In the dimly lit basement, a lone candle flickered in the corner, casting faint shadows on the walls.
Yuni, exhausted, had just finished eating. She lay down on the straw mat and drifted off to sleep. Nearby, Iggy sat silently, staring at the faint trails of tears left on his mother's face. His hatred, buried deep within, continued to burn.
Unable to sleep, Iggy quietly picked up a book resting by the wall and started reading it carefully.
Most of the books were about the history and geography of the world. A few were even from O'Hara's rare collection—including a guide to Devil Fruits.
In the ten long years they had spent imprisoned in this basement, his father, Thorn, had only visited them three times.
Iggy vividly remembered the second visit. That was when he was finally old enough to understand things, and he made a request to Thorn: to use his Celestial Dragon status to recover books lost to war or banned by the World Government.
Thorn didn't return until three years later—and only then did he bring the books.
To Iggy, this man was nothing but a cold, heartless noble. His so-called "affection" felt empty and staged.
Iggy had come to understand the brutal truth of this world: only strength and intelligence could ensure survival. With no power or freedom, all he could do was absorb knowledge and wait.
He was determined—one day, he would escape this hell with his mother. And then, he would make the Celestial Dragons—and Thorn pay.
---
"Iggy, I'm heading out."
His mother's voice woke him. As the stone ceiling slowly slid shut above her, silence returned to the basement.
Every day, Yuni left early in the morning, worn down but never breaking...working herself to the bone for scraps, just so the two of them could survive.
When would these miserable days finally end? Iggy wondered.
Time passed.
Then, unexpectedly, the stone slab creaked open again—this time with heavier, unfamiliar footsteps.
"Who's there?!"
Iggy stood up immediately, eyes sharp as he peered toward the entrance. A familiar, hated silhouette emerged—a face that haunted his nightmares.
"Thorn! What are you doing here?!"
The man who called himself Iggy's father descended the stairs, hands clasped behind his back, radiating the arrogant air of nobility.
"How have you been?" Thorn asked, voice soft but distant, laced with the detached politeness of a Celestial Dragon.
"What do you think?" Iggy snapped, his eyes burning with rage—not just at Thorn, but at the life he and his mother had been forced to endure.
The dim light revealed Iggy's stubborn, defiant expression. Thorn studied his face. The boy looked so much like Yuni. A flicker of guilt stirred in him—memories of the past, and of the debt he'd never paid.
"Do you know why I named you Iggy?" Thorn asked, sidestepping the confrontation.
"Iggy means 'eagle,'" he continued. "Here in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, 10,000 meters above sea level, only sea eagles can fly this high. I gave you that name hoping you'd rise above all this… that one day, you'd soar."
He looked at Iggy as though seeing that eagle.
"I don't believe your crap anymore, Thorn!" Iggy snapped.
For a brief moment, Thorn's words tugged at something deep inside him. But the memories of pain, humiliation, and his mother's tears hardened his heart again.
"You've never been a father to me," he said coldly. "You let the world chain us like animals for ten years. And now you want me to accept you? Go back to your noble life."
His voice cracked with rage—ten years' worth of pain and resentment poured out at once.
Thorn didn't argue. The guilt was too heavy.
"What would it take for you to forgive me?" he asked quietly.
Iggy clenched his fists. "Give my mother and me real identities. Let us live like people—with dignity. Can you do that?!"
"Yes."
The answer came instantly.
Iggy blinked, stunned. He hadn't expected that.
He stared at Thorn, confusion and disbelief mixing with his anger. "If you're serious… then let us out. Let us leave this place."
He was still just a child—ten years old. Despite everything, a flicker of hope remained inside him.
Thorn nodded. "Iggy… can you call me father?"
The question hung in the air.
Silence.
Iggy didn't reply.
Thorn sighed, trying to take comfort in the crack he'd made in the wall between them.
He turned to climb the stairs. "Tell your mother to wait for my message," he said, then slid the stone slab closed behind him.
---
"Maybe… we'll finally be a family again," Iggy whispered, staring at the fading light above.
Not long after, Yuni returned. She had just stepped inside when Iggy rushed toward her, unable to contain his excitement.
"Mom! We're getting out of here! We can start over!"
Startled, Yuni dropped the food she was carrying.
She looked at her son's eyes—eyes glowing with a light she hadn't seen in years.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she pulled Iggy into a tight embrace, tears soaking his shoulder.
"I'm just… so happy to see you like this."
---
I'd mass Release 4 Chapters
The rest would be a chapter daily.
Bonus Chapters would be dropped once we reach a certain collection rankings, or Power rankings
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