Charles shielded the others in front of him. The moment he saw the portal open, he strode toward it.
The thunder in this plane was growing louder and denser.
He had already sensed the danger, worried that once Bansler was completely destroyed, he would become a Causal Walker.
He had not expected there to be people even more unlucky than himself.
"Maybe there are quite a few people worse off than me."
"There were twenty-five people when we came, but now there are only seventeen in total. The plane has changed so drastically that anyone with eyes can see something is wrong. The eight who still haven't returned have probably become Causal Walkers too."
"The outer planes are far too dangerous. I'm never coming here again."
"Rumble—!!!"
The muffled thunder in the sky grew louder and louder.
Before stepping through the portal, Charles looked up at the eternally unchanging dusk overhead.
He thought of Alasta's story in the Book of Causal Paths, of the Prophet King hanging from the edge of the sky.
"Goodbye, Alasta."
The Book of Causal Paths within Charles's mental space turned a page without him noticing.
Characters rapidly condensed and shifted across the page:
"Finally!"
"I finally escaped!"
"Alasta, I told you long ago—you couldn't hold me!"
Upon returning to the Wizard World, Charles felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
It was as though something had been drained from his entire body.
It was not just him. The other wizards all appeared to be in the same physical condition.
Their faces were pale, their bodies weak.
Though the body was not the most important thing to a wizard, such a drastic change still worried everyone.
Webster said, "Don't worry. This is a side effect of traveling through the outer planes. A couple of days