LoLu Week 2015, Day 4: Transcendence
Transcendence
a Fairy Tail fanfic
by Rhov
Seven hundred and seventy-seven years passed since the day Loke met Lucy.
Somehow, this year was different. Maybe it was the number. Numbers held strange meanings.
777
Details faded over the centuries, but Loke remembered the important parts. He remembered her sparkling laugh and her pouting grumbles. He remembered the way her eyes shined and the warmth of her skin. He remembered the kiss he gave her before his world went to hell. One kiss. It had been taboo before, being her Celestial Spirit and she his owner.
Funny how taboos crumble in the face of adversity, and the threat of eternal separation tore down the barriers they had silently agreed upon.
Loke stood guard in front of a giant crystal. Fairy Heart! He had diligently guarded it for over seven centuries. His key was still firmly grasped in her hand. No one else would ever be his owner. Taking the Spirit Keys with her into this stasis, she in a sense freed them all. No more masters. No more fighting. Her power continued to radiate, and with that power he could break through his gate and enter this world at any time.
The power never dimmed. Her body would never fade. Preserved, protecting Fairy Tail over the centuries, a massive sacrifice willingly given for the guild she loved with all her heart.
Her fairy heart!
He placed his hand on the crystal. It was warm to the touch, but so hard. Loke closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the magic barrier.
Once, he wanted to find a way to help Lucy break free from the cycle of life and death, to keep her forever by his side.
He never wanted it to be this way.
"You're here again."
Loke turned and saw a woman with spunky pink hair. Genetics were a funny thing. Natsu's descendant was almost like the boy Lucy knew, except for her gender and those blue eyes. The Fire Dragon Slayer's children all had pink hair, and his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren whom Natsu did not live to see, a trait of hair passed down through the centuries. Not all were pink-haired, of course, but those with magic power seemed to inherit a little more of Natsu Dragneel than those born as normal humans.
This one, though, was special. She had the insane power of Natsu, the calm calculating ability of Gray, the leadership skills of Erza, and the photographic beauty of Mira. All those old families blended over time. There was even a little bit of the Dreyar genes in her. Old families blended, powers strengthened, nothing as barbaric as genetic breeding, it just worked out that way. People fell in love, had kids, and time passed onward.
"Master Akitsu," Loke greeted, tipping his head in respect to Fairy Tail's 100th master. Again, numbers! Numbers held meanings. This guild master was the strongest since probably Mavis herself.
She stepped forward, far too calm for the old Natsu. Akitsu walked up to the massive crystal and placed her hand on it.
"I grew up in Fairy Tail, but I never saw Fairy Heart until last year when the previous master retired and named me the new master. The minute I saw it … her … it felt saddening, like I was seeing the dreaded fate of an old friend."
Loke smiled knowingly. "All guild masters who were related to someone Lucy once knew have had the same uncanny feeling. It's like the memory of her flows in your blood. I'd call in reincarnation, but I'm sure it goes deeper than that."
Those pale blue eyes—the Strauss family eyes, Loke noted—turned to him. "And you've been here the whole time?"
Loke nodded. "As often as I can leave the Spirit World."
"It must drive you insane."
Loke sighed and looked up at the sleeping princess. "It did at first, perhaps. For all of us who knew her, we didn't want to accept it. Grief can change, though. Loneliness can evolve. Love burns through all of it. She's still alive, in a sense. I would rather sit here and guard her body than weep over her grave. Besides, I'm not alone."
Akitsu raised an eyebrow, but Loke did not say more so she shrugged it off. "I just came to tell you that Fantasia is tomorrow. It would be nice if you could show up. You're technically Fairy Tail's oldest member, after all."
Loke smiled, and he could almost feel the guild mark burning on his back. He looked at the pink mark on that delicate, encased hand. Akitsu had hers on her wrist, the same pink color as Lucy's. The design had not changed at all over the years. Fairy Tail was still Fairy Tail.
Fantasia. The first time he got to fight with Lucy was during that fated Fantasia, battling Bickslow and working back-to-back as a duo. He liked to think of that as the start of it all. It was like an anniversary. 777 years as her Celestial Spirit and partner.
"Yes, I think I'll come," Loke whispered.
Akitsu nodded and left in silence. There were times when Loke really saw Erza in this woman with pink hair. All the blending of families! It truly was uncanny.
"Fantasia again, Loke?" asked a voice.
He smiled to himself. "Yes, it seems it's that time of year again. You should come."
"Why? No one can see me."
"No, but they can sense you." He smiled bittersweetly. "After all, you are the heart of Fairy Tail."
"Loke?" Her voice sounded so sad, it made his eyes sting. "You still can't see me either, can you?"
He looked up at the crystal. "I hear you. I've always heard your voice. Always! And it's not like I can't see what you look like. Besides, I feel you beside me all the time. That's more than enough."
"It's not. It tortures you."
"We've had this discussion before."
"We've had every discussion before. After all, you're the last one left who can hear my voice. I was never as strong as Mavis. I can't appear like her. Only those who knew me can hear me, and you're the last. You and the other Celestial Spirits."
He placed his head on the crystal again. "I know. It's just as hard on you."
"It was worth it. All these centuries, all the generations knowing peace and having a home. Definitely, it was worth it."
He was glad she thought so, but he wondered if sacrificing them was worth it, too. Their relationship was cut short before it had a chance to blossom. Everyone else lived happy lives, strengthened by Fairy Heart. Everyone but him. It had been seven centuries of torment.
"Loke."
He knew he was crying. He knew she was probably trying to comfort him, yet she could not touch him. He wished he could feel her arms again.
"Master Akitsu is searching for a way to free you," he stated instead.
He heard the sigh echo through the chamber. "They all search for a way. Ninety-five Fairy Tail masters, and none succeeded. We're not even sure if it should succeed. Without Fairy Heart … well, for one, I'm still mortal. I'd die eventually. This way, I can still be with you. So see, it's all right, Loke."
He wiped his tears and looked up at the frozen face. "It's greedy that part of me is glad you're still around. If I lost you for good … Lucy…"
"I know," she whispered, and he thought he felt a chill from a hand on his shoulder. "Let's do Fantasia together. It'll be fun."
A smile flitted bittersweetly across his face. "Y-yeah. Yeah, we can do that together."
"Loke, I—"
"Don't say it. Please!" He cringed away as he shouted it. The voice fell silent, and Loke sighed. "I'm sorry. It just … hurts … knowing."
"I wish I could make it better. If I didn't love you, would it be easier for you to move on?"
He laughed wryly. "No. It changes nothing. I'm still in love with you. I always will be."
"Loke," she whispered so forlornly, he wanted to embrace her and comfort her. He could see her empty body, could hear her voice, but he could never feel her touch or see the shine of her eyes. He would never see her smile again.
"For all eternity," he whispered.
Once, he wanted her with him forever.
Now he had it. The centuries of flirtation. The never-ending banter. An ageless knight protecting his eternal sleeping beauty.
He really thought he felt her head resting on his back, but he knew it was just him wishing with all his heart. She was there with him until the end of time, but she was forever out of his reach.
Later on, he stood on a float. Magnolia was nothing like it used to be. The towering spires, the traffic of flying ships, and more electrical lighting with less magical items. Fantasia was a reminder of magic. It was a link to the past and a reminder of the old Fairy Tail that saved the world, all thanks to the sacrifice of one woman.
"I still can't believe they made a statue of me," Loke heard in a petulant grumble.
He glanced at the ten meter tall bronze statue in the center of the main intersection. "The breasts are too small."
"Oh you!" she huffed.
Loke laughed, and other Fairy Tail wizards looked over in confusion. Loke was talking to himself again.
"Mama, mama, who's that?"
"Hey look! It's Loke, the Celestial Spirit. Leo the Lion! He hasn't shown up for a parade since I was in school."
"You've skipped it that many times?" Lucy asked.
"I haven't felt like it," he said casually. "Do something. It's your parade, too."
"Let me try."
He felt the power, and when she did this he thought he saw her, just a ghostly outline of her body, but it made his heart thump harder.
"Lucy," he whispered, seeing the glowing specter of white energy.
Voices in the audience gasped in unison.
"What is that?"
"It feels nice and warm."
"I feel so happy suddenly."
"Is that the power of Leo the Lion? I felt this way the last time he was in this parade."
He smiled proudly. "See, they can all feel your love. After all, you are the Fairy Heart."
The glowing form turned, and he almost thought he saw that smile once again. Her power made his heart glow inside as well. He could not be upset at their fate, not when he saw for himself what her true power was.
The power of love! A magic of transcendence!