Chapter 41:The Origin of the World
Empty Throne
"Seems like you, my seniors are having a hard time keeping track of things," Garling, the newest Elder remarked to his former superiors turned equals, a smug smile playing across his lips as he reviewed the chaotic events that had unfolded in the last month. The Grand Line was in a state of upheaval as the old Emperors had disappeared and new players had emerged to claim their thrones.
"Before you place things to act high and mighty...remember that you let the one who inspired that boy to live that day on God Valley," Platinum replied, which immediately soured Garling's tone.
"Are you saying that I'm just coaxing off of my new title?" asked the lunar-haired former God's Knight before he swiftly drew his sword just in time to block a really unusual weapon- a massive triangular ruler.
"I'm saying that under your authority- or lack thereof. A Fishman of no renown at the time and a bunch of rebel plebeians managed to walk away unscathed while you did nothing. We're supposed to be the last line of defense- you're the second to last. I really doubt your competence when-," he spoke as he slashed at an unseen target as they fell to the ground-
A man in a chameleon-shaped hat with tubes on his arms with green blood sticking into it. It was heavily implied that Vegapunk Stella somehow managed to sneak behind the W.G's back to test it on Revolutionaries with the mutual but reluctant permission of Dragon and the affected user- using the Clear-Clear power sampled from Absalom.
Before he could speak, Platinum's eyes with silver irises glared as the man compressed into nothingness.
A gravity power?, thought Garling as he turned to see Platinum walk away.
"Any weapon or power that overtly tests the creativity of the wielder and their ability to think outside the box is infinitely more dangerous than an almighty power with a limited sense of perspective on how it's used. Haki these days is limited compared to the glory days during and prior to the Void Century. You should be...no you are required inherently to know every to expand your use of powers to its limits and beyond.," said Platinum.
"What's going on? Ruth and Alister left.," spoke Umi in the Elders' thoughts.
"Yes, to take care of your lab weed project...which is not going smoothly. The first strike to weaken it came from above- where the people we decided to label as myth to the public reside. You decided to take a blind eye to them...but now they're finally taking action. Don't blame things on what you took lightly and what your brother took more seriously in attempting to purge them centuries ago when you decided to-," Platinum spoke before he was paralyzed by her Haki.
"I-I'm not interested in your spoiled tantrum. W-we have to maximize any advantage from the blowout this Elbaf situation is turning into. Before we have to eliminate it before one of the residents actually says something we can't cover up.," spoke Platinum, showing determination even when pressured.
He was released as it was hinted that Umi got the point.
The other Elders both hidden and revealed nodded in agreement.
So he's the one outside of Umi and the other one who really calls the shots..., thought Garling.
A loud punch was heard outside and less loud pummeling was heard in the aftermath. The Elders paid attention. The doors opened to reveal a tall woman in a noble lady dress dragging an unconscious World Noble.
The man she was dragging was a World Noble with the same odd hairstyle but he had his hair goes up in two bulbs. He also has a wide chin and wears a red earring on his right ear. As with all other World Nobles, he wears a thick white suit adorned with medal-like knobs on the front. He also added a cape to go along with it. However, since he was not at Sabaody Archipelago, he cannot wear one of the resin bubbles as a helmet, due to the bubbles popping outside of that area. Instead, he wears a rectangular helmet, to prevent himself from breathing the same air as "commoners".
The woman wore a dull blue balaclava with a front opening to expose the front of her face and an opening in the back to reveal a waist-length greyish-blond braid. She wore a simple pointed crown over the balaclava. She wore a blue gown with long sleeves, with a cleavage window that had the bosom covered in cloth, the gown parting in the lower half to reveal a pink long skirt to hide her red shoes. Her stoic green eyes and weathered, stern face that seemed to have aged much more gracefully than Irene looked around.
Manmayer Forza- Warrior God of Medicine.
The woman looked at the Elders, dropping the unconscious World Noble at their feet. "It seems I arrived just in time for the tea party," she said with a smirk, her voice as sharp as a blade as she went tsk-tsk at the unconscious Jalmack.
"What in the blazes are you doing here?," asked Wright.
"You ninnies were busy arguing about everywhere else but here. These dolts we're happened to be related to almost sank as low as being official allies of pirates. We're supposed to employ them right? It serves you right to choose power over character.," she mocked her implied peers.
"Forza.," said Germain. "It's unusual for you to not sit idly by and get involved. I thought you hated our company."
"Being an adult means tolerating co-workers who you don't like but have to work alongside for the greater good.," she replied with a shrug, her smirk never leaving her face. "But make no mistake, Germain, I'm not here for tea and biscuits. You allowed our people to almost make a deal with a colossal lummox and Umi's busy fighting a boy for inane reasons."
"Go back to the Domain of Gods.," Byakuo demanded. "And let the real leaders handle this mess."
"Ruth and Alister are dashing to try and save that damn weed because it tickles Umi's fancy. At the very least, have our subordinates do it. It makes you look inept for doing your own dirty work when you have the resources to do otherwise." retorted the tall woman.
Most of the Elders including Garling didn't like her sharp wit that would undermine their haughty nature, but they knew better than to underestimate her. Forza had been a thorn in their side for centuries, a reminder of their own failures and the flaws in the World Government's system. Her intelligence was unrivaled, and her cunning was the reason she had survived and thrived amidst the serpents that were the Celestial Dragons.
"And stop alienating the Marines. We need them to secure our public image. Otherwise, it's another of the many revolutions we've dealt with for centuries.," Forza scolded the Elders.
She then took a more serious tone.
"We should also be prepared for the recoil of what happens after Elbaf. Because I sense it's going to backfire in our faces. Better to minimize the damage because we have a much bigger elephant in the room to worry about.," spoke Forza.
"Zunesha remains-," replied Howard before noticing Forza's facepalm in exasperation for his lack of foresight.
"The OLD WORLD is going to be explored very soon. And we're going to have to brace for the first encounter between them and us in centuries.," she explained.
The Elders exchanged uneasy glances. The OLD WORLD was a realm shrouded in mystery, a place that had been forgotten by most of the population and feared by those who knew of its existence. It was not only filled with horrors beyond even the perils of the New World but also had dangerous people that made Roger seem weak in comparison.
Southern Village- Elbaf
Ripley glanced outside as she saw the blackened tree Adam had become warp and twist while the village barely held up its stability.
"Say, what do you know about how everything came to be?," asked one of Loki's associates.
She sighed as she looked at a chained-up Ange before speaking something she felt nauseous explaining-
"Everything was chaos with nothing existing till the World Nobles came to being and reshaped the world from the chaos that prevented order. The world has only existed for 800 years and we owe everything to World Nobles and the true Sun God."
"That's right-," Ange said before an old Giant woman bonked her on the head.
"Wrong! How you explain the tree of Ohara that existed for at least 5000 years?," asked the crone.
"That doesn't exist-," Ange said before the old Giantess bonked her again.
"That's covered up, but how can you explain the fact that Arabasta has at 4000 years of history-," the crone questioned.
"No, they're deluding themselves. It's 800 years old we just sprouted from nothing with everything already made for us-," Ange answered only for the crone to bonk her three times, creating large bumps.
"My gods, these younguns have really bought into this cult that Harald believes frivolously in...or at least uses it to fool the masses...no, being duped by the sweet words of manipulators.," the crone complained.
Ripley got incensed by the implications the woman was stating. "Harald was a righteous king! He brought peace and order to the nation! How dare you-," she began to protest but was cut off by the crone's intense gaze as she released Conquerors Haki.
"You were once one of our finest warriors. How you've fallen to believe the creature that masqueraded as our homeland is the byproduct of any well-intentioned purpose is beyond me. The truth is, the world existed long before your precious World Nobles strutted around claiming dominion," the crone said, her voice echoing with the weight of the ages she had seen.
"I know what you mean.," spoke Robin on the diorama as Loki and Road sat on the "director" and "producer" chairs while both the female members of the Straw Hats and the Cross Guild were all on the table.
"Finally, someone with brains.," she remarked. "Let's just get this play over with." She then sat down as did the unchained Giantesses and Giant girls.
"Action!," Road declared.
Loki took a deep breath as he began to exposit the setting-
"Everything started with a Big Burst as stars began to spread out from the origin and eventually matter began to form into worlds. These worlds were initially in states of chaotic instability till they refined themselves into conditions to bring forth life. These life forms evolved at different rates. And this was all orchestrated by the God of Pirates and the God of the Common People. And this was only the 56th of countless universes each having a leader to shepherd clusters of universes with a hierarchy to govern increasingly smaller territories in their respective universe."
Buggy, Momji, Cabaji, and Galdino gave expressions of skepticism mixed with terror that their captor was potentially insane.
"Behold I am the first star. Wheee!," said Kinoko, one of the inmates that Buggy rescued from Impel Down in a flat tone as he twirled on his tippy toes. Other pirates dressed as stars and planets danced around him.
The Tightrope Walking Funan Bros plus the mall, thick-lipped, party hat-wearing pirate, and the blond Buggy Pirate crew member dressed in oddly specific costumes- A round cyan sphere with green limbs, a tree man, a woman made of water, a golem made of magma, and a purple, winged demon wearing a purple kimono.
"We are the original Pirate Kings of Universe 56's cardinal directions- Rondure of the East, Topiary of the West, Rinse of the North, and Basalt of the South. Manu is the Herald Pirate King of Universe 56...but no one liked him so he got fired for Sunno who died and got replaced by Copernicus.," the quintet declared flatly.
The "Manu" tugged on a string as his purple costume turned into a golden-sun-headed warrior before pulling it again to reveal a purple-haired man in a white alien suit.
Galdino gave a dumbfounded baffled look at the sight of the far too imaginative statements and costumes.
These two are on some sort of hallucinogen. This is something you'd think you're high., thought Galdino as he sweated profusely.
Nami looked at the sight with exasperated confusion as Shoujo took a step back, his sweat glands working overtime. The revelations and the ridiculousness of the play were too much to handle.
"This is written in the book of Nika's text," Bonney said as she popped behind the orange-haired girl.
"Robin, you're not buying this right?," asked Nami to Robin to hopefully get a sensible answer. She stared in comedic horror as the sight of Robin blushing and being enthusiastic at the sight was surreal.
"It's so accurate to the texts!" spoke Robin as she cried tears of joy.
Crocodile, Moria, and Doflamingo continued to give angry glances at an increasingly nervous Buggy.
I'm so sorry!, he thought.
"But there was an inherent darkness across the universes.," spoke Loki as his tone became more serious.
Unknown Space
Usopp opened his eyes to the blackness he was propelled into via Minerva's rap-based spell.
"This is the void after death...Wow...I was so worried about nothing...Just got to float around...wheee...," Usopp said in a flat pessimistic tone.
"Sir Usopp...why are you stumbling and giving up? Are you not striving to become a Brave Man of the Seas?" spoke a familiar voice as a light glowed.
It took the form of the golden-sun-masked Sniper King with his red cape and goggles- a doppelgänger wearing Usopp's current clothes.
Usopp stared blankly before covering his eyes and removing them to see the copy. He then pinched himself as he gritted in pain.
"No, you are not going crazy! I manifested as Sniper King because we were destined to be partners. I was allied previously with someone of your kin.," said the figure.
"Wait, you're just a disguise I made up to fight with the others when I was still not on the crew...after my fight with Luffy.," Usopp retorted.
"I am merely manifesting as a concept your mind can comprehend. We are inside the Adam Tree- one of the five World Trees needed to stabilize this Red Line. The Lily tree was incapacitated but with your aid- this and that tree can be revived. The Lily Tree was at Ohara.," said the figure.
Usopp's brain frizzled from the metaphysical complexities the Sniper King copy was spouting. "W-wait, how? I'm just a guy!"
Suddenly, the Sniper King copy pushed Usopp out of the way as a black magic circle appeared in the space- as a gigantic Satori Ape appeared before them, baring its teeth in a fierce snarl.
"Crowley Allister.," observed the Sniper King.
"This has been planned for centuries. Don't interfere Henka...or do you go by Joka now? Just be a disembodied spirit and watch as I eliminate one of the last of that bloodline.," said Allister as he continued to attack the copy with wild arm swings.
Usopp nodded nervously as he propelled towards a green light. Alister realized this, and shook his fur as the strands turned into mini-versions of himself to lunge at Usopp to prevent him from completing his task.
Usopp attempted to thrust at the clones, but they dodged as if they had an innate telepathic ability. They were all over the place, their movements erratic yet eerily synchronized. It was like fighting shadows.
Usopp was hit in the gut and spat out red liquid, which made the apes cheer until they realized it was ketchup.
"K-Ketchup Star!," said the long nose as he used the opening to almost reach it.
He was pinned down just before reaching it, as shells emerged from his pockets and landed on the Simians, sprouting roots on them.
"Impact Dial!," Usopp declared as they suffered a powerful recoil force that sent them flying back. Alister barred his teeth in frustration as Usopp touched the green orb.
Elbaf- Northern Castle
The Infinite Dawn's eyes glowed as extendable limbs emerged from the ship and reached to grab the mutated plant. A crack appeared on the Epimetheus tree as green tendrils of pure light shot into the sky.
All of the Red Line was illuminated by a blinding flash as it engulfed even the Sky Islands.
Unknown Space
Usopp opened his eyes to see a blackened surface with lava-like cracks. He freaked out until the Sniper King copy pointed down, showing him a floating platform made of the same material as the Adam Tree.
He saw a beautiful woman with yellow butterfly wings on her back with red eye patterns, dressed in a purple dress, with purple shoes, wearing purple gloves, and had a purple perm shoulder-length haircut. She looked pretty, but her eyes were cold and calculating.
"The planet is finally cooling down. We can start by creating oceans. We don't need anything but constant rainfall and no contact with the sun-.," she spoke in a haughty tone as she turned to see a ten-armed, blue-skinned woman with three heads with golden antlers on the top of her waist-length blue hair, red iris eyes, and no visible mouth in any of her faces. She wore a purple short jacket open with a fur trim collar, a red bra, and an ornate waistband with two blue long clothes on the side of her waist. She had an elongated serpentine tail and was clearly colossal in size.
The most surreal thing was the appearance of Sea Kings Banawani Crocodiles, and Sea Beasts of all creatures aiding them. Including a pink bird-beaked one with white fuzzy strands of fur, a massive white variant with black spots, a red one that looked like a centipede, a massive Lord of the Coast variant, a black one with interchanging yellow/red iris eyes, etc. More bizarrely, they had functional arms and seemed to move on ark-shaped ships of some ethereal/highly advanced nature flying down.
Compared to the butterfly-winged woman, the serpentine lady looked almost gentle, though her size and the fact that she was speaking with the authority of a creator was unsettling to a conventional mortal. She looked at the blackened planet with a sigh, a hint of sadness in her voice.
"A repeat of the tragedy that has befallen countless worlds across the omniverse. And the cycles before this current iteration..," the snake woman said with her center head.
"That kind of belief you and the dual Lords spout is heresy. It's natural for life to evolve to harness Ambitious Will...Haki to dominate the world around them even at the cost of everything. This time, we'll avoid the mistakes of the previous cycle.," said the butterfly woman, apathetic to the other lady's concerns.
She then saw a blue-feathered bird with rainbow-winged feathers, an avian-shaped head with a beak end yet no mouth, a yellow halo-like circular crest, and long tail feathers. It rested on the right fourth of her arms as it spoke-
"We've decided that since Mana and Aura teachings are not followed due to mortals straying away from nature. We will allow you to do the Daemon Food Project to cancel the Haki outbreak. Don't fail for everything depends on it. Lady Ocean, you will be the project leader. Mother Sea has repeatedly neglected to properly instruct mortals on Mana and Aura teachings on an implied deliberate basis- will be demoted to witnessing the results silently without complaint.," the bird spoke in a mysterious, ominous tone of voice.
Mother Sea, the butterfly-winged woman's previous nonchalant face twisted into surprise and utter disbelief. "Lady Ocean, the airheaded dolt?! You must be jesting, she can't handle such a delicate task of a truly heretical nature." she protested, her eyes flashing with irritation.
Lady Ocean, the multi-headed, ten-armed, snake woman attempted to console Mother Sea about the issue as she placed one of her hands on her shoulder.
"Let's find a compromise to balance out Haki and the Daemon Food Project. We're sisters, we should fight for understanding and equality, not bitterness.," the serpentine woman told her. The words from Mother Sea's perspective are perceived as utterly condescending despite being merciful on Lady Ocean's end.
"You seek to stifle my ambition?! I am greater than you! Greater even than the Gods! I am the emissary of the source of the calamity- EMPTY and the Lowly Ones who crafted them. I will step further than the limits of the omniverse. Above the stars of countless universes to reach the Boundless Seas! I will be as the most high!," she yelled as she tore into her chest and her entire form ripped in half like a cocoon.
Mother Sea was now a black silhouette that was split into segments to denote joint separations. A creature with an angular, slug-like head with large, prominent lips and broad teeth. Her body was broad and sharply angled around the shoulders and torso. Purple markings covered most of her body. She had five fingers and a thumb in each hand, and their feet were cleft at the ends to resemble cloven hooves. She also possessed a set of headlight-like crystalline eyes of red. Her "hair" was now writhing tendrils and her butterfly wings of gold were now deep purple with yellow sclera eyes with black pupils.
The other creatures' reactions implied that Mother Sea had become a fallen angel to the Gods she served. Her eyes now gleaming with madness, she turned her gaze towards the Snake Woman, with her claws and expanding ripple pattern eyes showing her sadistic attempt to kill her.
"Your pride will be brought down to the abyss of the ocean you so love away from the sun and fire you despite.," spoke a periwinkle Sea King female with beautiful blue eyes and a set of dual pink antlers slithering out of the crowd.
"Are you daring to speak against your natural superior, Sarma?," asked the being previously Mother Sea, her tone now a mix of rage and disbelief.
"Sea Devil, you will remain in the territory of primordial chaos you so crave- your own Hell! The Abyssal Line!," Sarma the antlered Sea King spoke as she fired an intense heat beam as the Sea Devil was jettisoned all the way down to the bottom of the seas.
Lady Ocean looked with concern for her colleague even if the bond was one-sided ultimately and grabbed Sarma.
"That was uncalled for! We could've reached for an understanding.," Lady Ocean cried, showing far more benevolence than anyone in that situation would show such a wretched monster.
"She was evil. Being given a place at all was mercy in one of itself.," replied Sarma, her eyes filled with a fierce determination as she glared at the retreating form of Mother Sea. The other creatures nodded in solemn agreement, their expressions a mix of fear and relief.
Lady Ocean glanced at the abyss with pity towards the Sea Devil before resolving herself to do the next step of the project.
She planted some seeds as the ground began to take life with five massive trees began to form on the surface...
Usopp then noticed that Robin was also with him as she looked in astonishment along with countless others.
"That's the tree of Knowledge of Ohara...and the Adam Tree...and depictions of the Sunlight Tree Eve...why are they here?" asked the archaeologist.
Next Chapter: Lily, Adam, Eve, Pandora, and Lucy
Author Notes: The newly introduced Manmayer Forza is essentially the answer to why the World Nobles have a somewhat tolerable relationship with the Marines and the public- being a less evil pragmatist who is all about balance. She will be a major player going forward.
As for the major flashback going forward, I first hinted at it via the play Loki (the other one) doing a play with the Straw Hat Pirates and Cross Guild, which would be as hilariously awkward as you'd imagine, especially since without context- it is very, very weird.
Now, we'll transition to the origin of the Trees and this will lead to how the Giants eventually came to populate Elbaf in the coming chapters.