The Thousand Sunny, in Sky Drive Mode, sailed slowly above the pristine sea of clouds above the Sky Island. Unlike the tranquil and peaceful scene in my memory, the Sky Island was now filled with discordant restlessness. The cloud flow was chaotic and disorderly, and occasionally a huge Sky Fish would leap out of the sea of clouds in panic. The once stable edges of the Island Cloud in the distance were also blurred, as if they were constantly evaporating and reconstructing.
"The activity of the Cloud Dial is abnormally high," Kulike observed her surroundings, her brow furrowed. "Many of the Tone Dial and Lamp Dial that store sounds and images have malfunctioned, recording distorted fragments and piercing noises. The elders say it's 'the sky is crying.'"
Nami, recording the abnormal airflow data, said gravely, "It's not just the clouds; the entire Sky Island's magnetic field and climate cycle are out of control. If this continues, the Island Cloud that supports the Sky Island's existence may collapse."
Ignoring the strange phenomena around him, Luffy excitedly looked around. "Oh! That cloud over there looks like a giant squid! Can we eat it?"
Chopper clung tightly to Luffy's leg. " Luffy, this isn't the time to worry about that! It feels so scary!"
Usopp kept observing any possible "sky monsters" through his "sniper scope," muttering to himself.
Guided by Kulike, they arrived at the Shrine of God, located deep within Angel Island. The former god, Gan Fall, had long since stepped down, and now the shrine was ruled by the elderly but still wise elders of Sky Island. Upon seeing the Straw Hat Pirates arrive, and especially upon seeing the reinforcements Kulike brought, the elders showed expressions of relief.
"Thank you for answering the call, warriors of the Blue Sea." The leading elder's voice was old yet steady. "As Kulike said, the 'foundation' that sustains our Sky Island's existence is shaking. This is not a natural phenomenon; we suspect it is related to the 'great tremor' that recently affected all of space."
He led the group to the depths of the Shrine of God, where a stone tablet, older than the Poneglyph and covered with strange cloud patterns, stood. The inscriptions on the tablet were not Ancient Script, but rather strange symbols that seemed to record the rhythm of the sky itself.
"This is the ' Stele of Heaven's Rhythm '," the Grand Elder explained. "It has existed since ancient times, recording the stable state of the sky, the sea of clouds, and various ' Sky Road.' But since that 'tremor,' the light of the inscription has become flickering, and the 'paths' represented by these symbols have become chaotic and overlapping."
Robin stepped forward, carefully stroking the symbols on the stone tablet, his eyes gleaming with scholarly insight. "These symbols... seem to describe a higher-dimensional spatial structure, completely different from ordinary spatial coordinates. They don't represent location, but rather... states and the possibility of connection."
Allen stepped forward as well. He could feel a faint resonance between the " World Seed " within him and the stone tablet. He closed his eyes, immersing a wisp of his consciousness into the World Seed, trying to perceive the information conveyed by the stone tablet.
In an instant, he "saw"—countless "paths" made of light and clouds intertwined and extended in a higher dimension, leading to strange, bubble-like spaces that shimmered with different lights. One of the paths emitted a vibrant emerald green light, but at this moment, this path became extremely unstable, its light flickering, its path twisting, and its unstable fluctuations were affecting the entire Sky Island network.
"I see it..." Allen opened his eyes, pointing to a bright green symbol flashing intensely on the stone tablet, "This 'path' is the problem. It connects to the ' Emerald Dream ' that Kulike mentioned. Its instability is infecting other Sky Road like a virus."
Just then, a Sky Island warrior rushed in to report, "Elder! Something terrible has happened! Near ' Cloud-Hidden Gorge,' an unstable cloud cave has suddenly appeared, and strange sounds and energy fluctuations are coming from inside! And... and something is trying to come out of it!"
Everyone's expression changed.
"It's the entrance to that runaway Sky Road!" Kulike gripped her weapon tightly.
"Yo ho ho ho~ It seems the guests can't wait to make their appearance!" Brook pressed down on his cane.
Luffy adjusted his straw Straw Hat, a eager smile spreading across his face, "Let's go! Let's see what interesting creatures have escaped from that dream!"