The tranquil sea, touched only by a gentle breeze, not a gale.
The Freedom, laden with the dreams of everyone aboard, continued its unwavering voyage forward.
Yet, the crew members were all grim-faced, as if they had encountered something utterly incredible.
Before their eyes, the normally dark sea water seemed to be purified. The blackness gradually receded, revealing gray.
The gray didn't last long. The sea water gradually returned to its original blue, and then the blue also faded, becoming transparent. It was so transparent that everyone could clearly see the seabed.
The Freedom now appeared as if it were floating in the void, sea and sky blending into one, like being in a city in the sky.
"It's awake."
Just then, Kong Tai spoke.
As soon as they entered this place, he had sensed something was amiss.
This sea area looked vast, but with his sensitivity to space, he immediately discovered the difference.
This space was an alternate dimension, completely different from the outside world.
In other words, they were no longer in their original world.
Of course, with his abilities, escaping would be effortless, but…
He could tear through the void and leave.
With the physical fortitude of Gu Yina and Yisheng, they could also withstand the spatial pressure and leave within his domain.
However, for Ah Hua and the others, especially Brook and Robin.
Even with his utmost effort to protect them, their physical strength would not allow them to pass through a spatial passage that traversed worlds.
"Forget it, what will be, will be!"
Compared to Yisheng, he felt it more deeply. After all, this was an alternate dimension. Here, his spirit felt liberated, completely unleashed, as if he were in his own spatial domain.
In his moment of daze, his gaze followed his spirit, as if it had transcended spatial distance and landed directly at the center of this world, on a small island covered in red flowers.
In the feedback from his spirit, he saw that at the center of the island stood an ancient temple, where a flower was enshrined. This flower was like the ones outside, but even more vibrant, as if alive.
The flower was now slowly stretching its body, releasing special fluctuations invisible to the naked eye.
Under this fluctuation, the entire island seemed to come alive. The flowers on the island, as if seeing their deity, gaining life, wisdom, and eyes, all turned towards the central shrine.
Simultaneously, they were releasing a special fluctuation, which connected into a single wave, sweeping across the entire space in an instant.
And at this moment, the entire space underwent a transformation, as if instantly moving from death to revival, to new life.
Therefore, the space they were now seeing was its original appearance.
"Awake?"
Ah Hua and the others were startled. They suddenly looked up, gazing forward intently, but found nothing. Even Yisheng was surprised.
He could indeed feel the difference here, and he could sense a special power ahead, but he couldn't discern what it was, nor could he tell if it was awake or slumbering.
His earlier remark about it being startled was merely a feeling of stagnation from this space, as if it were an inanimate object.
"Let's go! It's too late to leave now. It has awakened and is welcoming us!"
Then, Kong Tai gently tapped the deck, and his spatial domain instantly enveloped the Freedom.
"From now on, do not leave my side," Kong Tai turned and said to Ah Hua and the others with a serious expression. "The entity ahead, even I cannot gauge its depth. Although I feel no malice from it, when facing such unknown entities, perhaps even ancient gods, we cannot be too cautious."
"Yes!" everyone nodded.
"Don't worry, Captain! We know our limits."
At this moment, Brook, no longer his usual carefree self, exuded a remarkably steady aura.
He was a person who had died once and returned from the underworld.
Although his memories of the underworld were virtually nonexistent, he knew that this world was not as simple as it seemed.
After all, the world was not limited to these 800 years.
What about before those 800 years? 1000 years, 5000 years, or even 10,000, 100,000 years ago?
There should have been more, more powerful, and more intelligent races.
In that ancient era, for those at the bottom to survive, they could only seek a patron.
This patron was their totem, their deity, a special being born in an earlier era.
He had encountered and heard many such legends, both in the West Blue and the Grand Line. The more primitive the island, the more they worshipped such things.
And if these things existed, there was a reason for their existence.
Now, the mist shrouding the river of time seemed to be unfolding before their group. While feeling apprehensive, his heart was also filled with excitement and thrill at discovering the unknown.
This was true for him, as well as for Ah Hua, the other two, and Indigo.
Of course, the most excited among them was undoubtedly Robin.
As an archaeologist, discovering the history of 800 years ago was exciting enough. What more, this place was likely a relic from an even earlier, unknown era.
Perhaps on this journey, they would witness true mythology.
Bang—!
Controlled by Kong Tai, the Freedom shot forward from the sea like a cannonball.
It floated slightly in the air, then became like a sharp sword, whistling as it rapidly flew towards the island Kong Tai had sensed.
Before long, they saw a difference at the horizon.
As the Freedom advanced, they seemed to enter a world of vibrant colors.
The seawater below and the clouds in the sky, at this moment, were turning red.
If one were to look down from the infinite sky, they would see that in the depths of this space, a giant, transparent flower, resembling the vibrant red flower enshrined in the temple, seemed to grow from the void, affecting the clouds, the water, and the entire space.
The Freedom was currently outside the petals of this void flower.
The heart of this void flower was the destination of Kong Tai's journey, that unknown island covered in flowers.
As the Freedom entered the void flower, the eyes of the crew were filled with dreamlike colors.
Here, it was as if everything had turned red. Everything within their sight was no longer multicolored, but only red.
This visual shock, transitioning from a colorful world as if falling into a palette and then into a single hue, made everyone feel a sense of discomfort.
However, aside from the visual discomfort with the colors, everything else here was incredibly fresh and astonishing to everyone.
Even those who had experienced Skypiea, Fish-Man Island, and various other thrilling adventures were overcome with excitement by this dreamlike scenery.
They all knew that a powerful unknown entity awaited them ahead.
But at this moment, their adventurous spirits made everyone's blood boil with excitement.