SHADOW BEFORE CREATION Chapter 44 chapter 43

Arthur's Return (1)

Arthur opened his eyes once again.

The transition had been nothing more than a single movent of that mysterious shadow's finger, yet Arthur felt as though his entire existence had been reshaped. He was lying on the ground of a small, quiet island, wrapped in a strange silence broken only by the whisper of wind moving through the trees.

He slowly sat up, as if his body was still adjusting to the laws of this world once more. He looked around with a calm expression, eyes that seed to have passed through years of exhaustion and weariness.

After a few seconds of rest, Arthur took out his old clothes from the storage and put them on quietly. His short hair returned to its previous length—indeed, it had grown even longer than before—so he gathered it and tied it with a piece of black cloth. Then he stood firmly in place.

He lifted his head and looked around.

The island was truly strange.

Its trees were unnaturally tall, their trunks wide, and their leaves blocked the sky in certain places. There was no sign of a ship, no nearby sea, and no familiar landmark.

He spoke in annoyance as he exhaled sharply:

"That foolish shadow… he didn't return to the ship, he threw onto this strange island."

He looked around again, trying to understand the place, but to no avail. All he saw was the endless forest stretching around him. He sighed softly with faint sadness.

At that mont, he summoned his personal window.

Personal Window

| Na: Arthur Narin |

| Age: 18 years |

| Level: 220 |

| Spiritual Power: 500 |

| Strength: 5000 |

| Agility: 4500 |

| Endurance: 3000 |

| Intelligence: 100 |

| Devil Fruit: None |

| Haki: None |

| Personal Points: 5400 |

| Potions: 12 Miraculous Healing Potions |

He observed the numbers silently, then thought:

It was truly a great achievent… this rise in points and potions is not simple. And there is still a gift the system placed in the storage. And yet… damn it, Cthulhu… a true celestial entity. I can't believe that only monts ago I was fighting him between universes, and now I've returned to my universe… just a wanted pirate.

He closed the window and sighed quietly. He tried to squeeze his mind for an answer: who was that shadow? How did he possess such terrifying power? And how did he know about the system?

But all his attempts failed. Everything related to him was mysterious, illogical, and impossible to comprehend.

Finally he shook his head, as if pushing those thoughts aside, and began walking across the island.

"I need to find out where I am… where is the crew? What happened to them? And how long have I been gone?"

He moved between the trees, exploring the place. He found nothing except wild animals, but after a while he suddenly stopped.

Sothing moved in front of him.

His eyes widened when he realized the truth.

It was… a dinosaur.

He said in clear astonishnt:

"Damn… do dinosaurs still exist in the world of One Piece? Or did I return to the prehistoric era?"

The dinosaur, with its long neck, noticed Arthur's presence. It released a thunderous roar and charged toward him.

But Arthur did not move.

He stood there with a small, calm smile.

"I want to try sothing new this ti."

More than an hour later…

The ground was covered with the marks of a brutal battle. Dinosaur corpses were scattered everywhere, and the air was filled with the sll of blood.

Arthur finished the hunt with absolute ruthlessness. He had used the battle to test every attack he had learned and every combat idea that had crossed his mind.

He sat on the severed head of a dinosaur, summoned his personal window again, and began distributing his points.

"I shouldn't act recklessly… I'll keep part of the points. I might need them later."

Personal Window

| Na: Arthur Narin |

| Age: 18 years |

| Level: 220 |

| Spiritual Power: 2500 |

| Strength: 5200 |

| Agility: 4700 |

| Endurance: 3000 |

| Intelligence: 100 |

| Devil Fruit: None |

| Haki: None |

| Personal Points: 3000 |

| Potions: 12 Miraculous Healing Potions |

He finished the distribution calmly. He felt the energy condensing inside his body, especially after increasing his spiritual power. His presence beca heavier, deeper… and more terrifying.

He focused for a mont, then completely concealed his presence.

He smiled, but the smile faded when a new window appeared before him.

| Congratulations, Host. You have reached Level 250. |

| Congratulations on learning one type of Haki in the world of One Piece. |

| You have received 2000 points and a Miraculous Healing Potion. |

"Huh… Haki? What the hell is that? It still shows that I don't have Haki, but should I ask first what it even is?"

An explanatory window appeared.

| Haki is the user's spiritual power. |

| Types: |

| Armant Haki |

| Observation Haki |

| Conqueror's Haki |

| You have achieved slight progress in Armant Haki. |

Arthur opened his window again.

The Personal Window, and he looked only at the section related to Haki.

| Haki |

| – Armant Haki: 10% |

| – Observation Haki: 0% |

| – Conqueror's Haki: 0% |

He read the explanation carefully, then murmured:

"So that's what I felt… in Cthulhu's world, when I launched that sword strike, I felt sothing covering my hand. I didn't know what it was."

He smiled faintly.

"Armant Haki… a spiritual armor. Maybe, if I develop it completely, I can cover my entire body… or even my weapon."

He paused for a mont.

"Observation Haki… to predict the enemy's attacks.

Conqueror's Haki… releasing spiritual pressure to knock enemies unconscious."

He shook his head.

"For now… I only have 10% of Armant Haki. That's fine."

He closed the window and fixed his gaze forward.

"Now… I need to find out where I actually am."

He moved again.

But this ti… what he encountered was not an animal, nor a dinosaur, nor a human.

It was… a giant.

The giant stood before him, massive in body, holding an iron shield in his left hand and a huge sword in his right. His beard was long, and his gaze was filled with surprise as he stared at Arthur.

At that mont, the giant did not know that he had just made the greatest mistake of his long life.

Arthur… was still living in the shock of what had happened.

Only a short ti ago…

he had been fighting a great celestial entity.

Cthulhu…

a mighty ruler and destroyer of worlds.

The two had clashed in a terrifying, thunderous battle.

If not for the intervention of that mysterious shadow, Cthulhu would have destroyed worlds without rcy.

And if not for Arthur's intervention, Cthulhu's devastation would have accelerated even further, and destruction would have beco inevitable.

And now…

Arthur stood in a state of pure hatred toward giants.

After fighting a monstrous giant like Cthulhu, and after tasting defeat before a celestial entity, the anger in his heart had turned into sothing unnatural—sothing that could not easily be controlled.

Arthur…

who had never been defeated in his life.

The Demon of the Sky… Arthur Narin.

Since his transfer to Cthulhu's world, he had suffered repeated defeats and had nearly died many tis. His image of himself had cracked, and his pride—once untouchable—had been shaken.

And now, this giant stood before him…

not speaking, not attacking, only staring at him.

That alone was enough.

Arthur's anger ignited, and his eyes burned with a terrifying dark fla.

He pressed the ground beneath his feet with force, the earth exploded beneath him, and he leapt toward the giant's head within re monts.

Arthur reached the giant's head, whose face now showed disbelief and doubt.

Arthur pulled his right hand back, then launched a violent punch that struck the giant's face directly.

At that sa mont, he compressed the air beneath his feet and remained suspended in the sky, standing upon the void.

But this technique consud an enormous amount of energy.

So he moved imdiately.

The giant flew from the force of the punch and crashed into the corpse of a massive ancient beast, shattering everything beneath him.

Arthur, anwhile, was drowning in his anger…

burning rage, a regretful heart, and a mind on the edge of madness.

He fell from the sky directly onto the giant's head and began striking him again and again.

Punches without rcy.

He drove the giant's head into the ground with excessive violence, without stopping.

The giant before him…

in Arthur's mind, he saw nothing but Cthulhu's face.

That arrogant, superior face that had crushed him and stripped him of his certainty in himself.

At that exact mont…

Arthur raised his right hand toward the sky, and the Bracelet of the King of Weapons transford into a gigantic sword, far longer than his previous combat blade.

Anger, hatred, and the desire for revenge completely dominated his heart.

He no longer cared who this giant was.

In his eyes… the one standing before him was nothing but Cthulhu.

At that mont, a demonic aura leaked from Arthur's body.

A dark violet aura, powerful and sinister, swirled around his body. Its color gradually shifted into a bloody black, as though it had attached itself to his soul and body together.

That was…

Cthulhu's aura.

After Arthur had consud all the power he had gathered from Cthulhu's n, an extrely tiny fragnt of that power had seeped into him.

An incredibly small fragnt…

but it was enough.

Enough to turn Arthur into a mad, bloodthirsty demon.

Arthur raised the sword toward the sky, preparing to bring it down upon the giant's head, ending his miserable life with a single strike.

But at that mont…

he felt a sudden pain in his face and chest.

And he heard a loud, thunderous scream that pierced both his ears and his heart.

"Stop!"

"Stop, Arthur! Why are you attacking Master Giant? Stop!"

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