"Damn it…"
The rapid loss of life force plunged Ace into an overwhelming sense of impending death.
Since transmigrating into this world, this was the first time he had come so terrifyingly close to dying.
"Rumble…"
The once clear sky was once again swallowed by dark clouds. Lightning split the heavens, thunder roared endlessly, and Ace's bloodshot eyes burned with unwilling fury. His Conqueror's Haki surged outward like a raging ocean, refusing to submit, struggling in one final act of defiance.
"How could I die here… no…"
With his final roar, Ace's face rapidly withered. Flesh shrank away, leaving only skin clinging tightly to bone. He had not even had the chance to properly enjoy this second life. How could it end like this?
He was unwilling.
For the first time, he truly felt fear of death.
Whether driven by instinct or conscious will, he wanted to live.
This was the instinct shared by all living beings.
"Stay… or life."
Lucien's right hand was suddenly enveloped in a pale white mist that resembled a soul made manifest. Seeing Ace frozen in a daze, Lucien reached forward and grabbed his head. In the next instant, a distorted, writhing soul was forcibly torn free.
At the same time, Ace's physical body crumbled into ash and scattered into nothingness.
"Impossible… how can you grab my soul?"
Perhaps because of his transmigration, or perhaps because Ace had once brushed against the Voice of All Things and possessed an unusually powerful existence, his soul retained consciousness even after being extracted.
At this moment, he stared at Lucien with pure terror.
Lucien was slightly surprised by this as well. A demonic smile slowly spread across his face as his amethyst eyes gleamed with interest.
The next second, Lucien opened his mouth wide and directly swallowed Ace's soul whole.
He devoured it, just as he would a physical body.
The souls of Supernovas like X Drake, Eustass Kid, and Scratchmen Apoo had all been chaotic and muddled. None of them compared to Ace's soul, which was astonishingly clear and, disturbingly, sweet.
Previously, when Lucien consumed the physical bodies of powerful individuals, his cells grew stronger. Now, by devouring souls through the Soul Fruit, even his soul itself was being strengthened.
He had already stepped onto a path of no return, the path of a devourer.
As for disgust, he no longer felt it.
Perhaps Lucien still thought of himself as a normal person, but to anyone watching from the outside, he would appear as a cold, twisted monster.
But none of that mattered.
As long as he could grow stronger and seize control of his own destiny, he was willing to use any means necessary, even if it meant becoming utterly ruthless.
As Ace's soul disappeared into him, Lucien closed his eyes. A flood of memories surged into his mind, scenes of fire, brothers, regret, and longing. Lucien forcibly suppressed them.
He needed time to completely digest the soul.
Almost at the exact moment Ace truly died.
Deep within the New World, in the Whitebeard Sea, aboard the Moby Dick.
"Pops, something's wrong!"
A squad leader burst out of the cabin, clutching a Vivre Card that was burning violently.
Ace's name was written clearly on it, yet more than half of it had already turned to ash.
Whitebeard, who had been relaxed and drinking heavily ever since his old injuries were removed, instantly sobered. His gaze locked onto the Vivre Card, which was now burning faster by the second.
"Ace…"
Marco and the other commanders felt a chill run through them. The drunken haze vanished from their minds in an instant.
"No… it can't be!"
Jozu's face drained of color as the Vivre Card finished burning, scattering into ash that was carried away by the sea breeze.
The deck fell into a deathly silence.
Whitebeard stared blankly at the ashes drifting away, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Ace…"
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Sabaody Archipelago, three thousand meters beneath the sea.
Not long after the Thousand Sunny had been coated and submerged, the atmosphere on deck was filled with excitement. Luffy, Chopper, and the others pressed themselves against the rails, staring at the colorful schools of fish swimming past the ship.
"So cool!"
Luffy held a net, trying to catch something for dinner, when a sudden sharp pain shot through his head, as if something had ignited.
He tore off his hat in confusion.
A Vivre Card tucked beside it was burning.
"Ace… Ace?!"
This was Ace's Vivre Card.
Luffy knew exactly what it meant. Ace had explained it to him before, this card represented his life. If it ever burned completely to ash, it meant only one thing.
He was dead.
And yet…
Luffy's face turned deathly pale.
"Franky, turn back," Luffy shouted, clutching the burning card with trembling hands. "Turn back to Sabaody, right now!"
"We just submerged," Franky replied, completely bewildered.
"Ace's Vivre Card… it's burning!"
"How is that possible?"
"Oh no…"
Nami, Zoro, Emma, and the others all stiffened as they watched the card crumble away.
"It's… gone."
When the Vivre Card finally turned to ash, silence fell over the deck.
Fire Fist Ace had only parted from them not long ago. How could he possibly be dead?
And more importantly, who in the world could have killed him?
Did they not even fear Whitebeard?
In a rebellious kingdom somewhere on the Grand Line.
Sabo, who was in the middle of a mission, suddenly felt an intense warmth in his chest.
His hand trembled as he pulled out a Vivre Card from his pocket.
More than half of it had already burned away, leaving only a single corner intact.
"Ace… Ace!"
Sabo's mind went blank as he stared at it, unable to accept what he was seeing.
The very next day.
A piece of news exploded across the seas like a tsunami, shaking the entire world.
From the Four Seas to the Grand Line, and even the New World, every major force was thrown into chaos.
"Hello? Is this real?!"
"Fire Fist Ace was defeated?!"
"The Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace, with a bounty of 1.68 billion Berries, was defeated by the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo, and personally handed over to the Marines!"
"You've got to be kidding!"
"Defeated by that Sea Scoundrel Doflamingo?"
"This is huge!"
"The Marines just got handed a ticking bomb."
"Do you think they'll release him? Whitebeard won't let this slide."
"Use your head. There's no way the Marines can release Fire Fist."
"It's going to be chaos."
"Doflamingo is cunning. He tossed the problem to the Marines, and now only they can face the strongest man in the world's fury."
"This news must have been leaked intentionally."
"The era is about to spiral out of control."
Across the world, anyone with even a hint of foresight could feel it.
This was the calm before an unprecedented storm.
Who could have imagined that Fire Fist Ace would fall to Doflamingo and be delivered straight into Marine hands?
But there were still those who saw the truth beneath the surface.
Undoubtedly, all of this was Lucien's doing.
The real Ace was already dead.
Not only his body, but even his soul had been devoured, reduced to nothing more than waste expelled from Lucien's existence.
As for the Ace now held by the Marines, his true identity was nothing more than one of Doflamingo's expendable subordinates, temporarily named Orbus.
Lucien had turned him into a Demon, reshaped his appearance into Ace's likeness, drained his lifespan to a single month using the Soul Fruit, erased his original memories, and forcibly implanted every memory belonging to Ace.
Now, Orbus genuinely believed himself to be Fire Fist Ace.
Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Son of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
Grandson of the Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp.
Older brother to Sabo and Luffy.
In every way that mattered, there was no difference.
His memories, emotions, and convictions were identical.
The power of the Soul Fruit was far more terrifying than Lucien had ever anticipated.