BIOGRAPHY - Page 6
In this tale thus far, we’ve used Amahl Farouk and the Shadow King interchangeably, for 
interchangeable they were for centuries. In the Age of Krakoa, however, Amahl Farouk was resurrected in his original, corporeal form. [Empyre: X-Men #2] Farouk was no longer linked to the Shadow King directly, but a “shadow” of his patron still existed as scar tissue in his psyche. Amahl Farouk was ten years old when the Shadow King started corrupting him, and his views of the world were shaped by that symbiosis. Farouk was still a man who loved his people and wanted them to be happy, but he correctly saw Krakoa as a false peace that would eventually fall. Farouk wanted the mutant race to be strong enough to survive whatever came after Krakoa, and the only way he knew to breed strength was through pain and struggle. He would train the Krakoans, for their own good, whether they wanted it or not.
From his cave in the Wild Hunt region, Amahl Farouk befriended the Lost Club, a group of young mutants, united by the physical changes their mutations caused them. Anole, Rain Boy, No-Girl and Cosmar learned new synergies and mutant circuits while training with the New Mutants, but also shared their experiences with Farouk. Cosmar was particularly unhappy with her mutant 
form, distorted by her reality-warping nightmare sphere when her powers manifested, and she didn’t know how to reverse it consciously. The Crucible was for depowered mutants who wished to die and be resurrected with their powers restored, but Cosmar wanted the Crucible to reset her powers so she could try using them without hurting her body. When Mirage of the New Mutants rejected to sponsor her in the Crucible, this only drove Cosmar and the Lost Club closer to Farouk. [New Mutants (4th series) #14-15]
Farouk taught the Lost Club to use their powers in a mutant circuit to temporarily exchange bodies with one another. It was an amazing experience for the members, but their bodies could not sustain the process and began to wither. Gabby, a new friend to the Lost Club, spoke out against the risky practice, but the Club rallied around Farouk and cast her out. Amahl Farouk reached out to Wolfsbane of the New Mutants to act as a mediator between Gabby and her friends. Rahne 
was in a vulnerable mental state due to the conflicting data over whether her son Tier qualified for resurrection. Amahl Farouk sincerely wanted to mend fences with his former foes, but the shadow within him would rather deal with things quickly and finally. When Rahne brought Gabby to Farouk for a talk, the Shadow King murdered the girl and wiped Rahne and Farouk’s memory of the exchange. [New Mutants (4th series) #16-19]
The Lost Club discovered Gabby’s body, and got help from Wolfsbane working with the Five to resurrect her quickly. However, Gabby's resurrection also revealed the gap in Wolfsbane’s memory about their last encounter. Rahne recognized the Shadow King’s hand in their woes and how foolish she had been to trust him so openly. She gathered the senior New Mutants to confront their foe. Farouk met them in the Wild Hunt with good intentions...so to speak. He explained his honest fears that the humans or machines would ultimately come for the mutants, and they must be made strong enough to survive. Farouk's own trauma and lifetimes of facing enemies had convinced him that his mutant people must be stronger, no matter the temporary cost to their physical or mental health. And so, Farouk subjected the New Mutants to endless scenarios of a Krakoan apocalypse, forcing them to develop new strategies and tactics for the inevitable horrors to come. And if this meant they must suffer fear, pain, and torture NOW… well, it was for the greater good. Amahl Farouk loved them all, and he was there to save them from the shadows. [New Mutants (4th series) #20-22]
The Lost Club followed the New Mutants and managed to enter the astral scenario that Farouk orchestrated for them. Together, the two groups found both Amahl Farouk and the sliver of the Shadow King still in his mind. In the presence of allies, even friends, Farouk found the strength to stand up to his eternal shadow, and he helped Magik and Karma drive the Shadow King’s influence from his mind and soul. Amahl Farouk was not at peace, but peace was now possible. 
With the support of the New Mutants, Farouk left Krakoa for Arakko to undergo intensive rehabilitation. From Arakko, he would connect with Legion and his Altar, a physical pocket space resting between Arakko and the astral plane, in the hopes of supporting that endeavor once his atonement was complete. [New Mutants (4th series) #23-24]
The New Mutants spoke of the Shadow King entity as if it was destroyed ages ago, but that was only wishful thinking. The tale of the shadow that touched all men’s souls would always continue. Ororo learned this when she tried to pass beyond the veil of death to bring Magneto back to the 
world of the living. The Shadow King was there, waiting in the dark, as they tried to come back. The beast in darkness suggested he held many faces, some familiar some not, and would always be there in the shadows… waiting. Even as she used her lightning to burn away the shadows, Ororo accepted the simple truth at the core of the Shadow King’s lies:
They would never be done with each other. [Resurrection of Magneto #2-3]