The one at the X-Men's headquarters had taken tremendous effort to build. For years, it had been maintained and constantly upgraded by their chief scientist—the Beast. Half the credit for Xavier's psychic dominance belonged to him.

Even with all the X-Men's resources, only a single Cerebro existed. Constructing more was far too costly—and besides, Cerebro was not portable. Its range diminished with distance.

Within the mansion, Xavier's power, amplified by Cerebro, could briefly touch the level of an Omega mutant. But farther away, its effect waned quickly.

That was why Emma never feared interference. Even if Xavier extended his reach, by the time it crossed such distance, his power would have weakened—perhaps beneath her own. To hinder her was nothing but a fool's dream.

After all, Cerebro's existence wasn't much of a secret. Any mutant with a little knowledge knew the X-Men possessed that doomsday device at their core.

With it, Xavier could—if he so wished—slaughter every human on Earth in a single instant. Even superhumans would fall; anyone below an Omega would have no defense against his psychic assault.

This was why no one wanted to push the X-Men into a true death match. Xavier's deterrence was absolute.

Sage, with her vast knowledge and databases, of course understood all this. She hadn't thought of it before simply because she never imagined a Cerebro could suddenly appear in her own home for Professor to use.

But this time, she did not ask further. She could see he had no intention of elaborating. Just as Ororo had not pressed her earlier, she too knew better than to demand answers.

If Professor withheld something, it was because it touched upon secrets not ready to be revealed.

In truth, Professor had seen the doubt flicker across her face, but he still did not explain. Because the matter involved something… inconvenient.

His wheelchair.

Neither Beth nor David knew the truth: the sleek, futuristic chair he sat in was no mere machine. It was another of Raymond's silver-ranked sub-personalities—an equal to Professor.

Its name was Megatron.

About the origin of Megatron's sub-personality, after spending this much time together, he had already learned quite a bit.

If nothing else, in terms of technological mastery, this silicon-based lifeform called Megatron possessed knowledge far beyond anything Earth had.

Of course, according to Raymond, this world also had extremely advanced civilizations, far surpassing even what Megatron controlled.

But those civilizations were outside the Milky Way, and there was little chance of encountering them anytime soon.

With the technology Megatron possessed, completely overwhelming Earth's science would be effortless.

The X-Men's technology was indeed slightly ahead of what most major nations currently held—hence why they could build something as unique as the Cerebro amplification chamber.

But compared to Megatron, that was hardly worth mentioning.

After understanding the principles of Cerebro, Megatron casually built a makeshift brainwave amplifier, ready to be used at any time.

In other words, as long as Professor stayed with Megatron, he could call upon the brainwave amplifier anywhere, anytime.

A device like a headpiece could simply extend from the back of his wheelchair, and once fitted, it would amplify his psychic power.

To put it simply—Professor was now equivalent to half Level Five mutant.

Reaching near-Level Five psychic strength for short bursts was no longer a problem.

This was why, earlier, Professor had been able to interfere with White Queen Emma's telepathic probe, forcing them to retreat.

When Sage suddenly agreed to let the White Queen scan her mind, it was only because Professor had whispered reassurance into her thoughts.

She trusted that he would not betray her—so she agreed without hesitation.

Otherwise, even if it came to a fight, she would never have accepted such a probe, because doing so would expose far too many of the X-Men's secrets.

Since this involved other sub-personalities, Professor didn't wish to dwell on the amplifier topic, and shifted instead:

"Let me introduce you—this is Beth, also a psychic… She has inherited the Shadow King's power. Her future achievements will be no less than his." He gestured to the young woman pushing his wheelchair.

Hearing that Beth carried the power of the Shadow King, Professor's old nemesis, Sage couldn't help being startled—especially since she had only just mentioned him.

The Shadow King, a formidable Level Four telepath, had transformed himself into a pure psychic entity. Among the enemies the X-Men had ever faced, he ranked among the top three most troublesome.

Sage's database contained plenty of records on the Shadow King—she knew well how dangerous he was.

"Miss Beth, hello, I'm Tessa," she quickly greeted.

"Hello," Beth replied with a smile.

"And this is David… his biological father is none other than your Professor X," Professor said with an amused look.

"What?" Sage was once again stunned.

Looking more carefully at David, she noticed for the first time how much he resembled the Professor.

Not only Professor X—but also this younger-looking version of Professor.

"No wonder he was so concerned about Professor X," she thought, recalling David's earlier behavior.

But when had Professor X ever had a son? Why had she never heard of it?

Confusion lingered on her face.

"Wait… David and Beth—you wouldn't happen to be the doctor's fellow patient and attending physician from Clockwork Psychiatric Hospital, would you?" Sage suddenly asked.

"How do you know that?" David blurted, but his reaction was as good as a confirmation.

"Though Tessa's powers have little combat use, she's essentially a walking supercomputer," Professor explained, tapping his temple. "She holds the records of everyone on Earth. She just can't recall everything at once—she needs to search, like a database."

Sage added, "I once compiled a special file on Dr. Raymond. Your names were in it. I only just remembered…"

David and Beth exchanged a look of realization—and a spark of curiosity about Sage's abilities.

"There's no need to be so curious. You'll all have plenty of time to get to know one another," Professor said warmly.

Sage's expression dimmed slightly. She asked softly, "Is there really no other way? Maybe you could still try to reach out to Professor X…"

"I thought I made it very clear last time," Professor replied calmly. "You don't understand him better than I do. I have no desire to harm him, nor to harm your former companions. To me, they are all my children—just as you are. I would never wish to see us turn against one another."

"But after everything I've been through, I was forced to accept a painful truth: unchecked mercy can sometimes be the greatest cruelty."

"You made the choices you have today. So, I believe you can understand my reasoning, can't you?"

Professor extended a hand toward her, smiling gently.

"Come, my child. I need your help—to correct the mistakes we once made, together."