Chapter 5: The Optic Sniper
The floating city was a paradox. Its spires, crafted from a gleaming, pale metal that hummed with a low, arcane energy, looked like something plucked from a science fiction movie. But the structures themselves were broken, crumbling, and choked with ancient vines, a testament to a glory long past. The air, crisp and thin, carried the scent of ozone and dust, a scent that tasted of history and decay. Kuro, a shadow among the ruins, felt a thrill run through him. This was his domain. This was where his power was most at home, where darkness and silence were weapons.
He separated from the ship, a wisp of darkness detaching from the hull and flowing silently toward the nearest spire. He moved not as a man, but as a stain on the air, an absence of light. Roger and Prince, meanwhile, were on the main deck, launching a diversionary assault of noise and chaos.
"Hahaha! Eat this, you tin cans!"
Roger roared, throwing a bottle of liquor at a mechanical sentry that whirred to life. The sentry, a spider-like thing of brass and steel, raised a leg and shot a beam of red light that sizzled against the ship's golden hull. Prince, ever the glutton, attempted to eat the laser, but only managed to get a mouthful of burnt air. He coughed, his hair singed.
Kuro slipped into the city's interior. The halls were a labyrinth of traps. Light-sensitive lasers, silent and deadly, crisscrossed the corridors, their red beams a web of lethal light. Pressure plates, camouflaged with dust and debris, lay waiting on the ground. He navigated them with a quiet confidence, his shadow form flowing under the lasers and around the pressure plates. He was a silent, graceful river in a landscape of deadly stone.
He found her on the highest spire, a tiny, golden-haired figure encased in a shimmering force field. The figure didn't look frightened. She looked… bored. She hummed a little tune, a repetitive, cheerful ditty, her fingers tracing a pattern on the invisible wall of her cage.
"Don't worry about me! Just be careful with those lasers. They're a bit prickly!"
She called out, her voice an airy giggle. Kuro, exasperated, turned back into his solid form, landing with a soft thud on the spire.
"How are you so calm? You're in a trap!"
He felt a deep sense of frustration. He had risked a lot to get here, and she was treating it like a tea party.
She's either the bravest person I've ever met, or she's completely insane. I have to figure out which one it is. There's something else going on here. The System isn't just about logistics. It's about people.
[SYSTEM: LORE INSIGHT - ANCIENT WEAPON BLUEPRINTS FOUND IN TRAP SCHEMATICS. THE 'BLUEPRINT' IS A MAP.]
Kuro's eyes widened. He hadn't been looking for a person. He had been looking for a weapon. He looked at the spire, and then back at the girl. She wasn't a prisoner. She was a warden. She was guarding something. He had to get to the bottom of this. He had to figure out what her deal was, and why she had chosen to stay here, in this beautiful, broken cage.
Kuro knelt on the spire's cold, ancient stone. He looked at the girl, who was now a little closer, her face a mix of curiosity and amusement.
"So… I've got this System thing. It helps me make promises. And I think… I think you've made a promise already, haven't you?"
He asked. She tilted her head, a small, knowing smile on her lips.
"I have. This map… it holds so much power. I can't let it fall into the wrong hands. It's my oath."
Her voice was a fragile whisper, but it was firm. She looked at the star patterns on the map, which seemed to pulse with a faint, ethereal light. Kuro knew what he had to do. He had to make a better vow. He had to give her a reason to trust him.
[SYSTEM: GAMBIT BAIT – PROPOSE VOW TO 'GUIDE THE SHIP ONLY TO FIND JOY.' GAMBIT STRENGTH: 95%.]
This is it. This is my shot. I have to convince her that I'm not a monster, not a person who just wants power. I'm just a guy who wants to find some joy in this broken world. She's the key to that. She's the key to the map. The map to the world.
"Then vow with us. A new oath. We'll use the map not for power, but for purpose. A purpose of joy. A purpose to find people who have lost their way, and to help them find a new one. To find the end of this journey, not just for ourselves, but for everyone who has ever dreamed of something more."
His voice was a low, persuasive hum, his charisma at full tilt. He saw her eyes, a brilliant, piercing blue, begin to well with tears. The force field around her, which had been a solid, humming wall of energy, began to flicker. It was a testament to her resolve, a fortress of pure will. She took a deep breath, and the force field dissipated into nothingness.
She held out her hand, a small, fragile thing, but with a fierce determination in her eyes.
"My name is Stella. And I vow… to guide the ship only to find joy."
[SYSTEM: VOW ACTIVATED – 'TO GUIDE THE SHIP ONLY TO FIND JOY.' VOW TAKER: STELLA. VOW STATUS: SUCCESS.]
A wave of golden light washed over her, and her Pika Pika no Mi, which had been dormant, began to hum with a soft, benevolent energy. She wasn't just a navigator anymore. She was the personification of a dream, the living embodiment of a new purpose.
The leap was a beautiful, terrifying thing. Stella, her body glowing with a brilliant golden light, leaped from the spire and hurtled toward the Aurora Sovereign. She was a comet, a flash of pure energy in the vast, empty sky. But she was not a pilot. She was a navigator. And she almost crashed.
Kuro, his shadows a blur of motion, created a soft, pliable net of darkness that caught her at the last moment. She landed on the deck with a soft thud, a little breathless, but with a wide, triumphant grin.
"Did I… did I do it right? It felt a little fast."
She asked. Roger, who had been watching the whole thing with a look of awe and terror, let out a booming laugh.
"A little fast? Stella, you almost became stardust! Welcome to the crew!"
He roared, his laughter a happy, rolling thing that echoed across the deck. Kuro smiled. He was surrounded by a pirate king, a gluttonous prince, a compassionate doctor, and now, a light-speed navigator. Each of them, a piece of a larger, more powerful whole.
[SYSTEM: PROGRESSION - LEVEL 3, 4 VOWS. ABILITY: VOW SCAN UNLOCKED.]
Stella, her face filled with quiet determination, walked to the helm of the ship. She looked at the ancient map, and her fingers, now tipped with a soft, golden light, traced a path. She pointed to a new destination, a "frozen island" where they could find a shipwright who could help them repair the damage from the sky current. The ship, as if in agreement, turned its bow and set a new course. They were no longer lost. They had a guide. They had a new purpose.
Love [ One Piece: Roger, Joy Boy In the Void Century ]? Unlock More Chapters and Support the Story!
Dive deeper into the world of [ One Piece: Roger, Joy Boy In the Void Century ] with exclusive access to 35+ chapters on my Patreon, plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $5/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes like [Grimm, Teen Wolf ,blacklist,Game Of Throne ,MCU and Arrowverse].
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
👉 Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!