I'm beyond happy that the first chapter caught so much interest. I didn't expect that at all, and it means so much to me! So I thank all of you for the attention you give this story ️

Enjoy this chapter and please be reminded that this story is rated M.

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Lil' Igneel. A mocking nickname he received when he was a freshly born dragon, only a few years in age and still small, weak and utterly helpless.

The raspy echo sounded through the volcanic air. It was a dreading noise that felt like a raging blizzard in coldness, freezing Igneel to his bones as his colossal body shivered in pure fright. It scratched at his sanity and clawed the barricades inside his memory open. The sealed and forgotten contents were released after all this time and they caused chaotic havoc inside him. He wanted to flee but knew there was no chance of escape anymore. The monster he had to face once more would not allow this, he knew. He had ignored all the warnings he came across and now it was too late.

Hearing his belittling nickname after so long, stirred awake specific memories that he'd rather have remained buried in the recesses of his mind forever. He remembered them so vividly, almost as if they had happened mere hours ago. The terror nestling inside each devastating memory was as lively as ever, almost as if they had never stopped.

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On one of those days in a distant past, he ventured too deep into the volcano he was living in, Mt. Hakobe. The fire-spitting mountain was the lair of the almighty Fire God Dragon Ignis who ruled over his kin with an iron fist. Being his offspring allowed Igneel a tiny amount of freedom, but the difference to the other dragons was almost insignificant. He went past the entrances his father had sealed and forbidden everyone except him to pass through, but Igneel's unending curiosity was simply too overpowering. His desire to see what his father was hiding within the deepest caves of the ever-active volcano drove him forward.

He ventured through long passages, came across pools of molten magma burning so hot that even he as a fire dragon was bothered by the emitting heat. Soon enough, the young dragon found himself completely lost in the maze of winding caves and narrow passageways. Unfamiliar with the new and unexplored terrain of his homeland, Igneel had no other choice but to move forward. He hoped if he just moved onward long enough, he would find an exit and could return to his father's side before the gargantuan dragon awakened from his slumber and finds one of his sons missing. Igneel had seen the sort of atrocities his father was capable of when enraged. A mere breath attack of his could obliterate entire tracts of land, leaving behind a world consisting of nothing else but ashes. He ventured for hours through the rocky confines of the mountain and with every passing minute, his hope dwindled more and more until his nose picked up a smell he would recognise anywhere. It was the smell of his father's flames. New hope sparkled in his yellow eyes as he followed the trail. Soon he would be free again and nobody will have noticed his absence!

However, what he discovered was different and surpassed his wildest imaginations. The youthful fire dragon thought he'd found the gate protected by his father's fiery seals. The gate that he'd slipped past a few hours ago and would now lead to his freedom from the winding passages beneath the volcano. What reality revealed instead was very different from his hopes.

At the end of a long uneven road, light invaded the dark passage, filtering in from a large chamber just ahead. Bursting through the entrance with sparkling hope, Igneel barely managed to stop in time before he fell over the edge of the slope. Finding his footing again and bringing his tiny body back into balance, he looked around.

The chamber was indeed vast, but this was almost invisible because of the raging flames, which flickered furiously from side to side. They licked at the walls like famished, feral beasts in carnal desire, wishing to be released from their kennel. The air was scorching inside the room and even for a fire dragon like him, the heat was too much. Each breath felt like inhaling a piece of hell. His lungs seemed to be on fire inside his chest from the highly compromised Ethernano impregnating the atmosphere. The ground was covered by scalding magma. Toxic gases swirled over the torrents of molten stone everywhere in furious whirls of poisoned death. Igneel immediately identified the person to whom this powerful magic belonged to but he didn't understand the reason why the whole chamber was filled with an absurdly high amount of his father's magical essence. Why would he do that? What possible reason could he have for this?

But suddenly, a thunderous stomp accompanied by an enraged shout from behind him, resonated through the entirety of Mt. Hakobe and startled Igneel so much, that he almost fell over the slope's edge again. When he turned around, already well aware to whom this bellow belonged, Igneel played with the thought of jumping into the pond of seething hot lava voluntarily. It might be the best option at his disposal at the moment when he considered his other choices. Unfortunately, his inborn instinct to strive for life prevented him from such actions. So instead, he tried to prepare himself mentally to the best of his abilities before turning around. Not that it mattered much anyway when facing a God of Dragons.

"Igneel! What are you doing here!?" The demand boomed like thunder without lightning and had the young hatchling petrified. The displeasure about Igneel's current location residing within the intense voice was more than evident. It was his father Ignis roaring at him. Even though Igneel knew he was in big trouble, but at the very least, he was not lost anymore. It was probably the only positive aspect about his current circumstances. The young dragon dared to look upwards, and his expectations were proven correct as he took in his father's scary frame.

Ignis's large wings were spread in all their glory, making him even bigger than he already was and so much more intimidating. His tail flipped from side to side while the very tip was on fire, fuelled by his raging wrath to a brightness seldom seen from him. His claws with black marks of fire dug into the ground with each step he took forward. the earth around his large talons steamed before vaporising into oblivion under the mighty Dragon's magic. The chaplet of ever-burning fire around his neck had enlarged and looked like it would burst any moment while Ignis's slit-like yellow eyes narrowed, giving off a malicious glint. His father was furious! That much was obvious. That fury triggered his magic, setting everything in the vicinity ablaze, threatening to incinerate everything around them into nothingness.

Igneel remembered at this moment, that his father was well known for his destructive outbursts. Sometimes whole areas were burnt to the ground with nothing but ashes left behind. Despite this, he had never risen his hand against one of his children, no matter how much mischief they had created. Maybe it was because they were his sons. Maybe it was because he didn't care.

Either way, when Ignis's large claw smashed Igneel into one of the side walls it came as a huge shock for the small fire dragon. His whole body screamed in pain, and he feared that every last bone his body possessed had been broken by the strike. He dropped unceremoniously to the ground, squeaking in agonizing pain. Naturally, the force behind the attack had been greatly restricted. Otherwise, Igneel's body would have been broken beyond repair. Only a pool of smashed dragon meat would remain of his existence if his father acted seriously - in the luckiest case.

"Igneel! I will ask once again. What are you doing here?!" Ignis once again asked. Before it was an order, this time a threat. If Igneel didn't answer right away, there was no telling what his enraged parent could do to him. With his whole being aching in agony as he convulsed, he was barely able to speak. The task was almost an impossible deed to fulfil, but somehow Igneel managed to press his reply out with every strength which remained inside his shattered body. When words finally found their way out of his mouth, they sounded more than a small whine than actual tools of conversation. Somehow, he still managed to form understandable phrases in order to appease his father.

"I went to explore but then I got lost and ended up here because I smelled your flames, father." Meagre coughs were all Igneel could manage in his current state, and he hoped it would be sufficient for his enraged father.

After hearing his son's explanation, Ignis calmed down a bit. He was still full of anger but not furious anymore. There were obvious holes in Igneel's explanation but maybe this would work out in his favour after all, so Ignis turned a blind eye to his son's lies. This restricted place was a secret he doesn't want anybody to know about. So any curious eyes close to this chamber are unnecessary. But seeing how Igneel was lacking talent, strength and everything else when compared to his siblings, it might be a good opportunity to toughen him up. Among all his children, Igneel was the most pathetic one. Therefore, just this once, Ignis would make an exception and reveal what laid hidden inside this cave in hopes it would change something inside Igneel.

"Igneel, you are forgiven for trespassing on this ground. Since you are already here though, I will reveal to you and only you, the purpose for this place. Nobody else is allowed to know about this. Have I made myself clear?" Ignis bellowed, much to Igneel's disbelief. He had not expected to be let off so easily, not that he would ever dare to voice that aloud.

Instead, he meekly nodded while he tried to stand up again. Failing miserably, he collapsed back to the ground, his body simply too weak from his father's earlier strike. Ignis observed the failures his son called attempts to righten himself up in utter disgust, and for a moment, wondered whether he should just end it all. This child's whole existence was a mortification for him but losing him would be an even greater shame. As hard as it was to believe, they shared the same blood and even the loss of a single drop would damage Ignis's excessive self-esteem. That was simply something he would never allow to happen. So he shifted his attention away from the disappointment he must call his son and to the pool of magma as he started to explain the reason for this room.

"Consider this my prison, Igneel. All those who dare to oppose me are locked up inside here, and I punish them until they have learned their lesson and bend their knees in front of me."

A prison? Igneel never thought his father of all people would have the need for one. There's nobody who doesn't know of the name Ignis, the Fire God Dragon. His spectacular temper was just as well-known across the world, as was his legendary strength. Who would possibly be daring and dumb enough to oppose him anyway?

"I built it only as a precaution, with no intention of ever using it. At least until a certain day, almost 100 years ago, when someone dared to oppose me and insolently refused to die. Thus I locked him up here to repent his actions. He shall only die once he grovels in front of me like the insignificant mollusc he is."

Ignis narrowed his yellowish eyes a little bit. It was enough to summon his godly magic which activated some sort of mechanism inside the fiery cell. The walls rumbled as the hidden apparatus fulfilled its duty. Igneel looked from side to side as he was afraid of what would happen next. His father may be with him, but his presence was not necessarily reassuring.

Suddenly the seething lava domed before a large rock rose from the depths of the hellish pond. The surface was gleaming red from all the heat it had to face but that was not what caught Igneel's attention. He was solely focused on the centre of the chains made from his father's flames. They shackled a small body to the melting stone, his legs and arms safely secured so he couldn't even move an inch. The fragile frame of the being was covered in burn marks, decorating his skin like a rotting disease. Muscles and bones laid bare for the open eye to see. It was a nauseating sight and Igneel wanted to vomit.

The body belonged to a small human boy who was imprisoned by his father Ignis, held captive inside this prison, but why would Ignis go this far out of his way? What could a mere human child possibly do to an almighty dragon god to provoke such actions? Furthermore, if his father spoke the truth, then this small child must have been here for almost an entire century.

Why was he still alive? That's beyond the time a human can cling to the world of the living. Especially when he's constantly submerged in magma and covered in countless mortal wounds!

Igneel was about to ask his father, who looked at the human boy with utter disgust, why he carried out such gruesome actions. Silently, he was afraid of what his father would tell him, but the young boy chose that moment to raise his head, glaring at the fire dragons. His mouth opened and a raspy voice that couldn't belong to a human child filled the heated air. The awful tone grated on Igneel's keen ears. Each octave scraped at his very bones as he listened with his frozen body still clinging to the ground.

"Lil' Igneel, miss-sired brood of the filthy worm Ignis. What do you want here?"

If it had been only the words, Igneel would have been simply shocked. He must have heard Ignis calling his name because, the human couldn't possibly know Igneel's name. But the phrases were mere accessories for those gleaming red eyes full of wrath. The thirst for blood and the intent to kill shot like daggers at Igneel, assaulting his body with a new perception as he began to shiver uncontrolled.

They trashed at him, ravenous for his flesh and life and for the first time in his life he experienced the meaning of fear. His body, formerly immobile as a rock, moved on its own accord. As fast as he could Igneel, fled the scene, too terrified to remain any longer, too afraid of what he had seen.

For the first time in history, a dragon fled in utter fright.

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Ignis most likely would have killed his son for such a blasphemous act of cowardice, but he was too enraged to even bother. Once again, this meagre creature dared to bare its fangs at him. Nobody insults the mighty Fire Dragon God Ignis!

"You still dare to speak to me in such a manner, lowly creature? Know your place for you are in the glorious presence of a god!" the arrogant dragon screamed, each throaty volume a mighty bellow from the depths of his raspy stomach.

Ignis opened his mouth and a torrent of furious flames erupted from his throat like an exploding volcano, cremating the boy's body even more than it already was. The boy screamed in agony as his whole being was set ablaze, but his screech was filled with nothing else but dripping malice. This act has lasted for almost 100 years now but still prevailed with never-ceasing violence. An endless loop of pure terror because not once did the human child bend his knee in front of Ignis. Instead, he continued to glare defiantly at Ignis even while the destructive flames constantly ravaged his body. The boy screamed and roared at the same time. His only driving force was the thought of revenge and the lust for the blood of the dragon who tortured him for unreasonable motives.

For Ignis, the unending stubbornness of his victim was infuriating since he had never been faced with such insolence before. Nobody had ever dared to deny him anything, so his pride suffered a severe blow when this boy opposed him the day he burned his hometown to the ground on one of his most infamous destructive voyages.

As punishment for this crime, Ignis threw the human child into the pits of his prison and let the boy burn, revelling in the child's screams of pain and agony as he was burned time and time again. Ignis would not kill the boy until he was crawling on the ground in front of him, kissing his feet and begging for his worthless life.

But the boy's iron-tight will didn't budge an inch, so the fire dragon god's torture prevailed to this day and would continue to do so, until a few years later the boy escaped from the confines that had shackled him down. Ignis went on a rampage but the human child had vanished from the reach of his grasp. Not that it mattered though. The enchants plastered on the boy by Belserion were still in place, so it was only a matter of time before Ignis could continue to break his victim apart.

Three centuries would pass by until boy and dragon met again. What happened between them changed the world forever.

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The incident in question carved its mark into the annals of history and morphed into a nasty scar that would never heal. As time progressed though, many more events took place, and one in particular, marked the end of the era that had risen after the fateful meeting of the human child and the Fire God Dragon.

Igneel, having grown into a powerful dragon king of fire, made sure of it with his own hands. Shortly after every event of age was lost to history. Those who had lived through it and survived, forced themselves to forget and those born after never experienced the incarnated demise.

At least this is what Igneel had believed all this time. He lived in blessed ignorance, raising Natsu in hopes to see him grow up and realize a radiant future. All the while, the wheels of fate were running into the worst imaginable scenario, and now all precious time was lost.

How foolish he had been.

To think that man had been at his wits' end on that fateful moment in a distant past, was an obvious anomaly, but drunken from hope no inhabitant of Earthland had noticed the fraud. And now the end's redemption was upon them. The day for final judgement hovered above them like an enormous guillotine, threatening to chop off their heads one by one until none of them remained.

Lil' Igneel.

There had only ever been one person who addressed the mighty fire dragon king like this, and it was solely this person Igneel feared among all the others. Almost hyperventilating, Igneel turned around, slowly, still praying that this was simply a nightmarish trick of his mind. All of his hopes vanished and were replaced by utter despair the moment his eyes found the origin of the raspy voice. The unholy form in front of him was the embodiment of evil!

Sitting atop a cliff, a tall man stared at Igneel without giving away any hint as to what he was thinking. The billowy fabric of his white robes and his spiky strands of pinkish hair swayed softly in the volcanic winds. Behind him a good distance away, one of the fire mountains chose that very moment to spit fire, ash and smoke into the atmosphere, giving the cursed being an even more apocalyptic appearance.

The reddish rays of light revealed his features which had been hidden behind a veil of darkness so far. The eyes looking down on Igneel were as gleaming red as ever, bloodthirst and malice still constantly dripping from them. His choice of clothing did little to hide the bulging muscles that lay underneath. A strong and lean frame that contained monstrous might, managing to surpass even the concept of perfection.

Igneel tried to fight it off but lost the battle as his body began to shake furiously, losing all of his control over it. He was scared. Simply knowing this monster was still alive was terrifying enough to act as fuel for an endless wave of dreadful nightmares.

Being in his immediate presence was so much more frightening. Despite being much taller than the man, he felt like an insignificant amoeba crushed by a planet at the moment. Never did he believe he would experience the fright of his past once more.

"Lookin' a bit startled over there," the man mused as he observed the dragon's increasing panic. "You have the expression one would wear if he has encountered a ghost. Are you honestly this surprised to see me again?" Igneel's nemesis asked. "And here I thought you of all people would know of what I'm capable of." The mighty dragon did not dare to answer.

A ghost. His mind whirled around the word and fabricated an artificial story. It was fake and Igneel was well aware of this, but his fear overpowered every other sensation inside his body. He didn't want to believe that this was really happening and would take every action if there was even the slightest chance of convincing him otherwise.

The tale expanded hastily and hit a button inside his memory, opening the door to all the mementoes he had forcibly pushed away. One, in particular, confirmed that this creature couldn't be here right now. It also made Igneel wonder what the maniac Zeref had done. He would worry about that later. Right now, he had other things he must do and the first one was to clear the confusion inside his head.

Slowly overcoming his initial shock, Igneel regained control over his body and voiced his problems.

"You can't be him! It's not possible! I remember the day I killed you with my own hands, saw how my flames burned you to ash. It's not possible, for you to still be alive!" Igneel roared. He was as desperate as he was certain. With his own eyes, he had borne witness to how the vengeance of three dragons, each more powerful than his father Ignis, fused together and brought this man to his knees at last. Igneel had had a second's window of opportunity but he struck and did the impossible. Even as his fire engulfed the foul creature, he thought he had seen the flash of an evil smile gracing the beast's facial features.

Scarlet crimson eyes observed Igneel for a few seconds before the fire dragon could hear a snort-like sound coming from the man's throat. Before long, the air was filled with laughter, and Igneel could only watch, not able to understand where his memory failed him. Between his mad cackling, the man managed to form words that were a nightmare come true for Igneel's' ears.

"Kakakakahah! You? Killing me?! Kakakahaha!" the man bellowed, jubilant over the thought alone. It took him some good minutes before he had calmed down enough in order to speak normal words once more. "It's been ages since somebody managed to make me laugh this hard. It's kinda refreshing, to be honest. Seeing a king of dragons such as you, acting so naivele is really amusing."

The amusement in his face was still very much visible and began to shatter everything Igneel considered reality.

"But I suppose your current reaction is exactly what I wanted to happen. Otherwise, my little trick wouldn't have worked. But seeing how well it performed in the end... maybe I should consider pursuing a career as an actor?" the man asked seriously. It looked like he was playing with this thought.

An act? Igneel's eyes widened further. Was he implying what Igneel thought? It couldn't be!

"Seems like you still don't get it or simply deny the truth. Of all people, I expected you to be the one to first realise the truth. Apparently, you have forgotten about the events at Mt. Hakobe." Igneel's opponent growled out. "Well then, it can't be helped. Allow me a single question, yes?" The pink-haired man stood up and Igneel unconsciously took several steps back.

"Igneel, do you honestly believe I can be killed so easily?"

"No," the king of fire dragons muttered obediently without a second's hesitation, surprised by the fact that he actually managed to muster up an answer. He knew what kind of a monster the man was, so why hadn't it occurred to him even once? With each second passing by, more realisation invaded his body and with every new memory returning to him, his devastation rose.

"Yeah, that's right but it seems you are not fully convinced yet." Narrowing his eyes, an evil shine appeared in his reddish orbs. Igneel flinched and retreated even further without breaking eye contact, too afraid to lose sight of his enemy in favour of running away. It would be futile, he knew.

Suddenly the man was engulfed in wild flames, only his frame and his red eyes remained visible as the air grew thin in this world and every volcano busted by the commands of their lord when his powerful magic activated. His words were a terrific storm, sweeping across the plains of fire and each syllable a thunderous boom resonating with the eruptions of thousands over thousands of fire mountains.

"I think it's time for you to remember the day we met for the second time, lil' Igneel."

Igneel lost control over his body once again. This time he started hyperventilating as his recollection overwhelmed his entire being. From all the days he could have chosen, he picked the worst.

On that day the world was shaken in its foundation and a time of brutal bloodshed began. During these times, despair feared, and fear despaired. It was a time in which dragons crawled on the earth like worms, a time where gods begged for their lives and devils burned in the flames of purgatory.

It was an age of violence and crisis. Calamities became daily occurrences, and the laws of the world were turned upside down as the emperor of the end times reigned with terror over all living beings.

Dragons named this era appropriately for its devastation. Translated into human language, their tongue meant crisis or apocalypse and that was exactly what it was.

The Age Of Etherion!

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As mentioned at the end of the first chapter, I will add content as a foundation for the ideas I have. This chapter initiated another expansion for one topic that I want to change in Fairy Tail as well. After some events which take place at the current time, the flashback will start for real and you are going to follow a younger Igneel through an incident that had an enormous impact on the history of Earthland. I hope you are excited to find out about the true origin of Dragon Slayer magic

See you next time :D