One Piece: Reborn as Enel

Chapter 217: Temple, Awakening and Thunder

_________ POV Narration _________

Enel released an exasperated sigh as he found himself in a completely different place.

A place that shone blue in light, he could feel the heat of the sun burning into his body as his eyes adjusted to the sudden increase in light.

It didn't take long for him to realize where he was, and what exactly surrounded him.

Lightning, plasma, pure energy from the way it felt.

The Emperor's entire body burnt slowly. In that second, he tried to use haki, his entire body taking on a black hue as he attempted to stop some of the heat from harming him.

It felt fruitless at that moment, while managing to resist the heat better, he could still feel it burning his body.

It was frustrating, and it was also likely what most of his opponents felt while fighting him.

No matter how strong someone's haki was, they wouldn't be able to survive being engulfed by the sun.

The only solution was to move away fast enough before the heat managed to do too much damage, or dying.

'So this is how that bastard, Jack the Draught, felt when I dropped a Raigo on him...'

It felt odd, but in truth, Jack had been the only person that Enel had used his Devil fruit at its full potential.

He had taken down agents with lightning, but Raigo was on a completely different level from a regular 'El Thor' or stray lightning bolt.

In the grand scheme of things, Jack was not worth a full-on Raigo. He was not strong enough to dodge Enel's regular lightning under any circumstance.

But the Emperor had gotten excited at the time and decided to go all out for once.

Currently, Enel felt like he was a regular human, thrown in the middle of a 'Raigo'. Which was why his mind wandered off to Jack, someone that wasn't truly worth his thoughts.

Alas, the Emperor needed something to distract him from the pain.

Slowly but surely, the light around him seemed to take different shapes in the Emperor's perception, as he struggled to resist.

The shapeless lights started to look more and more like endless pillars to the Emperor. The distance started looking like a wall of bright light.

It felt like he was in a room.

A temple, even. A Temple of Lightning.

'So this is the awakening trial? Did the Sun God have to go through something similar?!'

At that point, Enel couldn't even remember at that point. Concentrating on anything felt difficult.

It felt as if an eternity had passed when in reality it had only been a few seconds at best. And the Emperor knew it.

He could feel his very soul burning, the searing pain threatened to knock him unconscious by itself.

Had it not been for his training with Garp, Enel was sure that his body would've already been burnt to a crisp. His endurance had always been inhuman.

Even without much training, he was easily on par with Luffy in that aspect during the Strawhat's visit on Skypea in the original.

Later on, after training in the navy, he had grown strong enough to tank hits from a sickly Whitebeard, admirals, and even a half-serious Garp.

Now? Enel's endurance had reached a whole new level. To the point where it was unlikely for most people to even be able to injure him.

Even so. His body was still getting destroyed. It didn't matter how much endurance he had, he was still going to lose the battle he was currently in.

There was no fighting back, he couldn't turn himself into lighting and blend into the Temple, he couldn't fight back against the Temple.

It was as if his devil fruit powers had vanished.

But his perception was still very much enhanced. His perception of time was what allowed him the time to contemplate his situation to such an extent.

Regardless, all he could really do was burn. And burn quickly at that.

Before the Emperor could even realize it, all of his limbs were already burnt off...

He had only lost concentration for what must've been a few seconds, while his mind drifted off, but all of his limbs were melted off.

'How the hell am I even supposed to do this?!? How is anyone expected to resist this?!'

Even though he felt the situation was unfair, he didn't let himself get discouraged. He was still determined to see things through to the end.

He wasn't just 'trying' to awaken. He WAS awakening. There was no room for uncertainty or doubt in his mind. But frustration still seeped its way in, like the callous mistress that it was.

Then, one more second passed, and he felt a part of his stomach being melted away as well.

At that moment, his frustration dissipated.

Why was he struggling so much? Why exactly was he fighting back against the Temple that was trying to swallow his soul?

'Raijin never said how things would go. But I don't think there is anyone capable of actually surviving in this room for too long... So there's no way that is the actual trial!'

There was no other way around it. A trial, no matter how difficult, must have some way to be completed. Such was the case for the Trials Enel faced when heading for the Temple and following Kasa. Otherwise, it wouldn't actually be a 'trial', but simply torture!

So why exactly was Enel allowing himself to be tortured in such a way? When the trial had only just started.

In that instant, Enel's heart beat loudly, as his body turned its natural colour, his Armament no longer fighting against the inevitable.

That was the first step of his trial... Letting go. Relaxing, letting nature take its course.

It felt against the mindset of a Conqueror, but at the same time, it wasn't.

A true Conquror was already aware that nature taking its course still meant they were destined to conquer the world, they were destined to achieve their goals.

They just needed to let nature take its course, and not fight it.

In this case, Enel realised something... His 'trial' was more symbolic than anything.

He had wracked his mind endlessly trying to understand what awakening would feel like, but it had never occurred to him that it would be something like that...

Purification of the body and the soul.

He felt his body being eroded, every impurity, every muscle fibre, every organ.

They all melted away into that ziggurat of thunder and lightning.

But at the same time, Enel only now realized that he himself, was that Ziggurat. He was the temple, he was lightning, he was the thunder...

And when he came to that realization... All of the pain went away.

He could see his body melting away, turning into a ball of liquid in the middle of the temple.

He watched it with a disembodied smile as he could see it reforming.

Thunder and lightning combined to make a new body, the world itself shifted, and the Ziggurat was collapsing in on itself.

All combined into one large ball of consciousness and reforming Enel's body anew.

And at that point, while Enel watched his body be reformed he could hear something different...

His heartbeat. A new heart had taken the place of his old one, but it didn't feel the same at all.

No longer sounding like that of a human.

Each beat released the sound of thunder within his own body.

Each breath that the body took reverberated throughout the mindscape that was now devoid of light.

'So this is it... Awakening...'

The next moment, the Emperor opened his eyes. This time in the real world.

With his eyes opened, he could now see the world in a different light. It felt almost as if there was no end to what he could see. There was no end to what he could do.

A limit that he had yet to test. A power newfound, yet to be discovered.

And within the Temple on Raijin Island, the three main actors of the Awakening all stood straight.

Enel looked at his arms, his glowing eyes inspecting his 'new' body.

He could feel the strength that now surged within him. He had so much energy, that it almost felt unending.

His eyes could 'see' everything. He could 'see' almost all the way back to the Red Line.

Almost half of the New World was covered within his 'sight'. His observation haki had evolved to an entirely different level, as expected.

He could sense the aura, emotions, and intentions, and even hear the voices of everyone.

It was as if he could hear the world itself crying in injustice.

The amount of suffering he was hearing far outweighed everything else, becoming more wood on the fire that was his determination to end the current tyrannical regime.

Enel clenched his fists, before his gaze turned to Raijin, giving the old god a look of sympathy.

'So for all of these years... He was stuck here, as a shadow of his former self, constantly hearing the cries of the world as it burned in turmoil under the World Government's rule...'

Raijin's eyes flickered with appreciation when seeing the look of sympathy that Enel had given him.

Kasa's hands trembled as they came together, her eyes looking at the tall Emperor. Reverance was in her eyes, her mouth muttered prayers as she kneeled in front of her Lord's successor.

A glowing aura seemed to protect her from the pressure that Enel was exuding, most definitely protection provided by her dear Lord.

Raijin's skeletal eyes radiated with pride, as he looked at his successor.

The one that was fated to take his throne. Fated to finally carry on the Legacy of the Great Kingdom that the Gods had once ruled.

"The burden of strength... You are the one carrying it now. Both responsibility and leisure, in your hands..."

The God's voice sounded melancholic as it slowly walked over to its throne and sat back down on it. A passing of the torch was only natural for him.

The only throne he needed was the one in his tomb. The world was for his successor to grasp. It was up to the newer generations to honour the Legacy they had left behind.

To remind the world of its golden age.

'Yes... This is the way it should be... A true god was born today!'

And the entire world felt it...

Enel's heartbeat sounded out in the real world now.

The clouds that had once parted immediately darkened, an eternal black cloud seemed to swallow up the entirety of the New World.

The sound of thunder broke throughout the entire world, as everyone's attention was fixated upon the Grand Line and the New World.

At Raijin Island, near its shores, the ships of the Fallen Monk Pirates swayed in the chaotic waters as Urouge looked at the dark sky with cold sweat spreading on his back.

It was already apparent to him, just how scary the great powers in that world were. But what he was seeing felt like even a level above that.

From the very centre of the island, where there was once an intimidating lightning pillar, the Mad Monk could feel a terrifying presence.

His very soul trembled as he brought his hands together, in prayer. It was something he did instinctually.

The presence he felt there, could not be described in any way besides as being that of a god. And to cement that feeling?

The monk's eyes could not see the end of the dark cloud that now hung above him. It was as if he was staring into an all-encompassing void.

He could only let out a trembling smile as he hoped that the lightning strikes would spare his flimsy life...

In the distance, an ancient elephant looked up. Its hollow green eyes seemed to gain light as it watched the clouds gathering above its head as well.

The island it was carrying on its back seemed to rattle in fear at the sound of the thunder, the minks residing on it all seemed to take cover, to avoid the upcoming thunderstorm.

But the Elephant that carried the island itself was calm.

'... The God of Thunder awakens...'

The elephant turned its trunk to the sky, and let off a thunderous roar in celebration. The seas around it shook even more as the elephant seemingly sounded the trumpet for the upcoming era.

'Finally... A chance for me to repent...' The Gigantic Elephant then... Moved. Its legs moved once more, with renewed vitality, as the ancient being started heading for the Thunder God's grave.

A similar scene happened somewhere in the depths of the sea.

A gigantic, 8 headed snake, turned one of its heads to the sky as it felt the vibrations of the thunder all the way down to the bottom of the sea.

'Hmm? So that pipsqueak succeeded. I guess fate truly did change because of him. I wonder how this war will end. I wonder if I get to see its ending... I hope I have enough time left...'

After that, the gigantic mythical being closed its many eyes, preserving its energy.

Its only hope was to finally get to witness the dawn of a new era, to see how the sun would set on the old one, and be there for it all.

However, the current Era was adamant about clinging on.

In the middle of the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, which had already been rebuilt, now stood a gigantic castle.

The one that stood on the 'empty throne', the personification of the sea, trembled when hearing the thunder in the new world.

'... So that's how it is going to be... Yes, fate is becoming clearer now...'

The stoic ruler immediately called on his subjects. They were not going to be getting any sleep that day...

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Hope you liked the chapter!

I'm glad I finally got around to writing this, kinda sad that I missed yesterday but it was a busy day. At least today's lazy Sunday gave me enough free time to write eh? :)

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