Early chapters on Pátreon.com/Herd99.
(Got a New multiversal fic on Pátreon called WEATHER WIZARD SI. It starts in DC and quickly divulges into other dimensions. Check it out as the first chapters are free)
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On the seventh morning, Kain woke up.
Really woke up.
No sleepwalking. No workouts on autopilot. Just slow, conscious movement and a stretch that popped half the joints in his back. He sat up on the cot, rubbed his eyes, and looked around the cell.
"Still not a dream," he muttered, voice scratchy. "Still in the sky. Still in a cloud prison. Still not in my bed. At least my body has gotten used to the thin atmosphere."
Breathing was much easier than the first day and he felt so full of vitality. He'd have to nap extra hard just to expend some of it.
The guards stared through the door like he was a rare animal that had finally opened its eyes.
"He's awake," one of them whispered.
"Should we say something?"
Before anyone could decide, the heavy door creaked open.
Three guards stepped inside, not nervous, but definitely not relaxed either.
One of them cleared his throat. "It's time."
Kain blinked. "Time for what? Breakfast?"
"Your execution."
Kain sighed. "Ah. So not breakfast."
He stood up slowly, stretching his arms out like someone shaking off a nap, not walking toward a death sentence. "You know, you guys could really work on your hospitality. First, no pillows- I had to make my own. Now, this."
No one laughed. It wasn't the kind of morning for jokes.
-
They walked him through the clouds, across a narrow bridge suspended over nothing. The air was quiet except for the wind, and the soft crunch of sandals on cloudstone. Kain took it all in, not hurrying, not resisting.
It was a strange kind of peace. He'd gotten used to chaos. Garp's fists. Monster Island. System missions with stupid names. But now… this?
This was almost boring.
"I can work with boring," Kain muttered under his breath.
They reached the platform. A circular stage at the heart of Skypiea's upper city. The crowd had already gathered. Sky Islanders filled the steps and balconies like they were watching a festival, not an execution. Some looked afraid. Others curious. A few just bored.
Kain stepped into the center.
He was tied to a thick post—not struggling, not resisting.
One of the guards spoke up, voice loud and rehearsed. "This intruder has trespassed upon divine land without paying the toll, assaulted the Sky Forces, and mocked sacred order. Let his fate be decided by God's judgement!"
"God? Pass. I'd rather it be the Devil. Gods are overrated, just ask Ganfall." Kain yawned.
Someone in the crowd gasped.
"Actually where is Ganfall?" Kain wondered, having considered the former God as a bird of the same feather.
No one answered as silence settled over the execution square. Not a word. Not a whisper. Even the clouds seemed to stop drifting.
Then—
A low hum of electricity buzzed through the air.
The sky darkened—not by weather, but by something else. Something off. Something unnatural.
A voice cut through the silence. It echoed from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Silence, intruder."
Kain looked up, eyes squinting against the sudden glare.
Descending from above on a massive drum-shaped hoverboard was a figure in flowing robes, his chest bare, adorned with gold. His ears had long lobes. His expression was… smug.
Too smug.
Enel.
Kain didn't need the system to tell him this guy had a god complex. It was radiating off him like static.
He hovered above the crowd, lightning crackling from his fingertips, his voice deep and theatrical.
"You have trespassed. You have mocked divinity. And now, you shall be judged by God himself."
Kain tilted his head. "You're the god around here? You look like a cosplay contest finalist."
The crowd gasped again.
Enel's eye twitched.
"You will regret that."
Kain shrugged. "I regret a lot of things. This is somewhere in the middle."
The tension in the air shifted. The clouds above swirled. Sparks danced around Enel's arms.
Kain looked up, his expression flat.
"Let me guess. Lightning bolt?"
Enel smirked. "By the power of God, you shall be smitten. Thor's Judgement!"
The sky lit up.
A massive bolt of lightning surged downward, bright enough to blind the crowd. It hit the platform with a thunderous crack, engulfing Kain in a tower of white-hot electricity.
People screamed. Some looked away. Others held their breath.
The light faded.
Smoke rose from the platform.
Everyone leaned forward, trying to see.
And there, still standing, was Kain-his entire body covered in an obsidian coat of Armament Haki.
He wasn't scorched. He wasn't smoking. He looked mildly annoyed.
The rope that had tied him to the post had vaporized. His hair stood up in every direction. His marine hoodie had a new burn mark across the sleeve.
He cracked his neck and looked up at Enel.
"That tickled."
Enel stared in disbelief. "Impossible…"
Kain sighed. "I've been hit harder by a man eating crackers in his sleep."
The Shonen System finally chimed in, breaking the silence in Kain's head.
[System Notification: Divine Judgment Detected!]
- Objective: Survive Enel's attack.
- Reward: 10,000 BSP and a Free Nap Pass (50 uses).
- Failure Penalty: You'll be reincarnated as a sea slug.
Kain frowned. "That sea slug thing again? What's your obsession with those?"
The system didn't respond. It never did when he asked real questions.
Kain walked forward, brushing ash off his shoulder. The crowd parted in stunned silence. The guards didn't move.
He looked up at Enel, squinting against the sun behind the self-proclaimed god.
"You done playing Zeus, or are we still doing this?"
Enel floated above the crowd like he belonged there. The way he stood, the way his eyes narrowed—he looked less like a god and more like a man desperate to stay one.
"You should not be standing," he said, voice clipped. "No mortal has ever survived my judgment."
Kain exhaled through his nose. "Well, maybe it's time you updated your scoreboard. Oh and Haki."
The crowd hadn't moved. No one dared. Even the guards who were supposed to be in charge had backed off, trying not to draw attention. One wrong twitch and they'd end up between a pissed-off lightning man and a nap-deprived Marine.
Kain rolled his shoulder. The tingling from Enel's bolt still hummed beneath his skin, like his bones had been tuned to the wrong radio frequency.
He wasn't unharmed- a few million volts had somehow slipped through Armament. But he was still standing. And that was enough.
"Let me guess," Kain said, taking a step forward, "this is the part where you throw a tantrum and try to blow me off the island?"
Enel didn't respond with words.
He raised one hand, and the sky cracked open again.
Another bolt screamed down from the heavens—faster, thicker, angrier.
Kain braced himself.