As Zeref debated whether or not to approach the gods, Natsu's team had apparently made the decision to do so themselves. Meredy walked out from a different path to the area, along with Lyon, Erza, and the blonde he'd never bothered to learn the name of. The pink haired girl sat down next to Ankhseram with ease, smiling and staring up a quick conversation. The three gods almost seemed comfortable with the wizard, familiar with her in a way Zeref never allowed himself to be with anyone.

He watched a bit longer before inhaling slowly. Then, he turned towards Irene. "Tell the others that their assistance is welcome, but I will not hinder you further if I can avoid it." The weight still lingered in his chest and Zeref had an odd uncertainty as to what to expect. "Consider this adequate consequences for bringing about the possibility of this situation along with me. I can help look into finding replacements soon."

"I did nothing to—"

"If it weren't for you, slayer magic as a whole would not exist." Zeref met her gaze calmly. "Perhaps I triggered the demonic transformation, but you have some fault as well." He shrugged. "Invel too, though I have had time to realize that my anger was excessive for what he had done."

"He's not going to just walk away, you know. Neither of those two will, not when you're in the empire." Irene shook her head. "They'll follow you around, no matter what you're working on."

They were likely still elsewhere in the camp, possibly even searching for him. He'd speak with them if they arrived, but right now, Alvarez was not his focus. The empire he'd built rarely was these days, now that he was growing more and more certain in the fact that his potential war would never happen. Mavis was alive again in some form too, making any plans he'd started nearly useless. Adjusting things to handle her skill with tactical planning was something he simply didn't have the heart to do right now, nor did Fairy Heart truly seem worth it.

Blinking, he belatedly realized that perhaps he did have a use for it though. Originally, it would have been to save himself from his curse. Technically, he could go to a far more recent time - he could never grant Gray this magic in the first place. Though, looking at the gods, he slowly found the idea less appealing the more he considered it. Doing that would throw away Gray's efforts to revive them entirely. It would make their recent adventures meaningless to everyone except him. His companions would be back to a far more distrustful nature towards him than they were now and Gray himself would not even remember Zeref's own changed mindset. It'd likely cause more confusion than anything, especially for Gray who'd be witness to the very drastic shift in his thoughts that time travel would surely trigger.

Regardless, he supposed it was a back-up plan that maintained at least some degree of respect towards the god he hoped wasn't as angry with him now as she'd been centuries ago. Beyond knowing that she'd despised his actions and cursed him, he truly knew nothing of Ankhseram. So, as he approached the group, he was at a loss as to what to say to announce his presence or even intervene in the conversation.

"—something. He's refusing to talk and we thought that if anyone would be willing to help us understand outside of him, it'd be you." Meredy was speaking, focused on Ankhseram with her question.

The god met the girl's eyes, folding her arms over her chest. "Not a chance. I don't care who you are, I'm not sharing that knowledge with anyone."

"But he'll kill Gray if we don't find a solution." Erza knelt down in front of the woman. "Please. We do not wish to utilize that magic. Our goal is to gain an understanding to work from so we can make an attempt to do something."

"And you fail to understand what it is you're asking for." Sara narrowed her eyes. "At least he's learned not to share that sort of stuff with others. Zeref may be stubborn, but I can say he's got the right stance when it comes to this. Wizards are not meant to have this sort of power. Mortality exists for a reason and there is always a balance to be maintained - life and death have a certain order to them and if you sway things towards one side or the other, you'll find that it has more downstream affects than you could imagine."

"Please, Sara." Meredy met her eyes. "I know that. But if you can offer just a tiny bit of information, anything at all, we can start on something."

"He's transforming into a demon akin to Deliora." Zeref spoke quietly, seeing Ankhseram look up at his voice. Their eyes met and he noticed the god started to get up as she noticed him. Sora moved to stand by her side, almost protectively between the god of death and himself. Standing still, Zeref gave them both a calm nod. "I am not here to fight. Seeing you…may have put much onto my mind, but I am more interested in a discussion with you about such things at a later time."

"Yeah?" Sora folded her arms over her chest. "You are coming over here and immediately disregarding her request. Seems like you might not actually be as wise as she says."

"You misunderstand." He looked over at Meredy and her team. "I am not offering an understanding into the mechanics of the magic I've…pieced together." The other wizards watched him warily. "This is more so intended as a small peace offering of sorts, for some rash behavior on my part earlier."

"Rash behavior?" The blonde narrowed his eyes. "You openly stated that you'd—"

"I will retract that promise now." Zeref met the man's gaze, interrupting before he could continue. "Old habits are difficult to pull away from when they often seem like simple solutions." Turning towards Ankhseram, he met the god's gaze calmly. "It appears as if my unnatural creations are more…compatible with natural processes than I'd assumed. A slayer embedded with their energy is capable of transforming into such a being."

The god looked between him and the blonde, before snorting and shaking her head. "You were planning on killing him and bringing him back, weren't you?"

"I did not act on the thought." Zeref stared down at the ground. "Seeing you here reminded me that such actions are often the source of more problems than they resolve."

"And you still think you won't do that if you can't find another option? Are you confident you won't train them as disciples of what you've learned?" Ankhseram was focused on Zeref, something calculating in her dark eyes growing.

"Sara, if you're considering—"

"This is my situation to handle, Crow." Sara interrupted the man, tilting her head at Zeref. "Do you have an answer for me? Or are you going to just act like I'm not talking to you?"

"They will not learn the secrets behind this magic." Zeref met her gaze. "I would never risk allowing another to face the same suffering as me."

"Says the guy who taught a child death magic."

"Wait, he did what?" The blonde turned towards him with a frown. "I mean, I get that you could probably use that sort of magic based on the stories, but teaching a child—"

"That was an incomplete design that she failed to heed my warnings on." Zeref's hands closed into fists. "I've learned and have not passed anything, living or death magic, onto anyone since. She was the singular person I ever offered that level of trust to."

The god studied him in silence. Questions still remained within the eyes of the wizards near him, but none were voiced as the realization of the focus of the debate settled over the group. "I could ensure that you keep that promise you know. Making you forget what you know would be nothing to manage for me now."

"And then you'd have no one left with a deep enough understanding of what I've created to truly handle any necessary actions to restrain them." He met the god's gaze calmly. "If you want me to promise I will not intervene with them even now, I can do that too. I could even undertake the task of locating all of their books and passing them into your hands if it would calm you."

"At times like these, I think I've learned it is best to take Crow's approach." Sara slowly nodded. "It has been four hundred years, Zeref. Perhaps it is time I take a moment to observe and re-evaluate the person you've become."

Something almost stilled within him, an odd wariness spiking that he couldn't help but feel. "You are contemplating releasing me?"

The god sighed. "Typically, I'd do that after anywhere from a decade to a century you know. Things just didn't turn out as they should have for either of us." Shaking her head, she slowly met his gaze again. "At this point, the damage of keeping you around so long has already been done. I might as well wait and make sure you're not going to turn right back to the same habits if I free you now."

"Free him?" Meredy frowned, looking between them. "I almost forgot - you said you knew him before."

"She's the god that gave me the curse Gray and his team were working towards removing." He looked over at them now, seeing Lyon and Erza both watching him warily. "I cannot offer any words of assurance to either of you for my earlier behavior. My mindset shifts rather rapidly and is highly dependent on ongoing events in my life. Things that typically trigger emotional reactions in others often push me to take measures of hiding from my curse." He looked over at Lyon specifically with that. "In this case, that entailed focusing on the logic and efficiency of my options, not caring about anyone's emotions if the final result was achieved."

"Well, logic should have told you not to mess with your damn demonic spells again," Sara glared at him. "I get that this was an unintentional new creation, but you know they're only good for chaos and destruction."

"Then are you aware of a solution to stop it now?" He met Ankhseram's gaze. "You are aware of what I've done. That does not tell me if it is a sort of magic you can use or if I've created some makeshift variation of your power that is only usable by a wizard."

The god was quiet, before dragging a hand through her hair. "You've got a good intuition still, black wizard." After a moment, she looked over into his eyes. "I don't know if I can copy it, even if I wanted to. You figured out your damn magic at the worst possible time. Normally, there would've been a bit more of a process before cursing you - internal meetings to determine the best approach given your behavior, analysis of potential outcomes…" Sara shook her head, trailing off. "Things had already taken a turn for the worse though. We were reaching our lowest point so I made the call alone - I figured I'd be able to handle it later no matter what happened. And of course, you turned out to be the worst sort to curse - the kind that doesn't learn but instead takes it as a sign that things can't possibly get worse and dives even deeper into things you shouldn't be able to create."

"Wait, so you never even figured out exactly what he did before cursing him?" Lyon frowned. "That seems rather excessive. For all you know, it could have simply been a new form of healing magic."

The god rolled her eyes at Lyon. "And you're an idiot if you think that's anything remotely similar."

Looking over at Lyon, Zeref nodded. "Indeed. He is rather impulsive, but I suppose he means well most of the time." He paused, frowning at the man. "It would have been difficult to mistake, even if there were more similarities between what I did and healing spells." He looked over at Ankhseram, uncertain of exactly how much the god had researched into his creation now that he'd spoken more with her. "Without explaining the details, it is likely safe enough to tell you that demons don't precisely utilize magic." He waited, giving Ankhseram a chance to object. The god gave none, only frowning and listening with the others. "I created a new form of it, in a way, that acts the same but in its very fundamental function is vastly different."

"So, that's why it wasn't blocked with the cuffs designed to stop magic." Meredy looked over at him, frowning. "Wouldn't it just return to normal once you stopped suppressing it then?"

"I've just verified that it does not." Zeref looked over at the others. "This will not resolve itself. I first intervened by stating he is transforming into a demon akin to Deliora. To be more precise, an analysis of the energy that fuels his devil slayer magic reveals it to be closer to that demon's power than any other demon I've created." He stared down at the grass, his brow furrowing. "It is breaking the fundamental principles of this power I made and thought I understood enough to at least partially predict."

"What rules did you think it followed?" Erza frowned. "Thus far, I've not heard of any sort of pattern to the powers of demons mentioned throughout history."

"No." Ankhseram interrupted. She narrowed her eyes at them. "I'll determine when you draw the line on your questions. Zeref and I can discuss the situation after you've left so I can see if I can help salvage the situation." Her eyes flickered towards Meredy. "It is not much, but it is all I can offer. Consider it repayment for your warning of Nirvana's activation."

"I didn't even realize I was warning you that it was about to happen." Meredy sighed, looking over at the blonde. "Did you, Eve?"

The boy shook his head with a small smile. "Just seemed like a normal visit to a coffee shop to me."

"You're getting distracted." Zeref smiled gently at them, looking over at the others. "As Ankhseram has stated, I cannot explain my theories on curse power, as I've named it. Yet, what I can state is that the similarities to Deliora's energy give me at least a basic theory on what to expect should Gray's transformation complete." He looked over at them, his smile fading. "He will inherit Deliora's traits, if I have to make assumptions. Any characteristics that I've decided are inherent to Deliora's nature will become Gray's nature. That will entail a love of chaos and destruction, combined with a single-minded focus on ending my own life." He paused, frowning as he recalled another detail. "Remind me to speak with Ur about that pendant again. It may be best to return it to Sora, all things considered."

"You lost it?" Sora narrowed her eyes at him.

Shaking his head, Zeref smiled darkly at the girl. "Contrary to appearances, Deliora is capable of intelligent reasoning when creating his destruction. As such, during his own rage, Gray determined normal magic use would not be enough to destroy the variation of iced shell that trapped me, let alone end my life." There was an odd change in Sora's expression, a twitch at his comment about Gray's actions, but he didn't give the god a chance to comment. "Using the pendant, he managed to find a way to destroy a theoretically unbreakable spell. Then, he prepared to do the same to me before I…intervened."

"A variation on iced shell?" Sora met his gaze steadily. "Are you absolutely certain that is what he used?"

"I was there when he cast the spell." Lyon folded his arms over his chest. "The form was perfect and I could not spot a single error in the circle that formed. While I cannot understand why Gray managed to avoid transforming, I can say that his intent was to use iced shell on Zeref and Acnologia."

Recalling her request, Zeref smiled at the god. "Ah, right. It actually was a successful plan, albeit with an unexpected twist. Acnologia was dead once I was released, though I'm not entirely certain if that's to blame on my curse or the mistake that triggered some sort of shift in iced shell." His brow furrowed, recalling Invel and August's comments. Whatever that spell was, it was immune to August's talents just like his own curse.

The sky god bit her lip, turning towards the others. "Sara, Crow…about this wizard. He—"

"Your majesty!" Invel's voice interrupted. Zeref fought the urge to yell at the man for disrupting a potentially important conversation, but then again, they weren't exactly making progress. "I've been searching for you to ask when we intend on returning to Vistarion. I thought it would be best, considering the need to provide you updates on the past seven years of our activities since your absence. We have expanded, grown the military, altered trade agreements, negotiated—"

"I'm certain you've been doing a perfectly acceptable job in my absence." He could see Meredy frowning at him, likely realizing Irene wasn't just calling him by a title as some odd nickname. "Returning will have to wait. Demons are not designed to truly exist without an external tether to a wizard. While I may have studied enough to find an answer as to what sort of demon Gray is becoming, I have not determined how such a transformation is possible with that limitation."

"And we need to find a way to stop him from truly becoming one as well." Erza met his gaze calmly. "You have come to realize that too, haven't you? Now that you've had additional time to process the situation, you realize that Gray would want us to find an answer that saves him without causing further harm."

"An idealistic wish, but yes, I am capable of understanding that much." Zeref frowned, tilting his head. "I'm not certain if I have additional details to offer, not without going further into the details this sort of magic than I am willing to."

"Wait, your majesty, are you just going to disregard my presence?" Invel scowled. "I understand you are upset with me, but this is simply unacceptable."

"I am not ignoring you, Invel." He turned towards the winter general. "If you have information or advice to provide regarding Gray's situation, I'd be more than happy to allow you to contribute."

"I've already informed you of all I know." He frowned, narrowing his eyes at the group. "He appeared to be a typical ice mage, with one atypical ability."

"You also saw him use this variant on iced shell?" Sora again focused on the magic Gray was using, disregarding the demonic transformation that was intended to be their focus.

Nodding, the blue haired wizard met her gaze. "Certainly. Though, while it has a physical resemblance to iced shell, I would hardly think it is accurate to compare the two at this point." The man folded his arms behind his back. "From what I've been able to determine, iced shell combines a powerful transformation spell with ice magic. This unidentified variant manages to impossibly merge together ice magic and some form of time magic, though I cannot quite determine how."

His words triggered a reaction amongst the three gods. Chronos, who'd been silent thus far, closed his eyes and lowered his head. Sara stiffened, her eyes immediately turning to meet Sora's. Sora looked alarmed, her mouth opened slightly without speaking.

Eventually, their shared look split and Sara turned towards their group. "We need to discuss this matter alone. If that spell is…" Sara grimaced, shaking her head. Then, she focused on Invel specifically. "Yuki passed long ago. As such, any punishments for interfering beyond what is allowed fall on either myself or Chronos to decide. Given your relationship with Zeref, I imagine you are quite familiar with my most common form of punishment." The winter general could only stare at her with wide eyes. "Consider this your warning: cease your research into this spell now. It is not something that a wizard should use."

"That—but I've seen repeated uses of it, throughout the continent. To the north, there's an entire city of ice where—"

"That spell is a curse." Ankhseram looked over at Zeref, meeting his own stunned expression calmly. "For ice mages that decide to break the limits of their magic, their punishment was to be encased in ice for the rest of eternity. Yuki became a bit too fond of making wizards suffer for acting like gods." Ankhseram sighed, shaking her head. "Especially after they taunted him with the creation of iced shell." The god of death grimaced. "Those that determined the curse was spreading altered their mimicry of his magic - they chose a lesser punishment, becoming ice instead of being trapped in it. It rendered them in a state impossible for Yuki to exact justice. That villagers you found frozen were likely the result of his rage at their creation - the home that worshipped his creations more than any other was punished for creating a variation of his eternal ice."

Iced shell…was akin to living magic? Zeref felt like it should have meant something to him, but it only felt like an answer to yet another question still spiraling in his mind. While it seemed like a much lesser breech into the separation between mages and gods, he had seen that iced shell was a spell that could surpass the barriers of recreated immortality he'd pushed onto Deliora.

"For people who pleaded with us to regain belief in the gods, you certainly sound like you did an excellent job of destroying that belief on your own in the first place." Lyon frowned at them. "Killing your own believers would never gain you a thing in the long run."

"I never asked for belief to return." Sara turned towards him, offering a twisted smile that felt oddly like an expression Zeref would wear when he found something darkly amusing. "And you are quite correct. I single-handedly killed off nearly every believer in the gods just over four hundred years ago. Chronos helped me to ensure that we were forgotten completely beyond the few remaining written records of our existence." Her eyes scanned the rest of the group, that smile lingering. "The era of gods needed to come to an end and I was the god capable of ensuring that happened. So, really, your actions to revive that religion is precisely the opposite of what I wanted in this world."

"It was one of you that requested it," Erza frowned. "Sora, did we misunderstand? I thought you wanted this."

"I did." Sora looked over at Crow and Sara, before slowly lowering her head. "But I just didn't have the details to realize why we were supposed to be doing nothing instead."

The god of death only snorted, shaking her head. "You had everything you needed to figure it out." Sara turned towards Zeref and the others, rising to her feet. "Either way, as I said, we have something to discuss. If this potential demon of yours has the ability to use Yuki's curse…" Ankhseram's dark smile transformed into a frown. "Something will need to be done to stop him. I do not like the thought of that sort of power residing in one of your creations, not with what I know of their typical natures."

"Would you grant me permission to attempt to alter that nature?" Zeref stared at the god, uncertain if it was even feasible. Yet, he would do so if it helped Gray retain at least a semblance of humanity for the time being.

Turning towards him, the god's frown deepened. Then, she shook her head. "No. Sorry, but I'm not in the mood to be taking any further risks, Zeref. Once I give you a small allowance or exception, you'll keep asking for more until you're right back to making an army of demons to fight by your side."

"Then we'll just have to find another way to bring Gray back to himself," Eve said. The man smiled at the gods, nodding. "Thank you, for speaking with us. I hope you're able to figure out the answer you're looking for during your own meeting away from us."

Sara met his gaze, before turning to leave without another word. Chronos rose, smiling at their group and nodding his head. "I'm sorry I was not able to assist much in this discussion. Neither of these areas are in my particular realm of expertise, unfortunately."

Yet, Zeref did know of one option that was. Looking over at the god of time, Zeref inhaled slowly. "Chronos - at what point would a spell be considered an infringement on your domain worth punishment? Because I am aware of a few…last-resort options that may be capable of preventing this transformation."

"To be quite honest, you should have been punished for such a thing long ago." Zeref closed his eyes, already aware of the only spell that Chronos would refer to. If Eclipse had been too much, then Neo-Eclipse was out of the question. "However, unlike Sara, I am more forgiving when one is facing extenuating circumstances. If our conversation turns out as I suspect it will…" The god of time frowned, his eyes growing distant. Then, he turned towards Zeref and nodded. "You have my permission to utilize the spell you have in mind, as a last resort alone."

Then his new replacement for the plan to revive Gray should all else fail was still available to him. Zeref wasn't certain if he was willing to let go of so much, but having at least one option was enough to calm him for now. He could feel Erza, Lyon, and the others watching him as Chronos walked away, likely questioning exactly what he had in mind now. When he met their gaze, he offered them a weak smile. "Do not worry. I am no longer planning to kill Gray."

"No, but it sounded like you had some sort of plan involving time magic." Meredy frowned at him. "Exactly what have you messed around with that does anything with that sort of magic? All I know of about you is your living magic for the most part."

Looking over at Erza, Zeref's smile lingered. "A spell that I contemplated and constructed during the last century or so, while I tried to forget my grief and remained isolated on Tenrou Island." He inhaled slowly. "To obtain what is needed to cast it…I would require one of Fairy Tail's ultimate spells. I gave directions and started a long-term plan involving my empire with the intention of going to war with their guild for it."

"You've mentioned this war before." Erza frowned. "If you are considering it again…"

"For the reason I'm thinking of using it now, I suspect Mavis would be willing to assist without any fighting." Zeref looked away. "Her objection would only be to my original plan." The temptation would still be there as well. Going back that far would also resolve the issue…but it would mean abandoning Gray entirely. He'd never live long enough to meet the ice mage again, someone who was able to comprehend why Zeref made the choices he did even if they were not always for the greater good.

"What exactly does it do?" Eve was watching him as well. "Because I'm honestly not certain how much I trust you either now, not after your last plan."

"In simplest terms, it is a spell for time travel." He met the snow mage's eyes calmly. "If I were to activate it, I would be able to return to a past event of my own choosing and relive my life from that moment on. Initially, I was intending to use it to ensure I did not gain my curse in the first place."

"Using it now would mean that Gray doesn't…" Lyon trailed off, staring at him. "But there's no telling how much would change."

"Mavis wouldn't allow me to use it for that." He looked over at Erza. "There is a high probability that Fairy Tail will cease to exist, if I change history so drastically." Looking over at Lyon, the dark wizard nodded. "However, I could instead return to the moment we decided to teach Gray devil slayer magic. If he never gained such a power, this event would still be avoided."

"That sounds like a valid plan. Why are you stating it is a last resort?" Lyon frowned.

When Zeref stayed silent, Invel offered an interpretation for them. "Because his majesty would be the only one to return." The winter general met their gaze calmly. "Things would inevitably change, more than just that event. Perhaps the death of Acnologia would no longer occur, or perhaps your entire team would abandon him the moment he refused to teach Gray this magic. He alone would retain memories of this future and would be living in the past with those who would be even further from understanding his situation."

"Then we will see what other options we have first." Meredy nodded, looking over at Zeref. "I'm willing to look past the initial start to our task if you are. All of us are capable of making decisions we regret - I cannot say I'm any different, not after the things I've done."

He nodded, looking over at Eve as well. "My trust takes time to earn." The boy looked startled to be addressed but was listening. "Perhaps it simply comes from me questioning everyone's intentions, given my reputation. I cannot say I will always be able to be quite so open with you, but…for the chance of finding an alternative solution, I will try."

"I'm glad to see Gray's influence didn't completely vanish after all." Lyon gave him a smile. "It is good to see you back to your old self."

Erza nodded by his side. "Indeed. I was concerned that you were turning into an enemy we'd be forced to fight once we had an answer to saving him. Natsu will be pleased to hear that is not the case. I'm certain Gray would be pleased as well."

Something squeezed in his chest and Zeref stayed still for a moment when his head throbbed. He had enough warning to react and halt his thoughts…but that was exactly what led to this morning. So, he instead found himself rising to his feet with an apologetic smile to the others. "Thank you." He took a step back, feeling the familiar power growing in him. "Please, remember to keep your distance as we work together. I have the feeling that my brief period of control is now over."

With that, the curse began to expand outward, consuming the grass and plants in the campsite surrounding him. As his magic drained away the life in the surrounding area, Zeref leaned his head back and allowed himself to truly feel for the first time since this began. Gray, the wizard that had been supporting him and driving him to find another path beyond his death, was now lost to him. He didn't know if he'd find a solution to bring the man back, but Zeref knew he'd lost a person he'd gotten so familiar with and used to seeing by his side. Even if they'd only ever be friends, Zeref had been content with what Gray had to offer. That kindness and understanding was all Zeref truly wanted or needed. Now, it was torn from him and replaced with the mentality of a demon.

Perhaps he'd have longed for this result when he first met Gray, but now it only made the ache in his chest grow. The black magic spiraling around him expanded with the feeling and he smiled at the sight. He truly did care for Gray, just as he'd grown to realize. Right now, he could embrace it and things would be okay. The others understood to stay away from him and he needed this moment of reprieve. Perhaps…perhaps this was how Mavis managed to accept things so easily. If one's companions understood the risks and helped stay away, it was almost easy to accept this haze of death magic as normal. It never lasted forever and when it faded, the time spent with the others could often bring about smiles and amusement he'd never find alone. Really, even if Ankhseram decided he was not yet ready for the curse to fade, Zeref thought that perhaps he could eventually learn to accept this sort of existence.