The turtle had retreated into the distance, and with its lights off...
All Law and his companions could see was a deep darkness, not even the sound of water currents reaching them.
Naturally, they couldn't see the current state of the abyss, let alone sense the breath that had emerged from its depths.
They only faintly felt the intensity of the ocean currents diminishing, possibly indicating the earthquake had stopped.
At the edge of the chasm fissure, the sound of breathing spread through the water in a strangely clear manner.
Then, a figure emerged from the fissure that had emitted the breathing sound. Its form was somewhat rectangular, about the size of a door panel.
This figure ignored the currents and water pressure, standing calmly at the fissure's edge.
If there had been a light source, one would have noticed the figure's peculiarities.
It's like a book the size of a door panel.
However, the book's cover bore a large mouth, and two slender, black, stick-figure-like legs extended from its bottom, supporting the book in an upright position.
The clearly transmitted sound of breathing in the water came from that slightly open mouth on the cover, which expelled no bubbles.
For now, let's call it the Bookman, rather than the entity the turtle avoided, called the Mender.
The Bookman's black legs were as thin as bamboo sticks, yet they steadily supported its door-sized body.
The pulling force created by the waterfall of seawater pouring into the fissures didn't affect its balance in the slightest.
Though at the bottom of the sea, it seemed detached from its environment, unaffected by any factors within it.
This bizarre phenomenon occurred on the seabed, unseen and unknown by anyone.
Around it, aside from the mostly destroyed ruins, only the massive sea creature carcasses remained.
The Bookman stood in place for a long time, as if daydreaming.
Throughout, the clear, distinct sound of breathing persisted. After a while, it began to sound like the inadvertent panting of a large man.
About half an hour passed. Suddenly, the Bookman moved, taking a step with its sugarcane-thin black legs, walking along the edge of the fissure.
The breathing sound, or rather, panting, which had such a strong presence in the water, ceased as it began walking. But that toothless mouth still opened and closed.
A voice, neither distinctly male nor female, emanated from the mouth, as if reciting incomprehensible, intricate incantations.
And just as the Bookman passed over one fissure, a [Phenomenon Exchange] lasting less than a second occurred.
The fissure torn open by the earthquake instantly returned to its original state. During this so-called repair process, it caused no disturbance, as if a crayon had been drawn across a drawing board, filling in the blank gap.
The Bookman continued walking along the edges of the fissures. Wherever it passed, the fissures silently and seamlessly returned to their original state.
After a long while, all the fissures caused by the earthquake were repaired.
The sea creature carcasses still lay quietly on the seabed. Not far away, the ruins were mostly destroyed… without close inspection, they looked like a pile of rubble.
After repairing the fissures, the Bookman stopped its chanting, switching back to the earlier breathing sound.
However, it still didn't stop walking, strolling forward.
As it walked, its body gradually began to sink into the seabed, eventually disappearing entirely.
…
The entity the turtle avoided remained unknown to Law amidst the prolonged silence.
Faced with the turtle's steadfastness, as hard as its shell, Law could only give up, helpless.
His rising curiosity found no outlet, leaving him quite frustrated.
Having moved away from the seabed and ruins, the journey continued...
The turtle swam through the sea depths, inching closer to the Dark Continent.
Inside the shell room, everyone studied the items Law and Salin had brought back from the ruins.
They lacked the caution of professionals. Without gloves, everyone touched and poked the architectural debris and Sea Mirrors as they pleased.
The Sea Mirror fragments seemed broken off from a larger whole. Every surface acted like a mirror. People circled it, their reflections appearing instantly on its surface.
No matter how one touched it, it left no marks.
Pouring water on it caused the liquid to slide right off without leaving a trace.
Beyond this water-repellent quality, the Sea Mirror's thickness and hardness were extraordinary.
Hearing Law say it was extremely sturdy, Uvogin, feeling mischievous, experimentally punched the mirror. The result: not a single crack.
Though he didn't use Nen, Uvogin believed his punch carried considerable force. Yet the mirror remained unharmed.
"This mirror is really hard!"
He nodded seriously, looking at his clear reflection in the mirror, and sighed in admiration.
Then, Law kicked him into a corner.
"Idiot, there should be limits to fooling around."
Law gave the kicked Uvogin a helpless glance.
That sudden punch had startled not only him but also Ging, Salin, and the others.
As fellow ruin enthusiasts, Ging and Salin had a careful, protective mindset towards ruins and their contents.
"It's because you said the mirror was very sturdy that I wanted to try it."
Uvogin got up, scratching his head. Law's kick hadn't used force, so he was fine.
Hearing Uvogin's reason for punching the mirror, Law truly didn't know what to say. Nobunaga, not far away, shook his head slightly.
Ging squatted before the mural, quietly examining the image of the Nine-Headed Bird.
Information about the Nine-Headed Bird circulated on the Six Continents swirled in his mind.
'What was it like back then?' He mused to himself.
Perhaps everyone deeply interested in history sometimes finds their thoughts drifting involuntarily to that era they never personally experienced.
Imagining the events happening every minute and second of that time, imagining the people, things, and matters of that era.
"What are you thinking about?"
Law walked over, patting Ging on the shoulder, interrupting his wandering thoughts.
Ging looked back at Law and smiled, "Thinking about how to see the Nine-Headed Bird for myself."
Hearing this, Law also smiled, looking at the Nine-Headed Bird on the mural. "One of our destinations is the World Tree."
"Hmm." Ging nodded.
"Maybe the Nine-Headed Bird's territory is there," Law said with a smile.
"I choose to believe that."
Ging stood up, hands in his pockets, still looking down at the mural.
The location of the World Tree was also one of the areas Law couldn't cross during his first venture into the Dark Continent.
This time, they had set out to attempt crossing those boundaries deemed forbidden to humans.
…
At that moment, the bright moon hung high in the sky.
The sky was cloudless for miles. Moonlight, bright as daylight, illuminated the land.
In the western part of the Dark Continent, in a forest near the coastline, a flock of pigeons flew out from the trees, circling above the forest.
Boom! Boom!
Frequent shocks erupted from within the forest.
A flash of golden light shot out from the forest, slicing through the silver night.
Faintly, the sound of Buddhist chants seemed to reverberate.
At the source of the golden light stood a majestic, multi-armed golden Guanyin statue, solemn and imposing.
Netero stood before the Guanyin, his hands moving slowly and rhythmically, guiding the statue to strike out with palm strikes in all directions, knocking down dark shadows shooting from the shadows.