When I opened my eyes I looked out on a universe of darkness and barren wastelands. Entire planets were sucked dry of life, wasted and crumbling to dust with a howling wind practically tearing me from the ground which I stood on. I was on my own however the others weren't too far away, scattered variously however we were now all looking at the most menacing figure I have ever seen.
It was like a titan, its body made of stars and celestial matter as it sucked in and consumed entire planets, making my eyes go wide as it devoured them whole then went still, the wind halting as it then smashed through another planet. No way…is that the celestial spirit king? He doesn't look anything like what Lucy described. Where's the moustache?
Shaking my head I concentrated, lowering my stance ready to attack but Erza's voice reached out to me from where she stood. "Don't even think about it young lady. You stay back and keep your guard up. Do not attempt to fight this thing." She warned me and my mouth dropped open before she then launched her own attack.
"Wait, how is that fair? Erza! I want to help you fight!" I shouted after her but as everyone combined their attacks after a rather fruitless first attempt from Gray and Juvia they threw everything they had at the titan like celestial king. It was like he didn't even feel a thing, nothing even shook him. All that power combined and not even a scratch? That was some crazy power. Why is it our enemies always have to be all powerful and almost impossible to defeat?
"Careful, I think it's about to counter attack." Erza warned, holding two blades in her hands and we all watched as the beast of a figure sucked in a belly full of air before expelling it in one booming roar, sending us all flying backwards. When the blast hit me I grunted, dropping to the ground and slid over the rocks before I hit a group of them jutting out from the ground, allowing me to root myself down as I withstood the attack. "Don't falter now, keep up the pressure." Erza ordered and everyone chorused back in answer.
I grit my teeth in irritation, fidgeting on the spot as Erza's order kept me grounded. I couldn't disobey otherwise she'd kill me, but then again I can't just sit back and do nothing. As I watched, Gray and Juvia leaped into the air however the eclipse king pointed his finger at Juvia, a red beam of light blasting straight at her and she was transcended into the stars, making us all stare in horror as her voice echoed softly around us, the image of her appearing in a new constellation and Gray's distraught yell rang in my ears.
Before anyone could react Cana, Elfman and Mirajane all sprang at the eclipse king only to receive the same treatment, their imagines appearing in the skies as a pattern of stars and I stared with tears in my eyes, my heart beginning to shiver in fear. He can do that? What kind of magic is that? Spinning around I turned in time to see Pantherlily get turned into a constellation, dropping Gajeel onto a planet where Levy then shoved him out of the way, sacrificing herself. "No! LEVY!" I screamed, a tear slipping down my face. This can't be. They can't be gone! "Okay, screw this. I'm going in with everything I've got, I'll make him drag Levy and the others back out of the skies or pummel him until he brings them back!"
Thundering in anger I rose up into the sky, my body glowing as my wings appeared in their pure white glory, my eyes narrowed at the eclipse king. "Sky Dragon…ROAR!" As I flew forwards my eyes widened and I reached out a hand, making to push Wendy and Carla out of the way as the spirit turned on them with a red glowing finger.
"Carla, Wendy, look out!" I tried to get to them but I was too late, Wendy's scream echoing hauntingly in my mind as I pulled up short just as they disappeared then flapped my wings once with all my might, yelling as I veered around in an arc to avoid the beams as he began to fling them out in a large multitude, forcing me to back off until I was a safe distance away.
"Now I'm pissed." I growled, closing my eyes before they opened blood red, a dark power surging inside me. "He's going to pay for hurting my friends. I swear, he'll pay!" Flinging out my hands a rush of dark energy carried over me, my tumultuous roar echoing through the chasm of the spirit world as my wings folded over me, hiding my body from view as they grew in size and strength, darkening in colour until they were an oily black, ripped and smoking with dark power as I took control of the one form I had sworn never to use.
Yesss…accept your fate. You are weak without me.
No you're wrong. Because this time, I'm the one in control.
I felt her shock vibrate through me as my bellow intensified, opening up my magical container to allow a deeper wealth of magic energy to surge within me, accepting more and more of the dark magic as my image changed until finally, I swept back my wings to reveal myself to everyone below and they openly stared. "Angel Soul. Black Heart." I snarled in a deep voice, focusing in on the eclipse king.
"I've never seen such a form before." Erza whispered as Gajeel lifted his head.
"Hey I've seen that form once, you gotta be careful with that one. It might not be Fae who's in control." Oh I'm in control alright. Because it was my choice to bring out this form. This is my power that I've used to summon it, not my pesky little demon that sits at the back of my mind. My tongue flickered through my fangs as I lifted a hand, my massive wings spread wide open as a sphere of black and dark purple energy gathered at my palm.
"Sin of Wrath." I spoke before blasting my attack forwards, the loud boom humming in my ears as my blanket of silky black hair rippled around me, the channel of energy powered straight into the eclipse spirit king's gut, making him jerk backwards slightly a step and a smirk curled on my lips. Gotcha.
My wings gave a thunderclap of sound and I flew forwards with intense speed, moving like a shadow to circle around behind the eclipse king before my wings drew back and a putrid ripple rose from my feathers as darkness gathered along the edges of my wings. "Sin of Pride." With a flap of my enormous wings two streams of darkness hammered against the back of his head, forcing it forwards and there was an enraged roar in response as I flew around, the mechanical hiss of my movements surrounding me.
I turned in the air and wove through its legs, making it punch the planet it stood on so that it shattered and I quickly turned coarse and slammed against it with all my might, giving a roar as I did so with a blanket of darkness around me. "Sin of Envy." A fist was swung at me but I was out of the way in a heartbeat, eyes still glowing bright red, so bright that as I moved they left a slim trail as I moved.
A snarl rippled from my throat as I arced through the sky, spreading my hands wide as if in a summersault before I tucked in my wings and took a nose dive straight for the eclipse king however before I could land my attack, body pulsing with blackness, it turned its red attack on Lucy and instantly my course changed. "Lucy! Look out!" I cried and quickly overtook the red line, everyone calling out our names as I whipped around and spread my wings, holding it off with their powerful strength as Lucy cowered behind me.
"Fae no! You shouldn't have sacrificed yourself for me, we need your strength now more than ever!" She cried out as I growled, holding out my hands as I tried to maintain my barrier, the magic flowing from me in a thick rush like a ravine that had been swept into a tidal wave. The lines brightened along my body, reaching up past my jaw and clawing towards my lips as I turned back and gave Lucy a weak smile.
"Fairy Tail never leaves a friend behind." I said before the light exploded right in my face and with a cry of pain which electrified every nerve in my body I felt myself being transferred from a physical being into that of matter and light. It was like being in a dream, not fully awake yet asleep enough to be peaceful. It was rather relaxing though I could feel heat rushing through my arm and the left side of my chest and neck from where the splits had continued to form. Guess I'd overdone it with my Black Heart form.
An ocean of stars was washing around me, spinning me into a world of starlit dreams until after what felt like an eternity, I felt myself being pulled back down to the earth. It was a strange sensation, like your soul was being pulled back to your physical body. I lay down flat as I descended, my form still my Black Heart appearance however a golden glow engulfed me and my appearance fizzled away into dust, replaced with the clothes I had worn to the spirit realm.
When I was finally able to open my eyes I found myself laying on an extravagant bed under a stone pavilion, tulle drapes fluttering slightly in a non-existent breeze. Blinking I sat up, my hair tumbling over my shoulder as I turned my head and looked out to the world outside only to lose my breath. It was the most breath taking sight I had ever seen, a surreal world transcending all imagination.
The skies were full of planets and stars, bubbles also rising from a place unknown down below as the glittering aura of celestial magic filled the air, filling my mind with a silent awe as I openly stared. So this was the celestial spirit realm. It was even more magical than I remembered. "Fae! Fae!" I heard my friends calling out my name so I turned my head to see everyone running towards me, Levy and Lucy in the lead and waving their hands to me with bright smiles. They're all back! That's good, that means we're all safe.
"Everyone…you're alright." I breathed tearfully, brushing aside a stray drop as it trailed down my face. Everyone looked so vibrant and beautiful, smiling broadly as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and made to run to them but the moment I put weight on my feet I collapsed, my knees buckling beneath me and I clutched my chest over my heart as it gave a painful stab like it had been pierced by a hot knife.
"Fae! What's the matter? Why're you glowing like that?" Natsu demanded to know, staring down at me as I looked at my hand, turning it over to see the cracks on both sides.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it Natsu." I lied, giving him a smile as I tried to get back up but Erza quickly shoved a hand against my shoulder and I landed back on the bed, sitting there as Lucy and Levy flung their arms around me.
"You're insane Fae! You couldn't been trapped as a constellation forever because of me!" Lucy wailed, crushing me into her until I could hardly breathe with Levy clutching me close as well. "How are you feeling? The cracks are getting worse, what can we do? There has to be something we can do to stop this." Lucy reasoned as Levy pulled back to examine my hand closely.
"I've been looking through all the books I can get my hands on that might be help but I haven't come across any cases even remotely related to yours, let alone come up with a cure." Levy said to me as the others all scratched their heads.
"Will somebody please tell me what's going on? Why is she glowing like that?" Gray demanded however before I could answer, Loke stepped forwards, walking towards us with a dark look in his eyes.
"Maybe you should ask Natsu." He suggested accusingly, making the pink haired pyromaniac blink in dumbfounded confusion.
"Me? What do I know? All I know is that Fae is glowing for some reason." Instantly I was on my feet, standing in front of Lucy and Levy as I faced Loke with a burning look.
"Loke, don't. Don't do this." I pleaded with him though the tone of my voice was threatening. Wendy looked particularly worried as Loke fixed his accusing glare on Natsu who retaliated by cracking his knuckles, lowering his stance ready to fight.
"Dude, what's your problem? Why're you acting all weird all of a sudden?" Natsu wanted to know, gritting his teeth slightly as Loke pointed his finger at him.
"You're the reason Fae is dying, if it weren't for you then she wouldn't be running out of time and crumbling to pieces bit by bit!" He yelled however as I saw him clench a fist and activated his Regulus Impact, aiming to strike out at Natsu so I moved quickly, bunching up the muscles in my legs and pushed off the ground with all my strength, ploughing into Loke who grunted at the impact and together we went flying backwards, striking the ground and rolling until I had him pinned beneath me.
"Enough! This doesn't concern you Loke, you have no right to say those things!" I yelled down at him angrily, planting my fists into the ground either side of his head as he stared up at me with his beautiful eyes. I seethed slightly in rage, glaring down at him before I took a deep breath and relaxed, the lights fading from my skin as I then slowly climbed off his torso and knelt beside him. "Just don't. It's not worth the pain. I don't want to go leaving behind too many scars." I murmured as Loke sat up, his hand reaching out for my shoulder but I drew it back out of his reach instinctively, hurt flashing in his eyes at my response.
"Fae I…I want to help. Please let me help you." He whispered to me as the others slowly crept closer, the other spirits keeping their distance and I was all too aware of the presence of the spirit king as he watched over us with a curious countenance.
"There's nothing that can be done Loke, just accept it. I'm happy I was allowed more time so I'm not going to waste it." I promised him though I couldn't bring myself to smile about it. "Sometimes we just have to grow up and face reality. There's no way around it so I'm not going to fight it anymore. I'm tired of fighting and struggling." Turning to face him I managed a shaky smile before I got up and turned away.
I didn't get very far in my walk back to the others as Loke suddenly leaped to his feet and ran after me, grasping my wrist and pulling me around to face him with a determined expression set in stone on his features. "I'm not giving up on you Fae, I won't let you give up like this!" He told me firmly and my eyes widened, staring at him as my body began to glow with a golden warmth, my legs beginning to disappear but Loke held on, changing grips so that he was holding my hand. "When I faced my own demise you wouldn't let me go without a fight, so I'll find an answer even if I have to search the furthest part of the universe for it. I refuse to let you disappear."
His words echoed in my mind as his face began to disappear, my hand fading from his grasp as the spirit king returned us to earth before too much time was lost. The warmth of Loke's touch still burned my hand as I appeared before the guildhall, still slightly bewildered and star struck by everything that had happened. So much had transpired in such a short amount of time that I wasn't sure what to do with myself. It was only when Levy placed her hand on my shoulder did I awake from my daze.
"Hey. How about we go get some ice cream?" She suggested and I blinked at her for a moment before nodding my head, a relaxed and affectionate smile touching my lips as she slipped her arm though mine and Lucy took the other.
"Ice cream sounds great, I'm starving." She agreed as we grouped together.
"Yeah ice cream! I want some too, count me in!" Natsu yelled, leaping up into the air and spitting fire in his excitement, making us all laugh as Happy declared he wanted fish flavour.
"Hmm…ice cream sounds like an excellent idea. I think I shall also join you in this venture. We will order the creamiest and most delicious ice cream there is ever to be had in all of Fiore!" Erza decided rather patriotically, making me giggle again as Juvia cuddled up to Gray's arm.
"What do you think my love? How about you and I get some ice cream together, just the two of us, won't that be romantic?" She suggested but Gray rolled his eyes with a slight shudder.
"You're acting all creepy again." He complained but joined with us all the same, Elfman hammering his fists in the air as he declared ice cream a manly snack. Levy somehow managed to drag Gajeel along with us as Wendy and Carla jogged after us, waving her hand as she called for us to wait for her, Lily walking rather severely along beside her though when I mentioned that today would be kiwi flavour at the ice cream parlour, he was immediately more motivated to try some of the best ice cream in all of Fiore.
It was fun, hanging out with all my friends, watching Natsu get a brain freeze as he ate too much ice cream all at once when he challenged Gray to a race was definitely something to laugh about. Surrounded by the people I love with the food I love most in the world, I was easily able to forget all about my worries and troubles, settling into peace as the sunset began to streak across the city.