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Chapter 50: Antarisa I

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He doesn't know much about the Northern Deep whatever, but Laffitte said it'd be a great place to draw, and well, Yovan trusts him... In things that don't include chaos and torture.

So Laffitte guided them himself, leading them to the entrance of the Northern Deep.

They stumbled upon many predators, mostly in the shape of Gorillas and lions, nothing too odd. 

There were some peculiar animals that seemed to be a mix of two types of very different animals, but nothing too out of the box.

Laffite, however, promised that they won't be disappointed, and they weren't indeed even before entering the area because before them was a luminescent hollow.

They could see it from afar, a pillar of light erupting from a relatively small hole, and as they surrounded the hole, they noted where it was coming from.

"A lake?" Bege wondered.

"Yuuuuuuuupp!" The freak that is Laffitte jumped in as he answered, holding his top hat tightly so as to not fall off.

"It's a bit too deep, no?" Bege questioned with a frown, "And I don't want to dirty my suit, so..." So he joined Yovan and Kalifa on the cloud of feathers.

"Lamege." Kaku arched his brow before jumping in.

"I'd feel bad," Yovan murmured.

"Why?" Asked a confused Kalifa while a look of horror emerged on Bege's face, "NOO!!"

"Yes!!" Yovan let out a mischievous grin, and released the cloud of feathers, letting everyone fall alongside him.

The hollow was very deep as they kept falling for about 40 seconds before reaching the lake of the deep. The place was bright, way too bright to the point of blinding their sight.

Yovan only allowed himself to fall for a while before flapping his wings to stop the fall before releasing a burst of feathers.

He obviously wouldn't let himself fall into the lake for more reasons than one. His bones are broken, so he would certainly like to avoid more unnecessary pain.

Most importantly, Devil Fruit users have a weakness. The consequence of eating a Devil Fruit is the weakness of water. 

The sea hates and rejects Devil Fruit users, causing them to become weak and helpless while submerged in water.

However, moving water, like rain or waves, does not weaken Devil Fruit users, while standing water, like lakes or rivers, does.

Yovan does take baths though, so he knows from personal experience that as long as he doesn't submerge himself fully in water, he can move to a certain degree.

He watched with glee as Bege's exquisite suit got soiled by the crystal clear water. Only the suit mattered to Bege, so despair was very apparent on his face.

"Lyahahahaahahaah!! Cap, I fucking love you! Hahahaahahaha." Laffitte was basking in the suffering of others.

He also didn't allow himself to fall into the lake but used his wings to float about. 

Kaku, on the other hand, actually allowed himself to fall into the lake, enjoying himself. He didn't eat any Devil Fruit... Yet.

So before Bege could die by drowning, Yovan sent chains of feathers towards him, pulling him out of the water, looking too limp to be angry.

"Awesome! I knew you had it in you Bege!" Kaku gave Bege a thumbs-up for his unrivaled courage.

"Shut up!" 

"Kalifa, why did you fall?" Yovan asked, seeing her climbing out of the lake, "Were you too dirty?"

"No, I just wanted to clean myself from your stench. I sat next to you for too long, needed a bit of a reset." Kalifa responded with a playful smile.

The two might not have realized it, but Yovan was having a bit of an ego trip because he believes he can convert them to his side, and he was succeeding.

Neither Kaku nor Kalifa realized that they were showing a bit too much of their true self. 

So perhaps it wasn't just ego, but also his confidence in his charisma, especially since he was coming to discover himself more and more. 

His ego was still rising through the roof though as a result of his hard work when compared to others. 

It made him realize a few things about himself because not many people would risk their lives in the ways he did before even coming to this world.

He did well to hide it though as to not be used against him, "At least I'm not the most atrocious thing in the crew. Also, did you not realize that the water will fuck up your makeup?" Yovan asked.

"I do not put on makeup!" Kalifa stressed.

"Then why do you look so... Nevermind." Yovan shook his head before surveying the area more thoroughly.

"This is the same luminescent stones the Minks were using for lighting." He noted as he looked more closely at what's making the hollow so bright. 

The rock bed of the lake was made completely of glowing yellow stones. It made everything around look exquisite, and the area would've looked better if the glow wasn't so blinding.

"I see a business opportunity," Kalifa noted as she stroked her chin, completely forgetting about her bickering with Yovan.

"I do too... I feel like taking this entire place away, and we haven't even explored it yet." Yovan stated before turning his attention to the cavern on the other end of the lake.

They moved forward, Yovan basically picking them all in a large feather cloud. They entered the cavern and it was almost entirely pitch black except for the little glow still slipping in from the lake.

As they moved forward with Laffitte holding a lantern up, they noticed the cavern getting tighter until only one or two individuals could fit within at once.

So Yovan simply changed the structure of the feather cloud, making it so only one person passes at a time. 

The cloud made it so much easier to traverse the cavern, evident by the numerous skeletons scattered throughout.

"Oh, I forgot to tell, but the only exit out of the Northern Deep is exploring it thoroughly and finding a secret exit said to be made by the King... Of course, we can just fly out of here." Laffitte was gloating, absolutely gloating at the failure of those that preceded them.

"Really, why? And how?" Kalifa asked with a frown. She already noticed a lot of strangeness around the King Mill, and her suspicion only got stronger.

"It's said that there is a treasure at the end of the cavern, but it's also said to be a myth because a few reached the end but found nothing, and the risk of death is nearly certain," Laffitte explained.

"I see... So is the lake a way to eliminate the cowards, and most Devil Fruit users," Bege pointed out, "The cowards will not jump in, and the Devil Fruit users will lose their power if they fall into the lake."

"Unless they're like us." Kaku agreed with Bege's conclusion.

"I see..." Yovan narrowed his eyes, seeming in deep thought, his dark eyes gleaming with bright eyes, "Let's move on."

The crew has quickly come to notice that the convoluted pathway of the cavern actually led to an expanse beneath the lake, very far beneath the lake.

And soon, the crew got the see it for themselves. The cavern led to an entrance to a woodland, an Iceland.

Before them was a vast expanse of Ice-covered trees. There were no snowflakes, just pure frozen ground, further obscured by the colossal stalactites stretching from the roof.

They were about a hundred meters long, reaching the ground, further spreading a web of ice. The area was also very well-lit because the same luminescent rocks were forming the expanse's roof.

"I... Bege," Yovan really didn't have to say much before Bege acted on his own and brought out Yovan's painting kit.

And well, Yovan started painting the very serene view before him, one of the most gorgeous things he had ever laid his eyes on.

The crew assembled behind Yovan, watching Art in the making, an exquisite performance that also took place not long ago in Boin Archipelago.

It was a beautiful performance that very much entertained the crowd that include more than just Yovan's crew... Someone or something joined the show.