"Every Sunday the pool activates?" Ivor asked.
Nara nodded, a faint laugh escaping him as he caught the direction of Ivor's thoughts. "You're already planning to claim it every week, aren't you?"
Ivor gave a quiet nod.
The humor faded from Nara's expression. He stepped back, reached into his bag, and pulled out a packed meal, holding it out as if to pause the momentum of the conversation.
"Ivor," he said more seriously, "Scars aren't just training grounds. There's a reason we can only suppress them, not close them. They behave more like living systems than abandoned ruins."
Ivor accepted the food, set it near the tree trunk, and began eating without delay. The scent alone stirred his hunger, but his attention remained fixed on Nara.
"If you enter that pool once," Nara continued, "you won't be allowed back inside the Blue Cave again. The same rule applies to the Labyrinth. One completion. One claim. After that, the Scar rejects you."
