Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail
Being alone for the first time since his curse ended was…strange, to say the least. Zeref was traveling to Shishka Village, a small town to the west of Vistarion in Alvarez. Maria was with him, sure, but she was the one driving towards her home, with him as the sole passenger. She wasn't exactly the sort to start talking calmly with him, considering his standing as emperor. Yet, the silence that took its place…it seemed less relaxing than it once had been. Before, he'd relish in moments of silence, taking it as the perfect opportunity to meditate and attempt to clear his thoughts. Now, he found himself wanting to turn towards someone and comment on how the weather was, discuss his plans for tracking down the thief, or really even just talk about what he was seeing outside as they traveled. He'd grown used to small talk, he supposed, between himself and travel companions. Without such companions here, the silence seemed to just remind him of how alone he was used to being.
It really was strange, foreign to him really, the longing to actually have someone to discuss things with him. How long had he gone, avoiding such things? True, he had Alvarez, but he had always considered conversations within the empire to be strictly strategic. They were never had for pointless reasons, not like small talk about topics as meaningless as the current weather conditions. Yet, he'd grown used to such discussions. Levy spoke with him frequently about her day, talking about studying with Invel and her frustrations with particular subjects at length. She'd listen as he tried to clarify things, and then her eyes would light up as he attempted to recall his rudimentary basics of magic principles to instruct her further. None of it was particularly necessary, but seeing her happy…it made him feel calm, relaxed, and like he was doing something worthwhile.
Oddly, it was the same feeling he used to get when he had finally managed to entertain Natsu as a child. That boy had so much restless energy, while Zeref had always been quite calm by comparison. If he ever managed to construct a game that wore him out and left Natsu incapable of bothering him again…well, it had given him some small measure of pride. Zeref had gotten quite creative after he'd started trying to teach himself magic for such games. He'd create balls of light, capable of being held, and when Natsu wanted to play tag when he was reading, he'd send his brother off after the light instead. Zeref insisted that since Natsu's athleticism was an unfair advantage, he should be handicapped and allowed to utilize magic in his place for their game. So, Zeref would watch and direct the ball of light, flying through the air in the field by their house. Natsu would laugh, his hands stretched to try and catch it as he ran wildly. Eventually, Natsu would get irritated with not being able to catch the ball and come barreling into Zeref instead, and they'd both end up collapsed on the ground, the light fading away with Natsu breathing heavily.
Now…well, he supposed their relationship was improving. Natsu had seemed willing enough to work with him, though that was when Igneel was concerned. Zeref hadn't seen the dragon since they'd hatched the egg, but Igneel likely had other distractions with a new hatchling to watch over anyway. Perhaps he was spending his time with Natsu, catching up on the things he'd missed in the boy's life. As much as Zeref would have liked to do the same, he knew that their relationship was highly unlikely to return to what it once was.
The magic vehicle stopped, jostling Zeref out of his thoughts. It wasn't a particularly long journey to reach Shishka, but he had lost track of time, contemplating his longing for companions to be near. It was easy for him to do, he supposed, after centuries of trying to just waste time in solitude and silent contemplation. Still, the frown lingered on his face, having formed as he thought about his younger brother. Perhaps…perhaps he'd try and contact Natsu when he returned, just to speak with him for a change. It wasn't as if Natsu had asked him not to, right? Surely, there was nothing wrong with a small conversation to attempt to continue improving their relationship as brothers once more.
"Again, I cannot thank you enough for coming to help us." Maria kept her distance, bowing her head respectfully as he exited the car. The village itself was small, mostly with houses scattered between large fields of crops. Already, he could see the dried soil, filled with plants that had tilted over, now appearing to be little beyond unwanted weeds.
Zeref stopped near one of the fields, crouching down. Resurrecting plants was far easier than resurrecting animals in any form. While still technically not a skill most wizards could accomplish, it required far less energy for him to manage. Plant mages often insisted they could do this, but in reality, they were manipulating what already existed; they'd provide energy for living seeds to grow, or manipulate the living plants that existed nearby, rather than bringing back plants that had long since died. Anything living that had lost its life was not meant to return with ease, and that was something that few wizards could comprehend, despite knowing resurrection was nearly impossible to accomplish.
With a slight effort, a magic circle appeared in the field, hovering over it for a moment. White light flashed, raining down on the plants below. After a moment, they began to rise once more, growing until the wheat field was lush again, this time ready for harvest. "Have the people get ready for harvest today. I will recover enough for you to grow your stores again, but I did not bring another G-Amplifier with me to replace the one you've lost."
Maria nodded, moving towards the closest house. He intended to return their former amplifier, in the same condition it left in. Yet, to do that, he needed clues. First, he began continuing his work with the fields, however. Crops recovered, and gradually, people began working about the fields, harvesting and recovering what Zeref had assisted in bringing back. The citizens shot him looks of awe and gratitude as more fields came back to life. Their relief was clear; Zeref knew he'd made the right decision in assisting them personally, unlike what he previously would have done.
As an emperor, he did take care of the lands. Yet…usually, it was not so directly, and for something that had so little reward as this. His typical plan to handle the situation would have been to divert resources from another nearby town, towards Shishka, while he mercilessly hunted down the culprit. To save time, he likely would have simply replaced the enchantment, rather than going after the former version of it. It was the more…efficient route, and required less effort on his part. Yet, he wanted to be different. This place would be his home, and he had to ensure that he had an active role in shaping Alvarez' future, like he'd always managed from the shadows.
Once the fields were handled and being dealt with by the villagers, Zeref moved towards the edge of the village. The G-Amplifier had enough power to cover far more area than just the town, which was why he'd placed it further out. If more fields were planted later, it would have assisted in their growth without the need for another to be buried nearby. Once at the location it had once been, Zeref crouched down and stared at the ground. Wind and sand had covered away any tracks that may have once existed nearby. Yet, he would be able to identify if any magic had been utilized to obtain it, at least.
Closing his eyes, he hovered his hand over the ground, sensing outward. It was clear that the enchantment was gone, but…he couldn't sense anything else. Whoever had taken it had not used magic to uncover it, which was strange. Trying to look further, Zeref began pushing the dirt aside himself, digging a small hole to get closer to where it had once been. He'd had basic wards placed over the G-Amplifiers when buried, though he hadn't anticipated them to be largely targeted so they weren't given much effort. So long as the wizard warding them had even basic competence in wards, they were allowed to take the task as a job for their guild with minimal reward.
The lingering ward was now more clear, after uncovering some of the sand. It had not been placed near the surface, which was what likely allowed it to be so easy to just unbury the object. Yet, the ward had been broken, and to break that ward, magic was needed. Sitting down, Zeref sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on the strands of a broken ward that had been snapped shut. The ward itself…it had been built with some type of lightning magic in mind. It appeared to shock anyone who attempted to contact the enchanted object, which was sufficient enough for the wards he asked for in those jobs. Perhaps…perhaps he'd send out another job for guilds, asking for reinforcements or secondary wards on other G-Amplifiers soon. Either way, it was a thought to go back to another time.
From what he could tell, it appeared as if the warding spell had activated recently, before it was broken. That alone was a bit of luck; distinguishing between the magic signature of the ward and the magic used to break it would be nearly impossible, given the targeted nature of the magic used and the intertwining of the two spells. At least with the activation of the ward, he could see when it was last functional. While the magic of the ward had faded over time, without it being functional, that much could be identified. It…it appeared as if the ward had activated approximately five days ago.
Rising to his feet, Zeref glanced back towards the town. Plants would not wilt immediately with the removal of the G-Amplifier. It took time for malnourishment to begin taking effect…yet he wasn't knowledgeable enough on farming and crops to say how long it typically took for them to become quite so decayed. Frowning, he wondered what to look for next. He could ask the farmers in town, and see if they had answers to such questions. Yet, he'd developed the G-Amplifiers approximately sixty years ago. So, the farmers were used to not having to be concerned with wilting plants and keeping them preserved and nourished like most. Likely, there weren't many that would know the typical rate of decay for their crops, given the quality of the land here.
Standing in the desert wasn't giving him any answers, regardless. His robes were sticking to his skin, and he frowned down at himself. Heat didn't usually bother him too much, but he supposed he was used to having no need to be concerned with sun burn, heat stroke, or any other sort of conditions it could cause. Immortality had indeed made him forgetful of such things.
Walking back towards town, Zeref decided he'd question if the guild they'd asked for help had seen anything. Maria could tell him which guild had taken the job, and he could locate the specific team involved. Given their loyalty to Alvarez, they would assist without much trouble. So, once in town, he scanned the houses with a frown. He didn't know which one was Maria's, and he hadn't paid attention to where she had gone off towards.
After a moment, Zeref walked out into one of the fields, seeing someone hard at work with gathering their harvest before the climate destroyed it once more. "Excuse me." The man looked up, his eyes widening.
"Emperor Spriggan!" He immediately knelt down, bowing his head. "My apologies, I didn't see you there, your majesty."
Smiling, Zeref chuckled. "Worry not, I am not upset and I do not wish to interrupt your work." The man nodded, glancing up slowly. Yet, he still did not stand, still kneeling before him. "I simply wished to speak with Maria again, about the issue of the stolen G-Amplifier."
"Oh." He smiled, nodding. "Well, she'll probably be out at Joel's field over there. He's got the largest one to handle, and she's not the sort to just stand by and let us do all the work."
"I see." He smiled, tilting his head. "So, she typically solves problems personally, does she?" He nodded. "Well, perhaps that is the sort of person to be leading a town after all."
Without waiting for further response, Zeref moved on towards the field he'd been directed towards. A man was working there too, likely Joel based on the last conversation. However, there were a few others amidst the crops too, gathering them and placing them in wheelbarrows before moving on. Wizards were not common in small towns like this, so most of the work was indeed done by hand. The nearest large city was likely an hour away, so it wasn't even beneficial to call upon them for help, given the rate most wizards charged for their efforts.
After a few moments of searching, he found Maria gathering her own share of the harvest within the field. She noticed him when she turned, her eyes widening as he nodded towards her. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was curious to know which guild you had reached out to, in terms of investigating your issue. Tracking the culprit will not be so simple, given their avoidance of direct magic use to dig out the G-Amplifier."
"We went to Kingston, to get help. It didn't make sense to go too much further and force some poor team to travel too far to investigate something that seemed simple at the time." Maria shrugged, resting for a moment. "The guild was the Royal Serpent guild, if I remember correctly."
They were one of the more powerful guilds in Kingston too, due to their attempts to establish and maintain their reputation. Alvarez had numerous guilds to select from, for an ambitious wizard, but Royal Serpent was a prideful group, quite selective in their admissions to the guild. They wanted a variety of skillsets within their ranks, and they only wanted wizards with strong potential to live up to their name. In that sense, they weren't much different than himself, when it came to recruiting wizards. Yet, Royal Serpent didn't quite match his own personal skills in determining future potential of wizards. In their attempts to be selective on new members, they disregarded those that were still learning, but capable of overpowering their current members in the future.
He thanked Maria, before turning to head towards Kingston instead. It was the city he suspected they'd approach, the nearby one with a larger population that could sustain a guild like that. Traveling by foot was time-consuming, but not entirely undesired given the situation. Zeref needed time to think, to consider what he could utilize to track down these thieves.
Lost in thought, Zeref almost didn't notice the person he passed by. Someone was dressed in a dark blue robe on the street between Kingston and Shishka, and he didn't think much of it. However, that was before he saw a hint of a gold emblem out it, fanning out with the breeze. A hood kept their face covered, and that was what made him stop, turning around with a frown. While the hood might keep the sun out of their eyes, the robe itself looked heavy, far too warm for the weather. It was a sign of a foreigner and Kingston was an industrial city, not one for tourists. Its population grew due to the availability of work, not due to any real entertainment or attractions within.
"Excuse me." Zeref saw the person stop, turning towards him. "You do not look like you are from here."
The hood remained over the person's face, and the robe concealed their figure. He could not determine if he was speaking to a male or a female, but the person did seem to remain still. After a moment, a sigh was let out, and the person raised their hand. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice me at all." It was female, that much became clear. What also became clear was that this person intended to pick a fight with him. He sensed the magic start before it actually acted, and Zeref prepared himself to try and counter it. Yet, the spell was completed quickly, before he identified what it even was. "That should make this talk a lot easier now, won't it?" On his wrist, a pink band lingered. He hadn't seen this magic…in centuries. He'd thought sensory link magic was forgotten by now.
The girl pulled down her hood, flashing a smile towards him. The same mark remained on her wrist, stunning him. Two people needed to share some form of a connection, for link magic to work. That meant…she felt connected to him, somehow, because to him, she was a stranger. "Who…who are you?"
The girl shook her head. "Sorry, I'm on orders to stay quiet. Not supposed to reveal too much, or else I'll get in big trouble from what I've heard." She didn't have permission to use magic in Alvarez, so he supposed that'd be the case. However, he'd seen that emblem before, the one on her cloak. Where? He frowned, thinking back. Yet…suddenly he realized it wasn't just the emblem, but the entire cloak that was familiar.
"Jellal…you're a member of his independent guild."
The girl nodded, giggling. "Yup! I guess you've heard of us then?" She shrugged, glancing around. "Then I guess there's no point in pretending I don't know who you are, is there?" Zeref shook his head, holding up his wrist.
"Even if you were not a member of that guild, the mechanics of your magic makes such an effort unlikely to succeed."
"Well, consider me impressed. Not many recognize this magic on sight like you." Yet…this worked to his advantage, not hers. Did she not realize how much pain he could withstand easily? He'd tried to kill himself far too many times to not be willing to injure himself to prevent her from…whatever she intended on doing with him.
"It must not be that surprising, if you are aware of who I am." She shrugged, and Zeref glanced down at his arm. As easy as it may have been to handle the situation…he'd made a promise to Levy. His fingers closed, curling into a fist as he studied the pink band, contemplating the spell. It was far from his field of expertise; sensory link magic worked by dealing with emotions and connections between others, two things he'd rarely had an interest in before. Unraveling it…perhaps on principle, he might understand the rune-work that might make it possible, but that was not the same as understanding it clearly and could have possible repercussions if done wrong. "Is there a particular reason you've tied us together in this manner?"
"Self-defense." Her smile faded, and she shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't exactly trust you and if you already realized I don't belong…well, let's just say that this here is to ensure you don't do anything too crazy and actually just talk instead."
"Ah." He nodded, dropping his hand to his side. "I suppose that is…reasonable, given the reputation you are familiar with for me." She blinked, taking a slight step back with wide eyes. If she was with Jellal, she was born and raised in Ishgar where the popular opinion of him was far from favorable. "Then I suppose I shall just ask my questions and we can both move on without incident." The girl nodded, slowly regaining her composure. Had he surprised her by being reasonable? "I was seeking out something that was stolen, by an unknown source. An enchantment of sorts…my assumption had been that one of the dark guilds had taken it, but given your presence here, I am left to question if there is yet another possibility."
A car came driving down, waiting for them to leave the road to pass. Zeref stepped to the side, and the girl did the same. With both of them standing in the sand off to the side of the road, she turned back towards him. "I haven't heard anything about dark guilds around here."
"Because there aren't any. They tend to be more popular towards the northeastern edge of the empire." He shrugged. Zeref had yet to determine what it was about that region that caused it, but he knew that much. Maybe they thought law enforcement was more lax in that region. Maybe people there were simply more willing to go through unusual routes to present jobs to guilds, and have less favorable tasks completed. "And you mentioned nothing of the enchantment."
The girl bit her lip, before sighing and pulling back her robe. Underneath, a flash of a red dress was seen. However, her hand dug around the cloak for a moment, before holding out an object towards him. "This thing?" Zeref stared at it, narrowing his eyes at the sheet of metal with runes caved into the surface. "Sorry, but I'm under orders to bring it back to Jellal—"
"Do you even realize what you are doing with this?" Zeref stepped forward, his eyes narrowed.
"Well, it is enchanted with…a magic signature we're…familiar with…"
"Not everything made by me is destructive in nature liked you'd wish to believe." He took another step towards her, and this time, she took a step back, deeper into the desert. "Return it to me, and I will forget even seeing you here."
"Not until we've analyzed and determined that it actually is safe—"
"Return it to me." He held his hand out, palm up with narrowed eyes. "I will not ask again; given the laws you've broken, I am within my rights to have you detained and persecuted right now. This, this is me being kind…and I am not typically kind towards strangers."
The girl watched him for a moment. Her gaze flickered towards the enchantment, twisting it around in her hand slowly. Then, she sighed and frowned at him again. "So…are you kind to friends then? Lovers?"
"Avoiding a response?" Zeref's mind flickered to Levy though, at the mention of those he valued. However, he felt a slight pulse in his wrist at that. He frowned, glancing down at the spell. She'd…done something to shift it, ever so slightly.
"Again, I have to admire your perceptive abilities." The girl shook her head. "Look, I will be leaving with this right now - and I've just ensured that it happens. Maybe your rumored immortality kinda makes it pointless for this spell to bind us together, but I doubt your friend, or lover, has the same protection." She held up her own glowing wrist, tilting her head. "Whoever you value personally is now added to our little bond here. So, don't you think you're better off letting this drop for now?"
She…she'd done what? Zeref's hands closed into fists by his side, and he inhaled slowly. "You…dragged her into this?" The pink haired girl nodded, and Zeref stepped forward. "Unravel it, now."
"And have you attack me for it? No way."
"She has nothing to do with this!" The wizard stepped away from him, rolling her eyes again. Zeref felt a twinge in the air as well, sensing the communication lacrima he'd brought with him attempt to connect. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, taking another breath in, hissing through his teeth. "Do not move - if you do, I will not hesitate to stop you, regardless of the consequences." This time, she froze. Yet, Zeref moved to gradually pull out the lacrima, wishing August had better timing in some form. "I'm sorry, but can you reach me again later? I'm somewhat preoccupied at the moment."
He hadn't even glanced to see who was on the other end, but the response came quickly. "Yeah…I sorta figured that much out." He glanced down, blinking in surprise at Levy. She held up her wrist, raising her eyebrows at him. "Sorry…I was just a bit…concerned when this showed up. August is here too, listening in by the way."
"Hello. My apologies if this is…disturbing you at a poor time. Given Levy's lack of discomfort, I was assuming it had yet to evolve to an actual fight, however."
Looking up towards the other girl, Zeref slowly nodded. Yet, his wrist pulsed again, and with that, Zeref sucked in a sharp breath. Just as the girl was about to taunt him again, exhaustion seemed to press towards him harshly. Yet…it wasn't due to anything he'd done. The girl gasped, dropping to her knees. It was as if every ounce of magic was just…leaving him to support her. "Get…rid…of it." He held out his wrist, falling down himself. In the lacrima, he heard Levy cry out, along with some other mumbling from August. "You'll…kill all of us, at this rate."
The girl vaguely managed to flicker her eyes towards him. Weakly…she waved a hand in his direction. The band vanished from his wrist, and the exhaustion stopped worsening in an instant. Yet…she did not quite pass out then. She slid something towards him, while Zeref was breathing in heavily, trying to recover. "Please…help…get him…here…" Her eyes watched him, pleading for a moment before sliding shut. Then, she did not move at all, leaving Zeref wondering just how such a spell could exhaust her to such a point and how she could bring herself to rely on someone who had just been threatening to harm her moments ago. Yet…that reliance might be her downfall, in the end. Zeref felt dizzy, and the heat beating down on him seemed to make it worse. He found himself falling forward, resting in the sand near the road and slowly closing his eyes by her side, hoping he'd recover soon and that no one saw this as an ideal opportunity to remove him from power, permanently.
Well, things have escalated quickly here. Sorry for the vagueness of what is going on, but that is quite intentional in this chapter as Zeref himself doesn't quite know what's going on either. I assure you there is a reason for this happening, but the explanation will come later and is the reason it took me so long to get a good idea on how to move forward with this final arc, to be honest. It was a plot point I'd wanted to incorporate, but just couldn't figure out how to resolve in a way that fit this story for a long time...hence the reason I was so eager to add this arc once an idea came to me for it. Either way, feel free to review and tell me what you think!