The Thousand Sunny sails through a sea dotted with stars, the surrounding spacetime structure becoming increasingly bizarre. The Log Pose has long since malfunctioned, with only the encrypted Eternal Pose provided by Sabo stubbornly pointing in a certain direction, but its trembling is becoming more and more intense, as if Resistance some invisible interference.
"The space ahead... is like a shattered mirror, or like countless overlapping bubbles." Nami frowned as she looked at the chaotic energy diagram on the navigator.
Allen stood at the bow, his eyes shifting with light and shadow, his perception of time and space extending like invisible tentacles. In his "vision," the sea ahead was not a simple maze, but a complex structure woven from countless miniature, unstable fragments of time and space, like a giant, living kaleidoscope. Each shimmering fragment could be a passageway or a trap.
"We are approaching a massive spacetime node," Allen said, his voice tinged with seriousness. "The true route is cleverly hidden within these spacetime folds. We need to find the right 'trigger'."
Just as everyone was focused on finding the path, a discordant tremor suddenly appeared in Brook's music. He stopped playing, his empty eyes "looking" to the right front. "Yo ho ho ho~ everyone, I sense a very ancient... and contradictory call."
Following his pointing finger, three enormous "gates" silently emerged on the starlit sea, as if they had always been there, only recently granted permission to be "seen."
The three doors are unusual in shape and exude completely different auras.
The leftmost door, constructed of rough, mottled Boulder, has ancient moss growing in its crevices, emitting a faint glow. The door is covered with indistinct, primitive runes that resemble waves and wind marks. It exudes a heavy, desolate, and primordial pull, as if connecting to the Chaos ocean at the beginning of the world.
The central portal is composed of pure energy, shimmering with light and its shape constantly shifting, sometimes resembling a Gothic pointed arch, sometimes like the eaves of an Eastern palace. Inside, there is a soft, indistinct white light. It conveys a sense of Transcendence, sublimation, and reaching a perfect other shore, ethereal and alluring.
The rightmost door is the most eerie. It has no fixed shape; it's more like a constantly twisting and rotating dark vortex. Sometimes, silhouettes of bustling cities flash within the vortex, sometimes smiling faces of relatives and friends appear, and sometimes it transforms into hideous monsters or endless treasures. It exudes a seductive power that strikes straight to the heart, as if it can reflect and satisfy the deepest desires and fears of every gazer.
Three colossal gates stand in a triangular formation, with the smooth, mirror-like seawater in front of them reflecting the starry sky and the gates, creating an area that is both absolutely tranquil and imposing.
" Stargate Ruins..." Robin's voice trembled with disbelief, "The ' Corridor of Choices ' mentioned in some lost ancient texts... Legend has it that only those who can see through the essence of 'choice' can find the path forward."
"A choice?" Franky struck his classic pose. "SUPER~! Does that mean I have to choose a door to go through?"
"It seems so," Jinbe observed calmly, "Each door represents a possibility."
Just then, the three doors seemed to be activated.
The Boulder Gate trembled slightly, and a deep rumble, as if from the depths of the earth, resounded, directly shaking the soul with a thought of "seeking the origin and returning to the truth".
The energy gate shimmered with light and emitted ethereal sounds, conveying the message of " Transcendence the mortal world and reaching eternity."
The vortex of shadows spun faster, emanating an even more intense, sweet yet dangerous allure, as if whispering in your ear, "Embrace desire, and you will see the truth."
Three paths, three completely different "possibilities," are laid bare before us.
Luffy adjusted his straw Straw Hat, unusually refraining from immediately shouting. He looked at the three doors, his brows furrowed. "It feels... like none of them are right."
Zoro, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes sharp, said, "These are all paths already drawn by others; let's just cut them down."
Sanji exhaled a smoke ring, his brow furrowed. "Indeed, there's a sense of unease, like I've been given a set-up."
All eyes were once again focused on Allen. At this critical juncture involving the nature of time and space and a choice of destiny, his judgment was of paramount importance.
Allen closed his eyes, pushing his spatial and temporal perception to its limit. His consciousness, like the most delicate probe, carefully touched and analyzed the spatial and temporal structure behind the three doors.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, his gaze filled with understanding and resolve.
"These three doors are an ingenious and deadly trap." His voice was clear and calm. "They are not paths to the true sea route, but rather... a filter and a cage."
He pointed to the Boulder Gate: "' The Gate of Origin,' behind which lies an extremely stable yet closed spacetime loop. Those who enter will be trapped in an endless pursuit of 'origins,' forever cycling through a labyrinth of knowledge, losing the motivation to move forward."
Then, pointing to the energy gate. "' The Gate of Transcendence ' leads to a realm of assimilation with higher-dimensional energy. Those who enter will be cleansed by pure energy, losing their individual will and becoming part of the rules. Seemingly eternal, they are in fact annihilated."
Finally, looking at the vortex of shadows. "' The Gate of Desire,' behind which lie chaotic fragments of spacetime and reflections of the mind. Those who enter will become immersed in the illusions constructed by their own desires, until their souls wither and they are banished to the Spacetime Crevice."
"Whichever side we choose," Allen concluded, "It means we've relinquished our 'free will,' accepted the 'fate' or 'temptation' bestowed upon us, and thus forever missed the true route to freedom—that sea that symbolizes infinite possibilities."
"What should we do then?" Usopp asked anxiously. "We can't just turn back, can we?"
A confident smile curved Allen's lips as he stepped forward, facing the three stargates that exuded a powerful aura.
"Who says we have to choose from options set by others?"
"The true path to pirates, the true path to freedom, must be paved by ourselves!"
Before he finished speaking, a dazzling silver-purple light erupted from his body! The Torch Dragon Dharma Form reappeared, but this time, the Dharma Form was no longer filled with simple light and darkness, but rather with that Chaos, seemingly rule -Definition primordial power! He held his hands in a gesture of reverence, forcibly absorbing and compressing the surrounding fragments of broken and unstable spacetime!
"Use this body and time as coordinates, and this free spirit as your guiding light!"
"The Ultimate Ritual of the Torch Dragon - My Way Is the Sea Route - Open!"
He pushed forward with both hands! The target was not any of the doors, but the "singularity" in the center of the three doors, which seemed to Void but was actually the convergence of all the folds of spacetime!
boom--!!!
A deafening roar, as if the universe had just begun, exploded on the soul level! The three stargates trembled violently, emitting unwilling hums, but they could not stop it! Under Allen's bombardment, which embodied the power of free will and spacetime, that "singularity" was forcibly stretched open and reshaped!
A brand new Sea Route, independent of any preset options, was born amidst blinding light! This Sea Route, composed of countless leaping starlight and flowing Chaos currents, is unstable and full of unknowns, yet it exudes a pure and fervent aura of "freedom"! It meanders forward, piercing through layers of temporal and spatial illusions, pointing directly to a distant place that Transcendence all concepts of doors and gates!
"Set sail!!!" Luffy's excited roar echoed through the sky as he was the first to leap onto the dazzling Free Sea Route.
Under Jinbe's control, the Thousand Sunny Modified resolutely sailed into the path that Allen had forcibly opened up with his own will and power.
Behind them, the light from the three stargates flickered rapidly, eventually twisting and dissipating like phantoms, disappearing once more into the invisible folds of spacetime, as if their appearance was merely to prove that this group of people were qualified to break the rules.
The Freedom Sea Route slowly closed behind them, leading to endless starlight and unknown waves. The Straw Hat Pirates, relying on Allen's time-space powers and their indomitable free will, fiercely tore apart the ancient trap of choice, truly taking their destiny into their own hands, and sailing towards that unimaginable Freedom Route that belonged only to them! New adventures and challenges await them at the end of this road.