Meanwhile, back at MingYue, Luca made her decision. She decided to trust in her son and MingYue that he would be alright.
They were now standing in front of the portal. Alaric, Jake, Luca, Emily, Olivia, Quartz, Zold, and MingYue.
As for Heimdall, he was nowhere to be seen. Isolde decided to remain in the city to make sure everything was well taken care of.
Alaric offered to help, but she said it was most dangerous behind the portal. His ability would be more important inside there.
Other than Isolde, Patricia guarded the gate. Alaric just chuckled and agreed with Isolde's suggestion.
In his mind, Isolde just wanted to spend time talking with Patricia to find out more information about her.
Looking at each other, the group nodded. Luca, the one standing in front, steeled her eyes as she took a step into the portal.
With Isolde and Petricia staying on this side, she wouldn't need to worry about someone destroying their exit.
Passing through the familiar sensation she hadn't felt for a while, Luca was greeted with something beyond her imagination.
She had considered many possibilities, from being surrounded to facing a very strong enemy. But this… this was something else…
What she saw was a shattered world, and Luca meant this literally.
Green lightning crackled as it hit the ground. Dimensional fissures could be seen everywhere.
The gravity was twice that of her planet, but she could see some land floating in the sky. There was no vegetation or animal life; the place was desolate.
The air was also very thin, making it impossible for her to breathe. The only reason she could survive now was thanks to the rune Alex had carved on her forehead.
As she analyzed the area, MingYue came out of the portal, followed by Emily and the others.
Jake and Alaric quickly took a mask from their pockets. It was specially made to allow them to breathe no matter the environment.
If Alex were here, he would quickly become curious about how it worked. He speculated that it utilized some kind of dimensional space rather than air inside of it.
MingYue looked around as Vesa materialized beside her. "How is it now?" MingYue asked.
Vesa's expression changed a few times before she said, "This place is too dangerous, Queen. It's a fractured world."
"Something happened here that triggered a dimensional collapse. It could have been a war, a catastrophe, an accident; there are many reasons." Vesa's small hand then raised, pointing at one of the dimensional fissures.
"Each of those fissures is connected to somewhere.
Most of them will be in the void, but by chance, they could be connected to another world. Thankfully, this place is still in the fractured stage."
Her explanation made MingYue more confused. Vesa then continued her explanation.
"As the dimension is unstable, it's just a matter of time until the planet completely collapses. But by a small chance, if the world spirit survives and succeeds in stabilizing everything, the planet will transform into a void world.
A very unique place where many weird monsters live."
Looking around the area, MingYue could feel some life presence. She doubted anything could survive the catastrophe that fractured the planet.
There was a big chance this life presence came from some creature passing through the dimensional gate.
Luca could hear everything Vesa said, her eyes filled with disbelief while her heart rejected the possibility. "No way! I don't believe he is dead!"
Emily couldn't form any words, her eyes glistening as she felt her heart shatter. She had been looking forward to meeting her father, but what greeted her was something out of her wildest dreams, almost snuffing out all her hope.
As for the others in the group, they just looked around the area.
After venting her displeasure with that scream, Luca tried to calm her mind, thinking about what Edward would do if he really got captured in this world. There was no way he would just stay silent.
Knowing him, he would do everything he could until his last breath. Her eyes then turned to the ring on her finger.
"How long has this world been in this state? Can you find out, Vesa?" Luca asked.
"Sure, Mother Queen," Vesa replied, making Luca's lips twitch. She was not used to being called that.
She had told her multiple times to change it, but Vesa said only when Alex approved would she change it. It was part of etiquette in Edonia.
Vesa flew toward one of the fissures, her sharp claw digging into the crater. She then put it in her mouth. Her crimson eyes glinted as runes started appearing in the air, surrounding the fissure.
Vesa took her job seriously, making sure the calculation was accurate.
"Don't worry, Aunt, I am sure Uncle will be alright."
Luca's hand gripped the ring on her finger. "I know. He is alive, for sure. Otherwise, my ring would have already broken."
Emily's eyes widened as she turned her gaze toward Luca.
"Mom… you mean all this time you had a way to know Father's situation, and you never told me or Alex about it???"
Luca was too overwhelmed with the situation, and she accidentally let it slip. Seeing how hurt Emily was made her heart throb with pain. But she had her reasons for doing this; there was no way she would allow her children to risk their lives in the dungeon.
If they knew Edward was still alive, Emily would probably have already thrown all caution to the wind and gone deep into the dungeon. Even in Alex's case, despite his abilities, Luca didn't know how he would react.
Luca turned her gaze, as she could not meet her daughter's eyes. "I am sorry, can we talk about this later?"
Emily gritted her teeth, trying to press her emotions down. Quartz put her hand over her shoulder.
"Deep down, you should already know the answer, Emily. Let's just focus on our task.
In this kind of place, who knows what we will face? As an experienced hunter, you should know what to do."