The warm wind blew through Amazon Lily, carrying the sweet scent of jungle flowers. The moon, high in the sky, bathed the palace in its silvery light, casting long shadows along the stone path that wound toward the grand hall.
Zala felt the cold bite of the Kairoseki shackles on her wrists, the metal sapping her strength, making each step heavier. The sound of her boots dragging across the stone echoed through the empty corridor. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but fear still clawed at her chest.
Merlin walked ahead, her purple cape fluttering lightly. The staff in her hand glowed faintly, as if absorbing the energy around it. The air seemed to hum with her presence.
Robin and Alvida followed close behind, watching in silence.
Zala's heart raced.
'I'm next.'
The thought cut through her, so real it felt like a weight on her shoulders.
Mikita.
She had vanished without a trace.
Now, Zala was on the same path.
Her legs faltered for a moment.
Memories of Baroque Works still lingered in her mind. The whispers among the agents when Mikita disappeared, the suspicions, the fear. And now, the same fate seemed inevitable.
'Whatever happened to Mikita, it's going to happen to me too.'
Her breathing quickened. Her chest rose and fell unevenly.
Merlin stopped.
Zala froze.
The mage turned slowly, her lilac eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"You're trembling."
Her voice was a whisper, soft and calculated.
Alvida snorted, spinning her club over her shoulder.
"She's terrified. Almost funny."
Robin crossed her arms, tilting her head slightly.
"Funny? I'm not sure that's the right word."
Zala lifted her eyes, her fists clenched.
"I know what happened to Mikita."
Silence fell.
The night breeze rustled the curtains in the corridor.
Robin and Alvida exchanged glances.
Merlin simply watched.
Zala took a deep breath, trying to find some steadiness in her voice.
"She disappeared. Just like I'm going to disappear."
The mage tilted her head slightly, the glow in her eyes intensifying.
"Is that what you think?"
Zala's stomach churned.
"I know."
Merlin laughed. Low. Dangerous.
A chill ran down Zala's spine.
The mage's lilac eyes held something she couldn't decipher.
"Then tell me, Zala… If Mikita disappeared, why are you so worried?"
The words echoed through the corridor.
Alvida frowned.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Robin stayed silent, her eyes fixed on the mage.
Zala clenched her fists.
"What do you mean?"
Merlin smiled.
"If I told you Mikita's alive?"
Zala's heart skipped a beat.
Her mind faltered for a second.
"Liar."
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Merlin's expression remained impassive.
"Then why don't you ask her yourself?"
Zala's blood ran cold.
The words pounded in her head.
The floor felt farther away.
Robin narrowed her eyes.
"Interesting."
Alvida furrowed her brow, impatient.
"If she's alive, where the hell is she?"
Zala blinked, confused.
Was this a game?
An illusion?
No… Merlin didn't play with words without purpose.
Merlin resumed walking.
"Come. You'll see."
The mage moved down the corridor, and Zala had no choice but to follow.
The castle felt even more oppressive than before. Shadows stretched across the walls, forming unreal shapes. The air carried a scent she couldn't place.
Then, they arrived.
A large black wooden door loomed ahead.
Merlin raised a hand.
Bluish energy coursed through her fingers.
The door swung open.
A cold gust from within prickled Zala's skin.
Alvida squinted.
"What the hell is this?"
Robin watched, intrigued.
And then, Zala saw her.
Her.
Mikita.
Sitting calmly in a dark velvet armchair, a glass of wine in her hand. Her eyes glowed a reddish hue under the candlelight.
Red.
Zala took a step back.
Mikita's smile was calm, almost amused.
"Surprise."
The world seemed to spin.
Zala's chest tightened.
Mikita was there.
Alive.
Whole.
But different.
Her skin looked paler. Her eyes, luminous. The energy around her… wrong.
Zala swallowed hard.
"This… this doesn't make sense."
Mikita tilted her head, studying her.
"It does. Just not the way you expected."
The silence dragged on.
Zala breathed heavily.
Fear morphed into confusion.
If Mikita hadn't been tortured, then… what had happened to her?
The answer came in the form of a predatory smile on the woman's lips before her.
Robin crossed her arms.
"I wasn't expecting this."
Alvida stepped forward, eyes narrowed.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Mikita twirled the wine glass between her fingers, the liquid inside glinting in the candlelight.
"Let's just say… Riser showed me a different path."
The tension in the room grew suffocating.
Zala's throat went dry.
The Kairoseki shackles felt heavier than ever.
Merlin broke the silence.
"She wasn't tortured. She didn't suffer. But… she changed."
Mikita's gaze met Zala's.
"You can change too."
Zala's stomach twisted.
'No…'
This wasn't better than what she'd imagined.
It was worse.
Far worse.
She didn't want to become that.
She didn't want to lose who she was.
Her legs buckled.
Reality crashed over her like an overwhelming wave.
The fear didn't vanish.
It just took a new shape.
And now, it was far deeper.
Merlin broke the silence again, stepping forward softly, her movements almost ethereal against the cold stone floor.
"She didn't have a choice."
Her voice was low, laced with an unshakable certainty.
Zala felt her heart hammering against her ribs.
Robin, silent until then, tilted her head, her dark eyes analyzing every detail.
"This…"
Her words faded before she could finish.
Her mind tried to fit the events into a logical pattern but failed miserably. This wasn't a Devil Fruit. It wasn't science. It wasn't something explained in the usual way.
This was something else.
Mikita twirled the glass between her fingers, watching the red liquid slide along the edges with a disturbingly calm air.
"I didn't need to choose."
Her smile widened slightly.
"I just needed to accept."
Zala gritted her teeth.
"This isn't you."
Mikita blinked slowly.
"Isn't it? Then who am I?"
Zala's throat went dry.
Merlin stepped closer behind her, her lilac eyes gleaming with icy intensity.
"You still don't understand, Zala."
The air grew heavier.
"You won't have a choice either."
The words hit like iron in her stomach.
Alvida frowned, gripping her club tighter, wary.
"Is this some kind of magic?"
Merlin turned to her, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
"Maybe."
Robin narrowed her eyes.
"This is something I've never seen before."
Her tone was more cautious.
"Something beyond Devil Fruits. Something beyond what the world knows."
Mikita rose from the armchair, the glass still held delicately. Her body moved with an unnatural fluidity, almost weightless, as if the floor no longer bound her.
Her eyes never left Zala's.
"You're scared now."
She took a step forward.
"I was too."
Another step.
"But when you finally feel it… when the power runs through your veins…"
Zala stepped back, but her back met Merlin's body, unyielding like an impassable wall.
"You'll realize this isn't a burden."
Mikita's voice was soft, persuasive.
"It's a gift."
Zala gasped.
This was worse than death.
She didn't want this.
But her mind screamed that she was already doomed.
Merlin leaned down slightly beside her, her breath almost brushing Zala's ear.
"You can fight."
Her fingers slid over Zala's shoulder, a touch as cold as ice.
"But like everyone else…"
The tips of her fingers grazed the skin of her neck.
"You'll give in too."
Zala's body shuddered.
The room seemed to spin.
Mikita smiled, her canines glinting in the candlelight.
Alvida gritted her teeth.
Robin remained silent, taking it all in.
Reality bent around them.
The choice was no longer hers.
And maybe, it never had been.
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