Chapter 96: [96] Through the Looking Glass
Xavier plummeted through darkness, his fingers still locked around Calypso’s wrist. The void swallowed all sound except for the rush of blood in his ears. He couldn’t tell if they were falling up, down, or sideways—direction had lost all meaning.
"Calypso!" he shouted but no sound came out.
A pinprick of light appeared in the distance, expanding rapidly. The darkness shattered into fragments, replaced by a kaleidoscope of colors that surrounded them. Purples and blues twisted into greens and golds, forming impossible geometric patterns that broke apart and reformed. The colors weren’t just visible—they seemed to have weight and texture, pressing against Xavier’s skin.
The sensation was familiar, reminding him of moments from his past life when everything hung in the balance.
His heart hammered against his ribs as reality fractured around him. Images flashed through the maelstrom—his mother Elaine smiling at him, Thalia Sinclair unleashing her Zantei, Ashley’s golden shield, Naomi’s smile. Each image dissolved into the next, colors bleeding between them.
Xavier tried to focus on Calypso, but her form blurred and shifted. One moment she was the goddess he knew, the next a figure made of pure light, then a collection of stars in human shape.
This isn’t right. Gates don’t do this.
The colors spun faster, the patterns growing more complex. Numbers and symbols appeared in the chaos—probability calculations, gate classifications, dimensional coordinates. Xavier’s head throbbed as information poured into his mind faster than he could process it.
『Gate Type: Narrative!』
Professor Rousseau’s warnings about unclassified gates echoed in his memory.
"Thirteen of my students encountered an unclassified gate. Only one survived."