Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Zeref's absence left Gray alone with Ur. He'd thought that if he saw her again he'd just know what to say. The right words would come to mind, he'd apologize for his mistakes, and he'd show her that somehow, her actions had managed to help him so long ago. Yet, now that it actually was happening, he felt like a child again. He felt like he was the same child who needed a guiding hand to show him his path, the one who had let Ur instruct him until he'd been driven by grief and rage to go after Deliora.

Maybe it was because he'd just agreed to throw away his life in the near future. There wasn't really a good way to look her in the eyes and explain that one. Still, she was watching him. "Gray." She paused, as if uncertain of what to say next. "What just happened? How—" She broke off again, swallowing. "How am I even here again? Alive?"

"Because that wizard from before is a bit of a genius when it comes to magic. After analyzing iced shell, he came up with a reversal spell in about a week. Still doesn't mean I didn't piss him off—" He broke off, his hand hovering over the back of his head.

Ur smirked at him, shaking her head. "Old enough to be using that kind of language now, are we? Seems like my grumpy student grew up to be a grumpy teenager too."

Avoiding her gaze, Gray stared at the cavern wall instead. "Shouldn't be that surprising. It's not like I had the easiest time as a kid, as you well know."

Stepping forward, Ur began to approach him more. She had a slight smile and Gray felt her hand touch his shoulder, slowly pulling him in for a hug. "Well, that grumpy kid always needed hugs too, even if he wouldn't admit it. It always seemed to make you so flustered."

Gray chuckled, patting her back for a moment before she pulled back. "At least that's something I've gotten over a bit. I joined a guild, made some new friends." Gray frowned faintly, thinking of what awaited him back in the village. "I'm actually supposed to be heading back soon."

"Oh? What guild managed to get you to open up for a change?"

"I've hardly told them a thing, actually. I went to Fairy Tail because of the rumors about their guild master being a wizard saint. I figured if anyone might be able to free you, it'd be one of them."

"And how has Lyon been holding up in a real guild like that? Has that boy finally accepted that I'm not the all-powerful wizard he seemed to think I was?"

"Ah. Lyon didn't exactly come with me." He paused, frowning. "Don't know much of what he's been up to, but apparently he got it into his head that it'd be a good idea to free Deliora here. Seems like he was already dead at least before the idiot could manage to do any damage. He's even more air-headed than Natsu, if he thinks that's gonna get him anywhere."

Ur frowned. "That's a shame. I had hoped you boys would stick together at least, that you'd still have each other." Gray shrugged, not really knowing what to say. Yet, Ur slowly began to smirk at him, shaking her head. "And it seems like you still have your 'annoying habit' too. I'm surprised you weren't able to break that one over the years, with how irritated it made you."

Glancing down, Gray realized he had indeed stripped again. Yet, it really wasn't his largest concern right now. The ice wizard sighed, shaking his head before focusing back on Ur. "Well, I've grown used to it." He paused. This was just a calm conversation, like any he'd have with a friend at the guild. It felt normal, like she'd never even left, yet they were avoiding talking about anything important too. "Listen, I never got the chance to thank you, Ur. For everything. For training me, putting up with my impulsiveness, my recklessness really. And for everything you did to try and pull me out of my past. I know now that I'd been living in that moment for so long that I just wasn't able to move forward. Everything I did was because of what Deliora had done. Getting stronger, training with magic, avoiding attachment…all of it was just doing what I thought was protecting myself. When you stopped Deliora with iced shell, when you became that ice, I…I finally realized how wrong I was." Gray swallowed, staring down at his feet. "I did grow attached still, despite what I was doing, and I needed to rely on others. If I had actually thought through my actions and had support, maybe no one would've had to sacrifice anything to get out of that situation alive. Lyon wouldn't have to think you died, and you never would've become that ice just to give me the last push I needed to move forward."

His master was quiet and Gray wondered if he'd said too much. Emotional speeches weren't his thing, despite how popular they were with his guild. Gray had heard plenty over the years, over far more ridiculous things than this too. Hell, he'd heard rumors that a drunken Cana had once given a heartfelt speech to Mirajane expressing her thanks for keeping her with a never-ending supply of booze at the guild hall. Yet, Gray never did those things. He never talked about how much he valued his friends and he acted like he didn't have any, despite knowing that wasn't the case.

Eventually, Ur reached out again, pulling him back for another gentle hug. "Gray. Hearing you talk like this makes me so happy." She inhaled deeply and Gray felt her exhale into his hair. "I never thought I'd hear you talk about your past like this, without that anger and rage. Every time I heard you before, it broke my heart knowing that someone so young was trying to devote their life to revenge. I told you not to, that there were more peaceful ways to use magic. For some reason, I thought I actually could change that mindset of yours when I took you on as my student." She pulled back, shaking her head. "That is why I know that my sacrifice was worth it, Gray. Even if you hadn't managed to find a way to free me, knowing you found a way to be happy and move forward is enough." She paused, her hand still resting on his shoulder as she frowned. "Though, I do wish this had happened under better circumstances. Based on how I came back, it seems like you've made a new enemy of some kind, Gray. Just who was that guy? What did he even want?"

Frowning over at the cliff, Gray sighed. "Apparently, he wanted to convince me that we weren't allies, despite the fact that we were working together to free you and stop someone who, at the time, was unidentified." That feeling of being watched was still there, too. What exactly had that spell been anyway? Maybe Zeref really was watching his every move now. The thought almost made him want to just stop and start looking for a way to unravel it. However, knowing who cast the spell stopped him; unraveling one of Zeref's spells would be a pain, to say the least.

"What did he even want from you?"

This was what he'd been hoping to avoid telling her. How could he say that he knew he wouldn't be missed? Gray could protect others easily enough and defend his friends, at the cost of his own life. He'd accepted it before, when he originally made that deal. Maybe Ur would accept a vague answer for now. "He wants me to use a spell for him."

"Gray." Ur crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes. "Are you really going to try and keep secrets from your master? I might have been away for a while, but that's no excuse to lie to me."

Swallowing, Gray ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes. Ur wasn't going to be happy, not one bit. "Sorry." He paused again, before opening his eyes to meet her gaze. "Originally our deal was for the two of us to trade places. He'd free you, if I'd cast iced shell on an enemy of his. Apparently, the enemy he had in mind was himself. Once I learned that, I tried to back out and—" He broke off, feeling Ur slap him harshly across the cheek.

"How dare you?" She glared at him and Gray turned towards her with wide eyes. "Gray, what makes you think I'd want you to trade places with me? I stopped Lyon from sacrificing himself against Deliora and I most certainly would have stopped you as well if you'd tried! I've already lived my life, faced my share of grief, and was willing to accept my fate. You—you're still far to young to make a sacrifice like that!" Gray was silent, unsure of what to say. "And now you've gone and agreed to it again! If you think I'm letting you go through with this, you're wrong."

If she is willing to take your place, I will accept that outcome. Gray flinched, hearing a voice in his head. Was that Zeref? It seemed like it.

Rubbing his head, he grimaced and let out a sigh. "Look, we'll deal with it when the time comes. He's got a few other things to take care of before he needs me to use the spell. Maybe we'll find a different answer for him in the meantime."

"He wants to be trapped in ice, Gray. I don't think there's really a different solution for him."

Gray frowned, considering the situation. With the way Zeref spoke, it sounded like he wanted a specific outcome from all of this. "No, actually, I think he wants to be killed." He'd been intrigued by how Deliora had died and likely had enough guilt from his past to want to run away like that. "The idiot thinks death is the answer to his problems." He smirked faintly, amused that the man was watching. "In fact, he's probably almost as stupid as I was when I was a kid. He thinks this will solve everything and make everyone happy, when throwing away your own life never really does."

And who exactly would be sad that I have passed on?

"Gray, that isn't the sort of person you can talk out of a situation like this. It takes time and understanding to pull someone free from a dark past.," Ur said, taking a step closer to him. Gray snorted, shaking his head. "If he's already at that point, you aren't going to be able to convince him to stop unless you know him incredibly well."

"I doubt anyone knows him that well." He scratched the back of his head, frowning. "Either way, I can't blame him for being upset. The guy has a terrible reputation and it seems like everyone he meets wants to fight him for one reason or another." Gray had done it, Lyon had done it, and it seemed like Erza was ready to join in with the pattern. Zeref had pointed it out, sure, but it was actually amusing to consider how many people wanted to recklessly start fighting a wizard they knew nothing about. He really had done something stupid and impulsive when he saw that wizard near Deliora, hadn't he?

"Do you want to help him, Gray?"

Zeref had just threatened to kill Ur, all to get Gray to agree to his terms. Yet, Fairy Tail had ingrained some hard-to-break habits in him. It didn't matter who he met, he had been practically raised to try and see others as potential friends, rather than immediately assume they'd be enemies. "I don't know. Part of me wonders if he actually deserves that help. If I help him, he might cause more problems than it'd be worth."

"You know, not helping someone because of concerns over what might happen isn't exactly a good reason." Ur smiled faintly at him. "I know what he did, Gray. My first impression of this guy wasn't the greatest, but if he was doing it out of desperation, maybe he wasn't that different than you were, when you ran off to try and kill Deliora."

"Trust me, this wasn't some impulsive choice of his." Gray ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. "Still, if I don't help him, I'll be stuck with no choice but iced shell."

You think I'd let you out of our agreement if you help me in some other way? That is not how this works, Gray.

"And I have to agree. Any solution other than that would be a better option and if we have time, we need to try and find other answers." Ur placed her hands on her hips, frowning. "I didn't speak to him, so I guess it's up to you to figure out what pushed him so far. As much as I'd like to help you get out of this mess, I can't really do much without knowing the person involved."

"He's cursed, somehow." Gray scratched the back of his neck. "Not certain what the curse is, or of any details of the curse." He paused, thinking back. "Or well, maybe I know a little bit. The guy was secretive, so he didn't reveal much, but he was honest, so I know it relates to a specific part of his magic, at least. As for the rest, I really don't have any idea."

You won't succeed. Do you think I have not tried to target the curse directly over the last four hundred years? I may have learned from such experiences, but I have not gotten any closer to freedom from this suffering. Your spell will be my answer, for it will prevent me from being aware of my actions, even if it is not capable of stealing away my life.

"Can you stop insisting on that for two seconds? The more you talk, the more annoying this gets, you know," Gray said. Ur blinked at him and Gray sighed, glancing over at her. "His spell, before he left. Seems like he can talk to me and listen in to whatever I say. He doesn't think I can find answers about his curse." Though, he might have a place to start. Zeref's curse on the demons here supposedly affected their memories. Maybe without it, they'd actually remember something from before they were demons. Zeref did say they were his first victims, after all.

"So, he knows you're trying to get out of your deal." She frowned. "Is he going to come back then?"

"I haven't broken our deal yet. He said nothing about what I did with my time before he asked me to cast iced shell and he hasn't asked me to use it either, so it isn't like I've officially refused him or anything."

Precisely. I understand the typical fear of death and your futile attempts to avoid it. Worry not, I will only react if you refuse the moment I require your magic.

"And he's just agreed with my logic, so we're on the same page as far as that goes, at least."

"He must be a powerful telepath, to keep up a link like that. I can't say I've heard of spells that actually keep you linked over large distances that remain in place for long, really." Ur frowned, staring at him. "And he also reversed iced shell? It makes me wonder just what his specialty is, when it comes to magic."

"If you ask him, the telepathy is his answer." Gray smiled faintly, knowing there was far more to Zeref's magic than just that. "But I've also seen him use teleportation magic, fire magic, and some more dangerous spells that I'd rather not get into right now." Ur didn't need to know who he was, or about his death magic. "Some of those spells are part of the curse, from what I understand, though."

"Either way, it seems like we've got some work ahead of us. Breaking curses isn't an easy task." Ur shook her head, smiling at him.

Gray blinked at her, his eyes widening. "You plan on helping too? But this doesn't involve you!"

"My student went and did something stupid when I wasn't around to keep an eye on him. I'd say that's plenty of reason to take responsibility and help out." Ur smiled at him. "Besides, it's been a long time since I've acted like a real wizard. I think that maybe doing something might help me in a way, too." She turned away, her gaze growing distant.

"Well, I guess I won't complain. You'll probably be a hell of a lot more focused than my usual options for teammates anyway." Hopefully, he'd be able to convince Erza to delay leaving once they got back. Gray hadn't expected to stick around for long and he knew she'd be determined to drag them all back to the guild kicking and screaming. Yet, she'd have another thing coming if she thought she'd be able to do that with him. He needed to speak to those demons and that meant he needed to stay on this island. Even if they had no answers, confirming that fact was one step closer to knowing where to look.

Gray didn't get far when trying to head back to the village. They had just barely started walking through the caverns and back to the temple when Gray ran directly into someone. He heard a slight grunt, before looking up to see a person dressed in a strange cape and a helmet that covered their face. "I thought I sensed something going on down here. Who dares interfere with my plans?"

Gray frowned at him, seeing the man step back. "I was just leaving, actually. Seems like there's a dead demon down there and I'd rather not stick around to find out how it died." Not that he didn't already know that, of course.

"Dead?" The man seemed startled, before his head lifted and spotted Ur behind him. He took a step back, a slight hiss seeming to come from the helmet. "This…this isn't possible. You can't possibly be here! You are supposed to be—" He broke off, shaking his head. "What have you done? Did you destroy everything already? I will not forgive this!" Gray only had a moment's warning to react. He saw the magic forming near the man's hand, saw the chill it gave off. Vaguely, he recalled Zeref mentioning that Lyon was on this island and he realized a moment too late who was in front of him. "Ice Make: Eagle!"

"Ice Make: Shield!" The eagles came flying at Gray, only to crash into his shield and shatter. He dropped the spell, meeting Lyon's gaze calmly and narrowing his eyes. "Lyon, we don't have to do this. I know who you are, even if I didn't recognize you before. Deliora—"

"Was my chance to prove I'd surpassed Ur! Now you've brought this phantom with you and seem intent on destroying my dreams and goals once more. I will not let it happen again, Gray! You will not—"

"Ice Make: Rosen Krone!" Roses spiraled around both of them, breaking Lyon's stance and pinning him against the wall. Gray found his own arms bound, tangled within the long vines on which roses of ice grew. "Both of you, knock it off. Lyon, I don't know what you thought, but I am very much alive. It is thanks to Gray's efforts that I've managed to return in any form, after what I did." She placed a hand on her hip, narrowing her eyes. "And if you think that blaming Gray for your own problems solves anything, you're wrong. Both of you are my students and if anyone is to blame for you no longer having a feasible goal to reach, that'd be me."

"Ur…it really is you." Lyon exhaled, the vines pushing his helmet off. As he shifted his head, it rattled onto the rock floor. Gray saw his former peer, gazing at their master with wide eyes, looking on the verge of tears. "Even without Deliora, I still have you, the strongest wizard alive to keep pushing me forward. It truly is a miracle, having you back."

"Yeah, it is." Gray looked at him, seeing Lyon face him again. "So, are we really gonna fight over what happened to Deliora, or are you going to calm down and talk for a change? Because I've got a few things to say to you about your idiotic plan to release a demon into the world."

"It wasn't idiotic; I've trained for years to be able to kill Deliora, to succeed where both of you failed."

"You think Ur failed?" Gray snorted. "Iced shell was what killed that demon, Lyon."

Ice killed Deliora…that is rather amusing. While I did grant him immense physical strength, in terms of abilities I had made him an ice-based creature. In other words…ice magic was highly ineffective against Deliora. Gray bit his tongue to avoid shouting back at Zeref in irritation. Did the guy not have anything better to do than jump in during his conversations?

"Wait. Then that means Ur really did kill Deliora." Lyon stared at his master, still seeming to be in shock. "And you are still alive again to tell the tale. You didn't sacrifice yourself to stop him, like Black said. The spell truly didn't demand such a price."

"Actually, I met Black here." Gray met his gaze. "He's the one who freed Ur." Gray paused, glancing over at her. "That's sorta the problem right now. The entire reason he freed her was to get to me. If I didn't agree to help him, he was going to kill her."

"I still don't think he'd have gone through with it." Ur crossed her arms over her chest. "Someone his age…it isn't easy, to get past the mental block of guilt that comes with killing a person. It'd be almost like one of you two saying you were running off to kill someone."

"He's older than he looks." Gray didn't meet her eyes. "Trust me, he would've done it. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't care if it was what he wanted to do or not."

"Black hardly had the sort of magic to kill, Gray. From my experience with him, his skill lied within theoretical frameworks of magic and with enchantments of some form." Lyon frowned at him. "I hardly doubt either of those could prove to be deadly."

Oh, I wonder how he'd react to Irene. Such a foolish thought, thinking enchantments are not deadly.

Gray rubbed his head, sighing. "He's skilled in a lot of magics, it seems. Telepathy, teleportation, fire, enchantments apparently…"

"Did you fight him too?" Gray nodded, seeing Lyon frown. "I see. I'm assuming you realized how skilled he was at using his limited abilities to his advantage. Perhaps he was not strong, but he was intelligent and capable of planning things on the spot to counter attacks."

"I think he's just used to getting into fights, actually. The guy seems to be targeted by a lot of people," Gray said. "Either way, we're getting off topic. Right now, my focus is on finding another way out of my deal with him. That means I need to convince the guy that he actually shouldn't go around trying to die." If anyone ever thought Gray'd be going around trying to save Deliora's creator before, he'd have assumed they were insane. "Which likely means we need to figure out something about a curse."

"A curse?"

Gray nodded at Lyon. "Black was cursed. He didn't say much about it, but I got that much from him." Maybe he really had asked the right question when he had the chance back then. Right now, it seemed to at least give him direction. "Ur's planning to help and if you're done with this cult of yours, I'd say I'd welcome your assistance too. My guild is trying to drag me off of this island right now, so I could use some help convincing them that I need to stay."

"What, do they think you can't handle what little threats there are here? They must think you are quite weak if that is the case."

"No. They think I'm trying to take on an S-Class job, when I'm really just trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to do now." Gray shrugged. Lyon was frowning at him and Gray remembered he had never had an interest in being a guild wizard. The guy probably didn't know the difference between job levels. "Right. S-Class jobs are for the more skilled wizards. I forget that you don't know these things…I mean, you never joined a guild and it isn't like you wanted to learn about them when we were growing up."

Lyon nodded. "Regardless, my companions may be willing to help. Most of them followed me because of my goals involving Deliora…but a few have become close comrades."

Do not allow Zalty to join you. If you start to threaten my ability to hide behind the belief that I am dead…then I will start interfering how I see fit.

"Don't bring Zalty."

"Zalty?" Lyon blinked at him. "You know the man? He is odd, I know, but he has been quite invaluable. I've never seen magic quite like his."

"He's under a transformation right now, Lyon. Whatever that guy wants, it isn't to just help you."

Lyon glared at him, before seeing Ur narrowing her eyes at them. With a huff, he turned away and shook his head. "Fine. This is your mission, after all, not mine. If it calms you, I'll leave the man out of it." Gray nodded, watching as Lyon started to walk back towards the temple. "Be glad I'm even helping you at all. If it wasn't for me owing you for ensuring Ur returned as Deliora died, I wouldn't have even considered it."

"Boys, be nice. You two grew up together and we work as a team, you know." Lyon didn't reply and Gray was quiet as well. However, there was a faint chuckle in the hall, before a familiar masked man approached with a grin.

"Well, sorry to interrupt…but I couldn't help but overhear." Zalty glanced over at Gray, staring at the ice-make wizard calmly. "If you have something against me, I'd rather you say it to my face, young wizard. After all, I am going to follow our cold emperor until the very end…so if you want to get rid of me, it won't be so easily done, boy."

Be calm. He is not utilizing magic yet and if he does…well, this spell I have on you isn't exactly legal. What? Gray wanted to demand to know what the hell Zeref had done to him. However, it wasn't the time to do so.

"Zalty, I appreciate your loyalty, but Gray is a childhood friend of mine. I do not wish to disrespect his wishes when this isn't my task to complete."

Zalty glanced behind Gray for a moment, focusing on Ur. "I see. Your former peer and your former teacher, all in the same room. I'm impressed that you found a way to free her at all. Truly, you are a masterful wizard, the only one capable of defeating Deliora."

"Actually, I'm responsible for that." Ur met Zalty's gaze, frowning. "That demon died because of iced shell, based on everything I've heard."

"Reversing iced shell is still an impressive feat."

"And none of us did that either." Gray spoke, meeting his gaze. "What is it you actually want? Because I don't trust you and the last time we met, I was certain you were going to try and kill me."

"That was before I realized you were trusted by the cold emperor." Zalty smiled, bowing his head. "My apologies for not seeing it before. I had thought Black was betraying us, but it appears I was wrong." The man paused again, frowning at him. "Just how did you vanish so quickly then too? I did not see a magic circle for teleportation during your escape."

He's pushing too close. I need him to be more docile…wait. Have you ever utilized ice magic beyond ice-make?

Gray glanced around him, before slowly shaking his head. "I don't need to answer your question." He couldn't let on that he was still in contact with Zeref, not right now. Yet, the man needed an answer, if he was strangely deciding to help out.

I can hear your thoughts too, you know. And I am not helping for no reason; I am serving my own purposes by remaining anonymous to a dark wizard who wishes to abuse my power.

"I'll find my answers soon enough. After all…I really am not fond of that woman you've brought back, no matter how impressive it might be that you've managed it. And with the work I need to get done, all of you are going to be in my way."

I don't have time. Seems as if I'll have to fully activate the spell, then. Fully activate? Before Gray could ask, his body began to feel almost…distant. Gray could see and still feel everything, but his body moved as if pulled along by thousands of strings, his gaze hardening towards the man in front of him. "You want to know what sort of magic I can utilize? Well…I suppose this will answer at least part of that question." There was a smile on Gray's face, but those words were not his. "Human enslavement magic isn't something most people are aware of even existing, let alone how to use. Most simply use its lesser form, human subordination magic, if they can even find anything on such a branch of magic."

"Gray?" Ur was staring at him, but Zeref was shaking his head already.

"Not quite." Gray felt his body take on a different stance, one he was unfamiliar with. "Working with Invel has taught me some ice magic…given your specialty, I think mimicking him would be more useful than anything else I can manage with your abilities."

"Oh? So, the boy has gone and gotten himself tricked by a dark wizard, it seems. How interesting." Zalty smiled, pulling out a crystal ball from inside of his cloak. "Let's see if you really can surpass me. After all, despite what it seems, I know a thing or two about lost magics, you know."

"And I'd say I know more." With a smile, Gray's hand lifted towards the person. A magic circle appeared and oddly enough Gray actually felt his magic activating against his will. It wasn't that he didn't want to get out of this battle, but the sensation of the spell was foreign to him. Sure, it was ice magic but it just didn't feel quite the same. A blast of cold air shot towards Zalty and in an instant, an icy collar and chain seemed to appear around his neck. "Now…I want you to tell your 'Cold Emperor' exactly what your purpose has been this entire time. I've been patient with you and your schemes thus far, but in order for my plans to progress, your interference needs to stop now."

Something seemed off about the other wizard now. Gray couldn't quite tell what it was…but the man's body seemed to have lost all tension with the spell. "My purpose…"

"Yes. What is it?"

"To bring about the Ultimate Magic World. To find all of the keys and awaken Zeref from his slumber."

What the hell? Gray didn't know what rumors she was following, but it was nothing he'd heard of. Everything either said Zeref was dead, or he'd somehow gained immortality and ended up in hiding. There wasn't much else out there to find.

"And who is it that you truly are serving to reach that goal?" Zeref asked.

"Master Hades."

Gray's head nodded again. "And who are you really? I wish to see you without this transformation of yours and I imagine it is quite taxing given your current state."

Obediently, Zalty seemed to take on a different form in front of them. Instead of the short masked man, the individual now was a young woman, with dark black hair. The mask fell from her face, and Gray heard a faint intake of breath behind him. "I am Ultear."

"Ultear. I see."

"It can't be…they said you were dead…" Gray heard Ur, but he couldn't turn and look. He had no control, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lyon moving at least. Someone would help her, until Gray was free again.

Zeref ignored her. "Why seek out Deliora?"

"Rumors state that one of the keys lies within Zeref's bookshelf. The demon was our hope to find his books, as it specifies that the key is in fact a demonic book."

"The stories that man hears…I still cannot fathom why he'd go this far." Zeref sighed, shaking his head. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ultear. I think it is best if you return to Grimoire Heart, without recalling any of this."

Again, a foreign magic seemed to activate, though at least this time the drain was far less than whatever that other spell was that he'd used. For a moment, Gray thought he saw inside of that girl's head. There were flashes of memories, a few glimpses of her guild and her actions thus far, but they faded quickly. Zeref instead focused on any memory connected to the island, erasing them one by one.

The man finished his work and when he did, he glanced over at the others. "And with that, I think it is best if I leave you be. You really do have quite a bit of potential, Gray…if only I had met you when you were younger. Perhaps you could have been useful to me in other ways."

With that, Gray snapped back to himself in an instant. He blinked, dazed as he stumbled slightly with the sudden control he had regained. Ur was crying quietly, with Lyon by her side with a frown. "I had no idea who she was. No idea that Zalty was…her."

"You know her?"

Lyon looked away, focusing on Ur as he gently rubbed her back. Gray knelt down near them as well, frowning. "That was Ultear, Ur's daughter. To my knowledge, she was supposed to be dead."

"Her magic was unstable when she was born. They were treating her and they told me she hadn't been able to survive the treatment." Ur spoke quietly, looking up. "But if she's alive, that means they lied to me. It means that I practically abandoned her and didn't even realize what I'd done."

"No wonder she looked so upset with you." Gray sighed, running a hand through his hair. He felt tired, but not too exhausted. "Either way, this at least got us info on what the hell Black did to me as he left."

"Human enslavement magic, he said." Lyon frowned. "From the name alone, I don't like the sound of it. I suspected he was a dark wizard, but I never imagined he'd have that sort of skill."

"Oh, trust me, he's got plenty of other talents too." Gray scowled, looking away. Again, he wondered if it was even worthwhile to help Zeref at all. The guy was manipulative and clearly didn't care about anything other than himself at the moment. Plus, he was destructive and deadly. The world would be better off without him. "That spell he had me use, that was all him. He played off of my magic and knew what spells to use to work with being me, rather than himself. Anyone who can adapt like that knows way more than they should about magic."

That's how I have to operate with this spell. I control you, thusly, I need to know your limits and skills to make it function. Time magic, quite clearly, is beyond your capacity to utilize. Gray didn't know if he should be offended by that or not. Even I took years to be capable of utilizing it, nearly decades. Part of me questions how Ultear has any form of it at such a youthful age. Time magic requires a larger amount of ethernano to utilize than almost any branch of magic, after all.

"Gray…are you sure he won't stop you when you try to find answers for him?" Ur focused on him, frowning. "Based on that, it seems like he'd be able to interfere whenever he wanted, so long as he still has energy to keep the spell active."

It was concerning to consider. What if Zeref took control while he was on a job? When he was just hanging out at the guild? He didn't know the details of this type of magic by any means, but it was unnerving to realize he wasn't fully in control of himself. "I don't know if he'll stop me or not. Before, he seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing and he's still…talking now, at least."

"This is my fault." Lyon sighed, shaking his head. "I'm the one who brought Black to this island and told him about iced shell. I had no idea why he was so obsessed with it at all. I worry that he may forcibly have Gray utilize it and we'll be powerless to stop him."

Gray frowned. "I'm not certain if he'll go that far. From what he explained, a lot of the results of iced shell depend on the user's intentions. I mean, I don't have much reason to actually use it, so he'd probably get a pretty weak version of iced shell if he forced me into it like that."

Indeed. That does not mean I cannot manipulate you in other ways, if need be.

"I wouldn't be so confident, Gray. This is a man who seemed content with freeing a demon without question," Lyon argued.

Gray snorted. "Yeah, he wouldn't care about that at all." He still had the man's threat to keep in mind about revealing him, though. "Either way, there's no point debating things right now. If he takes control again, I don't think any of us have a reasonable way to actually stop him. I say we just make do as best we can and figure this out as we go along."

"Gray—"

"Don't worry about it, Ur." Gray interrupted, hearing the concerned tone in her voice. "I knew who this guy was pretty early on and had every warning I needed when getting involved. I acted impulsively again and this time, I'm paying the price. That's how it should be, so I won't complain at all." He paused, glaring at the path ahead of him. "And don't you have anything better to do than watch me all the time? You likely heard me question that before, but it isn't like you responded."

Not really, no. I'm doing my best to remain…inactive, for the time being. I was already waiting for someone before, so really nothing much has changed. Zeref paused. Have you ever been to Tenrou Island? It is quite the peaceful place to wait, if you want complete isolation. I wish it wasn't quite so lively, though. It almost makes me feel guilty for biding my time here, when I destroy this place so easily.

What the hell? Gray wanted to ask about his sudden change in subject, but he was realizing that it was Zeref's way of avoiding questions. Whoever he'd been waiting for and whatever he'd been planning wasn't something he wanted Gray to know about. It made him frown for a moment, but after pausing, he just shook his head. He'd find out Zeref's secrets on his own, one way or another. The black wizard might be trying to stop him, and might be capable of controlling him, but Gray wasn't going to just sit back and let Zeref win. He'd end the man's curse and afterwords, Gray would give the man a well-deserved beat-down for the hell he was putting Gray through right now.

So, this section keeps combining chapters - they've been just a bit shorter than average for this story and given the overall length, I figured it'd be more reasonable to have a few longer chapters throughout the story rather than shorter ones. Either way, we've got a lot of little meet-ups here - Lyon and Ur are both back, plus Ur knows Ultear is alive. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week!