The sea was no longer the same.
Where once currents flowed by the logic of tides, now islands drifted as if pulled by memory, and skies burned with colors unrecorded. The awakening of the Serpent had rewritten the very rules of the Grand Line.
Aboard the Thousand Sunny
Arkan stood at the helm beside Nami, scanning a new map etched from the Seed's pulse.
"These coordinates weren't on any chart," she said.
"They weren't meant to be," Arkan replied. "The place we're heading… it only exists now that the truth has returned."
Robin stepped forward. "It's the first lost city: Velmora. The birthplace of the First Flameborne."
Luffy jumped onto the mast. "Then let's go wake 'em up!"
Velmora — City of Ashen Roots
Hidden between collapsing tectonic folds and obscured by a mist that erased memory, Velmora emerged as a forest of petrified trees, each hundreds of meters tall. Their roots intertwined through obsidian ruins and shattered monuments.
At the city's heart, a crystal cocoon hung suspended in a root cage.
Within it: a young woman, skin marked with silver lines, her eyes closed.
Arrival
The Thousand Sunny landed at the base of Velmora's cliffs. As the crew stepped off, the mist resisted them—whispers invading their minds.
Sanji clutched his head. "It's showing me… my mother?"
Zoro growled. "Tch. My old dojo."
Arkan extended his hand, the Flame of D pulsing outward.
The mist parted.
"We're not here to remember," he said. "We're here to remind."
The Trial of Flame
Reaching the cocoon wasn't simple. Guardians of Velmora—stone constructs shaped like forgotten kings—awoke.
Robin read their glyphs: "Only one who bears the Flame may wake the Seed."
Arkan stepped forward. "Then I'll face them."
Luffy blocked his path. "Not alone."
Together, they battled the guardians. The air turned to memory. Every blow exchanged summoned echoes of history.
Arkan landed the final strike. The last guardian crumbled into dust.
The cocoon responded.
Awakening
The crystal cracked.
The woman's eyes opened—glowing silver with echoes of galaxies.
She gasped, her breath syncing with the roots.
"I am Lyra," she said softly. "Daughter of the Last Archive. Flameborne of Velmora."
Robin stepped forward. "Do you remember?"
Lyra looked at her. "I remember everything."
She turned to Arkan. "And you… carry my brother's flame."
Final Scene — In the Temple of the Mirror
Veyron watched Lyra's awakening through a polished pool of liquid memory.
"So the First has awoken."
He turned to his lieutenants. Twelve cloaked figures stood at attention.
"The Heralds of the Eclipse are assembled."
He pointed toward the map.
"Let the hunt for the Flameborne begin."