5 Chapter 5: Mysteries and Wishes

"We've been waiting for you, Lord Fool," Skypea's god bowed deep greeting the unannounced visitor.

Dante furrowed his brows, unable to understand how Gan Fall could possibly know about him or the fact that he would visit Skypea.

"You must have a lot of questions, worry not I'll answer them all. But first, please follow me inside. It's unbecoming of me to leave someone like you standing in front of my gate." Gan Fall motioned toward the inside of his temple. Dante agreed and walked closely behind his fellow god trying his best to make sense of everything. Yet, no matter how much he thought about it, there simply was no explanation for this.

Gan Fall sat down on a couch made of clouds, refusing to sit on his throne in Dante's presence. Dante sat in front of him on top of another cloud couch, his whole being serious and attentive. Despite his normally playful and laidback manner, this was something that Dante needed to take seriously.

"Do you want a drink? Maybe a snack to fuel an empty stomach?" Gan Fall tried lifting the mood but Dante refused all of it.

"How do you know about me? My existence should be only known to a handful of people and even then they all live far away and only recently encountered me."

Gan Fall took a long breath, a small gesture of his hand sent two of his guards off to gather something.

"I would need to start at the beginning. It might take some time..." Gan Fall explained, only continuing once Dante nodded for him to do so.

"A few years ago, a pirate from the blue sea above us landed on Skypea. He was an interesting fellow, a strong one at that! He came all the way here to find the golden bell belonging to the Shandians. I'm not sure if he found it or not but before he left, he warned us about your arrival."

'Roger warned them about me? But how did he know?'

"He said that one day in the future, a powerful being would arrive in our world. A god among men who would turn out to become our savior or our destroyer."

Dante frowned at the story the old god was telling him.

"Wait, wait! It's impossible... My arrival here was spontaneous, something that wasn't meant to happen! My very presence here should be an anomaly to the world, something the chains of fate had no control over!" 

Gan Fall shrugged, not really understanding his guest's words but he could feel the seriousness of Roger's message.

"I did ask him, why he was certain that you would come." Gan Fall managed to gain Dante's attention again and continued.

"He said, the poneglyphs talk about you. That ancient deities had done something in an effort to summon you, yet it failed... partially, at least. You didn't arrive at the time they needed you to but centuries later."

"Ancient deities...?" Dante's head was throbbing from the knowledge he gained.

'How could that be? What ancient deities? Nika? Imu? I don't understand... Is that god involved with this? Or is it pure coincidence?' In the end, Dante couldn't find an answer to his questions, nor did Gan Fall have anything more to add.

"Whatever..." Dante's sudden shift in his mood startled Gan Fall. He gathered from Dante's previous behavior that he would need some time to adjust to the critical information he had given him. Yet, the mysterious stranger seemed to have recovered in a single moment.

"I can't do anything with the little information you gave me, so there's no need to break my head about it. I'll just have to find out for myself.

Now since I'm already here, how about listening to my proposal?"

Dante offered Gran Fall to be the middle man in soothing the conflict between the Skypieans and the Shandians. In exchange, he wanted the gold they had amassed and to subordinate themselves to him. Dante needed a base of operations for the future and despite Wano being a natural stronghold, Skypiea offered better safety against whatever Imu used on Lulusia. That didn't mean that Dante would give up on Wano, though.

"You want us to serve you?" Gran Fall had a somber expression, pondering about the proposal. Soothing their conflict with the Shandians was something he had wished for all his life, yet offering themselves as Dante's minions didn't sit well with him. He didn't know the man nor did he know what his goals were.

"Don't worry, your people are too weak to be of any use to me. What I really want, however, is the safety of the sky. I want Skypiea to become the center of operations for my future plans." Dante's words both soothed and stung at the old god.

'Not strong enough...'

"I... This isn't something I can accept without thinking it through..." Gran Fall didn't wish to decide on his people's future without proper consideration. Dante didn't mind since it was the sign of a great leader. Who would accept such an offer without at least taking some time to think things through carefully?

"Recite the following text once you've decided on an answer:

The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

The mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

The King of black and yellow who wields good luck."

Gran Fall noted the Fool's honorific name down. 

Seeing no use in staying any longer, Dante excused himself and once again vanished from his spot, much to the Sypiean's surprise.

"A true god...!"

...

Dante traveled through the spirit world when suddenly a distant prayer echoed inside his mind. 

"Fisher Tiger?" Dante listened to the fishman's prayers, his expression turning grave as he made his way toward the bottom of the ocean.

Once he arrived, he was greeted by flames burning at a stack of papers sitting at the center of the plaza. Panic had won the place over, with children crying, and adults shouting for help or trying furiously to put out the fire which increased in size.

It wasn't, however, the fire that gained Dante's attention. Instead, it was a small group huddled around a frail, blonde fishman who lay in a pool of her own blood. Around her were four huge figures, but despite their size, Dante knew that all of them were just innocent children.

"Stay by my side, my little angels." Her weak yet caring voice reached even Dante's faraway ears.

"Calm yourselves..." The children had snot and tears running down their faces, yet all of them listened to their mother's words. 

"Huff... Whoever the culprit is... don't be angry for my sake. Don't let hatred consume you..." 

'This scene...' A gruff voice came from behind Dante as a pair of strong hands grabbed his shoulders.

"Lord Fool! I'll pay whatever price needs to be paid but please... save the queen!" The fishman's eyes were veiled in tears and desperation. While he didn't always see eye to eye with the queen, he held a deep respect for her and her unshakable will to better her subject's lives.

Dante looked from Fisher Tiger to the dying woman, her children now laughing and dancing, trying to stop their sister from crying. The scene was as heartwarming as sad, seeing a group of children living through such a traumatic event.

Dante didn't respond to Fisher Tiger's request, instead, he walked over to the children, each one of them towering over him.

"Tell me, if I were to grant you three a wish, what would you choose?" Dante's voice was relaxed and without worry. His appearance and sudden interruption stopped the children's crying for a moment. The guards and ministers standing around seemed frozen in place as if time had stopped for everyone except for the four children and Dante.

The four looked at each other before declaring at the same time.

""I'd wish to save Mother!!""

A warm smile spread on Mathis' face, although the children were unable to see it thanks to his long coat and hood that hid his face. Dante passed the four young mermen and kneeled down, looking the queen in the eyes.

"Looks like your children still need you in their lives." Somehow Dante's voice was soothing to her, she could feel death's hesitance and hope returning to her. Dante's hand reached out for the wound on her frail body and with a simple swipe to the side and paper figurine appeared in his hand, crumbling and turning to dust. The wound on Queen Otohime's body had vanished, not even a trace of it remained.

Dante stood up and turned towards the children who looked at him with incredible eyes.

"Your wish was granted. Remember, the second wish requires a price to be paid."

These words, although directed at the children, weren't meant for them. Dante meant to remind FIsher Tiger that he owed him another debt, one that he didn't plan on forgetting, ever.