Location: New World – Southern Border of Ignaros Region
The wind had changed.
Gone was the smoldering heat of the volcanic chain. As the Red Blade sailed southward, the sky grew pale and quiet.
The sea turned glassy.
And frost began to creep across the rails.
Shanks stood at the bow, watching frostbite gather on his coat cuffs despite the ocean sun.
"That's not natural," Makino whispered beside him, drawing her coat tighter.
"No," Shanks murmured, "it's intentional."
Below Deck – Ankit Trains in Silence
Ankit moved through his sword forms with fire dancing along his twin blades. The flames no longer hurt—they pulsed like a heartbeat.
Soulflame Blade – Mastery: 3%
Flow Stable. Mental strain minimal.
Current Duration Capacity: 74 seconds.
His breath came sharp and even. Every swing was cleaner than before. But something lingered inside him—
The memory of the Trial, the five versions of himself… and the silent thing watching from behind the flame.
There had been a presence—one that didn't belong to him.
"Whatever waits at the next Gate," he muttered, "it already knows I'm coming."
System Alert – External Threat Detected
Frost Domain Signature Detected
User Level: Sub-Admiral Class Equivalent
System Classification: Bounty Enforcer – "Judge" Rank
Alias: The Pale Judge
Weapon: Frostband Relic Spear
Known for freezing the blood in his victims' veins before they can scream.
Advisory: Do not engage without flame-based resistance or support.
Ankit read the alert twice, then strapped his blades to his back.
He walked out onto the deck.
The Sea of Still Silence
The ship slowed unnaturally, as if being pulled through syrup.
Frost webbed across the surface of the ocean, spreading from a point on the horizon—a shape like a floating cathedral of ice and bones.
Benn Beckman raised the spyglass.
"It's him."
Makino cocked her rifle. "I thought the Judges were a myth."
"They are," Shanks said grimly, "like death until it shows up."
The Arrival of the Pale Judge
No oars. No sails. Just a drifting island of ice.
Atop it stood a tall, robed man.
Skin pale as snow, eyes white, no pupils. In one hand, a long, curved spear of black ice. No crew. No allies. Just silence.
He spoke once—his voice like a blade across frozen flesh:
"Ankit. Stormmarked. By decree of the Frost Court and the World Relic Order… your judgment begins."
Then the spear left his hand.
First Clash – Beckman Intercepts
WHOOSH!
The spear flew faster than a cannon round.
Benn leapt and deflected it midair, gun coated in haki.
But the impact blasted him backward into the mast, shattering half the deck.
Makino screamed. Shanks held her back.
"He's marking the ship. Buying time. Ankit—off the deck, now!"
But Ankit stepped forward.
"No. I've run enough. I'll face him."
Frozen Expanse – Duel Arena Formed
As Ankit stepped onto the smaller boat, frost crept up the oars and around the hull.
He reached the icy platform moments later. The Pale Judge stood unmoving.
Around them, the sea had turned to frozen glass. No sound. No birds. No wind.
Only judgment.
Ankit vs. The Pale Judge
Without warning, the Judge lunged—ice spear flashing.
Ankit activated Soulflame, both blades igniting as he rolled under the first strike.
The flame hissed against the spear, but the cold held.
Soulflame Efficiency Reduced: -30%
Frost Domain Weakens Soul Resonance
The Judge's next attack was brutal—a wide sweep meant to split Ankit in two.
Ankit ducked again, countered with a twin slash—but the spear's frost coiled around his arms.
"Your fire is borrowed," the Judge whispered. "Mine is eternal."
Ankit gritted his teeth and leapt back, shaking off the frost.
"Let's test that."
Flashback – Frostblade War Survivor
The Judge once ended the Isle of Hina's rebellion by freezing its entire river system, trapping the resistance in their own city and slaughtering them with one spear.
He did it without allies.
Without sleep.
Without mercy.
Real Combat – Soul Burn Strategy
Ankit inhaled, closed his eyes.
Stormtrigger: Emotional Flame Sync – Partial Activation
Risk of Overburn: 27%
Soulflame Boost: +40%
Duration: 18 seconds.
His body glowed. His blades flared with flame not just from his soul—but from every regret he had ever carried.
"Let's burn," he whispered.
And attacked.
The battlefield ignited in flame and frost.
Ankit dodged and slashed, flame trailing his every move.
The Judge blocked with impossible calm, but for the first time—his spear cracked.
Ankit drove in—slashed left, rolled under the riposte, and cut through the Judge's side.
The ice screamed.
The Judge bled.
But he did not fall.
Final Clash – Judgment Strike
The Pale Judge raised his hand.
Final Judgment: Frozen Sentence
Area of Effect: 100 meters
All organic matter within radius—paralyzed by blood-freezing.
Ice exploded outward.
Ankit's system flared.
Survival Protocol – Flame of the Self: MAX INTENSITY TRIGGERED
A burst of golden fire erupted from his chest—not from power, but from refusal.
Refusal to die. Refusal to be judged by something that had no right.
He stepped forward—limping, burning, howling.
And shattered the spear with a twin cross-cut of blazing steel.
The Judge stumbled back, cloak in tatters.
His voice came low.
"…You've changed the result."
Then he fell to one knee.
System Update – Fight Outcome
Combat Result: Victory – Enemy Forced Retreat
Pale Judge Teleport Seal Activated.
Return to Frost Court within 90 seconds.
New Skill Gained: Judgment Reversal (Passive)
If enemy uses a judgment-type skill, your Soulflame gains 10% defense penetration and +15% stamina regen.
System Sync Increased: +2.2%
Current Sync: 51.9%
Return to Red Blade
As Ankit limped back, Benn tossed him a flask.
"That was suicidal," he muttered. "You almost burned yourself out."
Ankit took a long drink. "But I didn't."
Makino hugged him, briefly, fiercely. "Don't do that again."
Shanks said nothing.
He just smiled faintly.
Because deep inside—he knew something had shifted.
This wasn't just about relics anymore.
It was about what Ankit represented.
A break in the World Government's plan.
And that made everything dangerous.
Final Scene – Cipher Pol Omega Cell
A masked man stared at a map littered with red pins.
"The Pale Judge has failed," an agent whispered.
"Expected," the man said.
"But the boy passed the second Gate."
The man placed a new marker on the board.
"Then it's time to reveal the third."