The feeling of space jumping was foreign to Merlin.

The squeezing sensation unlike the apparition had nearly crushed all of his bones, plus he had endured a violent impact from Adelaide before falling into the hovering circle. Therefore, when he touched the solid ground again, before he could react, his brain, under the protection of instinct, declared a strike and completely fainted.

He felt like he had a long, long dream.

There was death, blood, the pale and cold light of the operating table, and the hatred that surged in the chest. The wails that spread all over the Alps seemed to never stop, and every day different people disappeared under various names, still cold and damp under the iron windows, while the wild roses growing outside the windows were watered with blood.

He could hear the cries of countless people before they died, and he could hear the roar of a sharp blade cutting through their skin. Day after day of captivity and torture are worse than death, and what is more terrible is never the suffering inflicted on oneself, but the use of one's proud talent to kill innocent people, and become a tool for ambition in the hands of madmen. The loss of those lives will eventually have to bear half of his sins.

Lean back in the cold corner. The brown-haired boy turned his head blankly, and there was a faint despair in his blood-soaked blue eyes, like the last faint sunset on the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, it was swallowed up by the overwhelming night.

That's his boy, his West's past.

It was as if a knife had slowly slashed through his chest, and each blow was a pain enough to suffocate. Merlin opened his eyes in silence, his light gray pupils with some sparkling water, but he finally turned his gaze into a sharp blade and stabbed straight at the white-haired man standing behind the iron bar.

"Looks like you're having a good dream here."

A casual smile curled into the corners of his mouth, and Elizhe's serpent-like gaze fell on the mage's face, and his tone sounded pleasant: "This cell is where West stayed twenty years ago. I'm sure you'll love it next, too. ”

“……”

Sitting up slowly, Merlin did not answer, but remained uncharacteristically silent. Half of his face was hidden in the shadows of the corner, and he couldn't see what it was, and the hands clenched tightly at his side betrayed the fact that he was now in an extreme mood.

"I'll kill you."

Eventually, the mage slowly raised his head, and a killing intent that had not been seen in a thousand years spread to every inch of his body, all shouting to tear the well-dressed beast to shreds. In his rage, even the magic that supported the Occlumency Technique quietly receded, and the spell that was enough to destroy the entire underground base was entrenched in his chest, and he could turn everything in front of him into ruins at any time if he wanted to.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Merlin's threat was not taken seriously at all. For Elizhe, he was nothing more than a weight to restrain West. Even if it may be a little tricky, it is absolutely impossible to escape from this cage made of steel and concrete.

But this time. In the face of the archmage who once called for Camelot, he was doomed to miscalculate.

"Speaking of which, I'd love to see how the hermit reacts right now."

Staring at every inch of Merlin's expression, remembering what the relationship between this person in front of him and West was, Yi Laizhe playfully provoked the corners of his mouth:

"I heard that he went crazy after you were taken away, and just got out of danger in the hospital and went back to New York non-stop, probably looking for Professor X to help find out about you...... Tsk, that guy is really terrible, I thought his injury would stop for at least a week, but it didn't take less than a day to come out and run around, it's really ......"

"Peng ——!!"

The glass of the skylight in the compartment suddenly shattered to the ground. Although he knew that Elizhe was only provoking him, Merlin still couldn't control his anger...... In fact, he doesn't want to control anymore.

The mage knew too well that even if nine out of ten of the madman's ten sentences were false, West's current situation would certainly not be optimistic. After all, he did see the four chest-piercing blades clearly, and with the hellish nature of the hermit, in this situation, it was strange that he could settle down and honestly recuperate from his injuries.

- I don't have time to play with you here. Banned Games.

Elizhe still didn't realize the terrifying power of the thin-looking boy in front of him, but Merlin was ready to single-handedly take on the reformers of the entire secret base. No longer trying to suppress the magic that roared in his chest to find an outlet, there was only an iron bar between him and Elizhe now, and he had never taken such a thing into account when he was in Camelot, and he certainly wouldn't be so easily trapped today, a thousand years later.

However, just as Merlin wanted to send all the iron bars and Elizhe into the sky in one go, he suddenly froze in place.

Someone sent him a message.

There was a flash of surprise in his eyes. Although this voice was not familiar to him, just relying on the identity of the other party was enough for him to calm down and obey his words.

"You're going to die an ugly death in the end, and you deserve it."

The magic faded again, and it seemed to be the high-cheeked boy who had no power to restrain the chicken. Merlin's eyes were like torches, and he looked straight back at the white-haired man who was looking at him with interest outside the prison door, and curled the corners of his mouth coldly. Immediately he lost all interest in him, and just casually lay on the stone platform that once belonged to West, and began to close his eyes and recuperate.

"Your trust in West is very impressive, though. But alas, I know where his weakness lies. ”

As if hearing some incredible joke, Elizhe chuckled:

"He'll never be a winner, remember that, boy...... Because, the only hermit in this world has been destroyed by me. ”

- But there's a unique Wester Xavier in the world, and you'll never be able to bring him to your knees.

Firmly retorted in his heart, and seemed to be not swayed by Yi Laizhe's words at all. Merlin sniffed at the cold, damp moisture in the air, and his eyebrows gradually relaxed.

He sensed that his teenager still had an obsession here.

But, compared to the despair of being isolated twenty years ago, West still has himself.

He will protect him, no matter what it takes.

… …

After a few months, after his last angry runaway, West has finally returned to his home at Xavier's Gifted Junior School in the suburbs of New York.

It's just that everyone can see that he is actually not very happy.

In other words, compared to his somewhat lazy attitude to life before, he is now almost like he is being chased by something, constantly soaking in Professor X's office, not knowing what he is doing.

Stormgirl had discussed this with Cyclops, but the answers were varied. They all have a very good relationship with West at school, and they talk and laugh and make trouble on weekdays, and then they pit students together when they come, although the hermit is actually an elder who watched them grow up, but after all, they have a face that is too young, and it is understandable to be treated as a good friend.

However, they had never seen such a West in all these years. Silent, resolute, with the tiredness and paleness of the pavement, like a torrential rain pouring from the sky, it only takes a moment to drench people through.

In response, Wolverine, who returned with him, was silent. However, Qin, who is also a psychic person, looked at the closed door of the office for a long time, and there was a trace of imperceptible emotion in his eyes.

"Probably, he suddenly realized what a heavy responsibility he was carrying." In the end, she just said, "This is his battle, and no matter what, West will come to the end." ”

Not just for himself, but for the people he loves. The boy who had been addicted to hatred had long since decided to be freed from this long, lightless darkness.

The day after West's return to New York, the X-Men's purge of the Transhuman Corps began.

Because of the alliance with Hydra, Elizhe has more secret bases around the world than he imagined. But as long as Professor X and Ceraboro are around, it is not difficult to find out their whereabouts, the only problem is the uncontrollable factor of Elizhe. Maybe it's because of the transplanted ability to block telepathy, his whereabouts are not easy to grasp, and if he is not careful, he may cause an embarrassing situation like destroying the transformer force twenty years ago, but letting go of the first evil. Originally, West had planned to lure the snake out of the hole and fish the madman out himself, but that all changed when Charles stumbled upon Merlin's brainwaves.

"Elizhe will not pass up the opportunity to threaten West with you. As long as you are there, we can monitor the movements of their core personnel at any time and make better plans. ”

Leaning against the cold iron railing, he listened to the sound of the man behind him who was smooth and undulating. Merlin, who hadn't rested much last night, was drowsy, but she didn't want to be rude in front of the lady, so she could only rub her forehead and prop up her eyelids.

She had been looking at him with interest, and the blue-skinned demon girl didn't care, but she just taught the mage what Charles had explained to her.

"Originally, West was different from what you were supposed to stay...... You know, his impression of this place is extremely bad, and he is afraid that Yi Laizhe will attack you. But apparently Charles persuaded him with stronger reasons, and the final result was for me to infiltrate and protect you until they could finish the final blow. ”

"I don't like the word protection."

Frowning, obviously reluctant, Merlin lowered his head and muttered softly.

"Alright then, accompaniment." It was very kind to change her words, and the demon girl obviously had a good impression of the mage, "They are afraid that you are too lonely here, so let me accompany you and get some information by the way...... How about this statement? ”

"It's good if you're happy." Glancing at her, Merlin remembered something else, and Merlin's eyebrows tightened: "How is West now?" ”

"I don't know the specifics."

With her arms crossed over her chest, her voice still calm, Raven looked condescendingly at the mage who was sitting in the corner. Although Magneto had told her not to reveal too much about West's current situation, she still felt that there was no one in the world who was more qualified to know the truth than Merlin.

"But, Charles he's not so good." The mage raised his head, his expression instantly gloomy. But the demon girl didn't seem to see it, she just shrugged her shoulders and told her everything she knew:

"Don't be in a hurry to get up yet...... I say he's not so nice because it's been a long time since we've seen a West like this...... Maybe when you got to know him, he gave you the impression that he was now a quiet, easy-going and a little lazy child. But even earlier, he was familiar to our generation and was far more complex and radical than it is now. ”

Many, many years ago, the name 'Hermit' was far more prominent among mutants than it is now. That's not just because he is the adopted son of Charles and Eric at the same time, but also because West Xavier himself is too sharp, and everywhere he goes, he makes waves.

"You may not be able to understand what the name 'Hermit' represented back then. But there is no doubt that he is famous enough to amaze anyone, almost as much as his two adoptive fathers. At that time, we all thought that Charles must have taught the X-Men to him and let him take on the most important duties of a mutant-"

However, one day two decades ago, everything changed.

Rescued by Magneto from Elijah's secret base, West spent three months at home recuperating. Since then, the once high-spirited son of heaven is gone, replaced by a silent and introverted that borders on self-isolation, too drastic to change, and for a long time it was unacceptable to all who knew him well. They all knew that West had been tormented there, and that it might take time to heal his wounds when he had suddenly endured such a terrible calamity...... Some say he's more mature, others say he's self-defeating, but no matter how much they try, West, Eric, and even Charles never talk about the past as if they had made an appointment.

Later, Professor X set his adopted son free without warning. Perhaps this is not quite the right statement, but the teenager did abandon all the responsibilities on his shoulders and left Xavier School, alone, and disappeared into the vast sea of people.

No one knows where he went, and no one knew what he was going to do. West left with scars and the decadence carved into his bones, disappeared for several years, and when he returned, in addition to exhaustion, there was also a quiet and shallow smile on his face, little by little, the greenness and recklessness hidden in the eyebrows and eyes were soaked into a tenderness that could no longer be left in the blood.

"I don't know what he went through. In fact, the events of twenty years ago were clear only to Charles and Eric, except for West himself. But since Elijah made a comeback and struggled with the reformers for a long time, I can gradually see that West's change is definitely related to the little girl named 'Adelaide'. ”

It's rare to say so much to someone in one breath, but when it comes to the teenager she watched grow up, Raven always has to be more patient than usual. Looking at the archmage in the cubicle who went from frowning to thoughtful, she nodded slightly, although she was surprised that West would choose such an ordinary-looking but famous big boy, but at least in her opinion, his choice was definitely not wrong.

Footsteps seemed to sound in the open hallway in the distance, signaling that their conversation had come to an end. The Demonic Girl gave Merlin a few last words, and before anyone could turn to see this side, she transformed into a completely different image, pretending to be a researcher who brought food to the dungeon prisoners, and calmly disappeared into the dark and deep passage before anyone noticed.

Seeing the figure of the demon girl disappear into the shadows, the archmage who saw her disguise skills for the first time was not surprised. Anyway, mutants have all kinds of strange abilities, and he will only see more in the future. What's more, his mind is still full of Raven's previous reminders, and he doesn't have the strength to pay attention to these little things anymore.

So, if he wants to really untie West's knot, he has to understand what really happened twenty years ago.

And he himself was eager to know who had occupied the most important place in that young man's heart, and how he had drawn a scar in his heart that even time could not heal.

As Merlin pondered in silence, the footsteps that interrupted him and the Shapeshifter came in this direction from far and near. Eventually, it stopped at the mage's side.

Surprisingly lightweight.

He looked up in surprise. Merlin thought it was the same as these days, it was just another patrol of reformers passing by. But when he saw the figure standing outside the bar, his gaze was completely stunned.

The eyes are mechanical and empty, as if they are programmed machines. But there is something hidden outside the blankness, mixed with indifference, and lies under the eyes that are as green as new leaves.

He didn't speak, he didn't move. Adelaide quietly looked at the mage who was becoming more and more vigilant, and was silent for a long, long time.

Then, slowly reach out.