"Thump!"
A powerful heartbeat exploded from deep within Gern Reginald Sigmar's chest.
This was no ordinary, biological pulse.
It was a declaration—of something deeper, more fundamental—of existence itself.
Gern… was a transmigrator.
He had once lived in another world. A completely different land.
In that world, from a young age, he had been shaped by a different kind of education… a different way of thinking.
He remembered the portraits of his teachers.
He remembered those simple… yet profoundly great words.
…
Imu's power represented oppression.
Enslavement.
Eternal domination—and the erasure of the individual.
But buried deep within Gern's soul… there had always been something else.
A spark.
A flame planted by those teachings—one that had never gone out.
That spark had remained hidden, dormant—so subtle that even Gern himself had never fully grasped its meaning.
But now—
At this moment, with his consciousness invaded… with his very self on the verge of being erased and enslaved—
Faced with Imu's ultimate oppression and absolute dominion—
That deeply buried spark ignited.
This was not the "Nika" that brought laughter and liberation like the Sun God.
This was… a different kind of liberation.
As incompatible as water and fire.
As irreconcilable as light and darkness.
It was—
"A single spark… can start a prairie fire!!!"
A roar echoed through the depths of his collapsing consciousness, resounding like thunder across the void!
"BOOM!!!"
Gern's body—pierced and lifeless only moments before—began to tremble violently, uncontrollably!
But this tremor was no longer the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
It was something deeper—
A reawakening born from the essence of life and will itself!
His hollow eyes—
Opened.
The emptiness within them was replaced by something utterly resolute… utterly pure… stripped even of personal emotion.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Not any feeling belonging to "Gern" as an individual.
Lightning-like energy surged around his body once more—but its nature had changed.
It was no longer dark-purple Conqueror's Haki.
No—
It had become something purer.
More blazing.
A force devoid of individual ego—
A "spark" born from the collective will of countless souls.
Gern's gaze held no focus. No self-awareness.
Only that pure, driving force—the Spark—remained, moving this body forward.
Then—
His arms jerked outward!
"SPLRT! SPLRT! SPLRT! SPLRT! SPLRT!"
The five black tendrils that had pierced and bound his body—
The moment they came into contact with that "spark-infused" power and Gern's erupting, absolute will—
Ignited.
Not severed.
Not shattered.
But set ablaze—burned, purified, annihilated!
The restraints vanished!
Freed, Gern moved with mechanical precision, turning his head—
Locking onto Imu's vessel at point-blank range.
There was no hostility.
No killing intent.
No trace of Gern Reginald Sigmar's personal consciousness.
It was closer to a natural phenomenon.
Fire seeks oxygen.
Light dispels darkness.
…
For the first time—
Imu fell silent.
Within those dark-red, ringed eyes, Gern's current state was reflected clearly—
Filled with confusion.
Disbelief.
And… a trace of instinctive fear—even Imu itself could not comprehend.
This power…
This feeling…
It stirred a vague sense of familiarity.
And yet—
Gern was not a "D."
Nor was he "Nika."
But that blazing spark within him—
That pure will to burn away all oppression and inequality—
Made Imu, the so-called Eternal Sovereign, the Ruler of the Empty Throne…
Feel a bone-deep, instinctual fear.
A fear akin to facing a natural enemy.
…
Gern—or rather, the will now driving his body—gave Imu no time to think.
Without awareness, yet guided by inevitability—
He moved.
Mid-charge, his right hand reached out—
Clang!
The black blade Bahuang, embedded among the rubble, responded as if summoned—flying into his grasp.
And upon its edge—
No longer tremor energy.
No longer Conqueror's lightning.
But that blazing, searing Spark wrapped itself around the blade!
One strike.
Simple.
Unadorned.
Without technique.
He swung—
A diagonal slash aimed at Imu's left shoulder!
"SHHK!!!"
The blade met no resistance.
This time—
There was no overwhelming defense.
The Spark was its natural nemesis.
The black energy and domineering will Imu used to construct and maintain this vessel—
Boiled and disintegrated upon contact!
The blade cut cleanly from shoulder to waist—
Tearing through without obstruction!
"Ugh—AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
A scream erupted—utterly inhuman—filled with unbearable agony and terror!
The Spark did not merely damage the body—
It burned Imu's very descending will!
For the first time, it could no longer maintain its composure.
No longer remain aloof.
With the last of its strength, it violently hurled Gern away!
Then—
The body, already on the verge of collapse under the Spark's flames, forcibly transformed once more into that massive skeletal horse form—
But this time—
There was no battle intent.
Only panic.
Imu… fled.
Like a rat scurrying from sunlight—
Carrying the horrific wound carved open by the Spark, still burning—
It turned and ran without hesitation, fleeing toward the horizon—toward the Red Line—with all its speed.
It didn't even retrieve the fallen Shodai Kitetsu.
Its fear was real.
Instinctual.
A force it had never encountered in eight hundred years of rule—
Yet one that inherently countered it.
A natural enemy.
For the first time in eight centuries—
It felt pain.
And that pain…
Terrified it.
It feared death.
Because that flame—
Could truly harm it.
Could truly… kill it.
A flame more brilliant even than the so-called Sun God.
…
On the shattered island—
Gern crashed to the ground, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
The Spark in his eyes slowly faded.
His original gaze returned.
The blade in his hand—Bahuang—still carried faint, dying traces of that power.
In the distance—
The sun finally broke over the horizon.
The first golden rays of dawn spread across the ruined island—
Illuminating the devastated land…
And the lone figure lying upon it.
…
[Author's Note]
Imu is, at its core, like a rat in the sewers.
It relied on betrayal—of allied kingdoms (perhaps even Joy Boy's companions)—to defeat the first Joy Boy.
It relied on deception to overcome Davy.
Its true nature is that of a coward.
It never appears in its true form—only descending into others, always hiding behind the scenes.
As for Gern—
From early on, it was clear he is neither a "D." nor a "Davy."
So the key to defeating Imu was always destined to lie in his essence.
That "Spark"—
Is his unique foundation.
His true nature.
His answer.