Carrot asked quietly from the side, her large eyes full of worry.
Lorne came back to his senses and looked ahead.
"Nothing. I just confirmed a few things."
"Come on. We're almost there."
Carrot followed Lorne's gaze and saw a thick bank of mist ahead.
The mist was an eerie deep blue, with faint flashes of electricity flickering within it.
"It sounds like there's thunder in there."
Carrot shrank behind Lorne in fear.
Lorne took her hand.
"Stay with me. Don't get lost."
The two stepped into the mist.
There was no sound within the mist. Even the wind had fallen silent.
Carrot could hear only her own footsteps and Lorne's, echoing through the empty space.
"Lorne, did you often go to dangerous places like this when you were in the Marines?"
Carrot tried to ease her nerves through conversation.
Lorne answered casually.
"Pretty much."
"The sea is full of dangerous places."
"In the New World, some islands even rain knives, or have ten times the gravity of the outside world."
Carrot asked in surprise.
"Don't the Marines do anything about that?"
Lorne gave a cold chuckle.
"The Marines?"
"The Marines only care about the Celestial Dragons' interests."
"They couldn't be bothered with whether ordinary people live or die, or with mysterious places like these."
"Unless there's a Devil Fruit or an Ancient Weapon here."
Carrot nodded, only half understanding.
Once they passed through the mist, the view opened up before them.
An enormous circular clearing lay before the two of them, surrounded by more than a dozen stone pillars that towered into the clouds.
Most of these stone pillars had broken. They were covered in intricate geometric patterns and exuded an ancient air.
At the center of the clearing stood an altar built from massive black stones.
A deep-blue