"Abyss Curse!"
Within the Mirage Energy, the tyranny of that slash replayed itself once more.
Even though the black-and-red Haoshoku Haki entwined around it was not real, even though more than thirty years separated them,
Shinryu could still peer through the cracks of time itself and glimpse the power possessed by this member of the Davy family, a power capable of shaking the seas.
Because he had already seen an unbelievable scene.
The blade light from that slash instantly pierced through the surrounding rock walls, pierced through the door before him, pierced through everything in its path, and continued onward into an unimaginably distant horizon, like the wings of freedom itself.
Splash! Splash!
Then Shinryu heard the sound of water.
No…
"It's the sound of waves!"
He lowered his head, and as expected, only now did the endlessly replaying "past" upon this island ship known as the Abyss finally seem to come to an end.
The true appearance of the bottommost chamber within the temple at the island's foundation had finally been revealed.
Before Shinryu, the door had vanished.
No, more accurately, it wasn't just the door.
The path leading to the door, the surrounding rock walls, even everything below… had all disappeared.
From the final stair where Shinryu stood onward, there was only the dark seawater below.
Only then did Shinryu finally realize what had happened.
"This ship was cut open?"
Yes.
Because the hull of this Giant Ship was simply too enormous, Shinryu had never been able to observe the bottom of the Abyss from the sky.
But now, standing within the ship itself, he could clearly see it.
The bottom of the ship at its central section had been sliced apart, from the very spot where he stood onward, the lower half contained nothing but seawater flooding inward.
And the thing responsible for all of this could only have been,
"That slash just now?"
Looking at the perfectly smooth cut marks along the rock walls, Shinryu felt a trace of shock.
Although only the ship's central bottom section had been severed, considering the colossal size of this vessel, the portion cut away was still absurdly massive, far larger than Moria's Thriller Bark.
At least, with Shinryu's current eyesight, he could not even see the true end of the severed area.
"A sword slash can actually reach this level?"
But after thinking about it, Shinryu calmed down somewhat.
After all, in the original records, Rocks had once split the colossal Gates of Justice in half with a single strike.
"Truly worthy of being the strongest of an era…"
As he sighed in admiration, Shinryu naturally came to a rough understanding of what had happened on this island over thirty years ago.
"The Abyss… was the ship of Davy D. Jones."
Shinryu also knew the legends surrounding Davy Jones.
According to the stories, he was the very first pirate, known as "the cursed one of the deep sea."
In fact, even now, legends of Davy Jones still circulated in certain regions of the Grand Line.
There was even a pirate game known as the "Davy Back Fight."
Legend claimed that the first pirate in history had once made the entire world his subordinate.
Thus, the rule of the Davy Back Fight became:
"The loser must become the subordinate of the victor."
And during the original God Valley incident, the Sea Kings had also mentioned that Davy Jones seemed to have some sort of agreement with the King of the World, "Imu."
He may even once have been the "King of the World" himself.
That point had also been hinted at within the prophetic song provided by Moria.
Only, in that song, Davy Jones was not called the "King of the World," but rather "the First King."
He was one of the most mysterious figures in the entire pirate world, almost comparable to "Joy Boy," the one who brought liberation and freedom.
"He left something here for his descendants, hoping that his cursed bloodline would fulfill the promise and deliver that thing to Joy Boy in a certain era."
"But…"
Shinryu's expression turned strange.
Clearly, Davy Jones had believed his descendants would be exceptional. That was why he had hidden the object in such a dangerous and difficult-to-find place. But at the same time, he had obviously never expected his descendants to become too exceptional.
Rocks, or rather, "Davy D. Xebec", was absolutely not someone who could be restrained.
He clearly had no intention of following the instructions left behind by his ancestor.
Instead, he chose… to walk his own path.
"This guy said he was leaving it to someone…" Shinryu muttered inwardly, though he had already guessed the answer.
Rocks had said he met an incredible man at God Valley, someone worthy of staking everything on. That meant the Rocks who came here had definitely already experienced the God Valley incident, and if so, there could only be one possible answer regarding the "incredible man" he spoke of.
"He chose to leave that thing to the Star Lord!?" Behind the dragon-head mask, Roy could only smile bitterly.
"What exactly did he see of 'me' at God Valley?"
Rocks had chosen to entrust him with that object, an object symbolizing incomparable power over the seas, as well as the world's hope and freedom?
Roy did not know exactly what had happened at God Valley, but Rocks' choice was simply far too radical.
But clearly, within this temple that had already stood silent for more than thirty years, no one could answer that question for him.
So Roy quickly gathered his thoughts once more.
After following Rocks' trail this far, he had already grown accustomed to the countless secrets surrounding the man.
Besides, this time he had at least witnessed Rocks' course of action with his own eyes and confirmed quite a few things.
And speaking of which…
"Even after being cut apart like this, this ship still hasn't died? Is it because 'Devil Fruit objects' aren't truly living beings, so they're harder to kill?"
Shinryu muttered to himself.
But right at that moment,
Buzz!
He saw Mirage Energy spread out once again.
In the blink of an eye, the deep hollow below him, the seawater, and the clean yet terrifying sword scar all vanished.
The passageway and the gate at its end reappeared before him once more and Shinryu naturally understood, the "past" was replaying itself again.
If nothing unexpected happened, then somewhere in the forest outside the temple, another "Rocks" had already emerged from the thick mist and stepped onto the island once more.
But clearly, Shinryu had no interest in following him all over again.
So now, he simply turned his gaze toward the distant gate.
Although he had no idea what lay behind it, at least now he finally had time to carefully inspect the murals carved upon the door.
And the moment he looked at them, Shinryu raised an eyebrow.
"These are like the murals of Elbaf?"
Because at this moment, he had already realized, the murals surrounding the gate were extremely similar to the ancient mural left behind in Elbaf, the land of the Giants, from the original story.
Not only was the art style itself ancient, but more importantly, both murals were composed of multiple connected sections, seemingly representing different "eras."
The difference was that Elbaf's mural was horizontal, while the mural on this gate was vertical.
From bottom to top, the mural was divided into five sections.
In the first section, Shinryu could see countless figures kneeling before something descending from the heavens, as though praying to it.
And the object they worshipped was,
"A tree?"
Looking at the clear structure of roots and branches in the mural, Shinryu could determine that it was indeed some kind of tree.
But the tree itself was strange, because countless things were constantly falling from it.
Animals like cattle and sheep.
Plants like flowers and grass.
Even humans, as well as things like fire and lightning.
The second section still centered around that same tree.
Only now, the tree seemed to have taken root somewhere, with soil visible beneath it.
Before the giant tree was a tiny human figure.
The figure appeared to hold a crude trident while kneeling before the tree, but unlike before, within the structure of the tree itself, as the little figure knelt, a mass of darkness had suddenly appeared.
And from the trunk where that shadow resided, a circular object seemed to fall down, landing atop the little figure's head and embedding itself into a pitch-black crown.
As a result, the little figure itself also seemed to become darker.
"..."
Shinryu frowned deeply, unmistakable shock flickering in his eyes.
He looked at the black shadow, then at the little figure, vaguely realizing something, yet not clearly enough to grasp it fully.
And more importantly, beneath the second section of the mural, Shinryu could see that as the "shadow" appeared, something also seemed to emerge from the bottom of the mural.
It resembled waves.
It resembled seawater.
Then came the third section of the mural.
At its center was still that same tree.
The black mass remained within the trunk, but it had seemingly grown larger.
And the surrounding environment had changed as well.
The little figure wearing the black crown was now holding the trident while seated upon a throne. The throne appeared to be built in an extremely elevated place, with clouds and mist visible around it.
Beside the throne were countless swords, treasures, and various artifacts, they seemed to be the spoils of war gathered by this king over time.
Below the throne, many figures wearing smaller crowns knelt before him. Like the first mural, those kneeling figures clearly represented many different races.
What caught Shinryu's attention the most, however, were the twenty small figures among them.
Judging by their physiques, they closely resembled the "First King," seemingly representing humanity.
And besides them, there was also a gigantic figure that was clearly a Giant, as well as a figure with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish.
These two races especially drew Shinryu's focus.
Because they stood closest to the central throne, and they also seemed to have received gifts from the "King."
From behind the King, from within that gigantic tree, two "saplings" fell down into the hands of those two individuals.
And all around them, countless races and ordinary people seemed to be celebrating joyfully, constructing buildings and civilizations.
"The Twenty Kings who 'created the world'… and the two trees given to the Giants and Fish-Men, Treasure Tree Adam and Sunlight Tree Eve?"
Compared to the previous two sections, the meaning of this mural was far clearer.
All those small figures wearing crowns clearly represented the "leaders" of the various races in the world.
Those twenty human figures were the ancestors of today's Celestial Dragons, the "Twenty Kings" who created the world, and the two trees received by the Fish-Men and Giants were clearly the foundations that allowed their civilizations to endure to this day.
Elbaf's "Treasure Tree Adam" and Fish-Man Island's "Sunlight Tree Eve."
From this, Shinryu could roughly infer the story recorded within the mural: the "First King," relying on his mighty fleet and the gifts bestowed by the shadow within the tree, conquered the entire world.
Incidentally, the wave-like patterns resembling seawater at the bottom of the mural were still present and had now visibly risen higher.
The original "land," as well as the roots of the great tree, had completely vanished.
In their place was only a dark and endless sea, deep as an abyss.
Within that abyss, one could vaguely see wrecked ships and figures sinking into the ocean.
Clearly, the joy, celebration, and submission of the various races depicted in this section must have been built atop a long and brutal history of war.
Immediately afterward, Shinryu turned to the fourth section of the mural.
In the fourth mural, the crowned "King" appeared to be asleep.
Beside him, the once crude structures had already transformed into a magnificent and grand kingdom. Even with the primitive brushstrokes of the mural, Shinryu could still sense the prosperity that the kingdom once possessed.
But in a corner of the kingdom, the twenty "King figures" had quietly approached the giant tree while the King slept.
At this moment, the enormous tree was almost entirely occupied by that pitch-black shadow.
The King figures seemed to kneel before the tree and pray for something.
In response, the shadow bestowed upon them twenty smaller crowns, and in this mural, the seawater that had previously remained calm at the bottom of the scene had also begun to change.
It was visibly rising, already occupying nearly a quarter of the entire mural.
Within the seawater, terrifying monsters could be seen lurking beneath the magnificent kingdom.
Finally came the last section of the mural.
Unlike the previous four sections, within the fifth mural, the gigantic tree had been completely consumed by the black shadow.
Shinryu could even see that the shadow had begun extending beyond the outline of the tree itself, as though it could already exist independently of it.
Its form vaguely resembled a "demon" with bat-like wings and a pointed tail.
Beneath the shadow, the twenty King figures had also transformed into pure black silhouettes.
One of the long-haired figures even displayed partial demonic traits.
Around the mural were obvious signs of war.
The once glorious kingdom had vanished, replaced by shattered ruins.
Countless races fled in panic.
Above them, even the sun itself was falling from the sky.
At that moment, the world seemed to descend into darkness.
And beneath that darkened world, the seawater finally surged upward completely.
Within the entire mural, only the place where the Twenty Kings and the giant tree stood remained above the sea.
Everywhere else had already been swallowed by seawater.
And at the far end of the mural, the "First King" still clutched his trident while fleeing aboard a gigantic three-masted sailing ship.
At this moment, the black coloration covering his body seemed to have vanished, though blood appeared to be flowing from all over him.
He removed the crown from his head and held it tightly against his chest.
He and that Giant Ship disappeared into the dense mist, becoming the "final scene" of the mural.
And there, the mural ended.
At this moment,
Shinryu: "..."
Shinryu felt that he needed a moment to process everything.
Yes.
Even without being able to read the ancient language, Shinryu clearly understood that the amount of information contained within this mural was almost unimaginable.
Even from the fragments he could currently understand and infer, he could already be nearly certain, what this mural depicted was undoubtedly one of the key secrets deliberately concealed by the World Government.
It was… the truth of the world!
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395