"Wait! Please don't go!" I cry, my breathing ragged. But the words fall short, and with them my legs cave in; bare feet numb to the cold slip out from under me and I crash. Instead of biting gravel, I plummet into snow.
I can't reach him. The truth is a pile of lead weighing my tongue down and the longer I lay there, the further out of reach he becomes. I glance up long enough to catch his unruly pink hair shift in the breeze before tearing my eyes away. It's only then that I notice my hands, fingers tinged blue within the snow. Only the spot on my right hand where the Fairy Tail insignia should be is empty. I choke back a scream.
My lips form his name but no sound escapes. Why? Why won't anything come out? I panic and try again in a vain effort to stop the tears now clouding my vision. Natsu I beg silently, but it's too late. He's already gone. When I snap my head around, the Fairy Tail guild is nowhere in sight. I'm now completely alone.
It's only then that I realise I'm dreaming. Because how could this not be a dream? I've already lost everything.
…...
When I wake up, skin covered in sweat, I realise no amount of research will bring them all back. It's simply too late I decide, locking eyes on the vast map blanketing the wall. I was too late.