Zeronis' eyes trembled. The two shots Malakai fired had shifted his sword away at the last possible second.
'I should have cut off his head…'
Regret. It was a feeling Zeronis never thought he could ever feel, but it was the only thing that consumed him as the edge of the scythe screamed toward him.
To think he, a direct descendant, would die …
The scythe carved through his skull in a clean, fatal arc. Blood burst from the wound in a crimson spray.
An intense stillness settled over the hall as Malakai yanked his scythe free. Zeronis' body crumpled, his shocked expression frozen as his lifeless face hit the floor.
Malakai stood over him, chest heaving, each breath ragged and heavy. He stared at the corpse as the reality of what he had done slammed into him.
Many would've said it was impossible. Hell, even he had doubted it at one point. But through all the struggle… through every failure, every time he had forced himself back to his feet…
He had fucking done it.
His roar shook the hall, raw and feral, so loud the veins in his neck bulged.
He was happy. He was exhilarated!
He had fucking survived!
His roar froze in his throat. His mouth was opened wide as he tried to shout, but no sound came.
He tried hard to breathe, but no air entered his lungs.
Malakai's entire body trembled. Then, he felt it.
But this was not pain like he'd ever felt before. It wasn't from blades, fire, or even near-death injuries. This was worse. Far worse.
His entire body screamed. Every nerve. Every cell. It felt like he was melting from the inside.
He tried to scream, but nothing came out.
He collapsed to his knees, hands clutching his throat, gasping, begging for air.
Tears welled in his eyes and spilled down before turning crimson. Blood flowed from his eyes and his ears.
His body was shutting down.
'T-The D-Devil's F-Fruit…'
He had suspected that this would happen. Entering into the hall, he had only one more shot left, one last chance to use the Devil's Fruit.
And he had already reached the limit earlier when he had killed the Grade Two summoner. Back then, he had been in a rush and grabbed the first thing he could, a whole fruit.
He had thrown everything into his mouth and only eaten half of it, leaving the rest inside his mouth.
It was then Zeronis had struck.
Zeronis thought he had pierced Malakai's heart, but he had been wrong. He had missed, because of one reason…
With trembling fingers, Malakai reached into the inside of his jacket, right where the sword had stabbed through, and pulled something out.
It had been crushed inward as though something had stabbed it.
She had given it to him before entering the pit. And this had been what Zeronis' blade had struck, veering just enough off course to miss his heart.
And as Malakai was bleeding to death on the floor, he had waited. Bided his time. And when the moment came, he ate the remaining half of the Devil's Fruit in his mouth.
It gave him enough strength to unleash his final assault, to kill Zeronis.
But now, now he was paying the price.
His scream tore through his mind, raw and agonizing.
His body shook. His vision blurred. Darkness started enveloping his sight.
Everything felt… far away.
His heartbeat faltered.
He was dying. And there was nothing he could do.
And just as the final thread of his life threatened to snap…
A blinding light ignited in the center of the hall. It twisted inward, collapsing before shaping into the form of a man.
The figure strode toward Malakai, steps swift.
"Astonishing," the man said as he approached. His voice was calm but filled with nothing but awe as he stared at Malakai. "To think… a normal human would actually win."
He knelt beside Malakai, gazing down with a slight smile.
"You performed the impossible," he said gently, raising a hand. "And so, you deserve the chance to climb higher."
The man's palm glowed with a deep green radiance, energy rippling from it in waves.
"Congratulations… you are now the Successor of Life."
The light surged outward, engulfing Malakai and then the entire hall.
And everything went white.
Malakai had a nightmare.
It wasn't new. Nor was it foreign.
It was the nightmare. The one that had plagued him for years.
The same dark, cold night.
The same heartfelt goodbye from his mother.
The same moment she shoved him into the hidden compartment, sealing him inside.
The same violent rumblings above that shook his bones.
The same feeling of helplessness. Paralyzed, unable to move, unable to do anything.
But then, two crimson eyes snapped open in the darkness.
A jolt of shock surged through Malakai.
He was back in the compartment, buried underground. The place he had relived an uncountable number of times over the years.
But this time, something was different.
His limbs weren't frozen. His body wasn't broken.
A low rumble echoed from above, growing louder. A battle.
Malakai's eyes darkened.
"Hey!!" he screamed, fists slamming against the metal above him. "Let me out!"
He struck the compartment over and over, but it didn't budge. No matter how hard he hit, it wouldn't break.
"Mom!! I'm here! Let me help! I can fight now! I'm not useless anymore, please!"
But there was no response.
And after some seconds, silence.
"No… No, no, no—" His voice broke. "You bastard!!"
The ground trembled. A sharp quake shook the entire underground. Cracks splintered through the darkness.
A black mist began seeping in through the cracks, curling around him like smoke, thick and cold.
Then, it engulfed him, swallowing him whole.