The battle is over. A smoking crater is left in the wake of Jellal's victory over Oracion Seis. Four mages now lay on the ground in defeat, their bodies sore, and their clothes covered in cuts, dirt, and some blood. But they were still alive, a small miracle in and of itself when considering that the blue-haired sinner had just finished dropping a small meteor on the group. But he had no intention of killing them, thus allowing for the attack to miss and letting the intense blast that resulted from its collision into the planet to do the job of incapacitating them for the time being.

Meredy looks on in shock. She wasn't sure what made her tremble, whether it was seeing Jellal's amazing attack and its outcome or if she was still recovering from the emotional trauma of witnessing Midnight's illusion of seeing her close companion die and wither away into nothingness before her eyes. Her eyes wonders over the battlefield until she finds Jellal on his knees over the illusion mage, gripping tightly upon the defeated man's fur coat and telling him something she couldn't make out from so far away.

"Jellal… you're really…" she whispers to herself, thanking the heavens that he was still very much alive. But before she could say another word, the heavenly mage collapses onto his side. The combination of the damage sustained from the battle as well as the cost of using such a powerful spell has set in and he could no longer stay upright. Meredy gasps and without a second thought rushes into the crater. All the while Richard, the last member of the Oracion Seis, could only watch while his hands trembled uncontrollably. Having witnessed Jellal move the heavens themselves to obtain victory is a feat he's never seen anyone do. A mortal tampering with god-like abilities is something that any man would easily fear, yet Jellal didn't kill any of them. His eyes trail behind Meredy as she rushes to his side.

"Jellal!" calls out Meredy as she stumbles onto her knees to help the man up into her arms. "Jellal! Are you ok?! Hey!" As she turns him over to a face-up position so he could rest his head on her lap, Meredy now had a clear picture of the damage done. His body is covered in multiple cuts and bruises, his breathing is short and ragged, and worse of all, his eyes were bleeding and the crimson fluids stained his cheeks. "Oh god!" she gasps under her breath before wiping away the blood with the cloth of her blue coat. "Jellal, please… Say something…"

"M-…Me… redy…" grunts the man as he continues to breathe heavily. The pain of having sacrificed his sight in order to break Midnight's spell still burns within his skull. A hand lifts to grip across his closed eyes trying to adapt to the pain. The adrenaline rush that had blocked out the sting of his actions is quickly leaving his system.

"Oh thank god, you're still alive," the pinkette whispers to him as she held him closer and presses her forehead against the back of his hand. "You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!" Her voice starts to crack. Tears begin to sting the corner of her eyes before she shuts them tightly. "Why did you go this far? Why didn't you let me help?" Her hands grip his clothes tightly, shaking in anger and frustration. "I could've helped… I could've protected you."

"Meredy…" he replies softly as his hand slips from between them and now gently cups her cheek, pulling her closer to press their foreheads together. "This is my sin to bear. The lives of these five were the result of my own darkness consuming my heart. You had nothing to do with them. I didn't want you to get hurt because of something I've done. I'm sorry. I should've warned you beforehand."

Meredy's body shakes as she remains curled up with Jellal on her lap. "Your eyes…" she states quietly, "…you might not ever see again…"

"Yeah…" says Jellal quietly, "you're right. But it's a small price to pay. I've taken someone's life. The loss of my sight is but a fraction in comparison."

Meredy sits up and wipes her tears away with the palms of her hands. "How will you fight now? How are we going to defeat Zeref?"

With the help of the sensory mage, Jellal manages to sit up as well. His breathing has finally calmed down. He takes this moment to think and open his eyes. Alas, as he seemingly stares at the palm of his hand, he can see nothing but darkness. There is no light within his pupils and redness has spread throughout the rest of his orbs. "Together," replies Jellal as he closes his hand into a fist. "Together, we'll defeat him. Together we'll find a way. That is what I believe."

"Jellal…" Meredy couldn't help but admire the man. Even after having suffered so much, he still wants to keep moving forward. He wants to succeed in his mission and cleanse the slate he had stained. "I understand. In that case, I'll be your eyes."

The blue-haired mage couldn't help but chuckle. He felt lucky to have someone like her by his side supporting him through the good as well as the bad. "Is that so?" he asks. His head turns towards her voice with a smile. "Good. I've always wanted to have a set of eyes as beautiful as yours."

"N-now is not the time to say such embarrassing things!" Meredy's cheeks instantly flushed red. "Jeez!"

Jellal chuckles once more before extending a hand towards her. "Can you help me up?"

"Y-yeah…" Meredy takes his hand and pulls his arm over her shoulders to assist the man in standing up from the rocky ground.

"The others," says Jellal, "How are they?"

Meredy takes a moment to look at the defeated members of Oracion Seis. "They're alright," she replies, "They've all started standing up again. Looks like they're coming over to us."

"Good. I'm glad they're OK after that," he says with relief. His arm lowers from her shoulders and rests at his side. "Meredy… things are only going to get harder from here on. …I'm sorry."

"Hey…" Meredy looks over at Jellal with a concerned look. "You've got nothing to apologize for to me. I knew what I was getting into when we made this guild of ours and I'm still here with you. You said it youself…" Her hand reaches over to his and interlocks their fingers in a tight embrace. "We're in this together. We'll do it together to the end."

Once more, Jellal's smile graces his lips and turns his head towards the sound of her voice. "Yeah," he replies with a nod, "Together."