Following the phantom image of the " Thousand Sunny " constructed from their beliefs, the Straw Hat Pirates marched forward in absolute darkness. Beyond the spherical space shrouded in golden light lay the all-consuming " Return to Nothingness," a mere glimpse of which sent chills down their spines. Maintaining this domain required a continuous output of the Power of Belief; exhaustion was evident on everyone's face, yet their eyes remained resolute.
After traveling for an unknown amount of time, a different scene finally appeared in the darkness ahead.
It was an "existence" beyond measure. It was not a physical entity, but rather an ultimate vortex that was constantly collapsing and rotating inward, composed of pure " Void." At the center of the vortex was a bottomless "well," from which countless streams of dark purple light, representing the source of the rules extracted from the Ionia World, poured in and disappeared as if swallowed by an invisible Maw. This was the Well of All Sources.
Around the well, space was distorted to its extreme, and the concept of time became blurred. Even more chilling was the sight of countless enormous, terrifying shadows clinging to and writhing on the well walls—the most powerful Otherworldly Demons in this dimension, the embodiment of the " Return to Nothingness " rule, their very existence negating everything around them. Several of them seemed to sense the intrusion of the " Domain of Existence," slowly raising their faceless "heads" and locking onto the Straw Hat Pirates in the golden light.
A wave of cold, deathly silence and pure malice surged forth, sending a chill down everyone's spine even through the barrier of their beliefs.
"That is... the root of everything..." Nami's voice was hoarse.
"So many... big guys..." Usopp felt his teeth chattering.
"We've finally arrived." Zoro's eyes burned with fighting spirit, and his three swords were already drawn.
"How do I turn it off?" Luffy asked the most crucial question directly.
Allen stared at the Well of All Sources, quickly analyzing. "It's a stable rule vulnerability. A forced attack could very likely trigger catastrophic consequences, or even accelerate its absorption. This vulnerability must be 'fixed' at the rule level, or... its connections must be ' Definition '."
He sensed the terrifying suction and regulated flow of the wellhead. "It connects to that dead super-universe, like two containers with different water levels being connected. We need... to build a 'valve' in the middle of the channel, or... to change the 'properties' at the other end of the channel."
"Change the properties of another universe?" Franky thought the idea was insane.
"No, perhaps we don't need to change the entire universe," Robin pondered. "Since the Otherworldly Demons are the embodiment of the rules of that dead universe, and the Well of All Sources is the conduit, then if we could inject a sufficiently powerful 'existence' rule—the opposite of ' Void' —into the well, would it be possible to... temporarily 'block' the conduit, or even cause a brief disruption of the rules at the other end, thereby causing it to collapse or close?"
"Like throwing a Tekkai into a vacuum cleaner?" Sanji compared it.
"The principle is similar, but on a higher level." Allen's eyes shone brighter and brighter. "We need to highly compress all our beliefs about 'existence,' including our dreams, bonds, will, and even a portion of our life force, transforming them into the purest rules of 'existence,' and then injecting them into the Well of All Sources! This might... exhaust everything we have."
This is a far more dangerous plan than becoming a balancing pillar. Success is uncertain, but the price is almost certain—at best, one will lose all power and fall into slumber; at worst... one will be completely annihilated.
Just then, the powerful Otherworldly Demons guarding the well seemed to have determined that the " Domain of Existence " was a threat that had to be eliminated, and they began to move! They roared silently, carrying waves of rules that could annihilate everything, and charged over!
"No time to hesitate!" Luffy roared, unleashing his full power in Nika Form as he charged head-on at a multi-headed serpent-like Otherworldly Demons. " Gum-Gum —Giant Starfall!"
The battle erupted instantly! Zoro, Sanji, Jinbe, Ace, Law, Franky, Brook all rushed forward, engaging the powerful Otherworldly Demons Guardians in fierce combat. This was the most difficult battle they had ever experienced; every attack could be partially disintegrated by the " Return to Nothingness " property before it even reached its target, while every touch from the enemy carried the threat of complete annihilation.
Chopper, Usopp, Nami, and Robin provided full support from the rear, while also protecting Allen as he gathered his strength.
Allen stood at the center of the domain of belief, his hands outstretched. The Power of Belief, along with the radiant will they displayed in battle, converged upon him like rivers flowing into the sea. He fused these powers with his own Power of Definition, the origin of the Seed of the World Seed, and the energy of the Spark that carried the last hope of the Ionian Civilization.
A sphere of light, indescribable in color and seemingly containing a microcosm of the entire living universe, slowly condensed and compressed in his palm. The space around the sphere trembled slightly, as if unable to bear this ultimate concept of "existence."
He could feel everything within him being drawn away and poured into this sphere of light. His consciousness began to blur, and his body became transparent.
" Allen!" Chopper cried out in terror, trying to rush over, but was stopped by the aftershocks of the battle.
"Believe in him!" Luffy shouted, punching a Otherworldly Demons away. His body was covered in wounds from the battle, but his eyes still burned brightly. "And believe in ourselves too!"
With his last strength, Allen looked at each of his comrades who were fighting, and at Luffy's trusting smile. He took a deep breath (even though there was no air here), and with his last bit of willpower, he slammed the light of the end, which contained all hope and existence, into the Well of All Sources that was constantly devouring everything!
" Definition in this way--"
His voice seemed to come from the distant sky, yet it resonated clearly deep within everyone's soul:
"--Existence, eternity!"
The sphere of light silently disappeared into the well opening.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.