As I slowly made my way through the white streets of Flevance, freeing the last souls still bound by the weight of regret, I came across a place unlike the others.
The burned ruins of a hospital.
The walls were blackened by fire, the ground covered in ashes long since frozen in time. And yet, at the heart of this scenery of destruction, an almost peaceful scene took shape.
A family of three.
The two adults were still wearing their doctors' coats—stained and worn, but unmistakable.
Between them stood a little girl, silent, her hands tightly clasped in those of her parents.
They looked calm.
Too calm.
Yet I knew the truth.
Those three were already dead.
What I was seeing was nothing more than an echo of their souls, trapped in this place, unable to move on.
The father suddenly turned his head, his features tense.
"Who goes there?" he called out in a firm voice.
Then he froze slightly.
He immediately remembered that no one could see them.
That looters had already searched these ruins many times without ever paying them any attention.
He lowered his guard a little.
The mother placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"Darling… let them be.
Whoever it is, they'll leave once they find nothing," she said calmly, pulling the little girl closer to her.
The child, however, kept watching the space in front of them closely.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Mom… I think the person is looking at us."
I continued to approach and appeared before them.
"Hello.
I am the Preacher, and I have come to offer you freedom."
The father reacted immediately.
He instinctively stepped in front of his wife and daughter, his body tense, protective to the very end.
"We have nothing, stranger," he said warily.
"So don't come any closer to my family."
I remained still, respecting the invisible barrier he was raising, even after death.
I slowly raised my hands in a calming gesture, then let out a tired sigh before removing my mask. Letting a human face appear—marked by the gravity of everything I had seen since arriving in Flevance—felt more honest than remaining hidden behind a symbol.
"I assure you, I am not a bad person. I have already offered freedom to many people here…" I said in a calm voice. "What happened to this kingdom is a true tragedy. I have rarely seen so many souls unable to depart on their own. Pain and injustice have forged chains heavier than death itself."
Despite her parents' anxious murmurs, the little girl took a few steps toward me. She seemed neither afraid nor distrustful, only burdened by a worry far too great for her age. She looked up at me with a touching, almost candid expression.
"Mister… have you seen my big brother?" she asked softly. "He always wears a wool hat, and he has really big dark circles under his eyes…" She hesitated for a moment before adding, as if the name itself gave her courage, "His name is Law. Trafalgar Law."
At the sound of that name, I immediately understood. I slowly shook my head.
"I haven't seen anyone who looks like him on this island," I replied honestly. "But… I think I know someone who matches your description perfectly."
I summoned my inventory and pulled out several wanted posters, flipping through them carefully until I stopped at one. The poster was slightly worn, but the face on it was perfectly recognizable. I knelt to be at the child's height and held the image out to her.
"Is it him?"
Her eyes widened instantly. Her face lit up with raw, uncontrollable joy.
"Papa! Mama!" she cried, grabbing their sleeves and pulling them toward me. "Law is alive! Look! He's alive—and he's even grown taller!"
The mother brought a trembling hand to her mouth before breaking down in tears. She dropped to her knees and pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, shaken by sobs mixing relief and pain.
"He's alive…" she whispered between cries. "Thank you… thank you…"
The father remained silent for a moment, his features tense, then he closed his eyes as if to contain the surge of emotion rising within him.
"Even if he became a pirate…" he finally said in a deep voice, turning toward me, "what matters is that he's alive. That's all that matters."
The little girl stepped forward again. This time, her gaze was no longer filled with hope alone, but with unexpected determination. She stood straight, as if she had already made her choice.
"My name is Lami," she declared clearly. "And I want you to take me to see my big brother."
The request shook me deeply—just as much as it did Lami's parents. It was too much to bear for a child, too heavy with consequences to be ignored. And yet, despite the shock, a slow smile formed on my face. It was neither carelessness nor lightheartedness, but the silent resolve of someone who had already made his choice.
"Please wait here for a moment," I asked gently.
Without giving them time to reply, I walked away, leaving behind the whitewashed ruins of Flevance. In a single breath, I crossed space through a dark portal and reappeared on Heartless Island without slowing down. I rushed toward Charyzax, who immediately looked up, sensing my agitation.
"Man… I need information. Real information. From Ammit," I said bluntly.
He studied me for a few seconds, then nodded seriously. His body slowly transformed, taking on the form of the mythical Zoan. His posture shifted, his presence growing heavier, older. When he spoke again, it was no longer entirely him.
"What do you want to know, Jordan?"
The voice was Charyzax's, but deeper, more resonant, as if something else were speaking through him.
"A soul is asking me to bring her back to her brother," I explained calmly. "But she no longer has any living relatives capable of providing the energy needed for her to become human again."
Ammit's reptilian face curled into a slow, almost amused smile.
"Then it's possible," he replied. "You can offer twenty percent of your own strength to bring her back to life. Since you're not a direct relative, the cost is high… but it will decrease over time, if she comes to regard you as one."
I remained silent for a moment, weighing the meaning of those words. Strangely, the idea of that loss didn't feel overwhelming. I had gained a colossal amount of power recently—especially thanks to the Sea King. And if necessary, I could always acquire more. That wasn't the real problem.
The real question was simpler… and heavier.
Was I ready to sacrifice part of my strength for Lami?
That choice could also seal something greater. A moral debt. A possible bond with Law. But deep down, that wasn't what weighed on me the most.
It was the child. Her eyes. Her request.
I raised my head.
"Come with me," I finally said. "I've decided to help her find her brother. But first, I want to see if it's possible to temporarily bind her soul to mine, just until we find him. If that's not viable… then we'll use your method."
Without waiting, I opened a new portal leading to the clinic in Flevance. Darkness parted before us, and Charyzax followed me, already in his hybrid form.
The small family stepped back when Charyzax appeared behind me, his massive silhouette and crushing presence abruptly shattering the fragile balance of the scene. I immediately raised a hand to calm them, fully aware of the fear it could cause.
I spoke calmly, choosing my words with care.
"Don't be afraid. He's not a demon. He's simply a Devil Fruit user… an ally."
The father instinctively tightened his grip around his daughter, wary but listening. I took a breath before continuing, knowing that what I was about to say would change everything.
"I would like to try something. But I must be honest with you. If it fails, I will only be able to bring one person with me… your daughter. Not all three of you."
The father frowned, worry etched into his face.
"What do you mean by that, young man?" he asked, pulling Lami closer to him.
I knelt slightly to be at their level.
"Until now, I've freed souls by simply severing their ties to this world. They leave in peace. But I've never tried taking one with me. If I fail, the only solution will be to sacrifice part of my own strength to keep your daughter alive—until I find her brother, who will then be able to bind her to himself."
I paused, then added gravely:
"This sacrifice is heavy. I can only do it for one person… maybe two, but I would rather avoid reaching that point."
A heavy silence settled in.
Then Lami gently pulled away from her parents and took a step forward. She looked up at me, without fear—driven only by fierce determination.
"I want to try," she said in a clear voice. "Please."
I looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. I reached out my hand toward her, focusing, trying to open the bond tying her to Flevance while attempting to grasp her. But at the very moment my fingers should have closed around her… they passed straight through her, like mist.
Before I could even react, Ammit intervened.
A violent, dense energy burst from me in the form of a massive violet sphere, literally torn from my body and hurled toward Lami. The impact wasn't painful for her—on the contrary. Light wrapped around her in a radiant, almost blinding glow.
Her body changed.
In just a few seconds, the child gave way to a young adolescent, as if lost time had suddenly been caught up. Her features had matured, her aura had grown denser—strangely reminiscent of the transformation Kuina had undergone.
I, on the other hand, immediately felt the backlash.
My body grew heavy, my movements slowed, as if I were moving through thick liquid. A dull weakness settled into my muscles—deep, persistent.
So that's it… I thought. The feeling of losing twenty percent of one's strength.
Behind me, her parents were crying and laughing at the same time, overwhelmed with joy at seeing their daughter reborn. But that joy was tinged with immense sadness—the realization that they wouldn't be able to accompany her.
I turned toward them and gently severed, in turn, the bond that still held them to this world.
"Rest in peace," I murmured.
They smiled one last time at Lami before vanishing into the light. The young girl broke down in tears, unable to hold back her grief. Charyzax, having returned to his normal appearance, knelt beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, comforting her without a word.
I then opened a portal leading to Heartless Island.
I knelt in front of Lami and met her gaze.
"When I find your brother, I'll come get you. But for now, you're not strong enough to follow me at sea. You'll be safe there."
She nodded, still crying, then stepped through the portal, accompanied by Charyzax.
When everything was over, I closed the passage and returned alone to the shores of Flevance. I lay down on the cold sand, exhausted, my eyes turned toward the white sky, simply waiting for the others to arrive—thinking back on everything I had seen and what I remembered of the original story. Maybe I'd run into Corazon, I thought, just as a strange ship was approaching my position.
"ROOM!" a voice shouted, as a kind of dome appeared.
(Author's note: And yes, the famous cliffhanger, hahaha. Have a great week.)