Flying Through Time

"This is—"

A hangover-like dizziness surged into Tom's mind. He pressed hard against his temples. The spying sensation coming through the shattered mirror surface made his head feel as if it were splitting apart, and the hand gripping Nelson's shoulder spasmed, twisting into a clawlike shape. Only when scalding blood spread to his fingertips did he come back to himself. Looking at Nelson, whose robe at the shoulder had been soaked with blood, he showed a guilty expression. "Sorry... I was clearly here to help."

"It's fine." Nelson smiled and tapped his shoulder with his wand. The bandages that had been torn open bound the wound back up on their own. He rolled his shoulder and handed Tom a small crystal vial. The green potion shone brilliantly amid the dazzling refractions around them. "This will make you feel better, Tom. We're about to set off. Are you nervous?"

"What's there to be nervous about? Don't you know the way inside out?"

Tom took the bottle and drained it without even looking. A clear, crisp sensation spread from his mouth to every limb and bone, as if he had swallowed an entire block of ice in the hottest days of summer. He shivered all over, feeling refreshed, and couldn't help lifting the empty bottle with a sigh. "Professor Sakes really is a good person... Right, let's go. We need to hurry."

"It's fine. Once we set foot in time, the time outside no longer has any meaning to us."

Nelson shook his head, clasped Tom's wrist with a backhanded grip, and took a step forward. Tom only felt as if he had passed through an invisible film. A squeezing pressure came at him from every direction, wrapping around him. This strange passage seemed to be rejecting him, trying to force him