The sandstorm was like blood, the setting sun dyeing Alabasta burning amber.
The "Orange Mothership" hovered above the desert, casting a huge orange shadow—an oasis that could fly.Leon stood at the bow, the counter on his right hand ticking: 117:00:00.[System Alert:Next node·Sand-Core locked]Nami spread a desert climate chart, finger on the capital Alubarna: "The sand-core lies beneath the Underground Mirror Palace—backup port 05 and the heart of the royal tomb."Leon spawned a "Thermal Sand Shield"—an orange light-dome that enveloped the mothership, blocking external heat and sand.
They landed on "Sand-Cushion Blocks", leaving glowing footprints like pixel-outlined paths.At the capital gate, guards blocked: "Humans? Why carry Sea-Prism scent?"Leon displayed the "pseudo Sea-Prism badge": "We are 'pixel envoys' come to purify the sand-core—please allow passage."The guards hesitated, but a golden sand-sled approached, window lowering to reveal Princess Vivi's smile: "Let them through—they are allies."The sled entered an underground tunnel and reached the "Mirror Palace"—a subterranean palace of mirror-crystal, walls reflecting infinite images, a world copied upon itself.In the central hall a fifteen-metre "Sand-Core Heart" hovered in mid-air, surface covered with golden sand-grains and black code; each beat released a ring of sand-dust pulses.The system popped:[Backup Port 05:Sand-Core Mirror Heart]
[Purification condition:defeat guardian BOSS·Mirror-Sand Queen]The floor cracked; the Mirror-Sand Queen burst from the earth—thirty metres tall, body a mix of mirror-sand grains and pixel code, wielding a giant fan whose surface was an endless reflection of virus strings.She opened her mouth and emitted synthetic sound: "Refuse purification—execute mirror-formatting!"Battle erupted.
The queen fanned once; mirror-sand grains formed an "Infinite Reflection Matrix", rebounding every attack back at the attacker.Leon tried "Bedrock Missiles"—the matrix reflected them, sending them back at himself; he had to spawn a "Bedrock Shield" to block.Nami drove "Clima-Tact·Mirage Dragon", summoning a hundred-metre heat-mirage to distort mirror-refraction angles, creating a breach for Leon.Final strategy—
Leon raised the "Uranus Core" high; the core released a black absorption pulse, forcibly sucking the "Infinite Reflection Matrix" into itself, the mirrors shattering instantly.The queen let out a final electronic screech, body disintegrating into golden sand-dust, a reversed sandstorm.
The sand-core heart stopped beating and transformed into the fifth "Uranus fragment".System prompts refreshed:[Backup Port 05 purification complete]
[Pixel rule writing progress:2.0 %]
[Next node:Skypiea·Cloud-Core]Princess Vivi witnessed everything, eyes complex: "You… are rewriting the rules of the world?"
Leon smiled: "No, we are rewriting the definition of 'freedom'."He turned away, his back reflected in the mirrors like moving code.
Nami caught up and whispered: "You just said 'freedom'—what do you mean?"Leon gazed at the desert reddened by sunset: "I mean this world will no longer be controlled by 'fate', but by 'choice'."Count-down 117 hours—continues.