It was around the dead of night, close to a nearly abandoned village. A normal night in that hamlet would be filled with pin-drop silence barring the occasional conversation of the minimal denizens of the bourg.
That night, however, was different. A woman whose aura screamed of authority sauntered through the middle of the road, chasing a bipedal, humanoid monster.
The monster bore several physical wounds on its body and wobbled forward, with fear gleaming in its yellow eyes as it desperately tried to put some distance between itself and the woman.
A few villagers peeked at the monster before running back inside their households, locking their doors and grabbing onto sticks and shovels to protect themselves.
It leaned its head back to emit its visceral scream and threw its voice as loud as it could to control the minds of the hapless commoners.
To its surprise, there was nothing. The monster prided itself on its prestigious voice and saw the world turn around.
From the corner of its eye, it saw its own headless trunk take a step forward before collapsing onto the ground just like the innocent people and animals it had devoured to satisfy its appetite.
Its life started to ebb and the last sight of its terrible and cursed life was the beautiful flow of long, scarlet hair.
"You're finally dead", the woman sighed with pursed lips as she sheathed her sword.
Doors were opened, smiles were etched on the people's faces and the mood suddenly turned from discomposed to celebrative. A long-term issue that had been taking over the lives of the people had been solved in a matter of a couple of weeks by the woman in front of them.
The said woman received various invitations, some for a good homemade dinner, some for drinks, and a few subtle and some not-so-subtle invitations to the bedroom.
"If I could stay in the final room in the third floor of the inn, I would be more than satisfied", she whispered to the people. They were obviously puzzled. Her request would not cover a tenth of the monumental task she had just accomplished, but the look in her eyes said otherwise. All she wanted, was the room.
"Yes...Yes, of course! We will send over our finest food in a couple of minutes", a middle-aged man offered and the woman shook her head softly before tucking a thick lock of hair behind her right ear.
"I've had some food, and I am full. I would just like the rest of the night to myself, if possible. It has been a tough couple of weeks", she softly refused and the people obliged, albeit with a slight tinge of disappointment that they could not return her favour.
Making her way towards the inn, she spotted the receptionist lying lazily with a softcore porn magazine over his head.
She cleared her throat and tapped on the desk a couple of times to gain the younger man's attention.
"Ah, yes yes yes!", he shot up as he frantically tossed the magazine into the corner and opened the record.
"Your name please?"
"Erza...Fernandes", the woman stated with a straight face. It was a blatant lie, "but this is going to become my name one day" was the argument she put up to back up her lie.
"Very well. Here is the key to the room you requested. It should be quite good. The maid had just cleaned the room yesterday", he laughed nervously as he handed over the key to the room.
"Would it be acceptable if a guest of mine comes over?", she asked him with pursed lips and the man scratched his hair before shrugging his shoulders.
"I mean...it would not become a problem now that you've informed me. Would your guest be arriving soon?", he enquired and noticed the way the light in her eyes darkened.
"I hope so", Erza flashed him a soft smile before making her way upstairs.
It had been quite a strenuous fight, and for the past few hours, the sheer rush of adrenaline kept her running, but now that she was calm, the fatigue piled on her like a truck.
"I'm bathed in sweat", she sighed as she undid her outer armour. Her thighs and biceps screamed out in pain with every minute movement of her muscles and with a heavy wince, she opened the door to her room.
It did not take her more than a couple of seconds to shut the door and jump into the bed while groaning out in pain and mild frustration.
With a slight wince, she sat up and leaned against the headboard. Erza was far too weak to even use her Requip magic and yanked her shirt off, tossing the sweat-soaked cloth to the corner of the room. In a few seconds, her skirt and thigh-high stockings followed suit.
The windows were open and the pleasant gust felt like a wave of icy air against her sweaty body, forcing her to convulse into shivers.
Holding on to her right bicep, Erza stretched her arms and arched her back before the corner of her eye caught up to the mirror on the left side of the bed.
She turned towards the mirror and was taken aback for a split second. Erza softly sighed as she stared at the face of the twenty-nine-year-old woman in the mirror.
Flashback
Ultear Milkovich
Damn that woman's schemes! Around a couple of months ago, an influx of monster tamers from another planet arrived, wreaking havoc all over Fiore. Monsters of all sizes and strengths poured from all directions, terrorising the city. Shops were destroyed, businesses sank into debt, innocent lives were lost and so many mages had sacrificed themselves, performing their rightful duties.
At an important juncture, Ultear arrived and stared at the members of Fairy Tail. She pulled out a ceremonial knife and drew a deep, horizontal cut on her left palm, and started to mutter under her breath.
A faint light glowed from her body which soon blossomed into a blood-red shade. Erza had seen different kinds of strengths. Some of them so powerful she had to bow down to them. But this power did not seem tangible, and none of her friends' strengths seemed viable next to this sheer aura. Even Jellal and Gildarts, whose aura when serious can create powerfully poignant waves seemed to be child's play compared to this.
Blood started to flow down Ultear's eyes and lips and she flashed a small smile towards Erza.
You had lost seven years for the sake of the world. I cannot give you those lost years, but I can give you the strength you truly deserve. But that requires sacrifice. From your side as well as mine. Strengthen your hearts, heroes, as this is the final hurdle you will need to cross.
Ultear's voice blared inside the heads of Fairy Tail and her aura started to surround them. It was a momentary trip to hell as their bodies convulsed in pain.
Erza frantically looked around through the pain to see her friends in similar states. Her muscles felt like they were getting torn apart, her bones were on fire, sharp sounds were being fed into her eardrums, and the voices inside her head started to fight one another. Erza knew she had to be strong for them and opened her eyes.
She saw a soft smile on Ultear's face. Her aura had completely changed and the older woman turned her attention towards Erza.
As expected of Titania.
"What...What have you done to us?", Erza asked out loud as she continually fought the pain.
I gave you the strength you would have gained in the seven years you had spent in stasis. This was just the work of time.
Erza crawled towards a nearby puddle and looked at her reflection. Her eyes were blurry and she was unable to think straight. The magical influx was far too strong for her to handle.
But she could see the difference. She was no longer the twenty-one-year-old woman. She looked more mature and as she turned to her side, the same could be said for her comrades who had suddenly aged seven years.
Fighting the pain, she could feel a significant rise in her own strength. The task of ridding the city off the monsters and their wretched tamers no longer seemed a Herculean task. It seemed doable provided her comrades woke up with the same effects.
Erza turned towards Ultear to thank her for the magic and her eyes shot up on seeing the significant aging of Ultear. The next second she blinked, Ultear had returned to a woman in her early thirties and went back to a woman in her eighties. She kept aging up and down and Erza frowned.
Going against fate has its own price. I am paying the price for rewriting Fate, Erza Scarlet. This was my mother's forbidden magic. I do not regret using this at the cost of my sanity...not even a bit. But I have a request. Only you can finish that request, Erza Scarlet.
"Name it", Erza growled as she got up, gripping her katana for support.
Jellal. My dear, dear little brother. Stand by him. That delusional child believes it is his responsibility to protect everyone. Be there for him, Erza. Treasure him the way I should have treasured him. Protect him the way I should have protected him, and love him more than anyone else in this world. He deserves it. He deserves so many things.
The Requip mage was unfazed by her request. It was as simple as informing her that water is wet or blood is red. Ultear had just asked her to do whatever she had been doing ever since she fell in love with him, but with her solid words, Erza grew conscious of the same. She nodded with determined eyes and Ultear vanished with a gust of wind. Perhaps it was her imagination, or the aftereffects of Ultear's magic had some remnant effects on her, but she could see various hands grab onto the woman's body and drag her away with the wind.
The next moment, she heard a guttural roar from the side and instantly turned towards its source, in perfect stance with her sword drawn out.
A man with wavy white hair was sent flying through the air and he moved his hands, creating a complex gravity spell that reduced the impact of his attack to one as simple as being touched by the softest of feathers.
However, the man did not seem to be fighting a one-sided battle, courtesy of his tattered, bloodstained clothes, his bleeding lip, a massive cut over his right eye, and a few broken fingers.
He turned towards Erza and smirked with a not-so-subtle aura of intimidation targeting her. Erza took the initiative and charged at him. The man dodged her katana with minimal effort, and she responded with a powerful punch to his jawline.
To her surprise, the man readjusted his dislocated jawline and chuckled softly.
"He has chosen well, hasn't he?", he randomly asked before his face darkened.
"That makes it even better when I pry it off of him"
"LEAVE HER OUT OF THIS!", a well-known voice roared. Erza turned towards the source only to face an ultramarine-coloured blur.
The person stopped less than an inch away from the white-haired man with inarguably, the most fierce glare she had seen in her life and thrust his left arm towards the man.
The other man tried to move away, only to have his limbs constrained by Dark Magic and the latter rushed towards him at lightning speed to land a powerful punch on his nose, shattering it on the spot.
"Fuck you", he seethed through the blood on his face before his eyes gleamed and a crack randomly opened behind him. He lunged forward and used the split momentum to launch himself into the crack and it instantly closed. The azure-haired man screamed out in horror before he turned towards Erza. Any sort of hatred and disdain vanished from his eyes, soon replaced with a mixture of relief, love, and contrition.
Jellal Fernandes
That damned better half of hers had finally come back after leaving abruptly three months ago.