He fell to his knees, sobs shaking his entire body.
"It's my fault… I'm useless… my friend… my friend died because of me!"
His voice cracked, swallowed by the endless white void.
And just when the darkness felt infinite—
another vision flickered violently before his eyes.
Auransa.
Blood-red energy poured out of his body like a rampaging beast, cracking the battlefield beneath his feet. The ground split, veins of power tearing through stone.
Then—
Swish.
Morgan vanished.
In a single breath, his blade carved through Auransa's chest like it was nothing.
Auransa's body trembled.
His feet shook.
His eyes widened in raw terror as blood spilled from his mouth.
He dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, coughing violently.
Yet… he laughed.
"Orimo Kuzan," he said weakly, smiling through blood,
"was one of the greatest pirates ever."
His body collapsed lifelessly onto the broken ground.
Eyes wide open.
Fixed on the sky.
Smiling—
even in horror,
even at the very end.
Crack.
The memory shattered like glass.
Orimo stood frozen.
No scream this time.
No tears.
Only a suffocating weight of hatred, rage, and resentment crushing his chest. His hands trembled—but his eyes were empty.
A giant figure loomed behind him, gripping a massive hammer.
It grinned.
"There's more," it said.
Another memory slammed into Orimo's vision.
Equa.
Black flames tore through the ground—
Thud! Boom!
An explosion erupted.
His head was blown clean off.
The headless body collapsed into the earth, blood pouring violently from the severed neck, soaking the ground as it went still.
Lifeless.
Crack.
Orimo's gaze sharpened.
"Yeah… yeah," he muttered flatly.
"Whatever you say."
He had no tears left to shed.
He had lost everyone.
Every single one of his crew.
"I don't think they died," he said quietly.
"I'll go and bring them back."
The giant figure went silent—then spoke with a heavy voice that shook the realm.
"Ventrax…
You passed the trial.
Open the grave."
The earth trembled.
The grave burst open.
Orimo was violently thrown out from beneath the ground, coughing as sand spilled from his clothes. He staggered forward, eyes burning with resolve.
"I'm coming," he whispered.
"So just wait."
Around him, corpses began to rise.
Not bodies—
spirits.
Their forms trembled, faces twisted in agony.
"Free… dom…"
"Help us… kid…"
Their voices overlapped, drenched in unbearable suffering.
"We want—"
Orimo stepped forward.
"Say no more," he said calmly.
"I'll ease your suffering."