Sky Island, Angel Beach
The young girl, Conis, sat quietly on the beach, gently plucking the strings of her harp. The melody drifted over the shoreline, peaceful yet tinged with unease.
After a while, she stopped playing and sighed softly, setting the harp across her lap.
"That was beautiful. Why did you stop?"
A calm male voice startled her. Few people ever came to this beach; she usually played alone to soothe her nerves.
Startled, Conis quickly stood up and turned around.
A man in a white suit stood there, a pristine coat of justice draped over his shoulders and fluttering gently behind him. It was Chiga, who had just arrived on Sky Island.
Seeing Conis frozen and uncertain, Chiga took a step forward and offered a soft smile.
"Did I startle you? Sorry about that. I just arrived and happened to hear your music. It was really beautiful."
"Oh… thank you!"
Flustered but flattered, Conis's nerves eased slightly. But as she looked up at Chiga and saw his back, her eyes widened in shock.
"You don't have wings!? You're not from Sky Island?"
"No," Chiga replied with a faint smile. "I came from below."
"You're from the Blue Sea? You got up here by yourself?"
"Yes."
"But how? How did you even get up here?"
Faced with her rapid questions, Chiga looked slightly amused. Without answering, he slowly rose into the air, floating effortlessly.
Conis watched in stunned silence, confirming again and again that he had no wings. Finally, she asked in awe,
"Can all Blue Sea people fly like this?"
"No. Only a very rare few can."
Indeed, only a handful in the world of One Piece had the power of flight. Techniques like Sky Walk had limitations, and most flight-capable abilities came from specific Devil Fruits—typically variants of the Bird-Bird Fruit.
After hovering for a moment, Chiga returned to the ground. Conis was still staring at him, astonished.
Changing the subject, Chiga asked gently, "Why did you stop playing just now? I heard you sigh. Something troubling you?"
Conis's smile faded immediately. Her thoughts turned to Sky Island's current ruler—Enel.
Ever since the former god, Gan Fall, had been overthrown, Enel had taken control of Sky Island. With his lightning powers, no one dared oppose him.
From his palace, he could hear the voices of everyone on Sky Island. A single disrespectful word could bring divine punishment in the form of a deadly bolt of lightning. People lived in constant fear.
He had also instituted the "Eleven Sins"—a set of harsh laws. The lowest among them was "illegal entry."
Thinking of that, Conis's face turned pale, and she suddenly grabbed Chiga's sleeve.
"This is bad! You've committed one of the Eleven Sins! You're an outsider! You have to go—fly back to the Blue Sea!"
"God? You mean Enel?"
The moment Chiga uttered Enel's name so casually, Conis trembled. Such open disrespect was unthinkable here.
And as if summoned by that name, thunderclouds instantly gathered in the sky above them, electric arcs crackling and dancing in the darkening clouds.
Conis's heart dropped. Her face went pale.
She knew what this meant. Enel had heard them. Divine punishment was on its way.
Resigned to her fate, Conis slumped against Chiga's abdomen and closed her eyes. If she had to die, then at least she wasn't alone. This Blue Sea person had made a kind impression.
Chiga looked down at her small form leaning on him. With a gentle expression, he covered her ears to shield her from the sound of the coming storm.
Moments later, a massive bolt of lightning streaked from the sky, striking them with a thunderous boom. Smoke exploded around them, swallowing them in an instant.
---
"Am I… dead?"
After an uncertain amount of time, Conis slowly opened her eyes, glancing around with confusion.
She was in a strange purple-hued space. The Blue Sea man from earlier stood beside her.
Looking around again, she realized the world beyond the violet barrier was blackened and scorched. It took her a moment to recognize that this was the same beach—only completely transformed.
Turning her gaze up, she saw Chiga's helpless expression. Only then did she realize she was still leaning against him.
Embarrassed, a pink flush rose to her cheeks. She quickly pulled away, about to apologize—when her eyes shot upward.
Floating above Chiga was a giant, ghostly purple skeleton.
Startled by the enormous, otherworldly figure, Conis screamed and leapt back into Chiga's arms.
"W-w-w-what is that!? Have I died and gone to hell? I didn't do anything wrong!"
Chiga sighed softly, feeling the fabric of his coat dampen from her tears. He gently patted her back to calm her down.
Then he held her shoulders and gently pushed her back. Using one hand, he wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes.
"That thing's part of my ability," Chiga explained calmly. "You're not dead. Neither of us are."
"O-oh… really?"
Conis stared at him in disbelief. This Blue Sea person was truly something else. She had never heard of anyone surviving Enel's divine punishment before.
---
Inside the grand palace of God Enel…
The young lightning-wielding tyrant sat lazily on his throne, yawning as he picked at his ear with a finger.
"That Blue Sea guy… interesting," he muttered. "He actually blocked Divine Punishment."
Below him, four priests quickly stepped forward with fawning grins.
"Leave it to us, God!" one of them declared. "We'll teach him the price of disrespect!"
Enel didn't even bother to glance at them. He waved his hand impatiently.
"Go ahead, then. Oh, and he's got a local girl with him. Deal with her, too."
"Yes, God!"
---