A girl was sitting in a corner, trembling, a distant and haunted look in her eyes, like she just saw the apocalypse itself. It wasn't the collar that could explode anytime on her neck that terrified her. It wasn't the chains on her hands and feet that terrified her. It wasn't the guards' mocking laughter and the other slaves' scared wailing that terrified her. It wasn't the fact that she was currently inside a cage in a human shop that terrified her. It wasn't the possibility of her fate ending her up as a slave auctioned to the Celestial Dragons that terrified her.
None of it terrified her as much as the vision that flashed in front of her eyes a few seconds ago.
No sound escaped her pale lips, too terrified to even make a sound. She tucked her head inside her hands, like it could protect her from the scary world. Her eyes were still wide open, terror reflected as clear as the water in them.
The vision let her saw a war on the scale that never happened before. The biggest war in the history of the world. The war that ruined the land, the sea, the sky, and everything in it. The sky turned black from all the smokes and ashes. The air that was needed for breathing became too unsafe, too dirty and too poisonous for their heart and lungs. Everyone who was still living wore some kind of a protective suit with a mask and a machine attached to it to help them regulated their breathing. They also wore some kind of a visor to help them see their surrounding, the grey dust in the air became too thick to let them see something normally.
The beautiful blue sea that once was friendly and brimming with life, pirates and marines alike sailing with their ship on it daily, became red with blood in the vision. Countless people died in a gruesome manner, countless innocent people were killed in the crossfire, young and old alike, strong and weak alike, people from different races and background, all became equally helpless in the face of death, unable to see their loved ones anymore, their dream turned into a nothingness and their endeavour in life became meaningless.
There was a destruction everywhere. The survivors were screaming in rage and madness, living in despair and suffering, begging for help in a hopeless situation. The horrible sound echoed in her ears even now. The girl pressed her hands on her ears, as if it could block the sound, as if it could make her forget for even a moment.
Plants withered and animals died, either trampled or unable to survive in the new harsh environment. The entire world became a desolate wasteland.
Why? Why her? She was nameless, unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Why did she become the witness? Why did fate choose her? It should be someone really important like the next king of the pirates or the new fleet admiral. It should be the revolutionary's leader or someone equally important in the long run.
Not a worthless nobody from nowhere like her.
And yet fate was endlessly whimsical.
She became a witness of the cruel future that awaited them. She became a witness to the moment when the next pirate king was crowned in the last island, Laugh Tale. She became a witness to the truth of the world of the past and the void century. She became a witness to the truth behind a person called Joy Boy and the voice of all things. She became a witness to the origin of the devil fruits and the will of D.
She became a witness to the devastating power of the ancient weapons. She became a witness to the secret of the highest order that the government hid from the entire world.
She became a witness in the final chapter of the next pirate king's great adventure. She became a witness to the tale of beyond the furthest end. She witnessed that One Piece truly existed in that place.
She witnessed the moment that the world became united under the new pirate king in the vision. She saw how the new pirate king rallied everyone with his charisma to fight against the enemies. She saw how the dreadful war against them broke out. She saw their horrifying capabilities.
The enemies. The devils. The dawn of the apocalypse arrived with their appearance. The end of the world for mankind began with them.
All the sacrifices that those people made. All the people who willingly forfeited their life for the cause. All the people who didn't give up to the bitter end and continue on wards so that all the sacrifices that were made in the past by those who willingly laid down their life for the cause were not in vain.
They were in a stalemate when the vision ended.
She bit her lip until it bled before she finally let out a frustrated sob, crying helplessly with tears wetting her bony cheeks.
She should never eat that fruit in the first place. She was so hungry that she ate it whole even though the taste was absolutely bad. She knew that fruit was a devil fruit now, already all too late. Regret always came last after all.
Toki Toki no Mi.
A paramecia-type devil fruit that allowed the user to send themselves and others forward in time, once belonging to a great woman of the past by the name of Kozuki Toki. The devil fruit of time. In the case of Awakening, it allowed the user to have a vision of the future and all the possibilities surrounding it.
What should she do? What could she do? She was just a girl. Weak and scared to the point that she just might lose her mind.
She was just a nobody. Powerless against the might of the world. Powerless against the weight of the future.
She wished everything was just a nightmare. Just a bad dream and nothing more.
It was nothing but an ardent wish unfulfilled.