The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

A jet-black tentacle, composed entirely of some kind of pure energy, appeared out of nowhere.

Completely ignoring his vibration defenses and Observation Haki warnings covering his body, it pierced through his chest!

There was no pain.

There were no physical wounds.

However, a cold, hollow sense of nothingness, as if it were sucking away one's soul, was rushing wildly into the body along that black tentacle!

Gern felt his vitality, domineering aura, and even his mind being slowly and steadily eroded and stripped away by this force!

“When…” Gern’s throat bobbed, producing a dry sound, the voice of Whitebeard echoing in his mind.

That thing pierced him...

"...No pain, no wounds..."

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Several more identical black, ethereal tentacles shot out from nowhere.

In the same way, it pierced through the limbs and waist!

Five black tentacles instantly pinned Gern firmly to the spot!

Ignoring physical defense, ignoring Haki protection, and even ignoring Gern's Observation Haki, which had been upgraded to its limit!

Gern's body stiffened, and his pupils contracted.

He tried to break free by using a shockwave, but found that the tentacles were connected to his "existence" itself, and he could not get rid of the elementalization!

At the same time, Im's hollow, inhuman voice seemed to come from all directions, or perhaps it was directly echoing deep within Gern's mind.

Still devoid of emotion, yet carrying an indifference of "it should be this way."

"Mmm, I said it..."

"Your choice was wrong."

Chapter 577 'Rejection'

There was no blood, no wounds, and not even... any pain!

But a chilling, hollow feeling, as if one's own "existence" is being forcibly erased and ripped away, is terrifying.

It surged wildly into the depths of the soul along that tentacle!

Gern was frozen in mid-air, completely stiff and unable to move!

The prolonged tremors on the island abruptly ceased, plunging the island into a deathly silence.

Below, the horse skeleton that had been repeatedly ravaged stopped struggling and transformed back into the human form of Nasujuro Sei, who was wearing a kimono.

In front of Gern, Im followed the several black tentacles that pierced Gern.

After "walking" all the way, it finally stopped in mid-air, almost face to face with Gern, and calmly looked at Gern.

Then two more black tentacles emerged from Im's outline.

One of them, coiled up from the black sword Bahuang that was stuck diagonally in the rubble below, was slowly handed to the imprisoned Gein.

But Gern couldn't move even a single finger.

Im seemed to find it somewhat amusing and deliberately loosened his tentacles.

"Clang."

The Eight Desolations fell again, standing alone among the rocks, humming softly.

A voice, tinged with disdain and boredom, resounded directly in Gern's mind.

It was still that inhuman, overlapping tone, but now it carried a barely perceptible hint of a laugh.

"Ah, not 'D,' not a descendant of 'Davy?'..."

"Holding the belongings of a loser..."

"Delusional challenge to Mu."

"How ridiculous."

Im commented as if he were critiquing a failed work of art.

But then, a subtle emotion seemed to creep into its tone regarding the "unexpected discovery":

"However, your 'Devil Fruit ability'... is somewhat unexpected for Mu."

"No wonder you've gotten this far."

Then, the voice turned icy cold.

"But, your 'choice'...."

"It made you lose everything."

Gern was imprisoned, unable to even move his eyes, but his remaining consciousness was frantically resisting the erosion of "being erased from existence".

He could clearly feel these black tentacles piercing through him at the same time

It has been trying to forcibly dismantle and devour his "self-awareness" and "emotions".

It's like erasing words from paper with an eraser.

“You’re trying to stir up my emotions…” Gern managed to squeeze out a response in his mind with his last remaining willpower.

"Or rather... they want to erase 'me'."

He could feel that his Conqueror's Haki was being greatly suppressed.

Yet it still burns stubbornly like a candle flickering in the wind, resisting this deepest form of erosion.

“Not bad, that’s quite imposing,” Im said calmly.

"But it's just a slightly tenacious ant."

The moment the words left his mouth...

A jet-black, ethereal tentacle was aimed at Gern's brow.

"Because, M, you can absolutely... be 'powerful'."

Then, gently push it forward.

"puff."

A very faint sound of a bubble bursting.

The tentacles pierced through Gern's forehead.

There was still no physical damage, and no blood.

But at the very moment it was pierced...

Gern felt as if the beacon in his mind, representing "self-awareness" and desperately sustained by Conqueror's Haki, had been completely extinguished by the coldest darkness.

All thoughts, emotions, memories, perceptions, the will to resist...

Everything that constitutes the inner essence of the existence of "Gern Reginald Sigmar"

In an instant, it vanished into nothingness.

Gern's eyes lost their last spark of life, becoming empty and lifeless.

The world was plunged into an endless, absolute silence and emptiness, where even the concept of "darkness" no longer existed.

Islands, sea, sky, enemies, friends... all the sights and feelings I had experienced along the way vanished completely, like chalk drawings that had been erased.

Im retracted all his black tentacles.

Gern's body became like a puppet with broken strings, falling limply from mid-air.

It crashed heavily into the rubble below, raising a few specks of dust before falling silent.

On the deserted island, the sea wind still howls, the cracked earth stretches out in all directions.

And a body lying in the rubble, still showing vital signs (perhaps) but whose soul and consciousness seemed to have been completely "formatted".

"Skyquake" Gern........

It seems that this is how his "existence" came to be...

The end.

“Perfect.” Im had no intention of killing Gern.

That would be such a waste.

One who can defeat the Five Elders, has reached a higher level of Conqueror's Haki at the King level, and has developed their Devil Fruit ability to...

A powerful individual capable of threatening the "immortality" trait is far more valuable than a corpse.

It's even comparable to Harald back in the day!

Therefore, it will transform Gern into something more perfect, erasing his will while retaining his power and fighting instincts....

Moreover, it can summon a "puppet" that allows it to descend.

This is an end more complete than death.

In his imagination, the 'Abyss Contract' pattern gradually spread to Gern's entire body, causing his body to convulse slightly, as if he was subconsciously resisting this "transformation".

But Im's will firmly suppressed all resistance.

And so it went, slowly, slowly...

But just as the lines were about to reach the heart and complete the final "coverage".

"boom!!!"

An unsettling tremor erupted from the deepest part of Gern's body!

It wasn't Haki, nor the power of the Heaven-Shattering Fruit, but something more primal and essential.

In the very concept of “vibration” itself, it is attempting to reactivate Gern!

With a trembling heartbeat!

Gern's body jolted violently!

The five black tentacles trembled violently simultaneously as they were struck by an invisible force!

For the first time, a clear sense of "surprise" flashed in Im's eyes.

Next second

"Bang, crack!"

Centered on Gern's heart, a ring of pale cracks, visible to the naked eye, appeared out of thin air and spread rapidly outwards like ice shattering!

Wherever the crack passed, the dark red "blessing" patterns crumbled and vanished as quickly as frost encountering boiling oil!

“This is…” Im’s voice wavered.

It wasn't resisted by Gern's consciousness or domineering aura, but rather by something more fundamental, closer to the "rules"!

Chapter 578 'Spark'

"Boom!"

A powerful heartbeat resounded from deep within Gern's chest!

This heartbeat does not represent a physiological pulsation, but rather a declaration of something deeper and more essential: "existence"!

Gern is a time traveler.

He once lived in another world, a completely different country.

In that world, he received a different kind of education and was indoctrinated with a different kind of thought from a young age.

We remember the teacher's portrait, and we remember those simple yet profound words...

The power of Im represents oppression, enslavement, eternal domination, and the annihilation of the individual.

Deep within Gern's heart lies the ever-burning "spark" sown by his teacher!