Time passed quietly. It was the year 1480 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
God's Island · Upper Yard.
The main seat of the temple.
Golden-white light poured down through the cloud windows in the dome, illuminating the entire grand hall.
Seven enormous cloud pillars held up the solemn space like a divine miracle. The warriors on either side stood in neat formation, silent and grave.
At the very center, on the main seat, a black-haired young man rested his forehead on one hand, his brows slightly furrowed and his expression impossibly complicated.
Sixteen-year-old Rock, now the god of the Sky Island, was deeply questioning his life: How... did things end up like this?
A pirate-style flashback begins: the scene gradually fades as it transitions into a memory—
Back then, he had said to the old village chief, "The Kingdom of God truly exists."
The old village chief nearly choked on the spot, and the cloud staff in his hand almost snapped.
Rock continued explaining, "I discovered it while practicing how to strengthen Observation Haki with lightning. When its range expanded enough to cover the entire island, I found it right—"
Before he could finish, the old village chief and Kai froze, staring at Rock with speechless expressions: "..."
"You mean... you know what everyone on the entire island is doing?"
Seeing this, Rock hurriedly shouted, "I wasn't eavesdropping on everyone's private affairs! I really wasn't!!!"
(In fact, he had no interest in listening to any of that...)
A year earlier, under Rock's influence, the fate of the entire Birka Island had been completely rewritten.
After witnessing Rock casually summon a bolt of Thunder and turn a Cloud Beast into charcoal, the other tribes on Birka Island—
basically all reacted the same way. With a "plop," they dropped to their knees.
"A god has descended!"
"The Thunder Emperor has been bestowed by heaven!"
"God, please accept us!!!"
Rock was startled on the spot and hurriedly shouted, "I'm not a god!"
The villagers immediately nodded like pounding garlic. "We understand, we understand! You aren't a god, but you must be an existence sent by God to protect us!!!"
Rock: "..."
(He couldn't argue his way out of it at all.)
But for the sake of his "grand plan," he simply stopped dwelling on it.
Thus, under his direction, all the villages on Birka Island were rapidly integrated, forming the unified Sky Island Alliance.
Rock went a step further and instilled his knowledge into the Sky Island craftsmen, beginning an unprecedented "Sky Island technological revolution."
Combining the Sky Island's specialties with its various unique "Dials," Rock designed a batch of fantastical technological creations.
—Cloud Sea motorcycles powered by Heat Dials, speeding across the clouds like silver lightning.
—Flame Dial-propelled flying ships, which the villagers called the "Thunder Emperor Divine Ark."
—Impact Dials accelerating Cloud Wings, allowing Sky Island warriors to possess the ability to fly for a short time.
—Shock Dial Armor, Breath Dial rifles, Electric Dial communicators, and more... The entire island leaped directly from a "primitive tribe" to a "semi-technological civilization."
Under Rock's guidance, the craftsmen wept with emotion. They had never imagined that shells could be used like this.
The entire Sky Island began charging down the one-way road of "technological development," advancing at a speed more outrageous than all recorded eras combined.
The craftsmen surrounded him every day, eager to crack open his head and see where all those miraculous ideas came from.
Rock sat on the main seat of the temple, looking at the solemnly standing warriors below. He couldn't help sighing.
"I only wanted to improve my strength a little and improve everyone's standard of living... How did even the temple end up belonging to me?"
Rock rubbed his temples on the temple's main seat as the memories continued flowing backward through his mind.
The flashback continued—
That night, when he said those words: "The Kingdom of God truly exists."
The old village chief's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he was so excited that his legs almost gave out.
Kai's breathing quickened as well, as if he had suddenly grown ten years younger.
They had been waiting for this day... for decades.
"Rock! Take us to see the true Kingdom of God!" the old village chief said, his voice trembling.
Kai was usually taciturn, but at that moment he couldn't help clenching his fists. "I... want to see it too."
Rock had originally wanted to say, "Now isn't the time." But seeing the two of them with eyes reddened from excitement, he ultimately nodded.
"Fine. I'll take you to see the true Kingdom of God."
At that moment, all the villagers on Birka Island erupted in excitement.
Decades and centuries of legend were finally about to have their truth revealed.
Thus, the next day, more than a dozen Flame Dial-propelled flying ships set off in grand formation.
When the flying ships passed through the thick White-White Sea and rose to the true "Kingdom of God" more than ten thousand meters above—
all the villagers of Birka Village were utterly dumbfounded.
They had thought they would see the palaces of gods, ranks of angels, and holy radiance...
Instead, what entered their view was a battlefield chaotic enough to explode!
The White-White Sea split apart, as if two worlds were colliding.
On one side were the native Sky Island residents, dressed in cloud armor and wielding spears.
A young knight charged at the very front, knocking back his enemies with his spear and displaying incomparable valor.
On the other side was a group of Shandia warriors with bronze-colored skin and muscles as solid as carved stone.
They wore animal-skin shorts and nothing on their upper bodies. Their muscles bulged like rocks as they swung their weapons, slaughtering with blood boiling in their veins.
Arrows whirled through the air, cloud spears thundered, and battle cries tore through the sky.
This was the period when the native Sky Islanders and the original inhabitants of Jaya Island were fighting over territory.
The true "Kingdom of God"?
It was practically the "Kingdom of Complete Chaos."
Seeing this scene, the old village chief froze on the deck of the flying ship. "Th-this... what's going on..."
Kai also frowned slightly. "Rock, you knew about this all along?"
Rock spread his hands. "Well, it was already like this when I flew over..."
The next second, his entire body transformed into lightning and vanished, flashing into the sky.
His voice alone echoed around the fleet. "I'll make them stop first..."
On the battlefield, the Sky Island warriors and Shandia warriors were clashing fiercely.
The young Gan Fall roared, "Get out of my way!!!"
The Shandia chief bellowed in reply, "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 at the same time.
It did not come from the enemy, but from deep within the sky... from some irresistible force.
"Crackle—BOOM!!!"
A pillar of lightning more than ten meters wide crashed down from the clouds!
The radiance pierced through the battlefield, while the thunder left everyone's eardrums numb.
A violent storm erupted, instantly blasting the warriors on both sides back more than ten meters.
Yet miraculously, not a single person was injured.
The pillar of lightning dissipated.
A young man slowly emerged from the lightning, hovering at the very center of the battlefield as he looked down upon both armies.
His black hair fluttered slightly. Golden-white lightning coiled around his entire body, and his eyes flashed with radiance capable of piercing the soul, as if the Thunder God had descended.
The battlefield fell deathly silent.
The Sky Islanders and the Shandia froze at the same time—
That pressure, that power—they had never seen anything like it.
Young Gan Fall's pupils shook violently. "Th-this... what is this?"
The Shandia warriors gripped their weapons even tighter, cold sweat pouring from their foreheads. "This aura... it's terrifying..."
With lightning coiling around him, Rock looked down upon all living beings. He slowly opened his eyes, his voice calm yet impossible to defy.
"The war ends here."
Under the entire sky, no one dared to move.
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