-Prologue-
The dimension stretched infinitely, a vast expanse of still water reflecting the endless night sky. The full moon loomed overhead, its light casting twin reflections across the mirrored battlefield. Stars shimmered above and below, and the occasional shooting star streaked through the abyss. In this silent, sacred arena, two warriors stood face to face.
Zoro's eyes scanned the surreal landscape, his usual stoic expression flickering with a hint of awe.
"What is this place?" he muttered.
Sentinel smirked. "A world beyond your own.. This is my world."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Your world?"
Sentinel sheathed his sword The Kuriiro tennō (Maroon Emperor) momentarily and gazed at the endless expanse. "I created this place when I was a child. A world where I could be alone.."
Zoro frowned, sensing the weight in Sentinel's words. "Why would you need to be alone?"
"This is my place of peace.. Where I gather my thoughts, where I train. I come from a bloodline that has the ability to make their own world such as this." Sentinel replied.
"Bloodline huh? You must be quite something if you are capable of creating a world such as this." Zoro said.
He raises both arms looking at them. "My Bloodline isn't that special.. What I hold in these veins is cursed Blood." Sentinel said.
"Cursed blood? How so?" Zoro asked.
Sentinel puts his arms back down, still focused on Zoro. "It is cursed because it is tainted with Tenebrous blood.."
Intrigued at the name. "Never heard of it.. What's a Tenebrous?" Zoro asked.
Sentinel's expression darkened, he looked up staring at the Moon.
"The Tenebrous are evil entities that consume life itself. They are black blob-like creatures that infect everything they touch. They can take the form of anything they infect.. and anyone who becomes infected becomes one of them.. I've lost many of my friends to them." He clenched his fists.
"Sorry to hear that.. They sound pretty dangerous.." Zoro said.
Sentinel looks back at Zoro.
"Zoro.. For as long as I remember.. my world has been at war against the Tenebrous. I was created to fight them." He explained.
Zoro continued to listen to Sentinel's words.
"As a child, they experimented on me. They implanted Tenebrous DNA inside me, hoping to forge a perfect weapon. They wanted someone who would be capable of controlling its power, strong enough to destroy them." Sentinel explained.
"And they just randomly chose you to partake in their experiments?" Zoro asked.
"They chose me because I was already dying.. You see, I was born with underdeveloped lungs.. so it wouldn't be much of a loss to them if I were to die by the tenebrous DNA they injected inside me." he replied.
"And they were okay to just inject a child with the blood of a dangerous entity? What were they thinking!" Zoro exclaimed.
"I was told It was during desperate times, The Tenebrous was winning the war.. and in order to save the world, they needed to find a solution fast.." Sentinel explained.
Sentinel looks at his right hand and curls it into a fist. "That's when they decided to do tests on orphans, and sick children.. trying to see if one of them can survive.. hoping that their body would build an immunity against the Tenebrous DNA injected into them.."
"Those monsters! How sick can they get?" Zoro gritted his teeth.
Sentinel uncurls his fist, still looking at his hand. "There were hundreds.. maybe thousands of children who were put to the tests.. but all of them died.. except for one.."
"..It was you." Zoro answered.
Sentinel puts his hand back down looking back at Zoro. "Yes, luckily I survived the experiment.." Sentinel replied.
Zoro's grip on his sword tightened. "So, you were just a test subject to them.. created to be their weapon."
Sentinel chuckled bitterly. "Exactly. The leaders of my world orchestrated my fate, manipulated me into being their perfect soldier. Raised to believe it is my duty.. my only purpose. That is until I saw the truth.. I refuse to be their puppet anymore. So I left my world. " He turned back to Zoro, drawing Kuriiro tennō (Maroon Emperor.)
"Since then, I've been traveling to many worlds to get stronger." Sentinel added.
"I see.. that's quite the story.." Zoro said.
"So, you just travel to different worlds and challenge fighters to get stronger, is that it?" Zoro asked, his voice casual but laced with curiosity.
Sentinel exhaled, nodding. "Yes… but it's more than that. I NEED to get stronger. Not just for the sake of it, but because I have a battle waiting for me—a battle I can't afford to lose."
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Against the Tenebrous, and the ones who experimented on you?"
Sentinel's gaze darkened. "Not just the Tenebrous… nor the Organization.. but the leader of my world."
Zoro understood the desire to be stronger, but the second part caught his attention. "The leader of your world?" He narrowed his eyes.
Sentinel clenched his fists. "Yes, an evil person that will stop at nothing until she gets what she wants.. everything is just a game of chess to her.."
"Sounds like a problem.. who is this person?" Zoro asked.
"…she is my mother." Sentinel replied.
Zoro's eyes widened slightly. "Your mother is the leader of your world?"
Sentinel looked away for a moment before meeting Zoro's gaze again. "Unfortunately Yes, she's an evil sorceress with ancient power—ruthless, manipulative, and willing to kill anyone who stands in her way.." His voice hardened.
Sentinel stood beneath the bright night sky, his gaze distant as he recalled the memories that had shaped him. The water around them shimmered like liquid glass, reflecting the weight of his past.
"On a mission, I uncovered the truth from a dying friend… I wasn't fast enough to save him." His voice was steady, but there was an undeniable edge of regret.
"With his last breath, he told me—my mother set them up. She was the true leader of the organization… operating in the shadows… and she was using my DNA to create the perfect weapon."
Zoro's eyes widened. "Your DNA!? What kind of sick and twisted mother does that!?"
"The worst kind." Sentinel's fists clenched. "At first, I refused to believe it. I needed proof, so I infiltrated the Organization's Headquarters." He exhaled sharply, as if the memory itself was suffocating.
"And then… I found it. Hidden deep within an underground lab… a clone of me, floating in a glass tube, submerged in a strange liquid. It was like staring at a lifeless reflection. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."
Zoro's expression darkened, his fingers tightening around his sword. "That's messed up…"
"That's when she appeared—Mother. I confronted her. She didn't like that." Sentinel's eyes gleamed with restrained fury.
"So, we fought. I gave it everything I had, but I underestimated her. She was stronger. Too strong." His jaw tightened.
"And then, as if to break me completely, she commanded my siblings to join the battle. Twisted and corrupted by her will… they obeyed without hesitation."
Zoro scoffed. "Your own siblings just turned on you like that?"
"They follow her every command, just like I once did," Sentinel admitted, his voice laced with self-loathing.
Zoro shook his head. "Tch. That's one hell of a family dilemma."
Sentinel let out a bitter chuckle, void of any humor. "After my defeat, she declared me useless. Said she would dispose of me." His fingers trembled slightly before he balled them into fists.
"I barely escaped with my life. Broken, ashamed, and without purpose, I drifted… until I found myself in the Desert Sea. I abandoned my identity, trying to forget the past…"
The air between them grew heavy. Zoro crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "So what happened next?"
"At that time, all seemed lost… until I met them." His grim expression softened, a rare warmth flickering in his eyes. A small, almost hesitant smile crept onto his face.
Zoro arched a brow. "Them?"
"Melissa and Raymond," Sentinel answered, his voice filled with something he hadn't felt in years—hope.
"They were wandering travelers… and they found me, broken, barely more than a shadow of my former self. But stubborn as they were, they saw something in me—something I couldn't see in myself."
Zoro listened intently as Sentinel continued.
"At first, we didn't get along. I pushed them away, convinced they'd be better off without me. But as time passed, I saw the truth—we were the same. They, too, were scarred by their pasts, running from memories that refused to fade. And slowly… they grew on me. I began to feel things I had never felt before. It was like fate had brought us together."
Sentinel placed a hand over his heart, his eyes momentarily filled with gratitude. "They gave me something I never thought I'd have again—a purpose."
"You felt loved," Zoro said, arms crossed.
Sentinel nodded, his smile bittersweet. "Yes. Something I had never known. Something my own blood never gave me."
He took a deep breath, as if savoring the memory before the storm of darker ones took over.
"Together, we faced countless challenges, and no matter how dire, we pulled through. Then… we discovered something shocking. Raymond—he had special blood, just like me. His powers were similar to mine. That's when I made the decision to train him, to teach him how to control what was inside him."
But as quickly as the warmth had appeared, it vanished. Sentinel's smile faded, his expression darkening like a storm rolling in.
"Then… they found us." His fist clenched, his teeth gritting with barely restrained fury.
"My siblings. Mother sent them, using them as her weapons to retrieve me. But it wasn't me they wanted to kill… it was Melissa and Raymond."
The very thought of it made Sentinel tremble with rage. "The moment I realized they were in danger, something inside me… snapped. The Tenebrous within me—my curse—it awakened." His voice turned hollow.
"I lost control. I defeated my siblings, but in my blind rage… I also hurt Melissa and Raymond. The very people who saved me."
Zoro remained silent, letting the weight of Sentinel's words settle.
"I was afraid," Sentinel admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Afraid of hurting them again. Afraid of becoming exactly what I was created to be—a monster." He looked down at his hands as if he could still see the blood staining them.
"Every day, the Tenebrous curse grows stronger. I can feel it clawing at me, trying to take over. And I know… one day, it will. Just like my father before me, I will become a mindless beast of destruction."
"And there's no cure for it?" Zoro asked, his voice unusually serious.
Sentinel shook his head. "No. There's no stopping it. The only question is when."
Zoro scoffed. "So, you're like an active volcano—ready to erupt at any moment."
Sentinel let out a dry chuckle, but there was no humor in it. "Exactly. That's why… I made a choice. I left them."
"You just left?" Zoro asked, his tone sharp.
"I had to," Sentinel said firmly. "If I stayed, they'd be in danger. And if I lose myself again, I won't be able to stop it. But before that happens, before the Tenebrous fully consumes me, I will do everything in my power to grow stronger. I will take down Mother and everyone tied to her… so that Melissa and Raymond can live in a safer world."
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of water gently shifting around them. Zoro studied Sentinel, his expression unreadable.
Then, with a small smirk, he said, "Hmph. Quite the noble goal for a guy who calls himself a monster."
Sentinel blinked, surprised.
"But let me tell you something," Zoro continued, his voice firm.
"Monsters don't fight to protect the people they love. Monsters don't carry the weight of regret like you do."
He met Sentinel's gaze, unwavering. "You're not a monster, Sentinel. You're just a man fighting against the fate forced upon him. And if you're really determined to get stronger—then prove it."
Sentinel stared at Zoro, a slow fire reigniting in his eyes.
Sentinel took a step forward, tightening the grip of his sword. "I brought you here to challenge you, from one swordsman to another." His eyes burned with determination.
"You're one of the strongest I've ever seen. If I can't push past my limits against you, then how can I hope to win against them?"
Zoro's smirk widened, his fingers brushing against the hilts of his own swords. "Heh. So that's it, huh?"
He rolled his shoulders, his expression sharpening. "Then you better not hold back."
A fragment of silence filled the air.
Sentinel leveled his blade, pointing at Zoro. "Roronoa Zoro!.. Will you accept my challenge!?"
Zoro smirked, his fingers tightening around his sword. "Heh… You talk too much. If you want a fight, I'll give you one."
Sentinel grins at Zoro's answer, "Thank you. I won't forget this."
He then becomes calm and collected, getting into an offensive stance. Zoro does the same.
A gust of unseen energy surged between them. No more words were needed. This was a duel between two swordsmen with determined wills.
To be Continued...