He must no longer bring silence.
Silence had served its time. Silence had heralded his return, cloaked his rise, and masked the ancient truth buried in his blood. But now, silence was no longer a warning.
It was a lie.
Now came drums — deep, slow, and relentless — like the pulse of a sleeping giant stirring beneath the world. Now came steel — sharpened not for ceremony, but for conquest. Now came the birth of an empire once drowned in myth, now clawing its way back into the sunless light.
Velra moved with precision through the shattered courtyard, her armored heels barely making a sound against the stone. Her voice — low, commanding — guided the abyssal masons. Great black bricks of fortified stone hovered through the mist, set into place by her command and stitched together with veins of writhing Abyss energy. Where ruin once ruled, order was beginning to take root.
Mihawk knelt by a rough slab of slate, mapping defense lines and tower placements using broken sword fragments, each one marking a potential bloodline of war. His movements were steady and calm, the eye of a storm yet to break.
And I—Ravro D. Flare—stood upon the highest spire, cloak rippling in the endless winds, the Abyss itself breathing at my back like a beast freshly unchained.
This was no longer exile.
This was no longer preparation.
This… was the first movement in a symphony of war.
The System's chime split the mist like a blade:
[System Quest Generated!]
[Quest: Conquer the Humandrill Tribe of Kuraigana Island.]
[Objective: Defeat the Humandrill Boss and subjugate the tribe.]
[Reward: Abyss Guard Legion Creation Unlocked (Tier 4 and Tier 5 Units).]
[Bonus Reward: Fortress Authority Expansion.]
I allowed myself the briefest smile.
Soldiers. Finally.
The first true battalion.
"Velra," I said without turning.
A shimmer in the air answered before her voice did. She appeared in a pulse of dark mist, her crimson hair wild and unbound beneath her obsidian helmet. Her gaze was alert, ready.
"Expand the defensive lines. I want the first Mist Curtain perimeter in place before nightfall."
She placed a fist to her chest, bowing low. "As you command, my King."
Then she vanished.
"Mihawk," I said, eyes drifting toward the ruins nestled deep within the hills — dark, vine-choked stone where something primal still stirred.
"You know these beasts."
He rose to full height, the long black coat of the abyssal commander whispering with the motion. His eyes — hawk-like, ancient — peered toward the distant jungle.
"Proud. Cunning. They respect only strength."
I stepped forward into the wind. "Then let them learn awe."
Deep Within the Ruins — The Humandrill Clans
They were waiting.
Hundreds of them. Beasts with the bodies of warriors and minds sharpened by battle. Their golden eyes glinted with savage intellect as they clutched rusted blades, shattered polearms, and even remnants of old pirate sabers—trophies stolen from corpses long devoured.
And at their head stood the Chief Humandrill — a hulking monster standing nearly twice my height, a brutal halberd resting across his shoulders like a challenge carved from war.
He stepped forward. No words. Only the pounding of his weapon into the stone echoed like a war drum.
A primitive declaration.
I did not answer with words either.
I moved.
In one breath, the distance vanished beneath me. In one step, the ground shattered from the force of my advance. The halberd came swinging—faster than it should have—but I caught it mid-arc with one hand, fingers closing like a vice around the thick metal shaft.
With a flick of my wrist, the air cracked.
And the Chief was driven into the ground so violently the earth cracked, a miniature quake rippling outward as stone buckled and trees bent in protest.
Silence fell like a shroud.
The Humandrills froze.
Their Chief groaned, staggered to his knees, and then bowed — slow, deliberate, submission etched into every line of his massive frame.
The rest followed.
Hundreds of proud beasts fell to their knees before me like stalks cut by a reaper's scythe.
The System chimed again, this time triumphant:
[Quest Complete: Conquer Humandrill Tribe!]
[Abyss Guard Legion Creation Unlocked!]
→ [100+ Humandrill Warriors Promoted: Abyss Guards (Tier 4 — Basic Haki User Equivalent)]
→ [Chief Humandrill Promoted: Chief Abyss Guard (Tier 5 — Vice Admiral-Class)]
[Fortress Authority Expansion Activated.]
[World Influence: +1.0%]
They were mine now.
I raised my hand, and the System unfolded before me like a banner of power.
[Status Sheet — Abyss Guard (Standard Unit)]
Name: Abyss Guard (Humandrill Variant)
Tier: 4 (Basic Haki User-Level)
Stats:
→ Strength: D+
→ Agility: C-
→ Endurance: C
Skills:
→ [Abyss Blade Arts: Initiate Level]
→ [Pack Combat Instinct]
Loyalty: Absolute (Bound to Ravro D. Flare)
And for their leader:
[Status Sheet — Chief Abyss Guard (Commander 01)]
Name: Commander 01
Tier: 5 (Vice Admiral-Level)
Stats:
→ Strength: B
→ Agility: B-
→ Endurance: B-
Skills:
→ [Abyss Combat Instinct]
→ [Pack Commander's Aura]
→ [Primitive Sword Mastery]
Unique Traits:
→ [Loyalty Engraving: Ravro D. Flare]
→ [Abyss Blood Evolution — Slow Rank Growth Over Time]
Mihawk approached as I closed the display. His gaze swept over the newly kneeling warriors with quiet scrutiny. A slow smirk touched the corner of his mouth — a rare thing.
"Rough," he said. "But trainable."
"You will shape them into weapons," I replied.
His smirk widened just enough to show teeth.
"As you command, Abyss King."
That Night — The Abyss Fortress Awakens
The transformation was swift. Brutal. Beautiful.
Walls surged from the earth like fangs — jagged, dark, laced with runes older than this age. Blackstone towers pierced the mists, their foundations laced with abyssal fire. Chains of crystal veined with red light looped between battlements like veins, pulsing with quiet menace.
From every height, the new banner of the Abyss flew — a black dragon coiled around a silver crown, its eyes hollow with silent judgment.
At the highest terrace, I stood with Velra at my right and Mihawk at my left.
Below, the Abyss Guard Legion trained. Their movements were clumsy still, but there was purpose now. Order. Strength. One day soon, these primitives would become dread soldiers — the spearpoints of a rising empire.
"Our Court is born," I said quietly.
Velra's smile gleamed sharp as glass.
"Our armies grow."
I turned toward the horizon — toward the endless sea, the broken kingdoms, the scattered kings who had forgotten the price of sovereignty.
"And soon," I whispered, "the world will know me. And what it means to kneel."
Mihawk's fingers tapped lightly against the hilt of his blade.
The black winds howled. The sea writhed beneath the moonlight.
And far beyond our shores, the dreams of tyrants trembled — stirred by a fear they could not yet name.