The sun slowly sank below the horizon.
The Shandia warriors, wary of possible ambushes, chose not to continue their march through the dense forest. Instead, they settled into a secure area for the night.
Elsewhere, the three Priests who had been entangled in battles with the Shandia also found themselves at rest.
Inside the temple, chaos simmered.
"God, what has happened to you?"
A dozen of Enel's handmaidens clutched sacred texts in trembling hands, staring at their deity in fear. Enel sat slouched before his shattered divine throne, his body scorched, his expression drained.
"Were the blasphemers responsible?"
All around, his servants lay scattered on the cloud floor, their condition unknown.
"I am fine."
Enel's calm voice silenced them. His fingers idly stroked the golden staff in his hand as he turned his sharp gaze toward one of the women.
"How goes the Ark's completion?"
"God, the finishing touches will be completed by dawn," the handmaiden replied quickly.
"I see."
Enel rose to his feet. His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the distance his Mantra could not yet reach, and then toward Angel Island. His lips twisted into a feral grin.
"Then the time has come. God will soon abandon this wretched land and ascend to a new kingdom—the boundless Vearth that belongs only to me!"
The handmaidens erupted into cries of joy, their faith unshakable.
"God, will you take us with you?"
"We have finally awaited this day!"
Even one of the God Squad, a massive man with pig-like features, dropped to the floor, tears streaming as he wailed, "Wonderful, truly wonderful…"
Enel looked over them with cold disdain. To him, they were nothing—worthless beings unfit to enter the kingdom he envisioned.
But then, amusement flashed in his eyes.
"Perhaps a test is in order."
He smirked wickedly, laughter echoing across the temple. "Yahaha! If you wish to join me, you must first pass God's trial. Only then may you ascend to the new land."
The handmaidens fell prostrate, voices trembling with excitement. "God, give us your trial!"
Enel's smile sharpened.
"Tomorrow at sunrise, I will depart aboard Ark Maxim for God's Country. But only five of you shall join me. Hunt down the Blue Sea invaders and the Shandia. When the sun rises, those five who remain alive will be the chosen."
At that moment, the three Priests entered the chamber, bowing before him.
"This is the final feast of God's Country," Enel declared, his grin vicious. "You too will be tested. Prove your worth, or be discarded."
"Yes, God!" the Priests replied, their tones uneven.
"I will not fail you, God!" declared Gedatsu, the Priest of Swamp. Though uninjured, his lips were cracked dry. True to his forgetful nature, he had gone three days without drinking water.
"God, this time I will not falter again!" Shura barked, his body wrapped head to toe in bandages. The burns from Wyper's flames throbbed despite the medicine, and Ohm's taunt—"One who plays with fire is destined to be burned"—gnawed at his pride.
"Ohm," Enel said mockingly, "you claim the Shandian was defeated by that Blue Sea man?"
Ohm inclined his head, his chest bound from his duel with Zoro. "Yes, God. His swordplay is far from refined. He lost composure in battle and paid for it."
"Hmph." Enel waved dismissively, his smirk cruel. "Do not disappoint me again. From this night forward, the entire island is yours to hunt. Shandia or Blue Sea people, it matters not—they are all prey for God's trial."
The Priests bowed deeply. "We obey, God!"
Enel turned away, eyes burning with rage as he looked toward the distant forest, where his enemies hid beyond the reach of his Mantra.
Blasphemers from the Blue Sea…
I don't care if it's Shirogai or Luffy. You will both die when the sun rises. God does not lose.
A wicked grin split his face. Tomorrow, Raigo will descend. I will summon a storm of lightning so vast it will obliterate Skypiea and Angel Island alike. Your lives will end beneath God's thunder.
His laughter echoed like rolling thunder. "Yahaha!"
With a final cold glance, Enel's body dissolved into lightning, vanishing into the temple's shadows.
…
"What?! You're saying Enel intends to destroy all of Angel Island?!"
Beneath the cover of a drifting cloud, one of the former God Squad members, battered but alive, arrived at the secluded home of the former God, Gan Fall. But Gan Fall was not there. Instead, the injured man found Conis and her father, Pagaya.
"Yes," the man rasped, refusing to collapse despite his injuries. "That monster plans to annihilate every living being in the sky!"
Conis trembled, horror etched across her face. "But if he does that, he'll have no home left himself!"
The man's expression darkened. "No. For six years, Enel has forced us to build him a golden ark—Ark Maxim—that can sail through the sky."
Pagaya's face went pale. His mind raced. If this ark was that important to Enel, then why had this man been allowed to reach them alive?
Unless…
Pagaya's blood ran cold. A trap.
"Conis! We must leave!" He grabbed his daughter and pulled her toward the door.
A thunderclap split the sky.
In the next instant, a colossal pillar of lightning crashed down, obliterating the former squad member where he stood. The blast tore through the house, its range engulfing Pagaya and Conis as they ran.
"No!"
Pagaya threw himself over his daughter, shielding her as the storm bore down. He did not fear death; if not for her, he would have long joined his departed wife. But the thought of losing Conis filled him with dread.
Forgive me, my love. I could not keep our promise.
As the searing light consumed him, memories flickered. He saw again the day he met her—the Shandia girl who had captured his heart.
Years ago, as a young man, he had mistakenly landed his waver in Shandia territory. A vigilant girl had caught him, weapon aimed, eyes sharp.
"Don't move! You're under arrest!"
Pagaya had been stunned. "You're… beautiful."
Her stern face cracked as laughter escaped her lips. She tried to stay serious, but his sincerity flustered her.
"Idiot! I'm arresting you!"
That moment marked the beginning of their love story—the Sky Island youth and the Shandia warrior.
And now, as the storm closed in, Pagaya's heart broke.
I failed you, my wife. I could not scatter your ashes on Jaya as I promised…
Lightning swallowed them whole.
____
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