It was a local metropolis with the railway interchange, as well as all sorts of department stores and complex architecture. Since it was late, all stores were closed, but there were some pedestrians wandering about, probably going to open bars.

Law placed a hand on my shoulder, directing me along with him so I wouldn't get lost. It was hard to see when a minimum of florescent lights were the only thing to push away the darkness. Eventually, we were walking side-by-side on the sidewalks, passing by the clothing departments.

"I should tell you," he began, "that Portgas-ya's inconsistent in heart. He does hope for the paranormal, but a little voice in his mind tells him that it doesn't exist, which creates cognitive dissonance. He may be someone extraordinary, but his mind functions like every other person. His alacrity for paranormal hunting had calmed down recently; we were glad to finally see him stabilize, but a rapid change occurred."

"What changed?"

"All because of you. If you hadn't given him funny ideas, we'd be still observing him from behind the scenes right now."

I sighed. "I get it! I'm the external factor, the chosen one, blah blah blah. And if I hadn't been so careless for giving him the idea of forming a club, then there'd be no trouble. Whatever."

"Right. Therefore, you must carry full responsibility for all of this."

"Something about the fate of the world is in my hands, right?" I muttered, pressing a hand to my face.

We walked towards an open area in the middle of the shopping center. Law looked at me and said, "This is where we stop. Close your eyes. It won't take long."

I looked at him askance, wondering if he was planning on pulling a prank on me, but I closed my eyes anyway. I felt his fingers wrap around my wrist, then pulling me forward. I obeyed by taking a few steps. One step. Two steps. Three steps. When he stopped pulling, I stopped walking.

"Open your eyes."

Opening my eyes, I saw the world in a shade of gray.

The vibrant florescent lights and the bright colors some of the stores displayed had all turned gray. Besides Law and I, the people had vanished along with the ever-present hum of machinery that filled the background noise in the city. Looking up, only the moon, although bigger than how it was before, was situated upon the dark sky, shining brightly.

It was so quiet.

"We're in a gap within a cross-dimensional fault-line. This is called Closed Space, a place that is completely cut off from the world you live in," Law explained, his voice echoing a bit from the emptiness of this place. "Here falls right by the wall of this Closed Space."

His outstretched arm stopped in midair, as though blocked by something. I imitated his movement and realized what stopped him. There was an invisible, elastic wall that couldn't extend any further than ten centimeters about. It was so cold to touch, like placing your hand inside a freezer.

"This Closed Space has a radius of five kilometers. Usually, it's impossible to enter using normal physical means. However, I have a certain ability that allows us to enter."

"Where exactly is this place?" I asked hesitantly. "Or rather, what universe are we in?"

"I'll explain as we move along," he said, moving forward. "We should go beyond the city where you can really see the extent of this place."

I didn't say anything as I hurried to catch up with Law. There was no way that I was going to be left behind in this super eerie world. He crossed the street and headed towards an apartment complex while saying, "I don't have the exact details, but what I know is that this is a dimension located not far from the one you live.

"Let's say…it's a cross-dimensional fault-line just appeared right over there, and we have entered through the gap. As of right now, the outside world, the one that we know, is still progressing as it always has been. It's nearly impossible for normal humans to stumble upon this dimension accidentally.

"Closed Space occurs randomly. Sometimes it appears once every other day, and sometimes it appears once every several months. Yet, one thing is for sure is whenever Portgas-ya is in an emotionally unstable condition, Closed Space will appear."

We entered the complex without a problem since the doors weren't locked. There wasn't a single person, not even a speck of dust. I followed Law up the stairs and to the rooftop, finding it strange that there wasn't a breeze to brush against my skin.

"Once this dimension appears, I'll be able to sense it as well as others in the agency. As I said before, the agency is in charge of setting the data into its natural order, so, because Portgas-ya is in such a state, he warps the data until it becomes out of hand, we are to maintain it."

"Is this the part where you show me your powers?" I asked. I couldn't quite see his face under this peculiar darkness, and the silver beam the moon casted just made him look a bit creepier.

"Kind of," he said absentmindedly. "Look behind you."

"Huh?" I turned around, and then gasped.

It was taller than a thirty-floor story building by a head's length. Its slim, deep crimson-shaded figure seemed to contain some sort of material that allowed it to glow from within. I couldn't see its outline clearly besides the eyes and mouth, which were in a darker shade of red.

The giant slowly lifted its arm and then swung it down like an axe, and the building beside it was smashed in half; then, as if in slow motion, the concrete, wires, and debris made a deafening noise falling to the ground.

"It is believed that beings like this one are the manifestation of Portgas-ya's frustration," I heard Law continue. "Every time his inner conflict reaches a certain limit, these giants will appear and destroy everything around them to relieve pressure. We cannot allow these things to have their way in your reality or they'll cause widespread death and destruction. That is why this Closed Space is created, so that they can wreak their havoc inside."

Every time the glowing red giant waved its arms, the buildings would be sliced in half and collapse. The giant would then continue forwards, stepping on the debris. Surprisingly, though I could hear the buildings collapsing, I couldn't hear the heavy steps it made.

"According to the laws of physics, it should be impossible for a giant like it to be able to stand, due to its weight. Yet it is able to move around freely in a weightless condition. Though destroying a building involves a change in molecular structure, these rules don't seem to apply to it. Not even an army would be able to stop one of these giants."

"Then…what?" I asked helplessly. "Can this thing even be stopped?"

"Of course it can," he said, smirking a bit. "Only those who have eaten the Devil Fruit are able to."

"The what fruit?"

"The Devil Fruit. I'll explain about it some other time," he said, his eyes now glued onto a tiny figure that had entered the scene. I watched as well, focused on the dark dot that leapt from roof to roof until it was in close distance between the giant and itself. The glow of the giant shredded some light onto the figure, revealing that the dot was actually a person.

"Only one?" Law sighed. "More work for me…" He looked over his shoulder and sent his usual smile to me. "Look closely."

"At what?" I murmured.

"At this." On one hand, his fingers opened, and floating on his palm was a spinning translucent blue ring. My eyes widened at the sight of something quite out of the norm that I wondered if I was seeing an illusion. Suddenly, the spinning ring vanished. "Room."

"Wh-what?"

"Over there," he said, pointing at where the giant was. A large blue dome encased the giant, preventing it from smashing anymore buildings. As if furious by this, the giant raised its arms and brought them down with great force, but the dome remained intact nonetheless.

"Did you do that?" I gasped.

He nodded. "It's called Room," he said. He lifted a hand and made a rotational movement. "Shambles."

I don't think it would have mattered whether I blinked or not; in an instant, the giant was cut into different sections—its head was decapitated, its torso was sliced in half vertically, its thigh was separated from its knee and hip, and so on. Then the person, who I'm assuming to be Law's fellow agency member, jumped inside the dome—how the person managed to get in I had no idea—and caused a piece of the giant to disintegrate like ash.

Other pieces of the giant were either destroyed by that person or already starting to lose its red glow and crumble away. I looked up at Law, trying to read his expression now that I was standing closer to him. He seemed to be ruminating something, and then shook his head. His hand fell, which caused the dome to disappear.

XOXOXO

Walking out of the apartment complex, we were met by a woman who, as Law pointed out, was the one who helped him obliterate the giant.

The woman wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses with a bandana tied on her head, keeping her long curly hair back. She was tall and incredibly voluptuous (not that I cared), which stood out more when she was only donning a low-cut tank-top and tight-fitting jeans. However, what stood out the most was the fact that her arms were largely swelled like a pair of blimps while spikes protruded from them. She must have caught me staring in horror because she gave out an amused chuckle.

"Don't worry, kid," she said, smirking, "like Trafalgar here, I possess a power of my own."

"Don't tell her like that," Law said, rolling his eyes, "or she'll think that I can turn any part of my body into a spike too." He pressed a hand between my shoulder blades and pushed me forward, making me realize that I had been hiding behind him. "Kyonko, this is Paula, one of the ten in the agency who are currently sent to your world. She's eaten a Devil Fruit known as the Toge Toge Fruit."

The what what fruit?

"So, is this the external factor who's been messing with the organization's project?" she said, bending down a bit so that she matched with my height. Paula rubbed her chin and observed me up and down. Instantly, I felt uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid so."

"So how old is she? Thirteen?"

I sputtered. "I'm fifteen, thank you very much!" I snapped irritably.

"So she talks!"

"Excuse me?"

Paula barked a laugh. "I'm just joking with you, kid!" she remarked, patting me on the head, totally not making me sense that she was still joking. "Well, catch you later, Trafalgar. You too, maybe, kid." With that said, she strutted away, exaggeratingly swinging her hips side to side.

"Later, Paula," Law called after her. He smiled down at me. "Well, I think that had gone out rather smoothly, don't you agree?"

I punched him on the arm.

XOXOXO

We were heading back to where we first entered this place—Closed Space, I recall. I decided to take this opportunity to quench my curiosity.

"So, what's a Devil Fruit?"

"I don't know if I should answer that," he said instead, "since you brutalized my arm and all."

"Oh come on, you had it coming!"

"Say that to my arm."

Since Law thought it'd be funny to mess with me, I ignored him the rest of the way. I knew that one day he would tell me, but for now we might as well keep up with this childish silent treatment. Additionally, I caught Law smirking from the corner of my eye, so there was no way I was going to talk to him now.

We made it back to the open area of the shopping center. It was still empty and soundless other than the scuffling of our shoes and our breathing. Even though hot and cold didn't exist here, I would get shivers down my spine, as if I had brought the outside world's midnight chills with me.

"What now?" I spoke.

"Now you look up," he said, pointing upwards.

I did, and saw large cracks running across the gray sky. An image of a boiled egg with a fractured shell came to mind when my eyes were planted on the sky as the cracks spread quickly.

"After the red giant is destroyed, the Closed Space will also be destroyed," he explained.

The cracks were now a covering of the skies like a metallic net. The net margins started to narrow until they became as small as black curvy lines. Then, at that moment, silver light penetrated from a spot in the sky, stretching out in all directions. The light showered downwards, and that was when noise resonated in my ears.

I instinctively covered my ears, probably because I had been in a world of silence for a while, and I noticed how familiar the noise was. It was the usual bustling sounds in the streets and the mechanical hum in the city, and never had it been so deafening to me.

The world had reverted back to its original state.

There were no collapsed buildings, no shades of permanent gray…nothing that indicated that Closed Space had engulfed this area. A breeze brushed against my skin.

"The agency fights with giants like the one you've seen," Law said as we entered the taxi cab that had been waiting for us. "We call them Celestials."

"Celestials?" I murmured, looking out the window. Calling a gargantuan red being such a grand name? How weird. They were probably dubbed by those who perceived Ace as a god since these Celestials were linked to his emotional state.

"We cannot allow the Celestials to roam freely because the more damage these Celestials cause the larger the sphere of the Closed Space becomes. The one we were in previously was one of the smaller ones. If the agency were to leave them unattended, it'll continue to grow until it engulfs this planet, which will eventually replace this world."

"But how do you know that will happen?" I asked.

"I don't. That was what I was told by the organization." I swore I heard him mutter something about the constitution of the organization.

I never got to ask Law again about the Devil Fruits because I fell asleep during the rest of the ride. I guess all that excitement had me worn. When the cab stopped by my house, he woke me up before telling me, "Be attentive of Portgas-ya's action. His supposedly stable emotional state has now begun to show signs of rapid deterioration. It's been awhile since something like this has happened."

I frowned. "What difference would I make, anyway?" I grumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"A lot."

I watched Law drive away in the cab, wondering what he had told me. I glanced at the sky and saw the sun peeking from the horizon. Oh great, I just lost five hours worth of sleep!