The gates of Nerathis closed behind the Thousand Sunny with a soundless pulse. Inside, the city glowed with its own light — coral spires breathing in rhythm, pearl streets reflecting a constant twilight. Schools of fish swam in symmetrical patterns above, as if choreographed.
Thalyra led them through the Grand Current, a wide boulevard where the water seemed to part around them. No one in the crew needed to swim — the flow carried them forward as though walking on air.
The Audience Hall
The hall was vast, lined with columns of mother-of-pearl. Jellyfish floated between them, their tendrils glowing softly, illuminating carvings along the walls.Robin ran her fingers across the symbols.
"These tell the history of the first tide… and the fall of the surface."
Thalyra stood before a throne carved from a single colossal clam shell. She rested her staff against it and turned to Arkan.
"Flamebearer, you want me to join your chorus. But loyalty is easy when the cause is noble. I will test whether you stand by your own cause… when it turns against you."
The Test
With a flick of her staff, the water shifted and the crew found themselves separated in shimmering spheres. Arkan's sphere pulled him into a vast open chamber where a single figure floated — Ace.
He was alive, smiling faintly.
"Brother… you finally found me."
Arkan's chest tightened.
"This is an illusion."
Ace swam closer.
"Maybe. But if you could keep me here… safe, hidden… would you? Even if it meant the world above burned?"
The water around them grew warmer. The silence was crushing.
Arkan's voice was steady.
"No. Because you wouldn't want that. You lived for freedom, not for chains — even chains made of my love."
The image dissolved, replaced by the echo of Thalyra's voice.
"Truth over comfort. You pass."
An Intruder Revealed
Back in the hall, the crew's spheres dissolved. But Thalyra's eyes were sharp, scanning the shadows beyond the pillars.
A ripple in the water — and a figure emerged.A man in sleek black diving armor, mask shaped like a serpent's skull, holding a harpoon tipped with glowing red crystal.
Thalyra's staff slammed against the floor, currents surging to hold him in place.
"You have no right in my city."
The masked man's voice was calm.
"Your city? No, Thalyra… this city belongs to the one who remembers nothing."
Arkan stepped forward, Flame igniting in the water without dimming.
"Veyron sent you."
The man smiled behind his mask.
"I was here before you ever crossed the Veil."
Final Scene
The currents shifted violently as the masked intruder unleashed his weapon. The harpoon split into three glowing shards that curved through the water like hunting eels — each aimed at a different crew member.
Thalyra raised her staff.
"Defend the city, Flamebearer… or lose the Veil forever."