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Chapter 4: Separation

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"Zeus", he called. Zeus was had another seizure on that day. Due to the nature of Zeus's magic, he would be sick.

"Do you know your original form?"

"No...", was all Zeus answered as he was casually eating berries he scavenged before they headed off in a deserted place. It was nightfall, no people in sight. There are times Zeus wondered why Acnologia doesn't want to meet humans, but didn't ask the Dragon King. He was also afraid, afraid of the new and unfamiliar memories coursing in his head. Though he knows those memories are not his, he knew that he is the second incarnation of the god of life and death, and the previous one fused with him as the god can't sustain his own self longer. He thought on how the previous god cursed the man called Zeref, as this raven haired man is trying to contort the balance between life and death by reviving his own brother.

He glanced at Acnologia, staring from an empty space and decided that he won't tell the Dragon King of his new state.

'Such cruel fate you have Zeus. You should not use your magic at this point. You'll die the more you use it'.

He remembered Acnologia's words. While he asked what type of magic he has, the Dragon King claims he doesn't know. His magic is rather peculiar and unheard of, and it is only written in mythical books. With the eerie silence worsening, he decided to break it.

"Acnologia...". His voice hoarse, a side effect from his magic. The man then looked at him without speaking a word.

"If I die...would you remember me...even just want for once?". Zeus's hair now shadowed his eyes. At this point, he doesn't refer to himself in third person anymore. Acnologia's eyes widened as he heard these words from his companion. Only he didn't answer it. Zeus was just met with silence. The sky blue haired man stood up then repeated,

"If I die, would you remember me even just for once?". He added more force and volume to his question. Acnologia narrowed his eyes in this and finally spoke.

"No! Stop acting like a child".

Zeus was surprised at this. His eyes were teary but held his tears from falling.

"From the moment I laid eyes on you, I was intending to slay you. Upon seeing so much potential in you, I decided to teach you how to read, speak and write. All that changed when I knew the nature of your magic. You're so helpless. You're not of use to me. You'll just die", Acnologia snapped.

"So you intended to use me? I thought you love me..."

"Do you really think that I am capable of holding such human emotions? Think again...I'm a dragon, not a human. Do not compare me to some vermin like you".

This time, Zeus's decided he couldn't take it any longer. His tears fell down from his eyes. He sobbed silently, with whimpers from his voice. Acnologia stood up and continued to talk.

"You're a worthless scum. No...Worse than scum. You're so ignorant of my own reputation. I destroyed a continent centuries ago, slayed countless dragons, and even made people suffer. I'm the Dragon King. I desire destruction, tears, sacrifices...Everything...I want to have everything in my hands alone"

Zeus looked at him with brimming tears from his face, his vision blurry from the constant flow of his tears.

"I don't care if you're the enemy of mankind, I don't care. You're the Acnologia I know. And I will always love you. You're my first friend, my big brother, you nurtured me. If you are truly ruthless from the beginning, then you should've killed me from the start", he insisted.

"Aren't you listening? I only taught you to be of use to me. But alas, I'm wrong. I wasted significant amounts of time to teach a trash like you. Consider it done. Leave before I slay you. I have no business with you anymore. This is enough". With that, Acnologia turned on his heels and walk. As he walked, Zeus screamed.

"What did I ever do to you? I only asked if you would remember me if I die even just once. A simple yes or no is enough. Why are you doing this? Why are you such a recluse? Why did you shat the whole world out? What are you so afraid of?"

"I said enough!". Acnologia fired a blast of his own magic power from his palms, hitting Zeus's stomach. Blood poured out of Zeus's mouth as Zeus gasped in shock.

"Ze-Zeus..."

A bitter laughed escaped the teenager's mouth. A laugh with a mixture of a variety of emotions. Zeus's eye became golden and he emitted a purplish black aura around him. He then muttered towards himself.

"The world is cruel as those you care leave and then never go back. They have always hated your existence. Love can bring forth the happiest of emotions but at the same time hurts terribly. There is no such thing as love. It's better to be erased than to be remembered. Memories are nothing but just a useless relic of the past".

Acnologia's enhanced hearing allowed him to hear these words despite being in an incredible low volume. Zeus stood up then disappeared in a glint of purplish black before the Dragon King's eyes. These words, the very words that Zeus had spoken, would forever etch into the memories of the infamous Dragon King.

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Zeus woke up in another place, it was twilight, the only thing he remembered was leaving Acnologia. He clutched his left muscular stomach in pain as blood is still oozing out. He tore the bottom of his pants and tied it around his wounded waist. He clutched his left side, as he walked. His walks are extremely slow as he was in extreme pain.

'You're a worthless scum. No...Worse than scum. You're so ignorant of my own reputation. I destroyed a continent centuries ago, slayed countless dragons, and even made people suffer. I'm the Dragon King. I desire destruction, tears, sacrifices...Everything...I want to have everything in my hands alone'

He remembered the very words that Acnologia told him. So his friend, the one he considers his elder brother just used him. When he proved he's dying, he was thrown up, just like a trash. Zeus cried at this notion, tears brimming his face. Anger, hate, sadness, all piled up in his chest. It's so heavy, so heavy that he feels the whole world resented his existence. He halted his walk, wiped out his tears as he remembered once again one of the last words of the god of life and death to him.

'A creature of power living within the confines of your physical being is what makes you alive, screaming to tear me into pieces. A human, a pitiful human, lost in reality. Memories of yours are left in the vast expense of the void. Everything is torn away from you. You only wanted to save him but you can't'.

Zeus pondered at this while he walked. Who is he? Where did he come from? What is his purpose? Who is this being that dwells inside him before he became the god of life and death? Who is the one who he wanted to save. So many questions are running inside his head.

"Zeus, try to remember". He closed his eyes. Thinking hard and hard, he couldn't remember a single memory. Only the memory of the memory of the previous god is appearing in his vision.

He looked at his hands and stared at the sky. "The world is so huge. I don't remember anything, only my time spent with Acnologia and the memory of my predecessor".

He then walked through the vast expense of the forest when suddenly he met a raven haired man. He looked at the man in confusion.

"A demon, huh? Sounds interesting". The raven haired man said.

Zeus was confused at this, and before he could say anything, he was frozen.

"Demons of Zeref are roaming nowadays. I must slay them before that Mard Geer catches me", was all the raven haired man muttered as he walked away.

'I...I can't move...What is this magic?'

He remembered Acnologia's words of his magic, that the more he uses it the more he the risk he would die. Unfortunately, he didn't even get the name of his magic, and the only information he has gathered so far was his magic was the reason why he looks like Acnologia now. He tried to break free from the confines of the mysterious ice but he couldn't.

'This magic is so strong. It looks like...I'll be forced to use my magic no matter what it is'

With no other choice, this time he activated his magic. His right eye assuming its purple hue once again and his left eye turned yellow.

'Zeus, think, think. Use your magic, whatever it is'.

Inside the pinkish ice, he forced his magic. As both of his eyes were glowing, the other one in purple hue and the other in gold, he forced his magic. He felt the entirety of the ice's magic going inside him. As the prison dissipated, he tried to catch his breath.

'I nearly died there'.

He looked on towards the distance where he saw the raven haired man now gone.

"I'm a god, not a demon. He must be mistaken. A slayer of demons...A devil slayer...First time I heard of one".

Zeus coughed up blood as he felt his innards being frozen. "Another side effect...".

He gritted his teeth as he felt his body feel extreme pain, even just a gentle air breeze is extremely painful. Instead of screaming, he put a finger in his mouth then growled. He crawled towards the ground, still clutching his bleeding stomach, only to find it frozen. Despite being freed from the confines of the ice prison, his inner organs are freezing. He felt cold and weak. So weak that he inwardly cursed himself. He let out a bitter laugh, his right eye becoming yellow, and his left eye becoming purple once again. He crawled towards a nearby a tree and tried the best he could to just sit up. Just a slight move, so much pain. He wasn't having a seizure now, but another side effect.

"How pitiful...The second incarnation of the god is dying...No...I won't die...I'll prove to anyone that I, Zeus, is befitting for this title. It doesn't matter who I am or what I am, what matters is...I know my own rules and principles. What memories I have now...I shall be content to those I carry with me". He then smiled before losing consciousness.

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He woke up a few hours later. His innards still feeling cold despite the pain being gone, he smiled at this. His wound seems to have frozen, the only thing that he was glad about. He walked and walked. No purpose. No one would protect him so this time he would be the one to protect himself. No one would help at this point. He's completely alone. While he was in a bliss of unconsciousness, he dreamed of that man having a child. The images are blurry, everything is blurry. The sounds are extremely faint. At least it gave him a slight clue as to who the man was. The man was a devil slayer, and he had extreme resentment on the Etherious, Zeref's creations. E.N.D. The word that echoed his mind. Shrugging this off, he pondered where he would ago.

A few days later on, he was in the middle of nowhere. At the end of the jungle, there was a sea. If he could only swim to freedom, he'd gladly do so. Bad omen seems to follow him as a huge black fish attacked him, seeing him as food. He evaded the attack and the fish fell flat to the ground. Remembering what he did to the ice to free his own self, whatever force he has currently, he grabbed the fish's tail. The fish struggled with its inhuman strength and he was thrown back with such force that his wounds resumed bleeding once again. The black fish didn't give up. It opened its mouth once again and seeing this, Zeus scooped up some sand then threw it at the fish's eyes. It thrashed violently, trying to get off the sand from its eye. Seeing this as an opportunity, Zeus mustered up enough strength to once again grab hold of the fish's tail, ignoring the pain on his reopened his wound. He growled, using force to unleash his magic once again. The tail of the fish was trying to wiggle him off but he managed to grab hold into it before finally slipping it off from his grasp. The fish returned back to the sea, and Zeus let out a relief of sigh. His relief was short lived as he noticed his legs having scales, then it turned into a fish's tail. His tail is charred black and Zeus is panicking at this. Not knowing what to do, he used his instinct. He crawled into the sand until he reached the waves were splashing against his face. He tasted the salted water from his mouth. He continued on and on until he plunged the depths of the sea, not at once resurfacing.

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Note: Every time Zeus uses his magic, his left eye becomes yellow. In the later chapters, when he cries, instead of weeping watery tears he'll be weeping blue flames and his left eye will be a permanent shade of golden yellow. His magical power is not yet unlocked that's the reason why his left eye becomes yellow every time he uses his magic.

Another Note: I'm in a hurry to write this, so please bare with the various typos and mistakes to which I would like to apologize for. Have a great day and thanks for reading this fanfiction. Your reviews inspire me to write more.