From the deck of the flying vessel, the Thal’zar castle finally came into view.

Trafalgar remembered it well. Not as it stood now, but as it had been after the final clash of the war, broken open by force so overwhelming that even a Great Family stronghold had looked temporary beneath it.

’Looks like the great hole Valttair made has already been repaired.’

He stood beside Caelum while the ship cut through the dry air, his gaze moving across towers, walls, battlements, and the outer terraces that had once been half ruined. What he saw now was not a patchwork hurried together for appearances. The work had been done properly. Stone matched stone. Reinforced sections did not stand out as scars. From above, the castle looked whole again.

"Caelum," Trafalgar said, not taking his eyes off it, "what do you think of the Thal’zar repairs?"

Caelum answered in his usual measured tone. "At first glance, they’ve done an excellent job. The speed alone would already be impressive, but the quality is also there. They repaired everything in very little time." His gaze shifted once across the walls below. "Honestly, the result is very good."

Trafalgar gave a faint nod. "Yeah. I think the same."

The captain of the vessel approached from behind and inclined his head. "We’ll be landing shortly."

"Understood."

As soon as the warning was given, Trafalgar pulled his hood up again.

He had no intention of letting people know openly that he was here to meet Darian. Not when there could still be Thal’zar siblings, branch members, or remnants of Kaedor’s camp moving through the estate. The wives were likely gone from the central seat by now, but that did not mean there were no eyes worth avoiding.

He adjusted the hood lower over his face and only then glanced back toward Caelum.

For a moment, he almost laughed.

Caelum’s appearance had changed entirely.

Two wolf ears now rose from his head, and behind him a black tail moved once before going still. The shift was seamless enough to feel insulting to reality itself. He looked like a lycan who had always belonged here.

Trafalgar let out a quiet breath through his nose. "I really do think your class is ridiculous."

Caelum inclined his head, neither proud nor modest about it. "It is the least I should be capable of if I am to assist you properly, Young Master. I have always used it this way. "

"Yeah," Trafalgar murmured. "I can tell."

The vessel descended and landed with controlled force in one of the castle gardens.

The moment the ramp lowered, heat rose from the stone beneath them, carrying with it the dry scent of dust, trimmed greenery, and old walls that had seen too much. Trafalgar and Caelum stepped down together, the guide already waiting to lead them onward.

"Please follow me," he said. "Lord Darian du Thal’zar is waiting for you in his office."

Trafalgar kept his head slightly lowered as they walked, the hood doing most of the work. They crossed through part of the grounds, passed into the castle, and instead of being taken upward into the visible upper sections, they were guided down.

Far down.

Into the subterranean arteries of the stronghold.

So that’s how it is, Trafalgar thought.

The real castle had always been here. The grand outer structure above was still important, still symbolic, but this was the heart of it. Tunnels, inner halls, load-bearing passages, corridors buried deep enough that an army could tear through the upper levels and still fail to touch what truly held the place together.

As they moved deeper, Trafalgar studied the stone around him.

’They really repaired everything properly.’

He remembered this part too. Or what was left of it after the battle. Sections of these tunnels had collapsed under the pressure of the fighting between Valttair and the intelligent void creature. Broken arches. Caved passages. Dust and screaming stone. What he saw now was clean.

His thoughts shifted without warning.

’Now that I think about it... nothing interesting has happened with the intelligent void creature since then.’

The guide remained ahead, Caelum a step behind and slightly to the side, which gave Trafalgar the opening to ask quietly without letting the sound carry forward.

"Caelum," he said, voice low, "do we know anything new about the intelligent void creature? Because I seriously doubt it died. Most likely it survived those wounds."

Caelum answered without missing a step.

"No, Young Master. There is no new information regarding that matter. Nothing has happened." His tone remained formal, controlled. "The only related development is that the Council of Sages’ new force is close to being formally announced. It is being shaped precisely to prevent disasters like that from happening again. That is the only meaningful development connected to the subject."

Trafalgar did not answer.

He only kept walking.

The tunnels stretched on through one turn after another, through restored corridors and junctions lined with old stone supports and newer reinforcement where necessary. The deeper they went, the more the castle felt less like a noble seat and more like a beast that had survived surgery and chosen to keep its scars beneath the skin.

Eventually, they reached the office.

The guide opened both doors and stepped aside.

Trafalgar entered first. Caelum followed.

The room waiting beyond was not extravagant. That alone told him something useful about Darian. It held what was needed and not much beyond that. A broad desk. Documents laid in ordered stacks. Shelving along one wall. Enough seating to receive important guests without turning the place into theater. It looked like a room used for work, not performance.

Trafalgar pushed the hood back.

Behind him, Caelum let the lycan disguise dissolve, his ears and tail vanishing as if they had never existed at all. In seconds, he was once again the quiet, impeccably dressed shadow Trafalgar had brought with him on purpose. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Darian rose from his seat the moment he saw them clearly.

"Trafalgar du Morgain," he said. "I’m glad to see you well."

His tone was respectful, but there was more in it than politeness. Caution. The awareness of who had just walked into his office and what old memories had arrived with him.

Trafalgar met his gaze evenly.

"Lord Darian du Thal’zar. It’s good to see you too." His eyes passed once over the room before returning to him. "I think there are matters we need to deal with."

Darian lowered his head slightly. "Please, take a seat." He gestured toward the chairs across from the desk. "I’ll have something brought for you to eat and drink. This conversation will likely take some time."

Trafalgar sat.

Caelum remained standing behind him.

And with that, the real meeting finally began.