Even more hair-raising was that on the neck of this little girl's soul, there actually grew the upper torso of a shriveled old woman. Though she was less than half the size of the little girl's head, more than half of the little girl's youthful face had become identical to that of the shriveled old woman.
The little girl's entire face presented a distorted state that was half youthful and half aged.
At this moment, perhaps because the seawater suppressed the Devil Fruit's power, the old woman's part seemed to have fallen into silence. Even the side of the little girl's face that had been corroded was as lifeless as a dead object, creating a strange and terrifying tableau.
On the half of the face that was still a little girl, her eyes were hollow, and her lips were opening and closing soundlessly.
At this point, Charlotte Linlin's Observation Haki clearly captured a desperate plea being transmitted as the little girl's lips moved:
"Please... kill me!"
Charlotte Linlin temporarily set aside the idea of healing and used the Sky Fox Fruit's ability to communicate with souls to transmit her thoughts:
"Child. Can you tell me what's going on with you? I've never seen such a peculiar soul state."
The hollow-eyed, pleading soul of the little girl shuddered violently. An expression of disbelief appeared on the half of her face that was still intact, and she stared blankly in Charlotte Linlin's direction.
In her current perception, the outside world was no longer a cage of cold darkness and despair.
An incredibly warm and holy light illuminated her consciousness.
Within the light was a beautiful existence she couldn't describe in words, as if she were a collection of all the nobility, holiness, and kindness in the world, with nine dreamlike fox tails swaying gently behind her.
A soft halo enveloped the figure, her exquisite face filled with compassion and care as she watched her tenderly, like a deity from legend saving those in suffering.
"You... you can really see me?!"
The little girl's soul trembled as she asked tentatively, her half-face a mix of shock and a hope she didn't dare to expect.
"Yes, I can see you. Tell me, what happened? How did you end up like this?"
As if she had finally found an outlet, or perhaps fearing this sole hope would vanish in an instant, the little girl's soul immediately became agitated.
Great joy and uncontrollable excitement surged on that half of her youthful face. She wanted to dance for joy but was bound by invisible shackles, and could only emit violent soul fluctuations.
"That's great! That's great! Finally... finally someone can hear me speak!"
Her thoughts carried a sob, yet were filled with the ecstasy of long-standing darkness and loneliness finally being broken.
"Half a year! I've been in here for half a year! No one knew I existed, no one could talk to me! Has my half-year of prayer finally been noticed by the Sun God!"
She spoke excitedly, yet the other half of the bizarre old woman's face remained dead and numb, without any change. It formed a terrifying contrast with her own vivid and excited side, making her situation seem all the more pitiful and horrifying.
After the brief excitement, the little girl's mood quickly plummeted, her joy drowned by a massive wave of sorrow.
"But... it's a bit too late..."
The voice transmitted by her thoughts became choked with sobs.
"Grandpa Jorul... he's already dead... killed by me... by this body's own hands..."
She looked up, eyes filled with pain and pleading, toward the holy figure in the light:
"Lord Sun God... please, kill me! I don't want to watch this hypocritical and evil woman use my body to kill more people... my hands... are already stained with the blood of too many innocent people..."
In her Fox Girl form, Charlotte Linlin could clearly feel the despair and helplessness constantly pouring out of the little girl's soul.
The half of the face belonging to the child was written with pure grief and entreaty, while the other half occupied by the old woman slept peacefully and serenely, contrasting with the little girl's current despair.
Charlotte Linlin guessed that the reason for this bizarre situation was likely because the little girl's innate soul essence was powerful, while the old woman's soul essence was relatively weak, but there seemed to be some external force forcibly supporting and pushing the old woman's soul to corrode the little girl.
This external force was most likely the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit. The old woman's part falling into silence now was clearly due to the seawater suppressing the Soul-Soul Fruit's power.
"Don't be afraid," Charlotte Linlin transmitted her thoughts in a gentle tone.
"Things might not have reached that point yet. Tell me your name, and tell me exactly what happened. Maybe... I can help you. After all, I am an omnipotent god! Am I not?"
As for being called the Sun God by the little girl, she had no intention of explaining for now; she was worried that if she did, the little girl might develop some resistance.
Under Charlotte Linlin's gentle comfort, the little girl's emotions stabilized slightly. Although she was still full of resentment and fragility, at least that absolute, dead-end despair was temporarily dispelled.
She sobbed and began her narration: "Lord Sun God, my name is... Gölz..."
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