Chapter 132: Awakening
Chapter 132: Awakening
Luffy and Yamato had followed the high priestess and her chief minion down. As in, they’d very quickly left the presumed manor behind via a secret exit and continued on down a slopped, clearly manmade, tunnel. Despite being a tunnel into thick rock, it was large, enough so that Luffy guessed it had been carved with individuals even taller than the locals in mind, though he wasn’t sure if it would be a comfortable fit for most Giants. It also showed signs of the passage of time, even on stone, with the floor in particular smoothed out by the passing of people over decades or centuries. Perhaps not frequently, but at the very least persistently.
Whoever had carved the tunnel and whenever it had been created for, it was taking them, by Luffy’s best estimation, somewhere close to the heart of the island. As it did, he became increasingly aware of the presence of the same energy that had been so potently radiating off the Starlight Spear. The density wasn’t quite as dramatic as he fully expected it was near the Spear itself. Yet by the time they’d broken out into a larger chamber, the feeling had reached a similar strength as the spiritual aura he’d felt infusing Asuka island. Something that made him mentally tick a box in his head that Asuka itself might bear another round of investigation at some point. Assuming they were ever willing to piss off the Marine base there.
As for the chamber, it was quite possibly the largest underground space he’d ever seen, easily being on par with a gladiatorial arena, but far too peaceful in feeling for that. There were enormous, intricate murals and carvings visible on the walls, most of them depicting a woman battling with something that looked disturbingly like it came out of an H.P. Lovecraft tribute painting. A green creature incorporating elements of an octopus and a dragon, in fact. The scale would have been hard to determine…if for not the fact that the woman was holding the Starlight Spear. Based on what he’d seen on the journey into these waters, he estimated that said spear had be at least a hundred meters in length. Possibly as much as a hundred and fifty, depending on how deep the waters around the island remained.
Somewhat terrifyingly, the woman was wielding it as a short spear.
Shaking his head at that, Luffy focused on the specific area the high priestess was leading them to within the artificial cavern. A large pedestal with a glowing orb was the centerpiece of everything present. As they got closer he realized the glow, too, was the same starlight that the Spear outside had given off. Nor was the orb small, he realized as they got close, with it easily being his own height. The Senior Priestess accompanying them seemed to falter as they grew closer, and it was only as she gasped and peeled away in a staggering lumber that he realized there had been a sort of pressure growing as they closed with the artifact.
The High Priestess looked in the direction her second was stumbling and shook her head.
“Fool girl shouldn’t have tried to force it. I’m sure you’ve both noticed the spiritual pressure here? The nature of your Spirit Fruits is shielding you from most of it, but normal mortals are not so lucky. The final test to become a new High Priestess is to be able to walk up and physically touch the Heart of Asteria without collapsing. Most can’t make it farther than the entrance to this chamber, if even that close. Priestess Dusklight is doing remarkably well for her age, but she is in far too much of a hurry to prove herself.”
The statement wasn’t one intended to illicit a response, of course. Yet it brought up a question to Luffy’s mind, based on what they’d been told so far.
“The Heart of Asteria? Is that…literal?”
The High Priestess looked completely unbothered even as they closed to within just a few meters of the orb’s pedestal, to the base of a set of steps leading up to it. She stopped there and turned to them with a small smile.
“Who knows? Certainly, the oral traditions of the Night Oni would have us believe that it is. That this orb is literally the heart of the goddess, and the island her body. I have no idea how accurate that is, personally. What I do know, and suspect you’ve already noticed Captain, is that it radiates the same Spiritual Energy as the Starlight Spear, but with a less…harshly combative, tint.”
Luffy nodded, mentally adjusting even as she said that. He’d been attempting to figure out why it felt less oppressive than the Spear, despite how much closer they were to it. With the Priestess’s words as context, he realized the answer was obvious. The Starlight Spear was a weapon, and radiated just a bit of danger alongside its sense of awe. The Heart of Asteria was not, radiating a comforting but potent warmth instead of danger. The High Priestess only paused for a moment for them to take that detail in before speaking further, directing her attention to Yamato.
“Right. Understand that what I’m about to say is institutional knowledge, rather than personal knowledge. So you’ll need to figure out the exact way it all works yourself. Though, I imagine your Captain will be of some help. Hopefully he can add additional context to the knowledge. Mostly, however, it’s the location itself and the ambient spiritual energy, of a type related to your own Spirit Fruit, that is going to help you.”
Yamato nodded, expression as serious as Luffy had ever seen it. That seemed to be more than enough for the High Priestess, who paused for a moment to get her thoughts in order, then continued.
“First, an explanation for what the Awakening of a Spirit Fruit even means. Most of those who do accomplish the process discover it on their own, and are thus less than helpful in explaining the phenomena.”
Her eyes flickered to Luffy, who grimaced at how very true that was.
“Awakening is, put simply, when a wielder synchronizes fully with their Spirit Fruit. This is as much a mental state as a physical one, the user’s mind and body alike must align with the nature of the Fruit in question. This is the reason that it can be discovered on accident, as those rare few who are lucky enough to possess personalities that were deeply suited to the Fruit they ate can, with sufficient experience, come to resonate with its principles. Someone with a passionate personality and a bit of a temper might well resonate better with a Spirit Fruit related to fire. A doctor who has dedicated their life to healing others might resonate with something like the Heal-Heal Fruit. So on and etcetera.”
Huh, that was an interesting perspective, actually. Luffy had picked his Fruit out of hundreds of options as he’d felt it suited him best. Then he’d built much of his fighting style in a way that took advantage of it, from a relatively young age. Even the fact he increasingly rarely used his gun had been an intentional thing, the gun itself having been something of a fill-in to represent how he intended to fight once he’d earned the points for his Fruit of choice. There were still times it was useful for exotic effects, but more often than not he used his lightning, fired from his free hand, in its place.
“This is both especially true and especially dangerous for Zoan fruit users of any type. Unlike Paramecia and Logia users, Zoan Spirit Fruits contain instincts associated with the animal they represent. Or, in the case of something like the Nika fruit in particular, there is likely a resonance between values. I suspect, but cannot prove, that a slaver who ate the Nika Fruit would never be able to awaken its abilities, as their base personality is diametrically opposed to that of the Mythical Concept bound within the Mythical Zoan Fruit.”
Even Yamato was nodding along now, despite not normally being a particularly deep thinker. Clearly, what the Priestess was saying was getting through to her. Likely due to the previous talk about Nika, and how that had called out to the part of her that was a Liberator, intent on freeing Wano from her father.
“In this, I believe luck or fate has had its say. I could feel, back during our talk earlier, how close you are to resonating with at least a part of Nika’s portfolio. This, in theory, should lower the danger of the method we have access to. As well as speed up the process a bit. Understand, there is a danger. If someone attempts an Awakening but is not strong enough to overcome the instincts, they may well be lost to the process. Reduced to something more like their animal counterpart in mindset if a mere regular Zoan is involved. Possibly a loss of self to the original Concept in the case of something with more…sentience.”
Luffy’s eyes narrowed as something tickled as his memory, remembering the Jailer Beasts from the Impel Down Arc he’d watched in his original world. Presumably Awakened Devil Fruit users who had failed to overcome the instincts and been reduced to barely-above animal intelligence. That, he now suspected, would have happened to him, too, if he’d lost the struggle with controlling the instincts that came with his own Awakened form. How, exactly, that would translate to the Nika Fruit was an interesting question. Would a failure override Yamato’s personality with that of Nika’s?
That was a concerning thought, given some of the things he’d overheard or read passing comments about, regarding the parts of One Piece he’d never gotten to. People complaining that the original Luffy had started acting erratic and silly to the point of it being actively detrimental to his fights once he got some sort of power up. One that he was now almost certain was Awakening. Yamato could be light-hearted and happy-go-lucky, but not to the same extent that original Luffy had been. Personally, he thought original Luffy had been so happy-go-lucky mostly because he was too much of a childish idiot to be otherwise. Which…wasn’t Yamato.
He only realized he’d tuned out for a moment, missing something Yamato had asked, when the High Priestess spoke again.
“We suspect the World Government has their own methods to Force an Awakening that are a bit more morally dubious, to say the least. Our own, however, isn’t an unnatural cheat, so much as it is a way for you to more easily attune to the energy of your Fruit. By injecting you with Asteria’s power, which is very similar to your own, you’ll be brought into deeper connection with the essence of the Nika Fruit. Effectively artificially boosting you into your Awakened state. Fail to control the instincts that follow and it may overcome you. Succeed and it will shorten the process of learning how to Awaken. Though it will likely still take additional sessions before you can trigger the state yourself.”
That…the theory seemed sound, but that was also a hell of a risk. Yet, Luffy could already tell from the expression on Yamato’s face that she wasn’t going to budge. She wanted to do this. Better give her the best odds he could, then. He had, in recent days, been eyeing a Perk that he thought might help the various Devil Fruit users learn from him. He’d been unsure if that was accurate or not, though, and had been unwilling to risk his relatively limited number of Perk Points available on a ‘maybe.’ He was gaining levels much slower than before, even if he was still making steady progress. A state of affairs which meant fewer perk points available to spend on something that might not even help.
The discussion of both what Awakening was, and what the risks were, however? That made him dead certain it was worth the purchase. He hoped that Yamato wouldn’t be the last of his crew to Awaken, and even if she was, there were still the other uses he’d originally considered this for. Such as helping with the development of Haki or Spiritual Abilities. Without a second thought he opened his System and purchased the first two ranks of the Perk.
Bolster Spirit 2:
You have learned to use your own spirit and will to Bolster that of a companion’s. This lends them some of your instincts and insight into spiritual and intellectual matters. Rank 2 Addition: You now also enhance their willpower with your own, bolstering their sense of self.
With only a moment of consideration, he also bought something else he’d been slightly reluctant to purchase, simply because Rank 3 of any Perk was somewhat costly. Now, he barely hesitated to take the third Rank of an incredibly useful Perk he’d already had for quite some time.
Training Expert – Spirit Fruits 3:
You have gained a unique insight into Spirit Fruits and can instinctively come up with good ways for someone to train their basic abilities with one. Rank 2 Addition: Having taken a second level of this perk, you now have an instinctive feel for obscure uses of any allies’ Spirit Fruits and can help them figure out how they work. Rank 3 Addition: Having taken a third level of this perk, you can now help an ally gain full mastery over their Spirit Fruit. By sharing your insight regarding Spirit Fruits in general and how they work, you aid them greatly in master of their own.
The wording didn’t actually say anything about Awakening, which is why he hadn’t spent the points on it in the past. Even now, as his mind made connections it hadn’t before, his understanding of Spirit Fruits instinctively deepening, it only brushed up against the topic. It had more to do with training towards ‘finishing’ with a Spirit Fruit and being able to eventually eject it. Something he now realized he could actually do, though doing so would cost him the ability to use his Awakened form, as the Fruit apparently served as the seed/amplifier for that.
Pity, but then he’d never counted on the ability to use multiple fruits anyway. He’d sought mastery with intent to reduce his weaknesses, not to cheat his way to more tricks. Which, he also realized with help of the new Perk, was now something else he had achieved. He hadn’t actually tried to swim or touch seastone since his relatively recent breakthrough, but that download of ‘instinctive knowledge’ from the Perk told him he wouldn’t feel any effect at all from either one. Which had been his goal from the start. Something which made smiling for Yamato easy as he addressed her.
“I will support you with this if you’re willing to take the risk, but it is your choice. I believe I may be able to help anchor you with a spiritual energy trick as well, to reduce the risk further. I suspect the attempt would also benefit from a bit of meditation on what you stand for as a Liberator intending to free Wano. I can help you through that, if you want?”
Meditation was something they’d all learned to an extent, given that it helped with Haki development, but Yamato was one of the crew that struggled with it a bit. Not as much as Sanji, Usopp, Perona, or Nojiko, but more than any of the others. Even Zoro was oddly capable of it due to being able to focus his meditation down to his extremely narrow interests. Yamato was simply too active for most forms of mediation to work well for her, though they’d found some tricks like using tea ceremony or drawing as part of her meditation helped. Neither of those were available now, but he was confident his various perks would let him guide her through a basic image mediation, at least.
Predictably, Yamato nodded, though Luffy took it as a good sign that she looked serious as she did so. She sounded the same as spoke.
“Yes, Lord Luffy. If I have your permission, I would like to make the attempt, and would welcome any help you can offer.”
The High Priestess chimed in from the side.
“It’s a good idea, I think. It will take me some time and effort to channel the energies involved in the process anyway. Perhaps as much as half an hour. Why don’t you take that time to do what you need? I’ll warn you when the process is almost complete.”
Luffy nodded, quickly agreeing to that, before producing three cushions from his Inventory. The High Priestess blinked at that, but took the one he offered her with a warm smile before heading up the stairs to sit on it. As she did, she reached out to touch the Heart of Asteria and began a low chant. Luffy, meanwhile, directed Yamato to sit on her own cushion across from him. Joining her, he began walking her through the image mediation, doing his best to reinforce her sense of self while also putting her in a state of mind that would hopefully resonate with the Nika Fruit…
… … …
Even if she was slightly concerned that Luffy hadn’t joined them yet, Nami had to admit that the town of Starlight was distracting enough to get lost in. She, Robin, and Vivi had naturally drifted together to explore the town, all three of them wearing the ‘festival masks’ that were apparently common throughout the city. The masks covered their upper-face, providing plausible deniability more than they did an outright disguise.
It was a careful bit of local culture that helped keep the Freeport more or less free.
Even if pressed on the subject by the Marines or World Government, the locals could simply shrug and point out how easy it was to hide behind the masks. Doubly so on an island of perpetual night. Of course, given that a good sixty percent of the population were Night Oni, the three of them still stood out a little bit. Ironically, it was perhaps the one place in the world that Yamato would have been less easily spotted than the rest of the crew. Still, there were enough normal humans, of diverse appearance at that, that it would be difficult to be certain anyone without truly distinctive features had been on the island. Chopper and Brook were the only ones that couldn’t take full advantage, and neither were as high-profile as someone like Luffy, Yamato or Robin.
Even aside from that bit of intentionally useful culture and the Night Oni residents, the town had plenty of the unusual to offer. Normally rare night-blooming flowers, some of which actually glowed, decorated the city, and paints made from those same plants decorated the buildings in vibrant, bioluminescent color. Lanterns joined the more subtle lighting of the paints, colored to mark the districts of the city. Which ranged from a literal red light district, to seas of soothing green light and brighter blues to mark residential and commercial areas of the city. Apparently, there were subtler differences in the lanterns as well, which the locals could use as a guide for the exact sort of business they were looking for. Thought they’d been warned that reading them to that extent was something of an acquired skill.
Overall, combined with the unshifting and surprisingly bright starlight from the perpetual night sky, the city was surprisingly well lit. Though the many and varied types and sources of the lighting cast everything in odd shadows that gave the entire port town a vague air of friendly mystery. The entire affair only made more exotic by some unusual fashions that Nami was already itching to try. She was particularly glad she’d been letting her hair grow out somewhat in the last year, as many of the women had glowing thread woven through their hair to create intricate designs.
The Night Oni, at least the women, tended to wear something halfway between a robe and a gown. It reminded her something of Yamato’s usual outfits, but not quite the same. Light and almost gossamer thin in places, it gave them a bit of an ethereal air in combination with their looks. The men, in turn, tended to wear vests and trousers of subdued colors but with bright trim. Mixed in at random were a dozen other types of fashion she’d never seen, mostly on humans who she suspected were either transplants from other cultures or mere visitors as they themselves were.
Smirking, she took control of their little group and guided the three of them toward a storefront that displayed some of the local clothing. Vivi was always easy to get sucked into fashion sprees, and Robin was only barely harder. Helped, in this case, by the fact the store overlooked a shopping district that would let Robin people-watch. Something which was one of her favorite hobbies outside dusty old books, dustier ruins, and kinky sex with their Captain…
… … …
Sanji and Chopper might have made for an odd pair to some, particularly when the chef could have been seeing the sights with Hina and Perona. If there was one thing in the entire world that could draw Sanji away from the ladies, however, it was the opportunity to learn more about exotic cuisine. Something he’d known this island would be good for the moment he’d tasted the food at the Elder Northstar’s Manor. Chopper, meanwhile, had increasingly worked with the Chef nearly as often as Kaya, as Sanji had delved deeply into the nutritional side of medicine as a way to enhance his various new recipes.
Of particular interest to both of them were a number of night-blooming fruits and something called an oyster mushroom, which glowed. Apparently, retaining that glow through the cooking process was something of a delicate skill. Not to mention that the Fishman of the island were the only ones that cultivated them at all, as they grew in Shinedown, the underwater district of the city. Starfruit, Midnight Candy, and a rare cactus called Queen of the Night were among the other plants they were interested in. With luck and Chopper’s nose, they’d found a small shop that sold all of them and more, both fresh and dried.
“So, you say that the Queen of the Night, in particular, has medicinal properties?”
Sanji was speaking for both of them, Chopper in his full deer form pretending to be a pet, as he was one of the only crew that couldn’t disguise themselves well on this island. Thankfully, Sanji had a good idea what to ask for both of them. The middle-aged-appearing Night Oni with just a few laugh lines smiled happily at the question, and it was only the importance of the topic that kept Sanji from swooning. Despite having those laugh lines, the woman was still beautiful, Night Oni seeming to age quite gracefully from what both had seen on the way through the town.
“Quite. Doctors on the island use it quite frequently in treatments for respiratory problems, bleeding conditions, and to reduce inflammation. I’m afraid its use has never spread, as it is extremely difficult to cultivate off Starfall.”
That, both Sanji and Chopper thought to themselves, likely wouldn’t be a problem. Dis had yet to run into a plant that the Mori-Mori no Mi didn’t allow her to make grow, even outside ideal conditions. Even if this proved to be an exception, it would only mean pestering Vivi for occasional visits to the island to restock. Truly, they were spoiled for such things, and were firmly in favor of remaining that way, as it helped their research immensely.
“I would very much like to try anyway, with both it and some of the other plants. I’m a bit of a nutritionist and would love to see if I can get some of the benefits into food, you see. Would you happen to know if…”
The pair of them would be there for an hour, then end up being directed to some of the woman’s suppliers as well, to get fresh cuttings for Dis to attempt to grow. They were eager to see just what new medicines and dishes they could respectively make with the exotic ingredients they were acquiring…
… … …
The Fishmen of Shinedown were bemused, but welcoming enough, to Pagaya and Nojiko. The two of them had realized that there was plenty of bubble tech stored on The Discovery, intended for use if they were called to Fishman Island in an emergency. Luffy, of course, also stored some in his Inventory for the same reason, though that wasn’t relevant at the moment since he and Yamato were apparently busy with something important.
Curious to see how the Fishmen had adapted to the different circumstances of Starfall, the pair had used some bubbly coral and an Air Dial to create a safe diving platform, basing it around some of Nojiko’s crystal. With her controlling the crystal, they had easily ridden it down to Shinedown, and had immediately attracted attention from the locals by doing so. Far from any fear, the locals had been more fascinated than anything, and more than happy to make trades for some of the Bubble and Dial technology to experiment with themselves.
Which was good, as somehow both of them thought the locals might not have parted with a type of crystal they called Starstone otherwise. It apparently formed near the Starlight Spear and could both store and release light which behaved oddly. The released light acted more like a frictionless liquid than light, and both of them were quite interested in seeing what they could do with the substance. They weren’t sure they’d be able to refill it without returning to Starfall, as the locals said ‘regular’ starlight didn’t work very well for that purpose. Both privately wondered if Kaya or Luffy might be able to fix that, given what they’d said about the barrier around the island.
Either way, Shinedown was a beautiful underwater town, so even if the material proved not to be all that useful, they both counted it as time well spent. If nothing else, empty Starstone could apparently let you see the stars through cloud cover, so Nojiko figured Nami would like some of it as an extra tool for navigation…
… … …
Kuina and Zoro had drifted out to the coast of Starfall to, unknowingly, do something that wasn’t too dissimilar from what Yamato and Luffy were up to. Their focus was different, of course, as neither had Devil Fruits, but both of them did use a measure of spiritual energy in their respective combat styles. While Kuina was the more attuned to such in general than Zoro was, Zoro was actually the better of the two of them better at using it in large quantities, and both had been aware of the saturation of energy around the island almost as quickly as Luffy and Kaya. Neither were about to pass up the chance to meditate and study the energy radiating off the Starlight Spear.
Aside from the spirits of Kuina’s Wado Ichimonji and Brook’s Shusui, neither of them had properly been able to observe spiritual energy that was explicitly aligned as a weapon. That wasn’t even the case with their Captain’s blade, which was more a focus for holy energy in general than specifically ‘sharpened’ to match the idea of a blade. That characteristic of ‘sharpening’ was present in Kuina and Brook’s swords, but it was much lesser than the weight of purpose they could both feel radiating from the enormous pillar of the Starlight Spear.
It was thus that they found the point of land closest to that feeling and both knelt with their own blades before them, focusing on learning what they could from that aura. Kuina felt it was the key to finally finishing her Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū style, and Zoro felt much the same for his nearly-complete Nine Sword Style. They had little doubt they could and would keep growing and adding to them, of course. But there was a certain certainty in the air that the inspiration they sought to complete the base forms for their new styles could be found here.
So deep in meditation were they that neither of them even noticed as their blades began to subtly but undeniably change. All four had been slowly darkening as they channeled their Haki into them over and over again, day after day. Now, that process sped up and little motes of starlight began to shine in the metal, in a subtle and mysterious way that would leave you always wondering if what you’d seen was just a trick of the light…
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: So Awakening is very poorly defined in canon, but so far as I could track? My explanation in this chapter is canon-compliant.
A/N 2: A personal theory of mine that only sort of applies, but which explains this Luffy being a bit paranoid here? I don't think canon Luffy actually succeeded in doing a proper Awakening at all. Rather, he ended up with a botched version like the Jailor Beasts of Impel Down, and is just lucky that the Nika Fruit is effectively sentient. This would explain his somewhat over the top personality shift when he initially used Gear 5 at Wano. Going from seriously fighting Kaido to...that. His mind survived since the Nika Fruit isn't as simple as animal instincts, and later uses of it might have been more in control, but that first time...I think he got Lucky. Which is basically canon Luffy in a nutshell.
A/N 3: I really like the concept of Starfall. So, even if they likely won't spend that much time there, I wanted to at least show some of it. I'm kinda disappointed that the primary thing I had planned for the island was Yamato's content, rather than a proper adventure like I've done on the other original islands. Maybe I'll come up with a reason for them to return later...or have a mini-adventure before they leave? Either way, I obviously found some interesting little boosts for the crew to discover on the island, at any rate.