The woman groaned quietly as she propped herself on one arm, her scarlet locks slanted to her depressed shoulder as she pulled her bangs out of her face. She rose to her feet, rubbing her sore and pulsing temple, and glanced around the room to give it another fruitless inspection. Suddenly she evoked the frustration that came from being here and the eeriness that seeped from inside the walls. It was like a puzzle that she couldn't figure out but she couldn't skip it or replace it with a brand new one.
She assumed a day had already passed, and boy could she tell by how hungry she was. From all this sleeping she cultivated a minor migraine, and her body felt slightly weaker than before. Erza peered around, what a surprise? Still as creepy as ever and it was the same as she had left it. She paused, eyes wide at the approaching figure.
"Wh—"
Almost instantaneously, as she forced her gaze from a general perspective of the shadow to the intricate details of the nearing figure. She was face to face with the veiled stranger. Her heart pounded hard, and she realized the situation was a drastic one. It happened to fast, so amazingly fast she almost had no time to react. There was only an inch of space between each other. All she saw was a dark shade of blue and a mixture of darkness blurring most of her vision.
Erza gasped in shock, and her heart frantically beat into her chest. It was like the pent up fear and anxiety was finally let out, right in front of this stranger she'd never seen before. Her feet felt cemented by the speed she was stepping backwards and away from the figure that seemed to mimic her movements.
"Who are you!?" Demanded the woman. He appeared from nothing, a man who perfectly masked his presence like an entity that didn't exist in her world. The hood was taunting her, denying any sort of vision on the identity of this figure.
The shadow's hands gripped onto the dark cloth and pulled back as if reading her mind, revealing to be the most unexpected of people.
"S…Simon" Her chocolate eyes grew wide. "I don't understand…I don't understand what's going on!" Why was the world playing such a cruel joke on her?
The familiar face only stared at her with his soulless eyes.
"You can't be real... Simon's dead!" she cried.
The voice spoke in a hoarse and spiteful tone. "Erza… you don't understand anything. I've been watching you and taking care of the only girl I've ever loved. You didn't understand, because you loved another."
He stepped closer to the beyond frightened Erza, gripping with all her might to the edges of the bookshelves, now only a few feet away. He watched her traipse along the walls to lengthen the distance between them, and her breathing was louder than his own ghastly voice.
"I threw away my life for you and this how you repay me!? You left that damned Jellal alive and all for what?" His voice rose to a shout as he quickly advanced on the cowering Erza. "You let me die in vain Erza, all because you loved the boy enough to do it."
Her voice was staggering, losing much strength as his words pierced into her heart. "No… I… I didn't mean to… I loved you too Simon, I just—!"
"If you had the strength, you could've ended his life before I had to help you." His pallid skin cracked and peeled, revealing grotesque and deformed underlying flesh, and almost a completely empty hole that bore in his chest.
Erza tried to close her eyes, but she didn't even have the strength to do just that. She was forced to watch the horrific sight unfold before her very form.
"You..." His voice was full of vengeful energy and anger, and she knew she deserved every second of it. She was the cause of what happened long ago. He was right. He was so right that whatever happened to her she deserved it, whether he be a vengeful ghost or an undead, rotting, magically animated flesh risen from the earth to strike her down.
"You did this to me Erza, you ended my life… and now I'm going to return the favor." His bony arms moved rhythmically and danced a formation above his head, a screeching noise sounded in the densely quiet room.
…
Erza woke with a bloodcurdling scream, her body jerking up as fast as her reflexes would allow. Her breathing was erratic, air entering and expelling from her lungs rapidly. It was a different room this time. It was dark, ominous, and uninviting, yet slightly nostalgic. She began to wonder what reality was anymore because she's almost damned well lost her sanity. She was sure of it.
She heard a creaking noise escape the metal bars, and much to her dismay a figure entered the tiny crack, slowly, more of the person began to show.
"No…"
She kept repeating aloud, trying to move but found herself cemented in place.
No…
No!
She couldn't believe it. She looked at the same, glowing silhouette of the hooded figure approaching from the end of the room.
It was Simon again, coming back to end her life a thousand times over. And from this situation, a whole new spring of possibilities of hell existing arose—and maybe this was hers. She was sent here to relive her punishment for the rest of eternity and be tortured for her crimes and all the wrong she's caused in her past.
Her mind was spinning over and over again.
When she reopened her eyes, she noticed blue cloth obscuring most of her vision, this one feeling much more tangible than her previous encounter. It felt much warmer and less menacing, yet it bewildered her beyond belief. She was at a loss now, her chocolate eyes staring widely at the dark figure that appeared much more humane.
Days earlier
Erza wandered the streets of Magnolia, winding her way through the intricate roads and paths. She used these routes often and remembered them by heart, and although it didn't feel like long, a lot has changed. She stopped by the old Fairytail building; its grieving spirit haunted the grounds and its rotting skeleton lay there as a waste of space. The interior decayed, the crumbling long pillars threatened to give out under the framework, the golden plate removed and in its place was a dirty white patch of letters. The furniture had been stolen, and most of the property had been damaged, destroyed, or vandalized. All of which she assumed were the doings of her rival guild, Twilight Ogre, and a dull reminder of how low her guild had fallen.
She clenched her fist.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair how they fell apart and not a single soul offered support to her dwindling family; and now that they were weak in numbers, those heartless goons decided to completely trample over their hopes and dreams.
She released her tight grip, and broke out of her trance with building, stepping back onto the sidewalk.
Though the problem had been taken care of, it didn't change the impression the rest of the world had on Fairytail. For the past seven years, they repeatedly came in last place at the Grand Magic Games. Bystanders would often throw a look of disapproval or pity for her guild members, and even now, many civilians would barrage a series of shady glances her way.
Even though her guild submerged into the depths of shame, her resolve stood firm.
From her time on the island, she received an energy boost from Ultear—Second Origin. Second Origin called forth a mage's hidden magical reserve and doubled his or her power, and ultimately empowering the strength of the guild, though this would only be done in exchange for spying services.
And that was all it took.
The participants agreed to this condition, the training, and the unbearable searing pain that came with it. Time was limited, but they could surely achieve their goals, to awaken their new powers and conquer the guild world as they had once before.
Erza felt a sense of restlessness as she wove through the crowd and made way out of the city, Once in a while a body would casually bump into an arm and remind her that she was still awake, alive and moving in this bustling town she called home. She met with familiar faces a number of times, some she looked forward to and some—not.
"Erzaaaa!" A distant voice screamed through the crowd of bodies.
She cast her attention to the advancing figure; it was one of her fellow pink haired guild members Natsu, Wendy and Lucy trailing behind. They were covered in sores and bruises, they trudged along with slight limps, but only Natsu's expression revealed the opposite. His large unusually sharp, white teeth were lined together in a bright smile. He was irritating nevertheless. Lucy had dressed in her battle clothes, and they were always too tight for her own tastes.
"What do you want, Natsu?" Said the knight, bluntly.
"You're not excited to see me?"
Erza huffed exhaustedly, though smiled inwardly at his high spirits. "Of course I'm not."
Natsu ignored it and wrapped a sweaty arm around her neck, hugging her briefly. His hearty laughs showed that he'd already given in to the insults and the crude remarks, long since he met the outspoken knight. Her words were more like compliments to him now, he grinned. She gave him one hefty punch to the head, knocking him back. The injured, yet unusually happy mage rubbed the growing mound and showed no fear to her actions.
Erza pinched the bridge between her nose, feeling annoyed and slightly confused. "Shouldn't you all be training somewhere? You do know that the tournament's only a few days away, right?"
"It's so tiring!" Lucy wearily chimed in, "We've been training with Ultear all day working our asses off. It took them long enough just to let us go. Gray is alone with that crazy woman as we speak!"
Natsu snickered. "I suppose he does need special treatment?'"
Lucy gave him a piercing look, almost prompted to deliver the second blow. Thin red eyebrows rose as she witnessed the fight brewing amongst their tiny group, her patience thinning. Wendy nudged Natsu's form, who in turn glared back questionably.
"Um, Natsu… you..." The petite bluenette shied in her usual manner.
"Ahh—I almost forgot!" He grinned mischievously. "That gloomy friend of yours wanted me to give this to you." He handed her a folded slip of paper, stuffing his hands back in his pockets.
"Who?" A confused look flashed on her face.
"Oh you know—Je…Gerard?"
"Jellal, you mean?" She sighed and snatched the letter from him. Her fingers unfolded the sheet of white with care, her caramel eyes darted along each line curiously.
'Dear Ms. Scarlet,
By now, you will have already returned to your home town, Magnolia and what was left of your guild. Ultear has taken the liberty of training your friends, and hone their skills of 'Second Origin.' She will continue to train them until they're ready enough to participate in the upcoming tournament. As you may have heard from Ultear, my memory had finally been restored six years ago. I remember all of it.
Her mind trailed off, cracking open a dangerous closet she had long locked years ago.
'—there are things I'd like to discuss with you. Whenever you feel ready, please meet me at the entrance gates of Magnolia. I'll be waiting.
Signed, Jellal Fernandez.'
She was speechless.