Hi guys! Here is the next chapter!

This isn't the most interesting, but it will pick up once I've gotten to explain more on how things work here

I hope you enjoy this

Read and relax

Ace and his family had come back a bit ago from turning the Hollow stones in. After that, they stayed a bit, before Lori left with the kids, after saying bye and kissing her husband, she used her sword to make a door and head in before it vanished. Moira didn't leave yet. Saying she could stay a bit more.

Then, after they had eaten, Moira looked at Thatch when they got out on deck again. "Have you been able to see your sword's spirit?" Thatch blinked. "My sword's spirit?" Moira looked at Ace. "Have you even tried to teach him?" Ace shrugged. "Yeah. I have. Give me a break." Moira rolled her eyes, before Thatch blinked. "Wait, you mean talking to my sword?" Moira blinked. "Talk to your…" Moira moved a hand to her face. "You aren't speaking to an inanimate object! Your sword has a spirit! You need to connect to that spirit to unlock your powers!" Thatch blinked and looked at his sword. "It has… a spirit inside it?"

Moira moved her other hand to her face as well, before she glared at Ace. "You are an imbecile! What have you taught him?!" Ace shrugged again. "That his sword has a name. And he needs to learn this name. And it might be a human, or it may not, like Hiro's sword." Moira sighed. "How are you a commander? How?" Ace shrugged. "I said I am not a teacher. I usually only train those who know their sword's name." Moira looked at Ace like she wanted to throttle him. "The sword doesn't have a name! It has a spirit! And that spirit has a name!" Ace shrugged. "Same thing."

Moira looked almost livid, before she took a breath. "Ace. Are you playing dumb in hopes that I will report this to the captain and you can go home early?" Ace gave a chuckle. "Maybe." Moira moved her hand to her face. "Ace, can you at least try and do this properly." Ace chuckled. "Oh come on. I just left out the fact it has a spirit. He can connect a bit with the spirit's mind. It is still completely foggy though." Moira nodded. "Okay. Good to know you aren't a total imbecile." Ace chuckled. "I know what I am doing, Moira. Yes, I am not the best teacher, but I know how it works." Moira nodded. "That's good. I got worried for a second there." Ace chuckled. "Was worth a shot to get back faster. Hey, maybe you can show them your sword's spirit? She's not as annoying as mine." Moira nodded. "Okay." Thatch blinked. "Wait… I can go into your sword?" Moira shook her head. "No. But I can make my sword's spirit come out of the sword. You can only do this once connected to your sword's spirit." Thatch blinked. "Oh, cool. So… we can meet yours?" Moira nodded.

Moira then brought out her sword, moved to hold it in front of her, closed her eyes and said something he didn't hear, before something materialized next to her. And that had them all blink. Next to her apparead a snake woman. Or, more like half snake and half woman. She had the upper body as a woman, some bandages covering her breasts, white skeletal gloves on her hands, a terrifying hood which looked like a snake's skull underneath a cloth. She had black hair that came out at the back of the skull on her head. From her waist down, was a snake body, and on the back of the snake body, was a skeleton sitting to her body, looking like ribs. She looked terrifying. She was also about 3 heads higher than Moira, who was the same size as Ace. And Whitebeard was sure she could get even taller as her snake body was long.

Moira moved a hand out and motioned at the snake woman. "This is Xena." Xena gave a small hum mixed with a hiss, but didn't speak. Then she moved her body a bit, and saw that in her right hand, she had a sword. It had a green hilt with some markings and a guard. The blade had a faint blue hue, the start shaped like a diamond, before looking like a normal sword. But in the middle of the sword, the entire way down, was diamond shapes, seeming to be embedded into the sword.

Thatch spoke first. "She looks… terrifying." Xena chuckled. "Thank you for your kind words." The s rolled off her tongue like a hiss. Haruta then spoke. "I like your sword. It looks pretty." Xena gave a glare. "It is not pretty. It is held together by poison and could kill a measly being like you. This is my true form." Thatch blinked. "But… Moira's sword doesn't look like that." Moira blinked, before she looked at Ace. "You haven't shown him your true form?" Ace blinked. "No, I haven't. You know I think he's annoying." Moira shook her head, before she sighed.

Moira then moved her sword up, before she moved it a bit out, and said "Xena, awaken." And then her sword changed from a normal looking sword to look like the one Xena held, just a bit smaller as Xena was larger than Moira. Moira then twisted the sword a bit as she said "Xena, disband." Then the sword moved as if separating into parts between the diamond shapes, each diamond being connected by something green, most likely poison. Moira then moved the sword a bit, and the sword moved independently, before she held it straight, and as she held her hand still, the sword parts still moved, the distance between the diamonds got a bit further, before going back. Then Moira moved her sword and the sword acted like a whip.

Moira hummed. "Each blade part is as sharp as something can be. If severed, it will reconnect. I can use it as a rope. I choose how sharp the individual parts are, how poisonous it is. Some powers' true form can change your appearance as well. Mine does not that much. If you notice, my eyes are a bit more snake-like and I am very silent when moving, but fast. It can be simple, like Hiro, who has an ice dragon, will get ice wings on his back when in his true form. Ace's true form, however, changes his body, not just adding something." They all blinked, before everyone looked at Ace, who hummed. "Yeah, I change." Thatch blinked. "Can we see!" Ace shook his head. "No. My sword spirit is really annoying, I don't want to deal with him today." Thatch gave a breath. "Fine. Does the spirit need to be the same gender as its wielder?" Ace shook his head. "No, it does not. Our just happens to be." Ace then looked at Moira. "Isn't Rayu's both?" Moira nodded.

Thatch blinked. "Wait wait, it can be two?" Ace gave a small hum. "Yeah, but that's rare. Apparently they also argue a lot, which he says is very annoying." That would make sense. Thatch looked at his sword. "I wonder what mine is." Moira hummed. "You just need to train. Suddenly, you can see what it is and hear its name." Ace nodded. "Yeah. It is normal to hear the voice first, and everything sounds clear until they try and say their name. That takes time." Thatch nodded. "When I hear the name, will the fog go away?" Ace shook his head. "Not right away. You have two kinds of levels. Or 3 to be honest. You have what you have now, let us call that level 1. Level 2 can be a power surge and you can use the basics of your sword's power. Many swords change in this state. Level 3 is when you're fully connected to the spirit in your sword, and that can change your appearance. It can be something small, or something big." That was interesting.

Moira hummed and looked at Thatch. "You were a swordsman before you died, right? So a sword is not new to you?" Thatch nodded. "Yeah." Moira nodded. "Good. What you need to know about a soul sword. It is not sharp unless you want it to be. You choose how sharp. How about we try and take on a Hollow? There are a few more on the island." Thatch blinked. "Yeah, we can try." Moira nodded. "Good. Let's go." Moira looked at them. "You are allowed to join if you want to." Whitebeard nodded, he wanted to see.

They then walked off the boat, Moira looking at Ace. "Should you or I demonstrate?" Ace hummed. "You can. Again, I don't like to use my powers as I don't like him." Moira rolled her eyes. "Fine, I can do it." Ace nodded. "Good." They then walked a bit, before Moira stopped. "Here is good." Whitebeard blinked. It was a good place as it was open, but there were no Hollows there, or so he could see. Before he could speak, Ace hummed and clapped his hands, and that made Whitebeard realize they couldn't see them yet. But even after he clapped his hands, he couldn't see anything.

Thatch hummed. "No one is here." Moira chuckled, before she looked at Ace. "Put up a barrier, in case." Ace nodded and snapped his fingers, making a barrier appear in a large circle, but this one was transparent, and Moira and Thatch were inside. Moira then moved her head a bit, stretching her neck it looked like, before she moved a bit forward and punched the ground. Which was odd, but Whitebeard felt shocked as he saw 3 Hollows come from the ground, as if Moira forced them to the surface.

Ace hummed. "Hollows can hide beneath the surface, but we can force them out." Interesting. Moira then used her weapon to take out one Hollow fast, just killing it instantly, before she looked at her sword. "Xena, sleep." The sword went back to normal, before she looked at Thatch. "To kill a Hollow, you need to slice it, or use your powers. But you have none yet which you can use. So, use your sword. It is not in its sharpest state against Hollows. The more you connect to it, the sharper it gets." Thatch nodded.

Moira then got ready, before she moved to one of the Hollows and slashed at it, but only superficially. But the wounds she made healed instantly, which made Moira look at Thatch. "This is why you need to do an ending blow. You can not kill it slowly. They heal fast. Take off an arm, it regrows within a minute." Moira then cut the Hollow's arm off, and it regrew, just to show it. That was good to know. Thatch nodded and took it all in. Moira hummed. "To kill it, you need to cut the hole in them." She said as she used her sword to point at the hole in the Hollow. "It can be in their chest, head, or somewhere else. Think of this as its heart. And to kill it, this needs to be cut in half. Pierce it, nothing." Moira once again proved her point by stabbing the hole, but it did nothing, like there was nothing there.

Moira moved a bit back from the Hollow. "So, you need to get yourself ready, and then slice it." Moira then used her sword to slice it in half, and this Hollow had its hole a bit high on its chest and to the left. It made the Hollow disappear and leave a stone behind, most likely a Hollow stone. Moira looked at Thatch. "The one left, is for you. The hole is in its neck, so not too much to cut through. It is also not that strong. Also, size does not matter on strength. A Hollow your size can be 1000 times stronger than a giant one. You determine this by feeling their soul power. You will manage this after a while." Thatch nodded, before he got ready to fight the Hollow.

At first, Thatch moved and slashed at the Hollow, to cut its head off. But when Thatch's sword hit, it was like it did nothing, like the sword was a stick. This seemed to shock Thatch as well, and the Hollow attacked, but was pushed back by Moira punching it, before she looked at Thatch. "This isn't just a body, but a soul. Yes, it is a lost soul that is doomed to roam and kill. Concentrate on your sword, fill it with power, and then slice." Thatch nodded and closed his eyes, moving his sword out as he concentrated. And as Thatch did, he saw the sword glow a tiny bit, before Thatch tried again, and this time, he managed to cut the Hollow, even though it looked like it took a lot of force. Not like when Moira did it, when it looked like it took no force.

Then the Hollow disappeared and left behind a stone, and Moira clapped her hands a bit. "Good work. I saw your spirit trying to talk with you." Thatch looked at her. "What?" Moira nodded. "It glowed a bit, very faint. That means it's trying to speak, wanting you to hear, but you're not ready." Thatch blinked and looked at his sword. "So cool. I want to speak with it." Moira chuckled. "And you will one day. But it might take time. So you can unlock your powers." Thatch nodded and Ace made the barrier go away, before Thatch spoke. "How much stronger will I get?" Ace hummed. "A lot. But some powers are more like tactical ones than strength. Some are brute strength. But usually, it is a mix. And usually, it fits with you as a whole."

Thatch blinked. "It will fit me?" Moira nodded. "Yes. I have always been a bit cunning, so my powers are a snake." Thatch blinked and looked at Ace, who hummed. "Not here to talk about my powers." Thatch nodded. "Okay. Do you know anyone who uses just brute force?" Ace nodded. "Ken does." Thatch nodded. "He looks strong. What is his spirit?" Ace shrugged. "No one knows. He hasn't connected to it yet." Thatch blinked. "Wait, what? I thought he was a commander." Ace nodded. "He is, because he is very strong, but uses just strength. I am very curious on how strong he will get once he unlocks his true powers." Thatch looked shocked. "Wow, that must be terrifying once he does." Ace nodded. "Yeah. It will be. And knowing him, he will get stronger." Thatch swallowed. "Terrifying." Ace nodded. "Agree. But you did good. Should we head back?" Thatch nodded and they did, Whitebeard giving a praise on how good Thatch was, which he seemed to like.

When they got to the boat, Thatch asked why the sword's spirit couldn't just fight alone, which had Moira hum and make Xena appear again, before she moved her and to her and it went straight through her. "This is simply a mirage of sorts, an image. Nothing more." That made sense, or else it would have been overpowering. Thatch nodded and Xena went away again.

The day then went on, and Moira stayed a bit, before she left and said Thatch was in good hands, and for Ace to not kill Thatch, which had Ace just chuckle. When she left, Ace sighed, probably wanting her to stay a bit longer. Ace probably missed home. When they were eating supper, Haruta went and got a popsicle, and Ace asked what that was, which had Haruta hum. "A popsicle. You know, ice cream." Ace blinked. "But you're not screaming." That had them all frowning. "What?" Said Thatch, and Ace shrugged. "You said 'I scream', and you're not screaming." Haruta blinked. "Wait, no. I don't mean I scream, but ice cream. Which this is. Have you never had it?" Ace shook his head, making Haruta stand up. "I'm getting you one."

Then she left and came back with another popsicle and gave it to Ace, and Ace looked at it, before he felt it. "It is cold." Haruta nodded. "Yes, but it is good." Ace nodded, before he moved and took a bite off it, which had a few react as it was ice cream, he might get a brain freeze. Ace blinked, before he looked at it. "This is really good." Ace then took another bite, and Haruta looked at him. "Don't you get brain freeze?" Ace frowned. "What's that?" Haruta shrugged. "At times when you eat ice cream fast, you get brain freeze which is really uncomfortable." Ace blinked. "Huh. Weird. I need to show this to Nell next time she visits. This tastes good." It was good Ace thought that.

The next day, Whitebeard woke up early and walked out on deck to see Ace and Thatch already out, which was odd as they had been up late and early very often. "Son," He said looking at Thatch. "You're up early." Ace hummed. "No, he's not. We just don't sleep." Whitebeard blinked. "What?" Thatch nodded. "Yeah. Apparently you don't need sleep once you die." That was news to him. Ace hummed. "Sleep is a human thing. We're not humans, we're souls." That could maybe make sense. That was interesting.

The day then went on. Ace tried to teach Thatch things, and as Ace spoke about a few things they could do, like basically walk so fast as if teleporting and walking in the air and such, Thatch spoke. "What about a pulse? How do I make that? Can I make that? Do I need to know my sword's name for that?" Ace blinked. "Oh, I forgot about that. Moira should have teached that. I can't make one. I use others against them." Thatch blinked. "Yeah, like you eat it and spit it out again, changing its color." Ace hummed. "A bit more technical than that, but yes. When I do that, it will also go for the one who sent it, even if they move. And I double its strength. It is very powerful."

Thatch nodded. "How did you learn that that is what you can do?" Ace chuckled. "Someone sent a pulse at me, and my sword's spirit said to hold my hand out flat, and that stopped the pulse, which is unheard of. Nothing can stop it. And then I inhale it and shout it back out. It was very cool." Thatch blinked. "Can anyone else do that?" Ace thought for a bit. "I know of one. But she doesn't inhale it. Her sword changes to a sort of lance, and the lance absorbs the pulse, and sends it back out. While pulses are very large and violate, her lance makes it more narrow, but also more powerful because it is more narrow. But hers don't seek out its creator like mine does."

Thatch nodded. "Okay. How does one make one?" Ace hummed. "It is basically spiritual energy, very concentrated. It comes in different shapes and strengths. You need to have unlocked the first level of your sword's spirit, but there have been cases of some managing to create a pulse before they know the name of the spirit in their sword. There are 2 ways to create it. One way, is to use your weapon, most commonly. But a few can use a body part, be it their hand, finger, mouth, or even tongue. A pulse made from your body and not your weapon, is known to be stronger and more concentrated. While the weapon makes a larger one. One I know, or used to know in Hell, uses his index finger. When it is first shot, it is as big as his finger tip, but it grows in size fast. But the closer to it, the stronger it is. This can create clean holes in anything when close by, and destruction further away. Very dangerous to be close to them."

Thatch blinked. "Wait, tongue? How does that work?" Ace hummed. "Stick your tongue out and build up energy, and then send it off. I think a finger is weirder to be honest." Thatch blinked. "Oh. Sounds… weird, but very cool." Ace nodded. "And it is. I am a bit sad I can't make one." Thatch nodded. "So, you don't know how to make one?" Ace shook his head. "No. But your sword's spirit knows. For those who manage without speaking to their spirit, are usually created by their weapon or palm/fist. Let me think… Anna tried to teach me how to create one, before I knew I used others against them. She said that you try and imagine collecting the spiritual air around you and make it into a power, a ball if you will, and then release that ball. Those who do not know their sword's spirit name and do this, do it in a time of need, to either protect someone or to save themselves." Thatch nodded. "Okay." Ace nodded. "If you want to practice it., try to aim at anyone except me, as I can stop it." Thatch blinked. "But won't that just make you kill me with it later?" Ace hummed. "I can choose to inhale it or not. I can also just deflect it if I want to." Thatch nodded. "Oh, okay."

The day then went on, Thatch trying a few stances and such, before he suddenly blinked and looked around. "What is that sound?" Whitebeard blinked. Sound? Ace chuckled. "You hear it?" Thatch nodded, on his way to speak when a large man appeared on deck, which he recognized as Ken. Ace looked at him. "Hi, Ken. Where is Althea?" Ken gave a grunt. "I can't find her. Have you seen her?"Ace blinked. "She's gone? When did you last see her? Did you have a fight?" Ken shook his head. "No. She just… vanished. I need to find her." Ace nodded. "I will keep an eye out. Ask Nell, maybe they are playing hide and seek?" Ken shook his head. "No. I have asked her." Ace blinked. "I will keep a look out." Ken nodded. "Thank you, Ace." Then Ken took a step and was gone.

Ace hummed. "Althea is never far away from him. Odd." That did seem odd. Ace then looked at Thatch. "But you heard his bells? That's a step forward." Thatch blinked. "It is?" Ace nodded. "Yes. At first, you hear him, next you see him. And you will see that we just basically walk." Thatch blinked. "But what if I run?" Ace shook his head. "Doesn't work like that. Called spirit walk, not spirit run." Could make sense. It was a lot to learn. And he got Thatch wanted to learn all he could. Ace also seemed very… indifferent. Very stoic. The few times he smiled was when Lori was around, or his kids. But something about it also seemed off with the smile, but he didn't know what.

And that's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed it

Things are building up, I have a lot planned for this

If you have any ideas, don't be afraid to share them!

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