CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 180: TRUTH BEHIND THE WORLD TRAVEL

Jax walked out of the castle, crossing the golden corridors that still echoed with chants of devotion. As he opened the main doors, a warm breeze greeted him. From the top of the steps, he looked out at the city sprawling like an ocean of life and light.

Laughter resonated in every corner, children ran, merchants chuckled, musicians played in the squares. No trace of fear remained. The entire continent breathed peace, the peace imposed by the God of Dreams.

Jax walked slowly through the streets with a serene stride. Every gaze bowed before him. Every heart trembled, not with fear, but with veneration. He felt complete, absolute master of the world he had shaped with blood, will, and mana.

Upon reaching the main wall, he surveyed the scene outside: a field covered with kneeling figures. The Emperors. The former kings of the subjugated continents. None had dared to retreat; they all remained there, prostrated, awaiting the victor’s word.

Then, a familiar presence emerged from the shadows.

The Demon Empress appeared, shrouded in a black veil. Her body seemed ethereal, her energy weak, as if life itself had abandoned her. Where there was once fire and arrogance, now only empty eyes and a faint tremor remained.

"What has happened to you?" Jax asked, his deep voice resonating like contained thunder. "You are not even the shadow of what you once were."

She lowered her gaze. "The White Stag Emperor and I faced a trial... but we were annihilated. He fell completely. I lost my physical body. What you see is only my shadow."

Jax watched her in silence for a few seconds. "And that is why you sought me?"

"Yes," she replied with a trembling voice. "Our plan was for the three of us to face the trial, but we couldn’t wait for you any longer."

"Why not?"

"Because, although time is eternal, the opportunity is not. The writings said that day was the only one. If we didn’t act then, the door would close forever."

Jax narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by ’the door’?"

She shook her head, distressed. "I cannot say. There is someone... above the gods. An entity that monitors that information. If I mention it, it will destroy both of us."

The God of Dreams remained silent for a moment, measuring the weight of her words. Then he nodded. "I understand. I will not ask further. But tell me, what will you do now?"

"I will return to my world."

Jax frowned. "Your world?"

"Nvheer," she replied with a sigh. "The original realm of the dark pleasure demons. Perhaps you know our descendants... the succubi."

A smile crossed Jax’s face. "I know them."

"Then you know where I come from." The Empress lifted her gaze. "I will return there."

"That is impossible," he said. "No one can leave this continent."

She raised an eyebrow with an almost mocking expression. "Who told you such nonsense?"

Jax slowly turned his head toward the rows of kneeling emperors. With a simple sweep of his hand, the air vibrated, and one of them—the Human Emperor—was ripped from the ground and lifted to hover directly in front of them.

"You damned human emperor," Jax questioned, his voice frigid. "Your vassal, King Charles, told me you were the one who said no one can leave this continent?"

The Emperor trembled, the blood draining from his face. The veins in his neck strained as he felt the invisible pressure of divine power.

"My... my Lord... I..."

Jax took a step forward. His gaze was pure contained fire. "Did you lie to me, human?"

The air became unbearable. Even the Demon Empress’s shadow took a step back from the murderous sensation emanating from him.

The Emperor stammered, words spilling out in gasps.

"It’s... it’s not as it seems, my Lord. It was a misunderstanding. I... I wouldn’t want to deceive the God of Dreams."

Jax stared at him, unblinking. The calm on his face was worse than fury: it promised an irreversible end.

"I hate rats like you," he said in a low, sharp voice. "It would be better to erase you from this world forever."

Charles vomited excuses, nearly breathless. "No... it’s not that I wanted to... The return journey is only possible with a god’s blessing and permission. It requires power... a special blessing. The planets themselves reject you after a while, so you can’t live there as before. Every world has a guardian, created by the Creator. Not even the gods can challenge it... or so we believed."

Jax clenched his fist. A golden glow began to crawl across the Emperor’s skin, a pressure that bowed his back.

Knowing he couldn’t hide anything, Charles continued, desperate. "I made a deal with the Goddess of Light. She promised me eternal life, infinite resources, in exchange for ensuring that none of the heroes could ever return to their planets. She forced me to sign a soul pact. All the emperors signed it. If anyone tried to rebel, the emperor in charge had to eliminate them. It wasn’t my idea... she imposed it. Poseidon was the guardian of the pact this century... I wasn’t the mastermind behind it all."

The hall was filled with a brutal silence. Even the disciples stopped touching Jax. The hundred and twenty virgins held their breath. The kneeling emperors trembled like thin threads of wool in the wind.

Jax fixed his gaze on Charles. He said nothing. His fingers squeezed and the golden light concentrated in his palm until the light became a pulse that resonated throughout the Emperor’s body. The energy didn’t kill; it stripped. It stripped the blessing, stripped the authority, stripped the lie that sustained him.

Charles screamed once, a high-pitched sound, as if something vital were being uprooted from him. He fell to his knees, gasping, his gaze lost in what was once power. Where there was pride now was hunger, confusion, and infinite humiliation.

"You have served another god," Jax finally said, without softness.