One Piece: Madness of Regret

How much time has it been? A day? A few days?

I have no idea. Time is strange here, almost like sand slipping through my grasp. The days have blurred, and the nights have never felt so different. This is the first night sky I have seen while in the ocean, isn't it? The moon hangs high, lighting up everything with an eerie glow, casting long, rippling reflections on the endless waves. The wind is cold and fresh, cutting through the air, yet somehow soothing. The silence is not empty but full—full of whispers carried by the breeze, full of resemblance for me.

The dark, unfamiliar environment should unsettle me, but instead, it feels like home. Maybe it's the vastness, the way the horizon stretches endlessly like an open door to something greater. Maybe it's the way the stars twinkle, watching over me like distant, silent companions. Or maybe it's just the quiet—so different from the chaos I've known in the few days, yet strangely comforting.

I miss home. I miss the familiar sounds, the warmth, the sense of belonging. I miss the way the air smelled in the morning, the laughter echoing through the walls, the simple certainty that I wasn't alone. I miss the glow of the city lights, the rustling of leaves outside my window, the sound of footsteps in the hallway. I miss knowing where I was, who I was—because here, everything feels distant, unfamiliar, like I'm floating between reality and a dream. Like I've drifted too far, and I'm not sure if I'll ever find my way back. 

I miss you Mother. I miss your caring gaze towards me. I miss the banter you would say to me. I miss your warm hands that you would use to ruffle my hair. I miss the sandals you would use to beat me. I miss the homemade food you would make. I miss the caring encouragement you would give me. I miss all of it. 

I miss you father. We never talked a lot when I grew up. We had the father son distance between us. Was it just natural? I don't know. It always felt awkward around you. I don't know the reason but I miss those awkwardness.

My brother. Would it be unbrotherly of me if I said I missed him? He always was a pain in the ass but I kinda miss that annoying pain. No that I will ever say that to his face. He is younger than me and he always will be. Can't let out any words, not even in thoughts, that could make him smug for the rest of his life. 

My dear little brother, I miss the times you would do my chores because I used my big brother privilege. I miss the look of hate you would have when you would do it. I miss the fights between us where you lost all of them because of course. I am the elder one. I miss the times you would make me a shield when mother tried to give you some loving with a sandal. I miss those times when you would look at me play games while you wait your turn knowing I wouldn't let you get your turn. 

How much I miss the times you would hype up the ole older brother spirit by letting me beat the boss you couldn't. Always felt like I was the elder when I could do stuff you couldn't. I miss the banter between us. The unspoken code between just the two of us. 

I miss the one who would sneakily eat his favorite part of the meal from my portion. 

I miss home. 

---------------

So I got some good news and bad news.

Good news: I'm alive.

Bad news: I think I'm losing my sanity.

Good news: I can move my arms just fine, and my legs seem to be working too. To what extent? Not sure yet, but at least I can feel them. My neck's in better shape than before, so that's progress.

Bad news: My stubborn lickyty friend is still here. Still licking. All over my back? Yes. And somewhere that's making my brain itch in ways I don't want to describe. Not head but brain.

Don't ask how. Even I don't know.

Good news: The healing ability I seem to have is way stronger than I expected. Either that, or someone—or something—is making sure I don't die.

Bad news: I'm probably screwed anyway.

I push myself upright. It's easier than I expected—at least I don't need to brace myself and have support like last time. I move my legs. No sharp pain, no fresh blood pooling beneath me. The wounds left by that bugger have already started to clot, healing faster than they should. Three cheer for Superpower. 

I might even be able to stand.

And as the saying goes: Try, try, until you die.

So I tried.

Would you look at that? My legs work. I can stand.

Granted, they feel like I've done an entire leg day with extra weights, and I could collapse at any moment. But I'm on my feet.

And right now, that feels like a breath of fresh air.

Such a perfect occasion to feel and hear the breeze pass through. I can hear the nature and how beautiful it is. Such an impeccable breeze that could make even my mood turn from bad to good. I just want to take some time and feel the breeze pass through my skin. I just want to forget things for now. Rest a little feeling the breeze and the sun on my skin. 

And So I did. I rested while standing. No thoughts. Nothing. Just a guy tired who is resting.

Time. It stopped mattering. It stopped mattering starting from the time I found myself in the raft. So I stopped letting it have any influence on me. At least not when I am resting. At least not when I am gaining a little bit of sanity. 

And So time passed. I could feel the breeze. I could hear the breeze. And I could feel my stubborn lickyty friend in my brain. 

Rest time is over. It seems. 

I moved my hand to the back of my head to the place I felt the licking. And there it was. A hard shell, I think. It was attached quite securely considering I pulled it a little and it didn't budge. It was covered with some slimey substance that did make it hard to grip it. 

Now what could it be? I wondered. Then it hit me like a baseball. The 'gravels'. The 'gravel' that made me go lights out after the final bugger. 

I turned my body around to see the 'gravel' and just like gravels on an road. They were everywhere. Whitish yellow in color. They had a shape of volcano and some sort of tongue came out of the volcano top. I swear I had seen them. not as big as they are now. But I swear I had seen smaller versions of them.

Barnacles. Yes they look exactly like barnacles. Bigger but exactly like them. The lobster with barnacles youtube shorts somehow came in handy. 

Lets see some barnacles were like 20 -30 cm in length and around 10-15 cm in height. These are some big barnacles. God, I hope the barnacle in my head is a small one. 

Fucking hell. I got a barnacle in my head which is somehow licking my brain. Might be from the falling backwards when I pulled the bugger off. Lucky me. I pulled the bugger off of me while I got a barnacle inside my brain. 

Since, I could somehow feel the barnacle licking my brain. Is it possible that the barnacle shell managed to pierce my skull or make a gap big enough for the barnacle tongue to lick my brain innards. Judging from luck, my skull has a hole big enough for barnacle tongue to enter. 

God I hope it is a small barnacle. 

Now for the interesting part. Do I leave the barnacle alone licking my brain or Do I pull it out without any hesitation? Choices. Choices. 

Let's think of some pros and cons before I do what I am going to do. 

Pros of leaving it. I have a lickyity friend with me.

Cons of leaving it. Chances of accidental injury directly to brain.

Pros of pulling out. No children.

Ahem. 

Pros of pulling out. No lickyity friend to lick my brain.

Cons of pulling out. I might increase the severity. My healing power might not work and I die with a hole in my skull. 

I want to pull it out but I don't want to lose my lickyity friend. Where is a coin when you wanted to decide on a heads or tail. I mean, I could use the one of the five bugger as a coin. All of them seem dead, their legs don't squirm neither does the mouth twitch. 

Here goes nothing. I grabbed one of the bugger watching out for the pointy edges. Heads I pull out. Nurgle's lair, Tail, I keep it. 

Then I tossed it in the air. It gave few spins and landed on the ground. Bounced and flipped a few times and landed on Nurgle's lair door. So, I need to keep it. 

Yeah. No. 

I will pull it.

I moved my fingers to the back of my head. I hovered my fingers above the barnacle. I could feel the base. Slimy, sticky and It was like 10 cm in length. So, The barnacle is on the smaller side. Good to know. 

I touched the sides of the barnacle. It was drenched in slimy liquids. To maintain a better grip on it, I needed to clean the slime. Touching near the skull and the barnacle area. My fingers could feel the skull being pierced by the barnacle. 

Worse case scenario. Judging from the smaller height of other smaller barnacle, the barnacle in my head shouldn't have pierced my skull fully. Just enough to make a hole for the tongue to lick the brain. 

I can work with this. All I hope is my healing power also work in tandem. 

I grabbed the edges of the barnacle. My fingers were slimy, the residue of the barnacle. I cleaned the fingers with my shirt. And I did it a few times before I gripped on a comparatively rougher barnacle edges. I readied my fingers.

And oo boy, it's gonna hurt. 

I pulled on the barnacle. It felt like ripping out a nail hammered into solid concrete. No wiggle, just raw resistance.. I pulled and pulled. A sharp pain coursing through my brain to body, moving like a damned electric current to my fingers. The pain wanted me to stop pulling. The pain wanted to loosen my fingers.

I ignored the pain that could make even the strongest man crumble. I ignored the warm, sticky blood trailing down the back of my neck, soaking into my already-drenched shirt. I ignored the frantic, desperate licking against my exposed brain, the sensation so disturbing that it was already driving me mad.

There was only pain and I ignored it.

I wasn't stopping. I couldn't stop.

I pulled even harder. I could feel my skull grinding itself on the barnacle. I could feel nothing but my skull. I couldn't feel my finger shouting to not pull. Nothing but my skull and the scraping of the barnacle and my skull. And the heavens be damned. I felt nothing.

Nothing as I pulled the barnacle out. Nothing as the barnacle grinded itself on my skull. Nothing as blood flowed out from the back of my head.

Nothing. 

My pain receptors were down. I crossed the threshold where pain and suffering blurred into one. It was a relief but the work wasn't finished just yet. 

I pulled on it. Life and Death be damned. I wanted it out and I will take it out. 

There was no sickening pop or anything. Just silence amidst my ragged breathing. I pulled my lickity friend out and I was bleeding out brain fluid and a lot of blood.

I fell on my knees and onto my face.