From the Ashes - 013

[A/N: I helped my neighbour paint his fence yesterday as a favour, so I didn't have any time to write. Still, I am going for a double release today to make up for it, so here is the first chapter. The second one will be up in a few hours.

Enjoy!]

Chapter 013 – Unknown Potential

[2012]

"What price?", Thor questioned, his tone a bit lower as he looked at the man before him, "Gold? Jewels?"

He knew well about human greed but he didn't believe that a being such as Noah, even if he was only partly human, would be obsessed with wealth. Instead, Thor was worried about what someone like Noah wanted in exchange for help when wealth didn't interest him.

He remembered Noah's words from a few hours ago very well, and if he was really a Devil then he had to be very careful when dealing with him.

Thor might have never met a real Devil but his knowledge of the Universe and everything that existed within was vast considering his status as a royal Asgardian.

Devils, demons, and gods, all of them existed in Universe, possessing many different faces and unimaginable powers. And while his instincts as a warrior told him that Noah could be trusted, Thor was still cautious with his thoughts.

He might not have Loki's cunning but he certainly was no idiot despite his somewhat brash temper.

Though to be honest, since no amount of mortal riches could compare to the reignition of the Bifrost since Asgard's reign over the Nine Realms depended on the magical construct that connected the space between those nine worlds, Thor almost hoped that Noah would just ask for wealth.

Noah though wasn't a simple character and his next words proved as much as he stated his demands, shocking the Asgardian Prince in the process.

"Nothing so common.", Noah replied lightly, dismissing any kind of monetary reward with a light shake of his head, "I want a weapon forged by the dwarves of Nidavelir. And not a common one."

A serious expression on his face, Thor stayed silent for a few moments.

A dwarven-forged weapon wasn't something that could be promised others lightly, especially since Thor knew first-hand what kind of power those artifacts held, his hammer being the best example, as well as his father's spear.

They weren't called godly armaments for nothing, after all.

And while one had to be strong enough to even qualify to wield one, Thor had no doubts that Noah fulfilled this requirement with ease, his display of strength still vivid in his mind.

Thor couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of power Noah would be able to unleash with a weapon forged by the masters on Nidavelir.

Promising him such power wasn't something that could be done offhandedly, so he was hesitating to answer. He might be reckless and in desperate need of the latter's help but even he understood the potential consequences of such a promise.

Thinking things through for a moment, Thor answered: "I cannot promise you a weapon such as that, but I invite you to accompany me to Asgard and meet my father. Only he can answer your request.”

Noah's expression was unchanged while he listened, though after Thor had finished speaking, the dark-haired stranger nodded calmly and replied: "I accept your invitation, Son of Odin."

Relieved that he had secured his way home, Thor sighed quietly as he followed Noah's gaze and looked at the bright city below, a few moments of comfortable silence spreading between them until he found himself parting his lips again.

“What was her name?”, he asked the probably most powerful warrior of Earth.

Lowering his head to look at the bracelet on his wrist, gently tracing the worn-out strip of leather with the tips of his finger, Noah replied quietly before going back to watch the city lights.

"I can't remember.", he said, his words barely a whisper.

Knowing when to shut up, Thor didn't inquire any further as silence returned.

He did wonder though, what kind of woman had she been that it was too painful for Noah to even speak her name.

…

Sitting cross-legged on the large terrace, the morning sun warming my skin, my hands rested on my knees with my palms facing upward as a small bird made out of blue fire danced through the air above my left palm while one made out of cosmic energy hovered above my right one.

Their colours were similar but one was blazing while the other was somewhat ethereal.

From dancing birds to a pair of agile snakes to simple geometrical shapes, the constructs made out of fire and cosmic energy changed shape every few seconds. Sometimes they were in motion while other times they appeared still.

Though the constructs made out of cosmic energy seemed to be a bit less 'lively' and solid, their shapes often flawed and irregular.

Since I hadn't been able to get back to sleep, I decided to just test out the degree of fine control that I had over my powers, and it wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be.

My flame control was rather exceptional but that was a given since Marco had decades of experience when it came to training his Devil Fruit powers.

Interestingly enough, the blue fire wasn't just some elemental force that could be summoned by the one that had eaten the Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit.

The blue flames were considered the 'body' of the phoenix which was also the reason that I had any control over them since Marco's fruit didn't give him any talent when it came to elemental control as Ace's had done.

It was a special trait of this mythical creature that allowed him, and now me, to expel the fire that made up the phoenix form in exchange for physical energy i.e. stamina, and once that had been depleted - life energy.

The reason this was possible was that the phoenix' body was considered partly intangible even though it had a 'physical' form, which allowed its body to regenerate and regrow through fire.

It was a strange and rather mind-bending concept, or more accurately, it was a mythical concept.

Still, from the foreign memories that I had been given, controlling the blue fire seemed easier for me than it had been for Marco.

At the same time, the speed at which I learned to control the cosmic energy resting in the Space Stone, which was seemingly just waiting to be unleashed, was much faster than I had expected.

Since I was connected to the cosmic ingot via some kind of telepathic link, my mind was the instrument through which I could control the boundless energy dwelling inside the Infinity Stone. And considering that I had only been trying out my fine control for a few hours, the results were rather exceptional.

Strangely, I also felt almost no discomfort multi-tasking and controlling the cosmic energy and my blue fire at the same time.

I was sure that I had never been especially gifted when it came to multi-tasking, and while Marco seemed more comfortable with it, he also didn't have any memories that made it seem like something easily accomplished.

Naturally, this led me to believe that this newfound ability had its origin in my increased mental capacity.

And while part of this increase was a result of my taming of the Space Stone and the baptism that I had undergone after doing so, which had improved my physical and mental parameters greatly. Another reason, I suspected, was the way in which I had gained Marco's abilities and strengths.

His abilities hadn't been given to me as a replacement for my own strengths, instead, they had been added to my own power. And while this seemed a rather insignificant point, considering that I had been a baseline human physically, albeit a well-trained one, it was different when looking at the mental side of things.

Aside from his proficiency in wielding spiritual energy to enhance his perception, Marco's mind was still human, his mental capacity not too different than mine. As such, adding his mental strength to my own was a rather drastic improvement, exponentially so after the baptism of cosmic energy.

Obviously, those were just guesses that I made after careful consideration of my current situation but I was somewhat confident that they were at least partly true.

This also meant that Marco's potential had just been added to my own, which meant that there was still a lot of room for improvement since my current potential could only be higher than Marco's or mine by themselves.

This was especially true when it came to Haki, as different from my initial thoughts of just further improving upon Marco's ability to wield spiritual energy, which was a skill he had tempered for decades by going through hundreds and thousands of battles, I knew that I might have different talents related to spiritual energy manipulation.

After all, spiritual energy was a type of energy closely related to one's soul, and given that every individual was born with a unique soul, everyone's aptitude for the different Haki techniques would naturally also be different.

In the One Piece world, there existed people that were born with the ability to use Observation Haki without any training, which signified their incredible, almost unmatched, affinity with this technique.

And while hard training could sometimes make up for one's shortcomings when it came to talent, one's improvement speed would naturally differ.

At the same time, only a small number of people were born with the ability to use the Colour of the Supreme King, which was something no amount of training could change.

Even Marco, the First Commander of Edward Newgate a.k.a. Whitebeard, who was known as the right-hand man of 'The Strongest Man in the World', did not possess this type of Haki, despite his monstrous strength and ability to face off against an Emperor for a short period of time.

Truthfully, I had no idea if I had any talent for Haki but after gaining Marco's abilities, I had in a way unlocked my own ability to sense and use spiritual energy, and I was somewhat eager to start my training since it was the only clear path forward at the moment.

Still, all that had to wait until I had a place for myself where I didn't have to worry about blowing up half the block when testing my strength.

Sensing the approach of an unfamiliar presence and hearing a few soft steps behind me, I turned to face whoever was looking for me and was greeted by the sight of a slim redhead with a kind smile holding two bags in her hands.

"Hi, I am Pepper.", the redhead introduced herself while I withdrew my hold over the energy constructs in my hands, causing them to fade from existence.