Sanji's trembling footsteps echoed faintly across the shaking ground.
At this moment, every corpse and fragment of bone in the world seemed to be sliding toward this place.
The ground beneath his feet tilted more and more, the incline growing steeper by the second,
a silent warning of how dire the situation had become.
Behind him, the muffled thuds of heavy debris tumbling into the abyss resounded endlessly.
But Sanji no longer had the strength to look back.
The previous battle had drained every ounce of his stamina.
Now, with his right arm gone and his body covered in wounds, he had already reached his limit.
And with the ground cracking apart beneath him, the world itself tilting toward the endless void,
Everything happened far too fast.
Just a moment ago, I could still fight… so why now… why does this weakness feel so overwhelming…?
Biting down hard, Sanji clutched at the wound near his chest with his remaining arm.
Both legs pushed off the collapsing earth with all the strength he could muster, desperate to move forward.
But it was pointless.
Without warning, the ground beneath him gave way and before he could react, it felt as though gravity itself had been rewritten.
The world flipped.
The land rose vertically, twisting into an impossible shape, a massive cube suspended in the void.
And at its base… lay the abyss.
When you gaze into the abyssthe abyss gazes also into you.
========
If Sanji knew that quote, he'd probably be cursing his lungs out:
"I never even looked at the damn thing! I had my back turned the whole time!!!"
But right now, his mind was too dazed, too clouded with exhaustion for even anger.
His thoughts slowed to a crawl as gravity claimed him.
His body, along with countless skeletal remains, plunged helplessly into the endless darkness below.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
It almost felt as if gravity had vanished.
Sanji could feel himself falling, yet somehow, his heartbeat grew calmer.
There was no fear. No panic.
Perhaps it was true calm.
Or perhaps the terror had simply gone beyond what he could bear and his mind, unable to express it, settled into silence.
Which it was… even Sanji himself could no longer tell.
Time slipped by, a second, a day, a year, he couldn't tell anymore.
But none of it mattered.
No matter how long it lasted, nothing changed.
He was still falling. Still sinking.
Sanji's thoughts stiffened, his will growing dull.
Thinking… what's the point…
Maybe it's better to stop altogether…
His dark-golden eyes lost their color, fading back to plain black and white.
Then even that drained away, replaced by lifeless gray.
Those eyes, once bright enough to make lightning dance for a pretty face were now completely devoid of light.
He gazed upward in despair, watching the countless corpses falling alongside him.
So this is it… this is all that's left to share my fate with.
He let out a soft, broken laugh.
Heh… they all look so strange… almost too familiar…
Each one, blond hair, curled brows, sharp chin, long slender fingers of a chef…
Wait.
Sanji's pupils contracted sharply, a faint spark of light flickering back to life.
No way…
He looked around in disbelief, at his hands, his feet, his surroundings.
Everywhere he looked, the falling bodies shared the same face, his own.
These… these are all me!?
His mind reeled.
The hair, the eyes, the nose,
Even among the shattered skeletons, he could still recognize himself.
Yes. Every single corpse was him.
The only difference was time.
Some looked young, barely boys.
Others were grown men, or older versions of himself.
His self from a second ago, a minute ago, an hour ago…
The truth hit him like a blade through the chest,
These bones cover the earth… they're all me.
Every one of them is a past version of me!
What… what is this place?
Where am I?!
Is this… my own personal Yomi…?
The abyss stretched endlessly downward, deeper and deeper.
How did I even get here…? Why can't I remember…?
Sanji kept falling, faster and faster but there was still no bottom.
The darkness thickened. Every glimmer of light vanished.
And yet, despite the blackness, he could still see.
See the countless versions of himself drifting all around.
Am I… becoming one of them?
Once I reach the bottom… I'll just be another corpse among them.
Or maybe… I always have been.
========
Sanji wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
He could only stare into the endless dark, surrounded by his own dead selves.
Silence swallowed him whole once more.
The world went still.
He didn't know how long had passed.
Then, at last, something changed.
"Sanji! Sanji!"
A familiar voice echoed through the void, calling a name.
Sanji?
Who's that?
No… what's that?
It felt so familiar… yet so distant.
Before he could make sense of it, another voice joined in.
"Sanji! Sanji!!"
A strong, commanding man's voice.
Even in his haze, Sanji somehow knew this was someone who had once done something important for him.
"Sanji-san!!!"
Another voice, this one calm, melodic.
Just hearing it, Sanji could imagine the speaker singing beautifully, perhaps even playing multiple instruments.
Hmm… but his face is kinda scary though…
"Sanji!"
A long-nosed man's voice this time, boastful, dramatic, yet trustworthy to the core.
A man who always stood firm in his own way.
Someone I respect…
"Sanji-san, Sanji-san…"
A trembling, tearful tone, a young boy with pink hair.
Still so young, yet always talking about grand dreams and working tirelessly toward them.
A sweet kid… always so thoughtful toward others…
"Sanji-san!"
Now, a woman's voice, gentle, composed, and endlessly polite.
She sounded… like she might be the partner of that first voice… or maybe not.
His fading mind couldn't be sure.
"Hey! Stupid perv-cook!!!"
A sharp, fiery voice cut through the haze, a cute girl with orange hair, stubborn yet utterly irresistible.
Ah… she's even cuter when she's mad.
And when she eats my cooking… that shy, flustered look,that's my favorite sight in the whole world.
Man… that was a deep sleep…
But… I guess it's time to wake up.
Dinner time's coming soon…
And without me, it's never on time.
After all… I am,
Sanji, Special Chef of the Starry Sky Pirates!