Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

The new realm was not what Zeref had expected for a world of gods. It didn't look that different from Earthland, a place with plants on the ground and trees growing around them. The main difference was the lack of inhabitants, or at least, what appeared to be something of that nature.

Zeref was standing in a forest with the other wizards, surrounded by natural wonders that were slowly being taken away from the world in Earthland. People tore down forests like this to build homes, but here, Zeref did not see signs of a single street paved in the ground. He also did not see homes, so it was likely these gods lived within this wilderness in some form.

Natsu sniffed the air, frowning for a moment. "This place…it smells weird. I'm used to places smelling like more people than this."

Zeref nodded in agreement, moving forward and kneeling down on the grass. There were so many flowers blooming here, under a sunlit sky. Animals walked around them without fear, trusting humans not to kill them unlike animals back in his world. "Yeah, this place just feels weird. Those deer aren't running from us, even though we're walking right by them," Gray commented, seeing the same thing Zeref had seen.

"They are not hunted here. I imagine life is regulated in both realms by Ankhseram, in order to preserve balance," Zeref stated quietly, glancing around with a frown.

"You would be correct, Zeref. I do not recall the last time I met a human capable of coming to this place, yet I am not surprised to see you have found a way," someone stated from behind them.

Zeref turned around, his body tense as he spotted what looked like a child leaning next to a tree. The power Zeref could sense from the boy was immense, however, greater than even Natsu's power and connected to almost everything in this place. His hair was pure white, though his eyes held nothing but black. He wore a simple white robe, his feet bare on the grass beneath him with his cheeks rounded with child-like innocence.

Lucy frowned at him, sitting on the ground behind the majority of their group. Her exhaustion was obvious, but she had managed to bring them all to this place. "Who are you? What do you want with us?"

The child smiled, focusing on Zeref with interest in his eyes. "Zeref knows who I am, don't you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Ankhseram," Zeref replied calmly, seeing Natsu tense up by his side.

"Wait, this is the guy you were telling me about? He's just a little kid?" Slowly, the dragon slayer began to grin, looking eager as he stepped closer to the god. "Well, I guess this'll be easier than I thought. I'm not gonna even bother with negotiations, I can just beat him here and now."

Ankhseram smiled at Natsu's words, raising his arm towards the dragon slayer. Almost immediately, Natsu began clutching his neck tightly, choking noises coming from his throat as he fell to his knees. Zeref glanced at him in alarm, realizing that Natsu could not breath right now. "No…this does not fall in line with your duties, Ankhersam. Killing Natsu does nothing for the balance of the world," Zeref stated, anger beginning to tint his voice.

The god dropped his hand, leaving Natsu gasping for air on the ground. Gray and Erza moved to help him back to his feet, while Zeref stepped close to the god, narrowing his gaze. "You do not know what I do for the world, nor have you ever shown to care to understand my work. Did you truly think I would be pleased with visitors in my realm? Humans only ever destroy the land they touch, killing it faster than necessary and giving me far more work to do to continue on the balance between life and death."

Zeref nodded in agreement, glancing back towards the others. "There is truth in that statement, however, I did come here for a reason. I tire of my immortal life, and I wish for you to put an end to your curse on me."

Natsu leaned forward in Gray's and Erza's grip, struggling to move towards Zeref. "He…he's learned his lesson…you bastard. Don't…he doesn't need to suffer…" Natsu tried, but it was clear he had not recovered from Ankhseram's spell.

"Natsu, enough. You are too weak to fight, leave this matter to us," Erza ordered, slamming her fist against his head and knocking the dragon slayer out.

Ankhersam watched calmly, turning towards Zeref with a frown. "I see. You've grown to care for him, haven't you? You've suffered this pain before as well," Ankhersam commented. "I do see some progress in you…your only interference lately comes from when the curse I gave you acts out beyond your control. Your killing has slowed considerably, and your acts of bringing things to life ended centuries ago."

Zeref nodded, focusing on the god. "It is not enough, however, to erase all of my sins, is it?"

The god smiled at him, shaking his head. "You truly do understand, then. In that case, I do have some hope for you, Zeref. I do not wish to let you mortals linger here for too long, so I shall make this quick," Ankhersam began. "Find all of your creations, Zeref, anything you've given life to in your world. Destroy them all, and I shall grant you your request. After all, it would take me far too much time out of my schedule to clean up your mess. Do my job for once, and then you will understand why I am so angry with you for your actions."

Zeref blinked at him in surprise, not expecting such a simple task to find peace. "Wait, that's it? Man, this was a waste of time. We could've destroyed your demons before coming here and saved us another trip," Gray commented, looking annoyed.

"Do not mistake my task." Ankhersam stated, focusing on Zeref. "If even one of your creations remains alive, your curse will still remain. I do not believe this will be as simple as you think, Zeref, so be wary and make sure you find them all."

Zeref nodded, frowning in confusion at his words. The god's warning meant something, but he did not know what it was. He felt no more attachment to his creations, and none of them truly posed a threat to him. END may have at one point in time, but with the demon's power sealed away, he could simply destroy the book to end his life. Still, he had to be missing something, so he remained lost in thought as the others stared at him.

Ankhseram smiled at Zeref's reaction, glancing over at the others. "Now that I have given him my warning, I shall leave you with one as well. Do not linger in this place, for I will not take kindly to those who harm my realm of balance."

With those words, the child vanished from sight. "So, just how many demons did he just ask you to kill?" Gray asked, glancing over at Zeref.

The black wizard thought for a moment, trying to remember just how many of them were still alive. "Eleven, maybe twelve, I believe. Most of my creations died long ago from other means. Only a few remain."

Erza smiled, walking over and picking up Natsu before moving towards Lucy on the ground. "Well, then it appears we have work to do. Now, our task is simply to track these demons down and end them."

Zeref nodded, sure that it would be simple for most of them. Still, he could not shake off the sense of foreboding he felt from Ankhseram's words. Something was off with this task, with how simple it appeared to be. Zeref knew he would find a challenge from it at some point, but he was determined to get through it no matter how much he had to struggle. He had gone through pain before, and this was now his path to peace. Once all of this was over, he would finally be capable of embracing his future with Natsu, one which the dragon slayer was just as eager to begin.


When Zeref returned back, there was one order of business to take care of first. "Natsu needs to rest. If he asks about me, tell him that I have something to take care of in my empire."

"Wait, you're leaving? We need to start tracking down these demons of yours. I thought you wanted to end this curse of yours as soon as possible," Lucy commented, looking confused.

Zeref nodded, glancing away from her with a small smile. "Two of them are members of my elite guard. They are not like the others, more powerful than the ones you will find elsewhere," Zeref explained. "It will be a small matter for me to unmake them. In essence, I am their master since I created them. I have the power to destroy them in an instant, regardless of how powerful the demon itself is."

Gray looked surprised, glancing at him with a frown. "Seriously? Man, how is this supposed to be a challenge then? I mean, Ankhseram seemed to insist that we'd struggle with this somehow."

Zeref nodded, frowning over that as well. "I am unsure of what he meant, however, there is one demon that may pose a problem to us. END, my most powerful creation ever, is not under my control like the rest. He…well, it would be difficult to explain why, but unlike the others, he has more independence from my power."

The others were his to control because he had created them from nothing. They were creations entirely of his own magic, so all he had to do was end his own spell to end their lives. END was brought back to life, using magic to bring back his soul along with imbuing him with great power. Thus, he was still in possession of his original personality and had the ability to act on his own.

"We shall keep an eye out for this END, then. Good luck on locating these demons of yours in Alvarez." Erza told him, carrying Natsu into the guild hall. With a sigh, Zeref closed his eyes, returning to his home. He was glad he had ruled this place so strictly, otherwise there would be a political mess to deal with over what he was about to do.

He walked into the castle, quickly finding August inside, studying over a few reports about the current status of their military. "August, where are Bloodman and Larcade? Shouldn't they have returned now that the uprising was halted?" Zeref asked, glancing over at his closest general.

August nodded, setting down the paperwork and glancing over towards Zeref. "Welcome back, your majesty. Irene has been in one of her moods again ever since you left, though that is to be expected after seeing her daughter once more. I don't think I'll ever truly understand that bond, the one between a parent and their child."

Zeref sighed, wondering if the man had heard his initial question. "Regardless, your other generals are still hard at work in the nation." August added, glancing over at Zeref. "Would you like me to summon them here for a meeting?"

Zeref shook his head, rising to his feet with a harsh expression on his face. "No, this is a private matter. Bloodman and Larcade have displeased me as of late, and I wish to show them the punishment for their actions." It wasn't entirely accurate, but he had many reasons for disliking both demons at the moment.

August nodded, aware that it was unwise to pry into his emperor's business. "Of course. Last I heard, they were working together in Shalir to repair the damage Irene had done. Larcade is calming the townsfolk, while Bloodman is working on rebuilding."

Zeref nodded, not wanting to wait a moment longer to deal with them. He vanished from sight in the room, reappearing once more in the ruins of Shalir. It had not been long since the battle here, but it appeared as if things were moving forward. He walked through the ruined streets, closing his eyes to try and sense the presence of his two etherious. As hard as he tried, nothing seemed to come to his senses that felt like either of them.

The city itself seemed to be entirely deserted at the moment, though one person walked forward from the remains. This was a familiar face, a slender girl with short blond hair and a smile on her face. "Welcome back, Emperor Spriggan. I've been having some fun with this town of ours, I hope you don't mind," Dimaria commented.

Zeref did not care what she did, not when he was losing his patience quickly. "I am searching for Bloodman and Larcade. Where have they gone?" he demanded, seeing Dimaria smile at him even further.

"Aww, you're looking a little annoyed. Well, I guess it is best I cooperate for now, then. Those two left almost the minute they showed up. After all, my power is far better suited to helping this place than theirs is," she explained. "To be honest, I have no clue where they ended up."

Zeref sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before nodding in acknowledgement. "Very well, thank you for your assistance. Continue with your work, Dimaria, and do make sure you check back with August and Invel soon. There are some updates to our agenda that are quite important for you to understand."

Dimaria nodded, going back towards the town as Zeref moved out. It seemed like he would be having more troubles with this in the future. As annoying as it was, he would search every inch of his empire if he had to. Larcade and Bloodman would find their end. It would only be a matter of time before he found them and finished the task given to him by Ankhseram. Then, he simply would have to deal with Tartaros and freedom would be his.

This story is finally nearing its end! Sorry I tried to start so many stories at once after beginning this one...it resulted in a lot of delays on updates that probably could have been avoided if I just put my focus on one story at a time instead. Either way, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!