The king lowered his gaze to the shattered floor, blood dripping steadily from his lips and staining the stone beneath him. His breath hitched once—sharp, deliberate—as if he were gathering what little strength remained for words he knew would matter more than his life.
Cobra: finally... I see the path that Alabasta must take
Behind them, Imu's monstrous form surged forward.
It no longer resembled anything human. A massive, amorphous body of absolute blackness rolled and stretched across the hall, coated in a thick, suffocating red aura that warped the air around it. Two burning red eyes—empty of pupils, empty of mercy—locked onto them like beacons of annihilation. Each movement felt less like footsteps and more like the world being dragged toward it.
Cobra's weight suddenly shifted.
His body began to go limp over Kaito's shoulder.
Sabo: Don't die! Just hang on! We're gonna get you through this, okay!
The words were desperate—too desperate.
Before either of them could react, the black arrow that had pierced Cobra earlier reformed out of the darkness, twisting unnaturally in midair. It shot forward with impossible speed, aimed straight at Kaito.
Kaito barely cleared it, throwing himself aside as the arrow tore through the space where his chest had been a heartbeat earlier. But it didn't stop.
It curved.
Turned.
Then slammed into his side.
Kaito gasped as pain detonated through his body, blood spraying from his mouth as his legs buckled. Cobra slipped from his grasp, the king's body hitting the ground with a hollow thud.
The King and the revolutionary tumbled across the marble floor.
Kaito: King Cobra—!
He looked up just in time to see Sabo rushing toward the fallen king.
Every instinct in his body screamed.
Kaito: Wait—Sabo, don't!
Sabo hesitated.
Just for a second.
It was enough.
The arrow reappeared, shrieking through the air, and drove straight through Sabo's side. The chief of staff cried out, stumbling forward as blood poured freely, his flames flickering wildly before dimming.
Imu's massive form surged closer.
A mouth split open across its body—vast, unnatural, lined with rows of jagged triangular teeth that gleamed like blades forged from night itself.
Kaito and Sabo stared in horror, frozen, powerless.
Cobra coughed violently and somehow forced himself upright, pushing onto his knees. Blood streamed down his chin, soaking into his robes, yet his back straightened.
Even now.
Even here.
He raised his head and faced the ruler of the world.
Cobra (weakly): the poneglyphs... they're the flag of a new dawn
He spread his arms as if standing before his people once more—not a dying man, but a king. His eyes burned with clarity, resolve unbroken even as his body failed him.
Cobra: Nefertari... D... Lily
For a brief moment, he turned his head.
His gaze met Sabo's.
