Trafalgar looked at Dravok across the table.

"Well, what did you want to talk to me about? Vivienne told me today was the day of the big announcement, although she didn’t say it like that. She just said you wanted to tell me something."

Dravok leaned back slightly, one hand resting near his cup.

"Yes. It has been some time since the last time we spoke properly, and I did not want you to wait two years before learning what we were doing." His gaze moved briefly toward Rhosyn. "She is this depleted because most of the heavy work falls on her. Her class, her dimensional abilities, and all that troublesome nature of hers are what help us the most right now."

Caelvyrn turned his head toward Dravok.

"Hey, I am also doing my part," he said, one brow lifting. "The mana you are using is practically mine."

Dravok did not seem impressed.

"Yes, and mine. But that is not the point." He glanced toward Vivienne next and gave her a small nod. "Thank you for bringing him. We will speak later about how your first day went."

Vivienne nodded, though her attention was clearly on the conversation now.

Trafalgar rested one arm on the table.

"So what are you doing? I’ll be honest, I am dying of curiosity. I have been wondering about it for a while."

Dravok’s expression turned more serious.

"We are creating a separate dimension for training. More specifically, for training you. That is where I will train you, as I told you before."

Trafalgar’s fingers stopped moving against the table.

"A separate dimension?" he asked. "Is that even possible? How does something like that work? I have never heard of it being possible."

Rhosyn was the one who answered.

She looked exhausted enough that speaking seemed almost annoying, but she still straightened a little in her chair.

"I did not think I could use my powers this way either," she said. "But it seems Dravok understood my abilities better than I did. He knew your mother well, so if her powers were similar to mine, it makes sense that he would know how to guide this."

Trafalgar listened carefully. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Vivienne did the same. Despite being close to Dravok, she clearly had not known the full truth either. Her eyes moved between them with growing interest, as if the thing kept hidden for so long had finally begun to take shape in front of her.

Rhosyn continued.

"It will be a dimension you can enter, similar to a Rift in the simplest sense. But instead of things coming out of it, it will work more like a Gate. You will be able to enter and leave. I can open and close it whenever I want, so no one else can enter, but I can only open it from the place I choose as its anchor."

Trafalgar immediately asked, "And where are you making it? If someone discovers it, that would be dangerous, so it should be somewhere extremely hidden."

Caelvyrn smiled at that.

"In my home," he said. "Well, my lair."

Dravok gave him a flat look.

"Lair makes it sound smaller than it is. It is closer to a city."

Trafalgar turned slowly toward Caelvyrn.

The old dragon looked far too pleased with himself.

"What?" Caelvyrn said. "I have a city beneath a mountain that I built millennia ago, and all of it is mine. That is where we are working."

Trafalgar stared at him for a moment longer.

"And how do you reach that place?"

"Flying," Caelvyrn replied. "On me. I have never liked being used as transportation, but sacrifices must be made for important work." His smile widened. "It is close to Euclid. Well, more than five hundred kilometers from Euclid, outside Morgain territory, in land that belongs to no one. Or rather, to me. Hehe."

Trafalgar let out a slow breath.

"I see..." He returned his attention to Rhosyn. "Then how does this place actually work?"

Rhosyn answered with more effort this time.

"Dravok wants a dimension where time moves differently. A day outside could become a month inside. On top of that, the place will be rich in mana." Her gaze moved toward Dravok. "I do not know how he managed to design that part, but the density is far higher than almost anywhere else."

Dravok’s mouth curved faintly.

"We are Primordials," he said. "Mana is like oxygen to us. We were the bloodline with the deepest understanding of it. You are still young, Rhosyn, so there are things you have not had the chance to grasp yet. And Trafalgar is even younger, so there is no point mentioning him in this part."

Trafalgar narrowed his eyes.

"Thanks."

Dravok ignored him.

"Caelvyrn is probably the one here who can understand the principle closest to its true form. For now, we are doing it artificially until the structure stabilizes. That is why we have been imbuing ridiculous amounts of mana into the anchor. Very few beings in the world could endure feeding a project like this without collapsing."

Caelvyrn rested his chin on one hand.

"Ridiculous is a polite word."

Dravok continued.

"Because of that, it will probably take a year or two before it stabilizes fully. Which is perfect. By then, you should be close to finishing the academy."

Trafalgar absorbed the information in silence.

A separate dimension.

A hidden training space.

A place where one day outside could become a month inside.

"That is..." He paused, searching for the right word. "Incredible, I suppose."

"It is," Dravok said. "And it is not new. The Primordials used methods like this in the past for training. Your mother was the one who created compartments of that kind, back when we needed to prepare young Primordials to face the Void Creatures."

The table quieted.

Dravok’s voice lowered slightly, not with sadness exactly, but with the weight of something old.

"Newborn Primordials were taken into those spaces from around three years old, and they remained there until eighteen, training. That was what our history demanded back then."

Rhosyn looked away.

Dravok noticed, but did not stop.

"Times have changed. The few who remain are more like scattered families now. We are not the warrior bloodline we were in our oldest days." He glanced toward Rhosyn. "Her part is almost done. That is why she is this exhausted. There are still adjustments, but she should be free of the worst of it in a few months. After that, most of the burden falls to me and Caelvyrn."

Trafalgar looked at Rhosyn.

She lifted her hand again, gave him another weak thumbs-up, and let it drop immediately after.

Trafalgar’s mouth twitched faintly.

"You look terrible."

Rhosyn’s eyes moved to him.

She did not bother answering.

That was answer enough.

Trafalgar turned back to Dravok.

"I see. Fine. When can I go see the place?"

"When it is finished," Dravok replied without hesitation. "For now, it is unstable. I would rather not have you enter a half-formed dimension and discover some exciting new way to tear yourself apart."

Trafalgar stared at him.

"That sounded very specific."

"It was meant to stop questions."

Caelvyrn chuckled softly.

Dravok pointed one finger toward Trafalgar and Vivienne.

"For now, focus on the academy. Both of you. The first days will be lighter, but that will not last. Your classes, schedules, and training will begin adjusting around your progress soon enough."

"Understood," Trafalgar said.

Vivienne nodded as well.

Outside, evening had already begun pressing against the old bar’s dirty windows. The weak light made the room look even more worn than before, though Trafalgar had the impression no one here cared. The place had always been ugly. It was private, and privacy mattered more.

Trafalgar stood from the table.

"Do not overwork yourself, Rhosyn."

Rhosyn gave him the slowest nod he had ever seen.

He then turned to Caelvyrn.

"Can you come outside for a moment? I would like to speak with you about something."

Caelvyrn’s violet eyes brightened with immediate interest.

"Oh?" he said, rising from his chair. "Now you have my curiosity, Trafalgar. Lead the way."