[ Loke Arc {2} ]
-L-
"Have you ever regretted a contract, Leo?"
Aries quietly asked as she recovered from the latest punishment that was given to her from their shared owner, Karen Lilicia. She had been summoned yet again to take the hit from a wild Vulcan within the mountains, being called up just in time before it impacted her master. Theoretically, her master had done exactly what she had supposed to do. She called upon her celestial spirit that she was contracted with in order to ask for her help.
Because at the end of the day, it was, indeed, a business transaction.
Celestial spirits were meant to be used, nothing more and nothing less.
It is not an obligation for basic decency, at it's contractual core.
Leo's face flushed with anger as he barely bit back the urge to go on a raging spiral. He was sick of this fucking woman abusing Aries with little regard with her wellbeing afterwards. That was the price to pay as a celestial spirit, who are technically superior to humanity in every way given their semi-immortal states. Especially with Aries and himself, they were Zodiac Golden keys.
Powerful from eons of life.
They have seen civilizations rise and fall ever since they were born from the Celestial King's will, who has seen life even longer than they had.
And yet they were trapped and reduced to such pitiful states with no way of recovery.
It was sickening.
"Yes," Leo, the Gate of the Lion, hissed. He has regretting certain actions that he has taken over the eons every once in a while. After a certain point, an apathy does develop to just act as a tool and to think nothing more of it. Morals did not matter, because a celestial spirit must obey their masters.
And with a master such as Karen, Leo snarls in disgust at the mere thought of the woman, they weren't even dignified golden spirits.
They were nothing more than slaves.
"It is not right what that witch does with us, but she is our master." Leo choked out as he refused to look at Aries. To look at the damage yet again of such abusive actions. It taxes on him, because no matter what, they can't do anything to retaliate. Some days there's a rage that threatens to take over him, especially when Aries is concerned, whenever he is face to face with Karen. Thoughts of the pain they had suffered overwhelm his sense, and he has to fight the desperate urge to fling it back into her face with force.
How could she not understand their agony?
How could she sit there and smile when they were bleeding for her?
Do the tears in Aries's eyes mean nothing when she sees them fall?
Does his own sharp words not cut through to her conscious?
He couldn't even look the Celestial Spirit King in the eye on the rare occasion that they are called by him. How could he sit on those ancient rules, when they were suffering before him? How could he be so resilient to his own subjects?
It felt as if no one was hearing his cries, and no one was understanding their pain.
Aries and Leo were alone.
"Such is our reality." Aries smiled a bit ruefully before she disappeared to the vastness of the spirit world. Leo just stared at the place she had been moments prior. As the proclaimed leader of the 12 Golden Zodiac keys, how could the situation spiral so badly. Witnessing his lovely Aries's ache. Experiencing his own as he, too, suffered from the same hands.
It was not fit for a leader.
And when he feels the gate open right beside of his body, feeling the pull of it sucking him through the intersellar world opening, in order to immediately take the punch of yet another of Karen's enemies;
He doesn't flinch, he doesn't breath, and he doesn't make a sound as his eyes darkened.
Taking the anger of his hatred for his master out on the unlucky bastard that was right in front of him.
-L-H-
The guild was in chaos once again, seeing how the growing-more-famous-by-the-day Team Haluna had returned with key destructive figures. Lucy sat at the bar with Levy, who was thankfully ready to step outside of the clinic now thanks to the rest of her injuries healing up. They were chatting about small stuff as the background roared behind them, instinctively dodging random flying pieces of debris.
Cana stood behind the bar in front of them, taking it over as Mirajane stepped out for a moment.
Closer inspection would show that she was also refilling her own flasks in secret but hey, who was paying that close attention. Makarov pays for it anyways which means it comes out of the Magic Council's wallet in Cana's opinion, and to that she shouts gleefully, "Fuck the government!"
She took a shot, "How's life, kids?"
"You always act as if you're Macao's age or something, like you're barely two years older than us."
Cana just smirked, "We may be closer in age as ya think, but mentally, the gap is huuuuge. I helped take care of you brats, don't forget it!"
"Right…" Levy snickered coyly at the drunken flush on the alcoholic's cheeks. There was truth to Cana's words to a certain extent, but it was hard to take her seriously as she was more intoxicated as usual. Even harder with the image in front of them for her to be considered "mentally more mature".
"Well thanks mom ," Natsu ducks at the wet rag that was thrown at him immediately after the words as he walks over to the ladies, dragging Gray in tow. The two boys these days seem to be getting closer to Lucy's surprise and delight. It wasn't as aggressively toxic as it was before, at least to her standards, but that didn't mean that they were suddenly buddy-buddy. They fought as much as they did before, but the tones and looks aren't as… serious ?
There is a more playful air to their interactions now.
Lucy thinks that's as close as it'll probably get with them.
"Who won that pillow fight, yesterday?!" Natsu asked Lucy as he pointed at himself. Gray just scoffed before he pushed Natsu aside and looked Lucy in the eyes.
"Don't fall for his idiotic tricks, it was clearly me. I had this asshole in a choke-hold for a solid minute and pounded his face in!"
"Y-You used magic, that's why you fucking cheater! And don't forget what happened after that," Natsu began to grin massively as Gray flushed in embarrassment as he whipped his head towards him in anger. "You slipped on your own ice and busted-"
"Shut up, Flame-Head!" Gray shouts in a pitch that was surprisingly high considering his normal tone.
"Don't get mad at me because you're a loser-" Natsu taunted with a big laugh.
"These boys…" Lucy groaned as she felt a headache coming along. Levy just laughed at their argument as she gave Lucy a look of sympathy, "Is this a usual occurence?"
"Unfortunately."
"Well I suppose that also means it's never a dull moment around you guys, huh?"
Lucy exhales a small laugh. That was also true as well, there's even been times where she's entertained their arguments and came out with a new discovery. Annoying, but sometimes very amusing. Err-until it escalates and they get kicked out of their establishment. And the lecture from Erza that comes afterwards.
Lucy was the leader but even she's scolded sometimes!
"That's true too." Lucy smiled as they chattered for a while.
Until the door slamming frantically into the guild hall had sounded through the room. Everyone paused for a moment as they looked over curiously, wondering who was causing all of that ruckus. Gray shoved Natsu off of him and looked over, squinting.
"Eh? Oh, it's just Polly, Dolly, and Molly." Loke's girlfriends.
Everyone resumed to their usual antics, as the girls entered the room, looking around with increasingly worried expressions on their faces. They had eventually made their way over towards the bar where the girls were sitting and Molly piped up first,
"Have…you guys seen Loke?"
Lucy's heart dropped.
"Nope," Levy shrugged as Cana shook her head. Lucy looked over at the girls, quickly looking at their expressions. They all had various stages of worry on their faces, one of them was even biting their nails with anxiety. Tears started to pool around another's eyes, and that is when Lucy knew that something was terribly wrong.
"Why do you ask?" Cana said cautiously, picking up on their expressions as well. "Is something wrong?"
"Well-" Dolly started, "-he gave us a cryptic message this morning about leaving Fairytail for a while and that he's breaking up with us."
Cana's flask slipped from her hand for a moment as Levy gasped and Lucy's eyes widened. "What the hell?"
"I-I know ," Polly started to tear up, "-and once we saw his message, we rushed over here to make sure it was a lie. To see if he was just playing some silly prank."
"But he's not here." Molly finished with a worried look on her face as she glanced around. Looking for someone who she knows isn't there anymore.
"Then we need to start looking, ASAP." Cana scowled with worry as she got up and started snapping her fingers to get the others attention. As Levy and Cana slowly started to fill the rest of Fairytail in for the start of the seach for Loke, Lucy quietly took a background role as she looked over towards his ex-girlfriends.
Memories of her abstract conversation with him was flooding through her mind, and she couldn't help but to think that it was all connected somehow.
Was…he sick?
Was he dying?
Even if she doesn't know the man much, it hurts her heart a bit to know that Fairytail could potentially lose a member soon and they probably wouldn't have known if it weren't for his girlfriends coming in for help.
And she never forgot the feeling that Loke gave her, when she had finally took a look at his magical core.
It-It felt like a Celestial Spirit's signature.
"It'll be okay," Lucy mutters softly to the girls but secretly, she had a gut feeling that is getting harder to ignore by the second. She had no leads, but she trusted her trained instincts. His signature felt like a Celestial Spirit, she reminded herself more firmly. There must be a reason why she came to this conclusion, there's something that she isn't seeing.
There was only one spirit that she knew could potentially hold some answers to what she was looking for.
"Is Loke from Fairytail affiliated with any Celestial Mages in the past?" Lucy asked Crux, the levitating spirit of the Southern Cross. He was an older-aged spirit, that had the ability to find out information regarding other spirits as he meditated. She had summoned him as she sat in her room, the others doing their own things in helping to look for Loke.
"Do you acknowledge the terms and conditions of me being unable to reveal some information should the contents be classified?"
"I do."
"Let's begin," Crux hoarsely spoke with a gravelly voice. He stroked his cross-shaped beard and hummed as he closed his eyes, rising into the air as Lucy sat before him. The room began to swirl as a book magically appeared, flipping through the pages rapidly generating a wind that caused Lucy's pigtails to flap around. But she didn't dare move as she sat criss-crossed in front of Crux, awaiting his results.
Crux's eyes snapped open as everything stopped abruptly, when he looked Lucy dead in the eye and whispered,
"Karen Lilica."
He dissolved into silver glitter once he spoke her name, back to the spirit realm, for there wasn't anything else for him to say without breaking the rules.
Karen Lilica.
The name that Crux had given her had led her on a journey to figure out who this woman is, and why she was associated with Loke. Upon further investigation, she found that Karen Lilica was a woman who was associated with the guild Blue Pegasus, and was rather famous in her own right for being strong.
But, as Lucy walked to the location she had suspected that Loke was, there was two things that she had also found out in her studies. The area that she was in was rather monochrome, reflecting the weight of the emotions that was surely swirling around in such an atmosphere. For she was in a place that was for the losted souls, that laid to rest six feet underground.
Karen Lilicia was a Celestial Spirit Mage.
She walked up the steps and turned the corner, tugging her jacket closer to her as she continued her path. It seemed as if it may rain tonight, she thought with a small frown on her face as she looked up at the grey clouds in the sky. As she looked down however, she saw the tell-tale green jacket of just the person she was looking for.
He stood before a stone block words engraved on them, hunched over with what physically could only be described as looking as if there was a weight on his shoulders.
"Hello again, Loke," Lucy said softly from behind.
Karen Lilicia was dead.
Loke stayed silent.
"Or, is it Leo instead? I'm not sure which you prefer…but I now understand why your signature perplexed me. You are a celestial spirit, and your true identity is Leo the Lion, one of the twelve Golden Zodiac Spirits, as well as the leader of them."
"My signature?"
"Oh..uh, I have the ability to feel the presence of everyone's magical cores? It's unique so, I call them signatures…" Lucy answered the question, a bit surprised that it was the thing that Loke had focused on rather than the fact that she had found out his true identity. She moved to stand by him, looking at the gravestone in Fiore's cementary.
[May Karen Lilica Rest In Peace, a Great Mage and a Good Friend]
"Even in death, she was a liar." Leo said flatly, and Lucy almost flinched in shock at the words. They were emotionless and empty, as if he didn't have a connection with the woman before them. As if she wasn't his former master, and was a stranger that he just offhandedly knew. "Or maybe she truly did change, and I was too late to see it."
"I will never know," Leo clenched his fist and attempting to punch the gravestone, but right before the impact came upon the stone, all that he could manage was a gentle tap. Like the anger that had swelled up in an instant and disappeared, and left him unstable. Was he happy or sad that she was dead? Was is angry at her or at himself?
Questions upon questions.
"My name is Leo the Lion, you're correct." Leo hung his head.
"...what happened?" Lucy almost didn't want to ask.
"This is my former master, Karen Lilica." Leo began his tale,
"And I killed her."
-L-
The day he couldn't take it anymore was the day a group of lustful, devious men kept following Karen Lilicia around. Whom Karen laid with in bed was no business to the lion, but the actions and consequences that follow were often taxing. They didn't know what it meant to hear the word "No". It was often hook-ups, but she must've been so good that they always came begging for more.
In a rare instance, he felt a bit sorry for his master. No one should deal with insistent people after rejecting them the first time.
But as always, his master tests his compassion as she summoned Aries in order to take the brunt of the sexual assualt.
Leo watched in utter horror as Aries was forced to be touched by the men that his master didn't want to deal with. While no woman deserved such a fate, it was even crueler to pass the action onto someone innocent. Someone who didn't have a choice but to follow through.
And when Leo watches from the Spirit Realm, at the winces and suffering that is on Aries's face as she tried her best not to let them touch her too intimately, his blood boiled. His blood boiled as Karen sat further away, laughing the matter off as she ignoring the fate that she had summoned her spirit to suffer through.
It was only grotesque touches for now, but what if it was… worse?
Leo will no longer sit and do nothing.
Aries looked around but there weren't many people who were in the guild hall at the time. It was until she made eye contact with a bald, girly man who stared at the scene before him in horror and disgust.
"Get the hell out of my guild," He ordered the random men with a dark look in his eye. It was very uncharacteristic, and thus it was scarier than expected. Immediately, the men paled as they let go off Aries and quickly exited the room. Karen looked over to see Bob staring at her with blatant disappointment and disgust in his eyes.
"What the hell are you subjecting your spirits too?"
"They are fighting for me, are they not? Whether the foe are monsters or humans, it is their job to protect me," Karen explained with a faux patient voice. "Surely you didn't want me to be fondled inappropriately by those devious men? Aries was taking care of them in my stead, as ordered."
Bob clenched his jaw, because he couldn't say that he wanted Karen to suffer a fate such as that, it didn't mean that allowing her spirit to be her replacement made it any better. "I'm warning you right now, I saw the look in that spirit's eye. It was sentient. I won't tolerate this happening in my guid hall again, understood? To treat celestial spirits as such would only give you a bad karma in return."
Blushing from embarassment at being scolded by her guild master, Karen just hissed out an "understood" before she promptly left, feeling a rage swell up inside of her from the reprimandment. How dare these tools even think about asking for help? Help for what? Where they not weapons to be used in for her will?
Were they not contracted to follow her every word?
Slaves do not have the right to speak.
-L-
"It was a breaking point," Leo hissed as he relayed his story. "How the fuck could someone think so cruelly? Aries didn't even say anything…she knew better, we both did. We weren't allowed to say much in fear of angering her."
"But I guess it never mattered in the end, for even the slightest thing could set her off."
Lucy's eyes grew with each sentence of his tale.
-L-
Smack.
Karen's had struck Aries's cheek who's tears quietly welled up in her room as she took the hit silently. There was a burst of irritation in the mage, for even now the spirit no longer gave her the reaction she desired. The whimpers of pain and shock that came in the beginning were no longer, and she wondered if that meant that they were finding the will to stand up to her bit by bit.
Growing tolerate of their master, and therefore increasing the chance of disobeying her in the future. That simply could not happen.
So she got more creative and she evolved.
"Embarrassing me in front of my boss? How dare you, you wretched thing. But it's fine, seeing how smacking some sense into you isn't enough to make the point come across." Karen slowly flashed some sharp teeth. Yes, she knew exactly what would be an effective punishment.
"You are no allowed to return to the spirit world for an entire week."
Aries's heart dropped as she grew pale, knowing that if she didn't have a strong enough will to withstand such a length from the spirit world, that she could very well fade away. Leo's eyes formed slits as he let out a fierce roar from within the Spirit Realm, before summoning himself before Karen with eyes like a wild animal.
"She could die!" Leo roared at her as Karen looked at him in disgust.
"I did not summon you, Lion. So kindly go back to where you came from and stay put like the dog you are."
To say that Leo was furious was an understandment. He ignored Karen and turned towards Aries with a dark look, "Go back."
"What? Excuse me? Who the hell do you thin-"
" Go back, Aries."
Aries looked at Leo with tears in her eyes, and she prayed for him. She begged the Celestial Spirit King to grant Leo mercy, because there was a look in his eye that was feral. He was a kind soul who was on the verge of breaking, but so was she. There was only so much they could take, and that is why she disobeyed her master and listened to her leader for the first time in her life.
Leo was taking the brunt of whatever wave of madness Karen was going to throw at him, and she could only cry silently as she went back into the spirit world for not being strong enough to stand by his side.
"You little-"
"You only have two choices here." Leo spoke dully as he stared Karen down with an emotionless expression on his face. He was too furious to even yell anymore, he only felt numb. Apathetic. He did not give a single damn about the woman in front of her right now, at the moment. He felt nothing. "Either you sever our contracts right now, or I will makesure that you won't be able to summon a Celestial Spirit ever again."
"You can't do that." Karen smirked arrogantly at her, "Close the Gate of the Lion, Leo!"
Leo stood right where he was and resisted, staring dead into her soul.
Karen's eyes grew frantic as she frantically tried to forcefully close Leo's gate, but failed every single time. She glared at the spirit, who bit back a dark smirk of satisfaction. His words rang true, he wasn't bluffing. He would take the very thing of her magic and render it useless.
For Karen was a decent mage, but she never managed to summon two spirits at once and as long as Leo was contracted with her, she didn't have the magical power to summon another. If she had trained her mana core to withstand the strain, perhaps it would've been possible. But she was never one to put effort into gaining strength, and left the hard work to her spirits rather than growing with them side by side.
"Y-You-" Karen shaked visibily with anger, screaming as Leo simply walked out without another word.
"Get back here!"
-L-
"...you were killing yourself slowly in order to stop her from summoning anyone else." Lucy confirmed.
"Someone had to do it. Otherwise we'd never had the willpower to step up and force a change," Leo answered before his voice cracked and he looked down at the ground in sadness, "We just wanted a change. It was only meant for her to open her eyes and see that she was treating us badly."
"But it turned into something irreversible."
-L-
Thirty days.
It was an entire month before Leo came back to see if Karen had changed. He was desperate to see if there was anything good that came from his protest, because he was losing strength. He's never been away from the Spirit Realm for so long, even he didn't know if he had the power to last any longer.
But he didn't want to return without knowing that things would be different.
Leo had come too far in making his point to turn back now.
"Come back, Leo the Great Lion," Karen had begged before him. It gave him a small burst of satisfaction to be on the otherside of the groveling, but he quickly dismissed the thought entirely. He did not come back to see Karen on her knees, he came back for confirmation that they would be treated better.
"I won't treat that sheep badly anymore, I promise!"
But Leo saw through her deceit. She didn't even bother to respect Aries's name, which meant that she still saw them as tools.
"You are a liar."
With a scream of rage and anger, Karen got up from the ground and attack Leo with one of the vases in her room. He held himself back as he blocked his head, the glass smashing into his skin causing him to his. But he doesn't make a single move back, he doesn't dare lift a finger to hit her.
Revenge was on the tips of his fingers, and coursed through his veins as he clenched his fists.
But all he did was bite his tongue until copper flooded his mouth, holding back to urge to yell and cry in frustration as he was assaulted.
Taking the abuse until she wore herself out, and then he silently walked out of the room with shards of glass and blood trailing behind him.
-L-
Who could ever treat someone like that, Lucy held her hand to her mouth as her tears fell silently.
A victim.
Leo was a victim, and it was no wonder that he was afraid of her when she first met him. The internal wounds were still bleeding.
"Three months later, she went on a mission without having the power of her celestial spirits and she did not return. She had died before I had the chance to try again," Leo's jaw clenched with internal confliction.
She-She wasn't supposed to die .
They were supposed to overcome their differences and come out better.
Lucy's eyes were wide open as they saw the pain and the misery that suddenly clouded Leo the Lion's soul.
Leo was in clear distress, for what else could he have done? How dare a celestial spirit abandon their master and cost them their life? How dare a celestial spirit not mourn their summoner, hating them with every fiber in their being for their disgusting treatment, so they claim.
Karen Lilicia was a vile human being who mentally abused Aries and Leo to the point of the latter going mad in rage and leaving when he finally had the ability to. And the one time he had left in order to prove a lesson to that woman, in order to try and inspire change in their fates, she had died.
She was dead.
Karen Lilicia was a vile human being, but did she deserve to die?
Some would say so.
No one deserves to go through the emotional abuse as the spirits had, even if they weren't human. But who has the right to say who gets to live and who gets to die? Was there ever a possibililty that Karen had changed in Leo's absense, and he came back too late? Was she on a mission to find Leo, in order to apologize?
Or did she not change at all?
Earth Land will never know, and Leo will never find the answer.
It cripples him, the guilt of the thought.
"How could I forget the morality of humans?" Leo barked full of self-hatred as he stood across from Lucy at the cemetary. It was raining now, how fitting. A dreary mood for a dreary end. He was going to die for his sins and maybe it was for the best of everyone to wash the pain away once he fades. For their tears to mix in with the horrors of what he had done, and disappear once the dark clouds had lifted. A new era, without him. "All of it was pointless, in the end. I was arrogant in thinking that we had time, and she had died ."
And, Spirits Above, Where Was Aries?
Had he just sent her to a new master, even worse than Karen at her lowest depraved moment? Had his journey of wanting to set Aries especially free, from the horrible burdens that had potentially awaited her from Karen's words, put her in a predicament that was even worse? He had abandoned his comrade, his pack.
Three months was too long, and yet he had the nerve to enjoy his freedom.
He was just a glorifed coward.
"Don't try anything, Lucy Heartfilia. Can't you see? I am ultimately a coward. My little crusade could've ended after a month, but it had lasted three . Do you know why?" Leo shouted. "I told myself that it was to ensure that she couldn't have the magical power to summon Aries, but that's not entirely true."
Lucy stares with tears in her eyes as Leo became erratic, passing around as he pulled onto his hair. It was a painful watch, to see a man so confident confess all of his darkest feelings in his final hours. How was it that when people feel as if they're about to loose it all, everything manages to fall out at once. What would've happened if we'd been a bit more honest with ourselves?
"I didn't want to go back to that fucking woman. I wanted to run far away and never return, because never in all of my millenias, had I experience so many different types of pain at once. I never wanted to feel so low again."
Leo choked up and hoarsely whispered, "But I had abandoned Aries."
His form flickered and Lucy quickly staggerd forwards but Leo held up a hand to keep her away from him. For her not to do anything crazy, because this was how it should end. "Don't!"
"Leo, it's not your fault!" Lucy yelled at him, desperate for him to hear her words.
"Do you think she'll forgive me?" Leo asked in a daze.
"Aries will forgive you because you'll be there in front of her to tell her exactly what you're telling me ," Lucy roughly gestured towards herself as she took another step forwards towards Leo. Leo, who was slowly fading away into whatever was awaiting him in the afterlife, if anything at all. "You were a victim, Leo. The outcome may not have been how you wanted, but don't forget what it took for you to get there in the first place. You just wanted to feel safe , and it's a right that every person should have. Human or spirit."
"I hated her," Leo hissed brokenly.
"I know."
"W-What if Karen had changed?" Leo the Lion asked Lucy, with pain in his voice. Lucy just stared back at him with tears of her own as they stood face to face. His form flickered, and she looked down to see him slowly disappearing into the background with a sad smile. Because even after conveying his negative feelings of the woman, he still chose to believe that there could be some good in her in the end. Who's to say what happened to Karen Lilica? Perhaps she attempted to turn over a new leaf and met her untimely end.
Or perhaps she never changed, and it was her arrogance that killed her swifter than any piercing sword could.
All she could say was, "What goes around, comes back around, Leo. Karen is gone, but you aren't. There is still much good for you to do in this world, don't give up."
"I broke the rules, I can't be saved."
A damned spirit with a damned master. They were both chained to be guilt, and perhaps they were both hellbound together. At least Aries would survive, it was all Leo had wanted.
Lucy sniffed as she narrowed her eyes in defiance at his words. Rules? The Celestial King and his stupid fucking outdated rules that clearly weren't helping anyone in a situation as peculiar as this one. Where was this "King" when his subjects needed him the most?
So his "rules" can go fuck themselves. She was living proof of one having the power to change the rules, after all. Her human body held two souls within her, both of them as different variants of herself. Rushii, her older variant, went back in time to break the system that caused her world to fall. She countlessly pushed her limits against the Eclipse Gate and whatever divine punishments stop her from interfering more, but she doesn't hold back.
And neither would Lucy.
"Then we make our own rules, Leo." She boldly announces as she reaches over to touch the fading spirit. Upon contact, her hands glowed and Leo's eyes widened as their souls began to merge in an effort to keep the celestial spirit alive. But what was she thinking ?!
She won't survive.
"Luc-"
"Open, the gate of the Lio-" Lucy shouted over him through the storm as she attempted to force Leo's gate open despite the Laws of the Spirit Realm, only to pause halfway.
For everything froze .
-L-H-
There was a heavy pressure in air as the molecules glittered into the air. Lucy's body was frozen in time and space as Leo's expression stared at her in disbelief. A storm swirled around them, full of cosmic energy despite the still surroundings. Her thoughts raced inside her mind as she tried to move desperately, only for her limbs to feel as if they were encased in rock solid cement.
What was happening?
Why couldn't she move?
Why couldn't Leo , a Golden Zodiac Spirit, move either?
"Rushii?!" Lucy shouted for her sister.
Rushii was just as lost as she was. She knew who was coming, having experienced the same thing as her younger self was currently going through, but it didn't happen like this. It truly felt as if there was a mythical being coming down to greet them, and she realized that her version of the powerful being was just the surface level of what he was capable of.
The One True King of Spirits.
Eridanus Cepheus.
On top of the grey clouds that was swarming above in the frozen lands, a rip in time and space had appeared. The colors was all and nothing at the same time, reality shifted as a tear appeared, being forced open by a silver and gold hand plated with a rainbow aura around it. Stepping through the field was something so massive and incredible that the only word of the euphoric feelings that Lucy suddenly felt from it's pressence alone was god .
There was a god that had to be in her presence, for she could not move and see with her own two eyes, but she could feel.
Overwhelmed was an understatement, and Rushii's jaw dropped inside of her mind at the overload of sensitivity.
The silver and gold god with a blackened, damaged cape had stepped onto Earth Land and loomed over the two frozen individuals. Leo was internally flabbergasted and in fear, because he never thought that the King would cross the realms and enter the mortal world for something about this. Was his violation too cruel to part from the world quietly? Or was he here to reprimand Lucy Heartfilia, a girl who was loved by spirits but dared to question the fates in place.
He won't let the King hurt her, though, not before truly sacrificing himself first.
If only he could fucking move .
"Release, I sanction thee."
Lucy and Leo crashed onto the ground in a heap once the Celestial Spirit King allowed them to regain their individual momentum in time. Their surroundings remained frozen, but they were now free to do as they pleased. Lucy gasped for air as her body shook in fear and awe at the towering figure above her, his shadow being casted over the area completely. It was as if the Sun was shining on one side, and the other time was in Dusk.
It was horrifyingly amazing to witness with her own two eyes.
Eventually, the Celestial Spirit King shrunk his body to more convinent size, as Earth Land wasn't a place that could handle his true form. It has been centuries since he's last set foot onto the grass of the mortals, he mused quietly as he looked at the two persons of interest in front of him. King Eridanus Cepheus was not one to interefere with the ways of the world. Change was something that didn't come naturally after all.
The spirits knew their roles with their partnerships with humanity, and thus should be sure to remind themselves of the rules that come with it. That the contracts that they had signed the moment they stepped into this raw power was binding, and that foregoing meant to disrupt the balance of the eternity and such disruptances must be elimanted at once.
What would happen if a world like theirs did not have such rules?
Spirits were superior beings in every way except physical. They were not built for the atmosphere of the Earth Land. If Earth Land was like their Spirit Realm however, they would be considered and known more as god-like beings. Such power is dangerous, it was written in the stars that such a mindset had to be snuffed out before it could even be a proper thought. Past King Eridanus Cepheus would've fought for more rights against the fates, grumbling about the unfairness compared to the demons and the angels that were allowed to walk freely.
But all things had their costs, and eventually, the Spirit King had saw their reasoning for everything in the end. The fates shouldn't be argued with. The laws were there for a reason.
And yet…
"You are Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of late Layla Heartfilia and direct descendant of the Great Anna Heartfilia, correct?"
"T-That's right." Lucy answered as she looked towards the ground. Leo had done the same, being in the presence of royalty. Even if he hadn't, she thinks she would've done it still. The Celestial Spirit King's presence was no laughing matter, especially when she didn't know what he wanted.
"The laws of the Spirit Realm are there for a reason," The Celestial Spirit King's voice grumbled and echoed throughout Lucy's chest down to her toes. He stroked his white beard as he spoke with a sternness that only demanded respect. "Your actions would have been futile, Lucy Heartfilia. Merging your soul with Leo the Lion's would have only extended his life span to a year at most before he would be force to fade as nature calls."
"So you were watching us?" Lucy suddenly exclaimed with newfound virgue. If he was watching their moment just now, then that meant that he's probably caught a glimpse of what Leo and Aries had gone through. And he'd porbably done nothing about it. The thought alone makes her blood boil, Spirit King be damned. "So you saw what Karen Lilica did to your loyal friends?!"
"...Indeed." Eridanus confirmed. He has seen the anguish of that woman's actions against people who he has fought side by side with in wars, many stars ago. To see them rendered down into that state makes his chest ache, watching from afar in his palace as he watched Leo fall into deeper despair. He had to take a step away once he realized that Karen had lost her life, and that Leo had broken a strict rule.
He had come to terms that his friend was going to die, but his memory would prevail.
…Eridanus had wanted to avoid this altogether, in fact. But the Heartfilias, as always, had a trick up their sleeve with their righteous blood running through them, and the King had to step in in order to make sure that they did not break an unknown taboo. If it was just Lucy Heartfilia and Leo, then it wouldn't have been so urgent.
But the Lucy Heartfilia girl was already a walking anomaly, who would've known what would have become of Leo or the girl if the third soul had begun the transition in the merge.
Unexpected variables, without a doubt.
Simply not acceptable, as he had to think about the safety of his subjects.
( How ironic, Eridanus. )
The last bit of his past-conscious spatted at him. He's let the eons get to him, and now he was conforming to the will of fate like a damn dog.
But change does not come easy.
"It gave me no pleasure to see what Leo and Aries had to go through, Lucy Heartfilia. But if I change the rules now for only him, for what all of the spirits who have broken them in the past? They've already lost theirselves. Leo was a dear friend of mine, but one's actions has consequences. Rules were not meant to be broken, but followed to the very end."
" "Was"? He's right here. HE'S RIGHT HERE." Lucy shouted at the King Eridanus, who looked taken aback minisculely. Lucy reached over to grab Leo's hand, who was staring down in silence, ashamed. She squeezed it tightly as she fought for the Lion spirit, "You act as if he's already faded away and died, but Leo is right here. Look him in the eye and tell him that you won't do a thing to help him. That you won't do anything to save your friend."
" Lucy Heartfilia ." Eridanus thundered and Lucy shivered in fear as goosebumps ran through her body. She was testing his patience, but how could he not see the blasphemy in front of him? The simple act of freezing time and space around them had already halted Leo's degeneration. He wasn't fading despite his time being essentially up. That meant that Eridanus had some power to make a change, but he wasn't using it. "You are not the only one to come and try to convince me to configurate the rules. Some of the other Golden Zodiac Spirits had tried to sway my opinion, but it remains all the same. Karen Lilica is dead, and Leo's refusal to go back to the spirit world had indirectly caused this death. She was not able to defend herself with the magic she was blessed with, and thus she died."
He stared down at her with a dark expression, "You should be aware of how dangerous such a situation, yes? It can very well end with death, as seen with Karen Lilica. When you needed assistance from Taurus the Golden Bull and Aquarius the Water Bearer, they had turned on you and caused you harm. If you had perished or was severely injured, they would be in the same predicament as Leo currently is. The rules shift for no one."
"But did you look at the circumstances of why they did what they did? They were being controlled by another person's magic! Leo just wanted to protect Aries and himself. Is that so wrong? What else could they have done in that instance? Nothing, because it wasn't a variable that comes up often and thus it wasn't in the calculations of these said "rules". Cancer told me that this generation of mages have begun to put more of an emphasis on magic configuration, after all. We are in a new era, King Eridanus Cepheus." Lucy said strongly but respectfully.
The times have changed, and if the new rules didn't at least account for some of said changes, then it does more harm than good. To stop the natural process of evolving is to stop fate, as it is something that is fluid.
Leo's mouth trembled as he tried not to break down, squeezing her hand back. He couldn't even trust himself to speak without being erratic off of the fear and haywire emotions that ran through him. She was fighting for his life, and ultimately, he was just in awe of her compassion. He's never treated her with the respect she had deserved, he realized, and if he somehow makes it out of here, he will honor Lucy Heartfilia to the best of his ability.
"And? The rules of the Bible that some mortals follow has been around for hundreds of years. The laws in place by your Magic Council have been around for decades. Humanity is always evolving in some form of fashion, and it takes more than something relative as time to find worth in changing of laws. These rules were made to last for eons . Your mortal timelines mean little in comparison to the life we've lived."
"All the more reason to fight and make changes then," Lucy quietly said. "Because it sounds to me that if Karen had still been alive, and if she had kin to pass down the keys just as my mother had done with me, you would've been content with sitting with your rules in the same of "Fate" and "Laws", while your spirits suffered from the beginnings of generational trauma."
"And what then? Was there any consideration for their health? Or are they tools to even you, King Eridanus. When had they shifted from friends to soldiers and from soldiers to expendible resources?" Lucy declared. The reality was that celestial spirits was bounded by their masters to the point of even restricting their freedom. Of course it will tax on them, especially in an environment like Leo's.
"If even their own king won't stand up for them, then that's a damn shame. But I won't let that stop me. If no one else, I will advocate for the spirits, my family. Leo doesn't deserve to die, and I will do everything in my power to give him a second chance."
Leo snapped his head towards Lucy,
"I've lived hundred times more than your current age, Lucy. There's no reason to go through such lengths, I've seen it all before."
Lucy flashed him a small smile of support.
They didn't start off in the best of ways, but she wanted to walk alongside him now. He deserves a second chance, and she was willing to fight for giving it to him.
"But not with me, you haven't."
"Or me, you stupid yellow cat. I have to say, you're better than me. I'd kil-"
" Aquarius! " Virgo uncharacteristically hissed frantically as she stared at the figure of the Celestial Spirit King. They had summoned themselves the moment they realized that the King had left to confront Lucy and Leo, and wanted to aide their master's side. Still, they hadn't realized that some time had passed by the time they got there, and they had joined in the middle of the conversation.
"What? Oh.." Aquarius coughed awkwardly at the sight of King Eridanus Cepheus staring down at her with a blank expression. Damn, she had just gotten free out of everlasting trouble, and then she was about to "joke" about killing her master if she was like Karen, with Leo present in front of him. Well well well, what would she do without Virgo, she'd have to treat the old girl out sometime in exchange for saving her freedom.
She cleared her throat, "O' Great Celestial King, The Great-"
"Aquarius…" Eridanus sighed in exasperation. He couldn't deal with her antics right now, he just couldn't.
"You said great twice, dumbass." Virgo huffed under her breath as Aquarius's forehead ticked with annoyance but she held her tongue. The spirits soon let out a harsh breath as the law that King Eridanus had set on the land prevented them from being able to withstand comfortablely. They were intruders, they were not invited to the frozen spatial realm that the King had opened, only Leo and Lucy were.
Yet another rule that was known, and another rule that was being broken.
He looked at the two newcomers, "You were not invited to this meeting. What has possessed you to act so carelessly and reckless in front of my presence? Have you no shame? Am I not respected as the Ruler of the Celestial Spirits any longer?"
"We came to support our master's wishes, as we are duty bound to." Virgo skillfully manuevers after she sent out a rather blatant scowl for Aquarius to keep her mouth shut. She was more equipped to deal with aristocracy than the mermaid, and had the calm presence and stern tongue that kept itself in check. With the laxness and abrasion of the mermaid, it would only make things worse.
"We are terribly sorry My Lord, but there was an…area of confusion as for who to follow in this case," Virgo explained, "Is it our human master just as the rules state, or is it you, King Eridanus Cepheus of the Spirits. Both require a level of unwavering support, but what is a spirit to do if they were both in conflict with one another?"
Another challenger had appeared, standing behind Lucy with cool shades to match the occasion. "It seems to me that it's a lose lose situation- ebi. "
She was lifted up in surprise next by Taurus, who just gave her a triumphant smile and held her on his shoulders as he didn't say anything but the look of determination on his face had spoke enough. One by one, Lucy's spirits had stepped into the domain of the Spirit King in order to stand by her beliefs and their love for Leo. Lucy's heart swelled with such relief and awe at the courage of her spiritual family, that she couldn't do anything but sniff and look up at the King with her heart on her sleeve.
And Leo…
"You guys…"
"Shut it, Leo." Aquarius grumbled before sighing and propping a hip out as she looked at him with a rare soft expression. "We spirits all have a bond with each other, but us Goldens go way back. It counts for something, yanno? We're not letting you fade without a fucking fight."
"Because you are loved- ebi ." Cancer said as he threw an arm around the lion spirit. Terminology such as "I love you" and "I care for you" never originated from the spirit world. Such practices of friendship was passed down from the human world as they navigated it. It was just them and the King, following orders mindlessly. Yes, humanity has shown them pain but in return, they have also seen the fiercest of loves that has inspired them. They wouldn't have been standing here today, if it weren't for the spectrum of life that they have experiences and learned and suffered and loved and smiled for along the way.
And every once in a while, it was a good to remind themselves that.
Spirits deserved love too. From humanity, but from each other as well.
It had reminded him of Aquarius drunkenly declaring that she'd do better after living more with Lucy some time ago, and Cancer finds himself smiling softly at the memory. Soul searching, remembering the times that they had truly been themselves and thought about others. Most people think that it was a glorified master and slave contract, but with the right mage, it was a relationship of mentor and mentee depending on the lenses of the shades.
"We've all lost a piece of ourselves after all of these years, and maybe it's about time we regained it bit by bit. Despite us standing here, preaching love and unity and change, it is still a new road for us as it is a pathway for you- ebi . There is no difference between us, we all bare our sins. So walk with us and follow her."
"Y-You guys…" Lucy choked up a bit at the sight of all of her spirits in her possession. Lyra played a soft melody before she smiled at the bonde. Crux brushed his beard as he looked thoughtful, as if he was watching and living through a momentus part of history and was eager to record it in the records. He was quick to give out a small, wrinkled wink to his master however.
Plue was on Taurus's other shoulder as he shimmied a dance of "live laugh and love" for all to see.
It was…something.
Aquarius even felt the urge to punt him, but resisted, much to Virgo's relief.
King Eridanus just stared at the scene before him, deeply in thought. It was one thing if she had summoned them all at once, which was magnificent in it's own right. Such power hasn't been seen in the Celestial World in what felt like forever, a term that wasn't used often as time wasn't even measured much to begin with. Surpassing even Anna Heartfilia, however long ago that was. Days were like minutes to being such as them.
But this was a different kind of rawness that comes from the heart.
Her spirits had chose to summon themselves and rally by her side.
It speaks for her character. It speaks for her leadership. It speaks for how true her words rang, as she declared her love for her celestial spirits. She had called them her family, even.
Lucy Heartfilia's resolve could not be ignored.
"...Remarkable. I don't believe I have even seen so many spirits in unity for one common goal in my life. Is this the effect of the Heartfilia Clan?" King Eridanus spoke softly, as he looked at his subjects with a paternal love. He doesn't always make the best decisions for them individually, but it all comes from a root of love for them all. He would never purposely wish harm on them, but perhaps by not adjusting to their more specific needs in the present instead of being a beacon of stability…
And since when did a king not devote themselves to making their people happy?
"Today, Leo the Lion has been granted immunity from his crimes." The Celestial Spirit King thundered as everyone gasped, "For the resolve of his fellow spirits and a lone master with courage as large as the universe, Leo the Lion has been granted the opportunity to make amends for the complex wrongdoings of his past."
"But-" Leo tried to protest but was met with an icy glare.
"Do not think that this was a decision made on a whim , Leo the Lion." King Eridanus huffed at the mere thought. He wouldn't make a decision like this on light terms, and took in all external viewpoints before he quickly made this outcome. "Now that the rules have been bent for you, dearest Lion, will you attempt to break them again ? By denying your right to return home? I suppose that you have the power to make the choice now, but I would take a look around you before you do anything rash."
At the people who just fought so hard for his right to stay by their sides.
"If the guilt cripples you that much, then live for the better in order to atone for such a crime."
King Eridanus suddenly casted his hand forwards, and whispered, "Removal, I command thee."
Within an instant, all celestial spirits that had forced their way into the Celestial Spirit King's realm were gone in an instant. Leo's gate had opened beside them, and the remaining folks watched silently as he stared at the golden glow of the gate before him. It shined in the frozen stormy clouds and he raised his hand as if to touch the essence before he lowered it and turned to look at Lucy.
To look directly at her in the eye as he began to grow taller, his hair slowly growing longer to resemble a minature name, his clothes burning away as it was replaced with a clean suit.
Loke was no longer before her, but the beginnings of Leo the Lion instead.
"We started off on the wrong foot completely, but words cannot express my gratitude towards you, Lucy. The chance for redemption of the past that had crippled me, the ability to go home, the unwavering support even if I had said something that didn't please you in the past. You are beyond kind, Lucy." He said as he summoned his own key and placed it down on the ground before him.
"A contract with me will guarantee someone to sacrifice their life for you, no matter what happens, because I owe you mine ."
A deep bow and he turned around to walk into his gate, before Lucy Heartfilia and the Celestial Spirit King watched it shimmered and close as it glittered in the space gold once it was shut. King Eridanus was already looking down at the mage, who let out a small squeak once she realized that she was entirely alone in the realm that he had frozen.
She also realized that he could have sent everyone back home earlier if he truly wanted to, but he didn't.
King Eridanus wasn't a frigid king at heart, it seemed.
"Were you looking for a reason for Leo to come back?"
"Words are just warm exhales of air. It was the actions that I saw today was a more than enough reason to make such a decision."
"You didn't believe me when I said I wanted to save him?" Lucy asked curiously.
King Eridanus just chuckled deeply, that had a twang of age to it. "If I had fallen for every "I will save him" declaration, I would not be fit for being King. Mortals might have superiority over us in this domain, but I care for Spirits and Spirits alone. It just so happens that mortals and spirits are often intertwined, but do not be fooled. There are many things that I know as a result of being thorough with my lengths of protection."
Lucy shivered at the words.
Suddenly, it didn't feel like they were talking about Leo anymore.
"...so do you also know about-"
"Rushii Heartfilia, also known as Lucy Heartfilia of Earth Land-2006. I am aware." Eridanus almost rolled his eyes at the mortal's question. What a silly question, of course he was aware of the pressence of the two souls. He was Thee Celestial Spirit King, and he just froze time and space for them to meet. Such a power to identify an anomaly should've been a given assumption.
"I am sorry to hear about the fate of your world, Rushii Heartfilia. Although I must say…" Eridanus's eyes darkened at the thought of the creator of the Eclipse Gate, "...The Gate that you had passed through was truly wicked indeed. I do not question your morals for coming back, but your path is not fated to be an easy one."
He looked down at her grimly, "Because at the end of the day, you do not belong here."
Lucy let out a harsh gasp, "How-How could you say that? Of course she belongs here, if she hadn't been in my life, I would've-"
"You would still be alive, and still live your life in this way. All of the major points of your life would still be checked off, because that is what makes you Lucy Heartfilia in all worlds. You lose your mother. You join Fairytail. You join a team, and go on adventures. Rushii's presence merely made everything harder , in a sense."
King Eridanus sighed, "Earth Land-2023, that is what this world is. The blame does not solely go to you, Rushii Heartfilia, as there was another intruder as well in this universe. A more diabolical one, indeed. For if there is light, there must be darkness that follows. A balance, always."
"Regardless, this is a warning ."
Rushii sucks in a breath as she looks directly into the eyes of the Celestial Spirit King, who's massive body crouched down in order to make it more apparent. He gave her a serious look, "You did not live long enough to see the true dangers of the world. Spirits, Dragons, Angels, Demons , they are all very much real. And yet, one of the worst of them all is human. Cursed by the fates and the gods themselves."
"Tread carefully in these waters, for the Creator of the Eclipse Gate is a foe that even I am wary about fighting."
Lucy and Rushii let out an anxious wave of emotion that synergized with each other at the news. Rushii knew that her pressence was probably disrupting the natural order of the universe, but to hear verbal confirmation about her making things harder for her imouto did pierce her heart a bit. Then to hear about dangers that even she had yet to meet didn't help either.
This dangerous human, is it Future Rogue? The bastard that had killed her Natsu? Who knew where he was, or what he had done.
"Do you know how I was able to summon the Interstellar Taurus?" Rushii took over, speaking up to the King quietly who began to glow as he gradually disappeared.
To her question, he just let out a soft sigh and gave the Heartfilias a look of intrigue, "It seems that in many universes, you were beloved by the Spirits, as you are Lucy Heartfilia. As thus is your fate. A love and respect that transcends universes…"
He left the two resumed at the cemetery, with rain drizzling on them as Lucy fell to her knees after the emotional, tiring exchange.
"...my presence isn't always a blessing, Lucy. Dangerous events have-"
"Don't, Nee-san." Lucy said firmly. The world was harder or whatever, but it was going to be hard regardless. She wasn't alone, and she had someone to look up too all her life. A role model that she wanted to make proud and follow. There weren't many people who can say they had such a significant figure in their lives, and she will always love and be grateful for her Nee-san's love and guidance.
"The Celestial King's words were true and they scare me, imouto. There could be an enemy that you face in the future, and I wouldn't know what to do to help you." Rushii sighs as she held her face in her hands.
"We."
"What?"
"We face in the future, not just me. We're a team, I don't care what you say Nee-san."
"Lucy, you're the one that is doing the most work around here. I just share my two cents and sit back, doing pratically nothing."
"No! Don't say that, Rushii," Lucy exclaimed in her mind. "Your presence alone is reassuring to me. You're my big sister…I-I don't care. It was your words that have helped me through the darkest of times, I can't imagine what it was to not have you with me, so please don't talk like that. I love you dearly, Nee-san."
Rushii teared up as she looked down at her hands, the sudden urge of wishing that she could do more was overwelhming her. And yet, her younger self still loved her. Full of compassion and kindness for others, she was the best thing that's come from this harsh journey.
Compassion and kindness for insignificant others that fades with each day from Rushii, who focuses more and more on the bigger picture each day. Why hadn't she said much during the entire exchange with the King? Because she had fully understood where he was coming from, and she wasn't sure about her morals regarding the situation anymore.
Jaded.
She was becoming jaded, and she fears that it will grow worse with time.
Starting with their next fight of their lives.
Rushii didn't say anything else after she had whispered her "I love you too" back, and Lucy didn't say anything either. It was a…rather triumphant day, all in all. She had found the answers to her questions, and managed to save a life. Her spirits had shown their love for her, and just as she had for them.
It was not sadness that she felt when she went home, slowly walking in the rain as she shoved her hands into her jacket, but it wasn't euphoric happiness either.
It was…thoughtfulness.
Where was she supposed to go from here, with what she has learned?
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"Ahh~ It's almost time to start the final act of this magnificent game of chess."
"…"
"Are you prepared to play my game, Ms. Milkovich?"
~? ﾝﾕﾙ? ?￡ﾁﾀ? ﾝﾙﾚ? ᴑ? ? ﾝﾘﾦ? ﾝﾝﾂ ? ? ﾝﾗﾐ? ﾝﾒﾾ? ﾝﾘﾀ~
?￠ﾩﾦ ? ﾝﾙﾪ ɯ? ﾝﾓﾃ? ?￠ﾫﾦ ? ﾊ? ﾝﾙﾮ?
ϒ | N