Chapter 339: Slow Approach!

Golden mana gathered around Jax’s outstretched fingertips, not explosively, but with impossible precision, as expected for a Demon King and someone at his level of power.

The surrounding ocean seemed to recognize the change in the surrounding area’s mana pressure immediately, as water currents that previously flowed smoothly all around them now slowed.

Tiny bioluminescent creatures that had been drifting lazily through the water suddenly scattered in every direction, instinct driving them away from the gathering power.

Even the ambient mana filling the abyss began flowing towards Jax’s hand, as if beckoned to him.

Astra instinctively took half a step back when she felt the pressure Jax was releasing, "...That’s a lot of mana."

"It needs to be for what I need to do," Jax said, his golden eyes never left the place where the distortion had disappeared.

"It hid itself by folding space, this creature seems very special. Space + Water Magic is extremely rare," Jax explained, his voice remaining very calm.

"So instead of chasing this creature around..." Golden light intensified around Jax’s fingers as he continued speaking, "...I’ll simply make space unfold to draw it out,"

Astra’s silver eyes widened after she heard Jax’s explanation, "You can do that?"

"I can certainly try," Jax said.

The surrounding water trembled. Unlike ordinary spells that expanded outward in waves, Jax’s mana compressed inward, becoming much denser and sharper.

Until the golden aura around his fingertips resembled liquid sunlight condensed into physical form.

The ocean grew strangely quiet. Even the distant cries of enormous sea beasts faded as even the deep dark abyss of the ocean seemed to be waiting for whatever Jax was doing to be completed.

Jax slowly pressed two fingers toward the empty water, "Found you."

He twisted his wrist and spoke calmly "...Open."

~CRRRRRRKKKKK!~

Nothing exploded or shattered when Jax casted the spell, instead, reality around the two of them creased like a perfectly smooth sheet of fabric being pinched between invisible fingers.

A thin golden line appeared in the water. It was only a few centimeters long, but it was very noticeable.

Astra blinked as she saw all of this going on, "...That’s it?"

But before she could continue, the line expanded by an inch, and then another before all of a sudden, the surrounding ocean suddenly lurched violently.

~WHOOOOOOOOM!~

Water currents all around them reversed as water began spiraling around the line without actually touching it.

Space itself bent inward and the golden fracture widened into a vertical tear stretching several meters high.

Except, it wasn’t revealing more ocean. Beyond the opening, there was another sea.

A completely different one.

"..."

Astra’s breathing stopped.

"...Jax..."

"I see it."

The world beyond looked impossible. The water possessed an ethereal silver-blue glow unlike anything outside. Countless floating islands drifted beneath the sea itself, as though gravity had lost interest in functioning correctly.

Ancient pillars floated upside-down.

Entire rivers of glowing mana wound through open water like celestial highways. Stars shimmered beneath the distant seabed instead of above.

Everything looked wrong. It was very beautiful, able to attract anyone who could appreciate a lovely sight, but it also looked and felt wrong, giving Jax a strangely eerie vibe.

"It isn’t an illusion," Jax said as his senses surged forward. His mana crossed the opening.

Nothing resisted it and nothing attacked it. His mana was allowed to simply continue forward without any form of resistance.

"...Another dimension," Astra whispered as she understood what she was looking at.

Jax nodded slowly, "A hidden ocean within the ocean,"

He looked around thoughtfully, "No wonder Meridia couldn’t locate whatever woke up."

Astra folded her arms, "If it’s hidden inside another dimension, then it technically isn’t beneath her waters anymore."

"Exactly," Jax nodded.

Silence settled between them. The dimensional opening remained stable, golden mana holding it apart. The ocean outside continued flowing normally around the tear as though refusing to acknowledge its existence.

Astra looked toward Jax, "So..." She smiled, "We’re going in?"

Jax looked at her, "When have I ever stopped at the interesting part?"

"...Fair," Astra said.

They crossed together. The instant they stepped through, the sensation wasn’t like teleportation.

Instead, it felt like walking through the surface of perfectly still water. It was cool and weightless. Then, everything around them changed.

Jax looked behind himself. The dimensional tear had vanished.

"..."

"So..."

Astra said quietly.

"...We’re committed now."

Jax smiled faintly.

"Looks that way."

The ocean surrounding them radiated a soft silver glow. Unlike the abyss outside, this place possessed remarkable clarity.

Visibility stretched for kilometers.

The water felt heavier and older, as if it was alive. Even breathing through his magic felt subtly different.

Mana flowed here with astonishing ease. Almost as though the environment itself welcomed magical energy.

Astra slowly turned in place.

"This place is..."

She searched for the right word.

"Beautiful."

Jax couldn’t disagree. Everywhere they looked, ancient coral floated unsupported through open water.

Huge crystal spheres drifted lazily through invisible currents. Forests of translucent sea plants shimmered with every passing pulse of mana.

Some resembled trees whereas others resembled flowers, and certain things looked like flowing glass.

Above them, entire mountain-sized rocks floated upside-down while waterfalls poured upward into the darkness.

"Gravity gave up," Astra concluded as she saw all of this.

"Apparently so," Jax replied.

Neither of them sensed danger anywhere, but that definitely made both of them even more cautious.

They began swimming forward and this time, neither of them hurried.

Jax expanded his senses carefully. Mana spread through the mysterious dimension.

Immediately, he frowned, "...Nothing."

Astra looked over, "Nothing?"

"My senses should be reaching much farther."

He closed his eyes.

"They aren’t."

"...Something’s blocking them?"

"No."

His expression became thoughtful.

"They’re..."

He paused, "Being absorbed."

Astra blinked as she heard that, "Absorbed?"

Jax nodded, "The mana isn’t disappearing."

"It’s,"He reached toward a nearby floating crystal, "Being carried away,"

Golden mana entered the crystal and the crystal immediately illuminated. Then, the mana continued onward.

Flowing through invisible channels deeper into the dimension. Like blood moving through veins.

Jax watched this all happen silently, "...Interesting."

Astra floated beside him, "What is it?"

"This place isn’t passive."

He looked around, "It’s circulating mana."

She frowned, "...The entire dimension?"

"I think so."

She stared into the distance.

"...That’s... enormous."

"It is." Jax replied.

Hours passed as they walked, or perhaps minutes.

Time felt strangely unreliable. The light never changed and the currents remained perfectly consistent.

Neither of them grew tired despite the time passed and the mana expended by them. The dimension seemed disconnected from ordinary concepts of day and night.

As they explored, they encountered increasingly strange phenomena. A massive school of transparent fish that swam through solid stone.

Ancient shells the size of castles slowly drifting through open water. Plants that sang without producing sound, their mana creating melodies directly inside the mind.

Floating bubbles containing miniature oceans within them. Each bubble held completely different ecosystems.

One contained glowing jellyfish whereas another held tiny coral reefs.

Jax even saw a bubble that contained an underwater thunderstorm and Astra stopped beside it, "...How?"

Jax looked inside. Lightning flashed across black clouds suspended within the bubble, "...I have absolutely no idea."

"Can we keep it?"

"No," Jax said.

She sighed dramatically, "Worth asking."

"Well, we’ll check back after we solve what happened here, maybe we can," Jax said, and they continued forward.

Further ahead, they discovered ruins. Not broken ruins, but perfect ones.

White marble buildings stood untouched beneath silver currents. Elegant bridges stretched between enormous towers. Beautiful statues lined broad avenues.

Everything remained pristine, without a single crack and not a single sign of decay.

"Someone lived here," Astra whispered as she looked at it.

Jax nodded, "Recently too,"

She looked surprised, "You can tell?"

He pointed toward one building, "The doors."

She looked closer, they were open, not broken and with a lingering mana aura there, as if someone had just recently walked through.

The city remained eerily silent. No fish, no sea beasts and no people or merfolk.

Nothing, only stillness.

Their footsteps echoed softly across polished stone streets.

Astra looked into several buildings. She spotted libraries, gardens, homes and more.

Everything remained furnished, everything remained immaculate, but all of it was empty.

"This feels wrong," Astra admitted quietly and Jax agreed.

The strangest thing to him was there wasn’t any sign of battle. No blood, no destruction, no signs of panic.

It almost looked as though everyone had calmly stood up, and walked away together. Leaving everything behind.

As they were moving, Jax stopped suddenly and Astra noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

He crouched beside the ground. His fingers brushed across smooth stone.

"More mana."

She knelt beside him, "I don’t sense anything more,"

"You won’t."

Golden light flickered across his fingertips. Mana Refract activated and immediately, ghostlike echoes shimmered into existence.

Transparent figures.

Merfolk, hundreds of them.

Walking peacefully through the streets. Children laughing. Merchants talking. Guards patrolling.

The echoes remained only for moments before fading again.

Astra stared.

"...It really was inhabited."

Jax nodded.

"But..."

His eyes narrowed.

"...Something interrupted them."

The echoes suddenly accelerated. People stopped, turned. Looked upward, fear spread and then, everything vanished.

The vision ended and Astra looked around uneasily, "They disappeared."

"No," Jax stood slowly, "They left."

"What’s the difference?" Astra asked.

His expression remained thoughtful, "The echoes weren’t showing death, they were showing evacuation."

Astra looked toward the empty streets, "...Evacuation from what?"

Jax slowly lifted his head. His golden eyes looked toward the very center of the silent city. Far in the distance, beyond elegant towers and floating gardens...

Something enormous pierced the silver waters. A structure that was unlike everything else around it.

Dark and ancient, covered in black stone instead of white. Even from kilometers away, it radiated an unsettling presence.

Jax stared at it for several long moments.

"From whatever caused that,"