Chapter 415: Ascension
Roy closed his eyes.
But at this moment, he saw everything, and heard everything.
He "saw" the blue sky and white clouds, "saw" the gentle spring breeze, and "saw" the misty autumn rain.
He "saw" the high mountains and forests, with all living creatures leaping about.
He "saw" the first wisp of flame burn, and people cheering and jumping.
He "saw" the dawn break through the long night, and "saw" the trajectory of destiny.
That was the reverberation of the [World].
It was the things of the past that once existed in the previous world calling out to him.
"I am here."
They were right here.
And Roy knew what that was.
Just as mentioned before, the world he was currently in was the wreckage of the previous world.
The Pillar of Creation had already left this place, but the traces of its existence remained.
The people of the previous world had once made wishes to it here, offered sacrifices to it, and it responded to its believers and subjects with all things in the world.
The things it created with the Lineage Factor Source Energy and that power of creation no longer existed.
But the "wishes" remained.
That was not the wish of one or two things, but the wish encompassing an entire "world".
Of course.
That wish was also bound by the Abyss, absolutely not something an ordinary person could bear.
But now...
Buzz!
Roy slightly raised his hand, placing that crown on top of his head.
The Fruit Encyclopedia activated, and thus the countless "wishes" existing here began to be... swallowed whole by him.
Yes.
If there was a person in this world who could absorb and bear these wishes, then it definitely had to be Roy.
After absorbing the power of the three seeds of the Pillar of Creation, he already had the qualifications to bear and swallow all the wishes of the world.
And the "World Crown" on his head could ensure that he could liberate these "wishes" from their bindings.
That was the second step to ascending to godhood—the wishes of the world.
And now...
"Only the final step remains."
Roy slightly closed his eyes.
That's right.
Just as he said—only the final step remained.
He already possessed the residual wishes of the previous world, bearing the weight of the world. Right now, he was already close to that ultimate divine throne. As long as he had enough Lineage Factor Source Energy, he could create everything, change everything, and shape everything.
Of course, this was also the most difficult step.
Because "Lineage Factor Source Energy" had always been the most precious thing in this world.
The only thing possessing Lineage Factor Source Energy strong enough to be called a "Deity" was only the Pillar of Creation—and It had already been moved away by Imu.
In the original plan of Joy Boy and Davy Jones, this was also the only flaw.
According to their plan, under the power of the Nidhogg Fruit, the Dark-Dark Fruit, and the Nika Fruit, that destined Joy Boy would similarly reach the step Roy was at now. But the Lineage Factor Source Energy he possessed should only be the source energy within the three tree seeds, just a degraded version, a limited "god".
Of course, that didn't matter either.
After all, according to their original plan, the "Abyss" that Joy Boy had to deal with should also belong to a strongly bound state, and was not complete itself.
So they didn't need that Joy Boy to truly ascend the divine throne. Just having the power to confront Imu was enough.
But clearly, for Roy, the situation was not like this.
Because compared to Joy Boy, compared to Davy Jones, he had a "power" that completely exceeded cognition.
That was...
"Fruit Encyclopedia."
He whispered to himself in his heart: "Convert all the resources I currently possess completely into 'Lineage Factor Source Energy'."
As his words fell.
From his body, a miracle began to surge.
Boundless, powerful to the extreme, Lineage Factor Source Energy far exceeding what was originally borne by the three tree seeds within his body began to rise out of thin air.
They surged around him, within his four limbs and hundreds of bones, like waves and flowing tides of the sea.
And that was Roy's biggest difference.
His Fruit Encyclopedia possessed a power exceeding this world.
The most precious thing in this world, which originally should be impossible to generate naturally—the "Lineage Factor Source Energy".
With him, it could be directly exchanged limitlessly through money.
And one could easily imagine.
With the wealth The Zodiac had accumulated up to now, the Lineage Factor Source Energy he exchanged for was naturally an unprecedented amount.
But this was still not all.
Because here, in this piece of the world belonging to the past.
There was also a "final treasure" left for him by a companion similarly from the past.
Roy raised his hand and took out a worn treasure map from his chest pocket.
That was the treasure map he had obtained from Rocks's coffin not long ago in that already fallen City of God, "Lunarial".
And right now, Roy looked at the text and patterns on that treasure map.
All those patterns and lines were clearly... exactly the same as the location he was at right now.
Thus, he looked towards the location on the treasure map drawn with a "smiling face", symbolizing the treasure.
His hand gently lifted.
The next moment, the earth of that piece of the world silently parted—the scorched ground bowed to him, the shattered core waved to him.
And deep within that earth, Roy then saw that city.
That city from ancient years ago, its entirety constructed from countless, even incalculable amounts of gold.
That was one of the legends most yearned for by the pursuers of the Grand Line.
That was the "City of Gold" shaped by the People of the Moon who came from beyond the sky, relying on endless Lineage Factor Source Energy and resources.
That was...
[Ancient City: Shandora]
"You fulfilled the promise perfectly, Rocks."
Thus, Roy revealed a smile.
After seeing the final treasure map left behind by Rocks.
He had already understood that the treasure recorded on this treasure map was inevitably the ancient city "Shandora" that was taken away from the sky island by Rocks back then.
This city possessing endless gold was also the final step on Roy's path to ascending to godhood.
And the reason Rocks didn't leave it on the sky island back then was also very simple—Roy told him that if he left Shandora on the sky island, then this island would briefly fall into Enel's hands.
And besides that, if the Roy of that time had obtained this endless "money" as a resource, then he, who hadn't yet realized what Lineage Factor Source Energy was and had no concept of the world's truth, would inevitably choose to use it recklessly.
So, during God's Valley, Rocks had already promised—he would take these treasures away, and leave them for the most important moment, in the most crucial place.
That was... right now.
As a member of the Davy family, and as a Davy who became the overlord of the sea with the world as his goal, Rocks of course knew of Laugh Tale's existence, and even exactly knew Laugh Tale's coordinates—to him, the four Road Poneglyphs were not some precious items that were difficult to obtain.
But similarly, as a Davy, he originally had no intention of heading to this final island before the time was ripe.
Until he made an agreement with Roy.
"I will place the treasure in the place you need it most, and absolutely won't be known by anyone else."
And here, was that answer.
The seal left by Joy Boy was incredibly powerful. Under normal circumstances, other than Roy, it was fundamentally impossible for anyone else to pass through Laugh Tale's barrier.
But Rocks's ability could.
Through the Op-Op Fruit whose ability range could affect several kilometers, he could continuously carry out "spatial displacement" on the entire Shandora along with himself.
Until he stored this ancient city right here.
And he did so, only so that the companion he chose, upon arriving at this promised land at the final moment... could complete that final step of "leaping up".
"Go forth!"
In this instant, Rocks's loud laughter seemed to reach Roy's ears.
Thus, Roy also grinned.
He raised his hand, slowly aiming at that city constructed from gold.
Accompanied by that city being swallowed by the Fruit Encyclopedia.
[A massive amount of Beli has been obtained, current Beli amount is...]
Looking at that number behind which could be called "infinite".
Roy no longer held anything back.
Even more tyrannical Lineage Factor Source Energy continued to surge, continued to be manufactured, until it was like a sea, like a mountain, like the world itself.
Thus...
"Go forth."
He ascended the divine throne.