Prologue

Since the beginning of time, vile creatures have inhabited the Earth. Vampires, ghouls, zombies, demons and even werewolves were just a small sample of all the evil in the world. These supernatural beings preyed on the human population. For a long time, their mass murders were left unchecked, and many people died. Then, thousands of years ago, a woman decided to fight back against the forces of darkness. She was a powerful mage and a brilliant tactician. She acquired soldiers, some human, some supernatural, and waged war against these creatures. This group became known as Fairy Tail. They protected the world from calamity from the shadows. Over time, they were able to drive many of these creatures back, some even into extinction. For the most part, the human race was safe once more. Since they were no longer needed, the Fairy Tail guild became smaller and smaller, with now only a few hundred elite members left in the modern era.

Then, a few hundred years ago, things took a turn for the worst once more. An ancient dark mage began uniting the forces of darkness once more. He had the power to resurrect the dead and create elite demon creatures known as Etherious. The mage went by the name of Zeref and the rumors were that he was thousands of years old. His motives for attempting to bathe the world in darkness were unclear.

It took years for Fairy Tail to gain enough reliable info to begin tracking him down. Once they had figured out his location, the formed a small and elite group of mages to try to stop his onslaught of terror. These mages were:

Gray Fullbuster, an ice demon that ironically wielded demon slaying magic. His mentor and mother figure had been tragically killed by one of Zeref's demons. He joined Fairy Tail to try to get revenge and prevent the same tragedy from happening to others.

Layla Heartfilia, a wealthy aristocrat and celestial mage. Although Layla was a mere human, she used an ancient and powerful magic. She was able to call forth spirits to fight by her side. She also had the power to open and close gates between dimensions.

Erza Scarlet, an Amazon powerful enough to be hailed as her race's queen. She had the ability to change armor and weapons at will. She was one of the most powerful members of Fairy Tail.

And finally, the most interesting member of all, Natsu Dragneel. He had initially been created by Zeref to serve as his right hand man and as a General to his demonic armies. However, upon hearing the dark mage's plans on awakening him, the Fairy Tail guild acted quickly to intercept the action. They were able to steal his tome, also known as The Book of E.N.D., from Zeref. Once they had the book within their hands, they were able to use its magic to bind E.N.D.'s loyalties to them instead. The blow had been major to Zeref, and they thought with Natsu they would have real chance of ending Zeref's existence. Natsu grew into a man that devoted his life to finding and killing the dark mage.

For hundreds of years, Natsu and the Fairy Tail guild had searched for Zeref. Today was the day that their fruitless efforts would finally be rewarded.

Natsu's feet pounded roughly on the dirt as he sprinted towards his destination. His comrades, Layla, Grey, and Erza, were tight on his heels.

"Natsu, you idiot… wait up!" Grey sputtered, slightly out of breath. The ice wizard had long held a distaste for his demonic rival. If he were being completely honest, he didn't full trust the Etherious.

"Natsu! We cannot charge into this without a plan! Zeref is the most powerful wizard known to this world. We cannot afford any reckless action at this point!" Erza yelled authoritatively.

Layla nodded. "She's right, Natsu! We should think this through. We can't afford to lose anyone."

"Shut up!" Natsu snarled, increasing his pace. After hundreds of years of chasing this bastard, he was finally going to be able to face the darkest wizard himself. As E.N.D., Natsu was raised to have a powerful desire to wipe his creator from the face of the planet. None of his teammates' words would reach him anymore. His goal was about to be realized.

Natsu redirected his fire magic to his feet and took off even faster, leaving behind his comrades in the dust.

They might have been part of his team, but he didn't need them anymore. They would only get in his way. His teammates were too soft and hesitant. They wouldn't do what needed to be done.

Zeref had caused so many to suffer. He was merciless and had slaughtered thousands. There was no reason he should be left alive to share the oxygen with the rest of the world's population.

Natsu's feet eventually carried him to a large clearing in the forest. Zeref's scent was suddenly overwhelming and powerful. He had to be close…

Natsu's heart quickened with excitement and bloodlust when he finally saw the dark mage. Even after living such a long life by human standards, Natsu had never actually laid eyes on Zeref.

The dark Emperor had dark hair and dull emotionless eyes. He wore a dark robe with a white sash draped along his middle. His expression was bored and lifeless.

Almost immediately, Natsu was filled with an anger that he couldn't explain. He wanted to…. No, needed to end Zeref's existence. But before Natsu could begin summoning fire to his fists, Zeref spoke.

"Etherious Natsu Dragneel, I was wondering when we would finally meet. It's been quite a few centuries since your awakening, has it not?" His voice was as monotone and deadpan as his face.

Natsu could only snarl, white-hot anger filling every fiber of his soul.

"While it is true that I initially created you to serve as my partner, I have since then changed my mind. Your loyalties obviously lie elsewhere. Keeping you around would only cause me inconvenience."

Natsu was about to show him just how much of an inconvenience he could be when Zeref reached into his robe to retrieve something. When he pulled the object out, Natsu felt his eyes widen in shock.

It was his tome, the book of E.N.D.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" Natsu snarled, quickly igniting his whole body and charging towards his creator. As he swung to deliver a blow, Zeref disappeared, calmly reappearing behind him. "Coward!"

Zeref smiled. "I don't consider my actions to be cowardice. I consider them to be smart. After all, I simply want to preserve my life." He outstretched his arm, clutching the book and began pouring his magic into it.

Natsu was immediately brought to his knees. It felt like a gigantic hand was wrapped around his body, squeezing him and crushing every bone in his body. He tried to breathe but only created bubbles in his throat as blood began to pour from his mouth.

"Well, E.N.D, it's been fun." Zeref tossed the book, and Natsu felt every impact as it skipped across the ground. He collapsed onto the ground, his eyes wide in shock.

"Now die." Zeref raised a hand, and a pillar of dark magic formed, rocketing down from the sky.

Was it really going to end here? Natsu closed his eyes, feeling utterly pathetic. He couldn't protect his friends. He couldn't even carry out his only reason for existing. He hadn't even been able to land one attack on Zeref and their "fight" had lasted mere minutes.

How could he claim to be Zeref's most powerful creation if he couldn't even scratch the dark wizard? It wasn't like he had been goofing off during his time on Earth. No, he had trained daily and worked hard alongside his guild mates. This wasn't how it was supposed to end...

"I'm sorry…" Natsu choked out to no one in particular.

At least after a few hundreds years of fighting, he would finally have peace.

"No! Natsu!"

Natsu could briefly make out the sound of Layla's voice. Why was she here?

Layla's pained scream suddenly filled the air and Natsu's eyes flew open. How was he still alive?

"Layla!"

"Layla! No!"

The smell of human blood filled his senses as Natsu realized what happened.

There, crouched over the book of E.N.D, was Layla. She had used her body to shield the book from destruction and in turn took all the damage herself. The pillar had completely blown open her abdomen and blood pooled around her as she coughed.

"Well, that's rather inconvenient. I'm not sure why my pet is so important to you, but you only delayed the inevitable." Zeref rubbed his chin thoughtfully before raising his hand to gather another attack.

"Oh no you don't!" Erza yelled, requipping into her Black Wing Armor. She launched an attack on Zeref causing him to stop his spell momentarily.

"Layla! Stay with us!" Grey yelled.

Layla shushed him, her breath coming out in broken gasps. "Do not worry about me… I won't last much longer and you guys… cannot… cannot defeat Zeref."

"Stop talking like that, save your strength." The ice wizard barked.

Across the clearing, Zeref had already taken the upper hand against Erza. He used his magic to toss her effortlessly into a large boulder. Erza's armor cracked and peeled off.

Layla turned away from Gray, slowly retrieving a key that he had never seen before. Every movement looked extremely painful for her but she was determined to complete one final act before dying.

Light began to surround Zeref as a gate opened beneath him. He barely had time to register any sort of shock before being sucked into it.

"What the?! No… what are you doing?" He yelled in desperation.

The gate snapped closed, leaving a stunned group of Fairy Tail wizards behind.

"Layla! What the hell did you do!" Gray growled, as he worriedly watched the last bit of life energy begin to drain from his friend.

The second Zeref disappeared; Natsu felt the crushing feeling lifted off of his shoulders. He quickly pushed himself to his feet and ran towards where Zeref had been. He glanced around, bewildered. What the hell had happened?

"Natsu…"

Natsu's sensitive hearing could pick up Layla's pained voice and he wheeled around to face her. Erza and Gray were already huddled around their fallen comrade. He quickly walked towards her and knelt down beside her. There was no way she would recover from this, not even Porlyusica or Wendy could save her now. She had simply lost too much blood. But why had she sacrificed herself to save him? The thought had him bewildered. As far as he knew, Layla and him hated each other.

Years ago, when Layla had requested to join their guild, Natsu had vehemently opposed it. Humans had no place in their guild. Fairy Tail was at war against a vile enemy. In his opinion, humans were weak and useless.

If this human had been hiding the power to seal Zeref away, why did she sacrifice herself to save him? There was absolutely no benefit for her to sacrifice herself for him.

"You stupid girl. Why the hell did you do that? You have a family and I am a demon… didn't you think that through before stupidly sacrificing yourself for me?!" He growled.

"Natsu!" Grey snapped, fighting the urge to slug the angry demon across the face.

"Natsu that's enough." Erza added softly, cradling Layla's head on her lap. A lone tear rolled down the red-haired woman's cheek.

But Layla shocked them all by lifting her ring of celestial keys and holding them out towards Natsu. "Natsu, when this is all over, and the world is finally at peace, please give these to Lucy…. She will be an amazing mage but… I don't want her getting involved in this war."

Whatever anger Natsu felt crumbled when he thought of Layla's family. She had a young daughter at home, and though he never met her, Layla often spoke highly of her.

It was simply not fair. Natsu didn't even have anyone and Layla had given her life to save him. Now the Heartfilia family would be torn apart.

He shakily reached forward, grabbing the keys from her. Why had she entrusted him with this task? He was the least friendly member of Fairy Tail and Layla and him certainly didn't get along. It made more sense for her to pass the keys to Gray or Erza. He frowned, his thoughts clouded with confusion. Regardless of how he felt, this was Layla's dying wish, and even if he hated her, he was willing to carry it out.

"You have my word." He muttered softly, putting the keys into his pocket.

With the keys successfully passed on, Layla closed her eyes and breathed her last.