Chapter 2 : Summoning Gone Wrong

In the halls of the Tristain Academy of Magic, a prestigious institution renowned for shaping young wizards and witches into skilled mages, a peculiar reputation had taken root. Among the promising students who walked its corridors, there was one whose name echoed with both ridicule and wonder: Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, a young mage whose magical prowess had earned her an infamous moniker—Louise the Zero.

Louise was a petite, elegant girl with long, flowing hair and an air of nobility about her. Yet, her abilities in magic were anything but noble. More often than not, her incantations led to unforeseen consequences, leaving a trail of mishaps and mishandled spells. This earned her the mocking title of "Zero" amongst her peers, a name that served as a constant reminder of her supposed incompetence.

The halls of the academy had witnessed her repeated attempts to prove herself, each time ending in a spectacular display of magical failure. The students had come to expect it, and her reputation as the clumsy girl who couldn't get her spells right had become firmly established.

However, fate had a peculiar way of intertwining the lives of those seemingly destined to be misfits. It was on a day that held a ritual of great importance—a ritual that would determine the familiar that a mage would summon, a lifelong companion bound by magic—that Louise found herself once again standing before her peers, her heart pounding with both anticipation and apprehension.

The air was charged with an electric energy as students lined up, each taking their turn to channel their magic into the summoning ritual. Louise stepped forward, her heart pounding in her chest, a mixture of determination and anxiety coursing through her veins. This was her chance to prove them wrong, to show that she was not bound to her unfortunate nickname.

With a deep breath, Louise focused her magic, weaving the intricate spell that would summon her familiar. Her voice trembled slightly as she chanted the incantation, and for a brief moment, the room seemed to hold its breath. But as the spell reached its crescendo, something went awry.

A surge of energy erupted from the magical circle, causing sparks to fly and the air to crackle with unpredicted power. A rift formed in the fabric of space itself, and from its depths emerged a figure that sent shockwaves through the room—a figure that was most certainly not the expected magical creature.

Before the stunned eyes of her peers, Louise's ritual had gone beyond her control. Emerging from the rift, with eyes that bore the weight of a thousand untold stories, stood a young man with raven-black hair and an aura of mystery. His attire was unlike anything seen within the academy, hinting at a world beyond their own.

The unexpected arrival left the room in stunned silence, broken only by a soft exclamation from Louise herself. "What... What have I done?"

The young man, this enigma from another realm, stood before her and the gathered students, his gaze as curious as it was cautious. He was Uchiha Kaneki, a name unknown to this world, a figure whose very presence defied the boundaries of reality.

Kaneki's eyes, with their mesmerizing depth, scanned the unfamiliar surroundings. He was no longer in Konoha, the village he had known all his life. The architecture was different, the air carried an unusual scent, and the language spoken around him was completely foreign. The portal that Louise's summoning had opened had transported him to a realm beyond his own, leaving him disoriented and drained.

Despite his fatigue, Kaneki's instincts were alert. He felt a wave of vertigo wash over him as he tried to take a step forward. The ground beneath him felt strange, almost as if he were walking on a surface he had never encountered. His mind struggled to process the information his senses were feeding him, and he found himself swaying on unsteady legs.

The voices around him blended into an unintelligible chorus, the syllables mere echoes that he couldn't decipher. Panic began to creep in, his heart pounding as he grappled with the reality of his situation. He was a stranger in a strange land, a world he couldn't comprehend, and he was running on fumes—his chakra depleted and his body weary from the unpredictable journey.

Kaneki's gaze fell upon Louise, the young mage who had unwittingly brought him to this perplexing realm. Confusion flickered in his eyes as he struggled to communicate, his lips parting as if to speak words that wouldn't come. The unease in his expression was palpable, his instincts screaming at him to find a safe haven, to gather his strength before he confronted the unknown.

As the world spun around him, Kaneki's thoughts were a whirlwind of questions and uncertainties. Where was he? How had he come to be in this place?

Amidst the chaos of his thoughts, he was suddenly surrounded by laughter—the sound of mirth that seemed out of place in his current predicament. He attempted to move, to stand on his own, but his strength betrayed him. One knee gave way, and he found himself sinking, his body refusing to obey his commands. The toll of the interdimensional journey was painfully evident, his energy spent and his chakra reserves dangerously depleted.

In his moment of vulnerability, a figure approached him—an unexpected presence that further deepened the enigma of his situation. A young woman with vibrant pink hair stepped forward, her face flushed with an emotion that Kaneki couldn't quite decipher. Before he could react, she reached out and gently cupped his face, her lips meeting his in a kiss that took him utterly by surprise.

The sensation was electrifying, a collision of warmth and softness that sent a shockwave through his bewildered mind. His heart raced, not just from the suddenness of the gesture, but from the inexplicable familiarity of it all. The Uchiha genes that coursed through his veins had gifted him with a striking handsomeness, but even so, he hadn't expected this kind of encounter in a world so foreign.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still, and the world around him faded away. But just as quickly as it had begun, the kiss ended, leaving Kaneki dumbfounded and struggling to process what had just transpired. Before he could gather his thoughts, however, a searing pain erupted in his left hand—a pain that lanced through his senses like a bolt of lightning.

His hand throbbed, a relentless agony that intensified with each passing second. Kaneki's eyes widened in shock as he clutched his hand, his breath catching in his throat. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced, a torment that seemed to pierce through every fiber of his being.

The people's laughter, which had once surrounded him like a distant melody, now seemed distant and surreal. His world had narrowed to the burning pain in his hand, a pain that seemed to consume his very essence. He tried to suppress a scream, but the agony was too overpowering. A primal, guttural cry tore from his lips—a cry of anguish and confusion that echoed through the air.

As the pain reached its peak, Kaneki's body trembled uncontrollably. His vision blurred, and he felt himself teetering on the edge of consciousness. In that harrowing moment, he yearned for an escape from the torment that had enveloped him. The pink-haired girl's actions and the inexplicable pain had only deepened the mystery of his situation, leaving him trapped in a realm of uncertainty, struggling to grasp a reality that seemed to slip through his fingers like sand.

And then, as the world threatened to fade away, Kaneki's senses finally gave in to the overwhelming turmoil. His body succumbed to the intense agony, his consciousness slipping into a deep abyss. Darkness closed in around him, a merciful shroud that provided respite from the chaos that had engulfed him.

The laughter, the unfamiliar faces, and the enigmatic realm itself all faded into oblivion as Kaneki's consciousness slipped away. The boundaries between his world and this foreign land blurred, and he descended into a dreamless slumber, seeking solace from the torment that had ravaged him.

In that realm between wakefulness and unconsciousness, Kaneki's mind floated, suspended in a void of tranquility. The events that had transpired remained as fragmented memories, fleeting and disjointed. The pain was distant now, a dull ache in the recesses of his mind. For a brief respite, he was free from the burdens of his journey and the bewildering circumstances that had brought him here.

As the world carried on around him, oblivious to his plight, Kaneki rested in the embrace of sleep. His dreams held no visions, no answers—only a brief respite from the storm that had raged within him. The enigma of his presence in this unfamiliar world remained unsolved, but for now, his exhausted body and troubled mind found sanctuary in the quiet stillness of his unconsciousness.