I'm sorry this chapter is a few days late but I wanted to move it to the middle of the week. Also this chapter is a little shorter than my normal post but next week will make up for it. ;)

Thank you all for your kind reviews, they mean a lot.

Previously...

"Sorry I can't allow you to take that human back to Igneel!" A voice said from the shadow of a large tree. His dark features were slightly illuminated by his glowing red eyes. "I wouldn't want him to find a way to reverse what I've done!" The dark figure laughed.

His body quickly turned into thick black smoke and slowly drifted across the ground. Stopping just in front of the unconscious Dragon, Weisslogia, the smoke reached out and touched the dead boy. His body was slowly engulfed in the thick smoke and a moment later both the boy and the smoky apparition disappeared, only to instantly re-appeared near an opening at the end on the dense woods.

As the smoke finally took human form, a pink-haired man grinned as he walked away...

Chapter 21 - It all begins - Part 2

Normal POV

"What just happened back there?" Latasia mumbled to herself. The face of the little old woman slowly faded from her thoughts as she broke through the dark clouds above and emerged just above the tree-tops of the forest below.

She was getting closer to the Dragon Council headquarters, which was only a few miles west of her current location. The Council Chambers were hidden deep within the rugged mountain range off in the distance and an emergency meeting had been called. Latasia was being summoned to appear before the council to discuss or better yet answer to a troubling claim that had just recently come to light.

As she flew past the tree-tops an meadow came in to view and that's when she felt a heaviness press upon her. It was as if someone had reached into her very soul and started to drain away her essence, her life-force. Before she had a chance to asess the situation she looked on in horror as the ground came rushing up to meet her. No!... She violently crashed into it!

Latasia attempted to stand after that horrible crash but her body wouldn't respond. She tried changing into her human form but that also failed... It was as if every drop of magic had been pulled from her body and now every fibre of her being screamed out in agony at its loss. She was defenceless against whatever or whomever had just attacked her as fear gripped her still form.

"Well!..." A deep voice laughed as it slowly encircled the now defenceless Fire Dragon. "It seems today is my lucky day!"

Latasia tried to speak but nothing happened! ...Only the sound of her attacker's voice filled her ears. All her attempts to move, even the task of just simply blinking her eyes ended in absolute failure... She was totally at his mercy!

"Oh my, you seem to be at a disadvantage!" He said as he slowly walked up to her large bloodshot eye and leaned in till he was only a few inches from her dull red orb. "Remember me?" He smirked as he watched a lone tear fall to the ground and pool near the Fire Dragon's still frame.

"...If you're gonna look at me like that, fine!" He huffed with sarcasm before releasing a small amount of magic and directed it towards the petrified Fire Dragon. A blood curdling scream echoed through the valley as Latasia glowed for a brief moment and then in an instant the once mighty black Dragon was no more... Standing in a small crater was a confused and very distraught blonde haired woman.

"Now, ain't I nice!" The dark-eyed man said with an annoying grin.

As Latasia opened her eyes she searched deep within herself for her magic, any magic... Any small amount would do! Some glimmer of hope, anything of her once mighty power would be welcomed at this point but she found none. Her heart sank as she realized she was totally at this monster's mercy and today she felt she would receive none!

"W-Who are you?" Latasia growled as she glared at the pink-haired man before slowly climbing out of the crater that her body just moments ago created. As she stood a few feet from the man she could sense a familiarity about this tall yet somewhat ruggedly handsome young mage. His spiky pink-hair tussled back and forth with the wind and as she gazed into his deep black eyes she shivered when she saw an empty abyss staring back at her. There was definitely something off with this mage and she wanted nothing to do with him.

"AH!... You hurt me deeply Latasia!" He smirked. "You of all people should know who I am but if I must!... I'm Arcanus!"

"That's not possible!"

"But it is!... Besides anything is possible if you know how!" He laughed as he pointed towards a small pink-haired boy that was propped up against a nearby bolder. "That one made a tasty treat and imagine my surprise when I got this sweet added bonus!" He said as he moved his hand up and down in an arogant fashion all the while proudly displaying his new human form.

Latasia's eyes grew dark with horror as she realized what he had done. "Y-You stole that innocent child's essence, his life-force!"

"Every delicate and delicious morsel!... And I got an added bonus as well!" He laughed as he ran his hands through his pink locks.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Now now!... I can't tell you everything Latasia but I'm sure you will understand in time, what this little act will mean to you and the rest of this world!"

"How could you do something so discussing Arcanu..." Latasia was stopped as Arcanus placed his finger against her lips and shook his head 'no'.

"Call me Natsu... Natsu Dragneel!" His smirk slowly turned to an evil grin, causing Latasia to cringe at his cold and monstrous attitude.

Present Time...

"What?" Makarov and Mavis yelled at the same time.

"But that means..." Mavis growled as she glared up at Layla.

"Yes!... Natsu Dragneel!... Our Natsu is Arcanus, the Demonic Dragon!" Layla sighed as she headed towards the wall that Mavis had found earlier and passed her hand across it in a sweeping motion. A small opening appeared revealing a room void of any light. As she walked in she snapped her fingers and several tourches around the room suddenly burst forth with light.

The room was small! There was no furniture or any items in the room, only a small crystal object which rested near the far wall. As the mages made their way towards the crystal, the faint outline of a human slowly took shape. Makarov gasped as he saw the figure of a small pink-haired boy encased within the crystal... He cringed at the thought of what this revelation meant.

"It's the same as..." He said as he fell to his knees. "...Lumen Histoire!"

"Not exactly Mackie!" Layla sighed as she helped her friend back to his feet. "Where-as Lumen Histoire is Fairy Tail's light, you might say that this is Fairy Tail's darkness. It's what's been drawing all the Dragon Slayers towards Fairy Tail!"

"That makes no sense!" Mavis said as she floated around the eerily familiar object before turning her attention back to Layla. "I would have known if this was a part of our guild!"

"No! You wouldn't have... As it was already on Tenrou Island long before you ever existed. It's the relic you and your team went searching for, you just didn't know what it was or what it looked like as it was sealed inside the old church... That's where Zeref keep it hidden for all those years!" Layla sighed as she took a quick glance towards the crystal.

"How did it get here and what does Zeref have to do with this thing?" Makarov asked as he pointed to the crystal.

"Well Gildarts bought it here during the S-Class trial..." Layla said as Makarov interrupted her.

"I wondered where he had disappeared to!"

"He was following my orders!... I couldn't take a chance on Zeref having both the crystal and Natsu together in the same place, so we removed it during all the chaos!"

"Perhaps that is what Hades and Ivan were referring to when they said, "Lumen Histoire was Fairy Tail's Darkness!"." Makarov said as he rubbed his chin.

"Perhaps!... But it's true name, is E.N.D.!"

Next chapter, the multi-part arc continues... More of the past is revealed!

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See you then!