Reborn with Steve Stand

Chapter 822: Wish Granting Cup

"What should we do now?"

After a brief silence, someone in the cabin finally asked. However, the question received no immediate response. It wasn’t until much later that a white light appeared in the cabin, and Fang Mo slowly emerged from it.

"I really love Earth."

As soon as he appeared, Fang Mo, carrying a massive sword, began speaking to himself, "Look at this tiny ball, full of water, nurturing life like a young mother... and then it caught fire."

“...”

The others didn’t know how to react anymore.

The people from Xavier’s school were somewhat used to Fang Mo’s personality, but the mutants under Bishop were different. Their understanding of power had been utterly overturned. When they saw Fang Mo, they seemed almost dazed.

It wasn’t fear they felt, but more of a surreal disbelief.

This reaction was actually quite normal. It’s like when people experience a major shock—they don’t immediately feel sadness but instead become numb. It’s only later that the reality sinks in, and the emotions finally erupt.

This is the brain’s way of protecting itself, temporarily suppressing harsh truths to prevent a mental breakdown.

This wasn’t a nuclear war initiated by humans; it was divine retribution, a total extinction that would leave no trace of civilization. All life, whether human or otherwise, would be completely erased, leaving behind only a superheated, dead planet.

And the one responsible for this devastation was now casually chatting in front of them, making light of the situation.

If he had looked like a majestic god, perhaps they could have accepted it more easily. But instead, he appeared as an ordinary human, indistinguishable from the rest of them. This vast contrast created a bizarre sense of detachment.

For a brief moment, they wondered if they were trapped in some kind of illusion.

A god powerful enough to burn an entire planet to ashes, yet looking like a regular person? It felt as absurd as hailing a taxi in the morning, only for the driver to get so angry at a traffic stop that he flew into space and swallowed the sun to ensure no one would ever have to go to work again.

In this moment, confusion, disbelief, and absurdity overwhelmed everyone’s hearts. They couldn’t process the reality of what had just happened.

"It seems we have no choice but to go ahead with the plan," Logan sighed heavily, his voice full of exhaustion. "This future is beyond horrible. No one can accept an ending like this."

"Or you could choose to rebuild civilization," Fang Mo suggested. "Just like Adam and Eve. You could create a thriving new world— I could even help you build an Eden, and I have some forbidden fruit on hand."

"Let’s just forget that," Magneto sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Hey, don’t give up so soon," Fang Mo encouraged with a grin. "Back then, Eden only had two people, but here we have plenty. I'm sure you could rebuild civilization in no time. And if you’re not into women, I can even research some brotherly reproduction techniques—who knows, Magneto, maybe you and Charles could have a child in your old age."

“Can you be serious for once?” Charles couldn’t take it anymore, interrupting Fang Mo.

"Yeah, let's not go there," Kitty Pryde chimed in, clearly disturbed. As one of the women in the group, the thought of rebuilding civilization was terrifying to her. "Let’s just focus on the 'Days of Future Past' plan. I can send Logan back decades if needed."

"Then let’s not waste any time," Logan said, eager to change the subject. "This ship won’t last long in space. We need to start now."

"Hold on."

Fang Mo suddenly raised his hand, stopping them.

"What now?" Logan's patience was wearing thin. "You just burned the entire world to ash, and now you have another problem?"

"There’s not enough oxygen in this ship," Fang Mo said, shrugging. "What if we go back in time and take too long? They’d suffocate."

Aizen used tens of thousands of Shinigami souls, and Urahara likely used many Hollow souls. Fang Mo couldn’t get those, but with billions of human souls available on Earth, quantity should make up for quality.

Though this approach seemed somewhat cruel, it aligned with the “Days of Future Past” timeline, which would erase this version of the world. Everyone would die regardless, so collecting some souls in advance while planning to save the world afterward seemed like a fair trade to Fang Mo.

This was why he had cleansed the world with fire in the first place.

With that in mind, Fang Mo began attempting to recreate the Hōgyoku.

The process wasn’t easy, especially for someone like Fang Mo, who had no understanding of spiritual particle science. Creating the Hōgyoku from scratch seemed nearly impossible. Fortunately, he had some spiritual residue from the original Hōgyoku, which acted like a seed for a synthetic diamond. With Fang Mo pouring souls and dimensional energy into it without restraint, a vague sphere quickly formed in his hand, eventually solidifying into a black-blue spherical gem.

“It worked...”

Fang Mo's eyes lit up as he stared at the black-blue gem floating in his hand.

But the process wasn’t over yet.

In the next moment, Fang Mo activated his dimensional powers, triggering the Greater Grail magic circle in Fuyuki City. Dimensional energy replaced magical energy, and soon, a golden Holy Grail materialized in Fang Mo's hand.

Seeing the Grail take shape, Fang Mo slammed the Hōgyoku into the cup.

“Get in there!” With a loud clang, a powerful repulsion force erupted from the Hōgyoku and the Grail, as both reality-warping artifacts seemed to reject each other.

However, under the absolute control of Fang Mo's dimensional powers, the two objects were forcibly fused. With a final *ding*, the two artifacts combined into a single golden Holy Grail inlaid with the black-blue gem.

Once fused, the reality-warping power of the two artifacts seemed to amplify exponentially. The Hōgyoku’s ability to materialize inner desires and the Holy Grail’s power to materialize souls achieved a delicate balance, complementing each other's weaknesses and creating something closer to perfection.

“Did it work?”

Fang Mo raised an eyebrow, surprised by the successful result. After a moment of thought, he teleported away from the tree.

By now, the others had found places to rest, most having left the crowded ship. Charles, however, had remained aboard, reclining in his wheelchair and pretending to nap due to his limited mobility.

Suddenly, a white light appeared, and Fang Mo shoved the Grail into Charles's hands.

"Uh, what?" Charles jerked awake, instinctively grasping the Holy Grail. Still groggy, he asked in confusion, “What is this?”

"An Iveco Gold Cup,” Fang Mo hummed playfully, "It carries the dead and holds ashes..."

"???"

Charles was completely baffled.

“Alright, it’s actually my personal cup,” Fang Mo explained, seeing Charles’s confusion. "A combination of an Egyptian cat-girl and Nanako."

“And why are you giving this to me?” Charles asked, resisting the urge to throw it. "I can’t use this thing, especially not in my condition. Maybe you should try giving it to Erik instead..."

“Fine, fine, I was joking,” Fang Mo sighed, rubbing his forehead. “This is the wish-granting machine I told you about. Why don’t you try making a wish? Be sincere about it.”

“A wish-granting machine?”

Charles looked incredulous but decided to give it a try. He closed his eyes, concentrating. Though he didn’t speak his wish aloud, Fang Mo could feel the Holy Grail tremble slightly. Something seemed to flow from Charles into the Grail and then back into him. The next moment, a look of joy crossed Charles’s face.

And then, something miraculous happened—Charles stood up from his wheelchair, doing something that would make even Stephen Hawking envious.