Deep in the heart of a forest some distance north of Magnolia sat Mavis, her hair slightly tangled and her face and clothing showing obvious signs of wear. Her once-bright green eyes were dull, with heavy dark circles underlining them. Smudges of dirt could be seen here and there on her face and bare arms, and despite the wintry December air the only clothing on her body was a dirty slip meant to be worn underneath a dress that had long since been discarded. Her knees were bent so that her slim arms could loop around them and her head was lowered as she sat in a hollowed cove provided by a large dead tree. She had learned to keep moving as a means to moderate the curse's effects, never staying in one place for more than a day. Even so, the brown ground was covered with atrophying leaves and the decaying branches above would never grow a green thing again.

For the first time in days, Mavis heard the quiet crunch of footsteps, and wearily debated whether to look up and view the intruder foolish enough to disturb her privacy or continue to block out the reality of the wretched world around her. The latter would've won out if she hadn't identified the footsteps as those belonging to a bi-ped—not her usual visitor. The dull flare of fear resulting from the realization was useless in its timing and impotency.

"There you are, Mavis. I've searched for you," came a smooth, familiar male voice, providing the impetus for her to lift her head. Had she been paying closer attention, she wouldn't have missed the undercurrent of meaning in those simple words.

"Oh. It's you," she said halfheartedly, greeting the newcomer without rising. Though her clothing barely reached her thighs and her knees were bent so the undersides of said thighs were clearly visible, she didn't move.

Zeref came to stand in front of her, his initial smile at seeing her again fading as he noted the obvious changes in her appearance and character. It seemed he had been right to be worried. "You're not looking too good," he noted, in much the same tone as before.

"I haven't had anything to eat or drink in over half a year," Mavis explained, voice husky from disuse. "But here I am."

She sounded none too enthusiastic about that fact, and Zeref understood her disappointment. He knew that no method on earth, including starvation, could possibly kill her.

She lowered her head again, resting her chin on her knees. "I want it all to be over," she said, sincere emotion tinting her voice.

"That's one of the things about the Curse of Ankhseram," he told her, his face now wearing the same cold and lackluster expression she had grown used to seeing recently whenever she glanced at her own rippling reflection in a body of water. "You could go so far as to cut off your own head and you still wouldn't die."

Despite his words, mad hope dawned in her heart. "Please, Zeref," her head lifted and she regarded him with desperate eyes. "I need your help." Her voice broke. "I'm begging you to kill me!"

He didn't blame her for asking; after all it was what he would've done in her situation, had he known a mage as powerful as himself. "Sorry, but what you're asking is impossible. There's nothing in the world that can kill either one of us." Even if I wanted to end your life, he added mentally.

Seeing a glimmer of hope fade from her eyes, he went on. "At first I felt exactly as you do now. Honestly, I still think about what a relief death would bring all the time. But regardless, you need to try and change your perspective on the matter."

Her eyes widened.

"We both have an eternity here to do other things," he explained.

Mavis's mouth fell open, and she watched him with new interest. What other things? How could I enjoy anything with all the death I've caused? Is he right—should I let go of my fruitless death wish?

Raising his gaze from her, Zeref gave an example. "As for me, I've created a new kind of beast I call Etherious. My hope is that one day their inhuman strength can end my life of suffering." Thinking about their failures, he added darkly, "But of course, it hasn't worked yet."

Seeing her expression, he ventured a little more brightly, "And I've spent some time building a country."

"A country?" She asked, a tinge of intrigue in her tone.

Turning to the side to gaze past the skeletal trees, Zeref elaborated, "It's a small place on the western continent now, but we're growing rapidly, because people will do things for me. It's a fun little challenge."

Mavis gasped a little, wondering how he could be so cavalier about his life. It seemed as though he wasn't afflicted with the same problems she was, that he didn't suffer quite so much. Could that be true? Could this be me in a few centuries?

Turning to face her, Zeref went on, "In fact, I'm known as Emperor Spriggan over there. I view my subjects as mere pawns. Don't judge...it's safer that way. With that attitude, the Curse of Ankhseram won't effect them at all. It's like an intricate simulation game."

Shifting to put her knees on the ground, Mavis leaned forward on her hands and asked curiously, "What are you trying to do?"

Looking at her, Zeref answered, "I guess I'm getting ready for something... A war. But don't get the wrong idea. I detest conflict. In fact, I think it's absolutely revolting. I wouldn't call it fun."

Mavis blinked in surprise. "Huh? But...you just said it was a fun challenge!"

"Did I?" Zeref blinked, looking genuinely bewildered. "I don't remember."

Are all his thoughts contradictions too? Mavis wondered.

"My entire life is wrapped up in this game now. I only live so I can die." His left hand clutched his face as he frowned in concentration. "Or—to get my little brother back. Maybe just so I can kill him. Or is it so my little brother can kill me?"

His words becoming more confusing by the second, Mavis watched as his voice distorted. "All this...it makes my head feel like it's on fire!"

She had been wrong about the extent of his suffering. For the first time in almost a year, she was able to empathize with another human being. She understood exactly how he felt, his contradicting motives and pain, and her heart softened in the blink of an eye as she felt a rush of sorrow for his sake. "Zeref," she said aloud, not to call his name but out of amazement that she didn't see it before.

Both of his hands covered his head as his legs buckled under the weight of centuries of misery. "The world...hates me. It continually rejects me!" Zeref's usually calm and collected voice broke as he spiralled into the depths of a panic attack, with no one to save him from himself. "Everything hurts," he sobbed.

Mavis was on her feet and in front of him in time to catch his upper body as he fell to his knees. Her thin arms went around his shoulders and her chin dug into the folds of his knotted white toga, tears spilling from beneath her gaunt eyelids as she contained him with a ferocity she hoped he'd understand.

"I won't reject you, Zeref," she vowed in a tear-filled voice. "I accept who you are."

Lifting his head, he inhaled unsteadily as he heard her words, his eyes round with surprise.

"I may be the only one," Mavis continued, "but I understand how you feel." The tears were flowing freely now, tracking her cheeks and dripping from her chin. The surrounding forest was solemnly still and quiet, a few lone leaves noiselessly floating from the dead canopy above.

Drawing back from the embrace to hold his shoulders at arm's length, Mavis looked into the haunted black eyes and said earnestly, "You can't give up. I know we'll find a way to lift the curse someday."

Searching her green eyes for what was abundantly being displayed and finding it, Zeref heard her finish, "Together. Just you and I."

He gasped as tears brimmed his eyes and made their way down his face. Never before had he known anyone who understood him, let alone cared for him, despite all he'd done and who he was, who wanted to be with him. Together, she'd said. It was too good to be true.

"Do you mean that?" he asked hopefully, bringing his hand up to cover her frail shoulder.

"Yes," she assured him emphatically, discarding all semblance of caution as she recklessly held her soft heart out for him to take, hoping against hope that he would have the courage to do so. That he would trust her, as she was trusting him.

Leaning forward, Zeref pulled her into a hug the way he'd wanted to do a year ago, wrapping her small body in his arms. Her hair was against the side of his face, the light scent of her brushing against his senses, but he barely noticed it as he drank in the embrace. The feeling of a warm, tangible body in his arms was strange, but more so were the emotions flooding his heart. He finally felt hope. It wasn't a distant, doubtful kind of hope; it was immediate salvation. Even if they never found a way to lift the curse, they would always have one companion the curse could not affect: each other. The only person he could allow himself to care about was here in his arms.

His throat tight with gratitude and another indescribable feeling, he muttered, "Oh, Mavis." He was breaking down again, but he paid it no heed, brushing aside his long-kept habit of checking his emotions. "This is the first time anyone's ever been truly kind to me."

Mavis could feel Zeref shaking as he held her, and she tightened her grip and told him tenderly, "Come on." Pulling back to look him in the eyes, she said, "You've probably forgotten what it's like...that's all."

Her face was bright despite the moisture in her eyes, her small mouth lifted in a warm and gentle smile. For him. Cradling her soft face in his hands, he said through his tears, "I know that I've never felt this way about anybody before."

A blush resided in her upper cheeks as Mavis looked up at him with large aquamarine eyes. His hands were warm and strikingly human against her skin, and her lips parted slightly in a subconscious invitation. The moment was monumental, a turning point in both their lives, and she couldn't quell the harsh pounding of her heart as she waited with baited breath. Would he...?

Zeref closed the small distance between their faces and took her mouth with his, their eyes closing in sync as he molded it almost tentatively. He felt a tear against his hand and deepened the soft kiss, using his tongue to taste her soft, salty lips as he slid his hands into her hair to tilt her head.

...

Ankhseram was once again an observer to the ones who had broken the fundamental laws of life and death. He knew what would happen if he didn't interfere; the two immortals were about to commit the ultimate contradiction, and the result would prove to be yet another contradiction. Their love for each other would drain their life forces, and ultimately they would have their wishes granted as they died in the arms of the one they loved. Such was the curse's power.

But Ankhseram had judged that Zeref had not suffered enough for his crimes. He must be made to pay for daring to assume he had the power to decide who lives and dies. The girl's curse was a direct result of what the Black Wizard taught her, and the pain he had brought to others because of his nearsightedness could scarcely be tallied. The world was not rejecting Zeref, but the reverse was true. Every problem the wizard confronted he countered with a taboo.

Ultimately, perhaps Zeref would learn his lesson, or perhaps not. As the one who designed the curse, Ankhseram could manipulate it whichever way he saw fit within the boundaries of his skills.

Pertaining for his divine judgement to come to pass, the God of Life and Death cast one final curse upon each of the couple and turned away to see to other business.

...

Oblivious to the wishes of the god, Mavis and Zeref had finally discovered solace in each other.

Cognizant thoughts fled both their heads as Zeref's instincts rose to the occasion. Strange, how an act he'd never done before could happen so naturally, with no awkwardness whatsoever. The world seemed to dwindle to the two immortals in a dead forest, finding comfort and direction in each other's arms. There was no need to deny himself anything; she was here and willing to give, warmth and kindness personified in a fairylike creature. After over three centuries of being taught to subdue and suppress his positive emotions, he finally didn't need to hold back. His frozen heart began to thaw despite the temperature around them, for the discarnate climate was warmer than any he'd experienced. He felt an odd sense of nostalgia, a hint of the warmth he'd shared with his family as a child long ago, catalyzed by a tide far stronger than familial bonds.

This was what Zeref needed. Their tears mingled and then dried as they absorbed the feeling of each other, dusk settling in the chilly forest as they kissed hungrily. The embrace was fast getting out of control, but neither party cared, intent on getting as close as they could to each other. It was as though they sensed their intimacy was a precarious thing, and sought to grasp it before it was out of reach. His hands clenched in her hair as unspoken words passed between the two of them, promises of hope and love.

Mavis sensed how tense he was and sought to soothe him by stroking his back. Her skin was flushed, the strange experience of his firm mouth on hers stirring emotions and sensations that were entirely unfamiliar to her. Restless and excited, she wriggled in his hold, trying to refrain from rubbing herself against him and failing miserably.

Zeref's adolescent body reacted predictably, hardening with pent-up lust, and he might have smiled at the levity of his own hormones if the moment weren't so serious.

He pushed her over onto the ground without severing the necessary contact of their mouths, his hands breaking her fall before smoothing pale strands of hair from her face. Mavis didn't so much as gasp into his mouth as her knees drew up, her lower body instinctively forming a cradle for him as he released kiss-bruised lips to gasp for breath, resting his forehead against hers.

Fitting a hand over her small, but firm, breast and tracing the slender curvature of her waist and hip, he didn't stop at the hem of her undershirt and stroked the silky-smooth skin of her thighs. Reaching the fine crease at the top of one, he sensitively parted her soft curls to find the silky wet heat hidden beneath them. Gently caressing the bundle of nerves, he delved against the opening of her body and felt her elixir coat his fingers as her hands clutched his arms through their shirtsleeves. Her face was beet red. She lasted for approximately eight seconds before her hands were at his toga, impatiently tugging the knot apart to find the opening of the black robes beneath it, although he sensed her flaming blush.

Discovering there was no opening to the tunic, Mavis worked it up persistently, giving a huff of embarrassed disappointment when she discovered his trousers. Aroused beyond bearing, Zeref didn't move one tout muscle as she unfastened and tugged them down until there was no barrier between their bare skin and he was free to slide home. His urgent lust was tempered by disbelief, then exacerbated by the fear that he might somehow lose her.

Cradling her face between his palms, he brushed a gentle kiss over her satiny lips before positioning his arousal at her small opening and pressing forward, holding her gaze as he did so. Despite the abundant moisture, the fit was much tighter than he'd expected, her small body struggling to accept him as she winced in pain.

Speaking of expectations...the sheer delight of sinking in to the hilt defied his calculations, the silken hot channel reluctantly stretching to make way for him and causing his eyes to close. Zeref's apprehension temporarily abated as his senses rejoiced in carnal pleasure, but Mavis had tensed and gasped beneath him as he tore through the barrier designed to protect her chastity. He froze, eyes flying open as he struggled to maintain control regardless of the primal urge to roughly pound into her defenseless body.

Despite the low visibility brought about by dusk, he could make out the intricate outline of her face; accepting and guileless eyes were staring past his soul, and he watched as they watered reflexively. Two tears slid down her temples, but she smiled and cupped his cheek with her soft hand, using her legs to clasp his thighs while arching upwards in invitation.

The feeling of Zeref stretching her open was bordering on agony, but over the past year Mavis had acquired quite a tolerance for pain and thus it was insignificant compared to the wonder she felt at committing an act so intimate. She suppressed a gasp of distress as she felt the crown of his shaft prod against her womb, pressing her pelvis tightly to his and loving the expression he made. At her encouragement he slowly began to move inside her, and she felt the ever-present sorrow and loneliness of the long months she'd spent in exile leave her consciousness as not only her physical body, but her very soul was branded.

Zeref was wonderfully warm even through the layers that separated their chests, his skin almost hot to the touch, and she linked her arms around his neck and strained upwards to press her lips and nose against the smooth surface there. He obliged her, letting her bear more of his weight and bracing his elbows on the ground to keep from crushing her delicate form.

Mavis began to crave the painful yet pleasurable thrusts, her hands working restlessly over his back before slipping inside the collar of his clothing to explore the musculature of his chest. Zeref grunted quietly but made no effort to stop her inquisitive inspection of this new territory, pinning her hips to the ground in a strong nudge that rubbed her hidden peak with his pubic bone. She bit back a surprised whimper as a thrill of pleasure made her writhe breathlessly.

Correctly interpreting that strangled sound, Zeref followed it with his hips and watched her lost expression as she bit her lip. He did this to her, and the realization heightened his awareness of every subtle reaction of her body. He let his feelings flow between them, pouring his love for her into his every motion. Thought became emotion, emotion became movement, and movement became pleasure. Every gliding thrust was a word, a promise, an endearment. They took the ancient language and made it their own.

Too soon, he sensed his climax rushing towards him and scooped Mavis up to straddle his lap as he leaned back against the broad tree trunk. She gasped in pained pleasure as the movement impelled his hard length deeper inside her, bringing her small hands to rest on his shoulders. Her curse was already healing her breached lower body and the immense pain was gradually abating, tingles of heated delight centering low in her middle as she sought the elusive culmination.

He tugged her face to his and licked into her open mouth, absorbing the small noises she made as he maneuvered her pelvis to ride him, the upward thrusts of his hips becoming a little jerkier. To his disgruntlement, she broke the searing contact between their lips, but he knew why when she shakily whispered near his ear, "I love you, Zeref."

His emotions and hormones spiralling out of control, he gripped Mavis's back through her hair to kiss her again. His entire body tensed in incipient pleasure as he bucked into her gently, feeling her tight depths convulse around him in answering ecstasy as he emptied himself deep inside her. All thought fled him as the combined waves of pleasure and release of pressure made him lightheaded. Tears sprung into his eyes again as he processed what she'd said, and his heart welled with emotion.

When Zeref became aware of his surroundings again, Mavis was relaxing in his hold, her hand falling from his face as her head slowly lolled back against his arms, her small mouth open. Then he felt her magic power shrinking, and finally perceived the cause. His own death magic was overflowing into the already drained atmosphere around him, riding off his love to steal the only possession he valued.

Feeling a suffocating sense of foreboding wrench him from his physically euphoric high, Zeref instantly attempted to lock away his rampant emotions lest the impossible happen. But it was futile, his reaction being too little, too late. How can this be happening? he thought in disbelief, holding her closer as if that would keep her mind from departing her body. You and I are immortal. Please don't leave me. I need you.

The silent plea went unheard.

Before Zeref's shocked brain could fully comprehend what had happened, he sensed the last of Mavis's life force leave her while she was still in his arms. His lips trembled uncontrollably and he didn't realize he was crying again until his collar grew wet, her body catching the tears that fell too quickly to be collected by the fabric. Holding her limp form tightly against his chest, he broke down into quiet sobs as his hands fisted in her thick hair.

Long into the early hours of the morning, a full moon shone on the Black Wizard as he wept over the body of the fairylike girl he'd been foolish enough to love. Of course logic would defy itself to deny him happiness, he thought fatalistically. What have I ever done to deserve comfort? How could I make this mistake?

They had committed the ultimate contradiction...and now they must pay the ultimate price. In his brokenhearted state Zeref wondered why he was still alive and Mavis was dead, concluding that centuries of having his curse must have overruled Mavis's single year. Being a more powerful wizard than she, his curse took her immortal life. The act of love between the two wizards was the highest contradiction of its power.

Life. Such a mysterious aspect of existence, the link between the mind and the brain. What precisely caused the destruction of it? How did the damage of the physical body relate to the departing of the spirit? All questions he had pondered before, but never more so than the moment he realized what he had lost.

Dawn eventually broke over the forest, but no birds in that portion of the woodland were alive to serenade the mourning man. Slowly, Zeref raised his head and removed the body from his lap. Mavis was gone, and there was no longer any reason to care about anything. Mechanically he laid her on the ground, restored their clothing and stood, bearing her slight weight in his arms. Long yellow hair dangled to the forest floor along with one arm, eyes peacefully closed as though in repose. She was in repose, Zeref reflected bitterly. And she would never wake from it.

As he started walking he contemplated that he should be happy for Mavis, as he had fulfilled her wish and killed her. Instead, however, he was only aware of a selfish loneliness so vast it threatened to consume his sanity. I allowed myself to hope, if only for a few minutes, that I had found someone capable of extinguishing the sorrow of my curse. But of course, that same curse was what took her from me. In essence, Mavis was a fairy, and I am a spriggan.

"If this is love," he said quietly, every word filled with bitter regret, "then I don't want it." The ice that had been dispelled by sympathy began creeping over his heart again, beginning to transform him back into the man Ishgar had once feared as the legendary Black Wizard.

A/N: I hope it isn't too far of a stretch to posit that the reason Zeref wasn't affected was not due to Mavis's lack of love for him, but Ankhseram's direct interference. As for "the ultimate contradiction", I think it would've been a contradiction either way: had they lived it would've contradicted the supposed affects of the curse, and if they'd died then it would've contradicted their immortality. But in this case, the contradiction lies in August's conception when the curse was fated to take life, not create it. These two together simply *is* a contradiction.

Some people theorize that August was a projection of Mavis's that Zeref imbued with life via his Living magic, but I think he was their biological son, which is the widely-held belief. Understandably, Mavis omitted her intimacy with Zeref from the story she told Fairy Tail (seriously, how awkward would it have been if she'd confessed the whole story?). Further evidence of their parenthood is the impact Larcade's Pleasure magic—which apparently affects everyone who's had sex—had on Mavis and Zeref. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.