Jean was sitting in a chair in the mansion's cafeteria while Scott brought her a glass of water.
It was still the middle of the night, and Jean remained wrapped in her blanket, afraid that the "four-eyed monster" would come and do to her what it had done in her dream.
Which made it even stranger.
She hadn't dreamed in years—only darkness.
But tonight… she dreamed.
Or rather—
A nightmare.
"Jean, now that you're calm, can you explain what happened? You made the entire mansion shake just now."
Scott spoke gently as he stood beside her, trying to comfort her.
He looked about seventeen, wearing his signature visor with faint red lenses. Around 1.81 meters tall, with a well-built physique.
But none of that helped.
Jean could still vividly remember the sensation—
Being torn apart.
Cut into hundreds of pieces.
The worst part?
There was no pain.
Just instant death.
No words.
No sound.
Only that overwhelming, final snap.
"I-I dreamed that I was being consumed by an incredibly painful fire… it hurt so much, but I couldn't wake up… and the more I endured it, the worse it got…"
She trembled.
"Then I saw another version of myself in the flames… almost… happy that I was burning… and then suddenly the fire disappeared and… h-he…"
She couldn't finish.
Her body curled in on itself as the memory returned—
The ease with which he killed her.
"It's okay, Jean. None of that is real. It was just a dream… come here."
Ororo stepped in, her voice calm and warm, pulling Jean into a comforting embrace.
With her silver-white hair and dark skin, she looked almost ethereal. Her tall frame—1.91 meters—only made her presence more reassuring.
Jean, much smaller at 1.68 meters, was practically buried in the embrace.
Like a child being comforted by a mother.
Slowly…
Jean began to calm down.
"I remember… he didn't cut me with a weapon… it was just a snap… and in a second, I was reduced to pieces… I didn't even have time to react… or say anything…"
Her voice trembled.
"It was terrifying."
Ororo gently stroked her back.
"It's alright, child. This 'four-eyed monster' doesn't exist. It was only a nightmare."
"…Yeah… you're right, Ororo… maybe I've just been too stressed lately."
With Ororo's reassurance, Jean nodded weakly and made her way back to her room.
When she arrived, she found Kitty—her roommate and longtime friend—waiting.
"Jean! I was really worried about you. I wanted to go after you, but every time I got close, you threw me back with your powers."
"I'm sorry about that, Kitty… my nightmare was really bad… I… I'd rather not talk about it."
Kitty looked at her for a moment—
Then understood.
"…Okay."
She didn't press further, simply returning to bed.
Jean, exhausted from crying, lay down shortly after, hoping to get at least some rest before the mission.
—
The next day.
Jean, Scott, Kitty, Kurt, and Rogue stood in an underground section of the mansion, facing three figures.
Ororo.
Xavier.
And Hank.
Xavier looked tired, dark circles under his eyes.
Hank stood tall and broad—1.85 meters—covered in blue fur, with sharp, prominent fangs.
Kurt looked similar, though smaller, with a tail and glowing yellow eyes.
Rogue had a gothic appearance, less curvy than Jean, but just as striking.
"Today, you're going on a very important mission."
Xavier began.
"You will go to New York to investigate an explosion of a dangerous and powerful energy—one that can be easily detected by those with psychic abilities."
He continued explaining the plan.
"This mission will be different. No X-Men uniforms—only civilian clothing. You must not draw attention."
"Ororo will accompany you for safety. Unfortunately, no one else is available. Everyone is occupied with other missions."
He paused.
"But don't be discouraged. I trust you will locate the source."
Normally, Xavier would be more cautious.
But this situation was different.
The energy had already "exploded" once.
It could happen again.
"And remember—do not engage. Do not interact with the source. Your objective is to locate it, not approach it. It is extremely dangerous."
Everyone nodded.
As a final step, Hank handed Scott a small tablet-like device.
"This tracks unnatural energy signatures. It should help… though I'm not sure how effective it will be. This energy has never been detected before."
"Good luck."
—
After the briefing, they boarded the Blackbird and headed toward New York.
During the flight, everyone talked casually.
Not because they weren't worried—
But because this wasn't a combat mission.
It was reconnaissance.
And they were still teenagers.
So despite the tension…
There was excitement.
A "trip."
Ororo didn't interrupt the mood.
She knew how hard they trained.
A little relief wouldn't hurt.
—
Soon, Ororo activated the Blackbird's camouflage mode and landed in a secluded park, well hidden from sight.
As soon as they stepped out, Scott spoke first.
"Alright, we'll split into two teams."
"Me, Jean, and Kurt."
"Ororo, Rogue, and Kitty."
Ororo raised an eyebrow slightly—surprised—but nodded.
It was efficient.
Scott was stepping into leadership.
That was good.
Kitty, however, looked immediately disappointed at being grouped with the "teacher."
Seeing that, Ororo smiled gently.
"I can't give you a full break… but I can let you have a little fun."
"It's better than nothing."
Kitty perked up slightly, though still a bit sulky.
Rogue, as usual, didn't seem to care.
With the teams set, Scott handed Ororo the device, and they split up.
—
As Jean's team searched, Scott tried to stay focused.
Tried.
Because Kurt—
Now using a holographic disguise—
Kept distracting him every few seconds.
And every time—
Scott had to pull himself back to the mission.
But the only one staying fully focused was Jean. Even when Kurt tried to talk to her, she only responded that she was sensing something, refusing to let herself get distracted from the mission.
The more they walked, the less Jean believed she would actually find anything.
But the moment they turned a corner—
An overwhelming pressure crashed down on her.
Jean dropped to her knees, nearly passing out.
Desperate, she looked around, trying to locate the source of that pressure—until she spotted a police-restricted alley.
It was there.
Not exactly the origin… but she had finally found the energy.
And that alone made it easier to trace where it was coming from.
When Scott and Kurt saw Jean collapse, they immediately rushed to her side.
"Jean, are you okay? What happened? Why did you fall?"
"I found it."
Hearing that, both of them tensed up and followed her gaze toward the alley.
Jean, being more sensitive to emotions and psychic-like energies, slowly stood up and began walking toward the crime scene.
The closer she got—
The more she understood what she was dealing with.
It was negative emotion.
Compressed to an extreme degree.
So much that it had transformed into something else entirely—something that was no longer intangible, but physical.
If she had to describe it…
Just the amount she was sensing was enough to drive half of New York into deep depression.
But the strange part—
Even though it was made of negative emotions, even though it was clearly unstable and aggressive…
It wasn't attacking anyone.
It just lingered there.
Like a scent clinging to someone.
"That's strange."
Jean and the group quickly passed by the scene to avoid drawing attention from the police.
Once they were far enough, she spoke again, resting her hand on her chin in thought.
"What is it, Jean? Did something happen?"
"It's weird. That energy should be aggressive—it should be attacking the officers. But instead… it's just ignoring them and staying still."
Kurt frowned, scratching his head.
"Is the energy… alive?"
"No. It's just energy. But it should react—like a toaster in a bathtub, hitting everything around it. But for some reason… it doesn't."
Jean didn't know yet that, despite having real power, cursed energy needed intent to truly act.
"Let's go. I can feel a few more points across the city where this energy is present. Let's investigate."
The group continued moving, checking each location where Jean sensed that same energy.
Each place—
A spot where Alex had lost control…
Or used cursed energy.
But even after visiting every single location, they found nothing.
Not even a clue.
And in many of those places, access was restricted, forcing them to retreat.
At least—
There had been no fights.
Kurt was already fed up.
They had walked all over the city and found nothing, and on top of that, nothing interesting had even happened.
All because Scott and Jean were chasing this so-called "ENERGY."
Eventually, they reached the last location.
An old, abandoned smelting factory, far from everything.
"I don't know, Jean… this place looks haunted. Or like the final boss room. Not a good idea."
"It's fine, Kurt. I'm using my telepathy to scan the area. I'm not sensing anything."
Still uneasy, Kurt reluctantly agreed.
Meanwhile, Scott seemed distracted, checking his phone—actually messaging Ororo about her team's progress.
As expected—
Nothing.
They went deeper into the factory.
Jean still couldn't sense anything unusual.
But they hadn't explored everything yet.
So she kept going.
"Jean… are you sure this is the place?"
"I am. I've been feeling something strange coming from here for a while now."
"If you're wrong, I swear next time you're searching alone. This is the fifth place you dragged us to for nothing."
They reached a more isolated part of the factory—almost underground.
But when they got there…
There was nothing.
They looked around.
Still nothing.
"It's okay, Jean. These things happen. Everyone makes mistakes. Maybe it's just something that appears from time to time and then disappears."
Scott tried to comfort her.
But it only made things worse.
Ever since that dream…
She hadn't felt like herself.
Sigh…
"Yeah… maybe you're right. Maybe this was just a waste of time. We should go ba—"
"FUCK!!"
All of them flinched.
They looked up—
Toward the source of the scream.
And saw it.
A giant.
2.34 meters tall—
Falling from the ceiling.
Right on top of Jean.
_______________________________
A little before this event—
Alex was still clinging to the ceiling above the people… or rather, the teenagers who had entered the place where he was.
Fortunately, he had a monstrous physique.
Otherwise, this level of calisthenics would have made him fall a long time ago.
Luckily, he didn't feel exhaustion—just a normal strain.
In complete silence, he listened to the people below talking about searching for the source of some kind of energy.
He was confused for a few moments—
Until he realized.
It was him.
He was the source they were looking for.
Alex had forgotten that he had never even heard about this kind of energy before.
Not even about sorcerers.
All he had were fragmented memories from Sukuna.
Which meant—
He was probably the only one in this world who had this power.
And that also meant he had been extremely careless, not even trying to avoid drawing attention from other people… or organizations.
Without thinking too much about it, Alex made a mental note—
Always erase traces of cursed energy after using it.
From above, he watched the group with curiosity, wondering who they were.
But for now…
He preferred not to know.
As he kept watching, Alex failed to notice something important.
Even if his fingers could support his weight—
The old ceiling couldn't.
The moment the first part of the roof slipped from his grip, his nail losing hold—
Alex realized.
Too late.
There was no way to stop himself.
He was already in free fall—
Right above the girl who, conveniently, was almost directly beneath him.
"FUCK!!"
That was all Alex managed to say—
Before crashing down from the ceiling, straight onto her.
___________________________________
Hey guys, I've got insomnia today, so I'm back to writing. Let's see if I can finish another chapter… unless I get lucky and fall asleep, hehe. I hope you're enjoying it, because this chapter was really fun to write.
Also, I wanted to ask something: do you prefer Alex with a harem or just one girl? If I go with a harem, it'll be a small one—max three partners. I don't really mind either option, so I'd like to hear your thoughts.
As always, if you enjoyed it, please send power stones or rate my work—that already helps a lot. And if you have any constructive criticism or anything that could help me improve, feel free to say it, I always read everything.
And just so you know, I love reading your messages—it really makes me happy to see that people are enjoying it.
Good night.