Operation Desert Storm <Void Quest — Gate in the Dunes>

[Enel]

Try as I might, my mantra cannot pick up anything. It used to be such that I could listen to the conversations of citizens all across my country. Now it’s all I can do to see an attack coming a moment before it strikes. I must train more. I must unlock my powers if I’m to face Omni in one-on-one battle.

Out here in the desert I find myself reflecting. A lesser man might turn back, but I simply turn within to the machinations of my mind. A god is not simply powerful but wise, and I am the wisest of all. Even now I am mapping out the rules and limits of Omni’s game. No devil fruit is flawless, not even my own. It takes persistence and skill to mask its weaknesses as Omni has done. But we see, soon, whose virtues are the greater.

In the midst of the desert I find a branch. Desiccated and hollow. I come closer to find that it is a bone. I dismount and inspect it. It makes me wonder how many before me have travelled this path. For all it matters, I am the first. There will be no aid here. Of that I have come to be certain. After all, how could I ever defeat the one known as Omni if I cannot beat a simple desert?

I look back towards Crispy. He has come this far, but surely could not make it back alone. I beckon towards him. He comes towards me, his great length leaving a trail through the sands, and fixes upon me with those seemingly-ancient yellow eyes. Only I know the truth that he is a mere infant, and could not survive without me.

I do the merciful thing. I place my hand on his head and draw the omnilium from his body, siphoning it back to within myself. He writhes and screeches as his colour and lean muscles give way to grey wisps of desiccation.

Now, I am alone.