Memories of the Kingdom of God · I

Time quietly passed. Sea Circle Calendar, 1480.

God's Island · Upper Yard.

The main seat of the divine hall.

Golden-white light poured down from the cloud windows in the dome, illuminating the entire hall.

Seven massive cloud pillars held up the solemn space like miracles, while warriors stood in neat rows on both sides, silent and grave.

On the central throne, a black-haired young man rested his forehead on one hand. His brow was slightly furrowed, and his expression was impossibly complicated.

Sixteen-year-old Rock, the current god of Sky Island, was deeply questioning his life at that moment: How... had things ended up like this?

Pirate-style flashback: The scene faded and shifted into memory—

Back then, he had said to the old village chief, "The Kingdom of God really exists."

The old village chief had nearly choked on the spot, almost snapping the cloud staff in his hand when he dropped it.

Rock continued, "I discovered it while practicing using lightning to strengthen my Observation Haki. When its range expanded enough to cover the entire island, I found it right..."

Before he could finish, the old village chief and Kai both froze, staring at Rock speechlessly. "..."

"You mean... you know what everyone on the entire island is doing???"

Rock hurriedly shouted, "I haven't been eavesdropping on everyone's private matters! I really haven't!!!"

In truth, he had no interest in listening to that stuff anyway...

As early as a year ago, under Rock's influence, Birka Island's fate had been completely rewritten.

After the other tribes of Birka Island witnessed Rock casually summon a bolt of lightning and turn a Cloud Beast into charcoal—

They all basically did the same thing, dropping to their knees with a thump.

"God has descended!"

"The heavens have bestowed the Thunder Emperor!"

"God, please accept us!!!"

Rock was startled on the spot and hurriedly shouted, "I'm not a god!"

The villagers immediately nodded furiously. "Understood, understood! You're not a god, but you must be a being sent by the gods to protect us!!!"

Rock: "..."

There was no arguing with them at all.

But for the sake of his "grand plan," he simply stopped dwelling on it.

Thus, under his leadership, all the villages on Birka Island were quickly integrated into the unified Sky Island Alliance.

Rock further poured his knowledge into the Sky Island craftsmen, beginning an unprecedented "Sky Island technological revolution."

Combining Sky Island's specialty products—the various special Dials—Rock designed a batch of wildly imaginative technological creations.

—Cloud Sea motorcycles powered by Heat Dials, racing through the mist like silver lightning.

—Flame Dial-powered flying ships, called the "Thunder Emperor Divine Ark" by the villagers.

—Cloud Wings accelerated by Impact Dials, granting Sky Island warriors brief flight.

—Shock Dial Armor, Breath Dial rifles, Electric Dial communicators, and more... allowing the entire island to leap directly from "primitive tribe" to "semi-technological civilization."

Under Rock's guidance, the craftsmen were moved to tears. They had never imagined Dials could be used like this.

The entire Sky Island began racing down the irreversible road of "technological development," advancing at a pace more outrageous than all recorded eras combined.

The craftsmen circled around him every day, wishing they could crack open his head to see where all those miraculous ideas came from.

Rock sat on the throne in the divine hall, looking at the solemn warriors below, and could not help letting out a long sigh.

"I only wanted to improve my strength and make everyone's lives a little better... How did even the divine hall end up belonging to me?"

Rock rubbed his temple on the throne as the memories continued flowing backward through his mind.

The flashback continued—

That night, when he said, "The Kingdom of God really exists."

The old village chief's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he was so excited his legs could barely support him.

Kai's breathing grew rapid as well, as if he had suddenly become ten years younger.

They had waited for this day... for decades.

"Rock! Take us to see the real Kingdom of God!" The old village chief's voice trembled.

Although Kai was usually quiet, he could not help clenching his fists at that moment. "I... want to see it too."

Rock had originally wanted to say, "Now isn't the time," but seeing their eyes redden with excitement, he eventually nodded.

"Fine. I'll take you to see the real Kingdom of God."

At that moment, all the villagers of Birka Island erupted in excitement.

Legends spanning decades, even centuries, were finally about to reveal their truth.

Thus, the next day, more than a dozen Flame Dial-powered flying ships set sail in a mighty procession.

When the flying ships passed through the dense White-White Sea and ascended into the true "Kingdom of God" ten thousand meters above—

All the Birka villagers were utterly dumbfounded.

They had thought they would see the palaces of gods, ranks of angels, and holy radiance...

Instead, what greeted their eyes was a battlefield of utter chaos!

The White-White Sea had split apart, as though two worlds were colliding.

On one side stood native Sky Island residents in cloud armor, wielding long spears.

A young knight charged at the front, his spear knocking aside enemies as he fought with incomparable bravery.

On the other side was a group of Shandia warriors with bronze skin and muscles carved like sculptures.

They wore animal-hide shorts with bare upper bodies, their bulging muscles hard as stone as they swung their weapons in a blood-boiling frenzy.

Arrows flew, cloud guns roared, and battle cries tore through the sky.

It was the era of territorial conflict between the native Sky Island residents and the former inhabitants of Jaya Island.

The real "Kingdom of God"?

It was practically the "Kingdom of Absolute Chaos."

At the sight, the old village chief froze on the deck of the flying ship. "Th-this... what is going on...?"

Kai frowned slightly. "Rock, you already knew?"

Rock spread his hands. "Well, it was already like this when I flew over..."

The next second, his entire body dissolved into lightning and flashed into the sky.

Only his voice echoed around the fleet. "I'll make them stop first..."

On the battlefield, Sky Island warriors and Shandia fighters were locked in a fierce clash.

The young Gan Fall roared, "Get out of my way!!!"

The Shandia chief roared back, "For the glory of our ancestors!!!"

The killing intent of both sides tore through the wind.

Suddenly, everyone on the battlefield felt a chill run down their spines.

It did not come from their enemies, but from deep within the sky... from some irresistible force.

"Bzzzt—BOOM!!!"

A pillar of lightning more than ten meters wide crashed down from the clouds!

Light pierced the battlefield, while the thunder numbed everyone's eardrums.

A powerful storm erupted, instantly blowing warriors from both sides back more than ten meters.

Yet miraculously, not a single person was injured.

The lightning pillar dissipated.

A young man slowly emerged from the lightning, hovering in the center of the battlefield and looking down at both armies.

His black hair fluttered slightly, golden-white lightning wrapped around his body, and lightning capable of piercing the soul flickered in his eyes. He looked like a thunder god descending upon the world.

The battlefield instantly fell dead silent.

The native Sky Island residents and the Shandia people froze at the same time—

They had never felt such pressure, such power.

The young Gan Fall's pupils contracted violently. "Th-this is?"

The Shandia warriors gripped their weapons tighter, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads. "That presence... it's terrifying..."

Surrounded by lightning, Rock looked down upon them all and slightly opened his eyes. His voice was calm, yet impossible to defy.

"The war ends here."

Under the entire sky, no one dared to move.