This chapter had to be rewritten. sorry about that. its quite long :p

Chapter 10

The offspring inherited all the strength from his father and mother, but couldn't inherit their will. A darkness lurked within his stone heart, greater than any light that had existed or not in the world. His was a corrupted mind, a twisted mind. Was he an aberration? An entity born to his parents when there was no reason for it? Or was he the sum of the darkness that resided somewhere in his parents, that they fought and kept at bay, but he never could?

"Hey! Mister?! Who are you? And where am I?"

Natsu waved his hand before the cloaked figure's face, but couldn't get a response out of him. The figure was draped in grey clothing top to bottom, a hood obscuring its face. If it wasn't for the winds that blew around every now and then in that quiet world and made the figure's clothing flutter, Natsu would have mistaken it for a statue. Natsu could make out that it was a man, but beyond that, he had no answers… or questions.

He stood back up from his crouched position, and turned around on his feet, looking for answers.

The last thing he remembered was impaling his black arm through Zeref's chest, and then everything was blank. He had woken up just minutes earlier here. What was this place?

White stretched as far as he could see. No end to it. No horizons, no land, no discernible objects. Just an empty world painted in a glowing white. It was like a canvas. Something he could paint over and create his own art.

It reminded him of the darkness that he would wake up to whenever he lost consciousness, the place which was ruled by Etherious within him. Just the thought of that demon filled him with discomfort and nausea. He quickly cleared his mind.

He sighed and sat down over the warm white floor. It felt as if he was sitting on polished tile. This world was peaceful and calm, he had to give it that. Was this different from the dark place that was ruled by Etherious? Or was it a ploy by that demon itself, meant to cause Natsu to lose his guard. Natsu turned his head around to get one final glance at the mysterious statue-like man that stood in the distance, his chest moving up and down slowly with each breath he took, but he had tried and tried and couldn't get an answer out of him. He may know what was going on, but Natsu couldn't get him to even budge, let alone talk.

He lay down over the floor, his hands folded under his head. He breathed slowly as his mind went to the most recent happenings. His fight with Zeref, Zeref losing control over seeing his black arm, him finally managing to grievously injure his brother… Zeref's blood that he had coughed out all over Natsu… Erza's worried cries that had continued all throughout the fight…

He grunted in annoyance as a headache cruised through his brows. He sat up and massaged his head. He needed to find answers. And he needed to get back to his friends. To Erza.

"Natsu."

He jolted at the advent of that voice. He turned around and stood up, putting his guard up as he had not expected to hear another voice in that place. When he saw who, or what was speaking to him, he let his arms down and stood gawking in confusion.

He narrowed his eyes and brought his hand over his face as rays of light, very akin to sunrays, pierced his vision. It was as if he was looking directly at the sun. He had not expected that this world could get any brighter.

Through the gaps between his fingers, he saw a human silhouette shrouded in light descend onto the floor. The silhouette blocked most of the light that fell on Natsu, and he was slowly able to lower his hand and open his eyes.

The light started to vanish behind the figure, and slowly was gone. What remained was a tall and slender woman dressed in a sleeveless white dress. Her long dark hair and dark eyes contrasted with her pale skin. She was beautiful beyond all norms of beauty. Natsu felt his breath catch up in his throat as he gawked at her. He was someone that wouldn't usually get flustered at the sight of a beautiful woman, but this broke that streak. Her arms were long and delicate, and a few short bangs of her hair fell over her bright forehead. The rest of her hair danced gently in the wind, caressing the floor. Just her presence in that place seemed to fill the area with a glow that hadn't been there before. Beauty was subjective, sure, but Natsu was sure who he was looking at was objectively beautiful.

She was almost as tall as him, and had a bright smile plastered over her lips.

"L-Liana…? Is that you?"

Natsu mumbled, but he already had the answer to that question. It was her. How did she get here? Natsu sighed in relief as seeing a familiar friendly face was a blessing in disguise in that blank space.

Liana spoke in her sweet voice, and it almost seemed to echo in that space, which was strange as Natsu's voice didn't do that.

"I am glad that you haven't forgotten about me, Natsu." She walked up and grabbed his hand, fishing her soft fingers in between his rough and calloused ones. "Come. We can talk while walking."

Natsu felt nervous as the lady held his hand. A strange instinct to follow her around and listen to her every word with the utmost importance and sincerity filled him. He had never felt this way before for anyone else. It was a strange experience to feel that form of devotion to someone for the first time. This feeling was almost supernatural.

The couple walked for a while, forever tracing along the infinite white world and never appearing as if they were getting anywhere. Natsu's lips remained parted forever as he kept trying to find words to say but couldn't. What if he said something stupid? Which he was known for, by the way. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of this woman… whoever she was. By this time, it was clear that she wasn't an ordinary priestess that resided on an island across the sea from Magnolia.

Liana stopped tugging at Natsu's hand, and he stopped walking as well, coming to rest before a tree that he hadn't seen there before. It was a medium sized tree, beautiful flowers blooming at its base, green fleshy leaves, and bearing colourful, almost glowing fruits that Natsu had never ever seen before in his life. The tree looked like it was still in its very young years.

"Beautiful… isn't it?" Liana asked, looking at the tree.

Natsu slowly moved his head from her face and got a good look at the tree as well. That tree surely was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He had been around the known world in his missions and conquests, but he had never come across that tree or its fruits. And Natsu liked to eat… A LOT. He gathered that he would know of a fruit tree that looked like this.

"It… it is beautiful. But I've never seen this tree before." Natsu mumbled.

Liana smiled wider, as if reminiscing. She let go of Natsu's hand and sat down before the tree, watching its canopy.

"That's because this tree went extinct 700 years ago." She replied.

Natsu watched her, and then the tree. A brief moment of sadness filled him at that explanation. He slowly sat down beside Liana, leaving a small gap in between them.

"I… see." Natsu muttered. "Wait."

He looked at Liana again. "700 years ago? That's when… That's when Zeref said I was born. On Tenrou."

Liana faced Natsu. "Yes. He was telling the truth. You and Zeref were born to a Dragneel couple that lived on that island 700 years ago."

She nodded towards the tree. "An Etheria tree. This used to grow on Tenrou back then. It grew nowhere else in the world. Only in your village and island. They all vanished after Acnologia's assault on that island."

Natsu looked back at the tree. A strange sensation filled his heart and made it heavy. He had never been the one to dwell on what his past was like before Igneel. But this tree brought him places that he would never expect to go to. This tree was a link that joined him to a world that was no more.

This beautiful tree… used to grow in his village. His village that was made up of people just like him. People that were Dragneel, just like he was. He had never seen another Dragneel, ever, and Zeref had told him why. But this tree… this tree probably carried the essence of his people within it. He must have played on a tree just like this multiple times back then. He must have eaten its fruits multiple times. The thing that messed the most with his head was that he didn't remember any of it.

What exactly was the world like before? What was his old life like? What were his parents like? What was his brother like before he went mad? His mind ran in circles as here was yet another confirmation that what Zeref had told him about his past was the truth. He was born on Tenrou. He had parents at one point. He did die at the hands of his mother… and was resurrected as Etherious by Zeref.

Natsu slowly stood up and walked closer to the tree. It was a relic from his past. Something as old and ancient as him. Something that no longer existed, just like his old self. That tree… tied him to a place and time long gone. Long forgotten. Never to return. It had vanished from the world just like his people… his home… his childhood.

He slowly extended his hand and caressed the bark of the tree. A sudden chill ran down his spine, and the shrill sound of a baby crying echoed in his ears as his vision blacked out for a moment. He slowly stepped back, dazed and uncomfortable.

"Natsu…"

Liana quickly stood up and embraced him from behind, keeping him from falling over. She then slowly lowered his limp head atop her lap as she knelt on the ground.

Natsu gasped. "I… I am sorry. I just blacked out for a moment."

What was the sound of that baby crying? Was it a memory from his past? What kind of a past must it have been for him to remember such an odd detail from it? He tried standing up, but Liana held him back. She wanted him to stay there, just the way he was.

"Stay." She ordered in her soft voice.

Natsu watched her, confused. Why did she appear so sorrowful? Why did she require that human contact with him so much? Was she sad about something? Natsu realised that, and decided to stay over her lap. It was a request from her, and he couldn't say no. He rested his head back over her lap. She ran her finger over his cheeks, and then slowly brought her hand over his head, stroking his hair.

The two stayed quiet and calm in that world for a while. Natsu felt a deep sense of tranquillity as he lay with his head over Liana's lap. It was much similar to how Erza would make him feel. Liana's distinct scent of Lilies filled the air around him, and Natsu basked in it, relaxed and comfortable. He felt safe and secure in her midst. As if no darkness could touch him there. After all that he had gone through, this security and comfort was an experience much desired by his heart and mind.

Winds passed by the couple, and silence pervaded the surroundings. That tree was the only object that Natsu had seen in that space apart from Liana and that strange man from the beginning. But why was the tree here? That tree was a facet of Natsu's past, that much was clear. Did that mean that that blank space held a personal significance to Natsu as well? Natsu had a lot of questions that he knew he needed to ask Liana as she seemed to know more than she was letting on, but he didnt. His mind was starting to get drowsy in that serene and peaceful environment, and his exhausted and pained body after his fight with Zeref rather caught up on a few moments of respite.

After a while he woke up, maybe a few minutes, and found himself surrounded by Liana's soft and fragrant hair. It took him a while to realise that she had placed her forehead against his. Natsu felt his heart pace up suddenly, as he hadn't been that close to another woman except for Erza. At that moment, Liana seemed like she had something important to say to him. But why was she quiet?

He heard a sob from her, and knew why. He tried to look upwards at her face, but it was obscured from him.

"Liana?" He asked, feeling saddened even if he didn't know why she must be upset.

Her fingers dug deeper into his shoulders.

"I…I am sorry, Natsu…" She said. "Nothing that happened to you should have happened. It was… very unfortunate. You deserved better."

Natsu wondered what she meant. Did she mean his past life? How he was murdered by his mother and brought back as a weapon of mass disorder by Zeref? But it wasn't her fault. Why was she apologising? And how come she knew about his past? As far as he knew, no priests from the temple of One were present when Zeref revealed his past to him. That question had skipped his mind before, but now it really tugged at his curiosity.

"How do you know about my past?"

Liana took a deep, uncomfortable breath. It sounded as if she needed to be left alone for now, but she couldn't say no to a question from Natsu. "I know quite a few things… actually." She answered. "I have been following your adventures for a long time. Ever since you joined Fairy Tail. I read about you in the news, I have watched you from a distance. I was very glad when I finally got a chance to see you in person. I will slowly answer all of your questions, Natsu. This… this is difficult for me as well. Just as much as it is for you."

Liana lifted her head off of Natsu's forehead, and looked off into the distance. She continued caressing his hair. She was in deep thought, and Natsu didn't interrupt her.

"When I was little… I was betrothed to a man I barely knew." She started, a small smile resting on her lips. "His clan was known to be wielders of dark and unfathomable magic. I had my doubts if he was a good person. I took a shot in the dark. But… my life changed when I married him. He… completed a part of me that I didn't know was incomplete. He was everything I could ask for in someone. Caring, brave, honest… kind."

Natsu looked at her eyes once again. In the beautiful depths of her dark irises, he saw grief and sadness that didn't belong. He saw longing and incompleteness that had no place to be in her beautiful frame.

"Who… who was he?" He was forced to ask.

Liana looked at him, smiling, and caressed his cheeks. "Someone very dear to me… who was snatched away from me way too early. His name was Neit. But… the world knows him as Ankhseram."

Natsu blinked, and quickly got up off her lap. Liana looked at Natsu as if she had expected that reaction.

He turned to look at her. "Ankhseram. You mean…"

"The God. Yes." Liana nodded. She pulled her legs close to her chest and hugged them. "The Black God. Ankhseram. The Broken God. The God who is no more. The Dead God. The Lost God…. He has many names… but yes. He was my beloved."

Natsu stared at her as he felt all his knowledge crumble before his eyes. An excitement filled his chest as all he had heard about Ankhseram flashed before his eyes. Ankhseram was… married to Liana? A priestess in the temple of One? How did a God come to be married to a human?

But as he had already gauged, there were things he didn't know about Liana. She wasn't exactly what she seemed to be. Who exactly was she? How was she in this blank space that no one else seemed to be in? How did she know about his past? How… was she married to Ankhseram? All those questions barged into his mind again.

"I don't understand." Natsu mumbled at her. "Ankhseram… a God? Married to you?"

Liana watched Natsu, smiling for a while. She then stood up and dusted her dress, even though there was no dust in that world. She walked towards the Etheria tree, watching it lovingly as she clasped her hands behind her back.

Natsu stood up as well, and watched her back, attentive to whatever she would say next.

Liana took a deep breath. "I am… not what I seem to be, Natsu. I am something else."

Natsu calmly watched her slender figure, hair dancing in the wind. "I guessed that much."

Liana laughed. "I am sure you have…"

She turned around to face him. Apprehension made its home on her beautiful face, and made her look even prettier than before. Natsu couldn't take his eyes off her.

Wind whistled past the two of them.

"Just like Neit's real name is Ankhseram, mine is…" she paused. An expression flashed on her face, but Natsu was unsure what it was. Anticipation? Anxiety? Fear?

"It's… One." She finally revealed.

Natsu narrowed his eyes, before opening them up wide. That name rang a bell. And how could it not? That was the Goddess that had given him his eye that prevented him from turning into Etherious when Zeref summoned it forth. That was the goddess whose temple he visited on that island across the sea. The counterpart to Ankhseram, the goddess of creation and birth.

That was a goddess that was worshipped and revered by a lot of people. People seeking cures to untreatable diseases that they or their loved ones were suffering from. People seeking children but couldn't have them. Even those that wished to see their loved ones again after they had passed.

That was the Goddess that Liana said she worshipped.

Natsu exerted pressure on his mind as millions of questions swam astray inside it, but nothing came of that attempt at trying to answer them.

"You… You're… One?" He asked. "The goddess that you are a priestess of? You are… her?

Liana restlessly stepped forward. "Please, Natsu. Have an open mind as I tell you what comes next. Please, try to understand me calmly."

Natsu watched her in confusion and bewilderment, as nothing made sense to him. But he heeded her request and calmed down. If she was a goddess in the flesh, it would be a pretty weird experience for him, but not weirder than what had already happened to him. Meeting Zeref, knowing of his true identity, his past life, his parents, his death… the world could be a weird place, Natsu was realising. Anything could happen in it.

"G-go ahead…" he said.

"Thank you." Liana replied. She walked forward and grabbed his hand. "Come. We will go someplace else."

The couple walked a few metres quietly, Liana leading the way and Natsu following close behind. The woman was deep in her thoughts, but Natsu stared at her back the whole time, his mind empty, not willing to miss even a single word that she would utter next.

She halted, thought into her memories for a moment, and spoke. "Mine and His two clans had always been at odds with each other. We created worlds, and no longer than a few moments would pass before it would be decided with a war between our two households whether the world remained or not. If his clan won the war, they would promptly swallow the world. If our clan won, the world would remain. But… it would remain imperfect. A world with only creation and birth, and no destruction. Evil would pile up, and the world would become an epicentre of crime and desolation. Because we knew only how to create. Millions of years passed, and finally our two houses came to the mutual understanding that to create the perfect world, creation and destruction must act together. I was the youngest in my family. And Neit was the second youngest in his. To cement our pact, my hand was given to him in marriage. I… gave up my freedom for the greater good. At last, after the marriage, we were able to create a world that was perfect. Balanced. Birth and death, Cure and disease… creation and destruction… all working together."

Liana paused and smiled, as if remembering something silly she did when she was younger. "When I was first met with this proposition of marriage… I was afraid. I had always been taught that their clan was one of monsters. Demons. Who cared about nothing but destruction and death, famine and disease. I had been told that they looked hideous. Fearsome. But…"

She paused, and smiled, remembering the happy times that dotted her mostly painful past. "But when I first saw him… I lost myself. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever witnessed in my life. Every bit of him was… perfect. I had never had a man of my dreams, but if I did, he would be the one. I grew close to him. And him to me. And the world that we were able to create was the most perfect out of every other that we had created so far."

Natsu watched her quietly, feeling a part of her happiness welling within him. It was good that she had memories that she could cherish with that man. Everyone deserved someone great and kind to love and be loved back by.

Thoughts of Erza filled his mind. The way she was describing Ankhseram was the same way he'd describe Erza. He knew that what Liana and her husband shared was true love. Just like what he had for Erza. At that moment, he felt a bond with Liana that he had never before. Goddess or not, she was uttering an experience that he was all too familiar with. Loving someone to death and beyond, having the capacity to perform any act imaginable for them. If needed, picking a fight with the entire world just to ensure that they remained safe. Natsu would do anything for Erza, and he knew that Liana was the same way for her partner.

Liana sighed and sat down. She hung her feet off a ledge that Natsu couldn't see. He wondered how she was able to distinguish that there was a drop in that world where nothing was distinguishable from a glowing shade of white.

Natsu slowly trudged behind her, and hung his own legs carefully.

Liana looked at Natsu next to her and smiled bitterly. It was now as if she was reliving the time when things started to go wrong in her life. "Me and him were supposed to have many children. Each of who would grow up and inherit a domain of the world that we had created. But… fate had other things in mind. We only had one child. Neit passed away before we could have more. He was… snatched from me. Never to be before my eyes again. Never to speak to me again. Never to hold my hand."

A tear rolled off her soft skin and dropped onto the white floor.

Natsu felt a pang of sympathy shoot through his heart, watching her in tears. He slowly trailed his hand after hers and held it reassuringly. He knew she needed support right now. Liana looked at him as if she hadn't expected him to do that, but she was glad nevertheless.

She smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Natsu. It means a lot."

"What happened then?" Natsu asked.

Liana looked off into the distance. She didn't particularly prefer to relive those moments, but she couldn't turn down Natsu's curiosity. "Our son… grew up to be different. At first, we noticed his outbursts of anger. They were short lived, but definitely something we should have paid more attention to. Neit was a god of darkness, but in him was kindness and humility unbound. Even more so than me. Honour and virtues filled his heart to the brim. He was the kindest person I had ever met. But our son… something was different about him. He inherited all of Neit's powers and strengths, but none of his qualities. His heart held darkness that the world had yet to see. He was callous, rough, unkind and uncaring since childhood. I was blinded to his darkness because of my unfaltering love for him. He was my only child, and I would do anything for him. Neit, however, tried to correct him. But none of it worked. All that Neit's attempts at correcting our son accomplished was that they brought the father and the child apart. Even made him hate Neit with all his heart, if he even had one."

Liana appeared restless as Natsu gauged that what came next was brushing at her heart painfully. He almost felt bad for her forcing herself to relive the moments of her life that she would rather have forgotten. He gently tightened his hold over her hand.

Liana looked at him, tears marring her face. She held Natsu's hand with both of hers as she began preparing herself for the next part of her tale.

"In… in the end. It came down to violence. It was the curse that ran throughout Neit's family. He used to say that his bloodline was tainted with darkness and ignorance that he could never fight off, no matter how hard he tried. Our son and him finally faced each other in combat. On that day, Neit tried one last time to defeat the darkness within his own heart, and submitted to his son without exchanging a single blow with him. He lost the battle, and was shattered into a billion p-pieces…"

Liana's face turned into a sad frown as she suppressed a sob. Natsu felt grieved for her, knowing how difficult it was for her to retrace her story back to its darkest knots. He couldn't even come close to understand what it would be like to lose his partner that he really cared about. There had been times when he had almost lost Erza, but somehow they had always managed to come back from it.

But Liana had lost Ankhseram forever, someone that she loved to no end and cared about infinitely. He knew her heart was shattering, even more than it already had, and there was nothing he could do other than hold her hand and somehow quietly tell her that it was all going to be alright.

Wind swirled past the two, and a faint whistle was heard. Natsu, alerted, turned his head to have a look around as he somehow felt that a dark presence was around them, but seeing no one, he chalked it up to a false alarm.

Liana gripped Natsu's hand tighter, and Natsu, who had been looking around himself, looked back at her, wondering what had suddenly gotten her so anxious. In her eyes was undiluted fear, and Natsu knew that it wasn't because she was revelling in what she had already told him. He knew that new troubles rigged her mind now, and he wondered if there were more things that she needed to tell him.

She glanced at him, and then faced ahead again, all the while anxiously tightening her gentle hold on Natsu's hand.

"The name of my son…" she gulped. "It's… It's Acnologia."

Natsu stared at her restless profile for a while, as his own mind contemplated what he had just heard.

"Ac… Acnologia? You mean…"

Liana nodded sharply. "Yes. The Black Dragon of Misfortune. He's… my son. He's the son of Ankhseram."

Natsu looked ahead, giving way for his turbulent thoughts to pacify, but it didn't happen. Acnologia was the son of Ankhseram and Liana… the son of two gods. The same son that murdered his father in cold blood, the same son that was wreaking havoc on earth, raining down hell and misery to everyone and everything that he came across. He had known these three figures separately all his life, but could have never guessed that they were so intricately related. This was a bond between the three that boggled his mind.

"Acnologia is your son…" Natsu began, plotting down his unending and twisting thoughts into words, in hopes that they would become clearer. "The same son that didn't grow up to be what he was supposed to be… the same son that murdered his father… the same son who was gripped by that otherworldly darkness in his younger years and turned out to be what he is today… the same son that you loved to no end… Your son killed Igneel and rained hell on earth for so many years and centuries… your son took half of Gildarts' body away… the son of Ankhseram and One… the son of the two gods that created our world is responsible for having almost ended it all…"

Liana watched Natsu mutter those words to himself, but somehow, she felt as if he was referencing her. As if he was recounting all her crimes in a few measly sentences. She felt as if he was berating her. As if he was disappointed in her. And she didn't blame him. Somewhere, she believed that she deserved that. She deserved all of that blame and much more.

"I know what you're thinking, Natsu. I… I am the reason for all of it. I am the reason behind the havoc that is being played in the world. I… I was the one that nurtured my son… I was the one that raised him… he was fed by my body and hands… he was protected by me… cared for by me… I… I made him what he is today.. There is no other way around it."

Natsu stood up from his seat, and Liana looked up at him, gasping as now she had brought it to a point where Natsu couldn't even stand her. He was walking away from her, leaving her side. Was he that disgusted and upset by her? Natsu was… special to her. He was one of the few people in the world that she least wanted to upset or disappoint. He held a special place in her heart. A warm place. But the ugly truth that she was somewhere responsible for so many problems in the world and those yet to come was now upon him, and just the mere thought of him judging her for it broke her heart. Shattered it.

Liana stood up behind him, desperate to reconcile any differences between them. She knew that there was no correcting what she had done, never will be, but she still wanted Natsu to… come back to her, to hold her close and tight and tell her that everything will be alright. But this wasn't a fairytale.

"Natsu… I want you to hear the truth from me… I am the one that is responsible for all the pain and suffering that my son has caused in the world. I am the one responsible for the terror and fright and mass panic that he has caused in the world. Whatever he has done, is doing and will do in the future… I have a hand in each and every single one of those sins. I know you can never forgive me… and I don't expect you to… not after what I have done to all those innocent people in the world… not after what I have done to your friends… not after what i… what I have done to Igneel."

Igneel's mention brought Natsu out of the train of thoughts he had been riding on. His late father's image flashed before his eyes. His teachings, his words, his kind hearted gestures towards him, his compassion… all of it was gone. Natsu had never known what true parental love was, but what Igneel had provided him with was something very similar. And now, all of that had been taken away from him. Because of… her.

Natsu shook his head and groaned. As much as he didnt want to believe her words when she said that she was the one at fault here, he couldn't help it. Igneel's death right before his eyes had left him with such a deep and painful scar in his heart that he was morbidly willing to forgo any and all sensible thoughts when it came to him. That was how that demon, Etherious, had almost managed to tempt him into giving up his body to him, so he could exact his revenge on Acnologia for what he had done. Igneel's absence had led Natsu astray, and he was willing to commit the darkest deeds imaginable to get Igneel back… or to make those responsible for his death pay for their actions.

Is that how Zeref had felt when Natsu had died?

Natsu gasped as his mind went in tangents and circles, giving rise to new irrelevant questions without having answered the old ones that already plagued his consciousness. Is this what true dilemma was? Is this what an emotional rollercoaster felt like?

Natsu turned around, willing to get all the facts straight before making any sort of a decision

"What… What could you have done differently? Why do you blame yourself?" He asked the woman before him.

Liana watched him, slightly dumbfounded as none of the anger and malice that she had been expecting on Natsu's face and his voice was present. He was awfully calm and collected for someone who was standing before the true transgressor of all of his problems. The true reason behind his troubles.

"I…. I could have abandoned him… I could have… k-killed him…" Liana choked up saying those words. It was her son she was talking about. A piece of herself. Someone she loved to and beyond death. Someone she was willing to sacrifice herself a million times over for. But, she knew that the poisonous and sinful words coming out of her mouth were the truth. She had known long before Acnologia became what he was today who he will turn out to be. She knew the monster she was creating. She was aware of the dark stone heart of the monster that she was raising.

Just thinking of what she was talking about doing to her only son sent shivers down her spine. How did she come this far down? How did she end up here? What exactly did she do wrong to come to a point where a mother had to talk about slaughtering her own son? What was wrong with her? She needed… Ankhseram right now. His words of wisdom. His unfailing care and protection. His warmth. His embrace. But he was long gone. He was somewhere far away from her. He was never to be seen again. A deep and coiled breath left her lungs, and her eyes sprinkled tears over the white polished surface she was standing on. Her emotions were like a barrage of arrows that were doing their best to lay her over a bed of spikes, injuring her every being, shredding through her heart and limbs, bringing her immeasurable pain and discomfort. The thought of killing her only son with her own hands did half of the job of breaking her heart, and the next thought of her dear and beloved late husband did the rest. She was in a dark place, with no brightness of the sunlight or an exit in sight. She was shuffling slowly through a dark tunnel, neverending, going in loops, forever.

Natsu felt angered at what he heard. A fire burned within his heart, erratic and incensed. "Killing your own son? What could have that achieved? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

Liana looked up at Natsu, at his beautiful figure through her blurry eyes, as his firm and angry voice berating her was like the sunlight in the dark tunnel she was hoping for. Warm, healing, loving.

"Natsu…"

"NO!" Natsu roared. "Igneel is long gone… I know that. But if there is one thing he had always taught me, it was the value of life… human, non human, animal… it doesn't matter. A life is worth more than anything else in the world. It is worth more than money, greed, power, achievements, self respect… and even guilt. Life is important. Each life has the potential to grow up and do great things, in its own way. Me and you would not be where we are right now if it wasn't for the people that understood that very fact and cared for us when we couldn't have cared for ourselves. Your parents for you… Igneel for me… humans are supposed to love, care and protect. Not kill, maim and hurt. That's what the worth of a human life is. Life is a treasure. A gift. And there is no way you or anyone else in the world has any right to snuff one out just because of your own ideals and philosophies. Acnologia… doesn't understand that." His voice lowered, and he spoke softer now. "But you did. You cared for your child the way a mother is supposed to care for it. You fed your child, nurtured your child, protected your child. You were ready to face any challenges that came your way just to make sure that your son, the love of your life, could get a night of safe and good sleep. And there is… there is nothing wrong with that. You carried out your duty. And you did it brilliantly. Igneel… Igneel would be proud of you."

The last sentence broke something within Liana. Igneel would be proud of her for raising a monster? A monster that goes against every ideology that Igneel followed? A monster that dares to threaten and destroy everything that Igneel stood for? A monster that would kill everything in its path, even Igneel? She couldn't understand what Natsu was saying. His words made sense to some parts of her tired and pained heart, but she wasn't ready to accept that fact.

"But… I could have stopped all of it, Natsu. If it wasn't for my selfishness, Igneel would still be alive. If it wasn't for my greed and selfish love for my child… all those people that died at the hands of Acnologia would still be alive. If it wasn't for my carelessness, the world that Ankhseram created with so much care, kindness, love and compassion would be a safer place to live. I have failed him, I have failed Igneel… and I have failed you. I have failed everyone."

Natsu smirked, revelling into his own convoluted past for a while. That past wasn't ideal. It wasn't perfect. Rather, it was far from it. But it gave him an important lesson. A lesson that he could carry forward for the rest of his life.

"My own mother killed me, Liana… she believed I was a monster… and slaughtered me in cold blood."

Liana 's eyes widened, and she gasped. In the heat of her own problems, she had completely forgotten about that aspect of Natsu's tale. She now felt ten times as grieved and heartbroken to even have brought up the fact about killing her own son, as she could have never guessed how close to home it hit for Natsu who stood right before her eyes.

"Natsu… I am sorry… i didn't mean to–"

"My entire Dragneel tribe… and the Vermillions, believed I was a monster. They all wanted me dead. It was a strange hand of fate that somehow protected me, but it couldn't protect me against my own mother. I don't remember what she exactly was like. Did she ever even love me? Did she ever consider me her own son? I don't know. But what I do know is that by the end, she had started to hate me more than anything. She believed I had taken her husband away from her. She believed I had destroyed her home, her people, her livelihood. And… she killed me. I don't remember dying by her hands. And I am sure that's for good reason. It must feel horrible."

Natsu looked straight at Liana, his grief just now gone to the winds. In his eyes was determination, shining bright. "But what did she achieve? She carried out her dark deed, the one that you are merely thinking about just now. And what did that bring us? Zeref resurrected me as a demon of doom, and himself lost his mind. To destroy one monster, she created two new ones in its place. Me and Zeref. And after all that… I am still here. I am still the same Natsu that I would have been ages ago. She… couldn't kill me. She couldn't end me. I am still alive. I met Igneel… I met Gray, Mirajane, Laxus, Cana, Gajeel, Levy… I met Erza, and I fell in love. I found my true home. She couldn't hold me back from my destiny. My destiny to find Fairy Tail. to find friends and people that cared about me. To find a goal in life. My destiny to uphold my duties. To protect the weak and innocent. Her killing me achieved nothing. I am… right where I was always supposed to be."

He smiled warmly, sending that positive energy over to Liana. "See? What is fated to happen, will happen. No matter had you killed your son. If fate had desired it, he would have come back somehow, and be exactly who he was meant to be anyways. And rather than the guilt of not having killed him, you'd have had to live with the guilt of doing so."

Liana listened to his words with deep regard. His calm words reached deep into her mind. Her heart. Her spirit, and they lifted it up. She could finally understand what he meant. She saw the wrongs in her ways, in her thoughts, in her ideas. Her heart churned with pain, but it was a pain of a different kind. It was the last bit of pain before all of it would leave her forever. Natsu's words were like a calming balm over the wounded and roughened skin of her, permeating deep into her, providing her glee and warmth the kind she had never known before. His heat was addicting, melting the years of cold and sharp ice that had formed inside of her, letting it all softly flow out of her being. Her eyes watered, but… were they tears of joy? Resolve? Tears of letting go?

Natsu slowly approached the woman, and lifted her chin up to face him. Each of them looked into the beautiful eyes of the other. One pair was ripe with love, care and affection, and one was flowing with tears, melting away guilt and grief of millenia that had painfully piled up, with Liana never expecting them to ever go away, unless she did something drastic. But here was Natsu, gently and slowly bringing all of it out with just words. He was showing her love and kindness when she didn't deserve any of it. He was showing her understanding and forgiveness when she had done nothing to warrant those things.

In the beautiful features of Natsu as he stood before her, she saw… him. She saw the man she had forever longed to see after he had been taken away from her. She saw Ankhseram.

"You couldn't have done anything different, Liana. You have deluded yourself into believing that if you had just killed your child when you had the chance, everything could have been different. But if there is one thing that I have learnt over the past few days, which have been wild, it is that fate is a fiendish entity indeed. Unpredictable. Somehow, someway, it finds a way to carry out its whims. And you cannot fight it. All that you can do… is let things work themselves out. And here I stand, with all the confidence and belief in the world, personally telling you that things will work out. Things will be okay. Just… let go of the past. You have played your part as a loving, caring and honest mother, and you have played it beautifully. I promise you that I will make this go away. I will do everything in my power to make this right. Just… leave everything to me. I forgive you. Igneel forgives you. Gildarts forgives you. And the millions of people whose lives have been destroyed by Acnologia… they forgive you."

With that, Natsu slowly pulled her into an embrace that he knew she needed desperately. She had been suffering too long. She had been strong for too long. She had been trying and failing too long. And now, it was time for her to rest.

Liana couldn't believe what was happening. Her face lay buried in Natsu's clothing, over his warm skin and the quaint scent of his creased clothing, over his scarf that was his last keepsake to him from Igneel. In that environment, her heart melted like it had never before. She knew she had been holding out for too long. She had been wounded for too long. She had been trying to imperfectly correct her mistakes for too long. But right now, in Natsu's embrace, in his care and protection, under his love, she slipped. For the first time, she felt as if she didn't have to stand alone anymore. He was there with her. All the way. Never to let go of her hand. Helping her through the roughest of her climbs. Always with her.

In Natsu's gentle embrace, she broke down. For the first time in many years, she let open the doors to her heart and let all the horrors flow out. She had been needing this for a long time. And here it was. In Natsu's gentle arms. She let all her worries and fears out, and remained secure, cared for, and protected, in his embrace. In his embrace, Liana healed.

"N-Natsu... I am sorry... I am sorry..."

She didn't sob anymore. She cried. Each tear that she shed filled her hollow and wounded being with new warmth and light. Her valleys bloomed with beautiful flowers. Never to wilt or die. Her cries echoed in the empty space of that white lone world, no one to hear them except for Natsu. And he gently cared for her, and was ready to do so until she needed it. He would fight her darkness away, and would keep doing it until she was safe and happy, or until he was tired to death and exhaustion.

They remained in that embrace for a while. Longer than a while.

Unbeknownst to them, that bright world turned a shade darker. Was evil upfoot?