The thought of traveling to the Dark Continent without proper research bothered Jax more than he liked to admit.
Not because he feared battle.
Battle he understood.
Unknowns were different.
The Dark Continent existed beyond the shattered barrier line. Ancient texts described it as cursed land. Demon land. Death land. The place monsters came from.
But the more Jax researched, the less convinced he became that history was telling the truth.
History, he had learned, lied constantly.
Usually written by whoever survived.
So there was one person he wanted answers from.
Unfortunately…
That meant visiting Eldrich.
The moment the Vixens entered Eldrich's research facility, Nyxian stopped walking.
"No."
Jax blinked.
"No?"
"I refuse."
"You haven't even seen him yet."
"I can smell the experiments."
Llandra pinched the bridge of her nose.
The building itself was massive now. What started as a modest magical research hall outside Rivenglade had evolved into an enormous hybrid structure of stone, enchanted crystal, metal piping, and glowing runes.
Strange humming noises echoed through the halls.
Somewhere nearby, something exploded.
Nobody reacted.
A sign hung crookedly above a reinforced doorway.
ELDRICH ADVANCED ARCANE DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
Underneath it, written in smaller handwriting:
Please stop touching unstable artifacts.
Underneath that, in much messier handwriting:
Especially Jax.
Jax frowned.
"I touched one thing."
"You caused a dimensional implosion."
"It was a small implosion."
"It erased three chickens from reality."
"They came back."
"Inside out."
Nyxian grabbed Jax's arm.
"We can still leave."
The door ahead burst open.
Smoke poured out.
Then emerged Eldrich.
His silver-blond hair pointed in twelve different directions like he had been electrocuted repeatedly. Thick enchanted lenses covered his eyes, magnifying them slightly. Ink stains covered his gloves and sleeves.
He froze when he saw Jax.
Then immediately pointed at him.
"You."
Jax pointed at himself.
"Yes. You."
"What did I do?"
"You inspired another idea."
"That sounds like a compliment."
"It is not."
Eldrich grabbed Jax by the sleeve and began dragging him down the hallway.
Nyxian looked horrified.
"He's taking him."
"He always does this," Llandra sighed.
The laboratory looked even worse than before.
Blueprints littered every surface.
Half-built magical devices floated in containment fields.
A crystal orb in the corner kept screaming every thirty seconds.
Nobody acknowledged it.
Pixelle stared upward at a massive construct hanging from the ceiling.
"What is that?"
Eldrich answered casually.
"L.U.M.I.A."
The machine hummed softly.
Golden light pulsed through its frame.
It vaguely resembled a humanoid figure still under construction.
Lexi tilted her head.
"What does that stand for?"
Eldrich paused.
"Technically?"
"There's a technically?"
"There are currently seven versions."
Nyxian immediately regretted asking.
Eldrich adjusted his glasses.
"Luminescent Unified Mana Intelligence Automaton."
Silence.
Pixelle blinked.
"That sounds dangerous."
"It absolutely is."
"Why would you admit that so casually?!"
"Because honesty is important in science."
Nyxian whispered toward Jax.
"This is the man you trust with dimensional travel?"
"He's very smart."
"That answer made me LESS comfortable."
Eldrich finally stopped moving and turned toward Jax.
"So. Other worlds."
Jax crossed his arms.
"More like other planes separated by barriers."
Eldrich's eyes lit up instantly.
"Oh."
That single word carried terrifying enthusiasm.
"Oh no," Nyxian muttered.
Eldrich spun around and began rummaging through stacks of papers.
"Dr. Iso theorized this decades ago."
That caught Jax's attention immediately.
"Dr. Ian Iso?"
"Yes."
"You never mentioned that before."
"You never asked."
Eldrich finally found what he wanted and unfolded a massive hand-drawn map.
It showed the continent.
Then surrounding it—
Circular fractures.
Broken edges.
Areas marked with notes.
BARRIER INSTABILITY
MANA VEIL
WORLD EDGE
Llandra stepped closer.
"You think the world is segmented?"
"No," Eldrich corrected immediately.
"I think the world was partitioned."
The room went quiet.
Even Nyxian stopped complaining.
Eldrich pointed to the map.
"These barrier zones exist across every outer edge of the known continents. Ships vanish. Flying beasts lose direction. Portal magic destabilizes."
Jax narrowed his eyes.
"And the Dark Continent?"
Eldrich tapped the map.
"The only known shattered section."
That made everyone pause.
Jax slowly pieced it together.
"WhenAlex Lightbringer broke the barrier…"
"He may have reopened a pathway intentionally sealed long ago."
Nyxian folded her arms tightly.
"That sounds significantly less comforting when you say it out loud."
Eldrich began pacing.
"When Dr. Iso studied dimensional portals, he believed mana itself behaved similarly to layered frequency systems."
Nobody responded.
Not because they understood.
But because nobody wanted to interrupt him once he started.
Eldrich continued.
"Imagine several worlds occupying the same space while separated by resonance barriers."
Nyxian blinked.
"I hate this conversation."
Pixelle raised a hand.
"I understood maybe three words."
Lexi looked proud.
"I understood four."
Llandra sighed.
"Can you simplify it?"
Eldrich stopped pacing.
"No."
Then after a pause:
"…Fine."
He grabbed an apple from a nearby table.
Then stacked several glass plates over it.
"Same location."
He pointed upward.
"Different layers."
Then he tapped the plates.
"Barriers separate them."
Jax's expression sharpened.
"So the Dark Continent may not just be another continent."
Eldrich nodded slowly.
"It may be another plane partially merged with ours."
Silence filled the room.
Even Jax felt uneasy hearing it spoken aloud.
Because it aligned too well with his suspicions.
Summoned heroes.
Barrier systems.
Ancient seals.
The Chaos God.
Dimensional portals.
None of it felt disconnected anymore.
Nyxian leaned against a wall.
"So… worst case scenario?"
Eldrich answered immediately.
"Oh, extinction probably."
Pixelle screamed.
Llandra groaned.
Jax rubbed his forehead.
"You really need to work on delivery."
"I thought honesty was appreciated."
"Not like THAT."
Jax eventually redirected the conversation.
"I need communication over long distances."
Eldrich blinked.
"For what?"
"Dark Continent exploration."
Eldrich froze.
Then slowly turned.
"You're actually going."
"Yes."
"…Interesting."
That was somehow more concerning than panic.
Jax continued.
"Tele-stones work well locally, but once we get farther away—"
"Towers."
Jax blinked.
"You already thought of it?"
"No."
Eldrich suddenly became excited again.
"But now I have."
He started scribbling instantly.
"Mana amplification through relay structures…"
"Localized resonance stabilizers…"
"Portable transmission nodes…"
The man was muttering to himself now.
Nyxian whispered toward Llandra.
"Did we lose him?"
"I think so."
Pixelle pointed nervously.
"Is that machine supposed to be sparking?"
Nobody answered.
Three hours later, Eldrich finally resurfaced mentally.
"Yes. It can work."
Jax looked up from a stack of notes.
"You're sure?"
"Reasonably."
"That confidence level sounds low."
"It's actually quite high for experimental dimensional communication."
Nyxian looked horrified again.
"EXPERIMENTAL?"
Eldrich ignored her completely.
"I'll need three weeks."
Jax nodded.
"That fast?"
"I already have several prototypes."
"Why?"
Eldrich looked confused by the question.
"Because communication is important."
Jax pointed toward a glowing orb currently floating upside down.
"That thing is speaking ancient demon language."
"It's learning."
"That does not comfort me."
Eventually the Vixens escaped the laboratory.
Escaped was absolutely the correct word.
Outside, fresh air never felt so good.
Pixelle landed dramatically on Jax's shoulder.
"I thought we were going to die in there."
"We almost did," Nyxian agreed immediately.
Llandra looked thoughtful instead.
"He may actually be right."
Jax nodded slowly.
"The barriers?"
"The worlds."
The idea lingered heavily now.
Separated planes.
Layered worlds.
Ancient seals.
And somewhere beyond those broken barriers—
The Dark Continent waited.
As they walked back toward Solmere, reactions varied wildly among the Vixens.
Nyxian was practically vibrating with excitement.
"The homeland of demonkind…"
Her eyes gleamed.
"I want to see it."
Pixelle looked personally offended by the entire mission.
"Why?"
Everyone looked at her.
She crossed her tiny arms.
"Solmere adores me."
"That is true," Lexi admitted.
Pixelle pointed proudly.
"I have status."
"You have a fan club," Bunny corrected.
"Exactly."
Lexi quietly walked beside them.
Jax glanced toward her.
"You okay?"
She nodded immediately.
"I'm coming too."
"You don't have to."
"I know."
Then after a pause:
"But if everyone leaves and I stay behind… I'll regret it forever."
Jax smiled softly.
That was enough reason for him.
That night, while the Vixens slept around him in a tangled mess of blankets and limbs, Jax remained awake staring at the ceiling.
His thoughts drifted back to Adam Lightbringer.
A summoned hero from another world.
A man history had rewritten.
A man who once united races before later generations twisted his legacy.
Jax wondered if the same thing would happen to him someday.
Would future generations distort who he really was?
Would they erase the truth too?
Then another thought hit him.
If Adam Lightbringer had truly come from another world…
Then maybe Jax wasn't alone.
And somewhere beyond the shattered barriers of the world—
There might be others like him waiting.