The countless familiar skeletons around him began to dissolve, fading away little by little.
The darkness, too, began to thin, until finally, it was gone completely.
Light!
A blinding burst of light!
After so long in darkness, his eyes could not withstand the sudden glare.
Sanji struggled to move his stiff limbs, his body sluggish as though drained of all strength. Slowly, he raised one trembling hand to shield his eyes from the brightness.
He had only just escaped the abyss.
Even this simple light felt harsh and unreal, forcing him to slowly, painfully adjust.
========
"He's awake! Sanji's awake!!!"
Inside the training room, the crew of the Starry Sky Pirates surrounded Sanji's fallen body.
They stood scattered around him, their faces tense with worry.
Usopp, who had been monitoring Sanji's condition the entire time, was the first to notice movement. He let out a breath of relief and shouted with a trembling laugh.
Sanji's unconscious state, where no amount of calling or shaking could wake him, had terrified them all for far too long.
In Usopp's eyes, through the vision, he had seen the death lines on Sanji's body multiply.
They covered him almost entirely now.
And the more death lines there were, the weaker the person became.
But that wasn't what scared Usopp most.
Those lines weren't just increasing, they were fading.
Under his vision, the tangled web of death that covered Sanji's body began to grow faint, until they nearly vanished altogether.
Usopp knew what that meant.
If those death lines truly disappeared…
that would mean Sanji's complete and utter death.
Among all of them, no one had been more frightened for Sanji's life than Usopp.
Hearing Usopp's shout, the others immediately turned toward Sanji, their anxious eyes fixed on him.
Luffy hurried over, crouched beside him, and gently lifted him from the floor.
"You okay, Sanji!? How are you feeling?"
Just moments ago, under everyone's watchful eyes, Sanji and Brook had been sparring perfectly fine.
Then, out of nowhere, Brook had shouted,
"Not good!" and Sanji collapsed instantly.
No matter how they called or shook him, he wouldn't wake up.
"Ugh…"
Sanji's throat rasped dryly as he tried to speak, his voice hoarse and weak.
After all, within his consciousness, he had just lived through what felt like countless years in the abyss.
Those endless, timeless moments hadn't touched his memories or changed his will, but the horror of that experience had been carved deeply into his very soul.
"Here, Mr. Sanji…"
Koby quickly handed him a cup of warm water, gently helping him drink.
The warmth slid down his throat like spring rain, soothing the dryness and easing the ache inside.
Slowly, Sanji began to emerge fully from the lingering shadow of the dark.
Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he blinked a few times, then instinctively touched his right arm.
A faint smile of relief formed on his lips.
"Good… everything's still normal."
"Mr. Sanji…"
Brook stood across from him, guilt etched in his hollow expression. His voice trembled softly.
"I'm truly sorry… I didn't expect something like that to happen."
"It's fine, it's fine…"
Sanji shook his head, slowly rising to his feet.
His vision still wavered slightly, his balance uncertain, but he still turned toward Brook with a calm smile.
"Your technique's really something, Brook."
His tone grew steadier by the word, the weakness fading away. Even the corners of his mouth curved upward again, not wanting Brook to feel too guilty.
"This is on me, my strength still isn't good enough."
"But fighting you again taught me a lot."
"Next time…"
"I won't be that pathetic again!!!"
Taking the jacket Koby handed him, Sanji swung it over his shoulders in one smooth motion, his grin returning, confident and bright.
"Alright, looks like Sanji's fine. No need to worry anymore," Luffy said suddenly, glancing around at everyone before looking back at Sanji.
"Still, you should rest a bit. Even if you're not injured, take a break. You really scared everyone just now."
"Sorry about that… made you all worry," Sanji replied sheepishly, scratching his cheek with a small, awkward smile.
To him, this had just been a result of Brook's strange technique, he simply wasn't strong enough to handle it yet, and that had led to his collapse.
"Alright, alright," Luffy interrupted lightly, sensing something a little off but brushing it aside.
"If everything's okay, everyone can get back to what they were doing."
"Sanji, go rest up. Robin and the others can handle lunch."
"It's fine, Luffy! I'll take care of lunch myself!"
Sanji waved a hand dismissively, fire returning to his eyes. "I'm the chef of the Starry Sky Pirates, how could I trouble Miss Robin and Miss Nami like that?"
Poor Koby, once again ignored completely.
"Well… if you're sure you're fine, then alright," Luffy replied, distracted by his own thoughts.
The others began to leave the training room one by one.
Robin was the last to go. She paused at the doorway, glancing back at Luffy, Zoro, and Brook, a thoughtful look flickering in her eyes then she, too, stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Now, only three people remain.
Once Robin left, Luffy turned immediately to Brook, his expression serious.
"Brook, what was that just now!?"
Zoro's face had hardened as well, his gaze locked on Brook.
During Brook's fight, when he summoned the General Skeleton, something had happened that none of them could have imagined.
From the dimensional rift Brook opened, a surge of terrifying pressure had poured out, so oppressive that even Luffy and Zoro, who feared almost nothing, felt true fear.
A fear that went straight to the soul.
Even with Luffy's current strength, enough to stand against an admiral he'd been shaken by that presence hidden within the rift.
But the power had been subtle, faint so faint that even Brook, the one who opened the portal, hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Only Luffy and Zoro, whose life forces had already transcended ordinary limits, had been able to sense it.
Brook froze at Luffy's question, at a loss for words.
He truly had no idea what had happened.
Seeing this, Luffy realized his tone might have been too harsh. He took a deep breath, easing both his voice and his expression.
"It's okay, Brook."
"This isn't your fault."
"What matters now is finding out what that thing was."
"If you know anything, anything at all, tell us everything."
"Mm…"
Brook nodded weakly. His dry, hollow voice trembled as he began unbuttoning his tuxedo.
Beneath the suit was the same familiar sight, bare white bones.
But nestled between his ribs, right in the center of his chest, was a small orb glowing faintly.
Thin bone sprouts grew around it, holding it firmly in place.
That orb, was Brook's Hōgyoku, his personal artifact.
Right now, it looked dim, its light nearly gone, like a useless glass bead.
Brook lifted his head slowly, his empty sockets meeting Luffy's and Zoro's eyes.
His voice rasped out like an old storyteller's whisper.
"All of this…"
"…begins with the mysterious power I received from you, Luffy-sama."
"…That's where it all started."
=============
150+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria