Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail
When Zeref awoke, he was pleased to note that he felt relatively unharmed. He was tired, yes, but not nearly as exhausted as he last remembered being. Above him, Zeref could see the clear sky, with a bright sun burning overhead. It was still hot, and still quite early; he likely had either slept for only a few moments, or perhaps for an entire day. Given his lingering exhaustion, he was inclined to lean towards the former, however. Slowly, he began to sit up, glancing around and inhaling slowly. The lacrima the girl had attempted to give to him still rested by his side, though given what just happened…he was not so comfortable attempting to utilize it. Her spell should not have been so draining, so there was something else here, interfering with her magic.
Frowning, Zeref glanced around. It looked like a desert still. Kingston was too far away to see, and Shishka and Vistarion, in the opposite direction, were also not visible. Yet, he could see the mountains where Acnologia would have once attempted to hide away in, on the rare occasions when he deemed Zeref worthy enough of a conversation. That man's pride kept him alone, and made him far more similar to Zeref than the black wizard liked to admit.
Still…what was he missing? Sensing around for magic, the first thing he found was his enchantment. Quietly, he reached over towards the girl, taking it from her and using requip magic to hide it away for now. He'd return it to Shishka later, since it would not be needed quite so soon. Instead, he glanced above him instead. Was there an airship that had flown overhead? Such a thing could carry a dangerous form of magic, and have vanished before he woke from his brief moment of sleep.
All he saw in the sky was a vulture, seeking out some decaying creature for its next meal. With a sigh, Zeref nearly returned his gaze down when something odd happened. The vulture had been flying, circling them perhaps, when suddenly, it just vanished from sight. He blinked, narrowing his eyes. After a moment, he paused, sensing upward rather than just around the region on the ground. Then…then he felt it. How long had it been since he attempted to track this down? Since he and Dimaria worked restlessly, tirelessly, over calculations and models to predict its movements and actions?
Still…something felt…wrong. It was certainly the time rift, but it did not have the same feel it once held. In fact…Zeref was beginning to question how he remained alive, staying so close to it with so little magic. By his side, the girl was still asleep. He hadn't even learned her name, and right now…it seemed as if he would be unlikely to do so. He frowned at her for a few moments, debating. She…she had begged him, to help. Yet, she'd broken his laws. Technically, for her theft, endangerment of Shishka, and use of magic…it would be enough to warrant far more of a punishment than most nations would provide. Typically, he'd institute prolonged imprisonment, not death, but it still was not beyond the realm of possibility if the criminal was suspected of being a candidate for future crimes. Given the nature of her guild, she definitely was.
Still…he'd spoken with Jellal, and had gained an understanding of sorts about that guild master. His intentions were not wrong, and the enchantment was where it belonged, back in his possession. Plus…despite knowing she'd attacked him and doubting in his willingness to be reasonable and simply talk with her…she'd given him the only method of saving her. Likely, it was contact to her comrades in the guild, though he couldn't say for certain.
Whatever the case was, he wouldn't be able to have enough time to make the decision for long if he remained here with her. The air felt…almost suffocating, and his exhaustion would not recover here. For some reason, the time rift was draining away every inch of ethernano around them. Likely, once this girl had expended enough energy for it to notice her, the time rift had targeted her magic as well. It had stolen that away, causing it to ripple outward to everyone in her connected ring of magic. In a way…he supposed he owed her, for making herself vulnerable and dropping the spell before real harm could be done. So, still debating the proper choice, he decided that for now he'd bring her away, and maybe she'd improve from there.
With that, he lifted the girl, carrying her towards the road. Given the location of the time rift…Zeref paused, glancing towards Shishka. With a sigh, he turned away, moving towards Kingston instead; they needed to be warned, and the wizards nearby needed to stop utilizing magic. He did not know how long the rift would remain without his notes in Vistarion, but he knew that it would kill anyone who wasn't careful nearby. Based on what he'd just experienced, it had attempted to drain away all of the magic she possessed. Currently, that left her suffering from a severe case of magic deficiency…which also meant that the closest location to provide treatment would be in Kingston as well, where there were practicing wizards and a need for such a specific form of care.
The city was in sight before long, though the exhaustion had not yet improved. Zeref still found himself longing for sleep or something, but he had to take care of this problem first before he could focus on such things. He walked into town, and people nodded towards him, blinking in surprise as they realized he was carrying someone. One of the citizens eventually approached him. "Excuse me, your majesty, would you like help carrying her through town? I'm not certain of your destination, but it appears as if she is in need of some form of care."
He nodded, passing the girl off to the man. "I'd like to come with you, to explain the situation to the healer." The man nodded, leading the way through town. The glances still came, likely curious as to who she was to him. Yet, Zeref ignored them all. He needed to warn the healer to avoid magic during treatment and then from there, locate the guild hall for Royal Serpent.
The man led Zeref to a small building, with a large yard and a floral aroma surrounding the place. Pots with lilies were growing outside, lining the windows, though there still wasn't much in terms of greenery or color beyond that. When the door opened, a younger man glanced at them, before his eyes widened. "You…you're…"
Zeref nodded, smiling faintly. "May I come in? I have some information regarding a patient that I have brought with me." The healer nodded, stepping aside and staring after him with wide eyes. The other man brought the girl in, lying her down on a cot when the healer gestured to set her down there. Afterwords, he gave Zeref a bow, saying goodbye and leaving.
The healer frowned at her, before shaking his head with what looked like amusement. "Another magic deficiency case, huh? Not all that surprising, though I didn't expect…well, you, to be bringing one to me."
"Have they been coming in often?"
For a healer, the boy was young. Yet, he just shrugged, turning around and moving to a cabinet on the wall. He opened the doors, shuffling around jars within and pulling out a few after a moment. "It might be too soon to say…but these last few days have been odd at least." The boy blinked at that, his eyes widening before spinning around and doing his best to try and wave a hand out at Zeref with the jars cradled in his arms. "Not that anything's wrong with it at all, your majesty! People need healing, and I do my work without complaints. Yup, I will just heal your friend here, and…stop rambling about all this, yes I will." He nodded to himself, smiling and going back to the wizard. He set jars up along a table next to her, and Zeref watched with a frown.
"Do…do you utilize magic at all in the process of treating these patients?"
"Nope, I'm not certified to practice, your majesty." His face was oddly cheerful still, with freckles and brown eyes gazing back at Zeref. "My healing tends to focus on herbal remedies…but usually, it takes at least a few hours, if not a few days, to recover from these cases." He pressed his hand to the girl's wrist, before shifting it higher and holding it against her neck. Zeref had taken pulses multiple times, though he'd never seen someone observe the same thing with multiple pulse points. "Heartbeat's weaker than I'd expect. Seems like she's got a downright awful case right here. No offense, but she must've done something pretty reckless to get this bad."
Zeref couldn't help the slight smirk that formed with that. "Oh, I assure you, she was quite reckless indeed." The healer looked startled, and Zeref sighed, rising to his feet. "Regardless, would you object to me leaving as you care for her? I must speak with her when she awakens, but there is another matter I must attend to with the guild in town."
"Of course. They're right down the street that way, just past the wishing well. Can't miss 'em, and if you end up needing to stay, there's an inn right next to the guild too."
"I will keep that in mind." The healer grinned again, nodding. Zeref just shook his head, turning to leave. Staying might actually cause her treatment to be delayed, given how that boy seemed to act around him. Either that, or the boy just had his own strange tendencies that Zeref wasn't quite familiar enough with to pay attention to. Regardless, he began walking down the street, following the healer's direction towards the guild. It only took a few minutes to locate, and he stood gazing up at a guild that had an imposing structure, looking over the rest of the city surrounding it. It was made of white bricks, meant to appear immaculate from the outside he imagined, given their focus on strength within.
Pressing open the door, Zeref glanced around inside. There weren't many wizards meeting. A small team was holding a job request, waiting outside of a door to what was likely an office. Another person was staring at the bulletin board where jobs were posted, a crease on his forehead as he stared at it. Yet, there were no loud shouts or rambunctious actions as he'd partially expected. Levy had mentioned a few things about Fairy Tail, after all; that guild was never quiet and members were constantly sparring within the guild hall.
He walked towards the group waiting outside of the door, clearing his throat behind them. The team turned, with one of them raising his eyebrows at Zeref. "You need something? Because some skinny kid like you doesn't belong here. I'd suggest getting some practice in before trying to join the strongest guild around."
Well, that was unusual. Zeref blinked at him, tilting his head. "It appears as if you do not recognize who I am." He smiled. True, Zeref knew he spent much of his time away from his empire, but the majority of citizens still knew what he looked like.
The man, likely the team's designated leader, crossed his arms over his chest. "Was I supposed to? You think you're some big-shot wizard or something?"
"No, not particularly." There was always room for improvement, and Zeref knew there were others with more impressive skills than him. At least…he believed there were. August, just given his style of magic, would be one. "However, I would like to speak with your guild master."
The wizard scowled, and shook his head. "He's right in there. Wait a minute and he'll be out to deny your request to join soon enough."
With that, silence fell over them uncomfortably. The three wizard team just watched Zeref, who stood amongst them patiently, gazing at the door. Eventually, it opened and a pair left, looking tense as they moved towards the exit. Bags were slung over their shoulders, likely supplies for their next job. Based on their reactions, it was not meant to be a simple task. Perhaps they had reached S-Class level, though he did not know enough about the individual wizards to say for certain in this place.
The team seemed to grumble under their breath as Zeref went in before them. The leader spoke up, unlike the rest. "Hey, you gotta wait like everybody else, pal. We came first, so we speak to him—"
"What I have to say is meant to save lives." Zeref spun towards him, narrowing his eyes. "Do not interfere, and do not think you have the authority to speak over me."
"Coming from a guy who openly claims he's not powerful?"
"Currently, I am on the brink of magic deficiency, and I could likely pass out at any moment." He met the man's gaze, seeing his eyes widen. "However, I am used to ignoring similar weakness, based on past experiences." Starvation had often left a similar feeling in him, when he was immortal at least. "It is true that you could overpower me, given the fact that I am in no condition to utilize magic to fight. Yet, would that truly be an honest proof of your strength surpassing my own? No, if you wished for that, you'd arm yourself with a weapon, and do the same for me, and spar without such gifts. Even then, however, the general weakness that comes about in a wizard from magic deficiency would make my reactions slower, and make things more favorable for you."
"All of you, shut up and get in here!" The guild master spoke from behind them, and Zeref turned, chuckling faintly. A woman sat at the desk, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Boys are all idiots, puffing out their chests and wanting to show off their muscles. Some days, I seriously hate all of you." Her gaze flickered towards Zeref as they entered, her brow furrowing. "Strange. I haven't seen you around here, but I feel like I have seen your face somewhere…"
"It is very likely that you have." Zeref held out his hand, nodding towards her. "I am Emperor Spriggan, here from Vistarion on important business from Shishka. I hear your guild was hired to investigate the amplifier for their fields, correct?"
"E-emperor?" The team that had been arguing with him started to look pale. Yet, the leader slowly shook his head. "No…our emperor isn't stupid enough to drain away that much of his magic. You're bluffing."
Zeref turned towards him, narrowing his eyes. "I utilized no magic. Rather, I was targeted by a combination of a form of magic long forgotten, and a magical anomaly formed through an improperly balanced spell within the field of time magic."
"You're making things up!"
"Go out into the desert and utilize magic, if you do not believe me. Though…I advise you to have your team on standby, to bring you back here when you collapse from magic deficiency as a result." He shrugged. "It matters little to me, despite the warning I came to bring. If you still wish to risk your life, I will not stop you."
They were quiet again, shifting their weight. Yet, the guild master only glared at them. "All three of you, that's enough of this. There are simple enough ways to test his claim…though I do not think they are necessary." She paused, turning back towards Zeref, bowing her head. "My apologies for not recalling where I'd seen you; it has been a while since I saw the dedication to your work in town. Believe it or not, Kingston practically worships you, or at least, the founders did. They built a statue of you, in front of the mayor's house. Yet…despite the rumors of your immortality, I never quite realized you'd look exactly as you did in that statue."
He shrugged. "Most do see such comments as mere rumors, given the complexity of such magic." Zeref paused, crossing his arms over his chest. "While my initial intention was to seek out the team that had helped Shishka discover the G-Amplifier was missing, my reasons for being here have now changed. I have located the missing enchantment…but also found something quite alarming, less than two miles away from your city, between here, Shishka, and Vistarion."
"The anomaly you mentioned?"
He nodded. "The thief I encountered had utilized a form of magic known as a sensory link. It is…difficult to work around, but not impossible. However, had she not utilized it, perhaps I wouldn't have even realized the problem. So, I am uncertain whether to label her actions as intentional, to bring the issue to my attention, or mere coincidence." He needed a reason to allow her to go free, should he manage to work things out with her guild peacefully for now.
"Well, what exactly is it?"
Glancing at the team of wizards, Zeref sighed and shook his head. "A time rift - in simplest terms, it is a tear in time itself that has physically manifested itself into our world. In terms of size, it had been approximately the size of the tip of a needle, last I was aware. Now…I'd have to look at it more closely, for details, but do not currently have the focus to manage an in-depth study immediately."
The master shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look, you can deal with whatever research you want to do on this thing soon enough, but I don't see what this has to do with my guild. We've got work to do, and as much as I respect you and want to help, I can't just give out a job telling them to sit out in the desert and observe what happens." She rose to her feet, moving towards the team of her guild members.
"Have you noticed a recent increase in magic deficiency cases at all?" The master narrowed her eyes, turning back towards him. Smiling faintly, Zeref tilted his head. "A time rift is, by definition, a magical construct. However simple I made it sound before, that is not truly the case. Just like anything else magical in nature, it requires ethernano to remain in existence. When stable, that magic is drawn from the atmosphere, the same as it is for a wizard."
"And when it isn't stable?"
"Even I cannot predict that." Zeref folded his hands on the table, nodding with his head towards her seat. Slowly, the guild master returned, sitting down across from him. "Yet, I was there to witness the rift reaching into a wizard and drawing out nearly all of her magic energy. It reacted to her utilization of magic, and reached out towards a potential source of energy. I do not know if this will be typical behavior or not; the atmosphere itself had already been drained of ethernano, so perhaps it was…starving, for lack of a better term, for energy."
"You're telling me that this time rift was stable…and at some point, has just randomly decided to go wild?"
Zeref shook his head. "Something must have interfered to cause such a shift." After a moment, he paused, frowning and glancing at the wall behind her. "Yet, I am saying that the rift is currently unstable. If I were to provide advice to you know…I'd recommend relocating your guild. While the time rift moves frequently, I do not know how long it has been here, nor do I know when, or to where, it will move next. Utilizing magic when it is growing and expanding has proven to be near-deadly. That, is why I came. I wished to give you a proper warning, and allow you to respond to it as you see fit."
"You…aren't banning us from staying and using magic?"
He paused, rising to his feet. "No." As dangerous as it was, he couldn't take away their choice for how to live. "Not all wizards could easily transition to a different job than this. If they feel it is worth the risk, then they will be more than welcome to continue to practice. However, if I were you…I would not let them do so without knowing fully well that it could mean their deaths." His gaze glanced towards the team, sitting in the office with pale skin, silently listening. "Now, I must be off to rest. As I had explained, I am exhausted from my trip here and in need of recovery. Do take care…and please, do better to not judge solely on appearances. That, young wizards, will easily result in your own demise, just as well as lack of ability can."
They flinched, and Zeref smiled, turning to walk out. He moved next door, to the inn that had been mentioned and walked inside there. Unlike the guild, he was recognized and immediately brought to a room. There, he let his shoulders sag, rubbing his head and taking a deep breath. He was still so…tired, from what had happened. He hoped Levy recovered faster than he did; she was in Vistarion which was further away from the rift than here. Glancing out the window, he frowned and wondered how she was doing. Belatedly, he realized he had forgotten his own lacrima in the desert and could not contact them. Instead, he was stuck with that other girl's, which he could not alter until he had contacted her comrades first. For now, however…he just needed more sleep, to recover and begin moving on. He leaned down in his bed for the night, lying back and closing his eyes. It only took moments for him to fall into a dreamless slumber, gradually recovering and planning what to do about the time rift in the near future.
And now we have a bit more of an explanation of the actual conflict of this last arc! It took me too long to figure out a method of resolving having the time rift be an actual conflict that I liked, hence the reason this arc almost didn't make it into the story. It just seemed like something from canon that wasn't fully explored, something that definitely should've caused some sort of issues at some point in time (beyond just being a tool at the end for Neo Eclipse). So, here's the start of that conflict for this story. I do hope you enjoy. If I have enough time, I might try and put up a second chapter today, so I can meet my goal of finishing this story before the end of the month. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!