Chapter Text
Anchored to an island of mysteries is the ship that belongs to the pirate king, ‘The Oro Jackson’. As the sound of laughter filled the air, three silhouettes could be seen farther away from the rest. Gol D. Roger could be seen with a drink, talking to Silvers Rayleigh and Oden, a man from the closed-off island of Wano.
“Now this is what I'm talking about!” Roger stated as he pulled the two into a hug, while still holding his drink. “Sadly, our adventure will end soon, but I’m excited to see what the last island holds,” he continued, letting go of his friends and taking another swig of his sake. His gaze swept across the crew of his that were sitting around a fire a few feet away.
“Aye, I agree, but let’s not think about the inevitable at the moment,” Rayleigh sighed as he glanced at his captain and best friend. Roger just let out a laugh as he continued to drink.
“Yes, my friends!” Oden exclaimed, “We shouldn’t let that ruin the mood, especially since we came across another island no one else could find.”
Rayleigh smirked at the fact that they did indeed find a new island, one that none of the log-posts could track. He looked around the island while Roger continued to laugh. The island was huge, with large trees and plants alike; there were even giant fungi and large magistical flowers, none of which they had seen before. Roger grinned as his laughter died down, then stopped suddenly, Oden doing the same, causing Rayleigh to glance at the two curiously.
“Did you hear that?” Roger asked, turning to the two. Rayleigh raised an eyebrow while Oden just nodded, signifying that he did.
“Hear what exactly?” Rayleigh asked as he glanced between them.
Roger glanced around when he heard a faint voice.
“He..p u..s,” a voice that sounded like rain called out, just barely being heard.
“That!” Oden pointed out, turning to where the voice or voices were coming from. Roger and Rayleigh turned as well, now facing towards the forest.
“What is it?” Rayleigh asked, still not able to hear it. Roger walked forward towards the forest.
“Someone was asking for help,” Roger stated, even more confused by the fact that Rayleigh couldn’t hear it.
Oden nodded before adding to what Roger had said, “Not just someone, but more like someones,” as he glanced at the right-hand man.
“So there are people calling for help, and you two can hear it, but I can’t?” Rayleigh asked, being the one with some sort of common sense.
The other two looked at each other before shrugging. Rayleigh just sighed in irritation at the two, knowing he couldn’t stop them and that it would just be better to go with them to make sure that they didn’t get into any trouble.
“Fine, let's go,” Rayleigh grumbled, as he pulled off his glasses and rubbed a hand down his face. The other two just grinned as they started to run off towards the forest. Rayleigh sighed again in exhaustion, knowing the two were thinking of this as an adventure, but in their haste forgot to tell the rest of the crew, who were still parting, about where they were going. So he pulled Gaban to the side to tell him to keep an eye on the crew. Gaban gave him a mock salute before walking back to the others. Rayleigh himself walked off towards where Roger and Oden were standing next to the edge of the forest.
“What took you so long?” Oden asked, earning an eye roll from Rayleigh. The two of them were a little impatient.
“Well, I had to tell the crew where we were going, unlike a certain someone,” he stated, giving the two a half-hearted glare.
“Come now, Rayleigh, we’re about to explore an unknown island!” Roger laughed, causing Oden to grin and Rayleigh to sigh(he seemed to be doing that a lot tonight).
“Yes, we are, because someone called out to you two randomly for help,” Rayleigh pointed out.
“Oh, don’t be like that,” Roger stated, placing an arm around the former's shoulders.
“Whatever, let's just go,” Rayleigh grumbled as he rolled his eyes. Getting laughs from the other two before they started walking into the forest. As they traveled through the forest, the voices continued to call out, slowly getting louder. This gave the three confirmation that they were walking in the right direction.
As they went further, the more surreal the forest became. The trees seemed to twist and turn, making pillars and arches. Flowers bloomed in every shape in sizes, but certain flowers seemed to show up the most. As they got farther, more animals seemed to appear too. At one point, the three saw a giant stag with flowers seeming to bloom from its antlers and tail. Rayleigh glanced in surprise from the stag to his captain and crewmate. Both seemed to be just as surprised as him before shaking out of their stupor when the voices spoke again.
“Hello?” the voice from before called out, pulling the attention from the stag back to the voice. Suddenly the stag turned towards them, causing the three to look back in surprise when the antlered animal gave them a slight bow.
“What the” Rayleigh started, only to be cut off by Roger.
“I think it wants us to follow it,” Roger pointed out as they watched the stag walk away, only to stop and look back towards them. The three glanced at each other; Rayleigh sighed before following after the stag, Roger and Oden following behind.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this before,” Oden stated as he looked around.
“I agree,” Roger said. “This is completely different to anything we’ve seen before. Which makes this island even better!”
Rayleigh announced his agreement as they continued to follow the stag. They eventually came across a vine-covered rock arch. The stag glanced at them, bowing again before running off, leaving the three in the dark in front of the archway.
“Well the was something,” Roger muttered. Oden nodded in agreement. Rayleigh just rolled his eyes as he walked forward. “Seems like it wanted us to go through here,” he pointed out as he used his sword to pull back the vines.
“Indeed, my friends!” Oden exclaimed as he walked forward with confidence. Roger barked out a laugh as he followed, causing Rayleigh to huff out a chuckle. As they walked through, they were left stunned at the sight. They found themselves in a clearing with marble spirals in a circle, waterfalls that came from the rock walls surrounding them, leading to a crystal-clear pool in the center. A path of rocks led from the pool to a marble platform. Small glowing orbs seemed to float around the pool, which lit up the area around them. Rayleigh looked around and noticed five giant crystals between each spiral pillar. Carved into the crystals were five different symbols, one for each crystal. The symbols emitted a faint golden glow as the five got closer.
The first crystal had a symbol of a Gerbera Daisy flower and a golden sun behind the flower, while stars seemed to drip from the petals. The second symbol had the same flower and stars, but instead of a sun, a clock took its place, and flames seemed to overlap. The next was that of a scale: on one side was a red cross, and on the other a lightning bolt. The bottom half of the scale was hidden by clouds with stars that seemed to fall from them like rain.
Rayleigh traced his fingers along the rim of the third crystal, his voice barely a whisper against the sound of rushing water. "A red cross for medicine... and lightning for the storm. Balance. It's a scale."
The fourth symbol was that of an opened book; on the pages were the wings of an owl. Around the book were swirls and patterns that looked like magic, and an Iris flower in between the wings.
Oden leaned in, his fingers tracing the swirling lines bordering the stone book. "The patterns... they look like raw, ancient magic. And right in the center, nestled perfectly between the owl's wings, is a pristine Iris flower. The design is absolutely mesmerizing."
"And what about the last one?" Roger asked, his voice low and rich with intrigue as he walked to the final crystal monolith at the edge of the clearing.
He stood before it, his booming laugh completely fading into solemn silence. Carved into the last crystal was a silver crescent moon, with a tiny spider meticulously hanging from the top. A red spiderlily beneath the moon, with stars hanging from the moon and the flower like heavy fruit.
"Five crystals. Five symbols," Rayleigh stated, his eyes scanning all five pillars together. He could feel his internal logic straining against the sheer weight of what they had just stumbled upon. "These aren't just arbitrary markers, Roger. These are the seals of an entire pantheon."
“Interesting,” Roger stated as he got a closer look at the crystals. Rayleigh continued to look around as he walked closer to the platform. Noticing a chest in the middle of the platform. Weathered chains seemed to be wrapped around the chest.
“Hey, you two!” Rayleigh called out to the others, gaining their attention. He motioned for them as he got closer to the platform using the stepping stones. As they got closer, the voice(voices?) called out again, causing Rayleigh to stop, now suddenly being able to hear the voices.
“Over here… please help.” The three glanced at each other.
“Was that the voice you two were talking about?” Rayleigh asked, a brow raised in question. Roger and Oden glanced at each other before nodding.
“Yes, actually,” Oden answered as the three got closer to the chest. Rayleigh reached for his sword just in case, as Roger reached for the chest.
“I haven’t seen this design before,” Roger stated, intrigued. He looked over the chains that kept the lid closed.
“These chains look to be extremely old,” Rayleigh pointed out as he picked one up, the thing practically falling apart as he did so.
“So what do you think is in it?” Oden asked, excited at the prospect of whatever could be in the chest.
“Don’t know,” Roger stated as he pulled the chains off before reaching for the lid. “Let's find out,” he added as he opened the chest without hesitation. As the three looked into the chest, five glowing orbs floated out of the chest.
“What the hell?” Rayleigh asked as he looked at the orbs in confusion. Only to step back in shock as one of the orbs seemed to start zooming about, and he was sure he heard laughing. The three looked back at each other as one of the orbs floated towards them.
“Thank you…” A voice emanated from the orb in front of them. This one had a purple glow emitting from it.
“Yes, you have no idea how long we have been trapped in there,” another spoke, this one being red.
“What are you?” Oden asked curiously as he glanced at the orb zooming about.
“We are…souls, in a way,” the purple one stated. As one of the others, this one glowing green, went and stopped the zooming soul before coming back with the yellow one in tow. “We are the souls of the lost gods, weakened from protecting the multiverse and trapped in that cursed chest by the one we were protecting it from. So thank you..for freeing us.”
“Yes, we must thank you,” the green soul stated as it floated towards Roger. The man felt like his soul was being gazed into before the soul suddenly backed up.
“As thanks, I shall help you.”
“What do you mean by that?” Roger asked, confused as he continued to stare at the soul. He glanced at his crewmates, only to get a shrug from Oden and a raised brow from Rayleigh. “And which Gods are you? Are you the ones depicted by the symbols on the crystals?
“You and your wive can not have children… for that I will help. I will grant you two the ability to have a child.” The soul answered as the other four seemed to let the other take the lead on this. “And to answer your other questions, yes, we are the ones depicted on the crystals. Our names are Aeonius,” the one speaking glowed before dimming down again. “Bibliothas.” This time it was the blue soul, “Critoloma.” The red one, “Serenaperion.” Purple, “And Nika.” The last soul glowed like the rest before dimming
Roger stared in shock and awe. “Amazing, the warriors of liberation,” only to shake his head, realising what the Aeonius had said before. “Wait…can you really?” he asked in what could be akin to desperation and hope. The other two pirates stared in shock as well, not knowing what was happening.
“Indeed,” the soul answered, causing Roger to grin.
“Then thank you,” Roger stated, still grinning happily, knowing he would have to visit Rouge soon.
“No, thank you, and goodnight,” the fourth soul, this one glowing blue, said before the five zoomed off into the sky.
Roger stumbled back a half-step, breathing heavily. Sweat poured down his face, and his physical energy felt noticeably drained from interacting with such pure, boundless divinity. Yet, his signature grin split his face wider than it ever had before. He threw his head back and let out a booming, triumphant laugh that echoed across the entire ghost island.
"Captain!" Rayleigh stepped forward, his hand dropping from his sword hilt as he grabbed Roger’s shoulder to steady him. His brow was knitted in pure astonishment. "Are you alright? What just happened? Did that thing truly just promise you..."
"A son, Rayleigh!" Roger turned to his first mate, his eyes gleaming with absolute, unwavering joy. He clapped Rayleigh heavily on the back. "A biological boy! Rouge... she's going to be a mother! The cosmos itself just guaranteed it!"
Oden crossed his arms, a massive, matching grin breaking across his face as he looked up at the empty sky where the lights had vanished. "Incredible... to rewrite reality itself just out of gratitude. Roger, my friend, your family is going to inherit a fate grander than any treasure on Laugh Tale."
"Gyarahaha! You're damn right, Oden!" Roger laughed, walking back to where their crew was.
As the night waned, the Aeonius found the wife of the soon-to-be pirate king. It allowed itself to fade into nothing as it felt itself be reborn and would soon be the late pirate king's son. For Rouge and Roger, they were both elated to find out she was pregnant; only Roger, Rayleigh, and Oden knew the truth but wouldn’t ever share it. Roger was executed, leading to the start of the pirate era and the disbandment of his crew. Oden went back to Wano, never to be heard from again. And Rayleigh disappeared with his wife, never to be found again until years later.
For the other four, Bibliothas, after about a year of searching, found a family to join in the East Blue, even if it wasn’t the best one, just so it could gain it’s non existent fingers on books and knowledge, and meet the other four in the future. For the other three, though, they couldn’t find someone who embodied their beliefs of freedom, peace, and balance. The three were slowly losing hope when their mother, the ocean, came up with a solution. She knew everyone who had ever crossed her seas, and the best person for her children was just within her reach.