Guess I managed to finish editing this chapter in time. In the next few weeks uploads may become irregular because I am hella busy in this period of the year. Too many things to do and so little time :( Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail nor Fate/Stay Night.
Arc 1
Chapter 8: Seeker of eternity
"Mom, will you stay with me forever?"
"Don't worry, I'll always be here for you."
Such a simple question, one that any child will sooner or later ask to their own mother. Seeking comfort and warm in an answer that is nothing but a lie. Yes, for all lives come to an inevitable end.
"My beloved, will you walk by my side for all eternity?"
"I'll always be beside you, dear."
Lie upon lie. There is no truth behind those words, but mere disillusion. Hoping for a better tomorrow that will never arrive, for there is no future that await mankind outside of death.
The death of our parents. The death of our friends. The death of our beloved ones. No matter how much humanity struggles to survive, one day they'll surely die.
Man's life amount to no more than a single breeze in the vast eternity of the universe. Small, weak flowers that struggle to even reach the next day, unable to achieve a single thing in their limited time in this world. Hopless and worthless.
Eventually wither and reach a natural ending. That is the sad fate awaiting all living beings. A cycle of death and rebirth that never cease and continue forever, without end nor start. Living a sorrowful existence covered by the fear of the approaching death. Meaningless and pathetic.
Why? Why must our lives be so short and insignificant? Why must we keep suffering? Why can't we live longer? Is there no way to escape the grip of death and achieve immortality? No, there must be a way. A way to reach eternity. Somehow there must be a way...
The sun was setting, its place soon to be switched with that of the yellow moon. As the sky got darker and the first stars started to be visible, the two that were in the room stared at each other.
"Welcome to the Château d'if, hellish island which is beyond salvation. I commend you for reaching this far in the tower."
Were they smiling? Yes, it seemed so. A provocative grin accompanied the mocking tone of voice with which they welcomed the human. Was it arrogant for them to be cocky, to feel a sense of superiority? No, it was natural to expect such behavior from one who came from the Age of Gods. Mankind was no more than insects pestering this world, not worth of their full attention after all.
Perhaps it was just a waste of time. No, it was certainly an unnecessary thing to do. But there was not much choice since they had to fulfill their part of the pact, and it was not like they disliked it. It had passed a lot of time since the last time they got to enjoy the thrill of battle, so in a certain sense they welcomed it.
"Who are you? Are you the one behind all of this?!"
Titania eyed her opponent, carefully analizing the androgynous being standing before her. Only a single enemy stood there. No other presence beside them, nor traps either. But they were powerful, of that she was sure. An overwhelming pressure came from their golden eyes, their deadly stare making her flinch for a moment. Was he/she the one she was looking for? If so she was in deep trouble.
But she would not falter. Mana was already charged inside her circuits. Her mental library was ready to be used. The images of many weapons flashed in her mind, each one at the base of a powerful construct waiting to be crafted.
"Oh no, I'm simply an employ of his. If you are looking for the owner of this place, he is in the floor above u-"
So another fight awaited her after this one. Of course. With the luck she had, it was kind of inevitable. And that was if she managed to survive against her current opponent. But even with the odds against her, Erza was going to proceed. She had arrived too far to give up. The goal was just ahead, and she could not fail right now.
Lightning sparked as lines of power lighted up under her armor, and a barage of swords were lanched.
Blade met blade. The attack got countered as her opponent applied the same tactic as hers.
"Humans are such a primitive and barbaric species. Not sure if it is more infuriating to be interrupted in the middle of a sentence or to be understimated. But if you're looking for a fight, then I'll play along."
What was that feeling inside of them? Irritation? Strange, it had never happened before and by any means should not. What was the cause? Was it because they got interrupted in the middle of a speech? Or maybe because the human dared to challenge them despite the meager chances she had? Was she underestimating them? Could she not feel the gap in power? Or did she knew, but still tried to fight back? What a nonsense. How could a mere mortal hope to stand against them was beyond their understanding. In any case it was time to put her in the place she belonged: the trash can.
Steel versus earth. Both sides materialized more and more projectiles, Erza with the help of her Heaven's Wheel Armor and the green haired being by manipulating the floor. Hundreds clashes happened, hundreds of crafts were destroyed. Like machine guns, each part kept shoting weapons nonstop. But it was clear Titania was slowly being overwhelmed. At this pace she would run out of mana. She needed a new plan, a change of approach was required.
A side flip, followed by an istantaneous change of armor. Now wearing the Ice Empress Armor, Erza waved the stave in her hand and summoned a multi-layered wall of ice.
While it didn't hold for much, it gave her enough time to project a black bow. Along it, a drill shaped arrow also took form in her other hand.
Just as the barrier got pierced, she performed a high jump. Nocking the arrow, she then shot it while in mid air.
"Caladblog II!"
The space bend over as it flew at mach speed toward its target. But as it approached, golden portals opened in front of the green haired being. Chains with golden tips and silver rings came out, combining into a single lance that negated the attack.
What was their history she was not entirely sure. A quick glance with her Magic revealed some informations, like their ancient origin and their divine nature, but not enough to understand them completely.
The chains then came for her. But just when she prepared a counter, a magical shield appeared and protected her.
"Jellal?!You took too long to arrive. A minute later and I would have ended all without you."
She was happy. It may had sounded a sarcastic remark, but it was the way the two of them used to talk with each other. Fernandes had arrived, her friend was now there, and this gave her strength. There was no greater ally she could hope for than the person whom she had lived for nearly all her life, the trusted partner with which she had fought many battles in the past.
"Sorry for being late Erza. I'll take care of things here, so you go ahead."
He felt joy in seeing again Titania after so much time, and would had liked to talk more with her. But there would be time later on for that, now he needed to focus on the enemy in front of them.
"Wait, we s-"
What was he thinking? Fighting alone? Why would he even propose such a stupid idea? There was no way she would leave him back alone. But as she tried to reply, another wave of chains came.
"Do you really think you have the leisury of chatting while facing me?"
More golden portals opened up. The irritation grew at each passing second. They were starting to lose patience, getting ignored by mere humans was totally unsightly.
"No time Erza. Remember our promise. Even if it's just one of us, we must proceed at all cost. We promised to put an end of this and today is the day."
The two of them jumped back and blocked with a powerful gust of wind createad by Erza's Wind God Armor ability of wind manipulation.
Meanwhile 'Jiu Leixing' got fired by Jellal. Nine swords of lightning dropped from the ceiling toward the androgynous being. It didn't worked, but the following three restraining spells launched through his staves did.
He bought her a few seconds. It was clear he wanted her to go. It seemed no matter what she said, Mystogan would not rethink his decision. So stuborn, yet that was one of the many traits she liked about him.
"...You better not die, idiot."
And with that, wearing the Flight Armor, Erza sprinted to the door at the other side.
"Hmph, same for you."
"I don't know what to say. It's quite audacious of you to come in this place with this meager amount of people. Are you lacking a sense of danger? Or perhaps you're understimate us? Not that I find it strange since a majority of our forces is composed of useless pawns, but you better don't think it will be as easy as before."
They broke out of the spell rather easily. Looking around, they noticed the absence of one of the two humans. So one had escaped. Not their problem, it was not their concern. Sure it was a little frustrating, but there was no need to take things too seriously. His role was just to buy time, nothing more. And there was still the other mage they could lash out against.
Perhaps due to the sudden death of his dear mother. Or maybe the sight of the cold, lifeless body of his deceased wife. Wethever was the trigger, ever since something awoke inside him he could no longer cease his mad pursue for the eternity.
Fearing death more than any other living being. Longing for an existance that was eternal.
Having no interest in nothing else, feeling more mechanical than human.
He saw people breaking down, daily life fading away and time being forgotten by the world, all without limit. But rather than anger or despair, his feelings were those of pity. He simply thought everything around him was pitiful, and he himself was the most pitiful of all.
Tripping and falling in front of hardships, but still clinging desperately on life. And when no longer possible, continue to reproduce instead. But even that had an end.
There was no recompensation, not for those who live nor for those who die. From the very beginning there was no hope. Something with shape cannot help but perish. All living things internalized death the moment they were born. Like a fish born to swim or a bird born to fly, man was born solely to die. Something without death within them had probably never existed in the first place.
That was why he sought eternity. A noble wish, one which everyone yearned and yet none could achieve. To replace that tragic and almost-comical cycle with one pure thing. His sole reason for living, the only goal worthy of his full effort. He believed nothing in existence had yet to reach that level of immortality, something which would define eternity. He would be the first one to realize such impossibility.
Human vessels cannot resist the flow of time, which would wear down them both mentally and physically as years kept passing. They did not have the capability to last one thousand years. But he needed such long lifespan to achieve his ambitions. That was why he became a Dead Apostole.
While those seeking eternity often become Dead Apostles in pursuit of that goal, it was simply a means of furthering his own goal for him.
But even the body of a vampire could not withstand the aging of the mind. Not only that, but since it required stealing from others to exist, and their supplemental parts had to be from the same species so humans in general, it meant that they were not versatile at all. That which could not function independently could not be called eternal, so depending on others to halt their aging made it presumptuous to call them immortal. A species that ages slower and dies harder rather than any sort of embodiment of immortality, that was the sort of creatures they were. It was degeneration rather than evolution, a far cry from that which he truly wished for.
While aging could be temporary stopped, that was only a momentary solution. And a stopped mind had no meaning. Beings such as jellyfish that could live perpetually already existed. But they had no such thing as a lifespan, rather they could only be called perpetual because they had no intelligence. Eternity without intelligence was no different than gaining it by death.
As long as something existed, it cannot escape death. That was the law of the world. The only way was to preserve his existence after death, that was the conclusion to which he arrived.
Becoming eternal by living as a human with immortality was simply impossible. Long years would eventually destroy the body and wear away the flexibility of the mind. He had no interest in such a stained immortality, as persistently maintaining individuality made eternity unattainable.
Instead of seeking immortality as a single human, he chose to pursue an infinity where he existed eternally. In order to preserve the purity of his essence, he devised a method of reincarnation to restart from birth, exist as himself, and then die once more. The cycle would preserve the purity of himself through the generations, he was sure of that.
He realized eternal reincarnation far better than anyone else. And while it still required new unborn children other than himself to continue, so he would eventually lose his eternity with the extinction of the human race, he believed that "eternity exists only as long as there is an observer". If no humans existed, he would not be able to confirm himself, which would make continuing to live useless and bring his immortality to an end.
Unfortunately his long decades of life as a Dead Apostole caused him to lose much of his mental lucidity he once had and twisted his personality beyond recognition. A mind polluted by the flow of time, no longer capable of distinguishing good from evil. Obsessed by his utopic wish, he no longer cared what was the original purpose of his researches nor the means by which he would achieve it...
As she went up the last bit of stairs, the entrance to the last room of the tower appeared within sight. Coming to a halt right under the gate, Erza closed her eyes and let her nerves relax a bit before the final showdown. The moment had at last arrived. There could be no hesitation, going forward was the last boss and mistakes were no longer permitted. It was win or death.
She kicked the huge door and walked in, weapons in hand and ready for any trap.
In front of her, sitting on a white throne, was the man responsible for all the cruelty that had taken place in the island for so many years. No, the being could not be considered human anymore. Its skin was too pale for a living being and its crimson eyes unnatural to say the least. There was no trace of humanity in him. A Dead Apostole, but unlike the ones she had faced so far he was clearly on a different level. A dangerous presence equal if not greater than the androgenous being she had faced earlier.
And there was something else that bothered her since the moment she entered. Above the sit a strange golden cup was floating, its inside brimming of an unmesurable amount of mana. What was that? Whenever it was, it could only mean bad news for her.
"Welcome to my humble tower. To being able to come face to face with me, you must be trully a skilled mage. Who are you? No, it doesn't matter at all. Whoever you are is of no interest to me. What it matters is whenever you'll be able to entertain me or not in this beatiful night. Will you be able to keep me company until the promised time or will you die before?"
Owerflowing with violent intent, Roa welcomed the girl with open arms as to dare her to approach.
"It will not end as you wish. Whenever you're planning is going to fail. Tonight you'll get what's coming to you for all the people that you have made suffer!"
And so Erza did. Thus the battle started.
Author's note:
Dxhologram: Probably one of my biggest concern at the moment hahaha. I still have no idea how to fit Kagura in all of this...
Journey to the end: Depend on how much I want use either of the two. Well, for Fafnir's role I should hint it soon.
tl34lt12: Gratz, super happy for your response XD
Shiroyasha Rises: Some Lostbelt servants will appear eventually. I would not touch the Gods and Godnesses because things may become too complicated otherwise. Maybe one or two will appear but even then no mayor role for them.
Last chapter sure got a good reception. Thanks again for the big support!
Now for this chapter, we are at the climax (or at least near it). Jellal VS clay boy and Erza VS Roa. Natsu, Gray and Lucy are in the lower levels and should join soon. The situation is heating up. And don't forget that Nightingale has reached the island's harbor by now.
Roa's main goal has being explained. And to achieve it he'll use a certain golden cup, filled with the mana he collected from all over Fiore through the black towers. No big changes from canon for his personality, just maybe he's a little bit more crazy and arrogant.
This is all for this week. See you all soon. Bye.