Somewhere in the world of One Piece. Over the raging and stormy sea, high in the sky, there was a young man, wearing old jeans and a black sleeveless shirt. The young man in the sky looked like he was at most 20 years old, was around 7 feet tall with an athletic and lean build, had blonde hair that coverd his forehead paired with crimson eyes and a sharp and well featured face that practically guaranteed him to be able to charm at least 98 out of 100 women for life if it weren't for the expression he was currently showing.
His eyes were wide open while tears kept flowing out and sweat was drenching his hair and forehead with snot running out of his nose. With his mouth wide opened he screamed for his dear life. The young man was, of course, the previously old Ray, who realized that he was falling through the clouds down, from the sky.
"NOOOOO!!! Damn is that b**** trying to kill me again!? I just came to this world, oh god pls I don't want to die so soon again!"
Ray panicked when he understood what was happening and fell first into a fit of anger before falling back into a state of panic.
'NO I REFUSE TO DIE IN THIS WORLD SO EASILY!' It was hard for Ray to focus when he could clearly feel the wind hitting his body and his heart beating strong enough to feel it reverberate through his whole body while looking down at the sea that's coming closer every second. Still he tried to focus his mind as good as he could, Ray though of possible ways to survive his fall from the sky and camped through his memory for a fitting technique before it was to late but he still thought in ways that were typical for his old world, not including his new powers. As he watched with growing horror how the sea came closer at an alarming speed, He finally remembered that he should have Gilgamesh's powers, no even more of his powers then Gilgamesh himself since he asked for an upgrade as well. But just when he thought of summoning something that could fly or stop him from falling, he realized he didn't know how to use his new powers yet.
*SPLASHHH*
Was the last thing he somehow heared when he fell into the water, feeling his body being taken in by the sea, while pain wrecked his whole body, forcing his mind back into a space full of darkness.
...
...
...
One day after Ray was sent to the one piece world, in a location not too far away from where he fell into the sea, an old man with round glases wearing a colorful shirt could be seen, tending to a gigantic deep blue whale with many deep scars on his front.
"Ok Laboon, I think we're finished for today."
Said the old man to the whale after at least 2 hours, in which the old man was checking upon Laboon, before he decided to go back into his lighthouse.
'Hmm?'
But just when he was about to step in, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed something floating on the sea near his lighthouse. 'What's that?' Thought the old man to himself curiously. He walked towards the 'thing' floating on the sea that he could see clearer with every step he took. Soon he realized that the 'thing' was a person! Even though he felt shocked at first he instantly decided not to waste any time. He was about to jump in and pull the body out but before he could act, Laboon the whale, appeared beneath the body and pushed it to the old man.
'His breathing and heartbeat are extremely weak, and he has huge bruises on his body. Also many bones are cracked but I can save his life at least, even though he will have to wait for months to recover'
The injured person, was instantly checked by the old man, who seemed to be a doctor, before he was brought into the lighthouse where he was tended to.
After another day went by, the injured person finally woke up and realized that he was inside a circular room he had never seen before, lying on a bed.
"Ughhh...Where am I? Did I actually survive the fall?"
(If anybody still didn't get it, the person is Ray)
"You're in my house, my lighthouse to be specific. My name is Crocus and I don't know what you survived or how you survived but you survived it"
Next to Ray, an old man spoke up, making him jump out of the bed and forcing his focus on the speaker but the moment Ray saw who spoke he immediately froze on the spot. He new who this old man was the moment he laid his eyes on him.
'Omg that's Crocus! Wait... Did he save me? So that means I entered the Grandline already!?'
Crocus seeing him frozen like that thought that his injuries acted up and advised him to calm down and to go back to bed.
"When I found you yesterday you had quite the injuries, internal bleeding, damaged organs and a few broken bones so you will have to recover first for a few months before resuming whatever you were doing before. Listen to me I was once a doctor on a ship."
...
Ray looked at Crocus not knowing what to say since so many thoughts swirled in his mind. But they all vanished when he finally noticed that he didn't feel any pain or injuries even though Crocus told him that he was in quite the serious condition just yesterday. He needed a few moments to sort the chaos in his mind before finally deciding on what to say. Ray looked Crocus in the eyes with a serious expression and said
"Thank you for saving me old man"
while bowing his head lightly. Even though he often acted in an easygoing manner, he still took matters of dept extremely serious.
"Sights... It's ok, for now just rest up a bit more I will come back later and I hope you will answer a few questions of mine then."
Saying so Crocus stood up from the chair he was sitting on and went outside with a bag he took before leaving.
'He is probably going to look after Laboon' thought Ray to himself. He indeed felt tired just from remembering the moment when he helplessly fell from the sky, thinking he would die again. 'FCK that was way to close for comfort' He let himself fall back on the bed while replaying the scene in his mind again and again. 'I have to somehow figure out how to use Gilgamesh's power and get stronger ASAP or else I can forget about joining the straw hats and experiencing adventures.' That's the conclusion he reached at the end.
"Sights... I'll just meditate and try to figure things out."
Sitting up on the bed and crossing his legs, Ray started calmly to take deep breaths to clear his mind of all thoughts until all he felt was his body. In just a few breaths he entered the meditative state but he suddenly felt something in his head, he never felt before. In his head there was a strange tickling feeling. He didn't know what it was but he also didn't feel like it was dangerous or harmful. So he started to concentrate on the region he felt the ticklish feeling from and was dumpfounded when out of nowhere letters started to appear in his mind. The lettered connected to words and the words constructed sentences.
'Old monkey, when you read this notice I planted in your consciousness, you will probably have survived your little flight and are now thinking about how to activate the cheats you gained. I'll tell you that. You will have to create 2 cores in your body, one aura core in the region between your stomach and your solar plexus and one soul core in the region I planted this message in. For the first one you will have to gather your 'inner strength' how you called it, in the mentioned region and focus and compress it while keeping it flowing in a swirling motion until it forms a core on it's own. You won't be able to control it then without a soul core. For the soul core you will have to fuse your mind and consciousness all while coloring both in your will to connect to the aura core. After it is formed and connected to your aura core you will be able to master your 'inner strength' and at the same time activate all the cheats.'
'P.S your new body has the pure bloodline of an ancient clan inheriting the will of D.'
Ray felt how shock invaded his mind after he read this message and just when he was about to read it again, it wasn't there anymore.'What the hell was that about?! What cores? And why do I have to activate the cheats myself and btw they are not cheats they are powers since I'm not someone who would cheat!'
"That damn b**** I swear one day I'll make her pay. To think I was asskissing to such a crazy person. Sights... guess there's no helping it. For now I'll just try to form those cores and activate my powers already."
And so he did. Beginning to execute his original breathing technique he started to absorb power from his surrounding and transform it into 'inner strength', which he focused in the region he was told to, before letting it form a whirl. He breathed in more and more power until a painfully stuffed sensation told him that he reached his limit. So it was time to compress the whirl of 'inner strength' but just when he started the compressing he lost control over the power. No it felt more like the power gained a will and started to compress itself while refusing to let Ray control it. The whirl compressed itself more and more until it was as dense as compressed Water. After a few hours it was the size of a marble when it stoped compressing itself. Inside the original whirl appeared a second whirl whirling in the opposite direction of the first one, generating unbelievable amounts of 'inner strength' that filled his body.
'So this is the aura core' thought Ray not noticing that he was excluding an aura of absolute strength and dominance around him . He also didn't notice that his body was completely drenched with sweat. 'Hmm? Why can't I use this power?' Just when he got up from the bed and was about to test some techniques he realized that he couldn't move the power inside him, making it practically useless besides slightly enhancing his body's strength.
'Ahhh! The message told me that without the soul core I won't be able to control my power.' After remembering that part of the message he sat back on the bed and started to meditate again for 2 hours but without any results. 'Arghh ow can I create the other core? What does fusing mind and consciousness mean? Should I start to concentrate on that one region where the message appeared? Hmm? Actually yes that doesn't sound like a bed idea.'
He once again cleared his mind and started to concentrate specifically on the region where the message appeared before. This time he felt a strange depth to this region pulling him inside, that doesn't make any sense to him. Just when he was about to explore the depths he suddenly felt like he was completely pulled out of his body. He found himself standing in a seemingly endless and dark void.
'Where is my body?!' Startled he realized that there was nothing when he looked down where his legs should be. He was currently just a bowering white ball.
'Why is it that so much crazy shit happened to me since I died?! I just wanted to become a pirate in one piece and join a crew!' Frustrated he started to wander around in the darkness never stopping or resting at any time. In the seemingly timeless void doubt started to appear, telling him he will be stuck here forever and he should just accept his fate. But just when he was so close to giving in he saw a faint light in the distance. Energy filled him instantly and he started to rush towards the light and after what felt like eternity to Ray he finally reached the light. He saw his body radiating light but it was stuck in enormous whirls that whirled around his body, as if to tempt him to go in and get torn apart.
'F**k this, for all eternity I wandered around I didn't see anything but darkness in here but now my body has to be stuck in between those things?! I don't care I'll get my body back!' Out of Frustration Ray shot cowards to get his body before the whirls could destroy him but to his horror, just before reaching his body he was halted on the spot. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't move an inch and the whirls started to enclose in him and his body.
'Damn aren't you supposed to give me power? How come you're trying to kill me now?!' Shouted Ray but nothing helped. Just when he was about to get swallowed a will ignited in him making him shout out again in a voice like thunder
'who do you think I am?!' he shouted pushing the whirls back with his will and expelling whatever force was holding him in place. He dominated the whole space around them causing it to be illuminated by a bright white light while he came in contact with his body, fusing with it in the process. The whirls around him got also absorbed into the body and the moment the absorption finished the space cracked and Ray finally opened his eyes. He saw a comfortable big circular room and an old man sleeping on a couch. He himself was still sitting cross legged on the bed, wet from had to toe with sweat.
"I couldn't have just be dreaming that crazy shit just now could I?"
He stood up from the bed and stepped out of the lighthouse. A bright night sky stretching over the horizon with countless starts shimmering and even a shooting star was seen, when it shot across the night sky.
'It wasn't a dream after all. I somehow created the second core and connected it with the first one, causing my powers I got to awaken' thought Ray while taking out a weapon from the golden gate besides him. Finally he couldn't contain his joy anymore and started to laugh out loud. All this knowledge regarding his powers appearing in his head and even instructions on usage and methods to train them was more than worth the trouble for him.
'Finally... I'm finally starting my adventure'