5 The benevolent God

"Now, Caspian Maverick, child of Lilian Maverick, and young Spirit of the Sea, state your third request and I will send you on to your next life so you may live as you please." Pontus stated with the same smooth baritone that always seemed to calm my mind and ease my worries. The crab like appendages in his bearded curled and extended themselves continuously as he spoke and his along seaweed coloured hair drifted in the waters behind him.

Taking a deep breathe to steady my nerves, I took one final look at my corpse where it lay pinned to the sea floor. Renewing my resolve I turned to look up at the Primordial God cradling me in the palm of his hand. A newfound resolve burning in my eyes.

"For my final request... I would like the power of the Demi-God Percy Jackson, from both the movies and books he's apart of. A naturally gifted fighter with a proficiency in all manners of ancient weaponry, Percy also has an inborn ability to manipulate water. He can even be healed and empowered by it. Not to mention he can navigate without a compass and has mental control over ships at sea. One of his more impressive feats involves him summoning a hurricane while a lesser known power he has allow him to manipulate the wind and talk to horses. And unlike Namor, Percy doesn't need to be close to the water all the time, so his powers should keep me from dehydrating as fast as Namor does when he is on land."

My excitement took over once more as I explained details of his powers that probably weren't necessary for a god like Pontus to hear. But I couldn't help myself. Smiling proudly I took a moment to think about all the other requests I could have made. There are literally countless other abilities, or things I could have asked for. Yet these were the ones I stuck with. The ones I'm most pleased with choosing.

With my first request I'll prevent myself from ever being caught in a storm again. With my second I no longer need to worry about drowning. And with my third wish I can make up for my lack of combat experience while simultaneously making the most of both the previous wishes.

These may not be the most powerful abilities, but they are exactly the kind of skills I want to start out in a world like One Piece. And since devil fruits are a huge pain in the ass for any normal citizen in that world, I figured why not go for their weakness when choosing powers of my own. And all devil fruit users are weak to water.

"Oh and can you make it so I don't have the mental issues Percy and Namor do? I'd rather not be a bipolar-dyslexic with ADHD." I added after a moment of thought. No offence to them, or people who have those issues, but I dealt with enough of my own mental problems in my first life, I'd rather not have to deal with any in my second.

"Hmm, I have no issue with granting your request. This is another fine choice, and not too difficult either seeing as those powers align similarly with my own. If you had asked for any type of power greater than that regarding water, I would have had to say no. But that particular ability has its limits and will balance out just fine in your new world. After all, you will only be able to manipulate water, not create, or become it. There will also be places where your connection to the sea will weaken, like in the calm belt for example. Likewise there will be certain ships you are unable to gain control over. Ships with spirits of their own and those whose captains posses Conquers Haki to be precise." Pontus stated informatively, seeming to take this matter quite seriously as he warned me of weaknesses in my abilities that I didn't expect to exist

"Thank you. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." I replied honestly, while making a mental note of every word. I will admit, I am a tad curious about ships containing spirits of their own, but thinking back to the Going Merry and the Klabautermann, it makes sense. In the One Piece world, ships that have been well cared for may come to posses a soul of their own.

"I have to say I am impressed. These request are very well chosen. But if I may offer a word of advice, though the promise of power may be tempting, I wouldn't eat a devil fruit if I were you. Consuming an ordinary devil fruit will cut off your connection to the sea and remove your ability to control water all together. Though you will likely retain your ability to swim as a side effect of my power dwelling within you, the fact is you won't have access to any of the abilities these requests have granted you." The sea god remarked knowingly. His deep green eyes boring into mine with a great deal of care and compassion.

"That's also good to know." I said with a touch of disappointment.

'Well there goes my plan to kill Eneru and eat the Rumble-Rumble fruit.' I thought with a slight sigh. But I didn't have time to wallow in the lost opportunity.

Once more Pontus snapped the mighty fingers on his left hand. Causing the water around me to hum with life as a bright silver light exploded from deep within my very being. A moment later the glow turned to a beautiful blue before fading away entirely. Leaving my soul dyed a brilliant iridescent shade of sapphire blue, reminiscent of the sea itself. As I stood in awe of the newfound power flowing through me, Pontus hummed to himself and stroked his mighty beard as if in thought.

"It would seem as though I still have a small amount of power left over. Usually, when a soul comes my way I use a large portion of power to send them to the version of heaven that coincides with their belief system. So they may exist in everlasting bliss, or until they are ready to be venture into the cycle of reincarnation. But, after looking into your soul I found that your version of paradise to be far different from most others I've met over the years. This is part of the reason I opted to give you the option to journey into another world with your memories in tact."

"I guess you know me pretty well. Going to the One Piece world like this, for me at least, really is the equivalent of my own personal heaven." I said shyly, having been read like an open book by the ancient sea god, "thank you."

"It is my pleasure, but I wasn't finished. You see, rather than using my power to from the bridge between this plane and the Jewish heaven, instead I used that power to grant you three requests to aid you in your next life. However, when taking into consideration the size of the requests, I realized that have a fair deal of power left over. So, It would appear that today is your lucky day, despite you having died earlier of course. Here is what I'll do for you. Using the remainder of the power I have I will grant you two small gifts that I believe will aid in your next life."

Pontus' voice echoed in my mind as I stared up at the ancient deity. Words failed me. I was utterly unable to describe my gratitude in that moment.

"So young Maverick, what shall it be?" Pontus pondered while stroking his mighty beard.