The Ark Maxim sailed smoothly through the colorful nebula, its silver hull occasionally brushing past a wisp of luminous interstellar dust, leaving a dreamlike trail of light. The cabin was filled with the atmosphere of repair and adjustment— Franky had practically disassembled and reassembled the entire ship, incorporating a great deal of materials science and energy optimization concepts from Earth; Robin buried herself in voluminous documents, trying to find more precise coordinates for that vague homeward journey from the gaps between the mythologies of the two worlds.
However, interstellar travel is not always smooth sailing.
"Warning! Irregular spatial gravitational turbulence detected ahead!" Nami stared intently at the navigation screen, her voice suddenly rising, "Abnormal energy readings! Unlike natural phenomena!"
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the entire Ark Maxim began to violently rock! As if sailing through a raging storm, the hull emitted a sickening metallic groan. The previously stable nebula outside the window began to distort and stretch, forming eerie arcs of light.
"Is it a gravity well? Or spatial turbulence?" Franky roared from the cockpit, his hands flashing across the control panel. " The Star Core Reactor is operating stably! The Jet Wind Dial system is sluggish! The rules here... are malfunctioning!"
"Hard right! Try to break away from the core of the turbulence!" Nami urgently ordered.
But Ark Maxim seemed to be stuck in an invisible quagmire, finding it extremely difficult to turn around. To make matters worse, the star map on the navigation screen began to flicker and distort, and the carefully calculated route home became blurred.
" My Observation Haki is blocked!" Zoro steadied himself against the wall, his brow furrowed. "The surrounding space feels chaotic, filled with malice... no, not malice, more like... 'hunger'?"
Allen stepped forward onto the bridge, activating the Eye of the Torch Dragon at full power. In his vision, the space ahead wasn't simply distorted, but rather filled with countless fine, dark purple "cracks" that seemed to be "devouring" space itself. These cracks constantly appeared and disappeared, releasing faint yet instinctively repulsive fluctuations—slightly similar to the Allen emanating from the fragments of the " Shadow of the End," but much thinner and more primal, like "residues" or "derived pollution" of its power.
"It's a zone contaminated by residual Void energy!" Allen immediately deduced. "It could be some failed experiment by Karl in the past, or a naturally occurring weak point in space that has been eroded by Void energy! Our flight path has passed through this area!"
" Void contamination? This place is so far from Earth and the Styx Galaxy!" Usopp screamed, clinging to a pillar.
"The universe is vast, and the influence of the Void may be more extensive than we imagine, though it's mostly dormant," Robin analyzed, struggling to maintain his balance. "It could also be some 'old wounds' left by the ' Observers's' attack, as recorded by the Kunlun Civilization, that have mutated over the long years. Quick! Franky, try using the energy frequency of the Light of Purification to impact the abnormal force field around the ship! Even if it can't completely purify it, it might at least disrupt it!"
"SUPER~ Understood! Activate the emergency plan, switch the Star Core energy output to the purified frequency band!" Franky immediately took action.
A soft silver halo shone from the hull of the Ark Maxim. When the light touched the invisible spatial "cracks," it emitted a slight hissing sound, and the surrounding turbulence did indeed lessen somewhat. However, the contaminated area seemed to be very large, and the spaceship was still trapped within it, with its navigation system almost paralyzed.
Just as everyone was working hard to stabilize the ship and find a way out, an even more unexpected situation occurred.
A highly unstable, shimmering, and ominous "portal" was forcibly torn open several hundred meters in front of the Ark Maxim without warning! The portal fluctuated violently, with dark purple energy flowing around its edges, resembling Void energy, but its interior was filled with chaotic spacetime turbulence and an unidentifiable energy Spectrum.
"What the hell is that?!" Sanji's eyes widened.
"It's not Wormhole! Nor is it a natural spatial phenomenon!" Du Qiangwei's voice came through (urgently inquiring via the encrypted communication channel she had left behind), filled with astonishment and doubt. "The energy characteristics are extremely mixed, containing known spatial technology, unknown rule disturbances, and... strong biological consciousness fluctuations?!"
Before the words were finished, an "object" was "spit out" from the twisted portal, which then collapsed and disappeared.
The "object" tumbled several times in the air, seemingly managing to stabilize itself through some kind of instinct or built-in stabilization system.
When it was exposed to the observation lights of the Ark Maxim, everyone on deck was stunned.
It was a humanoid creature, or rather, a humanoid machine, about 1.7 meters tall. It was covered in matte dark gray armor, the lines of which were smooth and biological, with a faint blue glow emanating from the joints. Its head was a streamlined helmet-like shape, without any obvious facial features, only a horizontal V-shaped band of pale blue light, like an eye. On its back were a pair of folding, seemingly deployable, metallic wing-like structures.
Most strikingly, it held a strangely shaped longsword in its hand, seemingly formed from the fusion of some living metal and crystal. The blade also flowed with a ghostly blue light, emitting an energy fluctuation that was incongruous with the current polluted Void environment, yet equally "unnatural."
"Robot? Alien?" Chopper peeked out from behind Jinbe, both curious and afraid.
The humanoid entity seemed to have also discovered the Ark Maxim. It (let's call it "it") hovered in the air, the V-shaped light strip on its helmet "looking" at the silver giant ship. It neither attacked immediately nor fled, but simply hovered quietly, as if observing and analyzing.
"Target detected... Energy system... Unclassifiable... Threat level... Reassess..." A cold, slightly electronic, yet strangely emotional voice echoed directly in the space around Ark Maxim, seemingly transmitted through some unknown communication method.
"It can talk!" Usopp exclaimed in surprise.
"Not through conventional electromagnetic waves or dark communication..." Robin frowned, "It's more like... sound transmission through the vibration of a localized spatial medium."
Allen stepped forward, meeting the gray humanoid's gaze across the ship's railing. His Eye of the Torch Dragon revealed more: the body's interior was not purely mechanical, but a complex highly integrated entity of biological tissue, precision machinery, energy circuits, and... an incredibly tenacious remnant of "will" or "soul"! Its energy core exuded a contradictory sense of "incompleteness" and "tenacity," completely different from the "devouring" feeling of the surrounding Void pollution.
"Who are you?" Allen transmitted his words directly using his thoughts mixed with the fluctuations of Power of the Stars. This direct communication method based on will and energy is more efficient than language in some aspects.
The gray humanoid seemed to receive the message; its helmet tilted slightly, and the V-shaped light strip flickered. "Identity... retrieval... database corrupted... Definition difficult... provisional codename: Exile-W7. You... your power... can withstand this ' Erosion Realm '?"
It ( Exile-W7 ) pointed to the turbulent space around it, its voice seemingly carrying a hint of... an urgent need for confirmation.
" Erosion Realm?" Allen caught the word.
"The polluted area formed by the continuous erosion of space by the whispers of ' The End ' is chaotic, with decreased stability of matter and energy. It will gradually expand and attract more ' Void Side' beings... or create new ones." Exile-W7 explained quickly, seemingly pressed for time. "Do you... possess the ability to purify or stabilize the ' Erosion Realm '? Even temporarily?"
Allen and his companions exchanged glances. This suddenly appearing "exile" seemed to know a lot about the Void Corruption, and... did he need their help?
"We possess some purification capabilities, but we need a stable environment to utilize them," Allen replied cautiously. "Moreover, we need to ensure our own safety first. Our spaceship is trapped here."
"Spaceship... understood." Exile-W7 looked at Ark Maxim, "Your vehicle's energy signature... is unique. The ' Erosion Realm ' interferes more violently with highly structured energy fields. I can try... guiding, using my 'Residual Phase Adaptability ' to temporarily neutralize some of the ' Erosion Realm's ' interference with your vehicles's structure, creating an escape window for you. In exchange... please help stabilize or mark the 'weak anchor points' of this ' Erosion Realm ' to prevent its disorderly expansion."
The proposal sounds like it would benefit both sides. However, the other party's origins are unclear, and their credibility is questionable.
"What are you doing here? And why are you concerned about the expansion of the ' Erosion Realm '?" Robin transmitted her questions to Allen through their telepathic link. Allen followed her instructions.
The Exile-W7 remained silent for a moment, its V-shaped light band flickering as if it were engaged in intense internal calculations or struggling with memories.
"I... come from a cosmic remnant completely devoured by the ' Shadow of the End '... or rather, one of the failed creations of the ' Ark Project, ' the last civilization in that universe." Its voice showed a noticeable fluctuation for the first time, a pain buried deep beneath the cold, synthesized tone, transcending endless despair and time. "My mission was to record, observe, and, if possible, warn other surviving worlds... But while crossing the dimensional barrier, I was ambushed, severely damaged, my memory bank shattered, my coordinates lost... and ultimately captured by the gravity of this ' Erosion Realm '."
"As for why we care..." Its tone turned cold and firm again, yet it carried an undeniable sense of responsibility, "' The Erosion Realm ' is the tentacles and breeding ground for the spread of ' The End's ' pollution. If left unchecked, it will spread like cancer cells, eroding more healthy spaces, and may even become the coordinates for the arrival of ' The End ' itself or powerful fragments. Stopping it is the fundamental responsibility of any remaining Spark reason and civilization."
Its explanation is logically clear, its motives seem noble, and the information it reveals can be partially corroborated by the records of the Kunlun Civilization and their own experiences. However, the information about "coming from a destroyed universe" and "being the creation of the last civilization" is simply too astonishing.
" Allen, what do we do?" Nami asked through the internal channel. "Should we trust it? Or should we try to force our way through?"
Allen looked at the gray figure floating silently outside, seemingly waiting for their decision, and sensed the increasingly unstable space around him and the constant alarms emanating from the ship's systems.
"We don't have much time to hesitate," Allen made the decision. "Agree to it, but remain on high alert. Franky, be ready to switch back to battle mode at any moment. Zoro, Sanji, Jinbe, be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. Robin, record everything it says, does, and its energy signature."
He telepathically communicated with Exile-W7 again. "We agree to the deal. Please begin channeling."
"Confirmed." Exile-W7's voice seemed... relieved. "Follow my trajectory. I will activate the ' Residual Phase Shift Field,' covering your vehicle. This process will consume a significant amount of my energy, so please make sure to disengage within the window of opportunity."
After speaking, the metallic wing-like structure on its back suddenly unfolded, not for flight, but to release rings of extremely faint, ghostly blue force fields that seemed to be composed of countless tiny geometric light patterns. The force fields rapidly expanded, enveloping the Ark Maxim within them.
The instant the force field covered the area, everyone clearly felt the ship's turbulence lessen! The garbled characters on the navigation screen stopped jumping, and although the star map hadn't fully recovered, a basic sense of direction and stability returned!
"It works!" Franky exclaimed in delight. "The rule interference has been neutralized by at least 60%! The Jet Wind Dial system has recovered! We can try to accelerate our escape!"
"Stay close to it!" Allen ordered.
The Exile-W7 began moving in a certain direction, not very fast, clearly maintaining this force field was extremely taxing on it. The Ark Maxim followed closely behind, enveloped in the dark blue force field, as if carving a narrow passage through viscous mud.
After sailing for some distance, Exile-W7 suddenly stopped and pointed to a seemingly ordinary area to its side, but Allen's Eye of the Torch Dragon could "see" had an unusually fragile spatial structure. "That... is the most active 'weak anchor point' of this ' Erosion Realm,' and one of the sources of the disordered rules. Attack it, impact it with your purifying energy, and you can temporarily 'freeze' it, slowing the expansion of the ' Erosion Realm,' and generating a sufficiently strong disturbance to the rules, creating a larger 'surge' for our escape."
"Attack there? Won't that cause a spatial collapse or a more violent explosion?" Nami asked worriedly.
"According to my calculations, given the nature of your purified energy, the probability of triggering a catastrophic chain reaction is less than 7.3%. This is the optimal solution." The voice of Exile-W7 carried an undeniable certainty, the confidence of a super-creator.
Allen didn't hesitate for long. " Franky, charge the main cannon, switch to purification energy output mode! Robin, Zoro, prepare for contingencies!"
"SUPER~ Charging in! Target locked!"
The main cannon at the bow of the Ark Maxim Prophet slowly adjusted its angle, and pure silver light gathered at the muzzle, with the trajectory of stars flowing within the light.
"Fire!"
A silver beam of light, far more concentrated and thicker than any previous Light of Purification, ripped through the chaotic space and struck precisely the "weak anchor point" indicated by Exile-W7!
There was no explosion.
Only a blinding burst of silver light erupted, like a drop of alum being thrown into murky water! Wherever the silver light touched, the dark purple spatial "cracks" froze as if frozen, then quickly "healed" and disappeared! The chaotic rules seemed to be forcibly "straightened out" for a moment!
In that instant, the Exile-W7's azure force field contracted and then exploded again! Using the "surge" of rule disturbances caused by the purification impact, it was like a precise surfer, carrying the Ark Maxim, rushing toward the edge of the " Erosion Realm " at an unimaginable speed!
"Pay close attention!!!"
The world spun around them! It felt like they had been thrown into a high-speed centrifuge! Everyone felt the light and shadows spinning wildly before their eyes, and their bodies were under immense pressure.
I don't know how much time passed; it might have been just a few seconds, or it might have lasted for several minutes.
The pressure suddenly disappeared.
Outside the window, the universe appeared tranquil, orderly, and glittering with starlight. Behind them, the eerie " Erosion Realm " region, like a gradually shrinking sphere churning with dark purple mist, was left far behind.
They escaped safely!
"Huff... Huff..." The Exile-W7 hovered in front of the Ark Maxim, its metal wings on its back dimming and even showing several tears. The V-shaped light band flickered, clearly indicating that it had consumed a lot of energy and might even have damaged its core.
"Transaction... complete." Its voice grew much weaker. "Thank you... for your assistance. According to the agreement... I have transmitted the spacetime coordinates and characteristic data of this ' Erosion Realm ' to the receiving end of your vehicle... hoping it will serve as a warning for your journey."
After saying that, it seemed about to turn around and fly towards another direction, towards the deep and unknown starry sky.
"Wait!" Allen called out to it, "You're in bad shape. Where are you going?"
Exile-W7 paused, without turning around. "Continue... wandering. Searching... for other worlds that need warning... or... other parts of the 'ark' from which I was born that might still exist. This is my... mission, and the only reason for my... existence."
Its silhouette against the vast starry sky appears so lonely, yet so resilient.
Allen paused for a moment, then made a decision.
"If you don't have a specific destination in mind right now... perhaps you could sail with us for a while," Allen said slowly. "Our ship has excellent engineers ( Franky ) who might be able to help you repair some damage. Also... we're searching for the truth related to ' The End,' gathering relevant information and clues. Perhaps we can... share information."
This invitation took everyone by surprise, including the Exile-W7. It slowly turned around, its V-shaped light band gazing at Allen, seemingly assessing the sincerity and potential risks of the offer.
"... Your civilization has not yet been completely consumed by the ' End.' Your power system... is unique and full of hope. Traveling with you... perhaps will bring me closer to... the answer to my 'mission.'" Exile-W7 finally accepted, "But please understand, I am not a 'companion.' I am an 'observer,' a 'recorder,' and, when necessary... a 'chosen one' who may make decisions you cannot comprehend, based on a more macroscopic 'probability of survival.'"
"Alright." Allen nodded. "Then, welcome aboard, my temporary companion... Exile-W7."
A beam of light shot out from the Ark Maxim, enveloping the gray figure.
The Straw Hat Pirates ' journey home unexpectedly gains a mysterious "passenger" from a destroyed universe.