Entrance Exam"
Darkness opened around him like a slowly peeling eyelid.
Crow blinked once, adjusting to the unnatural stillness of the chamber.
Stone floor.
Towering columns carved with patterns he didn't recognize.
A pillar of pale light in the center, humming like a heartbeat.
His body ached—deep, raw pain where his Ki center had once been.
Where the Devil Fruit's deeper layers had collapsed.
Where Shinsu had begun pooling without permission.
He flexed a hand.
Still weak. Still functional.
"…Where am I?"
A distant splash answered him.
A boy's voice—strained, panicked, echoing from deeper inside the darkness.
Crow turned his head slightly.
Someone else was here.
Someone already in the middle of a fight.
But before he could move—
tap. tap. tap.
A small figure walked into the glow.
Round eyes.
Smooth skin.
Staff tapping lightly, like a polite knock on a door.
Headon smiled widely.
"Welcome," the caretaker said, "to the Tower."
Crow did not react with surprise.
He simply set his stance—balanced but relaxed.
"And who are you supposed to be?"
"A caretaker," Headon answered.
"A guide for those who reach this place."
"And where is… 'this place'?"
"The First Floor," Headon replied.
"The beginning. A floor where challengers are tested."
Crow listened.
Another splash.
A grunt of effort.
The sound of something enormous cutting through fluid.
"…Someone else is here."
"Indeed. Another challenger."
Headon tapped his staff.
"He arrived shortly before you."
Crow frowned lightly.
"So he's already being tested."
Headon's smile widened.
"Yes. Each challenger receives a test fitting their heart."
Crow didn't like the wording.
"My test?"
Headon inclined his head, staff lowering slightly.
"We will discuss that shortly.
But first—tell me something, young one."
Crow's eyes narrowed.
"…What."
"Why have you come here?"
"I didn't," Crow answered flatly.
"I opened my eyes and found this place."
Headon's eyelids lowered subtly in amusement.
"How interesting."
Crow said nothing.
He scanned the chamber.
The air was too thick.
Too heavy.
Like breathing through a wet cloth.
"…What is this pressure?"
"Shinsu," Headon answered.
"The substance of this world."
Crow's eyes flickered to the basin where the other boy struggled.
"…It acts like water."
Headon chuckled softly.
"A simple illusion.
Nothing more."
Crow's brow tightened.
He recognized manipulation when he heard it.
"So you're telling me nothing about how this works, but you want me to take a test anyway."
Headon lifted his staff.
"Of course."
Crow stared at him silently.
"…That's stupid."
Headon laughed.
"You are bold."
Crow folded his arms.
"I'm not agreeing to anything until you stop talking in riddles."
Headon opened his mouth—
BOOOOOOM.
The wall detonated inward.
Wind slammed across the chamber.
Stone cracked under booted heels.
A tall woman burst in with Shinsu flaring around her like a storm.
Crow blinked.
Black hair.
Scarlet eyes.
Royal armor.
She began shouting—loud, rapid, furious—but Crow couldn't understand a word of it.
He tilted his head slightly.
"…She's yelling at you, right?"
Headon smiled.
"Oh yes."
The woman stormed toward Crow, still shouting, but to him it sounded like pure static.
Crow raised a hand politely.
"…I don't know what language she's speaking."
She froze, blinked at him, then cursed and yanked an object from her belt.
Without warning she slapped a glowing device onto his arm.
FLASH.
Tower language.
Translation.
System commands.
Pocket interface.
Basic Shinsu theory.
Crow staggered half a step, then straightened again.
"…Ah. That's better."
Yuri Zahard crossed her arms.
"GOOD.
NOW YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME."
Crow nodded once.
"Yes. You're very loud."
Evan, breathless behind her, groaned.
"Princess… please… calm down…"
Crow looked between them.
Then at Headon.
Then at the glowing basin where the other boy continued struggling.
"…Okay," Crow said slowly.
"Someone start explaining what the hell is happening."
Yuri glared at Headon.
"You. Stop lying for once."
Headon bowed gracefully.
"But Princess… I haven't even begun."
Crow exhaled sharply.
"…Wonderful."
And the chamber fell quiet again—
Baam fighting for his life in the background,
Yuri seething in the foreground,
Headon smiling like he'd already won.
Crow stood between them,
hands loose,
eyes steady,
waiting.
The Tower had opened its door.
And nothing made sense.
Yet.