The battlefield fell into a bizarre standoff.
On Saint Saturn's body, the fissure carved by Lucian Thorn's kick was healing at an abnormally sluggish pace.
Imu's crimson pupils locked onto the golden figure hovering in midair.
Beneath the surface of his fury lay a deeper, more calculating scrutiny.
He couldn't comprehend it.
Why had the opponent's power suddenly surged out of nowhere?
The sheer destructive force behind that single kick had nearly pushed this vessel past its breaking point.
Meanwhile, Lucian Thorn anxiously awaited an answer from the System.
Using pure solar flames and hand-to-hand combat, he parried and evaded Imu's subsequent probing attacks.
His movements were frighteningly effortless.
The vast majority of his focus was submerged in his silent exchange with the System.
Every fierce strike Imu launched, wreathed in void-like energy, was neutralized by Lucian with the most concise and efficient motions.
It was like a grandmaster casually guiding a novice disciple.
An aura of complete control radiated from him.
Just then, the System's cold electronic voice finally echoed in his mind.
[Report, Host. The reason the Dark-Dark Fruit has awakened from its slumber is as follows.]
Lucian's thoughts flickered. 'Awakened? Why now?'
He sidestepped a beam of dark energy capable of tearing space apart, the golden Sun God armor on his body not even rippling.
[The cause is that the dark power Imu wields is the natural predator of the Dark-Dark Fruit. Furthermore, the fruit can absorb Imu's energy.]
"Natural predator?" "Absorb?"
Lucian pressed, his movements never faltering.
He spread the fingers of his right hand, snatching a whip of black energy out of thin air as it lashed toward his face. Pure solar flames instantly vaporized it.
The System's explanation arrived immediately, devoid of emotion, each word striking like thunder.
[Affirmative. The fundamental nature of Imu's power is an extreme purity of 'void' and 'darkness.' It is unconsciously 'awakening' and 'attracting' the fruit. The Dark-Dark Fruit possesses the trait to devour and 'nullify' a portion of Imu's power. It hungers to consume Imu's energy to achieve its final evolution.]
In an instant, a tidal wave surged through Lucian's mind.
Clarity struck. He understood everything in a flash.
The fruit wasn't afraid. It was thrilled! It was ravenous!
It viewed Imu as a stepping stone to ascension, a walking, breathing elixir!
This revelation completely upended Lucian's perspective on the entire battle.
He immediately seized upon the core issue, firing a rapid question in his mind.
'Can I use it right now? I already possess the Sun God Fruit. Will my body collapse?'
This was an unbreakable iron law of this world. A person could only ever hold one Devil Fruit in their lifetime. The price of greed was a gruesome, explosive death.
Even someone as formidable as Blackbeard had only managed it through a bizarre, unique constitution, and the process remained fraught with unknown perils.
Yet, the System's next response delivered a shock and euphoria unlike anything Lucian had ever felt.
He lashed out with a sudden punch, the pure True Solar Fire forcing Imu back a hundred meters. The golden flames raging around him flared violently, betraying the storm within his heart.
[Affirmative.]
Just two words. Yet they sent Lucian into a frenzy of joy.
[The world's standard rules do not apply to items produced by the System. The Host may possess countless Devil Fruit abilities without suffering any adverse effects.]
Lucian's breath hitched. The solar flames enveloping his body flickered in tandem.
This answer, shattering the world's iron law, detonated in his soul like a thunderbolt of creation!
He had always wanted to wield multiple powers simultaneously. The partial Tremor-Tremor Fruit abilities he'd previously exchanged for using percentage points only counted as skills! This was precisely why he had never properly integrated the Dark-Dark Fruit, and it was his own little secret ambition!
And what he hadn't anticipated at all was the chance to truly command two diametrically opposed, pinnacle forces: light and darkness.
The System's voice did not pause for his astonishment. The cold electronic tone continued.
[Furthermore, detection confirms the Host has unlocked multiple high-tier templates, including 'Gol D. Roger' and 'Edward Newgate,' meeting the conditions to trigger a hidden bonus...]
'Hidden bonus?'
Lucian's heartbeat quickened even more.
[The System can perform one ultimate mythological evolution on the [Dark-Dark Fruit] for the Host, free of charge!]
Boom!
Immense shock and delight erupted like a volcano, instantly flooding Lucian's entire chest.
He forcibly suppressed the euphoria threatening to burst from his body, firing a rapid follow-up in his mind:
'Evolution? Into what form?'
This time, the System's voice seemed to carry a trace of mechanical fervor, as if announcing the birth of a supreme being.
[Can evolve into a Mythical form...]
[Mythical Zoan, Human-Human Fruit, Model: Erebus!]
[Erebus, the 'Primordial God of Darkness' from ancient Greek mythology! One of the five original creator deities that formed the cosmos, the primordial darkness born from the Chaos of Khaos!]
[Exclusive System Production!]
[Upon completion, the Host will become the true [Lord of Light and Darkness]!]
[You will simultaneously wield the Light of Creation and the Darkness of the End, two authorities that sit at the apex of the world!]
Erebus... Primordial God of Darkness... Lord of Sun and Darkness...
The moment those words registered, Lucian's eyes, hidden beneath his white mask, blazed with unprecedented brilliance.
An uncontrollable surge of euphoria and battle lust roared out from his very being!
The solar flames already blazing at their absolute peak around him seemed to be fed an infinite supply of fuel, surging violently once more!
In the distance, Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard, and the others instinctively squinted against the sudden, blinding flare, their shock deepening.
They could clearly feel it—the masked man's aura had just scaled to another incomprehensible, mind-boggling height!
And the root of it all stemmed from the unrestrained, manic laughter echoing in Lucian's mind.
"Haha... Hahahahahaha!!"
Lucian abruptly lifted his head. His gaze pierced through a thousand meters, cutting through the darkness swirling around Imu, and locked directly onto those crimson, tyrannical eyes.
In that moment, the king who had ruled the world for eight hundred years no longer appeared as an enemy. Nor a rival.
Instead, he was... a gift, willingly delivered to his doorstep!
"Imu..."
So you aren't just an enemy I must eradicate. You are the stepping stone to my peak! The 'elixir' and 'key' for my power's evolution, handed right to me!
He had only intended to teach Imu a simple lesson with this strike, never expecting that the opponent's attacks would actually be the greatest catalyst for the ultimate metamorphosis of his own power system!
A great benefactor, truly a magnificent benefactor!
And this... was merely the beginning!
Once the fruit completed its evolution, once he wielded both light and darkness, what was this so-called Imu before him?
So what if Imu had lived for eight hundred years!
Without a shred of hesitation, Lucian issued his final command to the System, his will as hard as iron.
"Excellent. Begin the evolution immediately!"
"I'll handle the matters outside... first!"