Natsu, I'm going to tell you a legend about celestial spirit magic that I read in a book once.

Once, long ago when gods still roamed Earthland, there were thirteen zodiac spirits. In this time, there was a mage who held a particularly strong bond with his spirit; the two were close friends and partners, and the spirit often told the mage of life in the Celestial Spirit World. The spirit also brought the mage to the Spirit World to see it for himself. There, the mage would play with the small Nicola spirits and got to meet the other zodiac spirits whose keys he did not own.

The mage spent so much time in the Celestial Spirit World that other celestial spirit mages began to notice, and they envied him. They would attack the mage in the hopes of winning whatever gave him the privilege to visit the other realm, but the bond between the mage and his spirit was so strong that they easily defeated all their enemies.

As the spirit grew stronger, the thrill of power and the pseudo-immortality the frequent visits to the Celestial Spirit World gave him began to corrupt the mage to the point where he became evil. The spirit no longer felt the bond of trust that had once bound them together. Unable to stand the things the mage was ordering him to do, the spirit used his power one last time — to break the golden key that symbolized the contract between him and his once-close friend.

By this time, the other celestial spirits recognized the thirteenth spirit for his power and ability. Now that he had no key and therefore no contractual obligations toward the human world, they appointed him their king to run affairs of the Celestial Spirit World that until then had been disorganized. To this day it is rumored that the Celestial Spirit King can be summoned by breaking a golden key that holds a close bond between a mage and a spirit, though no one has ever been able to destroy one of the golden keys, so no one knows if the rumor is true, or even possible.

Quite a tale, right? My spirits refuse to tell me if it's true or not, which makes me believe it is indeed true. I've never tried it, of course; the spirits are all my friends, and sacrificing my bond with even one of them is painful to even imagine. But it makes me wonder what the Celestial Spirit King is like. What kind of spirit he was before his key was broken forever.


Natsu came to in a strange place. Just moments ago he was being swallowed whole by the warped stone walls of the Tartarus dungeon, but now he was surrounded by a fleshy substance that felt warm and sticky on his skin.

Standing up, he let the gelatinous substance slide off his body and looked around. Where was he? What happened to the battle?

Suddenly he caught a familiar scent, and he sloshed through the melting flesh to find its source.

"Lucy," he called, relief tugging at his heart.

She turned to the sound of his voice, and as she faced him, he realized there was a distinct salty flavor in the air that he hadn't noticed before. She'd been crying.

Lucy blinked at him, more tears pooling in her eyes. Angry tears.

She held a golden key in her hand, the broken stub of which glinted in the dim light oozing from above. His stomach dropped. He knew instantly what had happened.

"Shit, Lucy, I'm so sorry, I—"

"Save it," she snapped. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's not your fault. It's fine."

"It's not fine," Natsu whimpered, his eyes looking between Lucy and the broken key in her hands. This was his fault. He should've been more careful with his remaining magic. If he hadn't lost so much magic...if he'd been able to stop Mard Geer from activating the Cube...

"We beat Tartarus," Lucy said. She turned and smiled at him. It didn't reach her eyes. "We won. That's what matters."

"But Aquarius was your—"

"Natsu, please."

He caught a whiff of salt and he realized she was about to cry again. He shut his mouth. Now wasn't the time for meaningless apologies. "Sorry" wasn't going to bring Aquarius back. It was only a matter of time before his recklessness caused real damage again, and he'd finally done it. He felt awful.

Lucy saw his expression and let out a long breath. "Natsu, it's not your fault. We can't always save each other from our difficult battles. I miscalculated, that's all."

Natsu swallowed. "We both did," he said.

He looked around the wreckage. They were surrounded by the fleshy remains of the Cube's walls, mixed in with broken bits of marble from the palace that had once sat above it. Probably dozens if not hundreds of palace staff lay among the rubble. A few allies were beginning to emerge from the wreckage as well, including some familiar faces that Natsu was relieved to see still standing.

"Is it over?" he said aloud.

"I think so," Lucy said. "I saw Mard Geer vanish. He was the last one." Exhaustion suddenly catching up to her, Lucy collapsed to her knees. Startled, Natsu rushed to her side. "It's all over. Finally…"

"All thanks to you," he said. He decided to ignore his guilt for now, since Lucy said she didn't blame him and clearly needed a hug. She needed all the hugs in the world, and she deserved them, too. He'd be hug #1.

"For some reason it doesn't feel like it's over," Lucy said with a sigh.

"That's because it's not," said a voice behind them.

Natsu leapt to his feet, alarmed. He hadn't sensed anyone approaching, and it wasn't the familiar voice of one of his comrades either. Behind them, only feet away, stood a young man, no older than a boy, with pitch black hair and robes that seemed to bury him in cloth.

"Who are you?" Natsu demanded. The strange boy wasn't dressed like a palace guard or a knight, and he definitely wasn't one of the mages or Natsu would recognize him. Strangest of all, Natsu couldn't sense anything from him, not even a scent. It was as if this person wasn't human, or demon, or…anything, really. It was as if he didn't even exist.

"You don't recognize me, Natsu?" The boy's — man's? — voice was quiet, and for some reason it gave Natsu the heebie-jeebies.

"Am I supposed to?"

"Natsu, he's probably one of the other mages. Let it go," Lucy said.

"He's not," Natsu insisted, his eyes never leaving the suspicious figure. In his peripheral vision, he took note of a few allies nearby. Gray, Erza...they were all safe. But none of them seemed to notice the confrontation going on here. Alarm bells continued to sound in Natsu's head.

"You're sharp," the boy-man said. "Don't worry, your allies can't see or hear us here."

This got Lucy's attention as well. She jumped to her feet. "What did you do? Who are you?"

"Not so hasty. I'm not here to hurt anyone. After all that's passed, I figured it was only right that I take back what's mine," the stranger said. Natsu wanted to attack, but some instinct told him it was too dangerous, to wait and see what this stranger had in store. He couldn't sense any magic, but clearly this person was a mage. For some reason, he felt terribly dangerous.

"Natsu…"

Natsu ignored Lucy's concerned tug on his sleeve. It wasn't like him to remain frozen in the face of an unknown enemy like this, he knew. Normally he'd go in fists blazing. But something in him just refused to budge.

"I'd hoped you'd recognize me on some level, but it seems you were too young last time we saw each other," the stranger said. He smiled. "My name is Zeref."

Natsu's heart nearly stopped. Zeref. He knew that name all right.

"Oh, so you know my name at least! That's wonderful!" Zeref exclaimed, clapping his hands together. Then he sent a sharp look to Lucy and a blast of dark magic hit her.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried, wanting to sprint toward her but finding his feet rooted in place. She'd been knocked a few feet away but seemed to be okay, catching her breath.

"Attacking someone you just met isn't very nice," Zeref scolded.

"Don't you dare hurt Lucy," Natsu snarled, turning back to the youthful face that he now knew was the face of pure evil. How many lives had this one man been responsible for ending? It sickened Natsu to even think about it.

Zeref sighed. "I should've just raised you myself. Igneel was too soft."

Natsu's world rocked again. "You knew Igneel?"

"Of course. Might as well tell you everything at this point. You were my younger brother, you know, but you died when I was young. I hated death. For hundreds of years, I made demons as practice until I was good enough to use that magic on a human. But when I reincarnated you, you returned to being a baby. I had other priorities than raising my kid brother all over again, so I gave you to a dragon to teach you magic and help you grow stronger. I thought I'd disposed of him at a proper time for your heart to harbor bitterness, but I hadn't counted on you joining a guild and receiving love. It's made you weak."

In just a few sentences, Zeref had already revealed enough shocking information that Natsu's mind was spinning in circles. But there was one thing he latched onto.

"You...you killed Igneel? Igneel is dead?"

Zeref actually laughed. "What, did you actually think he was alive all this time?"

Everything around Natsu fell away, and all he could see was Zeref smiling. The sight filled him with disgust. This man who had murdered the only father he had ever known. He'd spent a decade searching for clues, but all this time, he was just a pawn in Zeref's sick little game.

"I'll kill you," Natsu snarled, fingers curling into fists. "You fucking—"

Zeref was a moment quicker. "That's enough," he said. He pulled an object from his robe, and Natsu only had enough time to register it as the book of END before Zeref had flipped it open and he collapsed in pain.

His right arm felt like it was burning. His heart pounded violently in his chest in a way that felt unnatural, like something was trying to claw out of him from the inside. Everything else felt fuzzy, like he was one step detached from reality. Just what was happening? Was this END?

"I did not want to awaken you until you were older," Zeref said, ignoring Natsu's pained cries. "I am not sure you are strong enough to fulfill your purpose. But at this point I may as well try." He unlatched the binding around the book and Natsu's chest heaved. A huge power was welling up inside of him, and he could already tell that it was too strong for him to control. Whatever it was, it would consume him. It would consume everything around him.

So this is what he wants, Natsu thought. He wants to destroy everything. But why…?

He let out a loud cry as another stab of pain echoed throughout his body. Tumultuous feelings of anger and despair clawed their way to the surface, throwing Natsu's mind into chaos. He couldn't see anything. The world was grainy and dark.

And then, like a flash of light, everything became clear again.

He looked down at his hands. Red scales. He turned his hand over, inspecting the claws on his fingertips, the dark marks that stretched up his arms. He felt…different. Stronger. Like the flames that always flickered under his skin had finally been freed. He felt…amazing, really.

And curious. Grinning with glee, he had one thing on his mind: time to test out this new power.


Towering flames crackled all around him, filling the air with thick smoke. END breathed in through his nose, relishing in the savory scent of burning wood and toxic chemicals. It was strangely satisfying. He'd never been so content before.

Through half-lidded eyes, he surveyed his surroundings. He knew there was something he needed to be doing, but what was it again…? Well, no matter. He blinked, and a column of flames blazed over an untouched patch of rubble. There was so much stone here, so it was hard to keep everything burning. Stone wasn't flammable enough.

Ah! That's right! There was more power inside of him, and he needed to release it. That's what he wanted to do. But to do that, he had to reunite with the object that had sealed him. Opening the book had released this power from its slumber, but only he could release the remaining power by absorbing the text from the book himself. He wasn't powerful enough yet. Just a little more…

"Natsu! What are you doing?"

END glanced down from his perch atop a large stone column. A young woman with long blonde hair was yelling up at him, a surprisingly pleasing expression of horror on her face. Lucy, she was called. He wasn't sure how he knew that.

He decided to pay her no mind. First he had to find Zeref. END had lost track of where he was before he started his rampage, and even with his keen eyes it was hard to see through all the chemical smoke.

Something stung his leg. He looked down and saw a whip cracking at his ankles.

"Natsu, I'm going to bring you back. I—" The woman called Lucy was interrupted by her own hacking coughs that shook her body. By the time she regained her composure, her voice was raspy. "I am going to help you. I won't let you be taken over by END."

Oh, that's right. He was a demon now. He didn't used to be. Somehow he'd forgotten. Maybe his other self had known this woman, and that's why she was so intent on stopping him. As it was, she was no more than an annoyance yapping at his heels.

END sniffed the air. Where in the world was Zeref? Zeref had to know that END needed the book to complete his power. So why wasn't he showing up? Was this a test or something?

The column beneath END suddenly began to fall, and he leapt from it before it toppled to the ground. He landed in a crouch, fingers grazing the dirt.

"You," he said, glaring at the blonde woman.

"We finally face off for real," she said, stretching her whip. "No mere skirmish this time. I am going to show you the power of the Celestial Spirit."

"You're in my way," END said, standing up. His shoulders were relaxed. She was a pest, but she'd be easy to beat. He could sense the magic power inside of her, and while she was definitely a powerful mage, she had nothing on him even in this weakened state.

He recalled she was a celestial mage of some sort, and had all twelve zodiac keys. Or was it only eleven? It was definitely only eleven now.

Lucy reached for her keys and called out a spirit. When END saw which it was, he practically rolled his eyes. Taurus, really? She was vastly underestimating him.

"Let's knock Natsu back to his senses," she told her ally.

"Your dedication is moooooo-ving," Taurus said, a tear in his eye. A perfect opening. Too easy.

END lunged, dodging between Taurus's legs to launch himself at Lucy. She dodged, but not fast enough to completely avoid his razor-sharp claws. A thin line of liquid red opened on her right shoulder.

Wasting no time, END immediately followed up with another tackle. This time, she dodged underneath him. Her whip wrapped around his ankle and yanked him back toward Taurus, who swung his axe hard. END rocketed into a pile of debris, collapsing it in a plume of rock and ash.

END coughed in the dusty air. Okay, maybe he had underestimated her a little, too. Her reaction times were lightning fast, much faster than most of her little mage friends. He'd have to get a little serious if he wanted to end the battle quickly and keep looking for Zeref.

He used the debris to his advantage by grabbing a large slab of rock and hurling it in Taurus's direction, distracting him long enough for END to make another unimpeded pass at Lucy. This time, he went in with fists blazing.

Her quick instincts kicked in as she blocked his initial punch, but his other fist made contact and she hissed with pain. One shoulder of her outfit fell, burned away in an instant by END's fire.

"Okay, that hurts more than I thought it would," she said through gritted teeth.

END's response was curt: "Good."

"Get away from Luuuuuuuucy!" Taurus cried. END ducked under the axe. He gathered some of his inner power and let it explode in a fountain of fire.

Instantly, the whole area was ablaze. Both Lucy and Taurus had jumped out of the way, but that was no matter. Now he just had to find them. And with the fire all around them, their movements would be limited, making it easier for END to corner them. Taurus wasn't much of an issue, but Lucy's quick reflexes made her slippery. She seemed weak to fire, so this should help.

Now the question was, go after Taurus or Lucy? Lucy was the more important of the two, but Taurus was annoying.

Ah, fuck it, just get rid of the mage and the zodiac spirit would go with her. The bull was a pest, but nothing worth wasting time over.

He sensed where Taurus was and caged him with fire to prevent him from interfering with the battle again, and went after Lucy. With his sharp nose, it didn't take long. He only had to follow the scent of burning fabric.

"Just be good and let's get this over with," END said as he approached. "Dragging this out will only make it more painful for you."

"You should know better than anyone that I'm not the type to give up so easily," she said.

END shrugged. "Suit yourself."

This wouldn't take much longer, anyway. He had her backed up against a wall of fire…a fire that promptly fizzled out under an unceremonious dump of water from above.

Damn it, where did that come from? END glared skywards. Above them were two large fishes circling each other. More zodiac spirits, and probably the source of the water. She must have summoned them in that short window when he wasn't paying attention.

Well, he'd just have to change the type of fire he was using, then. It took a little more effort to produce, but there was a type of demonic fire that could even burn underwater. Soon the fire was back in full force, just colored a little darker this time.

When she realized her little water trick wouldn't work a second time, Lucy called back Pisces.

"Open the gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!"

A large scorpion-man hybrid of a spirit appeared, but END only caught a glimpse before the entire area was swept up in a sandstorm. The sand itself didn't do much against END's rock-hard scales and skin, but the total loss of visibility would be an issue. He could sense where his fire was, and smell a little, but the sand whipping by his ears and clouding his eyes made him feel very vulnerable.

That feeling only intensified when he was blindsided by kicks from either side. One was Lucy for sure, and the other was…a new spirit? That definitely wasn't Taurus. This one looked more like a ram than a bull. Dammit, when had she summoned another one?

And even Lucy looked different, too, her outfit a long black dress and an intricate tattoo of sorts decorating her collarbone. And then, just like that, they were both gone again.

END couldn't sense where they were and it was killing him.

The battle quickly turned in Lucy's favor. END could only wait, prone and feeling a little helpless as he got attacked on all sides by Lucy and her spirit, all under the cover of a second spirit's blinding sandstorm. They moved in just long enough to land an attack, then retreated before END could retaliate. This type of sneak attack fighting was a first for END, and he grudgingly found himself a little impressed that Lucy was so quickly able to discern and exploit a weakness.

He let them knock him around for a bit as he assessed his surroundings. His fires were still burning; the sandstorm couldn't do anything to stop that. He would be able to tell when someone was being burned by his flames, so he definitely knew where his enemies weren't. Then it was only a matter of logical deduction to figure out where they probably were.

When he found himself backed up against a pile of rubble, he knew he had his chance. They could only be coming at him from so many directions, and he'd already deduced where Scorpio was hiding. So when they attacked him again, he made his move.

Using a leg to block Lucy's kick, he grabbed onto the spirit's fists, stopping him in his tracks. END dug his claws into the spirit's hands, and, when he had a good purchase, lifted him up and flung him toward Scorpio.

The two zodiac spirits collided with bone-cracking force, and the sandstorm stopped immediately. Before Lucy could even react, the sheer force of the impact sent both spirits shimmering back to the world whence they came.

Now that Lucy was alone, taking care of her would be no problem. With a single swift motion, he planted a claw on Lucy's face and slammed her into the ground. His other claw wrapped around her neck and squeezed.

Lucy's face bloomed red. Her thin neck strained under END's grip.

"I know how you mages work," he sneered. "You're useless if you can't speak your little spells. No more spirits. It's just you and me now."

Her cheeks began to turn blue and swollen. He squeezed harder. A knee on her torso kept her rooted in place. No matter how she flailed her limbs, she was trapped like an insect.

"How does it feel? On your own, you're nothing. No little magic tricks can save you from your meager human mortality."

Lucy's hands snapped to END's wrist, instincts taking over as she fought to breathe.

"You're just as mortal as all your little friends," END said. He added, "Don't worry. You'll be seeing them soon. They may even be waiting for you on the other si—"

"Natsu," came a voice.

END froze. Lucy gasped for breath beneath him, tears in her eyes and fingers clawing at the hand around her throat.

"Ah. I didn't mean to interrupt."

END turned to Zeref with a hard glare. He straightened up and Lucy choked air into her lungs as he approached Zeref. He could finish killing her in a minute. This was more important.

"You have something I need," END said.

"Yes, yes," Zeref said flatly as he handed the END book over. "And who was the one making such a big mess it took me this long to catch up to you?"

"If this is considered a big enough mess to distract you, it may be easy to kill you after all." END snatched the open book from Zeref's hands and flipped through the pages. As he did so, the text glowed an eerie black and disappeared. He felt that something swirling inside of him grow stronger page by page.

"Before we attempt me, I want you to test out your powers on that girl you were just fighting," Zeref said.

"That celestial mage?" END's eyes roved back to where he left Lucy still gasping in the rubble.

"She was quite significant to your human self. It will be a test of your control."

An odd request. There was no reason he couldn't control his own body enough to kill that girl; he'd almost done so, before Zeref interrupted. He just had to finish the job.

"Many of the other mages in the area were significant as well," Zeref added.

"I already took care of them," END said, vaguely remembering the sounds of screams and the sensation of bones breaking in his claws during his initial rampage.

"But you didn't kill any."

…none? Not one?

END frowned. That was troubling. There was no reason he should not have killed those mere humans. Perhaps Zeref just didn't see…but of all people, Zeref should be able to feel the occurrence of death nearby.

Had he subconsciously gone easy on those mages even in his state of rampage? Zeref seemed to think so.

With new resolve, END turned to the celestial mage. Lucy. He would have to kill her first.

He finished absorbing the text, and the book crumbled into debris, its purpose finished.

"I'll be here observing until you are done," Zeref said.

END nodded.

The power flowing through his veins was even stronger now, simmering and boiling beneath his scaled skin. His power had increased to the point he could even see the magic in the air, intricate swirls of magic threading the world together. But where END stood, it was disrupted, roiling with turbulence and recoiling from him like water against the oil of his demonic powers. And around Zeref, there was nothing but empty space.

The energy of magic that permeated everything wasn't really threads, but it was an apt enough metaphor for how END could see it now that his powers had fully awakened. And to see meant to control.

Lucy was on her feet again now. The shimmer of magic around her was like threads of gold, and as she pulled out a key, the shimmering intensified.

Those Spirits weren't hard to defeat, but it was still a headache if she brought one out again. So END stretched out a clawed hand and snipped the golden threads. All it took was a single pulse of demonic energy, and her magic was rendered useless.

The mage seemed alarmed. She spoke.

"What did you do to them?" she demanded.

Them?

"What did you do to my Spirits?"

Ah. "Nothing," END said, sauntering toward her. "Your magic is annoying, so I cut it."

"...cut it?" Lucy paled. Her hands flew to her keys. A useless gesture. "What do you mean, 'cut it?'"

This conversation was a waste of time. "Congratulations," END said. "You will be the first to die in the apocalypse."

Lucy's eyes widened for a moment. She met END's eyes. Then something in her gaze hardened and she turned and ran.