Guided by the ancient distress signal, the Thousand Sunny traversed several desolate star systems, finally arriving at a Void filled with thin stardust. The source of the signal was not a planet, but the wreckage of a huge, broken, and silently floating spaceship.
The spaceship's design bears some resemblance to the ancient style of the Star Sea Ark, but it is more rugged. Its hull is covered with scars from battles and traces of time's erosion, with many parts broken, revealing the twisted skeleton inside. It resembles the corpse of a giant beast stranded in space, exuding deathly silence and desolation.
"The signal is coming from here," Nami confirmed.
"Let's go in and see! Maybe there are survivors!" Luffy took the lead, using his rubber powers to launch himself forward, and the others followed suit, each using their own abilities to board the abandoned ark.
The interior was even more horrifying than the exterior. The passageways were twisted, the cabins collapsed, and there were solidified traces of energy explosions and dried, strangely colored stains (likely bloodstains) everywhere. The air (residual) was filled with the strange smell of rusting metal and some kind of decay.
"A very fierce battle took place here," Jinbe said in Jinbe, observing the claw marks and burn marks left by energy weapons on the wall.
Robin stroked some blurry murals and writing on the wall, trying to decipher them. "These writings... are older than the Ancient Script Ohara studied; they're some kind of primitive variant. The content... seems to be about an escape, and... the pursuit of some kind of 'light'."
They followed the direction of the strongest signal and ventured deep into the core area of the Ark. In a huge circular hall resembling a bridge, they found the source of the signal—a dusty hexagonal metal device placed on the main control panel, flashing a faint red light at a fixed frequency.
However, what shocked everyone even more was the scene inside the hall.
Dozens of humanoid creatures of various shapes and sizes remained frozen in place, their final poses intact. Some held weapons and pointed them at the door, their faces bearing the fury of battle; some huddled in corners, seemingly seeking refuge; others stretched out their hands, as if trying to touch the central control panel... They had all turned into hard, dull-colored "statues," as if time had stopped for them.
"Are they... all dead?" Chopper's voice trembled; he could sense that these "statues" were devoid of any life.
Allen crouched down, carefully examining a statue, his brow furrowed. "This isn't a conventional death. Their existence... was forcibly 'frozen' by some force, even the movement of the particles that make up their bodies nearly stopped. This is an extremely profound... application of the Rules of Time."
" Rules of Time?" Everyone was taken aback.
Just then, the red light of the hexagonal signal device suddenly flashed faster, and an extremely weak, intermittent wave of thought, like a candle flickering in the wind, entered everyone's consciousness:
[The latecomer... finally... has finally arrived...]
[Beware... the ' Sands of Time '... they... steal... time...]
' Eternal Light '... is... hope... but... also... a trap...
[Coordinates... in... core... database...]
The thought abruptly ended there, and the red light of the signal device went out completely, as if it had exhausted its last bit of energy.
"' Sands of Time '? Stealing time?" Nami felt a chill. "And what is ' Eternal Light '?"
Robin strode to the control panel and tried to start the system. Most functions were disabled, but with Allen's help, they managed to extract some fragmented log information and a tattered star map from the nearly damaged core database.
The logbook records that this ark belonged to an ancient civilization called the " Seekers." They embarked on a journey across the Xinghai in search of the legendary " Eternal Light," which could bring eternity and salvation. However, they encountered terrifying beings calling themselves the " Sands of Time." These beings fed on time and could infinitely slow down the flow of time for living beings, until it was almost frozen, like an eternal prison. The ark was caught in the crossfire of the Sands of Time's power while attempting to escape their pursuit; the time of all crew members was collectively "frozen," and the ark drifted to this point until its energy for a distress signal was nearly exhausted.
The incomplete star map pointed to an unknown region known as the " Temporal Rift," a place believed to be frequented by the " Sands of Time " and possibly related to the legend of the " Eternal Light."
Before the Straw Hat Pirates, a new and terrifying enemy related to time has appeared, along with an ancient mystery concerning the " Eternal Light."
"An enemy capable of manipulating time?" Zoro gripped his sword tighter, his eyes burning with even greater fighting spirit.
"Stealing time... it's unforgivable!" Brook's soul flame flickered; time held a special meaning for him.
Luffy adjusted his straw Straw Hat, staring intently at the frozen statues, his eyes resolute. "Let's blast those guys called ' Sands of Time ' away! Let's take back the time that's been stolen from us!"