Chapter 857: Shining Stars Rotten (Part Two) (Patreon)

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"Since my parents passed away, I haven't had a home of my own. When I was in boarding school, I had to share a dorm with people I disliked. After finally leaving that school, I could only rent a place outside," Polaris said, her hands instinctively covering her face, masking her emotions. She continued, "There was a time I was kicked out by a landlord in the middle of the night, wandering the streets of New York. The only thing my abilities could offer was a bit of warmth and the luxury not to fight for a corner to sleep like other homeless people."

"Later on, I joined the X-Men, and I acknowledge that it was a welcoming place. Everyone greeted you with a smile, and even when conflicts arose occasionally, Professor X mediated to make both parties content."

"But I just couldn't stay there. I... couldn't... understand? Every moment there felt suffocating, and talking to everyone there was painful."

"After leaving the X-Men, no one understood me. Even upon returning to the Brotherhood, the situation didn't improve. I didn't want to see Erik, didn't want to see that expression on his face."

"Then, mutants left Earth and came to the Andromeda Galaxy. We acquired a beautiful island, and I started dreaming of having my own home there, a warm house decorated the way I liked."

Polaris lightly touched her eyes and continued, "For that goal, I fell in love with that job, even though it was nothing special, even quite boring."

"With Erik around, I didn't have to do much. Every day was just repetitive manual labor. I'd tell him what shape I wanted the building components to be, and he'd say no, for reasons I never understood, but it was always 'no.'"

Polaris took a shaky breath. "Maybe he thought I was too meddling, always coming up with strange ideas that disrupted his plans, so he eventually drove me away."

"I returned to the apartment I used to rent, and he followed. I knew what he wanted to do, knew he wanted to scold me for causing trouble, for not going to school, for not working properly."

"I truly wished he'd disappear from my life, never to return," Polaris said, biting her lip. "But he would barge in like this every time, dictating how I should live now."

Schiller looked at Polaris and asked, "Can you explain why staying with the X-Men made you feel so miserable?"

"I don't know," Polaris shook her head. "I just felt that everything was fake there, and it made me angry."

"The future of mutants, my future—I've been pondering these questions since I can remember. But it seemed like the people in the X-Men didn't like discussing it. They preferred focusing on the present, thinking there would always be a way out."

"But I knew there were no more options. They were deluding themselves, leading to a slow death. I wanted to remind them, but I didn't want to be the one to dampen their spirits. If they believed in having one last beautiful dream before destruction, then let them."

"Do you feel more awake than they do?" Schiller asked.

"I just have more experience than they do," Polaris said, lowering her head to look at her fingers. "The children who enter that school have parents who care about them, even if they get abandoned, Professor X watches over them."

"Because of that, they don't realize that mutants are in the same situation I once was. We could be kicked out at any moment, and they're constantly finding ways to push us out."

"But many among us shout that if we behave well and please the landlords, we can stay. Some say we should establish laws to restrict both landlords and tenants, while others say we should refuse to leave, daring anyone to do something to us."

Schiller tapped his desk lightly with a pen. "In this conversation, you've used 'you' and 'we.' Do you believe that mutants and humans are actually two different species?"

"I know the mainstream argument is that mutants evolved from humans, so we should be one race," Polaris shook her head. "But the fact is, we're neither the same nor compatible. It might sound harsh, but I've had enough of living with ants. I'm not insulting regular people, but how can I control my powers, concentrate, to ensure no power leaks? Even the slightest slip could lead to the deaths of thousands of ordinary people."

"Do they expect me to do nothing, to focus solely on preventing my powers from spreading, to monitor every change in magnetic force to protect their lives? And if I don't, they'd hurl insults at me?"

"Even if they hadn't offended me, I couldn't live like that!"

"Alright, Miss Lorna, calm down," Schiller reassured Polaris, then continued, "Let's break this down into two issues: your feelings toward your father and your concerns about the future of mutants."

"First, let's disregard your family background and just focus on your current relationship. Based on what you've described, Magneto, Erik, has only said two sentences to you. Is that normal?"

Polaris stared at Schiller, her expression seeming to say, "What's abnormal about that?"

"What I mean is, according to common standards, wouldn't a reunion between a father and daughter who have been apart for so long be different?"

"I never considered him my father, and I don't think he saw me as his daughter," Polaris turned her head away as she spoke.

"We need to determine if your current relationship is the result of neither of you considering the other in those roles, or if it's the way you interact that led to this," Schiller's words were a bit convoluted. Polaris remained silent for a moment and then said, "I don't know, but that's how it has been since I've known him."

"Alright, let's not say he's your father or even your friend. Let's just say he's a stranger. Do you think if we met in an apartment by chance, the conversation would be like this?" Schiller asked.

"He's not normal at all!" Polaris continued Schiller's thought. "I've met a lot of people in my life, and none of them have been like him. He always wears a stern expression and expects you to understand him through eye contact alone. He hardly ever says anything!"

"You've hit the point," Schiller smiled. "He is indeed not normal. But what about you?"

Polaris was about to speak, but Schiller interjected, "When faced with the sudden appearance of someone somewhat familiar, your first reaction is resistance, the second is aggression, and the third is to deliberately provoke them. Don't you think there might be an issue with your behavior?"

Polaris bit her lip, shook her head, and said, "I've always been like this, and I never thought it was a problem..."

Schiller nodded and continued, "What I'm saying is not that you're crazy or mentally unstable, but that you may not be aware that there are emotional issues driving your actions."

"Resistance, aggression, and overreaction often occur when people feel fear. What drives you to act this way isn't hatred or resentment towards Magneto, but fear."

"I..." Polaris was about to retort but suddenly stopped, remembering the sound of the keys falling to the ground last night.

With a loud clatter, a bunch of keys fell to the ground and then floated back up, hovering in front of Charles. Magneto spoke, "That's how it is; she's afraid of me."

Charles furrowed his brow, saying, "Lorna isn't timid, and she's not afraid of fighting or getting hurt like some children. She's always been brave. Why would she be afraid of you?"

Magneto silently stared at Charles, seemingly waiting for an answer. Charles pondered and said, "The emotion of fear often lingers as a painful scar after a severe impact."

"Perhaps you didn't scare her this time, or maybe it wasn't after your reunion with her as an adult that she became frightened."

Magneto furrowed his brow, and Charles continued, "Think carefully about your first encounter with little Lorna. What did you say and do?"

Gradually, Magneto got lost in his memories, and the contemplative expression on Polaris's face merged with his. At the same time, in the surge of memories, they both found a tiny fragment.

A deep blue sky met the endless sea, and the relentless waves crashed against the shore, each wave like an impressionist brushstroke, free and exquisite.

Not far from the shore, on a cliff, a pile of wreckage emitted billows of black smoke, and two small shadows approached the cliff. A young Magneto descended.

Staring at the wreckage, he faintly heard the cries of a little girl coming from inside. He reached out, and all the plane debris flew into the air, revealing Lorna Dane hidden among them.

At that time, she was very young, sitting amidst the rubble like a broken doll.

At this moment, Magneto's gaze traveled through time and space, once again looking at the young Polaris. In her tear-filled eyes, she wasn't looking at Magneto with gratitude or relief, but with deep fear.

"At that time, I had no idea what mutants were," Polaris said, her lips tightly pressed together. "A strange man in a black cloak and a helmet descended from the sky and cleared everything around me."

"He walked towards me...came closer...like a monster!!!" Polaris's body began to tremble, one of her hands gripping the edge of the table tightly. "He locked all the nearby magnetic fields. I couldn't escape. I couldn't move or even speak..."

"Just like last night, he controlled all the magnetic fields around me, and I couldn't resist. All I could do was ask him to stay away from me."

Polaris's hand clenched into a fist, and her knuckles turned white. "I screamed because I knew that besides screaming for him to stay away, there was nothing else I could do."

"Let's not dwell on this, Miss Lorna," Schiller sighed. "Relax a bit, because we're about to discuss the root causes of this fear."

"What causes?" Polaris looked a bit pale. She said, "It's because of that domineering monster and his strong power..."

To Schiller's surprise, he shook his head and said, "No, it's not Magneto you're afraid of... You're afraid of mutants and their overwhelmingly powerful but potentially uncontrollable abilities."

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 858: The Dazzling Stars (Part Three)