Raven had still not reached the lowest levels of the Library in the year and 4 months since she landed on the Island. There were too many flooded sections, too much load bearing debris holding up sections they need to precariously get through to go deeper.
She did however, get the hang of Haki. But- she was only able to get one under her control. And that was Firmament. All the other branches, she wasn't able to keep going for long. Her efficiency was abysmal. But Firmament, it was helpful in that she was able shape her aura into book marks. Courtesy of her Persistent Affinity. Meaning it was far easier for her to 'let go' of her aura and let it self sustain until it wasn't able to anymore.
Currently. She was practicing with Firament. Referencing the book she had found constantly.
Her hand was outstretched, trying to utilize one of the basic abilities of the branch, Shift; The Technique to give shape to something you produce. It was commonly used by Swordsmen to give their flying flashes an appearance. Kale himself had subconsciously used it during his fight with Kalikard, the images he produced, his attacks, and Gontoryu particularly was an application of the same.
She focused. Mentally imaging what she wanted. She wanted to form the air just in front of he hand into a flower. First she needed let the energy radiate. A small layer of aura that was formed of flat seemingly two dimensional circles forming a bumpy film. Some of the spheres radiating up from the surface before dissipating mere moments later. All of the Branches had a tell tale visuality to them.
"HMPH!" She swatted her hand down! A gust of wind forming from the strength! The radiating raw firmament aura leaving her hand and morphing into a violet and green color that formed into a non descript flow as it wrapped around the the air she produced!
The flower zipped and flowed around the air before dissipating into nothingness…
"Haha…Hehe…" She wiped her brow. The act had taken a lot out of her.
As she rested, in her room, which was an amalgamation of bookshelves, large sheets of fabric, and a temporary wall at the threshold tied with a Decent door. Inside, it was decorated with Candles, ribbons, canopy of hanging blanket and tapestry.
This was how many of the 'houses' and shelters were constructed in the library. Utilizing former nooks or stalls. There were sections of residential areas but many of them had collapsed from exposure, as houses used to be built outside the library on the tectonic shelf. According to fellow researchers and spelunkers, there are lodging but it was typically temporary as people used them as campsites before delving deeper into the Library to where ever they needed to go.
"It was said that long ago, many more Races roamed the planet. Similar to the Minks and Aquarines, but archeology and naturalist studies has yet to find any corroboration of these myths…" Raven spoke aloud. Reading a book on the sciences of 'races'. For the most part, it was nothing but pseudo science. Declaring Fishmen were naturally predisposed to specific attitudes. Prey Fish were Docile and submissive. Predator fish were naturally violent and dominant. It even mentioned more sub sections, Salt and Fresh water being of low intelligence or naturally smart accordingly, Deep and Shallow water being, one naturally manipulative and the other being deeply honest and overly emotional rather than logical.
Minks labeled as pest, violent, dangerous, sneaky, and seem to always have the goal of wanting to take what isnt theres and replace people.
Every line made Raven roll her eyes.
She continued "Faries, said to be humanoid like creatures that resemble humans but with the difference that they had insectoid features. Hard carapieces. Wings. And a metamorphical process similar to Butterflies."
"Sprites, Amphibian like humanoids. Said to lay eggs like frogs."
"Pixies, People who resemble Birds greater than the rumored people of the sky that are sometimes spotted with large vibrant wings."
"Elves, large humanoids said to be tied so close to nature and greenery that they are indeed made of them. Controlling and manipulating vegetation to their whims."
"Skinks, Lizard folk that seem to have only recently died out in the past hundred or so years. Large, strong, but dim and naturally cold blooded peoples. They tend to avoid and not fit in with civilized society."
"Skyians, Lunarians, Terrarians, Solarians. All beings said to live in the skys, the mountains, the moon, or from the sun. The moon, perhaps so. But the sun, it is far to holy of a thing for any being to have come from it. Seems most research and evidence indicates these Solarians only live amongst the hottest of places. Being able to survive the suns hottest of godrays. Leading to their name…"
"But perhaps most elusive of all races, and of those said to be extinct. Are the Ganymedians. If the stories are to be believed, long ago, these were a race of lesser people that helped the Sacred Dragons in their work and formation of the World we live in now. Skin like gold, tinged with an olive like green if its to be believed, with hair said not to be made of strands but a mass of vibrant dark blackish blue that shines like the night sky."
"Said to have the power like gods. Transmutation. From one thing to another and processes of such. Form fire from the air, gold from lead, Rock to Red Rock that makes up the Red Line. Some accounts ay they had golden wings, some brazen blonde. Almost all which share the same common identifier. A halo of radiance above their head they are said to be able to control. Their story is truly a tragedy."
Raven sat back slowly. Closing the book as she did. She had nothing to say out loud. BUt she did have a look on her face that she knew the truth of why, if they were true, were no longer around.
So many books and tomes of history had revealed to her so much of the world she sought to seek answers about. Cultures, Histories, Myths. Even a book she'd once seen before. The book of Devil Fruits. But an old and ancient one. Based on her estimations. It was over a thousand years old. Which posed far more questions than it answered.
It was a massive tome. Each page a double page spread of a fruit in question. Esoteric paragraphs and ideas scrawled on them as if in religious fervor, while also describing Aspects of the Fruit. Its heft, its temperature, its feel, its power.
What was strange to her, was there were some Fruits they had seen that were not within the pages. The Stone Stone Fruit was there, labeled as a 'Paramythica' due to its age. Taking on the appearance of a stone fruit melon with a dark exterior and said to feel like rock and a roughness to it. There was even her own fruit within it, Labeled as the Flower Flower fruit before it was changed to the Bloom Bloom or Hana Hana. There were scrawlings describing it as the power of a devil said to hold up half the sky and pull things to its proper path.
Many Logias, Called Logsi in this archaic terminology, were missing. The Light Light Fruit in particular drew her eye.
In fact. Leroy's own fruit was missing. The Gum Gum Fruit. She looked around to see if there were any other entries that resembled its power. Stretching. Elasticity. Absorption of Kinetic energy. But there was none. Strange…Many basic abilities such a stretching were already in the book. But it in particular was missing.
She figured it was because of the fact that Synthetic Rubber hadn't been around…But Natural rubber trees were.
The only correlation she could think of was that simply– Devil Fruits did not exist all at once. Something needed to bring them into existence. Dreams? Wants? Random Flux? Collective Belief? Or maybe just that it had never been recorded or observed to that point.
If a devil fruit could be and grant nearly anything. Then that meant there were endless fruits that weren't within these 600 pages containing 300 fruits in total.
Raven slowly shook her head. Hand on her chin. Opening her journal she jotted down notes. Passing her theories on Poneglyphs, Analysis of cultures and histories, the Void Century, and to the Passages on the Void Millenium.
The Void Millennium, even more so than the Void Century, is a fringe theory of History where there is over a thousand years of history before the Supposed 100 year length of time a thousand years ago thats forbidden to look into. Its contents unknown.
What is known, is after it. The World government is said to have been created. But its not just that stretch of history thats hidden. But a thousand years before even it was lost to time or hidden away.
The Void Century. Was the Void Millennium. And one led into the other. The fact there differentiation implied that the Century was very specific course of events. While the Millennium before it merely made the condition right to for what ever to happen to do so.
At least…Thats what Ravens working theory was. All Poneglyphs spoke of the a stretch of time thought to be the Void Century. But what if they speak even further back? Because who ever carved them knew that not their period and era, but the ones that came before were at risk…From Death? Erasure? Did they know that? If either, why?
Suddenly, she leaned forward and began to scribble notes even more. All of the Poneglyphs, according to Tovara, were all made at the same time. And its Language was lost. Each symbol was a sentence or scene to be deciphered rather than words. Some were entire paragraphs of information in a single sigil.
Some talked about everyday routines and pondered on what ever was on their mind. Others clearly were in code, or at least in that the information recorded wasn't from a Universal factual understanding, but a skewed ancient perspective that now came off as code that needed to still be deciphered.
Others entire Histories. The Amount of Poneglyphs aren't known. One scholar said 23. Another 72. Another 108. Some even suspected there were thousands out there lost in what ever random places they were stuck in. But how did they get there? How do all share a language, common turns of phrases, Concepts, and relations yet can be on the sea floor. Or in the bowels of a cave?
Raven sighed…
Rubbing her eyes.
Why….? Why why why…?
"Why!" She suddenly raised her voice. Breaking the silence. Only for her to cover her mouth with a small introverted snicker, muffled by her hand.
A knock on her door broke her from her concentration. Causing her to shoot up and pull on a shirt and pants as she had been laying in her Underwear the whole time. She shook her self into the tight pants before opening the door.
It was time…They finally had found a way to the depths of the Library that presented the least amount of risk…
The Secrets and most ancient of Knowledge was within her reach…