GASP!
Malakai's eyes snapped open.
He jolted up, clutching his chest, breathing in ragged, panicked gasps.
His heart thundered in his ears.
The memories of the earlier incident surged through his mind and his hand instinctively reached to his chest, where Zeronis had stabbed him.
But there was nothing.
'No pain?'
He blinked, stunned. The pain was gone. Not just the wound, all of it. Even the unbearable agony from the aftermath of the Devil's Fruit was gone.
Instead, his body felt… incredible.
"What… is going on?"
Malakai muttered, his gaze sweeping the room.
Then his eyes froze.
A man sat a few feet away, looking at him with a calm, gentle smile.
Silence fell.
Even after being noticed, the man just… watched. He didn't speak. Didn't move.
Then the realization slammed into Malakai.
He had been unconscious. In front of a stranger!
His legs tensed, and he tried to stand, but standing was the last thing he did.
