The surgery hadn't left pain behind.
It left density.
I sat in the recovery bay, staring at my right arm as the final layers of heavy bandages loosened and slid away. The skin beneath looked normal—too normal.No difference in colour. No wings. No scars. No seams. No proof that my body had been rewritten from the inside out.
Yet the weight remained.
Not exhaustion.
Not soreness.
Containment.
I flexed my fingers slowly. The movement felt smooth… obedient. Like something deep inside me was listening.
My gaze flicked upward as a faint HUD shimmered into existence at the edge of my vision.
[Trust Skill — Remaining Time: 04:00:00]
Four hours.
Four hours to reach the docks, regroup with the crew, and disappear from the most dangerous island in the world before the smartest man alive started asking the wrong questions.
I pushed myself to my feet.
That was when a hand grabbed my sleeve.
"Ah—ah—ah!" Vegapunk chirped, eyes wide with unfiltered excitement. "You can't leave yet! Not before you see them!"
I turned to him slowly.
"Doctor," I said carefully, "we agreed—"
"My greatest masterpieces!" he interrupted, already pulling me forward. "The pinnacle of the Lineage Factor! History in liquid form!"
The Condensed Trust pressed in like gravity, heavy and unavoidable.
I could feel it—his belief in me wasn't admiration anymore. It was dependence. Pulling. Anchoring. Saying stay without words.
…Damn it.
I let him lead me.
We descended deeper than I'd been before—past clean labs and humming corridors into something colder. Older. The air changed first. Sterile salt. Ozone. Stillness.
Vegapunk slapped a panel.
The shutters groaned open.
And my breath caught.
Tall, child-like silhouettes floated in massive vertical vats, suspended in glowing green liquid. Dark skin. Silver hair. Black wings folded tight behind their backs.
S-Hawk.
S-Bear.
S-Snake.
The others stood beside them, silent and unfinished.
Even dormant, they radiated pressure.
Not killing intent.
Authority.
My chest tightened.
I remembered the panels. The future fights. The way Luffy and the others would struggle—how even monsters would hesitate in front of these things.
"…So they're real," I murmured.
Vegapunk beamed. "Better than real! They're the solution. The replacement for the Seven Warlords!"
He paused, eyes narrowing just a fraction. "But they're missing something."
I looked at him. "What?"
"The spark," he said softly. "The unpredictable part. Humanity."
His gaze slid back to me.
"That's why I needed you."
My stomach sank.
"You want me to test this on myself," I said.
Vegapunk clapped his hands. "Exactly! I want to see if the fire recognizes its new master!"
He led me towards the Fabiriophase Stadium.
The Fabiriophase Stadium opened up around us—wide, metallic, exposed to the sky. Wind tore through the arena, carrying salt and heat. Vegapunk retreated into a reinforced booth, practically vibrating.
"Ignite it!" his voice boomed over the intercom.
I stood alone at the center.
I closed my eyes.
Focused inward.
At first—nothing.
Then… warmth.
Not heat.
Pressure.
A hum began deep in my bones, low and resonant, vibrating through marrow and muscle alike.
BOOM.
Fire erupted.
Not flame—release.
A black-red pillar exploded from my right arm, spiraling outward in controlled violence. The air warped. The ground beneath my feet liquefied, glowing red as molten slag spread in a perfect circle around me.
The fire didn't burn wildly.
It obeyed.
"—Ghh!" I hissed, teeth clenched.
My blood felt like it was boiling. Panic clawed up my spine as instinct screamed too much. I forced the pressure down—compressed it—shut it off.
The flames vanished instantly.
Smoke curled upward from my skin.
I took one step forward—
—and the world snapped.
The stadium vanished.
The booth was suddenly there.
I stumbled, barely catching myself ten feet in front of Vegapunk.
"…Woah," I breathed, staring at my legs.
I hadn't felt the movement.
Hadn't decided to move.
"SUCCESS!" Vegapunk shrieked, bursting from the booth. "Perfect! Just as I theorized!"
He grabbed my shoulders, eyes blazing.
"When the flame is active—you're an invincible fortress!"
"When it's extinguished—the Lunarian DNA converts everything into kinetic output!"
"This isn't imitation," he said softly. "This is evolution."
I smiled.
Then the world tore.
A jagged red glitch ripped across my vision.
[WARNING: Trust Skill Termination Inbound]
[Time Remaining: 00:10:00]
[Deferred Payment Collection Scheduled]
[Cost: Memory of One Person]
My blood turned to ice.
Ten minutes.
"Doctor," I said quickly, backing away. "I—I have to go. My crew is waiting."
Vegapunk blinked. "Already?"
There was genuine hurt there.
"But we haven't even—"
"I'll come back," I lied. "I promise."
I didn't wait for permission.
I ran.
The world blurred as Lunarian speed tore me across Egghead. Five minutes. Three minutes. The shoreline rushed up fast.
Spruce was already there, mercury dripping from his arms as the Ripple bobbed beside him.
"Captain! Marines are getting curious!—resu" he shouted.
I leapt above Ripple.
00:00:05
00:00:01
00:00:00
The warmth vanished.
Up on the cliff, Vegapunk froze mid-wave.
I felt it—his trust collapsing into clarity.
His hand moved to his belt.
He pressed a button.
Agony detonated.
I screamed, collapsing onto the deck of Ripple as my right arm went dead—not numb, not asleep—empty. The nerves didn't burn.
They shut off.
The connection shattered.
My arm hit the Ripple with a dull thud, gray and lifeless.
And I felt it.
The fire was gone.
"...Bruhh."