Chapter 79: Prophecy

"Three down!" Roger's wild laughter echoed through the Sea Forest as he held up the rubbing of the Poneglyph like a kid who'd just gotten his favorite toy. "Just one more until we reach the final island!"

The crew erupted in deafening cheers. The end of their journey had never felt so close.

Days of sailing fatigue vanished in an instant, every face glowing with excitement and anticipation.

Neptune watched this band of lawless pirates and shook his head helplessly, though he made no move to stop them.

"Your Majesty Neptune..." A timid voice came from behind the group.

Everyone turned to see a small mermaid who looked no older than ten, nervously clutching the hem of her dress, eyeing the intimidating humans with fear.

She had deep, penetrating eyes that seemed far too knowing for her age, as if they could see right through everything. In her arms, she cradled a crystal-clear orb like it was her only lifeline.

"Shyarly? What are you doing here?" Neptune recognized her, his tone tinged with surprise.

The little mermaid didn't answer. Her gaze moved past everyone and locked onto the apology written by Joy Boy, her large eyes filled with confusion and shock, as if witnessing something impossible.

"The promise... will be fulfilled..." she murmured, her voice soft yet carrying clearly to everyone present. "Ten years from now... our 'king'... will be born..."

"King?" Neptune froze.

"Yes... the mermaid princess..." Shyarly's body trembled slightly, as if bearing the weight of some tremendous revelation. "The one who can... speak with Sea Kings... the princess of legend!"

The ancient weapon, Poseidon.

Those words silently surfaced in Rayleigh and Kozuki Oden's minds, their expressions instantly darkening.

Not long ago, they'd seen related records in the Poneglyph on Skypiea and understood the terrifying power this prophecy represented.

"Gu ha ha ha!" Roger's booming laughter shattered the serious atmosphere once again. He threw his arm around Neptune's shoulders, slapping him like an old buddy.

"You hear that, Neptune! You're gonna have a daughter in ten years!"

"What?!" Neptune's massive frame went rigid, his face turning visibly red as he stammered, "Y-you bastard, what are you talking about! I'm not even married yet!"

"Well, you'd better get on that!" Roger waggled his eyebrows, completely ignoring the other man's embarrassment. "Ten years goes by in a flash! Don't make us wait for our princess!"

The crew couldn't help but laugh at His Majesty's innocent reaction.

Roger's interest had clearly shifted from the Poneglyph to this mysterious little mermaid.

He simply crouched down to meet Shyarly at eye level, examining the crystal ball in her arms with keen interest.

"Little lady, you're a fortune teller, right? Come on, read our futures too!"

Shyarly shrank back, intimidated by those eyes that seemed capable of burning through anything.

"Don't be afraid, Shyarly. They're not bad people," Neptune said, his tone carrying a helplessness he didn't quite recognize in himself.

With the king's reassurance, Shyarly calmed down a bit.

She carefully lifted her head to look at Roger, then slowly closed her eyes and placed her hands on the crystal ball.

In an instant, her pupils contracted sharply, her gaze seeming to pierce through Roger's body and into the distant future.

"I see... grand celebration... and... lonely curtain call..." Shyarly's voice carried confusion. "But... that's not the end, it's the beginning... The sea... is boiling..."

"Oh? Sounds pretty interesting!" Roger flashed a grin, completely unbothered.

"What about him? My first mate!" He suddenly grabbed Rayleigh and shoved him forward.

Shyarly looked at Rayleigh, her expression growing strange.

The images in the crystal ball blurred, then cleared again. The dashing, legendary swordsman was gone.

In his place was an old man covered in grease and grime, unshaven, holding a hammer and nails, tapping away at ships.

"You're... coating ships?" Shyarly tilted her head, sounding very uncertain.

"Pfft!"

"Bwahahaha!"

Iron [Buggy] and Shanks both burst out laughing at the same time.

"A coating craftsman? Rayleigh? Really?!"

"The mighty 'Dark King,' and your retirement plan is to become a handyman?!"

Rayleigh paused for a moment himself, then stroked his chin and laughed freely:

"Sounds like a peaceful retirement to me."

Next came Scopper Gaban.

"Ha ha ha! Come on, little lady, show me my future!"

Shyarly looked at him, the crystal ball's light flowing and shifting as her expression grew serious.

"I see... an intense battle."

"The opponent is enormous, like a mountain, its entire body shrouded in shadow... I can't make out its form..."

Scopper Gaban's breathing grew heavy as he grinned broadly: "Now that's more like it!"

"But..." Shyarly's voice carried something odd. "You're not using a weapon."

Scopper Gaban blinked.

The little mermaid continued: "You're bare-handed... pinning that massive creature... beneath you."

The crew exchanged glances, their minds automatically conjuring an image of a shirtless man wrestling with some indistinct giant beast.

"...Were his clothes... destroyed in the battle?"

"???"

Kyle: This is like... I can't hold it in!

Finally, everyone's gaze fell on Kyle, who was trying his best not to laugh.

"Our musician's turn!" Roger chuckled. "What earth-shattering symphony will he compose?"

Shyarly turned toward Kyle.

The moment her eyes met his, the little mermaid looked as if she'd been struck by an invisible sledgehammer. She lurched backward and sat down hard, the color draining completely from her face.

For the first time, those eyes meant to see the future filled with pure terror.

"Shyarly!" Neptune cried out in alarm, rushing to support her.

The crew's laughter cut off abruptly. Everyone sensed something was very wrong.

"What happened? What did you see?" Rayleigh asked in a grave voice.

"I can't... can't see clearly..." Shyarly's voice shook uncontrollably. She clutched her head tightly, as if resisting some horrifying vision. "The ground is shaking, rippling like ocean waves... The sky is shattering, like a mirror... Massive waves... waves swallowing everything..."

Her broken description sent chills down everyone's spines.

This wasn't a battle. It was pure natural disaster. The end of the world.

The Sea Forest fell into deathly silence. Even the fish seemed to sense that dread and scattered far away.

"What about... Kyle?" Scopper Gaban's voice came out dry.

Shyarly lifted her head and, with eyes filled with absolute terror, glanced one last time at Kyle.

"He's right there..."

"At the center of all that destruction..."

"With his back... to the entire world."