."

Nina glanced at Jean Grey’s hand on her shoulder, then closed her eyes. "I can feel that she’s a little angry, a little lonely, and a little hungry."

"Can you control her?"

Orion Cross walked up behind Nina, held her swaying body steady, and asked.

"No... she’s too big. I can’t hold her... I can only... touch her head."

Nina kept her eyes tightly shut and shook her head.

"What are you doing? What’s happening to Nina?"

When Magneto heard strange words coming from his daughter’s mouth, he could not help asking.

"Nina’s advanced ability should be control over all birds, including birds in an abstract sense."

Orion Cross glanced at Jean Grey, who was in a dazed state, and explained to Magneto.

"Her power is a bird?"

Magneto looked at Jean Grey in astonishment, finding it somewhat hard to believe.

After all, among mutant abilities such as controlling metal, mind control, and firing energy beams, an ability related to "birds" really did not sound particularly impressive.

"I’ve had nightmares ever since I was little. In those dreams, there was a very large bird. It carried a destructive power like flames and destroyed everything I saw."

Jean Grey listened to Orion Cross and Magneto’s conversation and spoke in a low voice.

"Flame brought life to the universe, and in the end, it will also destroy it. That is the Phoenix Force, a primal force of the universe."

Orion Cross looked at Jean Grey as she slowly raised her head toward him and explained calmly. "The power in your body is only a fragment of the Phoenix Force. It chose you as its host."

"Of course, perhaps this fragment is the only one in this entire universe."

After saying that, Orion Cross added another sentence.

"You know about it? Why did it choose me?"

Seeing that Orion Cross actually knew the source of her nightmares, Jean Grey immediately asked anxiously.

Her current expression looked very much like someone being targeted by a creep, then saying, "What do you like about me? I’ll change it, all right?"

"The Phoenix Force represents the life and emotions of all things in the universe. She likes hosts with psychic abilities."

Orion Cross pointed at Jean Grey’s head and said.

"Psychic abilities? You mean telepathy and mind control like Charles?"

Magneto frowned and asked.

"That’s right."

Seeing Magneto’s expression, Orion Cross nodded.

He knew this guy was definitely wondering why, since Charles was clearly the strongest when it came to psychic abilities, the Phoenix Force had not chosen his old friend.

"So in the end, everything still comes down to the fact that I’m a mutant?"

Jean Grey felt somewhat bitter. She had originally thought there might be a way to escape the nightmare, or at least find a little hope. In the end, she had not expected the source of everything to still be because she was a mutant.

"But you’re very lucky. You met Nina."

"Nina?"

Jean Grey came back to her senses and looked at the little girl in front of her. "Your name is Nina?"

"Mm."

Nina took a step back and nodded cautiously.

After all, she was still only a child, and her ability had only just awakened. The Phoenix Force’s shadow in Jean Grey’s mind had frightened her just now.

"I won’t hurt you..."

When Jean Grey saw the fearful look Nina gave her, she smiled bitterly and wanted to explain. But when she thought about how she could not control herself at all, she could only close her mouth and say nothing more.

"Nina, you can choose to help her."

Magneto walked up behind his daughter, held her body steady, and said.

"I... what should I do?"

Hearing her father say this, Nina bit her lower lip and asked.

Magneto had only just learned from Orion Cross what the Phoenix Force was, so naturally, he had no way of knowing what to do. He could only turn his gaze toward Orion Cross.

"Nina, your ability is still in its newborn stage. It isn’t enough to control the Phoenix yet. You can try to soothe her and calm her down."

Orion Cross thought for a moment, then spoke to Nina.

"Soothe her?"

Nina shrank her little head slightly and asked carefully, "How do I soothe her?"

She was very worried that everyone would think she was stupid. Back at school, if she kept asking the teacher questions like this, she would already have been scolded.

"Have you ever raised a kitten or a puppy? Just like patting their heads."

Orion Cross glanced at Magneto, then said to Nina.

"We’ve never raised things like that."

Magneto directly answered Orion Cross’s question for his daughter.

"In that case, I can only do it personally."

Orion Cross sighed softly, then crouched down and extended a hand toward Nina. "Nina, place your left hand on mine, and use your right hand to hold hers."

"My name is Jean. Jean Grey. I’m a student here."

Jean Grey took the chance to introduce herself.

"My name is Orion Cross. I’m a dimensional traveler. He is your headmaster’s best bro."

Orion Cross pointed at Magneto and said.

"Best... bro?"

Jean Grey looked at Orion Cross in confusion. Had she heard that wrong?

"Yes, what he said is right."

Raven smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Stop talking. We’re starting!"

Magneto was just about to speak up and explain himself, but Orion Cross interrupted him with a serious expression and pointed at the place where their linked hands met.

So-called Ascended beings used the Solar Disc to "steal" Aurelion Sol’s power, forging immortality with a mortal body.

Orion Cross’s hyperdimensional magic extracted the power of Dimensional Demon Gods. In essence, it was a "superior Ascended" several levels higher.

That was also why Orion Cross’s Ascended form was not limited to one type. The form of the Desert Emperor was only one of them.

When fighting against Zeus and the others within Shazam’s power, Orion Cross had also transformed into the Ascended form of the Darkin Blade Demon.

Of course, Orion Cross could transform into any Ascended form he was able to simulate because the energy of Ascended beings originally came from Aurelion Sol, while his own status was above Aurelion Sol.

Therefore, if an Ascended being’s original ability before the Ascension Ritual had not been sublimated, then Orion Cross could not obtain it.

For example, Mystique Raven. After her Ascension Ritual, the ability she gained was not a direct enhancement of her original transformation ability.

Instead, it added a special effect on top of her transformation ability. After transforming, she could extract the abilities of already-dead counterparts from other dimensions.

So even if Orion Cross could simulate Mystique’s Ascended mode, the ability he would obtain would only be the latter. Without the cooperation of transformation itself, it was basically useless.

But Nina was different. The enhancement she obtained was not an additional attachment. Instead, it directly strengthened her originally weak ability by a massive degree, turning it into the power of a rule.

Controlling ordinary birds and controlling all birds, including mythical and abstract existences, were two things that could not be placed on the same level at all.

That also meant Nina’s strengthened ability had been copied by Orion Cross.

Boom!

Orion Cross held Nina’s hand with his right hand, and after simulating her Ascended mode, a surging flame instantly wrapped around his consciousness.

In a pale space, Orion Cross, Nina, and Jean Grey stood within it.