HST: Chapter 231/232

Chapter 231: Welcome!

Outside the room where Caelan was,

The women gathered together, watching the situation nervously.

They saw the originally ordinary room suddenly warp with spatial distortion.

From time to time, a barren and desolate land was projected, filled with a murderous aura, as if it were a world independent from this one.

Unlike the moonlit night outside, the sun in that world was high in the sky, blazing as if it were noon.

This only further proved how unusual the matter was.

As time passed, that world continued to undergo tremendous changes, becoming clearer and more real.

"I don't know what he's doing, making such a racket in the middle of the night," Nami said unhappily, though worry remained in her eyes.

She had rushed over the moment she woke up.

Seeing this mysterious scene, she could not help but worry about Caelan.

"It's already so late, and we still don't know what's going on inside. Even if it were a sneak attack from a Yonko, it wouldn't look like this."

Robin stared at the locked door, her face equally grim.

She had racked her brains and combed through every book in her collection, but nothing explained what was happening.

That barren land was nothing like the scenery of this world. She was certain that even the Red Line would not hold such an endless expanse.

And on that vast land, countless white bones lay scattered, each radiating a powerful aura, as if they had been formidable beings in life.

It left her feeling more unsettled than ever.

"It would almost be a relief if one of the Yonko appeared. At least that would be easier to deal with than this uncertainty."

Gion sighed softly.

This distorted space was far beyond her understanding.

Even though she was a seasoned Marine officer, she had no answers.

Not far from them stood Dragon.

He was clearly an emperor of the sea, yet the women spoke as though the Yonko were nothing more than minor pirates.

It wasn't that they were arrogant enough to look down on the Yonko.

They simply believed the Yonko could not pose a threat to Caelan.

"Could this be some kind of Devil Fruit ability?" Kalifa ventured a guess.

In this world, all kinds of things existed, so the appearance of a special Devil Fruit was not impossible.

"Impossible. No Devil Fruit can achieve this, not even an awakened one," Gion immediately dismissed Kalifa's theory.

The higher one stood, the clearer the limits of Devil Fruits became. For example, Borsalino's Glint-Glint Fruit was said to be the power of light itself, yet it fell far short of the true speed of light.

The world they were witnessing now had already surpassed the limits of any Devil Fruit.

"That makes it even harder to explain," Kalifa sighed helplessly.

If it was neither Devil Fruit power nor anything else she knew, then… could Caelan truly be creating a world?

"Enough of this. In my opinion, we should just rush in and rescue Caelan!" Hancock folded her arms across her chest, eyes burning as she stared at the desolate world.

As long as she could save him, she didn't care what dangers awaited.

"Don't be reckless. If we rush in now, it might backfire. We should wait a little longer," Robin quickly stopped her from acting rashly.

"Let's give it some time. If there's really no other choice, then we can go in."

Gion added her voice in agreement.

"Yeah, we understand," Vivi, Tashigi, and Kalifa responded together.

Hancock did not resist further, but instead fixed her gaze on the shifting scene in silence like the others.

…

Nearby, Dragon and Morgans whispered to each other.

"You were just speaking with Caelan. Do you know anything about this?" Morgans prodded Dragon curiously.

"I don't know a thing."

Dragon sighed, clearly helpless.

He had only just returned to rest when he was drawn back here again.

Now, he was just as confused as the others, unable to understand how such chaos had erupted in the short time since he had left.

"Oh," Morgans muttered, not disappointed, since he had not expected much from Dragon to begin with.

His sharp eyes remained fixed on the strange world. The white bones scattered across it made him frown.

Not because he was frightened, but because something about them felt strange.

Many of the skeletons were unusual. One was wreathed in flowing yellow sand, another flickered with arcs of lightning, and yet another was entangled with endless threads…

But one particular skeleton among them caught his attention.

It looked strangely familiar, almost eerily similar to Monkey D. Dragon standing beside him, even exuding the same aura.

After watching carefully for a while, Morgans finally asked, "Look at that skeleton. Doesn't it seem familiar to you?"

"Familiar?" Dragon looked at him, puzzled.

"That one," Morgans pointed, "it looks like the remains you would leave behind after death."

"…What!?" Dragon was stunned.

But upon closer inspection, he realized Morgans was right.

The skeleton's height, build, even the proportions of its hand bones were identical to his own, as though they had been shaped by the same martial training.

It still carried a faint aura, one almost identical to his.

"Am I dead?" Dragon rubbed his eyes, then exclaimed, "Then who the hell am I!?"

His expression darkened instantly.

He had thought this was only Caelan's problem, but he had not expected to be pulled into it as well.

"But what can we even do?"

Dragon felt powerless.

Beyond recognizing that the skeleton resembled himself and existed in another world, he knew nothing else.

Even if he wanted to resolve it, he had no idea where to start.

"Wait, look! That world has completely stabilized!" Morgans suddenly shouted.

The world that had been flickering between illusion and reality finally solidified.

It seemed that stepping through that room would allow one to enter it, while at the same time, the oppressive atmosphere disappeared.

At once, everyone fixed their eyes nervously on the desolate land, bracing themselves for some monstrous being to emerge.

Under their tense gazes, ripples appeared in the space and a tall figure stepped out.

"Good evening, everyone," Caelan greeted calmly. Then he raised his voice and asked, "Would you like to visit my world?"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 232: The Defeated

Your world?

Everyone was a little confused when they saw Caelan suddenly appear.

However, everyone was extremely curious.

That murderous loess land they had just seen looked extraordinary at first glance.

"Then shall we go in and take a look?"

Dragon and Morgans asked carefully.

He was truly curious about the skeleton that looked exactly like him.

If he didn't resolve this problem, he feared that one day he might wake up inside a coffin.

"Go ahead."

Caelan didn't mind outsiders watching.

Just looking would not reveal the flaws of his Reality Marble, otherwise it would be far too cheap.

It just so happened that his Reality Marble had only just been completed, and he wanted someone to share his joy with.

Magic power surged through Caelan's body as he activated the Reality Marble.

In an instant, everything changed.

The hazy moonlit sky vanished along with many of Dressrosa's buildings, replaced by a shocking new scene.

The scorching sun hung high in the sky, and the land stretched vast and boundless.

White bones of countless shapes were scattered across the loess, their hollow eye sockets staring upward as if filled with unwillingness and submission.

Before anyone could react, they were pulled into this strange world.

"It's not that we're being pulled in. It's the original world being replaced."

Dragon muttered as he studied the scene around him.

Without any warning, the world had shifted before their eyes.

He had felt nothing as it happened, and if not for the environment changing, he might have believed he was still in the same place.

"Besides, it seems like we can't leave."

Morgans looked around and spoke gravely.

As a news king used to fleeing danger, his instinct was always to find an escape route, which was the reason he had survived so long.

The moment the world shifted, he instinctively checked for exits, but there were none.

"Don't be afraid. As long as you are not an enemy, you are completely safe in this world," Caelan said with a smile.

"If they are safe when not enemies, then that means enemies are dangerous?"

Morgans caught the meaning in Caelan's words. Speaking to himself, he carefully observed the surroundings, searching for hidden murderous intent.

But aside from the countless bones, nothing else appeared unusual.

Still, even if nothing lurked here, just being in the same space as Caelan was enough to drive any enemy to despair.

And those bones were clearly anything but ordinary.

"Caelan, can I examine the bones?"

Dragon asked, referring to the skeleton he had seen earlier that resembled him so closely.

Although tens of thousands of bones lay scattered across the wasteland, he had been immediately drawn to that one and recognized it at a glance.

"Of course. Go ahead," Caelan agreed.

Dragon immediately pulled Morgans along with him.

It wasn't that he trusted Morgans, but in dangerous situations, it was always better to have someone else take the fall.

As Dragon moved away, Caelan chuckled softly and whispered, "I hope I didn't scare you."

Dragon studied the skeleton curiously. The longer he looked, the stranger it seemed, as if he were staring at another version of himself.

Only this version had nothing left but bare bones.

A strange sense of shame welled up inside him.

Almost involuntarily, he reached out and touched the hard bones, carefully examining their features.

Meanwhile, Caelan was speaking with Nami and the others.

"Is this your world? It looks so desolate."

Nami frowned with some disdain as she glanced around.

She had been shocked at first, but after observing for a while, she realized it was nothing more than a lifeless wasteland steeped in murderous intent.

Apart from the endless land, there was nothing else to see.

"It's like Alabasta under Crocodile, but much worse."

Vivi spoke with a scowl.

Even under Crocodile's control, Alabasta had still been filled with people. But here, there was nothing but bones.

"This is a battlefield. How could a battlefield ever be filled with life?"

Caelan rubbed Vivi's head helplessly.

This world wasn't a place for rest or leisure. Where would vitality come from?

If they truly wanted to relax, they only had to look up at the sky.

"Battlefield?"

"I thought it was going to be something incredible, but in the end, it's just a pile of bones."

Gion's tone was disappointed.

With all the commotion earlier, she had almost believed the entire world would collapse.

Yet after stepping inside, aside from its vastness and oppressive atmosphere, there seemed to be nothing particularly special about it.

"You underestimate this world. Those piles of bones are anything but ordinary."

Caelan chuckled and pointed toward Dragon.

The women followed his finger, just in time to see the skeleton Dragon was touching suddenly break free of his grasp.

"Dragon Claw Fist!"

The skeletal hand flexed, and with shocking speed, a familiar Dragon Claw strike slammed toward Dragon's chest.

Dragon's reflexes were quick. He dodged aside and countered with his own Dragon Claw Fist.

The bones were blasted hundreds of meters away, scattering across the ground before pulling themselves back together again.

"Tch. He just touched my bones, and now he pretends not to know me."

The skeleton staggered to its feet, speaking with a pitiful tone.

Even without flesh or vocal cords, the bones still produced sound, and it was identical to Dragon's voice.

"What the hell are you?"

Dragon asked solemnly.

The technique, the voice, everything was exactly the same as his own. Aside from being slightly weaker, it was like staring at a carbon copy of himself.

"I am not a thing. I am Lord Caelan's medal of honor, the wail of the defeated."

"I am you, you loser!"

The skeleton spoke slowly, its hollow sockets flashing with contempt.

"I'm a loser?"

Dragon froze.

His revolutionary cause was thriving. How could he possibly be a loser?

He had recently been defeated by Caelan, yes, but that didn't justify creating a skeleton just to mock him.

"Caelan, this…?"

Dragon looked at him in confusion, eager for answers.

"This is the kingdom of the defeated. Anyone who loses to me leaves behind a mark here, becoming my servant."

Caelan did not hide anything and explained directly.

These bones were the projections of those who had been defeated by him.

Silvers Rayleigh, the three Marine admirals, Enel, Crocodile, and most recently Monkey D. Dragon himself, all had places here.

Even the Arlong Pirates and Don Krieg's crew were mixed in among the ranks.

Some had been killed, others survived.

But everyone he had defeated had a corresponding skeleton here.

"I see. No wonder some of the bones looked familiar."

The women nodded in sudden realization.

They recognized a few old enemies among the bones.

There was Enel's skeleton sparking with lightning, Kizaru's glowing with light, and Aokiji's encased in ice…

All of Caelan's past enemies were present within this Reality Marble.

"So if you defeat me, I end up as a skeleton serving you?"

Dragon shouted in disbelief.

This ability was absurd.

If he could use every opponent he defeated, then the Revolutionary Army would have long since conquered the world.

And he knew how many terrifying foes Caelan had overcome. If all of them became skeletons fighting under him, that would be an unimaginable power.

"That's about right, but don't exaggerate. At most, they retain thirty percent of their original strength," Caelan said with a hint of regret.

As a product of magic within the Reality Marble, the strength of the skeletons was not very high.

Thanks to magic's versatility, they retained all the abilities of their originals, including Devil Fruit powers and Haki.

But their power was only thirty percent of the real thing.

Still, thirty percent was already enough. Thirty percent of the strong was still strong, and thirty percent of the weak still added to his numbers.

Every person he defeated contributed to his path of conquest.

This was the kingdom of the defeated, half of his Reality Marble, shaped by his ambition to rule the world.

The other half embodied the will to preserve.

"Thirty percent is already terrifying enough."

Dragon was shaken.

To retain thirty percent of one's strength was already unbelievable.

Thirty percent of a Yonko was still stronger than a Vice Admiral, and thirty percent of a Vice Admiral was stronger than a Rear Admiral.

In every case, it was only one step below the original strength.

With such an army, the power was overwhelming.

It was hard to believe this ability could even exist within a human.

(To be continued.)