Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Natsu was quiet when he found Zeref in the field, seeing the boy sobbing in a circle of death. It was clear to anyone watching what had just happened, and Natsu didn't really know what to do to help. He stepped forward, seeing Zeref's gaze turn towards him for a moment, holding his hand up in warning. "No…I'm sorry, but…I can't go through this again," Zeref stated after a few moments, taking in a shaky breath as he rose to his feet.

Natsu nodded, running a hand through his hair. "Well…what about after your curse is gone?" he asked, seeing Zeref close his eyes. The black wizard was far more shaken up than Natsu was used to seeing, and Zeref was doing his best to return to his usual mindset. He had to focus once again on death, on what it could bring the world.

He had done some good with his death magic, in a strange way. Hades had been the leader of a dark guild, intent on slaying thousands of people. His death meant others could live. The deaths of other dark guild members did the same, important in many ways to protect the world from harm. Sometimes, Zeref mused, people needed to die in order to keep the world safe.

Glancing over at Natsu, Zeref nodded, a sign that he was slightly more in control of himself again. "I…I do not even know if it can be eliminated," Zeref said at last, glancing over at Natsu.

The dragon slayer grinned at him, looking confident as he stood in the field across from him. "I don't care if you say it's impossible, I'll find a way. You mean a lot to me, Zeref, and I'm not just going to sit back and let you suffer," he insisted, while Zeref slowly nodded, smiling over at Natsu.

"I see," he said quietly, gazing up towards the sky. "In that case, I believe I shall be looking forward to the day you discover such a thing. Perhaps we can convince Ankhseram to be lenient, it would be the easiest path for us."

Thinking about that, Zeref realized that perhaps there was something else here that could be of use to them. Natsu watched as Zeref moved back towards the academy, stepping inside his room to search for the book once more. It was strange; each spell he was searching for in here seemed to all tie back into celestial magic, rather than what he was most known for. Even the one he pulled out now, a book that had not been seen or touched by anyone other than himself, focused on utilizing celestial magic in a form few thought to do.

Stepping out of the academy with the book in tow, Zeref opened it up to see if the object was still here. Nestled within the pages was a single black key, designed much like a gate key would be, but much darker in nature. He had found it long ago, when he went inside the home of a celestial wizard in his village to bury her and her family. The key had been intriguing to him, not matching anything he had heard of about celestial magic. It took him a long time to find what it was, and when he did, it seemed cruel to leave such a key in his hands. That was why he hidden the key and the book out of sight, abandoned under the floor of his room and sealed with his own magic, much like he had done to his door.

Carrying it now, Zeref felt something he had not felt the last time he saw this key. He was hopeful, seeing an opportunity for his future that had not been there before. "Hey, what's that? It looks like one of Lucy's gate keys," Natsu commented, seeing the key Zeref had pulled out of the book.

Zeref nodded, smiling over at him as he closed his fist over the key. "It is, though it is far different than any gate key you've heard of. Lucy should be more than capable of utilizing it. I think it is time for us to return to your guild, I shall explain this to them when we arrive."

Natsu grinned, looking eager to get started. "Sounds great! See, you're already starting to act like part of the team,"

Zeref nodded, grabbing Natsu's hand to teleport away. He had done this before, but for some reason, it felt strange holding the dragon slayer's hand again. He felt like he could focus on its warmth a bit more now, the way it felt comfortable and easy to be around him.

Shaking his head, Zeref cleared his thoughts and simply focused on teleporting away. As soon as he was back, he released Natsu's hand, closing his eyes for a moment to try and see if his magic was on the verge of acting out or not. The dragon slayer waited, seeing Zeref's struggle. After a few moments, Zeref let out a deep breath, opening his eyes and nodding towards Natsu. "I didn't realize it could get like this. I mean, usually you're good at keeping that magic of yours under control."

Zeref nodded, focusing on the street ahead of them as they moved towards the guild hall. "We didn't truly begin speaking until I had forgotten the value of life, almost completely. It makes it quite easy to keep my magic in check, but now, I am starting to value it once more," Zeref explained. "It could be worse, I suppose. For Mavis, it was a lot like when you switched bodies with me. Luckily, I had begun my path after seeing far too much death. That had already limited my hope for salvation, my hope in the idea that people were meant to live long lives."

Natsu nodded, frowning as they opened the doors of the guild. "Yeah, I guess. I just hope we find an answer before you get really bad like that. I don't think it would be that pleasant for you or anyone else if your curse becomes that strong."

Zeref nodded in agreement, sitting down at a table in the corner of the guild. It was just as rowdy as the last time he was here, with people talking loudly amongst themselves at various spots. It was a bit later, so the guild was emptier than usual, but there were still wizards gathering and enjoying their time with each other.

Natsu let Zeref remain off in the corner, scanning the guild for Lucy, Erza, Wendy, or Gray. "I don't think they're here right now. Erza and Gray are probably finishing up that job of theirs still," Natsu commented, sniffing the air. "It doesn't smell like they've been here today, either."

Zeref nodded, moving to leave if they were not present. "I suppose we will seek them out tomorrow, then."

Natsu shook his head, grinning over at Zeref as he began walking through the streets. "Nah, we'll go find Lucy! She's probably at home, and its been a while since I stopped by to visit."

Zeref nodded, following after the dragon slayer through the streets of Magnolia. It did not take them long to reach the small canal he had seen during his initial introduction to the city. Natsu walked by it, passing next to a bridge before stopping at a brown building. Lights could be seen illuminating some of the windows, and with a grin, Natsu began to actually climb up the wall. "Natsu…would it not be more polite to utilize the door?"

Natsu glanced down at Zeref, shaking his head. "You sound like Lucy now. This is more fun, and besides, I come in through here all the time."

Zeref was beginning to see why Lucy was not too fond of Natsu's visits, if this was how they began. Still, he needed to speak with her and he did not know which door was hers, so he began to follow the dragon slayer. It wasn't too difficult to climb up to the window, and after Natsu was inside, Zeref followed after him.

The room itself seemed quite organized, with a bed resting under the window he had just crawled through. A small coffee table sat in the center of the room, with a desk by the bed that Lucy seemed to use for writing. At the moment, the room appeared to be empty, however, a door opened and someone else walked in. Steam seemed to come from that room, and Lucy glanced around, a towel wrapped around her body and her hair before she spotted Zeref and Natsu. "What are you two doing in my room?" she demanded, rushing forward and slamming her foot into Natsu. "Learn to knock, you idiot!"

Natsu was sent flying into the wall, looking rather irritated as he rubbed his cheek in irritation from the slightly painful kick. "Come on, Lucy. Zeref had something he wanted to talk to you about, so I thought I'd show him how to get in."

"Oh no, why did you do that? Now I'm going to have another creep constantly breaking into my room…" she complained, looking miserable at the idea.

Zeref glanced between them, shaking his head with a small frown. "I apologize for being rude, I would have utilized the door if I was aware of its location. Natsu told me he came in through the window often, so I did not realize it was an issue."

Lucy sighed, moving back into the bathroom for a moment. When she came out, she was dressed in clothes at least. "Yeah, Natsu doesn't really think things through that often," she commented. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Zeref had hoped to explain this with everyone present, but it really was only necessary for Lucy to understand the majority of what was going on with this. "It may take some time," he warned, seeing Lucy sit down next to her table. Zeref sat across her, with Natsu on the other side of him. "Have you ever heard of the Gateway of the Gods?"

Lucy laughed at his words, looking amused. "That old myth? Come on, every celestial wizard knows that it isn't real."

Natsu frowned, glancing over at them with confusion. Unlike Lucy, he had seen the strange key, and he would be more likely to believe in what was only seen as a myth in the current age. "What is it? I mean, if you've heard of it, what is it supposed to do?"

Lucy smiled, happy to tell the story she had heard long ago from her mother. "Well, I can't remember all of the details, it was my mother who told me about it when I was a child. From what I understood, the Gateway of the Gods was something only special celestial wizards could access, opening a gate for us to pass through into another realm where gods existed. The story was used to explain why no one had seen a god in Fiore, even though everyone insists they are real."

Zeref nodded, setting the book he had in his arms down on the table. "In essence, that is what it is meant to do. However, the reason it has been forgotten is because the key was locked away four hundred years ago," Zeref stated, opening the book and revealing the small black key within the pages.

Lucy's eyes went wide, staring at it in shock. "A black gate key? That's not possible! Only…only silver and gold keys exist, this one has to be a fake."

Zeref smiled, picking up the key and twirling it between his fingers. "No, I assure you, it is quite real. There must be a connection between our realm and that of the gods, in order for their influence to still reach us."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him, not looking convinced. "Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but there hasn't been interference from gods in our world. I mean, those are just children's stories that no one believes anymore."

Natsu was frowning, his mouth open to argue, but Zeref interjected before the dragon slayer could get too angry. "In the eyes of many, that is correct. I grew up during a time when such stories were reality, when people truly feared the gods that ruled over our world," Zeref told her, watching Lucy blink and lean back, looking uncomfortable.

"Right…sorry, it's easy to forget how old you really are. I didn't mean to offend you or anything…I just, well, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

Zeref nodded, setting the key down next to the book. "It is fine, even I did not listen to the warnings I was given about such things," Zeref said, glancing down at the table. "My curse…the one you and your friends seek to end, it was given to me by a god known as Ankhseram, the ruler of life and death. In order to even begin to end my curse, we must first attempt to reason with him for mercy. To do that, we shall need someone to open the Gateway of the Gods for us to pass through."

Natsu glanced over at Lucy, seeing her frowning as she focused on the table. "Come on, Lucy, you know he's not lying to you. I mean, what else could create such a weird curse?"

Lucy glared at him, not looking too happy with his comment. "You know, I still don't even know what his curse is, you idiot. I mean, sure he's mentioned Ankhseram before, but I didn't realize who that guy was meant to be."

Zeref sighed, realizing that this might take more time than he had originally thought it would. "It is known as the Curse of Contradictions. The more I value life, the more I am forced to take it away. In addition to this death magic, I am also given immortality, the reason why I have been around for centuries without ever aging or being killed."

"Wait…that doesn't make sense to me. How is Natsu still alive then? I mean, I get that you don't really know me that well…but you seem somewhat, uh, closer, to Natsu."

Natsu grinned, pulling at the ends of his scarf. "Igneel's scarf can absorb his magic. When it goes off, this keeps me alive. I mean, it's a bit weird and still dangerous, but it works for now."

Lucy was about to reply when the door to her apartment opened, without any warning. Two more wizards seemed to walk into her room, Erza and Gray, making themselves at home while Lucy stared at them in wide-eyed shock. "It appears that Natsu and Zeref really had gathered here. Mira was right when she said they were looking for her," Erza commented, glancing at the group in the room.

Gray nodded, his shirt missing as he moved to join them. "Yeah, saves us some time. We decided we've got to get to work on breaking this curse of yours. It'll take some time, most curses aren't that easy to undo."

Zeref nodded, glancing over at Lucy. "Yes, however, the one who placed it on me could undo it quite easily," he stated, holding out the key to her once more. "All that I need is for Lucy to open up the path for me. I may understand much about the concepts of celestial magic, but using it is quite difficult for me. It is still a mystery how I managed to utilize Eclipse Flash to stop the gate, and I do not want to attempt even more powerful magic than that spell."

She grabbed the key, looking hesitant at his comment about magic. "Wait, is it really that powerful? I mean, opening gates doesn't take that much energy at all," she said, sounding confused.

"I agree. Lucy has more than enough power to summon any spirit you wish to bring here. There should not be a concern about this one," Erza insisted.

Zeref glanced over at them, rising to his feet. "This is no simple summoning, Lucy Heartfilia. Opening the Gateway of the Gods takes more magical energy than it takes to summon two of the zodiac at once. The realm of the gods resists any form of intrusion, unlike the celestial spirit world. Passing into that place requires immense focus and power, even with the key you now hold."

"Wait, is this going to be dangerous for her?" Natsu asked, glancing over at Zeref. "I mean, if she uses all of her energy opening this gate for us, she won't be able to use her magic once we're there."

Gray nodded, glancing over at Lucy with a serious expression on his face. "Well, there's also the risk of draining even more than that, Natsu. If Lucy uses even more power than what she's capable of, the spell could kill her," Gray added, before the black wizard could speak.

The celestial wizard was looking nervous now, but Zeref was focusing on her while the others debated the risks. "Her power will be enough," Zeref said at last, seeing all of them glance over towards him in surprise. "She is the heir to the most powerful line of celestial wizards in history. If anyone can open the Gateway of the Gods, it would be her."

Gray and Erza frowned, looking uncomfortable with the mention of Lucy's past. Natsu simply looked interested, walking over to Zeref with his eyebrows raised. "Really? You knew Lucy's ancestors?"

Zeref nodded, glancing over at her. "Yes, in fact, it was Anna Heartfilia who first activated the Eclipse Gate for me. Layla did it again, nearly two decades ago," Zeref stated. He had to avoid getting to close to the exact date, or else it would become clear what Eclipse had been used for back then.

Lucy looked surprised at the mention of her mother, glancing at him in surprise. "My mother? I didn't know she did anything like that. I mean, she had magic and told me about her spirits, but she never really went much further to explain it to me."

Zeref nodded, realizing why she had done such a thing quite easily. "Your family has been heir to…a strange task that was given to them generations ago. Your mother wished to avoid bringing you into it, so she kept you as far away from magic as she could. In the end, she completed the task for your family, and freed you to use your magic as you pleased."

Lucy nodded, holding out the key in her hand. "So, I open it like I would any other gate, right?" she asked, focusing back on the task at hand.

Zeref nodded, standing behind her. "Yes, that is exactly how this works. We will pass through as quickly as possible, and the gateway will close once you pass through yourself." Zeref explained. "Returning requires the same process, though the energy to return is far less than what you use to get to their realm in the first place."

Gray glanced over at him, frowning in confusion. "You know, I'm still lost as to why we even need to go to another realm for this in the first place. Who the hell did you manage to piss off?"

Zeref glanced over at Gray, giving him a rather dark smile. "Ankhseram, the god of life and death. There is a reason my magic is death magic, after all."

"I see, it would also explain the living magic he is known for as well." Erza commented, while Zeref remained silent in return. She was not correct about who had caused that, but he was not willing to speak about that part of his past to everyone. He trusted Natsu, but the rest of these people were strangers. Their power was useful to get to Ankhseram, but he had little need for them beyond that at the moment.

Lucy nodded in agreement, holding the key out in front of her body with a determined look on her face. "Open, Gateway of the Gods!" she shouted, slashing the key through the air. A familiar sight of golden celestial magic appeared, a circle flashing for a moment before the energy increased dramatically in the room. The circle transformed, becoming a pure white hole in the air in front of Lucy, at the tip of the key in her hand.

Natsu glanced over at Zeref, nodding at the sight of the gate. "Alright, this is our way in. Let's get going!" Natsu declared, charging forward. Erza and Gray followed after him, with Zeref moving in the back. Lucy was breathing heavily as she kept the gate opened, sweat beading on her brow as Zeref passed through. She followed after, the gate vanishing from sight and leaving them in a new world, where gods existed to rule over the human race.

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