The moment the trial gates opened, Ace and Allen stepped out. Ace's flames were contained, yet they carried a sense of power as solid and explosive as molten lava; Allen's aura was calm, and his Definition Domain flowed naturally, as if he had achieved a certain degree of harmony with the rules of the surrounding environment.
However, the sight inside the throne room made their pupils shrink— Princess Illya (or rather, the body dominated by the will of the Lord of Frozen Silence ) hovered in mid-air, her eyes completely turned ice blue, and terrifying cold air raged around her, freezing even the air into tiny ice crystals that fell. The high priest and the ice warriors were forced back to a corner, struggling to hold on with the protective barrier they had jointly cast.
"Hehehe..." The possessed princess let out a twisted laugh, her voice icy and chilling, "The bloodline of Portgas... has finally arrived... Perfect, to extinguish you and this last flame... together!"
With a wave of her hand, countless sharp ice spears rained down on Ace and Allen!
" Fire Fist!" Ace was fearless, unleashing a massive fiery fist that collided violently with the ice spears, causing a steam explosion that temporarily obscured the view.
Instead of directly confronting the cold energy, Allen expanded his Definition Domain to stabilize the region where Luffy and the others were, preventing them from being affected. " Luffy, you guys protect the High Priest and the others. Leave this to us!"
"Understood!" Luffy, unusually quiet, stretched out his rubber arm and led the High Priest and several Ice Warriors to a safer rear. Zoro, Sanji, and the others stood guard vigilantly around the perimeter, preventing any possible sneak attacks.
As the steam dissipated, the possessed princess's figure appeared, and countless ice chains bearing cursed runes spread from the ice beneath her feet, wrapping around Ace and Allen like living creatures.
" World-Purifying Flame Net!" Ace pressed his hands to the ground, and blazing white flames spread out in a net-like pattern from him. When they came into contact with the ice chains, they made a "sizzling" burning sound, and the curse runes quickly melted away under the World-Purifying Flame.
However, more ice chains and cold air continued to pour in, and although Ace's flames could be countered, they were suppressed in quantity and their range was constantly compressed.
"Useless!" the Lord of Frozen Silence scoffed. "In this Permafrost Domain, my power is inexhaustible! And you will all eventually freeze to death!"
Just then, Allen moved. He didn't attack, but instead placed his hand on the ice sculpture of the Portgas. The light of the World Seed resonated strongly with the faint trace of the ancestral will remaining deep within the ice sculpture!
"In the name of the heir," Allen whispered, "Please lend me your remaining strength!"
The ice sculpture seemed to come alive, and a faint flame flickered in its frozen eyes! A source of fire far purer and more ancient than that within Princess Illya's body surged into Allen's body through his arm, temporarily merging with his own power and the World Seed!
At the same time, through the trials and a deeper understanding of the rules of "ice," Allen was able to clearly "see" the core node of the Lord of Frozen Silence's power—it was not inside the princess's body, but deep underground, connected to the princess through an invisible line of ice rules!
" Ace!" Allen shouted, his eyes gleaming with the light of rules, "Attack the point three inches below her feet, the 'point' where the ice line connects to the ground! That's the key to its power transmission!"
"Understood!" Ace's eyes sharpened, and the flames all over his body were compressed to an extreme, transforming into an extremely condensed white-incandescent line of fire, which shot towards the invisible point that Allen pointed to with Scalpel precision!
"No--!" The Lord of Frozen Silence roared in terror, trying to summon more icy energy for defense, but it was too late!
laugh--!
The fire line struck that rule node precisely! Like a red-hot iron rod piercing through ice, the icy rule line connecting the princess to the earth's origin was instantly melted!
The Lord of Frozen Silence's will, possessing the princess, let out a shrill scream. The immense chill, as if losing its source, began to rapidly dissipate from the princess's body! The icy blue in the princess's eyes quickly faded, returning to its original color, and her body slumped downwards.
"Now!" Allen channeled the ancestral flame essence he was temporarily holding and merged it with Ace's World-Purifying Flame! The two flames, originating from the same source yet each with its own unique characteristics, intertwined and transformed into a golden-white pillar of light containing the will of purification and rebirth. Following the melted line of rules, it shot straight into the ground and blasted into the deepest part of the Permafrost Core!
A deep, resentful roar came from the ground, then fell completely silent. The chilling curse that had shrouded the kingdom for hundreds of years began to melt away as quickly as ice and snow under the sun.
Inside the throne room, the chill dissipated. Princess Illya weakly opened her eyes and discovered that the conflict between ice and fire that had plagued her for years had vanished, leaving only the gentle Fire of Life within her quietly burning, nourishing her long-lost, healthy body. She looked at her hands in disbelief, tears of joy welling in her eyes.
Outside the castle, the grey-blue sky began to clear, and for the first time in centuries, warm sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on the frozen earth. The ice began to melt, revealing the fertile soil beneath, where glimpses of green could be seen sprouting.
The curse of the Eternal Winter Domain has been completely purified.
The Ice Warriors knelt down in ecstasy, offering their highest respect to Ace and Allen, and to the Straw Hat Pirates. The High Priest, tears streaming down his face, murmured, "The prophecy... has truly come true..."
Looking out the Luffy at the scene of revival, Luffy grinned and said, "Well, isn't this going pretty well!"
Ace and Allen exchanged a smile and high-fived in celebration. The legacy of their ancestors had finally been fulfilled in their generation.
A few days later, amidst the cheers of the kingdom's inhabitants (who had awakened from their icy slumber), the Thousand Sunny sailed away from this reborn land. The ice fields had melted, and warm oceans surrounded the newly verdant islands.
"Goodbye!" Luffy waved vigorously from the stern of the ship. "Next time you come, bring plenty of meat!"
Princess Illya stood at the newly renovated port, smiling and waving goodbye. On her shoulders draped a small, inextinguishable flame left by Ace —a symbol of rebirth and a testament to the friendship between the two worlds.
The Thousand Sunny once again raised its sails and sailed towards an unknown sea. Meanwhile, Ace and Allen felt a newfound understanding and responsibility for their own bloodline and power.