The first rays of dawn pierced the jungle canopy, painting the mist in gold and green. I stood alone before the Abyssal Drake-Drake Fruit, its obsidian scales gleaming like a shard of the night sky. Today, everything would change.
I closed my eyes and spoke into the silence:
"System, consume Devil Fruit: Abyssal Drake-Drake Fruit."
The fruit disintegrated into streams of light, flooding into my body. Heat, raw and wild, roared through my veins. My small frame convulsed as lines of blackened scale etched themselves across my arms and spine. A heavy tail unfurled behind me, flexing with primal strength.
When I opened my eyes, they blazed gold and silver — molten, inhuman.
A tremor shook the ground. From the tangled undergrowth, the island's apex predator emerged — a Verdant Turtle Serpent, its moss-laden shell towering like a fortress, jaws opening in a roar that shook the trees.
For a heartbeat, the world held its breath.
I exhaled once, slow and calm, and let my Armament Haki rise. The dark aura crackled over my fist — raw, imperfect, not fully mastered. But powerful enough.
Void Drake instinct roared in my blood. I stepped forward.
And struck.
The impact was thunderous. My fist met the creature's armored shell, and a shockwave tore through the jungle. Cracks spiderwebbed across the Serpent's mossy plating; bone shattered with sickening finality. The beast didn't even finish its roar — it crumpled to the earth in a broken, steaming heap.
One blow. No contest.
The silence afterward was deafening, broken only by the quiet chime of the system:
[Battle Performance: Flawless]
[Stat Threshold Surpassed]
[Power Tier Upgraded: Vice Admiral-Class Combatant]
[Stat Bonuses Granted: +20% Strength, +15% Endurance, +25% Speed]
[Ability Unlocked: Mythborn Spirit Awakening (Tier I)]
I breathed hard, feeling the Dragon's might thrum inside me — volatile, half-tamed. My Armament Haki had answered the call today… but it had strained, flickered. I was no master yet.
Still, the island had fallen silent. No roars. No challengers. Only the echo of my triumph.
"System," I said, voice steady, "show updated Status."
The glowing panels opened before me:
[Status]
Name: Ravro D. Flare
Age: 3
Race: Mythborn (Partially Awakened)
Affiliation: None
Title: None
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Speed: A
Intelligence: C+
Willpower: A
Unique Traits:
Mythborn Spirit (Awakened – Tier I)
Echo of the Forgotten King (Sealed)
Abilities:
Armament Haki (Intermediate – Unstable)
Observation Haki (Intermediate)
Devil Fruit Power: Void Drake Form (Active)
Void Drake's Breath (Learned)
Power Tier: Vice Admiral-Class Combatant
Beside me, Velra rose from her kneel, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of awe and something deeper — something close to reverence.
"You are ready," she whispered, voice trembling with devotion. "I stand ready."
I flexed my scaled fist, feeling the untapped force lurking beneath my skin. My tail lashed through the air with a low whoomph. The island lay before me, conquered.
But inside… I knew this was only the beginning.
My power was real — terrifying and raw.
Yet mastery still waited ahead, like a dragon sleeping beneath the earth.