"Cough… cough…"
Lucien's throat burned with a metallic taste as he spat out a mouthful of clotted blood.
From the distant meteor crater, a massive hand burst forth. Ace emerged moments later, blood dripping from his lips as he leaped free, his breathing uneven but steadying. Flames rolled endlessly around his body as he lifted his gaze toward Lucien.
It had been a long time since Ace had felt pressure like this.
Lucien pushed aside the surrounding rubble and rose to his feet, releasing a heavy breath. Sand and shattered stone swirled through the air as the two men stared at each other across the ruined battlefield.
Their auras erupted once more, pressing down like twin invisible mountains. Breathing itself became difficult.
Ace's eyes sharpened as a strange wave spread outward from him. In his perception, the world seemed to awaken. Flames, soil, stone, and even the flowing air carried faint voices, whispering endlessly into his senses.
Lucien frowned.
An unfamiliar force enveloped the entire area. It felt as though the world itself rejected him. The sensation was unsettling, as if his very existence was out of harmony with his surroundings.
Before Lucien could adjust, Ace stepped forward and vanished.
Lucien's body tightened instantly. Power gathered in his right fist as he punched to his side without even turning his head.
Ace appeared at that exact moment.
Time seemed to slow.
Ace lowered his body smoothly, sliding along the edge of Lucien's fist with uncanny precision before throwing a punch of his own.
Lucien's pupils shrank violently. Every instinct screamed danger.
He saw the attack clearly, yet he could not grasp it.
Crack.
A torrential force tore through the sky. The ground ahead was erased completely, forming a long, empty corridor that stretched far into the distance.
At the moment of impact, Lucien's face twisted as blood burst from his mouth and nose. Behind him, compressed air flattened the sandy terrain, carving it into a barren plain.
Snarling, Lucien slammed his elbow downward.
Ace had already withdrawn his hand. His body shifted with ghostlike smoothness, stepping aside just enough to let Lucien's elbow skim past him.
Not too much. Not too little.
Perfect.
Boom. Rumble.
The ground shattered again, collapsing into another massive sinkhole. Ace's fiery hair whipped wildly in the shockwaves, his eyes calm and empty of emotion. At point blank range, he drove his knee upward into Lucien's chin.
A brutal force exploded outward.
Lucien's head snapped back as blood sprayed from his mouth, his body lifting helplessly off the ground.
"Damn it…"
Lucien's expression twisted in fury and disbelief.
Ace's power had not visibly increased, yet he felt untouchable.
Lucien could not land a hit, while Ace struck him freely.
He could see every attack clearly, yet no matter how he reacted, he could not evade them.
Blood poured from Lucien's mouth and nose. His jaw was already shattered, but even then, he retaliated instinctively, swinging his right fist toward Ace.
Ace had anticipated it.
He sidestepped in advance and countered with a devastating kick that slammed into Lucien's chest like a collapsing mountain.
Whoosh.
Lucien was sent flying, tumbling across the battlefield like a broken reed. He plowed through several hills before finally coming to rest amid shattered rubble, his face drenched in blood.
Ace descended slowly, hovering three feet above the ground. A strange, subtle wave radiated outward from him.
"What just happened?"
Trebol and the others watched through binoculars, while powerful figures across the island focused on the battlefield.
Only moments ago, the two fighters had been evenly matched. Now, their master was being overwhelmed by Fire Fist without any chance to strike back.
The shift was too sudden.
Why could Lucien not hit him?
"Cough… cough…"
Lucien staggered to his feet, staring at Ace with uncertainty burning in his amethyst eyes.
Could this be some kind of hidden ability?
Wait.
A sudden, almost absurd thought surfaced in his mind.
Listening to the Voice of All Things?
Ace was the son of Gol D. Roger. Combined with the possibility that he was also a transmigrator, such an awakening was not impossible.
There was no other explanation.
The phenomenon was simply too strange.
"Listening to the Voice of All Things," Lucien said aloud, his voice steady despite the pain.
Ace smiled faintly. "You noticed quickly."
He extended his hand as invisible ripples danced at his fingertips. The atmosphere, the earth, the wind, the clouds, countless subtle voices flowed into him naturally.
It did not surprise him that Lucien had realized the truth. Many powerful figures across the seas, especially Marines, had already suspected his ability.
Ace's confirmation made Lucien's heart sink.
The exact limits of Listening to the Voice of All Things were unclear. Even history spoke of it only vaguely, describing it as the ability to hear the voices of all existence.
As the Pirate King's power, it was undoubtedly extraordinary.
And Lucien had just experienced it firsthand.
Observation Haki, when pushed to its extremes, could evolve into terrifying abilities.
Listening to the Voice of All Things.
Reading mental memories.
Sensing emotions.
Future sight.
Gol D. Roger possessed the first.
The legendary pirate Redfield was said to have mastered the second.
Queen Otohime had wielded the third.
And so far, only Katakuri had been confirmed to possess the fourth.
Any one of them was enough to terrify the seas.
"This is troublesome."
Lucien snapped his fingers.
A sharp, tragic, and passionate war melody erupted across the sky.
Ace froze for a fraction of a second as the familiar rhythm echoed through the battlefield.
"You are a transmigrator too," Ace said quietly.
Until now, he had not been certain. The moment the war bgm played, there was no doubt.
Rumble.
The music surged, doubling Lucien's power. He threw his head back and roared.
Within a thousand meters, the earth warped and exploded repeatedly. Invisible shockwaves tore outward as the white flames around Lucien burned even hotter.
Golden lightning struck relentlessly, distorting the air itself.
"Within my war bgm, I am the protagonist," Lucien declared coldly. "No one defeats me here."
An unseen figure moved instantly.
Ace listened.
Their fists collided in the next heartbeat. Amid the explosion, Lucien burst through the smoke, his black red crystal hand reaching for Ace.
Ace stepped left before the grab could land, narrowly brushing past Lucien's fingers.
He counterattacked immediately, but Lucien reacted differently this time.
His left hand clenched into a fist. His entire black red crystal arm swelled as he unleashed a full coverage blockade toward Ace's position.
The force crashed forward like a mountain torrent. The atmosphere detonated as Ace appeared midair, his left foot slamming downward.
Lucien intercepted with his right hand. His body sank deeply into the ground, his feet buried as his amethyst eyes gleamed with icy resolve.
Ace twisted his body, attempting to seize Lucien, but he fell just short.
Lucien appeared directly in front of him and drove his knee upward.
Pfft.
Ignoring his own injuries, Lucien attacked relentlessly, blood covering his body.
Ace's ability was too dangerous. Lucien could only compensate by trading damage for damage.
The impact shook Ace's internal organs despite his Armament Haki. He was blasted away in a streak of light.
Lucien pursued without pause, his black red crystal foot stomping down toward Ace.
At the last instant, Ace's body rippled and slipped away in an impossible dodge.
The ground shattered. Cracks spread outward as a violent storm formed at the impact point.
Before the dust could settle, the sounds of battle erupted again from within.
The fight had entered its most intense stage, devastation following them wherever they went.
The war bgm thundered through the sky.
Lucien had five minutes and twenty seconds left.
He had to end this battle before the music stopped.