One Piece: Madness of Regret(DRAFT) Chapter 22: Lovecraft and Insanity(2)

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

I have no idea. Ti 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 sohow soothing. The silence is not empty but full—full of whispers carried by the breeze, full of resemblance for .

The dark, unfamiliar environnt should unsettle , but instead, it feels like ho. Maybe it's the vastness, the way the horizon stretches endlessly like an open door to sothing greater. Maybe it's the way the stars twinkle, watching over 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 ho. I miss the familiar sounds, the warmth, the sense of belonging. I miss the way the air slled 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 . I miss the banter you would say to . I miss your warm hands that you would use to ruffle my hair. I miss the sandals you would use to beat . I miss the homade food you would make. I miss the caring encouragent you would give . 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 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 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 tis 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 tis you would make a shield when mother tried to give you so loving with a sandal. I miss those tis when you would look at play gas while you wait your turn knowing I wouldn't let you get your turn.

How much I miss the tis you would hype up the ole older brother spirit by letting 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 al from my portion.

I miss ho.

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So I got so 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 sowhere 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 soone—or sothing—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 ti. I move my legs. No sharp pain, no fresh blood pooling beneath . 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 mont. 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 so ti 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.

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

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

Rest ti 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 so sliy substance that did make it hard to grip it.

Now what could it be? I wondered. Then it hit like a baseball. The 'gravels'. The 'gravel' that made 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 so sort of tongue ca 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 sohow ca in handy.

Lets see so barnacles were like 20 -30 cm in length and around 10-15 cm in height. These are so 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 sohow licking my brain. Might be from the falling backwards when I pulled the bugger off. Lucky . I pulled the bugger off of while I got a barnacle inside my brain.

Since, I could sohow 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 so pros and cons before I do what I am going to do.

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

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 an, 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 tis 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 sli. 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 tis 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 hamred 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 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 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.