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[ Shadow Monarch in One piece ].
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Third POV:
The forest slowly released him.
Step by step, Adam walked back, leaving behind the battlefield of venom and death. The deeper darkness of the Forbidden Forest faded into something lighter, thinner… until finally, the trees began to space out, and the familiar outline of a small wooden house appeared in the distance.
Hagrid's place.
It stood there quietly at the edge of the forest, its crooked chimney leaning slightly to one side, faint traces of smoke no longer rising from it. The wooden walls looked worn but sturdy, patched in places like they had endured years of storms and creatures far worse than weather. A few tools were left outside, casually placed, as if their owner had stepped away in a hurry. A rusted axe rested against the wall next to a coil of thick rope. A pair of oversized boots sat near the doorstep, caked with dried mud. Everything about the place felt lived-in, rough around the edges, but somehow warm even in the cold silence.
A soft orange glow from inside was missing tonight.
No light.
No movement.
No sound.
Adam slowed his steps as he approached, his eyes scanning the place. He looked at the windows, dark and empty. He looked at the door, closed tight. He even glanced up at the chimney, half expecting to see a thin curl of smoke rising from it, but there was nothing. The quiet pressed against his ears in a way that felt strange after everything he had just walked through.
Then he stopped just a few meters away, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Seems that Hagrid didn't come back yet…"
His voice came out low, rough at the edges, like he hadn't used it in a while. The words hung in the air for a moment before the wind carried them away.
He looked up at the sky, frowning slightly.
"I thought I spent the whole night—or day—in there… tss."
His gaze shifted around him, taking in the clearing, the edge of the treeline behind him, the worn path that led toward the castle in the distance. Everything was still. Not the kind of stillness that felt threatening, but the kind that made you realize how much noise had been filling your head before.
And for the first time since the chaos began…
Everything felt calm.
The air was cool, gently brushing against his skin. It moved through his hair, across his arms, slipping past the torn parts of his clothes where the fabric had been ripped during whatever had happened inside the forest. He hadn't even noticed those tears until now. He glanced down at his sleeve, saw a long gash in the fabric, and let out a quiet breath. Didn't matter. He was out. That was what mattered.
The trees swayed softly, their leaves whispering with the wind. The sound was gentle, almost rhythmic, like a quiet song that had been playing long before he arrived and would keep playing long after he left. Somewhere far away, a faint sound of an owl echoed through the night. One call, then another, then silence again. The grass beneath his feet moved lightly, as if breathing with the world itself. He could feel the soft blades brushing against his shoes, bending and rising with each gust of wind.
Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
The kind of silence that didn't feel empty… but full.
Full of things he hadn't let himself think about yet. Full of moments he had pushed down just to keep moving. Full of questions that had no answers, or maybe answers he wasn't ready to hear. The calm wrapped around him like a blanket, but underneath it, he could feel everything waiting. All the things he had shoved aside during the fight, during the running, during the panic. They were there, sitting at the edge of his mind, patient.
Adam let out a slow breath.
"…Yeah…"
He didn't want to go inside Hagrid's house. That felt wrong somehow, like stepping into someone else's space without them there. He didn't want to walk back to the castle either. The thought of climbing all those stairs, passing through corridors, maybe running into someone who would ask questions… no. Not tonight. Not right now.
Without thinking much, he walked a few steps away from the house and dropped down onto the ground. His legs folded beneath him, then stretched out as he let himself fall backward. The grass bent beneath him as he lay flat on his back, arms resting loosely at his sides. He could feel the cool earth through his clothes, the slight dampness of the soil soaking into his shirt. A few blades of grass tickled the side of his neck. He didn't move to brush them away.
His eyes moved upward.
The sky stretched endlessly above him.
Stars scattered across the darkness like fragments of broken light. Some were bright, burning with a sharp white glow. Others were softer, barely visible, like tiny whispers of light tucked into the corners of the night. He found himself tracing patterns without meaning to, connecting points that probably weren't meant to be connected. A line here, a curve there. Nothing that made sense, but that was fine. Nothing had to make sense right now.
The moon hung quietly, casting a pale glow that softened everything it touched. It wasn't full, but it wasn't thin either. Somewhere in the middle, like a silver coin tilted slightly to one side. Its light spilled across the clearing, turning the grass silver at the edges, making Hagrid's house look like something out of an old story. The kind of place where something magical happened, or maybe something sad. Either way, it felt distant now, like he was watching it from somewhere far away even though he was right there.
Adam stared at it.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
The wind brushed past him again, cooler this time, carrying the scent of earth and leaves and something green he couldn't name. His clothes were still damp from whatever had happened in the forest, but the cold didn't bother him. Or maybe he was too tired to notice.
Then—
"It's quite ironic… how things passed so fast these past few months…"
His voice was quiet. Almost lost in the wind.
He let the words sit there for a moment, watching them drift away into the night sky. Months. Had it really been months? It felt like yesterday that he had first stepped into this world, confused and overwhelmed, not knowing which way was up. And now here he was, lying on the grass outside a half-giant's house after fighting gods knew what in a forest that was supposed to be forbidden for a reason.
He took a deep breath.
His chest rose and fell slowly. His arms felt heavy at his sides. His legs ached in a way that told him he'd be feeling this tomorrow, and probably the day after. But right now, lying here, looking up at the same sky that had been there his whole life… it didn't feel so bad.
"I don't even know if someone would care if I'm already dead now…"
The words came out before he could stop them.
A pause.
His eyes stayed on the stars.
That wasn't about this world.
That was about before.
Before he had been pulled into a world of magic and castles and things that shouldn't exist but somehow did.
Before all of that, there was another life.
One where he had walked through hallways without anyone noticing him. One where he had sat in rooms full of people and still felt completely alone. One where he had asked himself that same question more times than he wanted to admit.
Would anyone care?
He had never found an answer. And now, lying here under a sky that looked exactly the same as the one from that other life, the question came back. Uninvited. Unwanted. But there.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Then loosened.
He blinked a few times, focusing on the stars again. Letting them pull his thoughts away from that edge. Letting them remind him that he was here now. That this was different. That maybe, slowly, things were changing. Or maybe they weren't. But at least he was still here to find out.
His eyes didn't move from the sky.
"…But these stars… and the moon…"
He let the words hang there for a moment, feeling them form in his chest before they reached his lips.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
It wasn't big. It wasn't the kind of smile that meant everything was fine. It was smaller than that. Quieter. The kind of smile that came from noticing something familiar in a place where nothing else made sense.
"They're the same as before. Calm… inspiring…"
Another breath. Slower this time.
His fingers moved slightly against the grass, feeling the cool moisture between them. Somewhere above him, a star flickered, dimming for a moment before shining bright again. He watched it, letting his mind wander to nothing in particular. Just breathing. Just existing. Just being here, in this moment, with the sky above him and the earth beneath him and nothing else demanding his attention.
"God knows things we don't…"
A small pause.
His voice was barely a whisper now, meant only for himself. For the night. For whatever was listening out there in the vast darkness above him.
"…So as they said."
He wasn't sure what he meant by that. Some old words he had heard somewhere, maybe. Or something that had been sitting in the back of his mind for a while, waiting for a moment like this to slip out. It didn't matter. It felt right to say it.
Silence returned.
Adam kept staring upward, his thoughts drifting further and further away… until even they began to fade.
He watched the stars spin slowly, though he knew they weren't really spinning. It was just his eyes playing tricks on him, the way eyes do when you stare at the same thing for too long. Or maybe it was the exhaustion finally catching up, pulling him down into something softer than sleep but not quite there yet. His eyelids felt heavy. His breathing slowed. The sounds of the night became distant, like he was listening to them through water.
The wind softened.
The world blurred.
And slowly…
Darkness took him.
Sleep came naturally.
Deep.
Peaceful.
Dreamless.
Or maybe… full of dreams without limits.
---
SPLASH.
Ice-cold water exploded across his face.
Adam's entire body jerked violently as he shot up from the ground like he had been electrocuted. His back left the grass so fast his head spun for a moment, arms flailing instinctively to catch himself before he realized he was already upright. Water dripped from his hair in heavy streams, sliding down his forehead, his cheeks, his chin. Droplets clung to his eyelashes, blurring everything in front of him.
"THE FUCK—?! FOR FUCK SAKE—!!"
His voice tore through the quiet night like a crack of thunder. He was on his feet before he even knew how he got there, hands clenched into fists at his sides, shoulders raised, every muscle in his body locked and ready. Water dripped from his hair, sliding down his face and neck, soaking his clothes instantly. His shirt clung to his chest. His sleeves dripped onto his fingers. His shoes squelched slightly where water had pooled inside them.
His eyes were wide open, blinking rapidly as he tried to process what just happened. His brain was still foggy from sleep, still caught somewhere between dreaming and waking, trying to make sense of the cold shock that had ripped him out of whatever quiet place he had been in.
"—WHO THE HELL—?!"
He wiped his face aggressively, dragging his palm across his eyes, his cheeks, his forehead. The water kept coming, running down from his hair in stubborn streams. He could feel it trickling down the back of his neck, seeping into the collar of his shirt. His fingers pushed through his wet hair, pushing it back from his face, but it fell forward again immediately, sticking in odd angles.
He squinted through the remaining drops, trying to focus on the blurry figure standing in front of him. His vision was still half-clouded, his brain barely catching up with reality. He could make out a shape. A person. Someone standing there, close enough to have done this. Close enough that he could probably grab them if he lunged.
"Was I just attacked…?!"
The words came out sharp, his voice still raised, still carrying that edge of someone who had just been pulled out of sleep by force. His heart was pounding in his chest, a fast, heavy rhythm that he could feel in his throat.
He leaned forward slightly, completely soaked, hair sticking in random directions, shirt clinging awkwardly to his body. A few strands of hair hung over his eyes. He blew at them without thinking, but they didn't move. Annoying.
A drop of water slid down his nose.
He froze for half a second.
The drop hung there for a moment, right at the tip, before falling off and landing somewhere on his already soaked shirt.
"…Did someone just throw a damn lake at me?"
His expression twisted between pure confusion and rising annoyance. The cold was starting to settle in now, seeping through his clothes, making him aware of just how wet he actually was. His hair was plastered to his scalp. His fingers were wrinkled from the water. There was a puddle forming beneath his feet.
"Alright…" he muttered, cracking his neck slightly. The motion sent more water dripping from his hair onto his shoulders. "Whoever did that… you better start running now—"
Another drop fell from his chin.
His eyes were still trying to focus, still trying to make the blurry figure in front of him turn into something he could recognize. His mind was running through possibilities. A student? A professor? Someone playing a joke? But who would be out here at this hour, near the Forbidden Forest, with a bucket of water ready?
"…because I swear—"
He finally lifted his head fully, trying to lock onto the culprit's face, eyes narrowing as his vision cleared bit by bit.
Still dripping.
Still half asleep.
Still completely confused.
And absolutely ready to throw hands.
The figure in front of him hadn't moved. Just stood there, solid and large, barely visible in the dim moonlight. But as Adam's vision sharpened, as the water stopped running into his eyes, as the last bits of sleep finally left his brain…
He started to recognize the outline.
And his raised fists slowly, very slowly, lowered back down to his sides.
[ End of Chapter 34 ].
To Be Continued....
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If you want to read more about my works or just to support me then here is my patreon:
Patreon.com/Doflamingo4
___
Check also my other stories :
[ Shadow Monarch in One Piece].
Patreon.com/Doflamingo4