【Ma Ai】Island of Illusion

An overwhelming web of fireflies hit them.Aki groaned in a low voice, and while turning his head back, he whipped the lemon behind him with his tail.The old man shouted loudly: "You two don't shoot, once there is light, you won't be able to see this thing." Ace hurriedly put away the flame, he jumped to Marco's side in two or three steps, and saw the old man spread out Both arms and fists hit in the direction of the big net.The night was immediately filled with the crackling of space, and the originally peaceful woods began to stir.

"Be careful of those liquids, they drag everything they touch into the dark. Take Aki and Lemon first," said Pa.His impact quickly tore through the large net, some of the scattered green liquid splashed on the trees, some fell to the ground, but the colliding liquids would quickly fuse together to form a larger piece .They are like living water, they know where they should go.The quickly torn liquid reassembled into a network, even a little larger than before.

It was not easy for the two giants to leave the scene quickly, and Lemon was frightened, and she was only willing to cling to her mother, making it even more difficult for them to move forward.Marco had no choice but to take advantage of the faint green light, he came behind Yaji and kicked it vigorously.Yaji, who was already injured, screamed in pain, and Marco made up his mind to mend his foot again. The monster mother roared and shook her head vigorously, and smashed into the dense forest beside her.Lemon wailed, turned back to lick Ace's face, and followed in a hurry.The trees that were hit began to collapse on a large scale again, and precious light appeared in the dark jungle.

Although the light is dim, at least you can vaguely see your surroundings.Those green liquids looked a little dimmer, and Dad was standing within a range of less than ten meters from them, preparing to launch a new round of impact.This time he has no worries, and the force of the impact is also increasing. Even if the speed of the fusion of those things is fast, they cannot withstand this wave of powerful impact.They were smashed into tiny particles, which splashed down further back like meteors.

Ace saw a ball of liquid the size of a glass ball fall on his side, where there was originally a vague outline of a plant, maybe a bunch of small flowers or a small pile of stones. After the strange green liquid slid down, the outline became Disappeared, leaving only a featureless black spot, which continued to expand.Like bursting bubbles, his body burst open little by little.Ace's first thought was not what it was, but—where did they go—is that a little flower or a little stone?Were they swallowed by darkness or were they originally darkness itself?He couldn't help stretching out his hand, and there was a familiar warmth from his fingertips.Flame is the slayer of darkness—who said that?

After Ace's fire ignited, the green was invisible, and he didn't wake up until Marco came to stop him.

"Be patient, as long as there is any light, they will hide, so we will be very dangerous." Marko said.Ace looked at the place again when he extinguished the fire, the green liquid was gone, but there was nothing there.

"Don't be in a daze, go to Dad's side." Marco reminded him from the side.

"Marco, what are these things?"

"I don't know either, just don't touch them."

The liquid that had been beaten to pieces showed signs of coagulation again.Dad took a big step forward and threw out both fists.A large area of ​​trees and weeds in front of them was destroyed in a distorted posture, a deep ditch was shaken out of the ground, and dust flew around.

"Just because you want to hinder me?" Dad snorted coldly, and he turned his head to greet the two people behind him, "Let's go, you can find the source of this thing along this road."

They walked for a while in silence.The light was gradually fading, and except for the deep trench that Dad had forced to create, their surroundings were filled with flickering green fluorescent lights. They lingered in the bushes and piles of stones, intertwined and collided with each other.If it weren't for that weird power, they would look unbelievably beautiful.Just like the stars, the darker the surrounding, the brighter and dazzling light they can shine.

Ace walks ahead of Marco.Dad's tall body stood in front of him, and his back against the light was more majestic than ever.Ace raised his head, trying to say something, but couldn't come up with it.The old man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and said in a deep voice, "Don't be afraid, I won't disappear."

He rubbed Ace's hair, which was several times more messy than usual, and said, "Don't pay attention to them, just follow me and keep going."

Ace flashed a stiff smile in the dark.He sniffled and slowed down.Marco came up and patted him on the shoulder with almost imperceptible force.

Soon after, they came to a huge depression, and the force of the impact washed part of the sand to the center of the depression, forming a mini hill.Below the hill are green fluorescent lights that are constantly overflowing, some of which slide slowly on the ground in the form of liquid, while others form dots of night flying insects, scattered in large areas in the night sky.The sudden arrival of human beings made the seemingly peaceful space instantly agitated. The liquid on the ground no longer moved forward but retracted. The fluorescent lights in the mid-air gathered in the same direction at the same time as they received some instructions, forming a dense and well-balanced large space. net, and hit them little by little.

Marco thought of the engineer ants.Those weak but extremely united insects will show fighting power and cohesion beyond the reach of human beings when the ant king is attacked. The liquid in front of them is also consciously protecting something, and it looks like it is ready to die with the intruder at any time.He cast his eyes on the small mound, and the dark green light inside became more and more saturated, until in the end it was like a tomb surrounded by a layer of green mist.The liquid kept shrinking, from occupying most of the depression area to a vortex with an area of ​​less than 20 square centimeters, and it was still flowing.

"We found it." The old man said, looking at the mound, "and we seem to have caught up with a good time for breeding. I really don't know if it's worth being happy."

On the opposite side of the depression area is the cliff, and there is a natural cave below it, which is so dark that nothing can be seen.Marco knew roughly why his father insisted on going this way, and the only way to the other side of the cliff was in that cave.Now the problem is how to get through this depression, no matter whether it is a detour or a hard way, it will inevitably have a head-on confrontation with these dark messengers.

"Father, break this layer of net first, and I will take advantage of the gap where they gather to burn the mound clean." Ace raised his hand, and the jumping flames started from his fingertips and went all the way to his arm, " I saw it, they are afraid of fire. I can evaporate them." Ace saw the silhouette of the plant that had just disappeared, and the deep black shadow lingered in his mind for a long time.His heart was haunted by a strange feeling, a strong desire to throw himself somewhere made his blood boil.

But the old man pushed him aside, and he said to Marco, "Marco, you go."

"Why don't you let me go, old man? I know what you saw just now. Those things will disappear when they come into contact with fire. Brother Marko's flame has no temperature, only me—" Ace's eyes widened, and his tone was hurried, "I know what they're afraid of, because—"

Because we are one.

Ace was frightened by his own thoughts, he took two steps back, looked at his father and then at Marco, sweat slipped from both ends of his nose.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked blankly.

"You're out of control, that's why you can't get close to them," Dad said. "Ace, remember what I said, never focus on the place of fear."

Ace was sweating all over.He sat down on the ground, hugged his head and stopped talking.He tried to calm himself down, and when he met his father's eyes, he felt that his heart was burned through a bottomless pit.Marco was a little worried, but Dad shook his head and refused to let him go to comfort him.

"Marco, listen carefully, I will penetrate this layer of net first, you have about 10 seconds to go to its core, because now it is in the nest, not as leisurely as before. Once their mother body is threatened , These things will melt you like water. What you have to do is to resist my second wave of attacks, and take out what you see when the main body is opened by me."

"What I saw?" Marco was puzzled, "This is too vague, can you be more specific?"

"I can't, because I don't know what it is, but I know you will see it, and you will know it is what you want at the first sight." Dad said, "It's nothing to do with good memories." On the contrary—an unknown force that frightens us."

Everything in front of him was disappearing, and that layer of net was approaching cautiously.The trees were eaten, and the dust, and the young insects that got in by mistake.Even the night itself is being swallowed up.Marco leaned over behind Papa, ready for anything.

"Listen son, don't be nervous if you are covered. Just treat it as a game of hide-and-seek with the light. No matter how much darkness comes, you just have to keep moving towards your goal."

The old man shouted loudly, and his fists with the sound of the wind shook the illusory air in front of him.The line of sight changes from flat to fluctuating to disturbing swirls, and an awl-shaped deep hole is punched out of the center of the large green net, and then the sound of crackling and cracking comes, like ghosts crying and gods howling in the silent night Terrifying.

"Ready!" Dad yelled.The deep conical depression finally couldn't bear the violent impact, and it was pierced from the middle, torn, and fluorescent light splashed, and then an oval white light circle appeared at the split port.It was this moment that Marco was waiting for. He shook his blue wings, bent his knees, and flew towards the circle of light at high speed.

Just like what the old man said, as soon as those worker ant-like fluorescent lights were washed away, they immediately gathered crazily.There was not even 10 seconds left for Marco, but he still passed the obstacle smoothly.Next came the second blow.He had to stay awake and balanced under the powerful strength of his father.A fluorescent core appeared in front of him, and the layer of mist outside the mound quickly flowed, quickly turning into a thick liquid.They formed a snake-tongue-like attacking posture, rushing towards Marco with all kinds of twists and turns.Marco's feet landed on the ground and kicked forward.The distance from the core was only 10 meters away, and then he saw that part of his ankle was missing.

"Marco!"

He felt the vibration of the air behind him.The second round of shock wave with the father's anger was close to him, and this time it was stronger than any time since he went to the island. Marco bent down slightly, and felt as if his back had hit a large rock flying at high speed.He gritted his teeth to manage to steady himself.There was the sound of howling wind, the liquid in front of my eyes was knocked away, and the sand in the mound ran away without a trace.He raised his arm, blocking everything that might get in his eyes.

He saw the so-called core.But not all.There is still a part of the residual fluorescent light hanging on it, and he can only see a faint piece of purple floating on it.Marco stretched out his hand subconsciously. He felt his body was falling, but he couldn't understand what happened in this situation.Something was calling him, and the voice ranged from weak to overwhelming, almost ear-shattering.

Then Marco saw the one in his father's mouth - as soon as he saw it, he knew it was what he wanted.

Portgas D. Ace appeared in front of him bloodied.He maintains the posture of a newborn baby, with his arms around his knees and naked.There was hardly any intact skin on the bloody body.His face was stained with blood, and the obvious freckles could no longer be found. Under the closed eyes, there was a cyan trace that symbolized death.Marco wanted to tell himself that this was fake, it might be another illusion, but he couldn't calm himself down.It was as if a bullet had been shot in the brain, and all rationality was killed, leaving only subconsciousness and conditioned reflexes.The person in front of him was being dragged by the swirling black mist, which was crushing the lifeless body.Ace's body was being devoured bit by bit, and the indelible pain could still be seen between his brows. What happened to him when he died that caused him such pain?Marko's throat is blocked by his own breathing, it's all real!It's not an illusion at all, it's all real.It's downright hopeless.

"Stop! Where are you taking him??" Marco wanted to grab the corpse, but here, time was frozen, and he had no way to make the movement smooth.He could only act like a bystander, watching Ace being easily torn apart like a tattered toy doll, turning into powder, leaving nothing in the end.He didn't even get to touch him.

Marco screamed at that moment.Whether it was real or an illusion, this was one of the worst losses in his life.

Dad saw something was wrong, but it was too late.After a strange pause, Marco was overwhelmed by the rush of fluorescent lights. He was sure that Marco had seen what he was about to take, but Dad obviously underestimated the power.

If even the calmest Marko loses his mind, what's going to stop their spread?Dad felt that he had made a mistake in a key part of a big game of chess, and that key was Marco.He seemed to have changed quietly without his knowledge, and it was this change that made Dad miscalculate.

He wanted to punch again, but the liquid that had just been dispersed once again formed a wall, completely covering the core area.Dad frowned, and he let out an angry grunt from his throat. If this continues, the swallowed Marco will soon be dissolved.

"Ace, get out of the way, you bastard—" Dad yelled in a bit of exasperation.But he didn't hear a response, he turned his head, only to see an empty space beside him, and there was no sign of Ace.

He saw a flash of bright red rushing into the darkness, but Dad didn't tell him to stop.When Ace's flames entered the first line of defense, the body was wrapped into a fireball, and the green fluorescence was dimmed at once, and it collapsed again under this almost brutal impact.The old man decided to gamble, and this time the bet was on Fire Fist Ace, who was originally a discarded chess piece.

"There are always novelty and surprises in this world." He remembered what he had said, and chose to believe it.

Ace can't quite remember why he chose the "fire" attribute.His memory is already very bad, but he can remember the impact of the fire for the first time, which was a nearly perfect performance, for him and for Luffy.It was two years after Sabo's death. Grandpa took him and Luffy to set off fireworks. Luffy had a very small and deflated firework in his hand-it was picked for him when he was pranking.But never expected that the little firework would spew out the most beautiful fire light, silver sparks pouring down like a waterfall.It was pinched in Luffy's small hand, and he saw his round face was flushed by the fire light, and his big eyes were full of concentration that he had never seen before.

It is a magic weapon to drive away the cold and darkness.It can illuminate all around them, and everyone can see clearly.Luffy, Grandpa, Makino... They were all illuminated by the fire, and snuggled up beside it.

Only Ace stood far away, hiding in the shadow of the night.But he still felt very happy.When Luffy held his hand with a warm hand, for the first time in his life, he had the urge to become a flame.Everything is just to preserve this warmth.

Now he fell into endless darkness, without the warmth in his hands, he relaxed himself instead.I can't see everything around, and the skin seems to be bitten by ants, little by little, densely packed.There was a sense of emptiness under his feet, and he took a step forward, neither stepping on the entity nor losing his balance.

It was like entering a dark space that was unimaginably large.His heart was in a trance, the feeling that almost made him lose control just now disappeared, and what he got was a saturated sense of satisfaction.It filled his throat and stomach, full of it.

"Marco," he called, but nothing was heard.Can't even hear what I'm saying.He closed his eyes and said again: "Let me see..."

What do you see?

Marco thought he was probably dying.But that's fine, if you die, you won't remember anything, including the scene just now.You can also think that life is just a dream counted by years, months and days. Now that time has come to an end, it is time to wake up from the dream.The endless yelling just now had damaged his throat, and he couldn't speak even if he wanted to speak.He could only let his body float, he couldn't see anything in front of him, his senses were blocked by darkness, and he couldn't feel anything.

"Red rabbit, green rabbit, one-legged rabbit..." he muttered slowly in his heart.He thought that the original rabbit lived like this?Just like who I am now, as if I never existed.He once imagined what it would be like to be in the dark. He thought it should be like drowning, weightless, struggling, falling, and then death.

Ace's last face came back to his mind.Marco wishes he could see his eyes, but Ace's eyes are always squeezed shut in pain.He felt that he was losing control again, he beat his head with his hands, and a hoarse roar flowed out of his throat with difficulty.

I don't know how long it took before Marco's behavior stopped.He stood there blankly, still unable to see anything.But he vaguely felt that something in the darkness was gradually approaching, something that merged with the darkness, was still, and completely belonged here.

The one-legged rabbit asked, who are you?why here?

Marco's eyes widened.A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders and hugged him tightly.The strength is so great that he feels that he should be hooped to death in the next second.

He raised his hand through the other's armpit and hugged him back naturally.Then he felt that he was overwhelmed, the man was lying on top of him, the itching from the hair on his neck, and the cold and delicate touch beside his face.He stroked his broad back, rubbing the rough texture with his fingertips, as well as the rough feeling brought by the wrapped cloth.

Ace always smelled of burnt wood, warm and a little pungent.But what it brings now is peace of mind, sort of like a security sign on the outside of a hotel.Marco doesn't know what to do with himself, and the helplessness of not being able to tell the real from the fake makes him sluggish and unhappy.

"Are you Ace? Are you Ace?" He tried to ask, even though he couldn't hear him, he still hoped that the other party could hear him.Ace nodded and hugged him tighter.

It doesn't matter what you do now, because no one can see it.They are now in darkness, and there are only two of them left in the entire empty space.This is completely their world.

"Marco." Ace whispered his name.Marco heard it, and he smiled and stroked Ace's hair, and replied, "I'm fine."

"I'm fine," Ace said.He rubbed his face against Marco's neck, like this was a wonderful treasure, and he had to learn to open it up now, better plant the seeds.

"I saw you dead just now. It seemed real. A big hole was burned on your body, and it was full of blood."

"How do you know that's not true?"

"Because you're here." Marco emphasized his tone, "And you're as tenacious as a cockroach, how could you die."

"I won't die." There was a smile in Ace's voice, "Because I still have to send you out."

"how about you?"

Ace didn't answer.Marco felt the warmth disappear from his neck, and Ace pushed his upper body up.Then his warm hand touched Marco's face, his thumb rubbing against his lips.

"Marco, can you understand the birds?"

"Why do you still ask this question? I've already answered you, I can understand, so what?"

"I've talked to them a lot, and I don't know if they understand. I've heard that seagulls are the smartest birds, except you. But they don't seem to respond, and neither do you."

"It's not like you, Ace. You've always been straightforward. Why can't I understand this time? What did you say to them?" Marco was helpless, after all, this is not the time to guess riddles, " You can tell me directly, what are you—”

"I think I said I love you."

His voice blended with the darkness.This sentence echoed throughout the space, causing Marco to fail to realize what it meant for a moment.

"I love you."

The fingers pressing Marco's mouth moved away, replaced by a colder and softer touch.He seemed to see Ace's approaching eyes, with slightly dilated black pupils inside the pale eyeballs.He finally realized it was a kiss.