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"Thank you for your hospitality, I hope I didnāt make things too awkward... I had to come quickly. To save time, I would prefer to bring the boy inside my Divine Realm, if itās possible," Drake said.
"Triton?! Thatās... I suppose thereās no other way," Sapphire nodded. "I do trust you, Lord Drake... But what is this about the world being in danger? Could you explain?"
"Of course," Drake nodded. "Iām here to do that..."
Drake went on about Oberonās resurrection approaching, his brother Sangre, the invasion of Oda Nobunaga, and the uncertainty of the other Venerables.
They knew a few of these things, but once he explained things thoroughly while enjoying the delicious seafood, Drake was able to finally let them know the truth about the world and how much in danger it truly was.
"With Fate breaking at any moment, Yggdrasil will grow extremely weak, the worldās laws will begin to collapse, the Venerables will be reborn, and whatever wicked plan Oberon has will resume, or perhaps enter its last stage," Drake said. "Therefore... we have to hurry. Triton is the last Ocean Dragon, I know heās a child... but heās one of those with the greatest potential among all dragons, on pair with my other disciples, such as Surtr, Emerald, and Amethyst... if not a little higher due to his incredibly unique existence."
"Uuhh..." Triton felt a little flattered but still pretended to be stoic.
"I completely understand now..." Sapphire nodded. "Very well! Triton, from now on, youāre under Lord Drakeās protection, you will become his apprentice and learne everything you can, and train hard, you need to grow stronger."
"Eh?!" Triton asked. "Iām already plenty strong!"
"Triton, this is about the fate of the world!" Rose said. "Youāre... I hate to say it, but youāre our strongest, we donāt even compare."
"Yeah..." Coral sighed. "It has been years since you surpassed us, and you werenāt even trying..."
"Weāll stay here and protect the island," Eleanor nodded, gently smiling at Triton, making him skip a beat. "So please, can you do your best for us? For everyone... if the world ends then... well, it all ends... you and I, everyone lives in this world after all."
"..." Triton looked down. "B-But I donāt wanna be separated from mama or my friends..."
"I mean, they can come inside too," Drake said. "I never said I had to bring you alone... but they donāt want to, they need to take care of this island... To protect it with their own hands. Although you definitely could benefit from some training with us. Hmm... itās complicated, how do we do this?" Drake rubbed his chin, trying to think of something.
"Please, thereās nothing to worry about," Sapphire said. "We know that we would be of little help even if we trained... the battles to come are simply on another level... one only my Triton can reach, because heās his fatherās son."
"Mom..." Triton looked down, he was indeed the strongest now, he already had surpassed his mom a while ago. "I..."
He gripped his fists tightly, noticing his friendsā smiles, and his motherās hopeful eyes.
He really couldnāt disappoint them now.
His mother made sure to raise him well, as much as a single mother could.
And indeed, the boy was well raised.
"Okay..." Triton said, looking at Drake, still a bit angry. "You better make me really, really strong! Or Iāll beat your ass!"
"Hahahaha! You remind me of Amethyst," Drake laughed. "Donāt worry kiddo, youāre going to raise to levels youāve never been before... Alright! Pack things up, youāll stay with me for a couple of weeks inside my Divine Realm, maybe a month or so. Iāll bring you along on my trips too, so you can gain some experience in combat. Sapphire, this is ok right?"
"Itās fine! I can visit right?" Sapphire asked.
"Of course, use the rings I gave you all to teleport inside my Divine Realm whenever you got free time," Drake said. "Youāll never be really separated from the boy."
After he said that, Triton smiled, realizing they were never really going to go that far from him then!
"Nice! Then Iām going to find some clothes!" he ran to his room, as his mother followed him.
They took a good hour, but they managed to bring everything Triton wanted, which ended up being almost his entire room worth of clothes, furniture, toys, snacks, books, and more.
"Alright! Youāll go to one of my vacant rooms inside my Castle then," Drake nodded. "Donāt worry, my kids will love to have someone their age around. Youāll become great friends quickly."
"Hmm..." Triton sighed. "Okay then... mama, Iāll get stronger to protect the world! Like dad would have wanted."
"Yes, well said!" Sapphire nodded, shedding a few tears as she hugged her son. "Go now... I trust you can do it, my dear son."
"Bye guys! Um, and... take care, Eleanor," Triton said timidly, waving his hand.
However, Eleanor walked towards him and hugged him, kissing his cheek.
"E-Eh?!" Triton blushed, as Eleanor smiled cutely.
"Do your best, Triton..." she said. "Iāll be waiting for you!"
"Yeah, me too!" Rose nodded.
"And me!" Coral said.
Both of them hugged him as well, smiling at him like the great friends they were.
"Thank you everyone..." Triton felt moved, but he didnāt cry. "Iām going! Iāll be strong!"
Triton walked by Drakeās side, as they went inside his Divine Realm.
And once there, Drake looked around.
"Alright Triton, do you prefer big or small rooms?" Drake wondered. "How about a bath inside your room or maybe a pool too? I could modify your room to have a super big pool and- Ah..."
Drake fell into silence after he saw the boy covering his face with his arm, shedding a lot of tears he had resisted before, he didnāt want to cry in front of his family and friends...
"Heh, youāre strong, Triton..." Drake patted his shoulders. "Donāt worry, once you finally return to them, the world will be at peace, and you would have helped saving it. Trust me."
"...Fine!" Triton sighed, cleaning his tears. "You better train me like youāve never trained anybody! I want to become as strong as dad... No, stronger!"
"Hahah, you got it!" Drake nodded. "Letās go!"
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