Valar led the way and left the main forge, followed closely by Samuel and Relia. They crossed the workshop until they reached the back room, a part of the forge that few people probably ever had the chance to see.
"I prefer to show it to you here, away from prying eyes," Valar explained calmly.
The place was completely different from the public area of the forge. Everything here felt more personal, as if every tool and every workspace carried a part of the blacksmith's history.
At the back of the room stood a massive ancient forge, much larger than the one visible from the main shop. It was completely extinguished, its embers having been cold for a long time, but its imposing size alone was enough to show the scale of the creations that had once been made there.
Relia and Samuel observed the surroundings with curiosity, then Valar finally stopped in the center of the room.
For a few seconds, he said nothing. He took a deep breath, as if preparing himself to accomplish something.
Under the attentive gaze of Samuel and Relia, he slowly raised his right hand in front of him and made a circular motion through the air. His other hand remained motionless at his side.
"White Dimension"
The moment those words were spoken, the space in front of him began to distort.
A white light gradually appeared, forming a circle that slowly grew larger. The light intensified until it created a massive arc-shaped portal in front of them.
Its surface was completely white and opaque, resembling a solid wall of light. Yet, unlike normal light, it did not hurt the eyes. It shone in a soft and strange way.
Relia remained silent in front of this phenomenon, unable to hide her astonishment. Even Samuel, despite his usual calm and distant attitude, observed the portal with particular attention.
Valar was the first to move forward. He stepped through the white surface without the slightest hesitation and disappeared on the other side. A few seconds later, his voice echoed from the other dimension. "Follow me !"
His apprentice entered next, completely accustomed to this phenomenon.
Relia looked at Samuel. She tried to understand what Samuel was truly looking for by discovering this ability. She knew him well enough to know that he never did anything without a reason.
Eventually, they stepped forward as well and crossed the portal.
The moment they arrived on the other side, Relia stopped moving, she struggled to understand what she was seeing.
The White Dimension lived up perfectly to its name. There were no walls, no ceiling, no visible boundaries. All around them stretched an endless white space that seemed to have no end, as if they had entered a world completely separated from reality.
Yet, despite this impression of emptiness, the place was filled with an incredible number of structures.
Workshops were scattered in every direction. Some were relatively small and designed for precise tasks, while others were enormous, large enough to create equipment intended for creatures of exceptional size.
Some were immediately recognizable. Relia noticed areas dedicated to forging, jewelry creation, and even enchantment. However, many others were completely unfamiliar to her, probably designed according to methods she had never seen before.
A little further ahead was a workshop dedicated to enchanting weapons and armor. The floor was covered with carefully engraved magic circles, surrounded by numerous ancient runes. Several metallic stands were arranged to place equipment during the enchantment process.
Crystals and books of different sizes and colors rested on shelves scattered throughout the area, each one seemingly containing a unique energy.
As they continued forward, they passed several reinforced cages containing different creatures. Relia slowed down slightly when she noticed them, intrigued by their presence in such a place.
Some of these creatures possessed rare materials that could be used in the creation of magical items: extremely resistant scales, claws capable of piercing certain metals, fragments of shells, or parts of their bodies containing a particular energy. Valuable components used to create enchanted weapons, special armor, or unique artifacts.
The further they advanced, the more impressive the creations became.
Dozens of armor stands were lined up in different areas. At first, they were human-sized, but as they continued walking, their dimensions changed drastically. Some were large enough to hold armor designed for gigantic creatures far exceeding human size, while others were much smaller, not even reaching Samuel's waist.
Beside them were displayed massive weapons , some swords were so large that a normal human would have been unable to properly lift them. Huge war hammers, enormous shields, and other weapons with unusual shapes also occupied the area, each one giving the impression that they had been created to face opponents far beyond ordinary beings.
Further ahead, a huge display case caught Relia's attention.
Behind the glass were many precious objects carefully preserved. Dozens of rings decorated with rare stones, finely crafted necklaces, bracelets covered in complex engravings, as well as several ancient artifacts rested inside, some of them even seemed to release a magical aura, proof that they were not simple decorative objects.
The White Dimension also contained countless furnaces, strange machines, tools Relia had never seen before, and installations whose purpose she completely ignored.
This place was the legacy of an entire life dedicated to creation, they continued walking in silence.
Relia was impressed. She had never imagined that a single ability could hide such an enormous place.
Samuel, however, remained true to himself. His eyes traveled across every detail, analyzing the surroundings carefully, but no expression of amazement appeared on his face, he was observing and thinking.
Valar eventually noticed his complete lack of reaction and slightly turned his head toward him with an amused smile.
"You don't seem impressed, Samuel? Unlike the woman accompanying you."
Relia immediately turned toward them, slightly embarrassed that she had been noticed. She tried to maintain a neutral expression, but her eyes still betrayed her amazement at this hidden world.
Valar continued walking, his smile slowly disappearing.
"More than half of what you see here belonged to my father."
His voice became quieter.
"My father was an exceptional blacksmith. His reputation far surpassed mine. But to reach this level, he had to sacrifice his health and ignore the exhaustion that was consuming him. He kept working without ever stopping, even when his own body was telling him to give up."
A silence settled for a few seconds.
"All of this was at the expense of his career... and his reputation."
Valar lowered his eyes slightly.
"When he died, I inherited his ability, White Dimension..."
He paused while looking at the endless space around them.
"And everything it contained."