Capítulo 26: Chapter 25
"Did you not listen to what your sister just revealed? The Sword is Cursed!" Izaya yelled out in panic.
Sin stayed silent and kept looking the old woman in the eyes. And just as Lacos was about to step in, Augur placed his hand on his shoulder and drained him of all his energy.
"Stay down." He indifferently said to the fallen warrior.
"Are you going to spill blood in this sacred place?" Izaya apprehensively asked as she tightly held onto her staff. She could sense that Sin's mind was made up, and there was nothing that could stop him from seeing the sword.
"Do you want me to?" He playfully asked.
"Please let the sword stay locked. It is for the best." She pleaded.
"Things like that don't stay locked up forever." He lightly said. "And it is in the best interests of you and your people that the Sword is no longer here."
The old Priestess had never in her life felt so weak and helpless. She wanted to argue with him, but she knew that nothing she would say would change his mind.
Sin knew that she would give in, and he had signalled to his Crew to stay in their place and not make a move on her. After debating with herself for nearly 10 minutes, Izaya lowered her head and silently walked over to the back wall of the chamber. She used her staff to start a mechanism that revealed a hidden door in the wall, with stairs leading to the secret chamber.
"Thank you." Sin appreciatively said and walked past her.
"I hope you understand what you are doing." Izaya story spoke. "If you fail, you die, and that would not be the worst of it." She reminded him of the possibility that he could go insane like the Prince and end up killing his sister and the crew.
Sin ignored her words and silently descended the stairs, arriving in a small chamber, where a two-handed straight sword was resting on a stone among three crystal orbs.
The scabbard of the sword was decorated in gemstones, with Tribal patterns of the Asuka Kingdom on it. And right where the guard of the sword connected with the scabbard, there was a beautiful Peacock carved on it.
He stayed looking at it for a couple of minutes, appreciating the work that was put into the making of the scabbard, and then stepped forward to gently pick up Shichiseiken from the place it had been resting for over a millennium.
For a Cursed Sword with its Will, Sin found it unusually calm. He could not sense any intent from it, which was a bit strange, but he did not doubt its authenticity.
The simplistic handle of the sword perfectly fit in his hand, and the pommel had a green gemstone embedded in it, that gave it a simple yet dignified look. However, considering that it was the handle of the sword that was said to be the most beautiful was a big letdown.
Sin had to control the urge to draw it out and see what the blade looked like,but he had not completely lost his mind and reason and understood that was not a safe place to do it.
The Crew had been patiently waiting for the Captain in Izaya's room, and when he emerged out of the secret door with the sword in his hand, all of them heaved a sigh of relief.
"The scabbard is extravagant, but the handle of the sword is rather simplistic," Bepo commented after he observed the sword. "The blade is not wide..."
"It's a longer version of a traditional Jian Sword." Sin smiled at him and tossed the sword to him.
Bepo yelled in surprise but managed to catch it. However, his body was uncontrollably trembling in fear. He knew that even if it looked harmless, it was a Cursed Sword. And seeing him fret so much about it, all his friends laughed at him.
"It's lighter than what it looks like." He curiously said after he calmed down.
Everyone on the crew one by one inspected the sword. And after they were done looking at it, Hancock handed it back to Sin.
"Are you going to draw it out here?"
"No." He shook his head. "Let's go find a safe place on the Island. I will draw it out there."
Everyone nodded to his words and they bid farewell to Izaya before following their Captain out of the Temple.
Deciding not to draw the attention of the villagers to the Sword, the crew silently left the village after checking up on the girls, who were busy playing around with the children of the village.
"Stay here." Sin said after they reached an uninhabited place on the Island, where a beautiful lake was situated, surrounded by trees on all sides.
Seeing him move to the other side of the lake tensed the crew. It was the moment of the truth, and that was what was worrying them. Yes, they had faith in him, but they deeply cared for him and were worried about his well-being.
"He better not lose his mind to a damn sword or I will kill him myself." Bonney clenched her fists and commented, but her eyes were filled with worry.
"He will be fine." Robin lightly said, but despite her confidence in her brother, she could not help her palpitating heart.
Sin looked at the Seven Star Sword intently for a good minute before he took a deep breath, and grabbed the handle tightly.
"Let's see what you have in store for me." He grinned and started pulling out the sword.
At first, it was going smoothly, but after one-third of the sword was out of the scabbard, Sin felt like a mountain was pressing on his mind.
The scenery before his eyes changed, and he found himself in an empty void. However, he could feel and see the Seven Star Sword in his hand, which was now ominously glowing in green light.
There were strange patterns on the blade, that were glowing green. It was as if those patterns were filled with some sort of glowing liquid, and what was surprising was that they could move and change their forms. However, Sin could not really appreciate its beauty right now.
His mind felt like it would be squashed if he lost his concentration, and he felt like he had to give his all if wanted to pull out the rest of the sword.
It worked for him until two-thirds of the sword was out, and that was when all hell broke loose.
Sin felt like he was losing control over his body, and his Conqueror's Haki unleashed itself in rebellion against the Will that was trying to overpower him. And as a result, powerful bursts of Haki emerged from his body and spread all over.
"What's happening?!" Bepo called out in alarm as a storm started to gather in the sky above the Island. But he soon received the answer to his question.
Deep red streams of lightning-like energy started surrounding Sin. And the powerful bursts of Conqueror's Haki that suddenly erupted from him, rattled the minds of the weaker Crew Members.
Bepo, Kuina, and Hanchi dropped onto their knees, panting heavily, but then another burst of Haki hit them and they lost consciousness.
Law and Augur joined the rest after a while, and it soon got so strong that even Bonney fell unconscious to the never-ending waves of Conqueror's Haki that burst out of Sin.
Robin and Hancock were the only ones who maintained their consciousness, but that was only because they were using their own Haki to counter him. Streams of Lightning-like energy surrounded the two of them as they tried to withstand the Power that was adamant about crushing them.
The two of them thought that everything was finally over when things suddenly calmed down, but then they heard Sin's cold voice and felt chills run up their spines.
"Yield!" His cold-grey eyes bore into the Sword in his hands, and another Powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body, and this time, it was too strong for even Robin and Hancock to withstand it.
The Will of a Conqueror washed over all of the Asuka Island, spreading far into the seas. And every sentient being that it touched lost its consciousness right away.
Sin did not know what had transpired outside, he was still inside the void looking intently at the Sword. He was beyond his limits by now and felt like he had no strength left in him. However, he knew that the Sword in his hand was responsible for everything that was happening to him, and he knew that he could not afford to lose to it. He was not going to give in, no matter the cost.
"Yield!" He commanded it again with a voice that contained all his Willpower, and that was when he blanked out for a moment. And at that moment he faced his worst nightmare.
Tears streamed out of his eyes, and his body was uncontrollably shaking, however, his mind still held onto his reasoning throughout the nightmare.
"Yield!" He commanded again when it was all over, and even after everything the sword had made him witness, his Willpower had not taken a hit.
[Blood of Kings, The Will of a Conqueror, and the Heart of a Ruler.] A gentle voice sounded in his mind, and Sin regained his clarity. [You are weak, but your Willpower transcends your strength. And you are a King worthy of wielding me. I submit.]
"You can talk?!" Sin astoundingly looked at the Sword in his right hand that was now fully drawn out of its scabbard. And it was truly a marvel to look at.
[Of course, everything with a Will of its own can talk.] The Sword answered, amused by his question. [But it is a surprise that you can now hear me.]
"Now? You have been talking before?"
[Yes, I have been talking since you picked me up from inside that chamber.] It answered, which made Sin frown. He had only just heard it speak now, but before it could get on his nerves, he brushed the thoughts aside to ponder over them at a later date.
Sin watched in amazement as the patterns on the sword changed and started taking the form of words, carving them on the blade. It was the ancient language he was quite familiar with, and the words that were finally carved on it included his name and a verse.
"Power, Glory, Envy, Reverence, Faith, Hatred and Love; The King of the Kings is the Blessed and the Cursed. The one that wears the Crown of Blood is the Ruler of the Seven Stars." He chuckled when he read it. "Aren't you a little too narcissistic?"
[Am I? Or is it you?] The Sword replied in amusement.
Sin ignored its question and calmly checked out the blade.
"You are indeed beautiful." He smiled and said before returning it to its scabbard. "And you are mine."
It was only then did he turn around to look at his crew, and his heart thumped hard against his chest when he found them all unconscious.
Estado de energía semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Piedra de
Poder