"I'm your mother, Erza," Irene said, a scarce and barely visible smile grazed her lips, turning them skywards. A bitter truth for mother and daughter alike, since there was nothing but mutual hatred for each other.

The expression her daughter made as Irene revealed her true identity was utterly amusing. The small smirk venturing across her features grew in its prominence, taking delight in the contorting visages that switched places in a rapid circulation on Erza's face.

Disbelief. Disgust. Shock. Anxiety. Fear. Each was better than the one from before until the endless river began anew. So very much amusing and entertaining indeed.

The little dragon slayer right next to her mimicked Erza's motions and was just as shocked as she was but this was merely the beginning of the tale. She had done her part and presented the Fairy Heart to His Majesty. Now it was her turn to do as she pleases and fry her own fish. After all she has come specifically for this fateful reunion so she won't allow anyone to interfere at this point.

Everyone dumb enough to attempt would understand, why Irene's referred to as the Scarlet Despair. That being said, she will allow the small child raised by a dragon to stay. After all her story affects the girl probably as much as it does Erza and still continues to do so to this very day and moment. Most likely this is an aspect of life that will never change again.

Too great is her failure from more than four hundred years ago. The error she made without knowing and only realising the gravity by a mere coincidence, by a streak of luck offered to her from fate itself.

She still remembers - much to her displeasure - how desperate she felt on that day she found out. Everything she has been looking for was directly in front of her. Close enough to be grabbed yet so far away that she simply could not make contact with the solution to all her problems. It caused her only more despair and grief until His Majesty found her by sheer coincidence as well and saved her from the pathetic life she was living until that moment.

"You're lying. You can't be my mother. The master is my only parent." Erza countered her claim of being her mother and charged.

What a silly little girl she was. So young and insolent in mind. In truth, she had understood the connection they share when their eyes met for the first time. Yet, she denied the truth in a miserable attempt to twist history to her liking.

What a dumb and useless daughter she is! Unsurprisingly to Irene, she feels nothing when looking at her, making it so much easier to kill her. However, her interest in her own flesh and blood dwindles with every passing second and shifts to the cute little girl. A Dragon Slayer and an enchanter at the same time? Ah, life and fate certainly are never ceasing to offer entertainment.

Swatting away the sorry excuse of what Erza calls an attack, Irene begins her historical lesson without a care in the world.

"Now, now my lovely daughter, Don't be so hasty. Patience is a virtue. Besides, my tale holds great importance for the small girl over there. After all my full name is Irene Belserion, the queen of dragons."

Taking the startled gasps from her opponents as her cue she unfolds a story of old, an ancient tale only a few know about.

However, before this story even begins there is another, an epos more antique and important than everything else since the world from today is built upon its foundation. And in the depths of Natsu's soul, his foster father Igneel is forced to revisit this most forbidden memory of his against his will.


Pain. Nothing but pain. His whole body ached. Each breath caused more and even the irregular beat of his heart bestowed him with nothing else but agony. How was he still alive? Why was he still alive? He remembers the fatal blow from the Celestial Spirit King, how the attack tore at his insides and resulted in fleshly havoc and how he fell on the ground in complete and absolute defeat.

Like an annoying persistent gnat, the warning, which was given to him and Atlas Flame ventured through his mind over and over again, mocking him with the devastating result of their overconfidence. And speaking of his friend. Did he feel the same as he does right now? This agony and shame. Or had he already died and passed on, waiting for him on the other side? A dreading thought but very much possible taking into account the amount of damage both of them had suffered in this one-sided battle.

And if not Igneel would be the one waiting, because darkness was creeping from the very corners of his eyes into sight, ready to close the curtain eternally on his life. But a new gruesome shock of pain shakes his body and brutally pulled Igneel back into the realm of the living.

Someone had stomped on his head, pushing it against the hard rocks he was laying on. A strained groan escapes his body as his vision fully returns to him and allows him to identify the culprit behind the merciless action.

The first thing he saw was the body of his friend and brother in mind Atlas Flame, dangling in the air as a plated gloved hand had lifted him up. Just like Igneel himself, he squirmed in hurt and agony but their opponent doesn't care in the least.

Instead, he observed the victims at his mercy with those emotionless ruby-like eyes. Was it not enough for his ego that he had beaten them into a state where they were more dead than alive? Did he need to torture them on their last breaths to satisfy whatever morbid ideals roamed through his head?

When the increasing pressure on his head and the tightening hand around his friend's throat were anything to go by, probably yes. And if this was not convincing enough the next words uttered by the transcendental being left no room for interpretation.

"Allow me to release thee of thine suffering," he said in his everlasting neutral voice. Behind him two golden stars appeared out of nowhere, acting as the final nails in their individual coffins. But just as they were about for the fatal strike another voice filled the air, a tune so thunderous and murderous at the same time, that Igneel feared it would shave his remaining life away.

"Stop right there, Celestial Spirit King Nostradamus" the person, whomever this voice belonged to, said, not in a commanding tone but the demand was still noticeable enough, hiding within in the waves of the echo.

'Nostradamus. So that's the name of the celestial king. How fitting. The name sounds as mysterious as the cosmos from where he descended.' Igneel thought. For the voice knowing the name must mean they were allies, fighting together even though located in different places.

"Old friend..."

"I'm aware how much you dislike any sort of violence so you have my eternal gratitude for coming to my aid. But there's no need for you to stain your hands with blood anymore. I'm finished over here so you are free to leave whenever you want."

Igneel barely grasped on to the conversation but somehow managed to listen to every word. He wished he hadn't. Because one of the terms exchanged caused him a dread he has never suffered beforehand.

Finished.

Does this mean... no, it couldn't be! It would be more realistic when heaven and earth switched places than his father losing a battle.

"So your vengeance resulted in success?" the Celestial Spirit King inquired. Igneel wondered, was that relief in his voice after hearing his companion's voice, indicating he was alive after the battle against the god of dragons.

"Not yet." was the retort before the answerer paused for several seconds, most likely deep in thought "There's is a certain place and only there I'll be able to bring a close to this chapter of my life once and for all."

Interpreting the words correctly must mean Ignis is still alive but not for long. And what is the meaning behind the topic of revenge? Who possibly could hold a grudge against his father and was still breathing? Pondering about this new piece of information Igneel realised that there was something off. So far he had summarised the Moon Dragon God Selene was fighting against Ignis but the voice speaking to the heavenly king belonged without a doubt to a male. So it couldn't be her but that left the question open who was the real enemy.

Suddenly the pressure on Igneel's head was lifted and next to him the ground cracked open when the body of Atlas Flame was released from the iron tight grip.

"I see. In that case, I shall return to the skies and watch over your future, old friend. May the stars' shine guide you on your path." Bright, golden light invaded Igneel's vision, erasing every other colour. Even closing his eyes did little to lessen the burden on his visual sense. Then his ears picked up a sound that couldn't be described otherwise than a meteor rising and shooting back into the cosmos it had once fallen from.

After that, the agonizing light disappeared as haste as it was born and left both dragons behind to suffer in their devastating defeat on their own. And as if that was not enough already the voice from earlier resonated again, this time directly in his head unlike before, where it came from every direction at the same time.

"You should have listened to Nostradamus' warning and stay put. Look at what your worthless overconfidence brought upon you. Two mighty dragons crawling like worms on the ground. How utterly amusing," it mocked, making fun of their current situation. Igneel would have been annoyed and enraged but hadn't left the necessary strength to do so. This changed when the unknown owner of the voice whispered his next sentence, precisely laid out and prepared in advance for only Igneel.

"You haven't changed that much, lil' Igneel." The chord hit deep and hard inside Igneel's unprepared mind and heart. And even if he would have gone ahead and expected the worst of the worst this was still beyond his imaginative capacities.

Lil' Igneel. The words fuelled a long-forgotten emotion inside his memory, gifted to him on a day long past. That day he understood the true meaning of fear, which haunted his dreams in the years that followed, never showing him even a single spark of mercy. And now the one responsible had returned and made his life miserable once again.

In the shocked and confused state he was in, Igneel stretched his wings and used power he shouldn't have. He took off in a frenzy of madness, ignoring the screeching pain of his body and the meek whisper of his friend from below. He will not believe it is him, not until he has seen it with his own eyes.

He soared through the skies as fast as he could with what little life force he had left inside of him. At this point, he had lost every sense of time. Right now for Igneel, it was nothing more than an obscure construct he could never hope of understanding no matter how hard he tried and the effort poured within.

Sooner or later, he was unable to tell them apart, he reached his destination. The home he had left behind when the first soft rays of the sun greeted the world was unrecognisable for him. Where mountains had been, were now craters as deep as the mountains had been high. The singular craters were connected by cracks covering the surface of the ground, forming an underground maze nobody could hope to leave should they ever dare to set foot in. Flames burned on top of molten stone venturing through the moon-like scenery in front of him.

Just what kind of battle could cause such a drastic shift in the environment? If Igneel hadn't been in such a hurry he would have turned around instead and fled the scene. The sight laying in front of his eyes was simply too terrifying.

Yet his desire to see whether all of this was only a morbid joke or not was stronger so he continued on his suicidal journey. Much to his surprise his home, Mt. Hakobe, has been spared by the overall destruction of the surrounding area. How many miracles were needed for this Igneel had no will to question. Only that the fiery mountain still stands matters. But even so the sort of relief he felt in the short moment vanished when he picked up the vile, evil magic emitting from the innards of the volcano.

Being this close he almost fainted by the sheer feeling of the magical power. Too strong, too dense, too intensive, too invasive. It seemed like his own magic was snuffed out by the overwhelming presence tainting his home.

But even so, he still did not stop, not when he found countless dragons brutally slaughtered at the entrance and not when he discovered his siblings who had suffered the same fate. He went deeper and deeper into Mt. Hakobe, following a path he only had used once and swore to himself he wouldn't go a second time. Too terrifying and traumatising was what waited at the end.

And just like the last time he was here, at the end of the path a spring of light emitted but this time around the source was not his father but someone else. The roles from back then had fully reversed.

His father was imprisoned in chains build from nothing but fire. They bound him to a large orb of fire, one that looked very similar to the one sharing its illumine essence during the day.

Igneel's attention did not linger for long on his parent since someone else occupying the chamber demanded it. At the end of the ledge stood a shadow and upon Igneel's arrival turned his head so he could look the dragon, petrified by fear, into the eyes. A demonic smirk formed on his lips.

"Ah, so you did come after all. And just in time for the grand finale." Igneel could only decipher the true identity of the unholy being by the colour of his hair. Otherwise, he would have had no other option but to think this was a nightmare come true.

"Watch and engrave this into your mind for eternity, lil' Igneel. This is how it begins. The end of the dragon age!"

Out of thin air, innumerable swords formed, mimicking the fashion of the chains and then they charged forward. Igneel couldn't even scream before his father was impaled by the swords of the demon lord, screaming in pain before his voice died down and his eyes turned white as he took his last breath.


"You're the one who has invented Dragon Slayer Magic?!" asked the little girl with a startled gasp.

"Indeed, that's correct. So in a manner of speaking, I'm your mother as well, my dear little enchantress," Irene revealed to the children in front of her. Her daughter by blood had tried several times to interrupt her so she received a befitting punishment in form of a good old spanking.

The dragon-slaying girl treated her immediately but Irene had no intention of stopping her for now. She would only step in when her story is said and done. So instead she continued with her tale and when they arrived at dragon slaying it seemed even her daughter was finally ingested and wouldn't interfere anymore.

However, she will not reveal everything to them. So to say only the "good" parts. Otherwise, she would admit the fraud she allowed herself to commit.

The fraud of Dragon Slayers.

It was during the time she searched for ways to release her from the curse that had befallen her. By sheer coincidence, she got her hands on something that turned her understanding of the world upside down.

It was a book, a book with detailed information on how to perform what she understood until that moment under "Dragon Slayer Magic". The book revealed to her that her curse could not be cured because she was not a real Dragon Slayer. She was nothing more than a container, housing the powers of a dragon. In other words, she was a dragon slaying other dragons or in a short, a Dragon Slayer.

The term was the same but that was the only similarity they shared. The magic she had used so far and considered as "Dragon Slayer Magic" was nothing but a great lie she came up with by herself. While reading the book everything that had happened so far suddenly made sense. Of course, one dragon can kill another dragon and if the same power is bestowed upon a human, the human will be able to do the same.

But this is where the problem lies. The human body can't keep up with the overwhelming power and will eventually crumble and die. Those who were stronger are remodelled by the draconic force until power and appearance look the same.

They are transformed into dragons.

And this is the case that applies to her. She might be able to turn back into her human self but only optical. Her cells and genes are still that of a dragon and this can never be reversed. Upon realising that, she despaired even more. When His Majesty gave her back her human body she hoped for a little while but this was crushed shortly after. She withers in suffering as long as she is in her human form. Only when she transforms into a dragon her body can keep up with her might.

True Dragon Slayer Magic works completely different and the most shocking about is that it's not even magic, to begin with. It's a magical attribute comparable to the Lost attribute. It can be attached to every magic and morph it into true Dragon Slayer Magic. Never would she have been able to come up with such an idea because the method contradicts the fact that she is a living being.

The essence dwelling inside the Dragon Slaying Attribute is the denial of life itself. If used against another life form nothing is going to happen aside from the effect the used magic would normally have but if directed towards a dragon its life, body and soul will be taken away with each hit, causing an unmeasurable amount of pain.

Further, to create an effect like this one must have achieved to understand the process of life. Otherwise, any form of interference is impossible and that terrifies Irene the most.

Who could possibly have obtained such knowledge? It's a gruesome idea of someone being able to do such deeds, meddling with life.

But with this knowledge, she was able to discover one thing, one that frightened her.

The man she had faced during the last night was different from her. So far she thought he was one of her creations but she was false. His strength is not that of a dragon but that of a Dragon Slayer, a real one.

The man, who is known as none other than Acnologia.

And the only being who might be able to stop him on his search for destruction is the person who granted him this power in the first place.

The original Dragon Slayer, who can't possibly be alive anymore.


Hope I managed to surprise you with the reveal about Dragon Slayer Magic. Ever since I started this story this was one of the moments I was looking forward to writing. That's basically the whole reason why Irene has her part in this story. I thought it would be fitting for the mother of Dragon Slayers to present this twist in the history of FT since I consider her as one of the persons capable to turn things around until they pleaser her.

Thank you for the support you've given me so far. Every form of response is always very much appreciated :D