The Black Shroud, a forest that is as old as Eorzea itself. An ominous feeling hung in the air, storm clouds filling the air, the sounds of battle echoing throughout the shroud. As one draws closer to the centre of the shroud, the chaos grew louder, steel scraping against steel, electricity shredding trees apart, a horse's cries at its owner being attacked.
Odin, one of the most ancient primals, was locked in combat with a group of adventurers. His brilliant black armour was chipped and cracked, barely being held together. His steed, Slepnir, was on the edge of collapse, it's breathing coming in ragged bursts. Only Odin's sword remained the same, the blade being the only part of him still in perfect shape. His opponents were barely faring better, most of their armour being as broken, if not more than his.
The one leading the charge fared the worst, his once pure white armour, now chipped and cracked, barely blocked any of the primal's attacks. His gigantic sword, glowing a brilliant white light, was dropping low, almost scraping against the ground, and a shield of pure white with the same glow as his sword lay in his left hand.
Behind this warrior lay three others. Right behind the paladin, an almost demonic looking man readied himself, his armour splitting off into so many spikes, almost like the talons of a dragon, the very top of the helmet leaving way for his strange ears. In his hands, a gigantic spear, with what appeared to be wings halfway down the blade.
Behind those two, a woman dressed in pure black seemed as exhausted as her comrades, her black staff almost dropping from her hands. Garbed in pure black leather, a tail of the same colour trailing behind her, her head covered by a pointed witches hat.
Standing somewhat safely at the back of the group, a short woman seemed deep in trance, muttering to her pure white staff, a light green aura flowing around her. Her cloak the same colour as her staff, save a few red trimmings, was as torn as the ground surrounding her.
The mighty primal paused his relentless slashing for a moment, "Thee have done well, young ones," His voice filled the entire forest, a deep rumble like that of thunder, "but this ends now, I shall give thee a hero's death!"
Odin thrust his sword high above his head, the black sword towering over the adventurers before him. "Mine obsidian blade shalt split atwain the threads of thy future…"
The paladin rushed forward, slamming his shield into the still chanting primal, "Guys run! That's Zanatsuken, his most powerful attack. If we keep trying to fight him then we're all going to end up dead! I'll keep him occupied for now, so run now, while you have the chance!"
"We won't leave you." The dragoon called out, rushing in an attempt to reach the primal, only to be kicked back by his friend. "This isn't an option, if we all run then he'll still come after us, but if I stay back then his bloodlust will be satisfied." The holy warrior didn't even bother looking at his friend, his focus entirely on the black blade in front of him. "Better that all of you get out then all of us die, so go!"
His final words spurred on his comrades actions, as the ladies in white and black, and finally the reluctant dragoon left the clearing. Alone with nothing but the primal, and no regrets, the paladin readied himself for this final attack, pouring all his remaining strength into his defence.
"…Whilst its crimson fuller shalt channel the lifeblood of thy past!" With a mighty swing of his sword, the primal cut straight through the paladin before him, levelling the surrounding trees in the process. The adventurer fell to the ground, clutching at what still remained of his stomach, the attack tearing through his armour as though it was paper, blood pouring out like a fountain.
Sheathing his sword, Odin slowly approached the dying man, his armour steadily repairing itself. "What is thy name, boy?" The adventurer coughed blood for a few moments, before glancing up at the figure who had just taken his life. "Areoss… Areoss Lightsworn…"
The primal gave a nod of his head, "A good name, I shalt remember it well." Odin turned from the dying adventurer, swiftly exiting the clearing. Just as he neared, the edge of the grove, the primal thought he felt a disturbance. Glancing back, there was no trace of the adventurer that was once there, only a pool of blood remained, no sign of a body. Given the state the paladin had been in, he couldn't possibly have moved on his own, and Odin had not detected anyone else entering the grove, so how did the body disappear? The elder primal shook his head, ridding himself of such trivial thoughts, Eorzea was full of mysteries and this was simply one of many. Had the primal looked up, he would have noticed a tearing in the sky, and the speck of light that flew through it.
Today had been one huge ride for Lucy Heartfillia.
Natsu had dragged her to joining a team with Erza and Gray, then forced her to go on a mission to fight an entire dark guild by themselves. Even if they weren't very strong, that hadn't made her any less terrified. And to top it all off, one of Zeref's demons attempted to wipe out most of the guild masters.
The tired celestial mage had been through enough for one day, and was content to simply rest at the bar, chatting with Mirajane about little things happening around the guild. Or she would be, if there hadn't been a massive column of light which grabbed the attention of everyone in Magnolia. Already, members of the guild were discussing what it could have been.
"Hey Lucy!" Natsu called out to her, the pink haired teen still wearing the same scaled scarf and vest that he always does, "We're going to check out that light from earlier, want to come with us?"
"Not now Natsu, I'm exhausted." Lucy replied, laying her head on the bar.
"But Lucy, did you see that light, it could be interesting, maybe something to do with spirits or something." Happy, the flying blue cat added in, grabbing Lucy's attention.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to check then." Lucy said.
"C'mon then, Gray and Erza already left, and I'm not going to let them hog all the action!" With that, Natsu sprinted out the guild doors, Happy swiftly following in his wake. Lucy hesitated for a moment before following after the strange duo.
It didn't take long for Lucy to catch up to others, they were easy enough to find with all the noise they were making. Soon, the bustling streets of Magnolia were behind them, grass fields filling their place. Up ahead, Erza and Gray were standing in front of a small crater that had formed, discussing something. Erza was wearing the same armour as she always did when off of missions. Gray was down to his jeans and boots, probably having lost his shirt somewhere along the way due to his strange habit. Both of them turned at the noise Natsu was making, waving at the trio.
"Ah, Natsu, Lucy, you decided to inspect the site as well?" Erza asked. "Of course! There might be someone strong to fight." Natsu replied, a cocky grin on his face.
"That won't be happening anytime soon, flame breath." Gray stated, gesturing to the crater behind him, "Unless you feel like fighting someone that's half dead, then be my guest."
Looking in to the crater behind the pair, someone was in there. The man was wearing massive white armour, the area around his stomach torn to shreds, dried blood caked over around the once pure white metal. A short crop of hair, the same colour as his armour, lay on his head. His face twisted in a scowl of pain.
"Why haven't you moved him?" Lucy asked, panic slipping into her voice, she hadn't expected something like this.
"We're not sure if we can move him without reopening his wounds," Gray answered, "and none of us know how to treat his wound here and now, so we might have to risk it. It's either that or he'll die."
The group paused, unsure how to approach the situation. Happy piqued up, "Couldn't Natsu seal the wound with his flames?"
"It's possible, and we don't have much of a choice at this point." Erza nodded. Natsu made his way into the crater, kneeling over the wounded man. "I'm sorry." A small red flame sparked off the tip of his index finger. Natsu swiftly worked the flame across the wound, small grunts of pain coming from the warrior. The patch job was over quickly, Natsu giving a sigh of relief.
"Right, now we just need to get him back to the guild. Natsu, help me carry him." Gray hopped down into the crater, lifting the young man by his shoulders as Natsu grabbed his legs. The two carefully manoeuvred him out of the crater, starting towards their guild, Lucy and Happy not far behind. Erza was about to follow when she noticed something in the crater. Beneath where the injured man had been, a gigantic sword and shield lay. Erza couldn't recognize the insignia on the shield, nor the strange pattern etched on the blade. She could worry more about it later, quickly storing both items in her requip space.
"The master might know more about this, perhaps he knows what those symbols mean." Erza muttered to herself, already walking back to Fairy Tail.
Gray and Natsu burst through the guild doors, carrying the warrior on their shoulders. Every member of the guild started questioning them, wanting to know who the injured man they were carrying was, but they were shoved aside as Gray and Natsu rushed to the bar, Mirajane already looking directly at them, concern lining on the white haired beautie's face.
"Mira, can you get one of the beds ready?" Gray shouted over the ruckus. "On it." Mira disappeared through a door behind the bar, Gray and Natsu following close behind. Not long after, they arrived at the infirmary, three beds on either side of the room. Mira was sat down by the closest one, a medical kit already in hand, although she wasn't professionally trained, she knew how to patch wounds better than most. She signalled the two teens to lay the young man on the bed, making sure they did so gently. Once the teen was lying still, she went to work clearing away the dried blood and stitching the wound. It wasn't long before the hole across the warrior's chest was sewn up, though it would need someone with proper medical skills to heal the wound completely.
Mira stood up facing the two teens, both of them tense at what she had to say, "He'll live for now," the two teens let out a sigh of relief, "but I can't heal those wounds properly on my own, we may need Porlyusica to completely heal them, he might even have some internal damage. He won't be up anytime soon, but don't worry, I'll stay with him. Best if you go see the master and tell him, he'll need to go with you to have any chance of Porlyusica agreeing to help." Gray and Natsu nodded, already making their way towards the door when they heard a groan coming from the bed.
All of them turned towards the bed to see the young man mumbling, as if he was trying to say something. As they drew closer they heard him whisper one word, 'Odin'. The trio looked at each other, unsure what the word meant. Deciding it was best to leave the young man to recover, the three of them slowly crept out the door, making their way back to the hall.
When the trio reached the bar, they found Erza and Lucy sitting there waiting for them, "Will he live?" Erza asked. "I can't guarantee how long he will last, but it should be enough time for us to get help form Porlyusica." Mira replied.
"Porlyusica, who's that?" Lucy asked. "Just some old hag that lives out in the forrest, she helps out the guild whenever the master asks her to, but she doesn't like most people." Gray answered. "Speaking of gramps, we need to tell him about this, c'mon, he should be upstairs." Natsu already halfway up the stairs, Happy close behind, the others soon following.
It wasn't long before the group was at the master's room, swiftly knocking. "Enter." The group made their way through the door, all of them greeted by their master sitting at his desk, which was barely a meter off the ground, the man sitting behind it barely any taller. Makarov's clothes were covered in blue and orange stripes, a hat similar to a jester's hat of the same colour sat on his head.
"So, I assume you found the source of that light from earlier?" Makarov asked. Erza stepped forward, quickly explaining the situation to their master. Makarov remained silent for a minute, before hopping up on his desk, "We'd best be off then, from the sounds of it, the young man doesn't have much time left." Makarov's children nodded, all of them heading out of the office, all except Erza.
"What is it, Erza?" "Master, once the man had been removed from the crater, I found a sword and shield that I failed to recognize in there, I was hoping you could tell me what the insignia on them meant." With a small flash of light, the broadsword and shield appeared, the shield almost as big as Makarov, and the sword was at least twice his size. Makarov stepped back, shock appearing on his face. He quickly examined the blade, tracing over the intracite patterns on the blade, before doing the same to the shield.
"Could it be? No, there's no way that he could be one of them." Makarov muttered to himself. "Master?" "It's nothing, nothing that we need to concern ourselves with. Let's go, Porlyusica won't be too happy with Natsu there."
Makarov hadn't been wrong. After a short walk through the forest on the edge of Magnolia, they arrived at the old woman's hut, or tree to be more accurate. Arriving at the door, Erza and Makarov heard what appeared to be shouting and the sound of straw hitting something coming from inside. They entered to be greeted with the sight of an old lady with bright pink hair dressed in a red coat smashing both Natsu and Gray over the head with her broom, shouting something along the lines of privacy from humans. Upon spotting Makarov, she pointed the deadly broom straight at him, a furious look etched on her face. "You! What have I said about leaving me alone, and about sending others?" Makarov shuddered at the anger in her voice.
"I wouldn't have sent them ahead unless it was something serious." Makarov whimpered. "Fine, let's get this over with so I can go back to my peaceful house, where is the patient." Porlyusica leaning her broom on the wall beside her. "We couldn't move him, his wound might have reopened if we tried, so we thought it was better to bring you to him."
"Fine, as long as it's only inside of the guild building. Give me some time to gather my equipment." Stalking past the two trespassers, she made her way to the back of the room, plucking objects seemingly from random.
"Damn, the old hag still hits hard with that broom." Natsu complained, rubbing the bruises on his arms and head. "Yeah, she hits harder than Erza does with that thing." Gray added, rubbing similar wounds. "Is she always this harsh to her guests?" Lucy asked, afraid of what else the old lady would do. "Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm deaf!" Both boys ran for the door, terrified of another beating from the broom, Lucy close behind them.
"Take me to him then, this patient of yours." Porlyusica was already walking towards the door, a small white bag with a red cross stitched on the front in her hands. Makarov and Erza were soon to follow, the trio moving swiftly, hoping to save the warrior.
Mira had remained by the wounded man's bed, trying to lessen the pain he was going through. She had tried using wet towels to cool him down, but that only seemed to make things worse. Her patchwork on the wound was still being held together, but it wouldn't last much longer, already blood was starting to drip from the corners of the wound, barely more than a drip, but still there. Mira had tried wrapping bandages around the front of the wound, but there wasn't anything more she could do. Please come soon, she thought, keeping her eyes on her patient. During the time Mira had stayed with him, he had muttered more in his wounded state, Primal, Excalibur, Mira had no idea what these meant, but they must have been important to the young man somehow.
Just as Mira was going to search for more bandages, she heard a commotion from outside the door, slowly making its way closer towards her. A few moments and the ruckus barged through the door, the sight of Porlyusica giving Mira a sense of relief. The old woman quickly made her way to the young man's bed, soon followed by the master and Erza. She gave the man a quick glance over before focusing her attention on the wound on his chest.
"Hmm, appears to be very severe, several blood vessels cut open,large amounts of flesh being torn out by what appears to have been a blade. You're lucky that I managed to make it here in time, this man would have died given much more time. You, girl, help me remove the rest of his armour, I won't be able to operate with all of this in the way." Mira nodded, following her order without question. "Now, leave me to do my work, this will take time, and there's little point of you two standing here distracting me." With that, both Erza and Mira left the room, leaving Makarov and Porlyusica alone to treat the man.
Porlyusica began removing bottles from her bag, gently applying the liquid inside to the open wound, and repeating this process for several minutes. The medicine appeared to work to great effect, closing the wound swiftly, even repairing some of the damaged organs. Once the slaves had taken their affect, she removed what remained of the patchwork of thread.
"Truly astonishing, by all means this young man should be dead. The wound he possessed was deep enough to easily kill a normal person from being dealt the wound itself, let alone the bleeding that was soon to follow. But this man, he not only survived the wound, but managed to live long enough to receive proper medical attention. He truly is something else."
"Something else isn't wrong," Makarov said, making sure to lower his voice so not to be overheard, "he's one of them, the sword and shield that Erza found next to him prove it, the insignia matches those from years ago, they're coming back Porlyusica." The old woman didn't react at first, sitting next to her patient. "So, it appears as though the history is repeating itself, sending us another of those from beyond, let us hope this one sticks to his righteous path."
A/N So, first crossover, first time taking all this seriously. Please bear with me as the start may be a bit bumpy, I'm still learning as I go, and I'm still learning how to properly edit. This is the first chapter of many, as this will be a series that I have no intention of giving up on this. The next chapter is pretty much finished, and will most likely be published tomorrow. So to all of you who have joined me on this journey, strap in, as this young adventurer is going to need a lot of help with this. Enjoy!
I also decided to edit it a little more, just to be sure