Location: Open Waters – 3 Days After the Moonless Reef Battle
The sea was alive again.
Waves crashed. Gulls circled. Sunlight returned.
But on the deck of the Red Blade, there was no joy—only silence.
Ankit leaned against the mast, blades resting by his side. The glow of soulflame around him had dimmed, leaving only the faint shimmer of exhaustion in his eyes.
Makino sat nearby, writing furiously in her logbook. Across the ship, Benn Beckman smoked and cleaned his rifle. Shanks stood at the helm, wind tugging his hair, unreadable as ever.
They had survived the Eye.
But all of them knew—it wasn't over.
Cipher Pol's Message
It arrived via den-den mushi—an open transmission.
A strange thing for Cipher Pol to do.
"To the crew of the Red Blade..."
"You have violated multiple global accords."
"You have entered, and destabilized, a Memory-Class World Government Vault."
"Further transgressions will result in extermination authority granted to Buster Call agents."
"You have been marked."
The message ended.
Shanks didn't flinch.
Makino's hands tightened on her pen.
Benn muttered, "They're panicking."
Ankit said nothing.
But inside him, the system reacted.
You have crossed another global threshold.
Bounty Class: Rising
You are now recognized as a "Tier B Threat."
The Map Piece – Fifth Stormmark Trail
Makino spread the artifact fragments on a crate, aligning them over a blank chart of the Grand Line.
The fourth fragment pulsed—glowing like frozen starlight.
"It's pointing north," she said.
"Too far north," Benn added. "This isn't even on modern charts."
Shanks traced the glowing line with a finger.
Then spoke two words:
"Frostgrave Kingdom."
Ankit blinked. "Never heard of it."
Makino nodded. "Because it was buried in ice 300 years ago. A kingdom that once ruled the currents... and vanished after its soul engine collapsed."
Benn added grimly, "They say even ghosts freeze there."
Ankit tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.
"Then that's where we go."
Location: Frostgrave Border – The Shattered Fleet
As the Red Blade approached the cold belt of the sea, the temperature dropped like a hammer.
Icebergs the size of mountains floated past, some with entire ships frozen inside them.
"Whole fleets died here," Makino muttered.
"Not just fleets," Shanks added. "Armies."
They spotted the wreckage of a Marine long-range assault barge—frozen mid-broadside.
Benn scanned it with binoculars. "Ten days old. Cipher Pol colors. No survivors."
Makino asked the question they all feared.
"If they were after the same relic—what killed them?"
System Ping – Warning Ahead
New Area Discovered: Frostgrave Expanse
Environmental Hazard: Frost Memory Field
Warning: Mental Stability Check Required
Soulflame Efficiency Drops -12%
New Objective: Reach the Fallen Map Chamber inside the Frozen Crown Palace
Estimated Resistance: Unknown – Area outside World Government jurisdiction.
Ankit watched his system flicker.
"I'm going in first."
Sub-Zero Infiltration – The Frostgrave Kingdom
They reached the edge of what once must've been a great port. Now only towers of ice rose from the sea, like the frozen ribs of a dead god.
Makino stayed with the ship to keep den-den mushi signals strong.
Shanks, Benn, and Ankit stepped onto the frozen bridge.
No snow fell. No sound echoed.
Only the sound of their boots cracking brittle frost underfoot.
Ahead: A shattered palace made of sapphire ice and bone-white stone.
Inside the Crown – Echoes of a Kingdom
They entered the palace hall, torches flaring blue against the cold walls.
Faint whispers filled the air.
Not voices.
Memories.
—"Long live the Soulking!"
—"Seal the map! The curse is awakening!"
—"We failed… we failed…"
The shadows on the walls moved even when no one did.
Benn raised his rifle.
"Don't listen. These aren't echoes. They're hungry."
Ankit stepped toward the grand staircase, where the fifth fragment pointed.
At the top: a sealed chamber, marked by an emblem—a crown split by lightning.
The Guardian of Frost – Echo Revenant
They reached the door.
It opened before they could touch it.
From within stepped a figure cloaked in ice and memories—its form ever-shifting, neither man nor ghost.
Boss Encounter Triggered: Echo Revenant – Warden of the Fallen Map
Traits: Memory Drain, Ice Forging, Fragment Lock
Difficulty Class: B+
Objective: Break soul seal. Retrieve map core.
The creature spoke.
"You should not have come here. The Crown remembers."
Ankit stepped forward.
"I remember more."
He ignited both blades—and charged.
Battle – Echo Revenant vs. Ankit
The chamber became a blizzard.
The Revenant summoned blades made of ancestral memory—weapons wielded by kings long dead.
Each swing forced Ankit to see their regrets, their betrayals, their fall.
He wavered.
System Trait "Emotional Anchor" Activated – Stabilizing...
Passive resistance engaged.
He pressed forward, blades swirling in a cross-arc.
Clang!
Boom!
Soulflame met frostlight—melting reality.
Shanks joined with a burst of Conqueror's Haki—shaking the ceiling. Benn shot a frost tendril before it reached Ankit's leg.
The Revenant roared—
And shattered.
Trial Passed – Fallen Map Reclaimed
Ankit stepped through the final echo.
The map lay atop a pedestal—made of ancient soulstone.
Stormmark Fragment 5 Acquired: Frozen Crown Map
Total Sync: 67.3%
New Skill Unlocked: Soul Trail Vision
Activate to see residual memory paths of lost civilizations
Duration: 2 minutes
Cooldown: 30 min
Trait Unlocked: Cold Soul Resistance (Passive)
Immune to environment-based mental freeze attacks
Side Note: World Government forces are rerouting toward Frostgrave after failed Cipher Pol operation.
Final Scene – The Other Stormwalker
Far beyond the sea, within the inner walls of Mariejois—
Cipher Pol's Vault 3 opened.
The figure inside had no face—only an armor of soulsteel, and a black blade with a howling core.
"He has passed the fifth gate," Director R.O.N. said. "It's time to release... the Other Stormwalker."
The figure turned without words.
And stepped into the light.