Max floated upward, the dragon behind him letting out another silent roar that cracked the sky.
But then, with a simple gesture, Max dismissed the other Forces—keeping only one.
Dark Force.
"I only need one Force to deal with this newly awakened girl," Max said calmly.
Even if this Nightmare Woman had managed to inherit a rare Force like Annihilation, it was just a beginning. His comprehension of Dark Force was so refined—so absolute—it made even a high-grade force look elementary when used against him.
Apocalypse stumbled back, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"I… I forged the foundation of this world. I shattered empires with thought. How can someone barely in their twenties command so many Forces?"
Max chuckled.
"I didn't take them," he said. "They chose me."
He pointed toward the Nightmare Woman, still blazing with the raw, cosmic heat of Annihilation.
"You're not the only one the universe whispered to."
The Black Dragon behind him growled, pulling the light from the sky into its body, devouring it like divine fuel.
Across from him, the Black Lion beside the Nightmare Woman roared—a low, rumbling defiance that made the world hold its breath.
Two cosmic beasts.
Two Force-bearers.
One inevitable collision.
The ground shattered beneath them as the sky roared in anticipation.
The Black Dragon coiled around Max, tendrils of dark energy leaking from its wings like liquid void. Each flap twisted space itself, forming cracks in the clouds. Max's eyes gleamed—a calm, calculated glint—while his body pulsed with sheer gravitational pressure.
Across from him, the Black Lion prowled in a slow circle around the Nightmare Woman. Its mane burned with flickering stars, and its growl sounded like a collapsing sun. The Force of Annihilation radiated from her like a second sun gone dark—heatless, merciless, absolute.
And then—they moved.
CLASH.
A single step each. That was all it took.
The world ruptured.
Their powers collided mid-air—Dark Force crashing into Annihilation. The result was a silence so deep it sucked the sound out of existence. Then, like a rubber band snapping, reality screamed—a shockwave flattening the battlefield, flipping oceans, leveling entire cliff sides.
Max's fist met hers. Neither moved.
Then both were launched backwards, carving trenches through mountains as they steadied mid-air again.
Nightmare Woman smiled, blood trailing from her lip. "Not bad."
Max cracked his neck. "Still holding back."
The Lion roared and leapt—aiming for the Dragon's throat. The Dragon responded in kind, surging forward in a cosmic sprint. They collided mid-heaven, tearing through dimensions, shaking the core of the planet.
Meanwhile, Max and the Nightmare Woman blinked out of view—too fast to track. Blasts of Force erupted in all directions. Annihilation beams vaporized the sky, while Max's Dark Slices cut even the vacuum around them.
"STOP!!!" Max shouted suddenly, his voice booming across the battlefield like a cannon blast. Both forces stilled—darkness and annihilation halting mid-clash as if time itself obeyed him.
He looked around, scanning the scorched land, the torn sky, and the sea boiling beneath them. His expression hardened.
The Nightmare Woman frowned. "Why are you backing off now?"
She extended her palm again, her lion pacing restlessly beside her. "If you're scared, just say so. We can end it here."
"Shut up." Max growled. "I haven't given up on you. Not even close. But look around—this world can't handle what we're about to unleash."
She paused.
"The collision of two full Force-bearers…" Max continued, his voice calm but heavy, "If we truly go all out—Dark Force and Annihilation at full scale—this planet won't survive. Even I can't hold the fabric of this reality together if we go any further here."
The wind blew through the broken cliffs.
"Let's take this fight elsewhere," Max said. "Somewhere far from life. Somewhere we can cut loose without wiping out everything."
She blinked. Her expression softened slightly as she looked at Max, voice low and conflicted.
"You care about others... yet you're still planning to kill Apocalypse? Someone who, to us mutants, was like a savior."
Max looked at her, his expression unreadable.
"Do you think I can't care and still make hard choices?" he asked. "I've seen what happens when power blinds people—mutant or human. I know how our kind has been pushed, hunted, hated. But that doesn't make Apocalypse right."
She clenched her fists. "You speak like a human. Like a puppet playing by their rules."
"I'm not on their side," Max said firmly. "I'm not on anyone's side. That's why I built something different."
He floated a little closer, his tone lowering.
"That's why I made The Game—a space where anyone, mutant or not, could play, live, and rewrite their lives. A digital world where power is earned, not inherited. Where pain, gender, race, even death itself can be bypassed. Where people can truly be free."
Her eyes widened slightly. "You… created that for us?"
He nodded. "A total reality. Full sensory immersion. No limits. People can eat, sleep, feel joy, cry, fall in love… even fight gods. No discrimination. No fear. Just freedom."
She stared at him, the fire of her Annihilation Force flickering slightly.
"I wanted to give everyone—especially us—a second chance," Max continued. "But if Apocalypse survives and reignites a war between humans and mutants... all of that burns."
She looked down at the sea below, silent for a moment.
Then: "And if I refuse to let you kill him?"
Max's eyes narrowed.
"Then I'll do what I have to. Even if it means stopping you too."
A crack of energy trembled between them again.
The wind howled between them, energy from their opposing Forces causing ripples in the sky itself. The Black Dragon behind Max growled low, eyes glowing like twin eclipses. The Annihilation Lion beside her paced once more, its mane like flowing stardust and void.
She stared at Max for a long moment—conflicted, torn between rage and reason, between loyalty and truth.
"…Show me," she finally said.
Max blinked. "What?"
"Show me The Game." Her voice was calmer now, but still laced with challenge. "If you believe in this second chance so much… show me it's more than just pretty words and broken promises. Show me it's something even Apocalypse couldn't give us."
"You have alredy seen my game have you not?" Max asked confused.
***
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