SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

Chapter 345: Chapter 345: Before the Next Move

Rhosyn sat back down, the motion unhurried, as if the weight of everything that had just been spoken needed a physical anchor to settle. Her posture was composed again, though something softer lingered beneath it, a trace of what she had allowed herself to show only moments before.

”What will you do tomorrow?” she asked. Her voice was calm, but not distant. ”I heard your conversation with your friend. About going out to look for traces of the Rifts.”

Trafalgar lifted his gaze to her, then looked away again as he scratched lightly at the back of his head. The answer came without calculation, shaped more by instinct than strategy.

”I’ll go with him,” he said. ”I don’t expect to find anything.” His eyes shifted back to hers. ”You’re here now. What I was actually searching for is already in front of me.”

He exhaled slowly, the sound carrying some of the pressure still coiled in his chest.

”But I still need to clear my head,” Trafalgar went on. ”If that means killing monsters, then so be it.” There was no bravado in it, only practicality. ”Fighting helps. It keeps things simple. You move, you react, you survive. Thoughts fall into line when your body has something concrete to do.”

His gaze drifted, unfocused for a moment.

”Everything you told me tonight was heavy,” he admitted. ”Dense. Hard to take in all at once.” A brief pause followed. ”But I wasn’t blindsided by it. I’ve been preparing myself for this conversation for a year. Waiting. Turning the possibilities over in my head.”

He looked back at her, expression steady now.

”So yes,” Trafalgar said. ”I’ll still go to the hunting fields tomorrow. With Barth.” His tone softened just a little. ”I need the movement. And after all this time, I’m not about to stop now.”

Rhosyn studied him for a moment longer before speaking again, her gaze moving over him with a quiet attentiveness that had nothing to do with assessment and everything to do with concern.

”Be careful tomorrow,” she said. The words were simple, but they carried weight. ”Those monsters should not pose a real threat to you, considering what you have survived recently.” A brief pause followed. ”Still, that does not mean you should lower your guard.”

Trafalgar caught it then. Not caution rooted in strategy, but worry. Genuine and unguarded. It was subtle, easy to miss, but it was there all the same. He nodded once in acknowledgment.

”I know,” he replied. ”I won’t be careless.”

The moment lingered just long enough before he shifted it, instinctively steering the conversation away from what had become too heavy to sit in for much longer.

”By the way,” Trafalgar said, glancing at her, ”that old man earlier. In the arena.” His tone lightened slightly. ”He talked about a woman who never lost. Someone who disappeared a long time ago.” He tilted his head. ”Was that you, or did he just make it up to draw us in?”

The reaction was immediate.

A faint flush crept up Rhosyn’s cheeks, subtle but unmistakable. She looked away for half a second, then back again, as if recalibrating.

”I do not know what you are talking about,” she said. The answer came too quickly. ”That story does not sound familiar at all.”

It was unconvincing in the quietest way possible.

Trafalgar didn’t press her. He simply watched her, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly. He understood without needing it spelled out. Whatever the truth was, she did not want to speak about it.

And that was fine.

Rhosyn’s composure returned almost instantly.

The faint embarrassment from moments earlier vanished as if it had never existed, her posture straightening, her gaze sharpening into something colder and far more focused. When she spoke again, the shift in tone was unmistakable, abrupt enough to cut through whatever lightness had briefly settled between them.

”Trafalgar,” she said, and paused just long enough to make him look at her fully. ”There is one more thing you need to know.”

His expression tightened at once. Whatever she was about to say was not trivial.

”This concerns the war,” Rhosyn continued. ”And Icarus di Valtaron.”

The name alone carried weight. Trafalgar felt it settle in his chest, a quiet instinctive alertness rising to the surface. Rhosyn did not soften what followed, nor did she try to frame it gently.

”Icarus is experimenting with a Void Creature,” she said. ”Not a lesser one. Not a mindless entity.” Her eyes darkened slightly as she went on. ”It is more intelligent than the average. Far more. And its strength is approaching dangerous territory, close to that of individuals like Icarus himself.” She exhaled slowly. ”It is currently contained within Thal’zar territory. Captured and restrained.”

Trafalgar’s jaw tightened.

”And that’s not the worst part,” Rhosyn added. ”He is attempting to grant it intelligence.”

The words landed hard.

”Intelligence?” Trafalgar repeated, disbelief threading through his voice. ”Why would anyone do that?” His gaze sharpened. ”Void Creatures should be destroyed the moment they are discovered.”

”That is correct,” Rhosyn replied without hesitation. ”Void Creatures exist for a single purpose. The eradication of this world and its replacement with their own.” Her voice remained calm, but there was something absolute beneath it. ”They are not neutral. They cannot be reasoned with. They do not change.”

She shook her head slightly.

”Giving intelligence to such a being doesn’t create understanding,” she said, holding his gaze. ”It only creates intent, direction, and strategy—and nothing good can come from that.”

The room felt smaller again, not from emotion, but from scale. This was no longer just political maneuvering or territorial conflict. Whatever Icarus was attempting crossed into something far more dangerous, a line drawn between power struggles among nations and the kind of threat that did not stop at borders.

Icarus was no longer just a player in the war.

He was becoming something worse.

Trafalgar was quiet for a moment, then exhaled slowly as the implications threaded together in his mind. What Rhosyn had revealed did not exist in isolation. It fit too neatly with things he had already heard, already suspected.

”That explains a lot,” he said. ”Valttair wants to enter the war against the Thal’zar.” His gaze hardened slightly. ”He’s been looking for a way to wipe them out, for reasons he hasn’t fully shared.”

He paused, choosing his words carefully.

”My engagement to Aubrelle helps,” Trafalgar continued. ”Politically, it opens doors. Gives us a reason to get involved without looking like opportunists.” A faint frown crossed his expression. ”The problem is creating a situation that justifies it. Something that forces the conflict rather than invites scrutiny.”

Rhosyn considered this in silence, her fingers resting lightly against her chin as she weighed the information. After a moment, she nodded once.

”You have positioned yourself well,” she said. ”And congratulations on the engagement.” Her gaze softened just a fraction. ”It seems you have found people who matter to you in this life.”

Trafalgar raised an eyebrow, a trace of humor slipping into his tone. ”Are you implying I didn’t have anyone in the other one?”

Rhosyn answered without hesitation, as if the thought itself were uncomplicated.

”When I moved your soul,” she said, ”I saw your life before this world. Your memories.” Her expression remained neutral. ”There was no one like that.”

The words hit more directly than he expected.

For a brief moment, Trafalgar felt exposed, as if something deeply private had been laid out without his consent. It struck him then, not for the first time, that Rhosyn understood things she should not have known. Concepts. Places. Words from another world, woven casually into her understanding because they belonged to him once.

Rhosyn noticed the shift in his expression.

”I did not want to see them,” she said quickly. ”Your memories.” Her voice lowered slightly. ”It is a side effect of the ability. I cannot avoid it.” A brief pause followed. ”I am sorry.”

Trafalgar folded his arms loosely, then let them fall back to his sides. He shook his head once, a small, dismissive gesture that carried more acceptance than resignation.

”It’s done,” he said. ”Whatever you saw, it’s already in the past.” His voice was calm, stripped of resentment. ”There’s no point dwelling on it. All that matters now is what comes next.”

The words settled, closing the door on something that no longer deserved space between them.

After a brief pause, Trafalgar shifted his weight and looked at her again, studying her with a different kind of attention.

”Where are you staying?” he asked.

Rhosyn blinked, the question clearly catching her off guard. ”A hotel,” she replied. ”I have money. You don’t need to worry about that.”

”I’m not,” Trafalgar said, though his gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary. There was something there, subtle but unmistakable. ”I just get the sense you’ve been on your own for a long time.”

She did not deny it.

”Come to Velkaris,” he said after a moment. ”You don’t have to hide in some rented room between disappearances.” His tone remained casual, but the offer itself was not. ”You could make allies there. Real ones.” He paused. ”There’s also someone who knows about my bloodline.”

Rhosyn’s reaction was immediate.

”What?” Her composure fractured, panic flashing across her features. ”Who did you tell?” She took a step back instinctively. ”You shouldn’t have done that. If word spreads, you could be hunted. Both of us could.” Her thoughts raced ahead, already mapping consequences. ”This complicates everything.”

”Wait,” Trafalgar said quickly. ”You’re jumping to the worst possible outcome.” He held up a hand in a calming gesture. ”It’s Mayla. My former maid. My partner.” His voice was firm now. ”She hasn’t told anyone. She won’t. You can trust her.”

Rhosyn hesitated, uncertainty tightening her posture.

”I’m not asking you to expose yourself to the world,” Trafalgar continued. ”Just to stop doing this alone.” A faint pause followed. ”I’ll introduce you to her. And if you want...” His gaze shifted briefly, thoughtful. ”You could come with Barth and me to the hunting fields tomorrow.”

The idea lingered in the air, unfamiliar and unsettling in equal measure.

Rhosyn looked at him, conflict clear in her eyes. After everything she had endured, stepping forward rather than watching from the shadows felt like the most dangerous move of all.

”Can I?” she asked quietly.