The day after my duel with Akeno, I found myself walking around the town of Kuoh, my mind swirling with a thousand thoughts. Things had shifted quickly since I arrived. The world I thought was normal, just like any other, was far from it. Monsters, gods, demons, and beings with powers I couldn't begin to comprehend—this was the reality I now faced.
As I walked through the park, a strange unease settled in the pit of my stomach. Something was off. The air was charged with an energy I couldn't place, like the very fabric of the world was trembling. I stopped, scanning the surroundings, but there was nothing visibly out of place. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, the sounds of birds echoed from the distant rooftops, and the peacefulness of Kuoh seemed to mock the turmoil I felt.
Then it happened.
A ripple—a tear—manifested before me, distorting the space around it like a mirage. My breath caught as the air around the rift shimmered. A dark, swirling void, almost like a black hole, opened in front of me. It was the Dimensional Gap. The space between worlds, the chaotic expanse that existed outside of reality.
I took a cautious step forward, my heart racing. The mirror—my mirror—had been silent for days. It hadn't shown me anything. But this... this tear? It felt like a calling. Something was drawing me to it.
A sudden gust of wind pulled me back into reality, but my hand reached out instinctively. I could feel it, that tug—like the world was pulling me into the rift. The mirror, buried deep within my soul, pulsed in response.
In an instant, I was standing at the edge of the gap, looking into the swirling void. I could hear distant echoes, voices of gods and monsters, laughter and screams. The pressure in the air was intense, almost suffocating.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" a voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned to find Rias standing behind me, her crimson hair swaying in the wind, her eyes narrowed with concern. She must have followed me when I left the Occult Research Club without saying anything. She was always watching, always one step ahead.
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "But I have to see it. I have to understand it."
She stepped closer, her gaze flicking from the rift to me. "The Dimensional Gap isn't a place for the faint of heart. It's a place where reality bends and breaks. It's where beings from all worlds—be they gods, demons, or monsters—are cast into when they're defeated, or when they're lost."
"I know what it is," I said, my voice tight. "But I don't think it's just the Gap that's calling me. I think it's something else. Something that's been waiting."
Rias hesitated for a moment, her fingers clenching at her side. Then, she stepped closer, placing a hand on my shoulder. Her touch was soft but firm, grounding me in the present moment. "Alec, you've just become a Campione. Your power is still growing. The last thing you want to do is get lost in the Gap. It's not like traveling through dimensions. It's chaos."
I turned to her, meeting her eyes. There was genuine worry in them, something rare in Rias. Despite the power she held and the control she exerted over her surroundings, she was human in more ways than one.
"Why are you worried?" I asked, genuinely curious. "It's not like I'm some fragile human anymore. I can handle myself."
She gave me a tight smile, but there was something unspoken in the way she looked at me. "You may be strong, Alec. But there are forces even you don't understand yet. This world... and others... they have their own rules. And when you break them—"
"I make my own rules," I interrupted. "I'm not here to follow anyone's path. Not anymore."
Rias studied me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, she gave a slight nod. "Then be careful. The Dimensional Gap isn't something you can control, no matter how powerful you are. It has a mind of its own."
Without another word, I turned back to the tear in space, stepping closer to the edge of the rift. My heart was racing, my mind focused entirely on the swirling chaos before me. I had to understand what was calling me. I had to explore what this power meant.
And before I could stop myself, I took a step forward, crossing the boundary between worlds.
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Somewhere else...
The moment I crossed the rift, I felt the world around me twist. It wasn't like stepping through a portal or jumping between dimensions. No, this was different. It was as if I was being torn apart and reconstructed at the same time. The very fabric of reality bent around me, warping and distorting into shapes and colors that I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
For a brief moment, I thought I was going to be swallowed by the void. Then, everything stopped.
I was standing on solid ground—rough, uneven stone beneath my feet. The world around me was dark, a desolate landscape with jagged mountains and cracked earth stretching as far as I could see. The air was thick with the stench of decay, and the only light came from the flickering flames of distant fires, casting long, twisted shadows.
This wasn't just the Dimensional Gap anymore. I had crossed into something else. Something worse.
"Welcome," a voice rasped from the shadows.
I turned quickly, drawing on the divine power I had stolen from gods, feeling the golden energy surge through me. My eyes locked onto a figure emerging from the darkness—a massive creature, its body wrapped in tattered robes, its face hidden by a veil of shadows. But even though I couldn't see its face, I could feel its power. It was ancient. Malevolent.
"You've crossed into my domain, Campione," the figure said, its voice like a thousand whispers. "And now you must face the consequences."
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