At these words, fury blazed in Luffy's eyes. Without hesitation, he leaped onto Firmament's back and wrapped his arms tightly around the giant Dragon's neck.
"Don't say that!" Luffy shouted. "Firmament is our companion! A companion cannot be controlled by anyone!"
He pressed his body against Firmament, trying to share his Dragon friend's pain. Although Luffy could not directly resist the Lord of Nothingness's mental assault, his touch conveyed the purest friendship and care.
"Luffy..." Firmament felt the warmth coming from his friend. "You'll be in so much pain too..."
"What does pain matter?" Luffy grinned. "A companion's pain is my pain! We'll bear it together!"
That selfless friendship deeply moved Firmament. In that moment, he remembered the joy of first gaining freedom, the days he had fought alongside Luffy and the others, and what true friendship meant.
"Right... I am no longer a lonely prisoner..." Determination rekindled in Firmament's eyes. "I have friends... I have companions worth protecting..."
Suddenly, a powerful force erupted from the depths of Firmament's heart. It was not the evil power of the Void, but a sacred power from deep within the Dragon bloodline—true Dragon Might.
"I am Firmament! A descendant of the great Dragon race!" Firmament let out an earth-shaking roar. "I will never be controlled by anyone again!"
Pure Dragon Might erupted from him like a tsunami, instantly washing over every Void mark within his body. The purple patterns melted away like snowflakes before the Dragon Might, and Firmament's scales regained their original silvery-white sheen.
More miraculously, this Dragon Might had fused with other powers. Luffy could feel the power of storms—the gift Firmament possessed as a Storm Dragon—and the power of the stars—the stellar energy he had absorbed while living on Sky Island. Guided by Dragon Might, these different powers merged perfectly,