Human's have many theories about how one dies, some say you are reincarnations of animals, some say your soul endlessly resurrects as a new life, some you go to heaven and some you just end, in reality it was more of a combination of the many versions human's had created to justify what they do in life, Death worked in a set of commands, similar to phases, the first phase was somewhere Natsu was quite familiar with this would be the second time he was placed in a position where his body would enter the state he was in, not quite dead but injured enough that he was flittering between the life and death, some human's would refer to it as an out of body experience.
The sensation of falling was obvious, it was slow and calm and only lasted a few moments before he could open his eyes and stare at a endless expanse of black, he pushed himself into a sitting position and got to his feet, the black completely surrounded him, looking down made him feel slightly nauseous as if he were just floating and waiting to be dropped although the feeling of something solid under his feet was unmistakable.
"Some would argue the point of life is to not die," The voice was cold and emotionless and familiar, Natsu turned to face the owner, The man that stared at him impassively appeared to be no older than twenty, his black hair hung around his head loosely his irises were a dark grey, he wore a black suit in his left hand he leaned lazily on a cane, the head of the cane was carved in the shape of what appeared to be a gargoyle, the eyes of the thing were filled with two deep black stones that sparkled slightly even in the black "So, Prince, Do you think your time is up yet?"
Natsu stared at the man opposite him, what stood in front of him was the most feared being in the entire universe, nothing could escape Death, When your time ran out you would not dodge fate nor did he care whether or not you thought you deserved better.
"I do not think my time is up, it feels as if I have much more to do." Natsu responded flatly.
Death's mouth turned into a half smile at the response "I remember you said the same thing to me the last time you arrived here, before you committed a genocide that is." The annunciation of genocide was menacing and held venom that caused Natsu's blood to curdle, a sweat broke out on his head.
"You ended many lives that were not supposed to be finished that day," Death's eyes seemed to bore into him "Do you think you can make amends for something like that? Do you think I will allow you to leave after that?"
Natsu gritted his teeth against the cold stare "No, I do not expect forgiveness and I do not plan on seeking it, I followed the order's I was given and ended the lives of beasts that happened to look like people, they would have killed many more people than I, if I had not finished them."
Death chuckled, the sound was cut of slightly before turning to open laughter "You presume to know how the flow of time would change things, Would you like me to show you, what would happen to your 'monsters in men's skin'?"
Natsu stance widened almost involuntarily and he clenched his fists and the killer intent that was focused on him vanished and Death took a visible deep breath, he raised the cane and hit the ground with it, the clack rang around the emptiness and echoed a few times before stopping, the black seemed to shift and dart around before coming to a stop, Death turned to face a seemingly random section of the black and an image floated into view, it quickly became a set of images and began moving.
"This is the memories of one of the men you murdered from another timeline, a more pure version of yourself refused the mission and the resulting chain of events led to a change in the Berserkers adaption, they integrated into human society even more seamlessly than you have in your little slice of life," Death explained the images quickly "This timeline does not see the creation of Ragnarok, but because of your decision it is in danger from the very being your decision created."
Natsu clenched his fists and stifled the urge to glare at the man who stood a small distance from him "How could I possibly have known any of this?!" he demanded.
"Watch your tone, child," Death responded icily without moving "There is no way you could have known, but you say you have more time and are not looking for the forgiveness of an event you created, you need to accept the consequences and move to fix what you have started."
"Ragnarok? How is he a danger to a timeline only you can access?" Natsu asked, struggling to keep his tone at least respectable.
"That being is meddling with things, not even the Supernatural Races should touch, it is…Outside of your comprehension," Death warned flatly glaring into the black as the images faded "In the coming months, you will be given many choices, The decisions you make will determine whether or not I will allow you to continue to live."
"What do I have to do?" Natsu asked
"Ragnarok will be your target, but you as you are now will never defeat him, you will die if you do not change…You first choice I will give to you right now, Will you continue this charade of blood thirst, Not even I enjoy ending people's lives and sense you can't lie to me I know you do not either, but they say if one lies to themselves enough even they will eventually believe it."
"What Charade? All I have ever wanted is power, how I am now is a result of my own desires." Natsu argued
Death moved his index finger from side to side and Natsu felt a crushing weight wrap around him before he forced into the ground, the strength in his arms only barely keeping his forehead of the ground.
Death stared down at him "Really?" The black felt to be shifting again and another image floated in front of him, Death moved his finger and Natsu's head was forced to stare at the images, he recognized everything he saw, the desert, the little wooden cabin they had lived in before his father had gone off too fight, His mother was scolding him about getting his clothing dirty again, his father was laughing and sitting on the porch, even he was smiling, he couldn't remember the last time he had smiled "I like this one, This is when you had the potential to be something great."
"What's the point? If my time is up hurry up and kill me, I can't keep it up anymore anyway." Natsu finally got out, letting the weight on his shoulder force him into the ground, he didn't care, not like someone like him had a place in the world his father had created anyway.
Death sighed "What are you 'keeping up'? Jeez, are all your family so stubborn when it comes to this stupid charade, Your father went thought the same thing and he held onto the story that he was only doing it for power, same as you. But even you remember what your father used to tell you, don't you?"
Natsu refused to move.
Death rolled his eyes and pulled the sentence straight from the Natsu's memory "I am so strong because I fight for something more than just me, something more important than just one person."
"He told you that every day for almost two hundred and fifty years and then tried to tell me he murdered for power," Death recalled flatly "Neither of you can lie to me, you can fool everyone else even fool yourselves, but in Death everything is made clear and everything is granted peace."
"So, what? You expect me to go back and be all buddy buddy with everyone? I won't do it, I won't change because you believe I am fooling myself." Natsu argued
Death let out a long sigh "It doesn't matter what I think, Even someone as strong as you can't hold up a fake like that forever."
"I'll show you, Nothing is fake about my strength." Natsu growled.
Death sighed again and snapped his fingers, Natsu felt like a Giant had just stepped on him, the air was forced from his lungs "You damn children, Regardless you have to kill the product of your decisions, I will grant you the strength to kill the thing that is about to end you, that thing should never have been created. Your façade will not last forever, Remember that Child."
Natsu opened his mouth to protest but before any sound could escape him he was sent flying into the concrete that was the ground of the school he had been fighting on, He coughed and his brain struggled to regain its bearings as he was grabbed by the ankle and launched into the air.
"Why!? Why?! Are you still alive?" The massive expanse of metal fumed as it leapt after him.
Natsu's eyes snapped open as the whites dyed red, his hair grew out and white spread from the roots changing the color completely as he turned around catching the fist of the hulking piece of metal in his hands.
"How? How can you summon that much strength? You should be dead!" The suit growled in rage and threw another wild blow at him, Natsu pulled up into a handstand on the fist of the suit as the other fist flew past where he just was, he flipped around and slammed his heel down o the head of the suit, sending it hurtling back into the ground.
Natsu pulled his fist back and rotated his hips, turning around the blow like a coil as he began to fall, he straightened facing the ground head first like a missile he flew down and slammed his fist into the chest of the suit, the arms of the suit flailed upwards for a moment before falling limply back into the ground, blood slowly filling the crater that was created by the impact of the suit.
Natsu swayed to his feet, his vision darkened and he staggered before falling to his knees and breathing heavily, the black slowly encroached his vision and he fell to the ground with a loud thud as his head hit the concrete.
"Are you sure about this?" Death turned to another man who were watching the Scene from Death personal realm.
"Yes, I have allowed him to twist his view of himself long enough." The eyes of the other man's eyes glowed red, and he pulled his cloak around himself a little tighter, Death's realm tended to be cold.
"However, I did not expect you to agree?" The man continued.
"You children always amuse me," Death replied "What I said about Ragnarok was not a lie, he needs to be killed, he is meddling with things beyond your comprehension."
The other man nodded.
"But he certainly is your son, He is stubborn to a fault." Death turned back as the image faded away.
"That he is." Natsu's father responded "But he is the only one I can leave this too."
"Oh, You think you time is up soon?" Death raised an eyebrow "You forget the mark you earned."
Natsu's father looked down at the set of words on his left arm, the black writing read 'I am Eternal, Death Will never claim me…My skills exceed his.'
"That isn't for show," Death continued "I will not claim one that earns that mark…And nothing about earning it is easy."
Natsu's father nodded and turned away from him "I'll come back…Old friend."
Death smiled as the man walked away "Don't get too familiar, Child."
A/N: So, what do you think? It took ages to come up with this chapter and I really want some feedback, Did I go too far into 'this ain't right' territory or is still interesting enough that everyone enjoys it? A few more factions come into play and I Hope you enjoyed!