Watching Im's agonizing shrieks gradually dwindle to faint whimpers, an indescribable sensation welled up in Drake's chest.
An ancient sovereign who had walked the earth for eight centuries was drawing her final breath here today.
Just a short while ago, he had been locked in a relentless struggle against her, trading lethal blows across multiple battlefields.
Drake knew with crystal clarity what Im's death would mean for the future—he had thrown every ounce of his being into this war precisely to achieve this outcome.
The incandescent flames blazed on, and Im had long since lost all semblance of a humanoid form. Reduced to a minute black speck, she was burned ceaselessly by the Divine Flame.
No lingering agony remained.
[It is done. In truth, Im never obtained that kind of power through her own innate capability in the first place.]
[Right now, her primary consciousness has been shattered, plunging her into absolute stasis. She can no longer feel any pain.]
[Judging by the current burn rate, it won't take long... At most, it will take one full day for Im to be thoroughly erased from this world.]
Listening to the System's explanation, Drake remained quiet. At a momentous juncture like this, a sudden urge gripped him to slow his mind, step back, and contemplate the deeper tapestry of existence.
[Do you know where the Devil Fruits in this world originally came from?] the System asked abruptly.
Drake considered the question for a moment. "They grew as fruit from the Devil Fruit Tree."
System: "..."
[Who on earth doesn't know that?! I am asking you where the Devil Fruit Tree itself came from!] the System roared in exasperation, suddenly feeling that holding a conversation with Drake was sheer torment.
The brat always defaulted to playing dumb at the drop of a hat.
"No idea." Drake shrugged. He could see right through the System—it was merely trying to bait his curiosity so he would beg for answers.
He wasn't about to play into its hands.
In the end, the System would spill everything anyway. It was always putting on airs like this; if it had valuable intelligence to share, why not lay it out in one go?
Having spent so much time together, Drake could deduce whatever schemes were brewing in that furry little head with his eyes closed.
Seeing that Drake refused to take the bait, the System gnashed its teeth in sheer frustration before letting out a long, heavy sigh.
[Fine, fine! I'll just tell you straight.]
[In reality, Im's power was nothing other than the foundational core of this entire reality. For now, let us call it the World Core.]
[Eight hundred years ago, upon learning that a primordial force lay hidden in the deepest abyss of the world, Im embarked on a journey to claim it.]
[Or rather, in modern terms, one might call it an adventure.]
[Setting sail into the vast unknown!]
[The ancient legends she pursued claimed that whoever seized that power would command the authority to govern the entire world—and attain true immortality!]
Drake nodded in quiet contemplation. Seen in that light, the ancient lore had spoken nothing but the truth.
The power Im had seized back then must have rendered her virtually peerless beneath the heavens.
[And the Devil Fruit Tree came into being the exact moment Im laid claim to that primordial force.]
[Since time immemorial, all things under heaven and earth have adhered to the dual poles of Yin and Yang. Nothing in existence has ever stood as an exception to this universal law!]
[That primordial power... naturally... was no exception either!]
The System watched Drake listen with rapt attention, a smug, triumphant smirk tugging at the corners of its mouth.
Look at you—hooked on every word despite acting so aloof moments ago!
Trying to act smart in front of others is one thing, but pulling that routine on me is utterly pointless, isn't it?
Is there a single soul alive who understands you better than I do?
The System clicked its tongue with haughty satisfaction. Yet Drake, lost in deep contemplation, paid the smug posturing no mind, taking the initiative to press further: "What do you mean by the dual poles of Yin and Yang?"
[Well, as for that...] The System deliberately dragged out its cadence, arching a brow as it cast a sideways glance at Drake, only to lock eyes with his questioning gaze.
Drake saw through it in a heartbeat.
As expected, this damn System had reverted to its petty habit of posturing and milking suspense.
[Ahem, cough...] Caught red-handed, the System cleared its throat with a couple of dry coughs, hurriedly resuming its narrative: [The truth of the matter unfolded like this...]
Listening to the end, Drake nodded in profound revelation.
It turned out that by virtue of her extraordinary natural talent, Im had cut a swath of conquest from the moment she set sail, subjugating every territory in her wake.
She pressed forward until she finally uncovered the primordial authority that sustained the entire reality—the World Core!
The World Core took the form of a colossal stone monument remarkably similar to the Poneglyphs. Saturated with unfathomable energetic currents, it was utterly unapproachable to ordinary mortals.
Let alone claimed.
Yet Im, who already reigned as a supreme warlord of her era, possessed not only peerless natural genius, but an insatiable ambition to hold all creation in her grasp.
After weathering countless grueling trials and bleeding through every ordeal, she finally stood before the mystical power spoken of in the legends.
However, the sheer magnitude of power contained within the World Core was something no human vessel could ever endure—even for someone of her caliber, who ranked among the pinnacle masters of the era.
Through exhaustive, meticulous research, she finally unlocked the method to harness its devastating might.
Sealed within the World Core were two ultimate, diametrically opposed polarities: one radiating radiant sunlight and boundless warmth, the other shrouded in abyssal darkness.
The two forces complemented and countered one another in equal measure, ceaselessly intertwining to maintain a state of perfect, enduring equilibrium.
At that crossroads, Im made her calculation: since her mortal vessel could not assimilate both forces simultaneously, she would claim one and eradicate the other.
That way, she could still attain everything her heart desired!
Her initial inclination had been toward the light—the power overflowing with brilliant warmth. She could sense that the luminous authority was faintly superior in strength to the shadows.
Yet as she began attuning to it, she realized to her horror that the warmth began eroding her ruthless ambition and hunger for dominion.
It was a power that naturally nurtured and warmed the human heart.
The moment she recognized this fundamental property, she abandoned the light and chose the abyss without a shred of hesitation.
Her singular pursuit had always been the fulfillment of her boundless ambition; power was merely the instrument she required to crush all who opposed her.
To surrender her ambition?
Out of the question!
If she lost her desire to rule, what purpose did absolute power even serve?
And so, she embraced the darkness.
Concurrently, she resolved to obliterate the radiant authority of the sun.
Channeling the entirety of her destructive might, she shattered the World Core into dust. Yet just as she believed she had wiped the light from existence, a brilliant pillar of golden radiance erupted toward the vault of heaven, vanishing beyond her field of vision.
In the aftermath of that event, individuals wielding bizarre, unnatural powers began emerging across every corner of the world. She soon received intelligence that a colossal, mystical tree had taken root in a distant, uncharted land.
Because these strange phenomena manifested chaotic, reality-bending abilities across the globe, she branded them as demonic curses.
Thus was born the legacy of the Devil Fruits and the legendary Devil Fruit Tree.
From that day forward, Im ceaselessly scoured the seas in search of that lost golden warmth.
She could perceive its persistent resonance across the world—and she realized that its survival was the sole reason reality itself had not collapsed.
From the very beginning, destroying the opposing polarity had been an impossibility. The two forces were fundamentally interdependent and eternally adversarial.
The permanent eradication of either pole meant the total annihilation of the world itself!
Empowered by the abyssal darkness, Im not only overturned the dire crises threatening her faction at the time, but swiftly conquered and unified all neighboring realms beneath her iron banner.
With her empire solidified, she turned her sights toward the absolute titan of that era—the Ancient Kingdom!
From the sacred grounds of that colossal civilization, revered across the world as the realm of the gods, a single man stepped forth.
Basking in a cascade of brilliant golden light, his joyful laughter resonated like a divine melody echoing through the heavens.
He was her eternal, fated nemesis—Joy Boy!
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