Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

In the more open room, Zeref was pleased to note a few more furnishings to make it less barren. The throne, of course, was the most obvious one. It sat at the far end of the room, facing the area meant to greet those approaching. Surprisingly, it was set up just like his own, with only a single chair for a sole ruler, rather than a pair. A few banners hung along the walls, burgundy in color and making the room feel a little bit darker than the hall. However, the rug on the floor was the same shade, trimmed with gold to create a slightly brighter color in the room.

Standing next to the throne was a man with light blue hair, turning to greet them. "Ah, Levy. I was wondering when—" He broke off, the man's gaze sliding over towards Zeref. As their eyes met, Zeref blinked in surprise, recognizing the odd marking around the man's eye. How long ago had that been? It had been some time around when he returned to Alvarez for a brief moment before Acnologia's attack on Tenrou Island. Being forced to return home for legislative matters had left him bitter, yet this boy had oddly been waiting for him there.

It was a bit of an unusual day, Zeref could recall. The grand welcome for his return had gone without much notice. People cheering over his presence had been a bit of a more uncommon feeling, but he'd walked past them with a small smile on his face. Arriving into the castle, he'd been expecting the lack of his Spriggan Twelve. However, August had been there at the time, looking into a few legislative details for the empire.

When the elderly wizard greeted him, still looking years younger than he did now, Zeref had been surprised to be brought into his throne room. "He has been seeking an audience with you for some time now, your majesty. He has incredible patience…and waited for you for nearly half of a year."

"I hardly believe anyone would be so foolish."

"Perhaps he did come and go…but his absences were brief and he always returned to the same place to await your arrival."

Nodding, Zeref walked into the public throne room, seeing the boy August had described. It had looked like a boy little older than a child, though Zeref himself didn't appear to be an adult either. Still, the marking around his eye had been unusual, as had been the collection of staves he carried with him. "Someone new?" He blinked while August nodded with a faint smile.

"His majesty has returned, young wizard. As you requested, I have informed him of your presence."

"Thank you." The boy walked towards Zeref, holding out his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Emperor Spriggan. I apologize for intruding upon you suddenly, and for not introducing myself properly…but there are unusual circumstances regarding this visit. I cannot be as open as I wish to be…for it seems as if I cause confusion when I do so."

He had looked troubled at the time, but Zeref had been intrigued at the idea. "I see. And what brings you to my empire? I cannot recall seeing you here before." Then again, the boy had likely not been born the last time Zeref was in the empire.

"A troubling sort of magic that has been spreading across this world. I came to seek your permission to deviate from your regulations regarding magic use in the empire." Few dared to question such things of him, so once again, Zeref had admired his boldness. "A spell known as anima has been constantly draining away the magic of this world. I am the only one who knows how to stop it, to close the vortexes that are pulling that energy away and into another world. While I am not associated with a guild sworn to your service, and as such not allowed to utilize magic in this country, I wished to have permission to do so only to stop the existence of these animas."

Meeting his gaze, Zeref could see how calmly confident the boy was. He had expected Zeref to say yes on a whim, but he had merely smiled, shaking his head. "And why should I? I see little reason to stop these spells. There has yet to be harm to my empire, and as such, they are a minor concern."

"But…the longer they exist, the more magic we lose!"

"So?" Zeref had been rather interested at the time, wondering if it was even possible for their world to lose that ability. Rumors had spread that the weapon known as Face could accomplish such a thing, but it had yet to be confirmed if that was the case. "I care little if magic exists or not. If I were to change my mind on such a fact, I will devise a way to stop them myself. Now, you are free to leave, mystery boy. I have business to attend to."

While it had been a brief encounter, the odd request was what let it linger in Zeref's mind even now. Even after Zeref's order, the boy had refused to follow directions and remained in place. "You don't understand! I can't let this keep happening, not when it is wrong of us to steal this power from you!" He had said it in the heat of a moment, before blinking and registering what he had stated. "I mean…that did not come out right. My apologies for being so direct, but it is best to be more aggressive in matters such as these. The type of magic required to stop this spell is far beyond what you are familiar with—"

Zeref had laughed at that comment, amused at the idea. Even August raised his eyebrows, doubting the boy. Still, that amusement was probably what had saved that boy's life, along with the fact that Zeref still had some lingering attachment to life at the time. "Then prove it to me. Demonstrate some form of this magic…by attacking my general here." He gestured towards August, who nodded and stepped forward. Since the boy gave no name, Zeref had seen it to be rather fitting to leave August anonymous as well.

Swallowing, the mysterious boy nodded and moved forward. "Are you certain he can defend himself against it? While not deadly, direct attacks from magic are likely to have adverse affects."

"I am more than capable of countering a single attack, child. Do not question the wisdom of those beyond you in years…I may seem feeble, but I am far from ready to stop fighting." With that, the boy had pulled free one of his staves, letting it rest on the ground in front of him as his eyes narrowed in focus. Watching, Zeref blinked in surprise as multiple magic circles appeared in an instant, a layered spell unlike what most wizards could manage these days. Rather than relying on a specific element or branch of magic, this one seemed to relate to the core of magic runes itself. Still, the boy seemed far too young to understand such things…perhaps he was cursed as well? That also seemed unlikely, given his care for saving the world with his magic. Gazing at the spell as August activated one of his own protection spells to defend against the blast of energy created, Zeref found his eyes drawn to the staff. It had seemed quite common at first, much like August's weapon of choice. However, now Zeref smiled faintly as he sensed the slight magical aura around it.

When the attack finished, August stared at him with wide eyes. "I've…I've truly never seen this magic before. Your majesty—"

Before August could finish, Zeref moved forward and nodded with a smile. "Consider it a variation of layered magic circles." August blinked at him, frowning in confusion. "While not exactly recognized as a practicable form of magic, that is the closest approximation to what he just managed. In theory, any spell is possible with a true mastery of such an art…but that would take far too much time for someone to manage. No, this child has found a rather interesting relic that can remember the layout of specific spells, and replicate them at a far lower energy cost to the user than it would to be naturally created."

"I see." August nodded, while the child had frowned in confusion between the two. "Then I suppose we could recreate his counter spell quite easily. After all, I imagine you have enough experience to have at least dabbled in this style of magic before."

Nodding, Zeref tilted his head and shrugged. "Perhaps. I can't say I've truly attempted such a thing…though the concepts are simple enough." Walking towards the boy, Zeref focused on him instead of August. "Now…I suppose it is my turn to prove my own words to you. As my general just stated, recreating your magic should be simple enough." Turning away from him, Zeref nodded towards August who once again prepared himself to defend against an attack. Lifting his hand, Zeref let his smile vanish, replaced with a harsh glare as layers of magic circles appeared in front of him. Unlike the boy's magic which had bright colors, Zeref's magic was always tinted with the darkness of his curse. Black circles held the same runes and intent, glowing with an ominous feel in the air. Still, the blast was of the same caliber of the boy's, though Zeref could have strengthened it if he desired.

"That's…I've never seen anyone capable of replicating it since I came here."

"And I am no ordinary wizard." Zeref had smiled at the boy one last time, chuckling faintly. "Now, I find it rather tedious to repeat myself from before…but should I find this approaching spell to be problematic, I shall take care of it on my own. I do not need interference from outside forces in my empire. Unless you hold a desire to join me, I suggest you leave and return to whichever nation you call home, mystery boy."

"Sire, pardon my correction, but I do believe he is old enough to be a mysterious man…"

Zeref's smile was fading, and he shook his head with a wave of his hand. "Whatever claim you make, it means little difference to me. He holds no name, and either title is fitting one such as him…" The boy had slowly been leaving during their odd debate, with their words lingering in his mind. Little to Zeref's knowledge, after a few different plays on the combinations of those words, he had settled on the odd name of Mystogan for the world, keeping that mysterious air about him and including it in his name.

Now, that man had grown. He was an adult, already appearing to be older than Zeref. Still, after a moment's pause, he smiled and shook his head. "My apologies. You simply reminded me of someone I met a long time ago. Has Fairy Tail been recruiting again, Levy?" The man spoke with an odd smile towards the girl, who frowned and glanced towards Zeref. Meanwhile, Zeref was debating whether or not he should keep himself hidden for the time being. Playing the role of this world's Zeref would be beneficial at the moment, given the situation.

"That's just a friend of Natsu's. The idiot keeps insisting on taking him with him on this job of yours."

By Zeref's side, Natsu seemed to object to this, at least as much as this Natsu could. "I didn't think it would be that bad…Zeref's good with magic still, and I really don't want to let him leave so soon…"

"Zeref?" Jellal frowned at Zeref, his eyes narrowing for a moment. "What an interesting name. Where did your family manage to come up with such a thing to call you?"

It had been far too long for Zeref to recall such pointless details. "Why would it matter in the first place? There is little reason behind valuing such a tale."

"Yeah, and we're here for a job description, not family histories." Edo-Levy narrowed her eyes at Jellal, who smiled and nodded.

"Right. August?" That made Zeref blink, his eyes widening for a moment. From the side of the room, a teenager seemed to step forward. The blond hair he had was very familiar, as were his dark eyes. He dressed himself in a long blue robe, with a simple white sash hanging around his chest. "Would you mind locating your mother for me? She is the one who brought me the information in the first place."

"Of course." He bowed his head, a formality Zeref knew all too well. Why was this August so young? The boy was likely no older than fourteen, perhaps even younger still. Yet, it made sense that he still had someone to serve. When August turned to walk away, his gaze seemed to spot Zeref with a frown. "Do…is there something I can help you with?"

This August did not serve him, and despite his curiosity, Zeref realized that this was not helping with their purpose here. "Not at all. I simply find it odd that a king keeps an advisor near that is of such a youthful age." Technically, he had done the same. However, in Zeref's defense, he had tried to avoid August at first. The child had followed him around wherever he wandered. Since Zeref had all the time in the world to be patient, he thought he'd manage to bore the child eventually. Taking a trip to the undeveloped wilderness of Alvarez, Zeref had wandered for months, losing track of time with ease. August had followed faithfully, asking questions about plants and what certain animals were when he could. He asked about why Zeref was even there, and what he had to gain by traveling like this. Eventually, Zeref realized that no matter what he did, that child held some strong desire to be by his side. Not even an eternity of wandering would change that boy's resolve, so he settled with making good use out of that loyalty, breeding him into the soldier Zeref now knew.

"August is actually the son of my closest advisor, but he is almost more loyal than she is." Jellal smiled, walking over and ruffling his hair. "His father died before he was born, sadly, and without work, his mother was on the streets. Still, she had somehow managed to establish a plan of how to ration out their limited food, strengthen herself during the time it lasted, and learn to hunt for the rest later on. She has the mind of a strategist, and that tactical viewpoint was what I needed when I first encountered her a few years back."

This description was oddly familiar to him, making Zeref frown. "Yeah yeah, just go get her so we can hear about this suspected Alvarez member." Levy's impatience was noted, and Jellal sighed and nodded.

August began moving to leave again, giving Zeref one last frown. "You know, it is rather rude to judge someone by their age. I am quite capable of serving my king regardless of if I'm ten or if I'm ninety."

It sounded like something his August would say, which made Zeref smile faintly. "Indeed you are. It is not your wisdom I question, but more so the oddity of one throwing away such assumptions in the first place."

That made the boy pause, before looking away. "Your sentiment is noted. However, I must retrieve Mother now. We can discuss this later in more depth, if you wish."

"He'll be gone on a mission on my behalf August." Jellal smiled at him, nodding. The boy frowned slightly, before vanishing behind a door and out of the room. Silence filled the space for a moment longer before Jellal turned towards Zeref, frowning for a moment. "That was odd. August isn't normally so keen on making friends."

"I know someone a lot like him." That made Edo-Natsu blink at him, opening his mouth to speak. However, Levy shook her head at him, silencing whatever objection he was about to make. "Trust his words and advice. As I stated before, I do not doubt his wisdom in the slightest."

"Yet that still does not help us in the current situation." Looking away, King Jellal ran a hand through his hair before falling back onto the throne behind him. "August is smart for his age, and he has that curiosity that will probably get him hurt sometime soon…but not even he can predict the movements of Alvarez. I've been trying for so long, hoping for any clue as to what their end goal is."

"Is it not to bring magic back to this world?" Zeref was rather curious to know more about their group here.

Meeting his gaze, Jellal seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then, he shook his head, folding his hands in his lap. "That is the overall idea, however…there is a reason they wish to have magic so badly. Few would go to such lengths as a war for the simple enjoyment of magic as we once knew it…before, magic was little beyond a toy for this land, after all. No…they want it for some deeper purpose…some specific spell drives them forward. If I knew what that spell was, perhaps then I'd be able to anticipate their movements and possibly negotiate a truce with them. Surely, we have a means of replicating such a spell without magic, after all."

"Not all spells are quite so simple to mimic." Zeref saw Jellal meet his eyes, the others forgotten about in the room as they spoke.

"Yet they are meant to influence the physical world, meaning physical actions should be able to replicate their effects. Perhaps it would be more time consuming, but it is possible to do without such a thing."

He had a valid point, which meant Jellal was actually onto something with this group. Was this Alvarez that much like his own? Considering his own end goal, Zeref knew why they'd seek out magic in the first place. Meeting the king's gaze, Zeref frowned. "Perhaps…or perhaps not. Consider theoretical spells for the time being. What if what they seek is not that which can be done, but rather that which is considered impossible, with or without magic?"

"Then what good would magic do for their purposes?"

"Potential. Hope." Zeref smiled darkly, chuckling and shaking his head. "Magic holds various theories about how to achieve impossible ends with its power. Granted, most are false spells that yield no results…but they still exist as a foundation to be built off of. Take, for example, the theoretical models of resurrection." The king seemed ready to object, but Zeref was speaking too quickly to be interrupted easily. "Granted, it is a taboo subject to even breach…but do such theories still exist? And what other spells would be of a similar nature? Time travel, in particular, comes to mind. Regardless of what it is they seek to remedy, I can see time travel as a potential to fix any mistakes in this world…and completely eliminate the place you all know now."

"Zeref…do you really think Alvarez would do something like that?" Edo-Natsu looked at him, while Zeref smiled and nodded.

"Of course." He saw Edo-Natsu cringe, while Zeref tilted his head and felt his smile fade slightly. "I tried to warn you…there is little good that I see in the world. Always think the worst of others, Natsu. That way, you won't be used and you won't grow too attached…the loss of them will be simpler to cope with."

Edo-Levy narrowed her eyes at him, shaking her head. "That's some messed up logic, Zeref. I think I see why Le—er, Orangey yells at you so much. You're depressing as hell to be around, you know that?" It was an odd nickname for Levy, but he supposed she had little to base it off of beyond Levy's outfit.

"Considering how few people I've been near, I actually was not aware." That seemed to only make the girl's scowl deepen, while Jellal watched the exchange with a frown.

"Orangey? Is there another companion joining you on the mission?"

"Uh…not exactly." Levy rubbed the back of her head, frowning. "She just decided to wait for us outside. Actually, she only tagged along to pester Zeref some more with her stupid request…"

"And I'm not letting her win! Zeref isn't going with her, I won't let him!"

Sighing, Zeref rubbed his temples gently, wondering if he truly did want to endure this kind of treatment either way. However, Jellal was smiling in amusement, seeing something in the conversation that Zeref had missed. "A rather persistent admirer, hmm? I can't say I've seen anyone so determined since Gray began stalking Juvia for her attention."

Thinking over the words, Zeref could actually see why he had misinterpreted them. However, the mere implication left him feeling cold. "That will never happen." He wouldn't let such an emotion grow within him, not again. Despite it being over a century old, that memory still haunted him constantly. Even during the war, memories of how Mavis' body had slumped so suddenly in his arms plagued him. Guilt over what he had done forced him forward, only strengthening his resolve to return to the past and undo it all. Perhaps Natsu had been his main driving force, but Mavis had slowly become more predominant in his thoughts, and now was no exception.

"You say that like you can't see anyone admiring you at all…I'm certain that someone out there—"

Zeref silenced Edo-Natsu with a harsh glare, slapping him in a moment of rash anger. "Don't speak! Just…please, leave it be." Zeref rubbed his forehead, grimacing slightly. However, no one seemed to know what to say in response. Edo-Natsu held a hand to his cheek, his eyes wide in shock at Zeref's display of violence. Even Levy and Jellal had backed away from him slightly, alarmed and uncertain of where his anger would push him next.

A few more moments passed. Edo-Natsu's hand fell to his side. Levy shifted her weight slightly and began chewing on her bottom lip. Jellal looked down at his lap, thoughtful as Zeref remained silent. Eventually, Zeref looked up, taking a deep breath. "My apologies. That subject…it is one I'd rather not approach at the moment. The companion that is following me…is closer to that of an enemy than anything else. She despises my existence and what it means for her family, though current circumstances force us to work together at times."

"I see. I apologize for making assumptions." Jellal nodded at him, looking relieved to hear Zeref speaking calmly again. Edo-Levy gave him a weak smile, nodding in agreement. Meanwhile, Edo-Natsu seemed to be silently crying to himself, not saying a word and keeping his gaze down and away from Zeref.

"Hey…Brother, do you…I mean, I didn't mean to— Before Edo-Natsu could finish whatever comment he had in mind, the door opened again. August was returning, and following after him was someone Zeref should have known to expect. Long blond hair framed a face far older than Zeref had ever seen, yet it was still oh so familiar with those bright green eyes. Curves that had never developed were far more obvious, and her dress had clearly been altered to meet that aspect, fanning out in a ballgown style while retaining that same shade of pink as before. Mavis smiled over at them and bowed as a greeting, but all Zeref could do was think back to the conversation that he had just put a halt to. These memories really would never stop haunting him, and even in this world, there were things he would never escape from.

And now we have more Edolas characters! The last time I tried to investigate a variation on Edolas, I wasn't quite as happy with the result as I have been with my draft of this variation. I do hope you enjoy it as well. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!