Under the cover of the disruption of order, the tower's entrance was cleaved open by Angel Yan's sword.
The interior was not the laboratory or control center as expected, but a labyrinth of flowing, dark gold geometric shapes that stretched as far as the eye could see. The walls, floors, and ceilings were slowly deforming and reorganizing, and the air was filled with a dense pollution of informational energy, as well as a kind of low, rhythmic rumble.
"Welcome to my temple of thought, or rather... the Labyrinth of Truth." Karl's gentle voice echoed from all directions. "This is the embodiment of my understanding of the rules of the multiverse. Each layer corresponds to a 'distorted version' of a cosmological constant or physical law that I have studied. Only by understanding my 'truth' can one find the path upward."
Ge Xiaolun scanned his surroundings, and the Void Engine returned a jumble of chaotic data. "The spacetime structure here is completely messed up! The direction of gravity changes three times per second, the speed of light is limited to one percent, and even the causal chain is barely visible!"
"This is the deconstruction and reorganization of the rules of reality by the Void." Angel Yan opened her Eye of Insight, and divine codes painstakingly spread and deciphered within the labyrinth. " Karl is showing us his 'research results'—look, over there."
She pointed to a dynamic mural that appeared on the wall in the distance: it depicted a standard cosmological model gradually disintegrating into basic information streams under the erosion of Void energy, and then being rewoven into new, illogical forms.
"A madman..." Liu Chuang gripped his axe tightly, "Is creating chaos the truth?"
"In his Definition, yes." Rena's hands ignited with Sparks, illuminating the twisted passage ahead. "But we have to get through. Everyone stay close, don't get separated; the space here could split apart at any moment."
The team began to advance slowly. The first level of the maze seemed to revolve around the concept of "mass." The ground beneath their feet was sometimes as light as a feather and sometimes as heavy as a black hole, requiring them to constantly adjust their strength to maintain their footing. Occasionally, "tentacles" made of distorted gravity would attack from the walls, but these attacks were forcibly neutralized by Ge Xiaolun's Anti-Void ability.
"The rules here can be partially rewritten," Ge Xiaolun attempted to Definition a local gravitational constant, "But it's extremely costly, and... it seems to trigger a countermeasure from the maze."
Sure enough, once he stabilized the gravity around the team, the geometry of the entire floor began to deform at an accelerated rate, and the passageway became even more tortuous and complex.
"Don't interfere excessively," Angel Yan stopped him. "The labyrinth itself is an extension of Karl's consciousness; forcibly confronting it will only make it more chaotic. We need... to 'understand' and pass through."
She carefully observed the seemingly disordered patterns on the wall, and suddenly said, "These are formulas from the mathematics of the Void... describing how quality is expressed at the information level. If we follow the path implied by the formulas..."
She walked towards a wall that seemed like a dead end. The moment she touched it, the wall parted like ripples on water, revealing a staircase behind it.
"Indeed, this is a 'test'," Rena added. "We need to think like Karl."
This process is extremely uncomfortable. Each step forward requires the mind to temporarily accept those counterintuitive "truths"—such as accepting that "time can be folded into a part of space," or that "energy can simultaneously possess a third form in addition to particle and wave properties."
Practical fighters like Liu Chuang and Zhao Xin were nearly driven mad, and Qilin's sniping logic was repeatedly thwarted—here, the trajectory of a bullet could randomly change direction, even hitting targets from the past or the future.
Only thanks to Angel Yan's Eye of Insight, Ge Xiaolun's Void Engine capabilities, and Rena's ancient cosmic knowledge from Lieyang, was the team able to make its difficult ascent.
Meanwhile, inside the isolated control room.
The Straw Hat Pirates were intently watching the situation inside the tower through the observation system at the Stability Anchor.
"Their signal is weak, but it's still moving." Nami stared at the energy trajectory on the screen. "This tower... it's practically a rule-bound madhouse. Karl has completely projected his mind into it."
"What can we do?" Luffy scratched his head anxiously. "Waiting here like this is too unbearable!"
"Wait... I've found something." Robin operated the console, bringing up a hidden protocol. " The Stability Anchor System... seems to resonate with certain 'nodes' within the tower. Look, here's a description of an 'Information Projection Module.'"
Franky leaned closer. "SUPER~! So, we can use anchor points to directly 'inject' information into the rule flow inside the tower? Like... dropping a marker into a chaotic river?"
"That's true in theory," Robin nodded, "But we need to know what information to inject for it to be useful. Also, we can't see the real-time details inside the tower; we can only infer their location and condition through energy reactions."
Chopper suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Remember the data that No. 173 gave us? It contained records of Karl's early tests on the ' Labyrinth of Rules '! He said that each level of the maze has a 'core paradox,' and only by understanding and accepting that paradox can you unlock the path!"
Everyone immediately flipped through the documents. Sure enough, they found a fragment about the maze design:
[First layer: The illusory nature of mass – the core paradox: the heaviest can be the lightest.]
[Second layer: The nonlinear pattern of time – the core paradox: the cause can follow the effect.]
[Third layer: The freedom of energy forms – the core paradox: stillness can be the ultimate form of motion.]
"Send these paradoxes... to Yan and the others in a way we can understand?" Usopp hesitated. "But will they be able to receive them? And without interfering with their own judgment?"
"It's better than nothing," Jinbe said in a deep voice. "In absolute chaos, even the slightest contradictory clue can become an anchor for thought."
"Let's do it!" Franky began the operation. "Information encoding... mix the most basic binary and divine codes, so that both angels and the Void Engine can decipher it! Send target... lock onto the strongest source of order energy within the tower—that's Yan and the others!"
Information flows are emitted through the Stability Anchor of isolated islands, transforming into faint pulses of order that shoot toward the Tower of Truth.
Inside the tower, on the third floor.
The team is trapped in a strange energy field. Everything here is in "movement," including their own bodies, weapons, and even their thoughts. Even the concept of "stillness" has become difficult to maintain, and everyone's movements have become erratic, uncontrollable, and convulsive.
"The rule on this level is... motion is absolute, stillness is the exception?" Ge Xiaolun struggled to maintain the Void Engine's computation. "But even our 'intention to remain still' is being forcibly transformed into some kind of abstract motion... If this continues, we'll be drained by our own energy cycle!"
Just then, Angel Yan received a faint pulse from the outside world.
"The information... comes from an isolated island." She focused intently on deciphering it, "The core paradox: stillness can be the ultimate form of motion..."
She was stunned.
Is stillness... the ultimate form of motion?
In this place where even the "intention to remain still" is forced into motion?
Suddenly, she looked at her hands—the sacred code was flowing and reorganizing uncontrollably. But when she tried not to resist this flow, but instead guided it, accelerated it, and brought the code's movement to a certain extreme frequency...
A miracle happened.
The sacred code of high-speed motion, at a certain critical point, surprisingly presents an absolute and stable illusion of stillness! It is not truly still, but rather the motion is so fast and so regular that it manifests as a perfectly stable structure at the macroscopic level!
Within this range of "stillness formed by extreme motion," normal rules are restored!
"I understand!" Angel Yan's eyes shone brightly. "The test on this level isn't about resisting movement, but about embracing and mastering it until it cancels itself out! Everyone do as instructed! Don't try to stay still, but accelerate everything about yourself—your movements, your energy, your thoughts! Accelerate to the limit!"
Everyone tried as instructed. Ge Xiaolun overclocked the Void Engine, Rena made stellar energy circulate wildly within her body, Liu Chuang made his muscles vibrate at high frequencies, and Zhao Xin made his speed break through normal limits...
When everyone enters a certain "hyper-motion state," the influence of the surrounding forced motion field on them actually weakens! They regain control!
"A pathway has appeared!" Qilin pointed forward, and a stable staircase emerged at the center of the energy field.
"Thank you for the tip, Straw Hat Pirates," Angel Yan said softly, taking the lead on the steps.
On the isolated island, everyone cheered as they saw the energy reaction inside the tower stabilize.
"It worked! They broke through the third level!" Nami exclaimed excitedly.
"But how many more layers are there?" Robin pulled up the data. "The records show that Karl designed at least nine layers of the maze... and we only have information on the first five."
"Then send them everything we know!" Luffy shouted.
In the following layers, the Straw Hat Pirates continuously sends core paradox hints through Stability Anchor, providing the main team with key ideas:
The fourth layer, the " Chaos web of cause and effect"—paradox: salvation can lead to destruction.
The fifth layer, "Self-folding of space"—paradox: the shortest path is the longest.
Every message, like a firefly in the darkness, guides the team as they struggle through a chaotic maze.
However, just as the home team broke through the fifth level and was about to enter the unknown sixth level, an unexpected change occurred.
First, the island's control panel emitted a piercing alarm!
"A massive source of Chaos energy has been detected approaching! The number... exceeds three thousand! It's the Triangle Bodies Fleet! They've breached the outer defenses of the Nether Abyss and are heading at full speed towards the core area!"
On the screen, in a dark purple sea of energy, countless Triangle Bodies biological warships, like a swarm of sharks smelling blood, are converging on the Tower of Truth from all directions!
" Karl invited them..." Robin's face paled. "The data mentioned that the collective consciousness of the Triangle Bodies was one of the ' Key ' candidates Karl considered early on. Now he has Sparks, but perhaps... he wants more options, or needs them as 'sacrifices'?"
"We must warn the main force!" Franky tried to send an alert, but found that communications were blocked by even stronger interference— the Triangle Bodies Fleet had released a massive bio-information jamming field.
Worse still, an urgent communication came from the Dawn —it was Allen's voice, but it was filled with an unusual weariness and... a certain emptiness:
"The isolated island... I am Allen... I saw... what was behind the door..."
His voice was broken and intermittent, interspersed with unsettling Echo.
" Allen! What's wrong?!" Chopper shouted into the communicator.
"Whispers... growing clearer... They're showing me... the origin of the Void... the truth of Chaos..." Allen's voice sounded like a dream, " Karl was right... Order is just an appearance... behind the door lies... the truth..."
" Allen! Wake up! That's an illusion!" Jinbe shouted.
But the communication was suddenly cut off.
" Allen's contamination has worsened!" Nami exclaimed frantically. "We have to do something!"
"What can we do? We can't even get into the tower now!" Usopp said in despair.
Robin paused for a moment, then suddenly looked deep into the control panel: "There's an... extreme solution."
Everyone looked at her.
" The Stability Anchor system, besides its stable rules, also has a theoretical 'overload mode'," Robin said, pulling up a document marked with the highest danger level. "Releasing the energy of all the anchors at once can create a massive ' Order Singularity ' within the Nether Abyss for a short time. This singularity will violently disturb all Chaos energy, potentially temporarily paralyzing the tower's defenses and even interfering with Karl's consciousness field..."
"But what's the price?" Jinbe asked.
"The isolated island will overload and collapse. And the eruption of the Order Singularity will generate a strong backlash of rules... This control room we're in might not be able to withstand it," Robin said calmly. "It's a suicidal plan. But if it allows the main team to seize the opportunity to break through the maze and enter the core of the tower... perhaps it's worth it."
A brief silence.
Luffy was the first to speak, "Let's do it! If this can help Allen and everyone else!"
"I agree." Zoro nodded.
"For the first mate, we'll fight!" Sanji lit a cigarette.
"SUPER~ Heroic!" Franky gave a thumbs up.
Nami took a deep breath and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Since staying here will only lead to our deaths when the Triangle Bodies Army arrives... we might as well take a gamble!"
Chopper and Usopp nodded vigorously, though they were trembling with fear.
Jinbe smiled. "That's just the Straw Hat Pirates's style."
Brook: "Yohohoho~ To be able to play one more song before the end, this life has not been in vain."
"Then," Robin placed his hand on the final authorization panel of the control panel, "Prepare to activate the ' Order Singularity ' protocol. Target: The area where the Tower of Truth is located. Energy output: Maximum. Countdown: Three minutes. At the same time, send a final message to the main team—tell them that they only have one chance."
Inside the tower, at the entrance to the sixth floor.
Angel Yan and the others have just received the last message from the Straw Hat Pirates:
[ The Triangle Bodies army is approaching. Allen's condition has worsened. We will activate the Order Singularity to create a thirty-second window of absolute order for you. Please make sure you break through to the top of the tower. Good luck. --The entire Straw Hat Pirates ]
The message is brief, yet carries immense weight.
"They're going to use the island's self-destruction to help us..." Rena clenched her fists.
"We cannot let them down." Ge Xiaolun's eyes were firm.
"Then get ready." Angel Yan gripped the Flame Sword tightly. "Thirty seconds... that's enough."
The three-minute countdown ticked in everyone's hearts.
At the very top of the tower, Karl stood before the half-open "door," a smile of near ecstasy on his face.
Outside the door lies the endless, churning Void, containing all possibilities and impossibilities.
He heard the arrival of the Triangle Bodies and sensed the impending eruption of the Order Singularity.
"Come on, everyone... come on, everyone..." He opened his arms as if welcoming a grand feast.
"With your order, your Chaos, your lives, your sacrifices..."
"A salute to the advent of truth!"
From the crack in the door, a "hand" made of pure information, without a fixed shape, slowly emerged.