The following day, the sun rose over the majestic landscape of Elbaph. Outside the sturdy cabin where Thor and Loki had been living whenever King Harald was not present on the island, Thor stood tall and contemplative.
He was not alone, as both Loki and Borsalino stood by his side, observing the morning routine.
Accompanying them were Thor's two loyal pet goats, creatures that seemed to have missed him dearly during his absence.
They were currently spending their time right by his side, refusing to wander too far.
The beasts were busy feasting, voraciously tearing into the raw meat that they had just successfully hunted in the nearby woods.
"Those two are scary-looking goats. I have never seen one that eats meat," Borsalino couldn't help but comment with a slight grimace.
He was looking warily at the two goats that were munching on bones on Thor's side, finding their carnivorous diet quite unsettling for herbivores.
Thor did not respond to Borsalino's words immediately. His mind was elsewhere, as he was finding deep within him the new abilities that the Devil Fruit awakening had brought over him.
The cyan liquid, or Eitr, that he had used previously to create the draugrs out of the dead bodies of the Holy Knights, was not only a great addition to his necromantic abilities.
Thor also felt instinctively that there was another, perhaps more creative use for this ability that he needed to test.
Then, Thor opened his eyes with a newfound focus as he tried to do something radical. He then attacked his own arms, slicing the skin and creating a deep wound for himself.
When he did, he activated his regeneration ability, where a multitude of maggots began appearing and eating the wounded flesh to clean and seal it.
After they ate the flesh, the maggots began to drop from Thor onto the ground. Usually, these creatures die immediately after leaving the host body.
Still, to those that survived for a moment after the fall, Thor had poured the cyan Eitr towards the maggots. The reaction was instant, and the maggots started absorbing the cyan Eitr greedily.
As Thor poured more and more of the glowing fluid, the maggots began to take form.
They started growing rapidly, expanding in size until they reached the height of Borsalino. Borsalino found the sight of giant, writhing maggots absolutely repulsive.
He then transformed his body into light and moved several meters away to a safer vantage point, unwilling to be near the slime but still curious enough to watch from a distance.
The two goats, however, did not share Borsalino's disgust. Curious about the numerous maggots that were now the size of a human, they approached and ate some of them before Thor could stop them.
Their transformation was not yet finished, as the goats started digesting and absorbing the maggots and the potent Eitr they contained.
This reaction made the two goats begin to glow with an ethereal light.
Thor became alarmed immediately. Despite being curious to see the extent of his abilities, he did not want to lose his two goats.
He had taken care of them since their infancy, and they were the only things that had remained constant when he left the country of Elbaph years ago. But something strange and irreversible was happening to the two goats.
Suddenly, their fur began to grow longer and shift to a deep, mystical blue. Their horns sharpened and spiraled, cracking with energy as the two beasts grew much larger, becoming mountable steeds fit for a god. Simultaneously, the remaining maggots on the ground started their final transformation.
After a few more minutes of producing Eitr to fuel the process, Thor stopped the flow and turned to watch the final evolution of the maggots and the goats.
When the transformation finished, Thor's surprise couldn't be hidden. The pile of giant maggots had transformed into wide-looking humans.
They were short, stout, and incredibly muscular men with thick beards, figures which immediately reminded Thor of the mythical dwarves from legends.
Borsalino, who had floated back closer, Loki, and Thor are now staring at the ten dwarves that Thor had summoned from his own flesh and power.
But strangely, Thor can feel something that Borsalino and Loki cannot. He felt a deep mental connection to them, a link that allowed him to convey his will without speaking. He then decided to try something with this link to test their intelligence.
"Do you have access to the things I had studied on how to build?" Thor then asked the group of new beings. The dwarves all nodded along towards Thor in unison, indicating that they did indeed possess his knowledge of craftsmanship.
"Can you make a wall in the entire Elbaph?" Thor then asked. The ten dwarves all shouted in confirmation and immediately began running to fulfill the order. As the dwarves ran, the ground shook from the sheer intensity of their movement and physical strength.
"What the hell is that?" Loki asked, a great surprise on his face, as the beings departed. Borsalino also looked at Thor with a strange expression, not knowing where Thor had gotten these new abilities that seemed to create life itself.
"Oh, I haven't mentioned this before, but I awakened my Devil Fruit, and now, I'm just testing the new abilities that I got, the liquid that I summoned earlier, allowed me to transform the corpses on the God Valley into draugrs, so I'm curious to know what's going to be the effect when it's used on living beings, the maggots that you saw earlier, the one that healed me is also part of my abilities, but I also did not expect that this would directly create a race in front of me," Thor then said towards both Loki and Borsalino, explaining the terrifying potential of his power.
"I'll study this fluid first before giving its effect on humans' bodies or even giants, perhaps we can create more Ancient Giants, more than just us three, Loki, with father," Thor then said towards Loki thoughtfully. He then turned his attention towards Borsalino.
"How about you? Do you want to be a giant Borsalino?" Thor then asked Borsalino with a smirk. But before Borsalino could answer the ridiculous question, the sound of heavy footsteps approached.
Hajrudin caught Thor's attention, and when Thor looked at him, he saw that Hajrudin was not alone.
He had with him his close friends Gerd, Stansen, and Goldberg, while three other giants stood behind them that Thor did not immediately see. recognize
"Brother!!" Hajrudin called out to Thor excitedly. This shout made Thor turn towards him, while Loki also turned to look at the new arrivals. When they arrived at the cabin, all of them looked up towards Thor with respect.
"It's nice to meet you all again. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Thor greeted them warmly as he looked over Gerd, Stansen, and Goldberg.
He had already met with Hajrudin yesterday, but it was good to see the rest of the future New Giant Warrior Pirates.
"Yes, I saw Rocks on Mother's Tavern, and saw his family, did they really suffer that treatment just because of their last name?" Hajrudin immediately asked.
His tone was sympathetic, coming from someone who had been treated as an outsider before because his mother was from outside Elbaph.
"Yes, but don't tell this ever again, know a secret and never tell it again, that's how someone survives, alright?" Thor then turned towards Hajrudin, as well as the others, giving them a stern look.
They all understood the gravity of the situation and promised Thor that they would keep quiet and never mention the presence of Rocks again.
Satisfied, Thor nodded, and Hajrudin then began to introduce the newly added members to their group.