In the realm of the mind, two invisible forces clashed...
A majestic, sacred temple stood upon the earth, towering like a mountain. Pure radiant light rippled outward in concentric circles, surging like tidal waves with thunderous roars. No one could have imagined such terrifying power residing within that frail, aging body.
Psychic energy howled like a storm churning violent waves. At the temple's center sat the bald old man bathed in a holy glow. It was as if a deity had manifested in the flesh, inspiring an almost instinctive urge to kneel in worship.
This was Charles Xavier, the world's most powerful telepath, the undisputed sovereign of the mental realm.
Opposing him was a golden sun radiating boundless light and heat. Countless scorching rays emanated from the dark-haired young man at its core, spreading outward in all directions, their energy waves shaking the void like cosmic tides.
In terms of pure psychic power, Sean might not have been the Professor's equal. But bolstered by his formidable physical strength, he held his ground without faltering.
"What do you truly want?" The old man's voice carried confusion.
His restraints had been removed, yet no clear hostility emanated from the young man before him.
"As I said Professor, I want you to witness the future of mutants with your own eyes!"
From the golden sun, countless psychic threads unfurled. Rather than attacking, these intangible tendrils converged into a roaring river of fragmented images... scenes and figures from different eras flashing past at blinding speed, like shattered reflections upon rippling water.
The psychic threads wove together into a shimmering tapestry of light.
Seated within his temple, the Professor's composed expression finally flickered. His consciousness, like an invisible hand, reached out to touch the floating fragments. Forgotten memories surged forth like a tidal wave, breaking through the barriers of time.
"1973... No, this is an illusion you've created!" The Professor's voice trembled.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Within those luminous fragments was a younger version of himself dressed in a shabby robe, greasy hair unwashed for weeks, drowning himself in liquor like a broken-down drunk.
"Why deceive yourself, Professor?" Sean's voice echoed as the golden sun blazed brighter, "This is a timeline that was overwritten. I'm merely helping you remember... Shall I give you a few keywords to jog your memory?"
Sean stepped forward through the void, psychic energy rippling around him. Looking down at the Professor, his voice boomed, "The Sentinel Program... Mystique... Mutant extinction."
The words reverberated like thunder, pressing down from all directions.
The old man's eyes snapped open, radiating boundless authority. The sacred temple erupted with divine light that swallowed the thunderous echoes like a tidal wave engulfing the shore.
The golden sun, which had once dominated half the mental landscape, shrank abruptly, unable to withstand the onslaught. The Professor's psychic might surged forth like an overwhelming deluge threatening to drown everything in its path.
The pressure was immense, like a mountain bearing down. Facing the world's strongest telepath head-on, Sean finally felt the weight of true resistance.
"...1973. Dr. Bolivar Trask proposed the Sentinel Program. Even then, he was a leading weapons expert, the first scientist to discover and study the X-gene. Mystique uncovered his plans. During the Paris Peace Accords, she killed him."
Memories long buried in the sands of time resurfaced vivid and clear, like an old photograph that was wiped clean of dust. This overwritten timeline came alive once more.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis, mutants became a government priority. Magneto and the Brotherhood vanished, while the Professor founded his school. But as the Vietnam War escalated, students and faculty were forcibly drafted. The blow shattered the young Charles.
"Yet killing Trask didn't stop the program. It convinced the government of its necessity. They captured Mystique, experimented on her, and unlocked the secrets of her shapeshifting DNA... paving the way for the ultimate mutant-hunting weapons..."
"...In less than fifty years, the Sentinels were born. It all began that day in 1973... In the future, the last surviving mutants sent someone back through time to rewrite history. A new timeline overwrote the old. Everything started anew."
Sean's voice resonated endlessly across the psychic plane. Staring into the Professor's eyes with eyes brimming with immeasurable power, he declared:
"The future has already shown you the truth, Professor. The peace you long for never came, and never will..."
In the original timeline, facing extinction by the Sentinels, mutants had used Kitty Pryde's powers to send Wolverine's consciousness back to 1973. There, he united the younger Charles and Erik, altering the course of history and averting mutantkind's doom.
"...Rather than waiting passively for peace, why not fight to claim it?"
The Professor's eyes were deep and clear as crystal, they held not a trace of darkness. Gazing up at the young man, he said softly, "I've met men like you, whose eyes burned with ambition, craving ultimate power, desperate to stand atop the world. You're no different from Erik. At least he fights for his kind. But you? As a human, what reason do you have to help mutants?"
"Because I've never seen mutants as a threat..." Sean's voice remained calm even as the Professor's psychic might pressed inward, the golden sun now like a tiny boat in a storm and on the verge of capsizing.
"...A new era is coming. In the future, there will be superhuman heroes, ancient extraterrestrial civilizations, alien conquerors, even beings who seek to wipe out half of all life in the universe... Compared to them, mutants are insignificant. As Magneto said, you're merely the next step in evolution..."
"...You think I'm some opportunist looking to exploit mutants, but I can offer you a new future."
With a wave of his hand, the luminous tapestry shifted. The overwritten past vanished, replaced by scenes the Professor had never seen.
"If the altered timeline doesn't convince you, then let me show you another possible ending for mutantkind..."