"Brimir le Reimir Nidavellir."
"I hereby appoint you a member of the Star God Hall and grant you the title 'God of the Void.'"
High above, Imu stood between two Giant God Warriors.
His oppressive gaze bore down on Brimir, who knelt on one knee below, head lowered, awaiting orders.
When he saw Garp's Colorless Haki successfully shatter the other side's "Disintegration Lightning," he immediately called a halt to this "Two Gods" battle.
By then, Imu had already gauged Brimir's level of strength.
All told, it was about on par with Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
So Imu was happy to grant him the identity of a "Star God."
As for the "Star God Hall"—
He had considered that, under the World Government, powerhouses from other worlds like Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo—whose strength rivaled the Warrior Gods—would only grow more numerous with time, and, finding it unsuitable to classify them under the War God Hall, he established another organization.
"My deepest thanks for your esteem, Lord Imu. I, Brimir, will devote myself entirely to you and to the World Government!"
Though Brimir felt the title "God of the Void" was more than he could rightly shoulder, he voiced no objection.
He knew Imu was encouraging him—to one day take that place and become the true "God of the Void."
"Lord Imu, might I beg you to hear a presumptuous request?" Brimir suddenly spoke.
"You may."
Imu's expression remained calm; he had already guessed what the other was about to say.
"I wish to plead for Louise and Hiraga Saito. Please confine the two together in a single cell, and allow me, in the future, to reduce their sentences by earning merit."
"Hm?"
A flicker of surprise showed in Imu's eyes; below, Garp also looked startled.
They had thought Brimir meant to break Louise and Hiraga Saito out of Impel Down.
To be frank, Imu had been weighing it as well—if the request truly came, whether he should agree.
As it turned out, that wasn't necessary.
Even so, Imu was curious what Brimir had in mind.
Brimir seemed to have guessed as much and offered a prompt explanation: "By rights, Louise is not only my apostle but also the one who helped bring me back to life. I ought to find a way to get her out.
"But after careful thought, I believe that would be improper—for Louise, and for the World Government.
"As for Louise: she went to the Falmart World of her own accord and obstructed the World Government's conquering army.
"Though she was incited and influenced by that Hodolew, in the end it was she herself who opened the 'World Gate.' Her culpability is beyond question.
"In such a case, if I were to ask you to show leniency to Louise, how could she then face companions who only aided her—Kirche, Tabitha, and Mimoza?
"The World Government can't possibly release everyone."
"I don't believe I have the weight to make such a demand, nor do I think the World Government would grant so excessive a request. I won't make a nuisance of myself."
"So my request is this: let these two lovers be confined to a single cell, to share their hardships together. I imagine that, for them, would be a kind of reward."
"And I will spare no effort to render service to the World Government and win them an earlier return to the light of day."
Brimir's voice rang firm and solemn.
Garp listened, stunned—then more and more convinced with every sentence. Louise and the others had only just been thrown into Impel Down; it had been mere days. How could they all be released already? And if only Louise were released, that would indeed be unfair. What sense would there be in pardoning the principal while leaving the accomplices locked up?
Brimir could really talk. He was thinking of Louise, yet also taking the World Government's position into account. He wasn't leaning on his "Star God" status to make willful demands of Imu.
Sure enough, when Garp glanced back he caught the undisguised appreciation in Imu's eyes.
'As expected of someone who's lived more than six thousand years,' Imu murmured, clicking his tongue in quiet admiration. Even knowing full well the man was doing it deliberately, he still found himself liking him for it.
"I'll tell Louise and Hiraga Saito all of this in a moment. If either of them is unhappy, let them take it out on me!"
Brimir added this, proof that he truly had thought things through.
"But I believe they'll understand. They're the kindest children."
"All right." Imu said.
'What else could I say? He'd said everything there was to say.'
"Then… may I go down and revive Sasha?"
Brimir lifted his head, looking to Imu with open hope. Compared with Louise, he naturally cared more about Sasha—the elven girl who had driven a longsword into her own abdomen and killed herself.
"You may, but you must guarantee that the four elemental spirits belonging to the Magic Association won't be affected—because they're already the property of the World Government."
What Imu meant were those spirits Joseph had captured in this Zero-Magic World. Though they seemed to be under Joseph's control, in fact the Magic Association had only loaned them to him. The Magic Association was itself an organization under the World Government.
So if, in order to revive Sasha, Brimir caused those four "magic rings" to vanish—letting the elemental spirits sealed in the rubies escape—that would be a great nuisance for the World Government.
"Uh—at your command, Lord Imu!" Brimir agreed at once.
Brimir had not expected Imu to bring up the Four Great Elemental Spirits.
He had indeed considered reviving Sasha and, at the same time, letting those spirits return to the world.
But now there was no way to do that; he could only obey.
Thinking it through, the current "Halkeginia" had not only been torn apart by the "Wind-Stone Catastrophe," it was also fated to become the "Void God's" fodder.
It was, in short, a world with no future.
In that case, having the Four Great Elemental Spirits follow Joseph to Starfish could be considered a kind of redemption.
Redemption—
Brimir paused; it seemed there was still something he could do.
"Lord Imu, I wish to offer you the greatest secret treasure of 'Halkeginia.' In return, I ask only that you save the people of this world!"
"The greatest secret treasure?"
Imu had thought their conversation was over; he hadn't expected such a surprise.
But could the zero-magic world really possess something like that?
As a transmigrator well-versed in the "original work," he believed he already knew all the good things this world had to offer.
Even the nuclear submarine in the "Sacred Lake" had already been salvaged.
Just as Imu was speculating, Brimir gave his answer.
"It's that pink celestial body in the sky!"
He raised a hand and pointed upward. Imu and Garp instinctively lifted their heads.
Although, because they were within an extradimensional space, a faint green glow always veiled their field of view, they could still clearly see the two moons in the sky.
One was blue-white, a normal-looking large moon; the other was pink, smaller by several sizes.
"If the 'Wind Stones' derive from the wind-element magic released by the 'Spirit Stone'…"
"Then the magic of 'Halkeginia' comes from that small celestial body."
"Or rather, it is itself a super-sized 'Spirit Stone' containing the four elemental magics—fire, water, earth, and wind!"
"Back then, it would be more accurate to say that, instead of my having created the 'Four-Element Magic System,' I uncovered the essence of the world's magic."
Hearing this, it dawned on Imu.
If that was so, then it truly deserved to be called this world's greatest secret treasure.
"You intend to offer it to me?"
"Yes. I believe you and the World Government are interested in magic. If we relocate it to the world of Starfish, then Starfish will naturally possess magic as well."
Imu's eyes lit up.
Let Starfish have magic? That sounded excellent.
Joseph had mentioned earlier that Starfish lacked magic.
He hadn't expected the solution to present itself so neatly.
"Not bad. I'm very satisfied with this secret treasure of yours. Now, tell me—what do you mean by 'saving the people of this world'?"
Imu was in fine spirits; his impression of Brimir had improved markedly.
"Lord Imu, this world will in the end be devoured by the 'Void God.' I hope the World Government can relocate 'Albion Sky Island' to another world!"
Brimir stated his aim at once.
He simply hadn't expected Imu to knit his brows.
Why?
For the World Government, this shouldn't be difficult… should it?
Brimir was taking too much for granted.
At present, the World Government truly did not have the ability to carry an island that large through the "Dimensional Gate."
Imu, however, felt he might be able to give it a try.
Besides, if they couldn't even pack up and take away "Albion Sky Island," then wouldn't that "mana moon" in the sky be something they could only look at helplessly?
"I'll have the Five Elders study this. Once there's a result, someone will inform you."
Imu didn't agree outright.
But to Brimir's ears, that sounded like assent.
"Many thanks, Lord Imu!"
"Mm. Go back and do what you need to do."
With a casual wave, Imu used the "Covenant of Truth" on the back of his hand to send the man back outside.
"Garp, return to Starfish first."
"Er—yes, Lord Imu!"
Garp guessed Imu was going to take a look at the "mana moon" overhead.
He actually wanted to tag along and see it together.
But the imperious finality in Imu's tone left no room for refusal, and Garp had to swallow his words, obediently leaving this extradimensional space.
Imu, for his part, told Oimo and Kashii to head back to Noah's Ark on their own, then set off alone for the moon's position.
With the convenience of teleportation, the whole trip took just over 1 min.
Unfortunately, the moon of this zero-magic world—unlike the moons of Starfish and the Shinobi World—didn't have oxygen for normal breathing, so he could only shroud a large volume of oxygen with Haki and bring it along.
"What a gigantic gemstone," Imu murmured to himself as he took in the scene.
At a glance, it was a sphere of crimson crystal, shedding a pink-white radiance.
By naked-eye estimate, its diameter was a bit over 1 000 km—roughly one-third that of the moon.
With a body that large, no wonder it could shape the ecology of an entire planet.
He could indeed sense a quick, lively consciousness within it, and it seemed mildly wary of his arrival.
A pity—Imu and it had no way to communicate directly. Perhaps bringing Brimir here would solve that.
If only I had Roger's ability to hear the voice of all things…
Still, Imu had his own method.
He swept his right hand, casting a ribbon of black light that sank into the crimson crystal in an instant.
It was not an attack, but a divine power laden with images.
Through it, Imu conveyed scenes of Starfish from his memories, intelligence concerning the "Void God," and what he intended to do next.
He trusted that if it truly possessed higher intelligence, it would understand.
"I'm moving you to a new home—bigger and better. Be a good 'light bulb' there, and cooperate. Otherwise, you're going to get eaten."
Sure enough, not long after, the "little red sphere" began to draw in its glow.
"Brother, go ahead—I'm ready. Make it quick!"
To the beings below in the zero-magic world, the small pink moon in the sky suddenly vanished.
They felt nothing else at first.
But before long they would notice the ambient mana thinning, thinning—until it vanished entirely.
Seeing how cooperative it was, Imu smiled in satisfaction and unleashed the Devil Fruit ability within his body.
With his right palm turned down, he birthed a hollow white vortex that spun and spun.
A heartbeat later, with a low hum, the vortex expanded outward into a semi-transparent, pale-blue spherical space that kept swelling and spreading.
In the blink of an eye, the "little red sphere" before him was completely enclosed by the "ROOM" he had raised at full power.
"Reducio!"
He breathed the word and poured his intent into it.
At once, the colossal spatial sphere—its diameter over 1 000 km—flared with light and collapsed in an instant, dropping to roughly one-tenth of its original volume.
It didn't stop there. A few seconds later, it tightened again. And again, in cycles—
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