Prologue (2/2)

James opened his bright neon orange eyes, light drifting down from the ceiling, causing him to squint as the rays slightly blinded him. He couldn't remember what had happened after killing the Kimon, having only been left with a splitting headache that made his world a bit unsteady. The last sound he had heard was that of a gunshot but even that seemed like nothing more then a distant memory from long ago.

Pushing himself up off the floor, James rolled into a crouching position, preparing to eliminate any potential threats. However, after a quick scan of his surroundings, it seemed that no one was in his general vicinity, only a few chairs and a sofa around to keep him company. Though he was slightly confused, he put away his hidden blade before rising up from his crouch.

He was just about to sit down on the couch and think things through when the door positioned next to the sofa opened, and 3 men walked into room. James immediately rasied his guard, taking a fighting stance that suited his own unique style.

The men were all chuckling and chatting with one another as they entered, as if completely oblivious to the existence of another person in the room. However, James, his observational skills even surpassing an inhuman level, saw each of their gazes land on him for a fraction of a second, emitting an air of curiosity before fading away.

Three of them sat down without uttering a single word in James's direction, as if they were still pretending that he didn't exist. Regardless though of whether they acknowledged his presence or not, James didn't move from his position, keeping his guard raised and his eyes intensely focused on each of them.

After about 5 minutes of casual banter and laughter between the three men, they gradually quieted down and faced James. None of them had looks of arrogance, confusion, or anger, but rather they all seemed to hold looks of curiosity and intrigue.

The one sitting in the middle, a guy with bright blonde hair, leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and his head in hands. "I was waiting for you to introduce yourself. I'm sorry if we came off as rude, but we wanted to put something to the test." He pulled out two gold coins and slipped one to each man.

The one to the right, sporting spiky black hair, smiled and pocketed his coin, lightly smiling. "Me and Poseidon bet that you would keep up your caution like only an assassin would. We thought that you would keep to yourself and wait for us to speak. Zeus obviously thought the complete opposite!!!"

The blonde haired man, the one that the black haired had called Zeus, smiled slightly and fixed his gaze onto the unmoving body of James Creed. He tilted his head, an amused expression spreading across his face. He found this mere mortal to be quite interesting, a rarely seen human that could bring all three main gods together in one place.

"Alright, let me cut to the chase," Zeus said, his blue eyes locking onto James's neon orange ones. "Your dead, shot straight through the head after killing scientist Victor Kimon. I'm deeply sorry."

James's expression didn't change as he had already ran through all probable outcomes in the full five minutes they had ignored him. Though the "death" scenario hadn't been on the top of the list, it was definitely in the realm of possibility.

"However," Poseidon, his hair a nice shade of sea green. "You did die a hero!! In fact, you saved the whole world!! Even if you didn't mean to, thats still cause for congratulations."

"Saved the world?" James asked in confusion, speaking out for the very first time. He reached up and pulled off the black hood covering his face. His unruly flaming red hair spread out in various directions with the color being lighter in some places and dark in others, giving the impression of having a living flame on top of his head.

"Well, well, well," Hades said, an amused expression on his face, leaning forward slightly. "It seems that you CAN speak....and yes, you did save the world. To put it simply and very shortly, Victor Kimon was developing a biological weapon that could turn the tides in any war. However, three years from the day you killed him.... if you hadn't killed him, then that weapon would've worked far better then anyone could have imagined."

James listened intently, nodding when Hades had finished. "So the three of you are here to decide my fate then?" Even though he wasn't used to social interaction with other people, he could still ask the more important questions in order to ease his own confusion.

Zeus leaned forward again, his eyes flickering with a strange light. "Your fate had already been decided the moment you killed that bastard scientist. We all decided to give you the rare honor of travelling between worlds. Your welcome!!"

"Travelling between worlds?" James asked, finally lowering his hands, but his guard was still raised. It went against his nature to completely relax around strangers.

"Your a smart kid, probably the smartest in your generation," Poseidon said, taking the reins of the conversation. "Surely you can wrap your mind around the concept of there being the existence of more then one world.."

After seeing James nod his head, Poseidon smiled and pulled out something seemingly from thin air. It was a large pitch black fruit about the size of a watermelon, images of what appeared to be shadows ran around the outside of it. It was this fruit that Poseidon tossed over to James, who caught it reflexively.

"That fruit is your lifeline, a sort of starter package to get you going," Poseidon explained patiently. "When you eat it, you'll gain a special ability. In this case, this one is called the Shade Shade fruit, a fruit that me, Zeus, and Hades all created just for you. Its to help you in your first world."

"Amazing ability?" James asked, clearly confused but a look intrigue and curiosity flashed ever so briefly across his visage. "Okay, I'll take it."

"There is a couple of things that we should go over before sending you to the world but I'll let Zeus and Hades handle that," Poseidon said, leaving back against the seat.

Zeus and Hades then launched into a lengthy explanation about the Navy, pirates, the One Piece, various islands, and a plethora of other things. It wasn't until they got to a thing called haki that they both quieted down and looked towards Poseidon, who looked back at them.

"Dont look at me, if you wanna gift him with haki, then its up to you two," Poseidon said, holding up his hands. "I already gifted him with the fruit, I do believe that my job is finished."

Zeus and Hades shook their head before whispering between each other for several minutes. While they were talking to one another, James took the times to sort out all the information they had told him into two sections. Things that were necessary and things that seemed merely trivial.

"Okay, after some discussing, we have decided to gift you with Conquerors haki," Zeus finally said after he and Hades had stopped talking. "However, we will NOT tell you how to use haki just as we will not tell you how to use the devil fruit. You'll have to figure it out all on your own."

James merely nodded, his mental blocks kikcing in, keeping him calm and collected. He figured that he would just deal with everything later when he had the time.

"Alright, then we'll let you be on your way," Hades said with a small smile. "However I do have to ask you something, though it is a bit personal. What do you plan on doing when you start travelling between the worlds? Assassination isn't a very big thing in that world, not that I'll stop you from trying."

For the first time since he was born, someone had actually asked him what he wanted to be. Throughout his whole life, he had always believed that he didnt have a choice and so he accepted it. Now however, he had a a chance for a fresh start, but it was easier said then done. Despite what people may think, it was hard to switch between careers, especially when that career was the only thing that you ever knew.

Hades nodded after seeing James pondering the question for a few minutes. "Well, just remember that your free to do whatever you wish. You literally have more freedom then any other mortal in existence. With the power we've given to you, go out and create your own future with your own two hands."

All three men raised their left hand, putting their thumb and middle finger together. They each gave James a small nod before snapping their fingers simultaneously, the sound resounding out through the large room.

Almost immediately after they snapped, James lost consciousness, fading once again into darkness.