Chapter 90: The Gate Opens
This was why Noah had been able to slowly place various detection instruments around the gate. These devices were responsible for collecting all sorts of data and transmitting it in real-time to several nearby communication lacrimas for storage. The equipment was numerous and fragile, and it took Noah a considerable amount of time to install it all.
When the installation was complete, Noah left a Thought Projection to stand guard and returned home to continue his studies and research. During this time, he intensified his study of space, time, and Celestial Spirit magic. Aided by the knowledge transmitted back from his projection in the Spirit World, he made great progress.
As for the Zodiac keys needed to open the gate, during his weekly visits to the Heartfilia estate, Jude had informed him that the collection was complete. All twelve keys had owners. To prevent any accidents, Jude had specially invited all the key holders to stay at the Heartfilia estate for a month leading up to the event. Noah had gone to see them and found that, aside from three of the Heartfilia's original servants, he didn't recognize any of them, so he didn't pay them much more mind. Layla had formed temporary contracts with all twelve Zodiac spirits, allowing her to use their keys.
Now, everything was ready. All they had to do was wait for the day of the lunar eclipse. Noah had calculated the date and confirmed it was the same as in the original story: July 7th.
And so, on the morning of July 7th, X777, the Heartfilia family and Noah traveled to the royal capital, Crocus, to have a meal and converse with the royal family. Noah also took this opportunity to meet King Toma E. Fiore, Princess Hisui E. Fiore, and the captain of her guard, Arcadios.
When night fell, Jude remained above to accompany Princess Hisui and her guards, while King Toma, along with Layla and Noah, descended deep beneath the royal palace to a colossal gate.
"This is the gate that has been passed down through my royal family for generations. Are you certain you can open it?" King Toma asked. Although he had agreed to the Heartfilia's request, he was still skeptical. After all, no one had been able to open it for so many years.
"Your Majesty, I am not certain either, but it is highly likely that it can be opened in this era," Layla replied.
Noah, however, said confidently from the side, "It will definitely be opened today. The conditions have been met."
As he spoke, he began to operate the various instruments he had already activated, collecting and recording data and backing it up to several lacrimas placed at varying distances from the gate.
As time slowly passed, no one spoke. Layla was adjusting her mental state, Noah was continuously operating his equipment and had even split off several Thought Projections to help, and King Toma was observing silently from the side.
Finally, the time for the eclipse arrived.
"Sister Layla," Noah said, "you can begin."
Layla took a deep breath, took out the prepared Zodiac keys, and poured her magic into them. "Please, help me, spirits of the Zodiac!" she called out.
The twelve keys all began to glow with a golden light. They flew towards the gate, embedding themselves in their respective slots in order. The lock on the gate began to open. Layla continued to channel her magic to maintain the process. Noah glanced at her condition and saw that she was doing fine, so he focused his attention on his equipment, leaving one Thought Projection to monitor her.
As the lock gradually opened, Noah sensed and detected that the magic on the gate was growing stronger and stronger. By the time the lock was fully open, the magic had accumulated to a terrifying level. The gate began to creak open. Noah sensed the magic on the gate connecting to an unknown place, and his detection equipment began to generate a frantic stream of data. Without interfering with the gate, Noah used every means at his disposal to monitor the event, continuously recording everything he detected.
A brilliant white light shone from within the slowly opening gate, and the movement kicked up a large cloud of dust.
Suddenly, five streaks of light shot out from the gate. Just as Noah was about to use his magic to intercept them, a heaven-shaking roar echoed in his mind. The voice was filled with power and majesty, inspiring a primal fear in all living things.
Having prepared in advance, Noah was not startled by the sound. He simply lowered his hands and silently watched as the five streaks of light—red, blue, green, white, and purple—burst through the ceiling and flew away.
Sigh. I wanted to try and intercept the five little dragon people, but it seems their parents disagreed. I guess I'll just have to wait for them to come to me in the future.
King Toma, watching the scene before him, was completely stunned. "The gate that has been passed down through my family for generations... to think someone could actually open it—" he muttered to himself.
Noah's Thought Projection went to check on Layla and found that she was in good condition, merely sweating a bit and slightly out of breath from the large expenditure of magic.
"—Someone is walking out of the gate!" King Toma exclaimed.
The projection and Layla both looked up at the figure emerging from the light. When the figure had fully stepped out, they could see that she was a woman with blonde hair tied in a single ponytail, wearing a white dress with a black belt and a black cape over her shoulders. Her face bore a strong resemblance to Layla's.
"Where is this? What... what year is it?"
"It is the year X777," Layla answered.
The blonde woman calculated for a moment. "Four hundred years later... we—we succeeded—" Suddenly, she realized something and asked Layla urgently, "Where are the children? There should have been five children who came with me!"
"The moment the gate opened, five streaks of light flew out, but I am not certain if those were the children you speak of," King Toma said from the side. He then pointed to the ceiling. "Look—there are five holes in the ceiling."
The blonde woman stared blankly at the five holes, from which dust was still falling. Noah, meanwhile, was still collecting data. "Are you going to return to the gate now, or will you stay here? According to my calculations, if you go back now, you can still return to 400 years ago."
The woman thought for a moment. "No. I still have things I must accomplish. I must stay here."
"I admire your decision. It is one that most people would find difficult to make."
The magic on the gate began to weaken, and it slowly began to close on its own. The locks engaged one by one, and the twelve Zodiac keys fell off. Noah used his magic to collect them.
Everyone else was lost in their own thoughts and said nothing. Noah, having collected all his data, first packed up his most fragile equipment, planning to retrieve the rest later.
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