There was no icy tingling sensation of wading through chilly waters. No appearance of free fall through space and time. This portal, dark and as unassuming as a stormy night's sky, didn't even ripple as the Xavier and Declan, side by side, went through it. Weird, as always, had chosen to go in ahead of them, vanishing from sight almost immediately.
On the other side, Xavier didn't have enough time to agree with the fact that the Emperor's lair assumed the general appearance of a rundown city long extinguished of life and light. Tall skyscrapers stood with shattered glass and broken walls, crumbled buildings graced the sides of dented streets strewn with abandoned street trains, electric cars and invading weeds. Everywhere hosted shards of glass, broken debris and forgotten hopes. Only ivies, thorns and algae thrived over the walls, metal, steel and stone alike.
