03* A choice
The Martian wind whipped across the desolate landscape, a relentless force that carried the fine red dust in swirling clouds. Paradox pressed on, his breath misting against his visor.
As he approached the rim of the crash site, the scale of the devastation became apparent.
The crater, a gaping maw in the Martian surface, was larger than any natural formation he had ever seen. The ground around it was scarred, the once smooth terrain now a chaotic mess of upturned rock and pulverized dust.
With a sense of both awe and speculation, Paradox began to descend into the crater, realizing his educated assumption not met with an answer.
The deeper he went, the more the wind subsided, leaving an eerie silence. The air was thick with dust, obscuring his vision. He pressed on, his curiosity driving him forward.
As he neared the center of the crater, an object came into view. He stood opposite it, its unnatural smoothness causing Paradox to question its origins. With still dust in the air, a closer look was advised.
"Weird," he muttered, reaching out to lightly graze the object. He waited for a mass to push against his hand, but the moment never came.
Everything blurred, the still dust disappearing from view.
His eyes widened at the sight of colors he hadn't seen in years—a clear blue sky replaced the orangy nature of the Martian planet. The winds of rock and dust replaced by golden sands stretching as far as the eye could see.
Lost in astonishment, Paradox couldn't comprehend that he had found himself in a desert like environment, but that wasn't the strangest thing.
At a distance stood a tall figure cloaked in sand.
The sand, as if alive, shifted around the figure. Its form was blurred but vaguely humanoid, and its features were obscured.
It seemed to be gazing up at the clear blue sky, lost in thought.
Unnoticed, Paradox instinctively took a step back, paying close attention to the figure. Before he could react, a pair of white, clock-like eyes shifted their attention towards him.
They ticked rhythmically, one forward, the other backward.
Even at such a distance, the sound of ticking was still apparent.
The eyes stuck to Paradox, a passive emotion embedded within them, a sudden voice filled the expanse, a deep and raspy whisper.
"I have...a question."
Paradox halted, stunned, he could only stare. In silence, it's words we're like thunder.
The eyes narrowed.
"Would you fight... for a fair world?"
Paradox momentarily choked.
'What?'
As if awoken once again that morning, Paradox was forced into deep thought.
Earth, the wars, the suffering, the injustice.
He thought of his own life how it hasn't been his own, his dreams being forced to change and his hopes never coming to light.
Now, where everything that surrounded him wasn't really his, choices were something he had few of. Being one of the only remaining humans… made it seem as if he really wasn't that special anymore. The one thing he had pride in was recognized only by those who wanted to take advantage of it and his talents only seen as exempt due to his age.
Xavier was the only positive aspect in this thing people would call life, but there was nothing he would willingly want to live for.
Considering his next words, a shaky sigh escaped his lips. If he had the choice to stay on Earth instead of being on Mars...would he have?
He stared into space, his shaky breath suddenly followed by a tear running down his cheek. Glancing back at the figure, his sunken eyes revitalized.
"Yes," Paradox breathed, his voice a beacon of newfound resolve. Undergone his revelation, his fear subsided, leaving only a burning fire.
"I would."
A final tick resonated and the eyes seemed to express a solemn smile.
Abruptly, the world around him began to distort, the colors before him blending together until only darkness remained. The sky, the surface, the figure—all of it seemed to fade away.
"With this, I place my hopes in your hands."
Paradox's consciousness dimmed, leaving him adrift in a bleak, silent void. Surrounded by nothing but flawless sand, its grains hovered like yellow stars in an open night sky.
The plain shook under the weight of this sky, its grains surged like comets towards Paradox. Pulsating with an ethereal light, a swirling tempest enveloped his heart, the very grains condensing to form a golden sphere of untold potential.
Like an hour glass, from the golden sphere a single grain of sand fell, dissolving into nothingness.
The world around him suddenly cracked, resembling glass, leaking strands of escaping light.
[KU-THUMP...KU-THUMP...]
Paradox's heart rate increased and as his eyes shot wide open, the void shattered.