Im. A secret existence to the world. The highest authority figure in the World Government whom even the Five Elder Stars bowed down to. The one who sat on the Empty Throne.
He stood inside the Chamber of Flower within the Pangaea Castle, gently touching a small butterfly.
"How long will you stay in that ridiculous get-up?"
He whipped his head towards the source of the voice.
It came from a young man who stood near the entrance of the chamber with crossed arms and a haughty smirk.
Tidy white hair. Narrow blue eyes. Sickly pale skin.
"Norman."
"It has been quite a long time, Ray." Norman said with a soft voice.
The figure of Im became distorted, leaving a slim young man of average height with messy short black hair and green eyes.
"So, Im, huh? That's quite a name you pick up for yourself." Norman said with a chuckle.
Ray crossed his arms childishly. "Oh, is that so, Mr. William Minerva? Since when did you get so good at teasing other people?"
The chuckle turned into a laughter. "Well, I learn from the very best."
Ray smiled a bit. He did tease both Norman and Emma a lot back in the past. "Anyway, where is Emma?"
A butterfly landed quietly on his white hair and Norman glanced upwards, lips curling into the faintest kind of smile. "She is travelling around the world. I met her a few days ago. She proposed a game."
Ray tilted his head. "A game?"
Seeing Norman's nod, Ray scoffed at him. "What is she? A kid?"
Norman chuckled a bit. "She is Emma."
It was like those three words could just explain everything.
"What kind of game?" Ray asked with a lazy smirk on his face, opening his palm up for another small butterfly to land on.
"Tag. The entire world is the playground. Are you going to join us, Ray?" Norman asked his brother in everything but blood, inviting him to join in their little game.
"Nah, I'll pass. You guys have fun." Ray said while walking out of the chamber, Norman following closely behind him.
Both of them arrived in an underground vault where a giant straw hat laid frozen.
Ray put his hand lightly on the top of the hat, uncaring of the biting cold in the slightest. His expression suddenly hardened.
"We all have chosen our role on that day."
The keeper of the secret. The balancer of the world. The reforger of the promise.
"Do you regret it, Ray?"
"I wonder about that."
There was a quiet moment between the two of them before Ray turned his head to the younger man.
"Hey, Norman. Do you think there will be another man like Gol D. Roger?"
"I wonder about that too." Norman said with another gentle smile.
Ray took Norman's hand and led him to a room made of glasses in a very high place.
Both of them gazed at the land and people of Mary Geoise in silence. Ray gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Look at all those fools outside. Their ignorance! Their arrogance! Their greed! Their madness! They don't even have the slightest of clue, do they?"
The world of the past. The void century. The ancient weapons. Joy Boy. The voice of all things. The devil fruits. The will of D.
"See what the new world has become, Norman!" Ray said angrily.
Norman closed his eyes. "Yet we must remain unchanged despite all."
Ray flinched. "I know. I will never forget."
The Ratri family. The demons. The sacrifices. The destroyer. The seven walls. The overwhelmng new promise.
"Another storm will pass the world soon." There was a deep sadness reflected in his blue eyes.
"Do I have to decide which 'light' needs to be extinguished from history this time again?" Ray asked emotionlessly.
Norman's gaze was piercing, like it was penetrating him, holding him down in his place.
"You already know the answer to that question, Ray." Norman said simply.
Yes. He already did.
Norman looked up to the blue sky and smiled gently at Ray. "Well, I will be going now. See you later, Ray."
Ray nodded his head, his form distorting into that of Im once again.
He sighed before returning to his room, thinking back of the old days in Grace Field silently.
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, a young woman of thin build with fair skin and thin eyebrows walked leisurely. Her short and messy orange hair blew gently in the wind while her green eyes looked curiously at everything around her.
She kept walking until she arrived in front of an auction house, tilting her head curiously at all the people rushing outside.
"He is near. I am sure of it." She mumbled to herself before she went inside the auction house, ignoring the Marines that started to surround the house.
It was to the sight of an old man coming through a wall along with a giant behind him.
Emma grinned happily before cupping her hand on the side of her mouth.
"SILVERS!" She shouted eagerly in glee while waving her hand enthusiastically to the old man, ignoring the rest.
Rayleigh snapped his head to her direction and gaped for a second before recovering from his surprise and waved back.
"As energetic as ever, Miss Emma." He said with a laugh.
"You remember me!"
"How could I not?" Rayleigh replied back. Yes, how could he not? After all, she didn't age a single bit from the last time he saw her on the final island. Her appearance didn't change at all, she was still the same young woman who met them on the final island around twenty years ago.
One of the people who bore witness to it all. The goal that which his captain risked his life. The final chapter of the Pirate King's great adventure. The tale of beyond the furthest end.
The one everlasting tale of laughter.
One secret.
One promise.
One neverland.
One will.
One treasure.
One Piece.