I asked what story you readers would like to see (at the end of the third chapter for Conduit "Academy Struggles") besides the two I've already got going; Freezing: Wolf God and my RWBY fanfic Conduit. In the end I decided on my own that my third major story for this site will be this one; a Fairy Tail self insert/rebirth fic. This story will more or less follow cannon, but have several arcs that are of my own making. Also there are some major things different from cannon such as Ur being alive (and that will be explained when applicable) as well as Ultear being in Fairy Tail along with Gray. There are other differences but those are two examples. As with my other two stories I will be dropping references to things so be on the look out for those, and the first one to get them right gets a shout out in the next chapter.
Lastly this story was inspired by "Child of Heaven" by jacques0 which is a story I recommend if you don't mind a little messed up formatting (at least in my mind), but good story.
Death isn't as bad as I had thought, though it wasn't pain free. That was the lesson I learned the night I died. I remember almost every detail of that night. That night had started with a late venture to down town Portland, in Oregon not Maine, for something. That was one thing I couldn't remember. I think it might have been to Powell's bookstore. That night had been warm so I hadn't worn much; a black t-shirt, black jeans, and tennis shoes and a backpack that held something. The MAX trains had been busy and delayed so it was pretty late for most people, but not me exactly. Yeah, I am one of those crazy bastards who goes to be regularly at anywhere between 1-3 in the morning. When the MAX train finally showed up I got in and sat down as it started to move. A few minutes later I closed my eyes for a long nap only to have the train shake suddenly.
That woke me up instantly as I narrowly avoided slamming into the side of the train by bracing myself with a hand on one of the yellow orange painted bars. What the hell? I looked around seeing nothing, except for the fact the MAX train was on a bridge over a freeway. Another shake of the train tossed about a number of other people who hadn't been expecting it or braced themselves with the metal bars. A third shake, this time closer and definitely louder with a boom. Then my world was suddenly made up of fire, pain, and blood. I lay there bleeding out and burnt badly. Someone had set up bombs on a train and taken the time to get the whole bloody thing, considering I was at the back of the train. I could see that I wasn't the only one almost dead. A woman was near me and two smaller bodies. Groaning brought my eyes to the metal above me which fell shortly after, crushing my skull. It had been very painful but at least it was a quick death thanks to the falling metal.
However, nothing could have prepared me for what came after that. At first it was darkness then light shined and burned it away. That was when feeling came back to me, and something felt off. I could hear voices somewhere around me thought I couldn't make out what they were saying. One I could tell was female and the other was male. For some reason I felt helpless as if I couldn't do anything on my own. I opened my eyes to see bright light then it faded allowing me to see that I was in some sort of room. The room had wood walls that had a number of decorative items attached to them. A few were different sized horns, another was a broken chest plate of armor, a glowing blue crystal that was tree shaped without leaves, and a painting or two. The room also seemed unnaturally large as if I were tiny. Why would I be so small?
"Is my baby okay?" the female voice asked, a worried tone to her voice.
Baby? That would explain the seemingly unnatural size of the room...I have to go through life again?
"Yes, although..." Another answered with a pause. This voice was new, it didn't sound like the male I had heard earlier. I felt movement and a new set of hands grabbed me. Sharp green eyes met mine with a studying gaze. The green eyes of this new male left mine and briefly looked over my small form. It was then I felt something kind of like energy outside of my body all around the room. Kind of like holding a hand near an electrically charged piece of metal. I felt a tiny prick at on one of my feet and let out an angry grunt, or the closest a baby can get to one. "She isn't human."
"What do you mean not human?" Another male said, this one sounding like the first male's voice I heard earlier. However there was a clear undertone of anger.
If I'm not human then what am I? And I was female too, according to the male holding me. Well that's dandy.
"Her blood isn't the same color as a human's." The other male said with a sigh. "Human blood is red as you know, but her's is bright blue in color."
"Can you tell me what she is doctor?" The female said slowly with clarity.
"A Void Demon." The doctor holding me replied.
Void Demon? That's what I am? What the hell does that mean?
"I see." The woman replied sounding relieved. "Aside from that she's fine?"
I saw the doctors face once more get close to mine before getting put into another pair of hands, though I could tell they were female. "Yes." With that I saw him get up and leave from where I was held. I was turned to face the woman holding me who was beautiful. Her sky blue eyes radiated calm and love. Crimson colored hair went down past her shoulders ending somewhere I couldn't see.
"Hello Aether." The woman said to me with a smile. "I don't care that you are a Void Demon, you are still my daughter." I could feel the love in her words, the love a mother has for their children. After that my mother breast fed me and I went to sleep.
Time passed quickly with this new family, and I learned a lot. Aside from the fact I was something called a "Void Demon", something that wasn't human, I was in a different world from before. I had been shocked when my father who I only knew as Aeron had cast magic to ignite the fire of a grill. Needless to say that day I had figured out quickly where I had ended up. I had been somehow reborn into the world of Fairy Tail. That wasn't the only thing that had thrown me for a loop in a year and a half of life. The second biggest one was that I could feel the energy in the air around us and I could speak to a degree. However, it was nothing to the level I was accustomed to before dying.
My mother, Karen, had been thrilled to discover that at one and a half I could talk in broken english. As I had overheard one time speaking and moving around at my age wasn't all that uncommon for Void Demons since they grew and aged differently than humans did. For six months she taught me as much as she could about language, though having the mind and thought patterns of a 22 year old helped. I always surprised her which had me in a good mood seeing the surprise and smile on her face at what I could do. For my second birthday I knew they had something planned in the relatively small but welcoming house that we lived in. The house itself wasn't all that large with a living room at the center, a door to the backyard from there, a kitchen off to one side opposite of the front door and the hallway. Down that hallway were two rooms that belonged to me and the larger one was my parent's room.
I sat as usual in the middle of the living room near the couch looking out the window by the front door to see a clear blue sky without any clouds in it. Aeron was in the kitchen making food while Karen was in the back yard doing something. Out of curiosity I got up from the floor and waddled towards the back door that was open. It was annoying to be moving so slow when I was mostly accustomed to walking fast, as I did in my old life. The back door was open so it allowed me to view the yard that was a little on the messy side with some weeds, a few rose plants, uneven grass, and in the center of it all was a small wooden table. Karen stood next to the table wearing a simple dark blue robe with her crimson hair down, which reached to the small of her back.
"Hello Aether." Karen said not looking away from whatever she was messing with on the table.
"Hi mom." I said watching her. She kept messing with something moving it this way and that for some time as her face took on several different expressions. At first it was concentration which shifted to annoyed, then settled on a serious one as she turned to me.
I could see both seriousness as well as something else I couldn't quite place in her eyes as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have to ask you something Aether." I tiled my head to the side, a sign to ask the question. "Can you sense the Ethernano around us, the energy in the air?"
I nodded.
Karen opened her mouth but paused looking to the west of the house. I felt some sort of presence over in that direction. That presence didn't feel the same as Aeron who has a fire mage. It felt dark as if it wasn't exactly from this world, hell I wasn't exactly either. "They're here." Mother said, her voice containing annoyance.
"Who coming this way?" I asked seeing her turn to me surprised.
"I though we would have more time." Aeron said making me turn around to see his legs behind me. There was a tone of sadness in his voice. Why was it there? "We have to do the ritual now."
Ritual? What for? And why did they look troubled by whatever was coming our way?
"I know." Karen said coming to me and picking me up. "I really didn't want to do this, but they give us no choice." I stayed silent as I got carried into their room and down through a trap door into some sort of cellar. It was spacious and littered with regents for all sorts of magical things. In the center was a ring carved into the floor that was itself encased in another ring with lots of crazy symbols in it. Karen placed me in the center of it and took position in front of me. After a pause she said something and the circle came alive with magic power making me a bit nervous.
Just what is she doing? Without warning pain burned out my senses as if I had been placed into acid bath. I screamed seeing magic come out of the ground and coil around me like a snake. I couldn't tell how much power was being channeled into me, but I could see tears in Karen's eyes.
She was breathing hard and look a little on the pale side. "I'm sorry, and good bye Aether." She said placing both hands on her part of the circle. "I love you." Those were the last words I heard before the room was dominated by pure magical power, and I fell unconscious with one final jolt of pain.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
That was a day that would always haunt me and make me wonder why she had did some sort of spell on her own child. The house I had lived in with my parents was destroyed from an explosion that had killed everyone except for me. I had been spared by that magic circle and found by a mage called Qrow Kain whom brought me to Taeron's Orphanage. That was a year ago. I was now three and most of my time when the kids were out playing was spent sitting alone watching the others. I did always have a constant companion of sorts, it was the magic in the air. Ever since the day I was examined by that doctor I've always felt it and I had managed to do some magic which was interesting. Like many times before I sat on a stump in the back yard of the Orphange where the children played usually. I held up my hands and thought of a small orb and one materialized above my hands in the air. It was a shadowy looking with purple and black mixed together. I instinctively knew what type of magic it was, Void Magic.
As it turned out Taeron's Orphanage was for children of all types. Those who weren't human, part human, or simply abandoned by their parents or families. However I was the only Void Demon which made me feel a bit out of place. But...
"You did it again Aether!" A voice commented snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see one of the older boys standing there eyeing the orb floating in my hands. He was one of the few who had gone out of their way to befriend me or at least interact with me despite the fact the he was human. As usual his brown hair was a ragged mess that went to just above his shoulders. His eyes were an odd shade of light red that was almost pink, which gave him a lot of trouble from others who teased him. He was wearing a faded blue t-shirt that was a little large on him and a pair of black shorts could be seen underneath it.
I couldn't help the small grin forming on my face as some of the others stopped playing to come towards me. For some reason they all got excited whenever I used magic around them, as if I was the only one who could use magic. There were four of us who could use magic with the other three being seven years older than myself.
"Can you do anything else Aether?" One of the gathered kids asked.
I shrugged as the void orb above my hands vanished. "Not really."
"You won't get stronger if you don't test the limits of your powers Aether." A gruff but gentle voice said making me look up. Leaning next to the back door of the orphanage was the man whom founded it, Taeron Seva. Taeron was a rough looking man that kind of reminded me of Guildarts a bit in body build. He was dressed in his usual faded blue jeans and black tank top. His hair was short and almost golden blond in color while his sapphire eyes radiated ease that made it easy for him to deal with the kids. I knew the man was a mage because of the sheer amount of magic power I could feel from him.
"I know." I sighed.
"I'd like to talk to you in my office." He added going into the two story house. The brown haired boy helped me down front the stump and they all moved to go play again. I made my way through the house that Taeron had bought and converted into an orphanage. It was a welcoming decor that was pretty simple and done with earthen browns and soothing forest greens. On the second floor was rooms for the older children and Taeron's office at one end of the house. I made my way there and closed the door before taking a seat on the couch that rested next to a coffee table. Taeron's office was a bit large with two couches on either side of a small table that rested in the middle of the room. Towards the large window opposite of the door was his desk.
"What is it?" I asked once again looking at the sides of the room which held bookshelves full of large books.
"Do you feel alone being the only Void Demon at the orphanage?" Taeron asked from his chair with a studying gaze. "I see you on your own a lot."
I stayed silent for a time before answering. "Sort of." I paused kicking my back and forth a bit. "I wonder about my parents a lot too."
"I see." He commented watching me. "Are you sure? Ryan, Jack, Alice, and Kayla have taken a liking to you."
I played with the hem of the dress I was wearing, a simple brown one that reached to just past my knees. Those four were the ones who went out of their way to interact with me on a regular basis. They were all several years older than me but loved me like a little sister. Despite being a Void Demon and them being human they cared about me strongly, as if that little fact didn't bother them at all.
"I have fun with them but I'm afraid to do more with my magic."
I saw him raise an eyebrow. "Why?"
Ryan, Kayla, Alice and Jack were all supportive of me doing more with my magic unlike some of the others. I was pretty sure that was because the majority of the children here were fully human, and a handful of us weren't. A lot of the older human kids sat off on their own and stayed together, all the while giving me dirty looks whenever they could. "I fear that they will reject me like the older humans." I replied feeling as if I was about to cry.
I heard Taeron get up and get something from one of the bookshelves from the sound of it. He came over and knelt down to be more or less even with me on the couch. He shook his head with a smile as he placed a hand on my shoulder. "They won't." He said making my eyes go wide. "The older humans may fear you because you are different, but that doesn't matter."
"What do you mean?" I asked him tilting my head not quite getting it.
Taeron pulled his hand back from my shoulder. "I'll show you something." He held up both hands with palms facing upwards. In one hand a orb very similar to the one I had conjured earlier appeared, though much larger. And in the other hand was a glowing ball of fire. "I'm half Void Demon and half human." Closing his hands slowly the two orbs vanished. "I used to be feared because I wasn't fully human and had powers others did not. After I joined a wizard guild people slowly started to change their minds with my accomplishments over the years." He paused to smile at something with his eyes closed. "It is not the abilities we are born with that show who we are, Aether. It is our choices that show who we really are to the world."
I sat there stunned. That reminded me of a part of the second Harry Potter movie where Dumbledore mentions the difference between Harry and Voldemort. Taeron was absolutely right. If the older humans chose to stay afraid of me that is their choice. I have others that will welcome the expansion of what I can do.
"Thanks." I said with a smile before something was placed in my lap. Looking down I saw a book Magic for Beginners.
"This should help you develop your magic." He said with a smile before giving me a small hug. I hugged him back and left his office to read from the book. The Next two years passed quickly as I studied and read the book thoroughly. Over that time my magic had expanded considerably allowing me to do many more things such as shape shifting. According to Taeron shape shifting is one of the things that Void Demons can do and it comes more or less naturally, though it was hard for him to master because he is half. He had also been lucky enough to get a book with an overview of the magic I used from one of the bookstores in the city near the orphanage. Thanks to that I had discovered that the magic employed by Void Demons was a mixture of Slayer and Ice Make since Void Energy was, according to the book and my own experiments, easy to mold into shapes and destructive.
Jack, Ryan, Alice and Kayla had all grown and stayed with me the whole time. My days were happy as they dragged me to play with them regularly or to show them magic. They had also gotten to read the book and were able to barely do things with magic. The best any of them could do was slightly move around feathers that I could conjure that held the color of the void, being a mixture of purple and black that was stronger on the latter.
It was another warm sunny day so I was laying down in the grass in the back yard basking in the light along with those I considered brothers and sisters. There was little to no breeze and laughter filled the air as some of the others played tag to one side. I had quickly been asked not to participate much in games simply because I would always win, such as tag. They could never catch up to me in human form or in the animal forms I could shape shift into.
"Do you guys want to go Gruen?" Kayla asked. She was the youngest of our group aside from me with lilac eyes and black hair that reached her shoulders.
I opened my eyes to see her sitting up. The human was wearing a red long sleeved shirt and gray pants. I looked over to see the boys on my left dressed in t-shirts and shorts that were red and blue. I was dressed in black shorts and a gray t-shirt. Gruen was the nearby town that Taeron went to whenever the orphanage needed supplies. He also let the kids go there to get treats from some of the merchants there.
"Yeah." Ryan commented from next to me.
"I'm game." I commented looking forward to a visit to Gruen.
"Let's go." Jack said getting up before leading us through the house. We found Taeron in the kitchen cleaning pans. "Do you need anything from Gruen? We're about to head there." Jack was the oldest out of our little group. His blue hair was like Ryan's, always in a mess but shorter than the other boy's brown hair. Unlike the rest of us Jack had unassuming brown eyes.
Taeron shook his head. "I don't and stay safe you five."
"We will be fine." Kayla said before putting a hand on my shoulder. "Aether is coming with us." With that we left the house and made our way down the dirt road to Gruen. It was a ten minute walk to the small city but the beautiful trees and landscape always made me smile. Gruen sat next to the sea so it was a port city that was busy with activity. Merchant ships brought in goods that either got sold in the city itself or were sent to other cities to be sold there. The guards waved at us as we entered heading for the market district.
It did not take us long to navigate the streets to get to the market district which was exactly as it sounded, the part of the city where all the shops and such were located. My stomach rumbled at the different scents in the air from the various food stalls earning a laugh from the four with me. I ignored them going for a familiar shop that held just what I needed. I entered the butcher shop along with the others before the shop owner peaked her head over the counter.
"Welcome you five." She greeted wiping her cleaver with a white cloth. The woman looked to be in her mid sixties but had the reflexes of someone half her age. Gray hair was tied into a pony tail that reached down to mid back. A blood stained apron rested over a simple brown shirt and pants. "What brings you here today?"
"I'm hungry." I replied and on queue my stomach rumbled. "Did the rats come back?"
"They didn't." She answered.
Rats were among my favorite snacks to eat when it came to raw meats which I could eat without any harm being a Void Spawn. Unlike some meats they didn't have much in terms of stringy fats. Sadly I still have a problem with very stringy foods or substances when eating because of their texture. For some reason I react to those by choking on them, not a fun or pleasant experience. That had panicked Taeron once when I had gotten my hands on a piece of raw meat that he was going to cook in the oven.
"However my son did get some extra meat on his latest hunt so I'm going to give some of that to you." She said. "Which includes rabbit." At that I started drooling. Rabbit was the best meat I had ever gotten to eat either from Azumi, the butcher, or from one of my little hunting trips into the forest near the orphanage. She left for the back room where she kept all the raw meat in chests full of ice. A few minutes later she came out of the back with two pieces of meat. One was rabbit just from the smell of it and the other was a thick piece of lizard meat.
"There she goes again." Ryan commented as I snagged the rabbit meat first and took a bite.
I turned to look at the four whom followed me inside. "Why do you guys come in here if seeing me eat raw meat bothers you?" I asked seeing Jack go green and Kayla looking a bit pale, though Ryan seemed to be alright or he was good at hiding that it bothered him. Alice didn't really look bothered by it in the least as she watched me quietly. Alice was the most quiet of us five with white hair and kind kind jade eyes. Taking a second bite Jack ran for the side door to puke outside and Kayla turned away from me.
"At least he made it outside this time." Azumi chuckled as I followed her gaze to the side door that Jack ran out of. The last time he saw me eat like this the poor human didn't make it outside the shop, so he had been stuck there for a day to clean it up. It didn't take me long to finish the piece of rabbit meat. They don't exactly have much meat on them, but it is very tasty. Azumi tapped me on the shoulder before handing me the larger piece of meat.
"We come in here cause we don't want to leave you alone." Kalya explained not turning around. "Taeron would give us a lecture if we did."
I smiled. "He would." One thing the kids of the orphanage and I liked was that Taeron was a gentle man who rarely dished out punishment, but did so when the time called for it. Mostly he would question us as to why we did things and had us learn that it was a mistake or not a good thing to do. Another thing I noticed was that he really didn't lie much and was willing to admit if he didn't know something.
I opened my mouth to take a bit of the meat when I felt something off in the distance. I walked outside and looked to the forest that sat to Gruen's west. I could sense magic that was moving in concentrated forms, which meant wizards. It wasn't unusual for wizards to go through Gruen since it was a port city. But this concentration of magic felt wrong. It felt like darkness, fire, and evil.
"What is it Aether?" Azumi asked drawing my attention to her worried face.
"Something dark is coming." I said focusing my sight in the direction of the forest.
feel free to leave reviews with questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability without spoiling much of the story. I am working on chapter 12 of Wolf God and chapter 4 of Conduit but I will be finishing those soon. So you know spell names will be in bold.