Sriya shut her mouth and the others nodded their heads seriously.
Vikas, on the other hand, had an awkward face when Mordan didn't answer him.
In his heart, he said, "Well well, Sir Mordan is trying to be mysterious here. Is the instructor different? But how is he different?"
***
Meanwhile, the Ether Clone had already reached the secret island near India.
Free Fire's new headquarters was going to be here!
Even though the island was small on the surface, the Ether Clone had expanded its internal space many times over using layered spatial folds and countless techniques. What appeared as a modest landmass from the outside was now a vast, self-contained domain—enough room for thousands of people, facilities, and secrets.
On one side of the island, he had built a residential town. Rows of spacious family houses, each with its own garden, lawn, and small courtyard. The houses were modern yet warm—big enough for comfort, with large windows that opened to vast real sky. Parks, playgrounds, walking paths, even a small lake with fish and lotus flowers—all designed to feel like a peaceful suburb, not a hidden compound.
On the other side stood the headquarters complex. Not just one building, but a central tower surrounded by smaller structures: server halls, research labs, cafeteria building, parking garages, medical center, and recreation areas. Everything connected by wide corridors and open plazas.
Transportation was handled by vyuha-powered vehicles—sleek, silent pods that looked like futuristic cars but ran on essence flow instead of engines. They were public, not private. Employees would use them like buses or taxis—no personal ownership. The system was active 24/7, fast, and efficient.
In the residential area, only scheduled buses ran at specific times to avoid disturbing families. Quiet. Controlled. Peaceful.
Food? No problem.
The Dark Haven Fortress had been insufficient for long-term supply, so the Solar Clone, Sacral Clone, and Ether Clone had collaborated to create a dedicated world—spanning 10,000 km of fertile land, forests, rivers, and orchards. All automated with vyuhas. Hunger was solved for now. Fresh produce, grains—everything grown in essence rich environment, harvested instantly, delivered via spatial links.
Education for employees' children? Already accounted for.
For now, though, the priority was installation.
The Ether Clone stood in the central server hall, surrounded by empty racks waiting to be filled.
He raised both hands.
The compressed swarm of equipment—shrunken servers, cables, documents, desks—poured out of his spatial pocket like a river of tiny stars.
With precise control, he guided each piece back to full size. Servers snapped into racks. Cables reconnected themselves. Documents floated into drawers. Cooling units aligned perfectly. In less than an hour, the entire headquarters infrastructure was restored—exactly as it had been in the old building, but now in this new, secret place.
Everything was placed carefully. Perfectly. No errors.
The Ether Clone exhaled slowly, lowering his hands.
"Now the real work comes," he murmured. "Creating a dream world where players can go and play with their mind… just like virtual reality."
He focused inward.
His palms began to glow—subtle at first, a faint, illusory shimmer. Slowly, the light intensified.
The effort was immense. Sweat beaded on his forehead. His breathing grew heavier. He pushed harder, condensing every particle of dream element he can control.
After completely exhausting himself, the glow stabilized.
In his hands floated a ball-shaped object—translucent, ethereal, shifting between solid and mist. It looked illusory, like a dream made tangible, faintly pulsing with inner light.
It was pure Dream element—concentrated, refined, perfected.
The Ether Clone smiled faintly.
"I should thank the Third Eye Clone… grinding in seclusion, progressing in the Dream element. Hah."
He moved to the center of the room—a specially prepared chamber with reinforced vyuha walls.
First, he created a setup for the ball.
He formed a solid, almost indestructible invisible shield around it. The shield would protect the ball from interference while not allowing dream elements to disperse outside.
He placed the sphere at the exact center of the room.
This chamber would be no-entry. Only he (or his clones) could access it.
Then he began connecting to the Eternal Mirage Sphere.
Connecting with the sphere, he began shaping the world with his thoughts.
He created the Bermuda map, Purgatory map, Kalahari map… dozens of classic and new islands, each one vast and detailed. He sculpted houses, trees, rivers, mountains, and ruins. But he didn't make them simple.