Hisame coldly looked down at the body before her. Blood poured out of the wound that was near his heart. Each time his heart pumped, the faster it flowed out of the hole.

Gray's eyes were still open, his breaths now ragged as he fought for every gulp of air. His eyes betrayed surprised, pain, and a tinge of sadness.

The princess and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild members were encased in ice, their last movements frozen.

Hisame calmly walked over to the frozen princess, her footsteps booming compared to the eerie silence. Her fingertips brushed over the ice as her gaze flickered back to Gray.

His eyes were starting to lose life, and his breathing was getting shorter and shorter. Gray's life seemed to be coming to an end. The sight made the tip of her mouth curl up. He deserved it.

Her hand pressed down into the frosty surface and the gem on the princess's neck started to come toward her palm like a magnet attracts metal.

The gem finally popped free from the ice and Hisame tossed it from hand to hand, examining it. Feeling satisfied, she pocketed the treasure and started heading back up.

Right when she was about to turn the corner, she spoke, "You're not going to die you know."

She could hear the struggling stop as soon as the words left her mouth.

"You're Fairy Tail right? Keep on fighting. Prove me wrong." She said.

Those words would change her forever.


Dawn had approached and the darkness was now cast away. The clouds glowed gold against the rose dusted sky. The beauty stopped there.

Right at the horizon, colorful sparks and smoke rose into the endless sky as the battle raged on. Each force was fighting their hardest, none wanting to give up.

Across the sky, a figure could be seen flying across the rising sun. Suddenly, the sky turned midnight black. The fighting immediately ceased and the heads of the fighters turned upwards to face the sky. Whispers darted throughout as the panic started to rise.

Neo furrowed his eyebrows, "If this isn't an eclipse, what is it then?" The rest of the guild shrugged helplessly.

A glowing dot slowly started to grow against the black heavens, casting a warm light across the ruined ground. It grew larger and larger until it formed the shape of a phoenix, wings spread out and head lifted in pride.

It zoomed in.

No one had time to scream or even react. The phoenix hurled toward the battlefield with its wings tucked in. Its beak slammed into the stone as if it was made of wet clay, setting everything in its radius on fire.

Anyone near the golden flames was instantaneously vaporized.

The flames retracted and started to come together. Twisting as one, the fire reached up into the skies creating a connection between the earth and heaven.

A voice could be heard from within the mess of golden colors.

"Niflheim Inferno!"

Juden could feel a smile on his face once those words had reached his ears. Their top fighters had come.

Feeling a tugging on his shoulder, he turned to face a panicked Neo.

"Quick we have to get farther away before she-"

He never got to finish his sentence. The golden flames already started to expand and throb giving off a blinding light. Neo and Juden turned their heads to avoid the brightness. Crossing his arms, Neo hastily cast a protective spell.

Not a moment too soon.

BOOM

The entire area around the flames exploded and melted into red hot lava. The lava rapidly began to spread, consuming anything and everything that was in its way. The wizards frantically retreated, not wanting to become part of the hot slime.

Soon, Neo and Juden were surrounded with lava.

"Where is everyone else?" Juden said, shouting over the hissing of the molten rock.

Neo tilted his head up to the sky.

Against the sky was Hikumu supporting the rest of the guild as he floated above the magma with his wings.

Before the lava could flood into the city, the lava turned black and frost steamed off. The once liquid rock was now solid.

From the middle of the ruins rose a familiar figure.

With her crimson red hair that fell past her hip and her blazing fiery eyes, Akaine rose from the ashes like a reborn phoenix. Her cape swayed in the morning wind. In her hand was her unsheathed sword.

Glowing orange symbols were etched on the handle as the blade of the sword was raging with godly fire. A calm look was pasted on her face as she slowly raised her free arm.

Extending her finger out, Akaine pointed to the solid rock around her.

No one knew what to expect of her. What was going to happen next?

Akaine suddenly burst into laughter, filling the empty silence.

"Oh. My. God. You should have seen your faces when I came in. That, my friends, was priceless. No joke!"

Everyone let out the breath that they had been holding. Akaine gave a lopsided grin and dropped her arm to her side.

Demons Hour walked up to her in relief. They had been saved by her.

"Why did you point at the rock?" Hana questioned.

A smirk grew on Akaine's face, "No reason, it just seemed dramatic."

However, Juden held back from the conversation.

Something was still gone. Someone was still away.

Realization dawned on him.

Zeyla was still missing.


Natsu ran farther and farther from the terror. Not once in his life had he seen such powerful magic. It was enough to rival Acnologia. Sprinting blindly through the streets, he found himself at a tall building.

With its glossy marble structure and elegant curves all topped together with a cross in the front, Natsu knew where he had ended up.

A church.

He was not the normal one to pray, but this was time of desperation. He walked in the large doors.

As soon as he entered, he could feel a sense of security, like the fragile walls of the church could protect him from anything. He walked deeper and deeper until he reached the endpoint.

It was a large airy room with the ceiling looming over his head. The walls stood a good distance apart, giving the appearance of a large room. Well above his head were large windows. His breath caught.

The windows held stained glass, little pieces of shattered, colored glass that had been skillfully pieced together into an intricate design.

With the dawn, the sunlight that shone into the glass created colored patterns on the ground, washing the entire church in soft colors.

"So you're here too. What a pleasant surprise."

His head snapped to the front of the room. There in the front stood a familiar face.

"Zeyla?" he croaked out.

A smile crossed her face as she started to walk forward. Natsu's hand set on fire, ready to defend himself.

She rose her hands up in a show of peace, "No need Natsu. We just need to talk."

Natsu lowered his hand a fraction of a degree.

Zeyla's eyes softened, "Natsu, please understand, I have nothing to do with this, trust me. You know me."

Natsu dropped his hand, his defense lowering.

She took that opening.

Pulling out a sword from her compartment, Zeyla unfurled her wings and flew toward Natsu. Her eyes had lost their caring look and were now filled with rage and madness.

He barely had time to dodge.

The edge of the sword glanced his arm. Blood tricked out, but no pain followed. Instead, a feeling of dread spread out from his soul and through his body, deep into his bones. He could feel his body weakening. Soon, he was collapsed on his knees.

"What…how…?" he whispered, his energy nearly gone.

"Soul Stealer. You're feelings will be gone forever. Your soul is gone and sold to the Devil. And I'll be taking mine back."

Her hand reached out to Natsu's neck and snapped the chain off.

"I believe this is mine."