It was the middle of the night.
I ran through the forest without stopping, branches cutting my skin, roots tearing at my feet. My lungs burned, my heart felt like it was about to burst.
Only one thought echoed in my head.
How… how did they find us so fast?
Did five minutes already pass?
I shook my head as I ran.
No. Five minutes haven't passed.
Then how?
A terrible realization crept into my mind.
What if they knew?
What if they were prepared for the escape from the beginning?
Gunshots echoed behind me.
Screams followed.
The screams of slaves.
I ran faster.
My legs screamed in pain, but I didn't slow down. I didn't dare to look back.
I might be the only one left.
The others… they might already be dead.
And Ken…
The thought stabbed deeper than any blade.
Grief and regret twisted inside my chest. My first friend in this world. The only one who spoke to me like I was human.
Then—
Shouting.
I heard voices behind me.
I turned my head.
Fear froze my blood.
Torches.
Men holding torches, their faces twisted with rage, running straight toward me.
— There he is!
— The last one! Kill him!
They were closing in.
I pushed myself harder, but my body had reached its limit.
Suddenly—
My foot caught on a tree root.
I fell hard to the ground.
Pain exploded through my body.
I tried to get up.
Too late.
They caught me.
Hands grabbed me from every direction. Boots slammed into my ribs, my back, my legs. Fists struck again and again.
I curled up, covering my head with my arms.
My body was already weak.
Every blow felt heavier than the last.
Pain blurred my vision.
Blood poured from my nose, warm and thick.
I searched desperately for a way out.
Anywhere.
Anywhere at all.
And then—
My eyes stopped.
At the roots of the tree.
Something was there.
A fruit.
Strange.
Unnatural.
Its shape was twisted, its surface covered in bizarre patterns.
I knew it immediately.
A Devil Fruit.
I didn't know which one.
I didn't know what power it held.
But I knew one thing.
It can get me out of this hell.
The beating suddenly stopped.
For a split second, hope bloomed inside me.
Did they finally stop?
I tried to turn my head—
And at that moment, one of them raised a torch.
The flame crashed straight into my eyes.
Agony exploded.
A scream tore from my throat as my vision drowned in fire and pain.
Darkness swallowed everything.