Wrath of the Forgotten Lineage

The sea screamed.

Clouds tore apart above the Abyss Warden as the ship sliced through raging tides. Lightning arced across the sky, illuminating a cursed stretch of ocean on the edge of the Grand Line's second half. The Log Pose had shattered hours ago, but the Genesis Ark's map glowed on Selene's wrist-mounted device, guiding them forward.

"Coordinates confirmed," Selene shouted over the storm. "The second Ark is beneath the Black Maw—coordinates intersect with a sunken civilization."

"Abyssal trench territory," Elias muttered. "There are creatures down there the World Government classified as extinction-grade threats."

Darius grinned. "Then we're in the right place."

As if on cue, the storm ceased, unnaturally so. The skies above the Abyss Warden split like cloth, revealing a spiraling eye of calm. But before the crew could react, the ocean below trembled.

From the deep rose something monstrous.

A mechanical colossus, wings folded behind it, skin pale like moonlight—yet not skin at all, but artificial flesh fused with technology. A girl no older than sixteen hovered above the water, eyes glowing crimson, with a blade of seastone and light in her hand.

"Seraphim S-Rocks," it declared. "Mission: Neutralize Darius D. Xebec and all accompanying threats. Orders from the Gorosei and Saturn."

The crew leapt into action.

"Is that… Rocks D. Xebec's clone?" Elias gasped, reading the energy signature. "It's a modified child version—combined with Lunarian DNA and Seraphim augmentation."

Darius's expression hardened. "They made my father into a weapon."

The Seraphim didn't wait. It shot forward, slashing at Darius in a flash of light. He blocked with his obsidian saber, the impact hurling him back across the deck.

"Engage in pairs!" Selene shouted. "It adapts—don't let it analyze your rhythm!"

Yamato, now wielding her father's kanabo, clashed with the Seraphim midair, a shockwave cracking the mast. Boa Hancock summoned her slave arrow barrage while Black Maria launched her web-based traps to restrain the creature, only for the Seraphim to incinerate them with Lunarian flame wings.

It was fast—too fast.

And yet, it hesitated at times, glancing at Darius with what could almost be confusion.

"Why… why does it stop when it sees you?" Elias muttered.

Darius gritted his teeth. "Because deep down, it remembers who it was."

He surged forward, awakening the flame within his veins. Crimson draconic energy burst from his body. With a roar that split the air, Darius's blade met the Seraphim's again—but this time, the girl staggered.

Not from injury. But from something else.

"Abort... Conflicting identity detected…" she whispered, clutching her head.

"She's glitching!" Elias said. "Darius's bloodline must be affecting its core programming!"

Selene didn't hesitate. "Knock her out before she resets!"

Together, the crew struck—Yamato's lightning, Hancock's haki-infused strike, and Darius's finishing blow disarmed and disabled the Seraphim. She dropped, unconscious, into the ship's reinforced brig.

As the crew caught their breath, the sea parted again.

A massive vessel approached—black sails, emblazoned with the sigil of the World Government.

Saint Jaygarcia Saturn stood at its prow, flanked by a battalion of marine cyborgs and clones. He wore a ceremonial cloak, trimmed in void-black fur, and his eyes glowed with inhuman power.

"So… the bastard son of Xebec really does walk the seas," Saturn said, his voice coated in ancient venom.

Darius stepped forward. "I'm not my father."

"No," Saturn said, "you're worse. He sought chaos. You seek truth."

He raised a hand.

From the clouds above, a satellite weapon shimmered into view—ancient tech from the Void Century, repurposed by the Elders.

"One warning," Saturn said. "Surrender the Seraphim. Abandon your pursuit of the Arks. Or be erased like your bloodline was meant to be."

Darius's crew stood behind him, silent but resolved.

He drew his blade slowly, its crimson glow lighting the deck.

"Then erase us," he said. "But know this—truth doesn't burn. It spreads."

Saturn's expression darkened. "Then perish."

The sky opened. The weapon fired.

But in that moment, Elias slammed a glyph-covered rod into the Genesis Ark's console. A shockwave burst outward, and the ship blinked out of existence—warping into the abyss below just before the beam struck.

---

Beneath the Black Maw Trench

Darkness. Crushing pressure. Silence.

Then the Abyss Warden reappeared, submerged deep below the surface, shields flickering.

"Damage?" Selene asked, steadying herself.

"Hull integrity 82%," Elias said. "That jump cost us—temporarily drained the Ark's power core."

Darius looked out the viewing window. There, nestled in a sunken city of coral and stone, was a second Ark—covered in carvings, its structure shaped like an enormous sphere with ancient script spiraling outward.

"The Second Ark," he whispered.

As they prepared to deploy, Selene paused.

"What about the Seraphim?" she asked. "She'll awaken soon."

"I'll speak to her," Darius said. "She's not a tool. She's a victim. Just like me."

---

Back on the surface — Saturn's ship

The Elders' weapon had missed.

Saturn stood at the prow, arms behind his back, watching the smoke rise where the Abyss Warden had once been.

"They escaped," the marine beside him said.

"No," Saturn corrected. "They delayed the inevitable. He's going after the next Ark."

He stared at the sea with loathing.

"Let the seas rise. Let Wano, Elbaf, and even the Revolution know—Darius D. Xebec must not reach the third Ark."