Charles saw a vast world inside David's mind. The key was that there were simply too many people in it.
To put it more concretely, it was a bizarre and fantastical space: an expansive prairie, valleys, rivers, and lakes beneath an overcast sky. A sturdy fortress stood in the distance beside a city that looked somewhat like Paris from afar, except everyone was scattered across the grass like a dense flock of sheep.
This was not someone's dream. It was the structure of the mental space belonging to the youth before him, David.
That alone would have been one thing, but the crowd seemed to have split into two factions that were fighting each other. Charles could not make out exactly what they were arguing about.
The most important thing he saw was that this youth named David Haller was a Mutant.
Charles had never expected to encounter one of his own kind here. His shock lasted only an instant before he felt a somewhat weak brainwave—weak compared to his own—connect to his.
Wait, the other party was a telepath too?
With a swish, both of them rose to their feet.
The student beside them picked up the papers that had fallen to the floor and looked doubtfully toward the cafeteria window. The window was closed. Where had such a strong gust come from?
Some of the students around them also looked around in confusion. It was as though they had just drunk a cup of strong coffee; their drowsiness vanished in an instant.
Realizing that this might cause a disturbance, Charles looked around before turning to the pale-faced David. "Let's talk outside."
The other man nodded grimly.
The instant they stepped out of the cafeteria, a massive phantom descended upon David's mental space. A pair of giant hands gripped