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SM/DC Chapter 57 : A Portal in Her Room
🕑 Added 2025-03-13 21:20:03 +0000 UTCArthur blinked, processing her words for a moment before his head tilted slightly.
“…Oh.”
It clicked hard. His eyes darted between the softly humming key in his hand and the door before him. Of all places.
Internally, he sighed.’For the dungeon gate to be here of all places… the system’s sense of humor is something else.’
Raven, meanwhile, was still standing there face flushed, arms crossed tightly watching him with a mix of suspicion and confusion.
Arthur, because he couldn’t resist, broke the silence. “Well,” he drawled, turning back to her with a half-smirk. “What I want just happens to be in your room.”
Raven’s eyes widened. “What..what do you mean by that..”
“Oh, don’t make it weird.” Arthur held up the key like it explained everything.
Spoiler alert, it didn’t.
“I’m not the one making it weird,” Raven shot back, her voice rising slightly. “You just said you wanted something in my room...do you have any idea how that sounds?!”
Arthur bit back a laugh, but the glint in his eyes gave him away. “Relax, It’s not like I’m raiding your sock drawer or anything.”
Her glare sharpened. “If you touch anything, I’ll teleport you to another dimension and leave you there.”
“Noted.” He held up his hands in mock surrender again. “But for the record, I have no choice really.”
Raven squinted at the key still buzzing faintly between his fingers. “What even is that?”
Arthur tilted his head, eyes narrowing in thought as the key pulsed faintly in his grip. For a moment, he considered brushing it off with another joke but no. This was serious.
Without warning, he reached out and grabbed Raven’s hands, his touch warm against her cool skin. The sudden contact made her tense, her lips parting slightly in surprise.
“Look,” Arthur said, voice low but firm. “You’re gonna see something but you need to keep it to yourself. Do not, and I mean it do not tell a soul.”
The weight behind his words sent a chill down Raven’s spine. This wasn’t his usual teasing or smug attitude. He was serious.
Her brows furrowed as she tried to read his expression. “What is it?” she asked, her voice softer now, curiosity tangled with concern.
Arthur didn’t answer right away. His eyes flickered glowing faintly the usual playful glint replaced by something sharper. Dangerous. Whatever this was, it wasn’t a joke.
Raven swallowed, her pulse quickening. “Okay, okay I promise,” she said, her voice quieter but laced with impatience. “Just… what the hell is this thing?”
Arthur’s grip on her hands tightened briefly before he released her. “Let’s get inside your room first,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Without waiting for her reply, he turned toward the door and pushed it open.
Raven hesitated just for a second. Part of her brain screamed that this was insane. Bringing a guy like him who clearly wasn’t supposed to be in the Tower into her room? Yeah, it will look bad to the others no matter what she says.
And yet… she followed.
The door clicked shut behind them, muffling the sounds of the Tower’s halls. Her room was exactly what anyone might expect dimly lit, shelves stacked with ancient books, the faint scent of incense hanging in the air. It was private. Quiet.
Arthur took a few steps in, scanning the room with that same unreadable expression. “Cozy,” he murmured, before pivoting back to her, the key still glowing softly in his hand.
“Alright,” Raven crossed her arms, leaning back against her desk, trying to appear casual despite the heat still lingering on her face. “We’re inside. Now talk.”
Arthur spun the key between his fingers, as if deciding how much to say. “What I’m about to show you?” He flicked his gaze back to hers. “It’s not something your team or anyone else should know about.”
Raven raised an eyebrow, skepticism curling at the edges of her face.
Arthur’s lips curved into that maddening, familiar smirk but his eyes still held that strange seriousness. “if I wanted to cause trouble for all of you..” he said, stepping closer until there was barely a breath of space between them, “I wouldn’t be standing here asking you to trust me.”
For once, Raven had no snarky comeback. She just nodded, the weight of his words hanging heavy between them.
“Good,” Arthur said softly, stepping back. Then, with a deep breath, he turned the key.
The moment Arthur twisted the key, reality trembled.
A jagged, glowing rift tore itself into existence right in front of them a swirling mass of shadow and silver light, twisting and crackling like it had been ripped straight out of a nightmare. The edges shimmered with an eerie, violet glow, casting strange, flickering patterns against the walls of Raven’s room.
The air grew thick, humming with an unnatural energy that made the hairs on Raven’s neck stand on end.
“What the hell…?” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the low, thrumming sound the portal emitted.
Arthur, meanwhile, just tilted his head, watching the portal with that same maddening calm as if a tear in reality casually opening in a girl’s bedroom was no big deal.
Raven, however, wasn’t about to sit back and let this slide. She stepped closer, eyes narrowing as she studied the swirling mass. “Is this…” She hesitated for a moment before finishing, “…some kind of portal... No, it is a Portal... The magic I'm sensing from it... it’s insane!”
Without waiting for an answer, she raised a hand, her fingertips glowing faintly with magic as she reached toward it.
The second her fingers brushed the edge
ZAP.
A sharp crack of invisible force lashed out, sending a jolt up her arm and making her stumble back with a quiet curse.
Arthur chuckled softly, crossing his arms. “Yeah… probably shouldn’t touch that.”
Raven glared at him, shaking her hand as the static tingled across her fingers. “Thanks for the warning,” she deadpanned. “So? What exactly is it?”
Arthur twirled the key once between his fingers before slipping it back into his inventory with a faint shimmer. “A portal, like you said,” he admitted, leaning against her wall like he owned the place. “But not just any portal only I can enter it.”
Raven’s brow furrowed as she processed his words. “And it just… happens to be here,” she said slowly, a thread of suspicion curling through her voice. “In my room.”
“Yup.” Arthur popped the “p” with a smirk, meeting her gaze without a trace of hesitation.
Her expression hardened as she crossed her arms, stepping back toward him. “You’re telling me,” she said carefully, her voice low and skeptical, “that this only works here?”
Arthur lifted a hand in mock surrender. “I’m just as confused as you are. Believe me,” he said smoothly. “But hey, fate’s funny like that.”
Raven narrowed her eyes, searching his face for any sign of deception. His usual cocky attitude was still there but underneath it? He was serious. There was no mockery, no hint of a lie.
He was telling the truth.
“…You’re not lying,” she finally admitted, though the words felt heavy on her tongue.
“Told you,” Arthur said, flashing her a grin. “I’m an open book.”
Raven snorted quietly, but there was no humor behind it. “That’s the biggest lie you’ve told all day.”
Arthur just laughed, pushing himself off the wall. “Alright, fair point,” he said, stepping closer to the portal. The strange energy danced across his skin but didn’t harm him, like it recognized him. “Anyways Raven,this portal... it’s not going anywhere without me. So I'm going to enter it right now.”
Her breath hitched. Without thinking, her hand shot out toward him.
“Arthur...” Her voice came softer than she intended, a rare crack of concern breaking through her usual calm.
Arthur stopped, turning back just enough to meet her eyes. That cocky confidence still lingered, but beneath it, there was something solid, trusting.
“I’m counting on you to keep this a secret,” he said, his tone unusually gentle. “I’ll be back right here, when I'm done.”
Raven opened her mouth to argue, to demand answers, but the words stuck in her throat. She clenched her fists, knowing deep down he was going to do whatever he wanted regardless of what she said.
“…Idiot,” she muttered under her breath.
Arthur caught it of course he did and a playful smirk tugged at his lips. “Glad to know you care about me.”
Her face heated instantly. “I—I don’t! I just...” She huffed, crossing her arms tighter around herself. “If you get yourself killed, I wouldn’t even care.”
“Of course.” Arthur chuckled, giving her one last nod before turning back toward the portal.
Without another word, he leapt forward straight into the swirling void.
The portal didn’t explode or shatter. It just… vanished collapsing in on itself like it had never been there, leaving behind nothing but a faint hum of lingering energy hanging heavy in the air. The strange, electric charge faded. The room fell into silence.
He was gone.
For a long moment, Raven just stood there, her heart pounding louder than she’d ever admit. She exhaled slowly, staring at the spot where the portal had been, the emptiness pressing against her chest.
“…Show-off,” she whispered, rolling her eyes but her voice was softer now and a little worried.
