I am back. Sorry it took a while. Been busy with work. This here is a small chapter but i am constantly working on it. Thank you _
Chapter 4
'He sits still, virtually motionless. Like a statue. His head barely moves an inch when spoken to. He doesn't have a voice, or if he does, he chooses not to use it. I sometimes speak to him, only for it to seem like he hasn't heard me at all. He just stares at the wall. When afterward I involve myself in other chores or sometimes when I look up from my book, I find that he has taken to staring intently at me, as if trying to respond to the conversation I tried to start. But he still doesn't speak. He isn't devoid of life. He has a spirit. Or a corrupted and twisted form of a spirit. But, my late brother, he isn't.'
Erza narrowed her eyes in confusion as that was some of the weirdest and subtly most horrifying diary entry she had ever read. She had been trying to read more about Zeref and his mysterious life, as maybe she thought that she could unfurl a secret to defeat him, or atleast understand him, both of which seemed equally impossible at this time. She flipped more pages of the book that had been compiled with all of the documents from or of Zeref that were ever found and then translated. It seemed that the spirggan knew whatever he would write in his time would be attempted to be intensely decrypted and studied later, owing to the deeds he knew he was about to commit. As such, he had encrypted his writings more and more over the years, sometimes even going into drabbles of incomprehensible mesh of words. Whether he did this to confuse the decryptors or he was just falling into a deep spell of terrifying insanity in his later years, no one knew.
She looked up at Levi who sat across on the other side of the bed, looking at a bedridden Natsu with a sad expression. She had been visiting Erza in the medical bay area to bring her those books about Zeref, and also to check up on Natsu.
Erza felt sorry for her, knowing that she and Natsu used to be great friends in their childhoods. She felt sad for everyone who had unfortunately had to witness what had happened to Natsu a few days back. It was probably really horrifying and scary for them to see their friend almost being conquered over by what Erza could only say was a spawn from the depths of hell itself, and then Natsu had to part with his own left arm to get rid of the demon. It was enough proof to know how badly and terribly he was suffering, and there was nothing none of them could do to help their friend out, other than just watch with held breaths and hope that he gets well soon.
Polyurischia had taken quarters in the guild itself so that she could keep a closer eye on Natsu. She had been up and about for days on end taking care of him and replacing his dressings. Erza had been forever grateful for her help. She truly believed that if it wasn't for her, Natsu would have long perished from his affliction.
She was brought back to present when she heard a sniffle, and she discreetly stole a look at Levi and realised that she was wiping her eyes. Erza thought that she must still be upset over Natsu's confition. She quickly pretended to read the book further to hide the fact that she had been watching her as the latter consoled herself off the couple of tears that she had shed.
"So… Zeref turned his own brother into a demon?" Erza asked, acting casual. She did that so she could bring Levi out of her thoughts that were making her more and more miserable about the situation that her friend was in. That and also the fact that it was a genuine question that Erza was actually curious about.
Levi turned her head towards Erza quickly, as if broken from a trance. Maybe she had been so engaged in her train of thoughts about Natsu and the guild that she had completely forgotten that Erza was sitting there, and hadn't expected a sudden question.
The latter faked a peculiar smile, not one that was borne of genuine joy but one that people who were talking about a grim topic did to dilute the seriousness.
"Yeah… he experimented with reamination magic all the time." Levy said while wiping her face, trying to make it look like she had only been tired, and then continued.
"Researchers and historians, whether they are intrigued by Zeref, horrified by him, or just simply abhorred him, all seem to agree that he only ever created and researched occult magic in the first place to bring his younger brother back to life. Apparently, only later, after witnessing the shocking lack of empathy and compassion in these monsters, including the reanimated corpse of his younger brother, did he realise their potential in warfare and combat. Thereafter, he never quit. He wrote millions of spells, and created thousands of demons, all in a bid to punish the world that had taken his brother from him."
Erza stared quietly at Levi finding herself at a loss of words to be able to react. She found all of that genuinely both intriguing and terrifying. She couldn't believe that Zeref, who is claimed to be one of the strongest and most terrifying people in their timeline, someone who had even managed to disgust and infuriate gods into cursing him and had essentially declared war against them, was a mere human just like her that just wanted to bring his beloved brother back to life that he believed was unfairly snatched from him.
She anxiously tapped her finger over the cover of the book she was holding, flipping through its pages absently as she further thought about it.
She found a mixture of emotions brewing inside her. She definitely couldn't forgive Zeref for all the lives he had taken and the millions of atrocious war crimes he had committed, not to mention that he almost took away Natsu from her, but to find out that his mean streak was borne not from greed or an ambition to rule the world because he was inherently evil, but because he wanted the entirety of the world to pay for what happened to his brother, was strange to say the least. It didn't relax her desire to rid the world of him before he could succeed in his endeavour, but it planted him more as a human in her mind rather than a monster blinded by temptation and evil.
'Even the most depraved and evil one of them all started as an infant, none the wiser about why he started at all,', the saying went.
Even though she might believe that his reasons weren't enough in her eyes, maybe they were enough in his own to watch the world burn. She tried placing herself in his spot. She wondered what she would do if Natsu was taken away from her unfairly, just like Zeref's younger brother was from him. She shook and emptied her head before that thought paved the way for anger.
She looked at Levi again and asked her another question she had been thinking about.
"Do we know at all who his younger brother was? Or is?"
Levi shook her head. "No… although Zeref has mentioned 'a little brother' in a lot of his texts, he has never mentioned him by name or by characteristics. Scholars agree that he did this intentionally to keep his brother's identity a secret, but for what reasons we haven't a clue. Maybe out of a feeling of guilt for not being able to save him from his unfortunate fate, and therefore not considering himself worthy enough to ever mutter or scribble his name. Or maybe it was to make sure his brother was protected against Zeref's enemies that he would eventually make. He did give his brother another name after he had been successfully reaminated. Etherious. Other than that, the only things we know are that Zeref adored his brother more than anything else in the world, and his passing made such an impact on Zeref's life that we could say he almost lost his entire sanity grieving."
"I… see…" Erza mumbled as she fiddled unsurely with the book in her hands.
She didn't know how she wanted to react to the fact that Zeref was turning out to be more and more a tragic man that felt he was at the end of the road, all alone, and had nothing to lose anymore, rather than the evil mastermind bent on feeding off of suffering and pain as she had always conjured him in her mind. She may not have wanted to come to terms with it, but deep down somewhere, she probably even felt a hint of empathy for Zeref, or atleast what he used to be.
Levi watched Erza plunging herself deep into her ponderings, and instantly knew what her dilemma was.
"I know that it's all very shocking to hear."
Erza looked up at her, and received a knowing smile from Levi as the latter continued.
"The monster who, for almost 700 years has had the entire world afraid of death not because of death itself but the fear that their bodies could become the shell for one of the demons in Zeref's horde, was just a simple man who loved his brother to no end, couldn't cope with his sudden demise and in his misery waged a war against the world and the gods because he needed someone to answer for that. But… we need to understand that he still wants the world destroyed. Maybe his grief is genuine, but his goals aren't reasonable. His victory and satisfaction would mean an end to the world as we know it. Mavis Vermillion, the first master, knew Zeref personally at one point. She has quoted Zeref to be one of the greatest threats to humanity to ever exist, greater than even Acnologia. She created Fairy Tail for this very reason so that it could stand as the ultimate deterrent power against Zeref. It is our absolute duty to fight him. We have no other choice."
Erza nodded with a weak smile and looked back down at Natsu's sleeping figure, but her mind was far away from him. She still kept thinking about Zeref and the new light she had been seeing him in.
But Levi was right. He needed to be stopped.
Levi continued after a while, resuming their conversation from before. "We know for sure that his brother's body was one of the first ever that he reaminated, before collecting about tens of thousands of more half decayed corpses and breathing dark magic into them, conjuring up a diverse and varied horde of demons none of who even slightly resembled the people they used to be before their passing."
"The Tartaros…" Erza mumbled.
Levi nodded. "Yes. We think that his brother might have become one of the Tartaros, or even at some point commanded the Tartaros."
Levi paused for a while as the window pane fluttered, and a gentle gust of wind entered the room and caught Natsu's hair and scattered a few strands over his face.
She reached over and gently combed them back into place. She smiled slightly and continued caressing Natsu's cheeks.
"No one knows where Etherious is now." She spoke, looking at Natsu.
"He could be already dead, or maybe still in league with Zeref. Maybe still the master of the demon horde. Maybe once this war starts, we will get to fight him, along with the rest of the Tartaros."
Erza watched Levi brush Natsu's cheeks, while she herself was met with a sudden worry in her mind that she hadn't had for a long time. Maybe amongst all the events that had taken place, it had left her mind.
"If… his brother isn't dead, how strong exactly is he? Is he the same as the rest of the demons in Tartaros, or stronger considering he used to be or still is the master of the demon army?"
Levi quit her smile. She stayed quiet for a while and soon afterward retracted her hand from Natsu. She slowly looked up at Erza, a pained and concerned expression on her face.
"Well… from what I have heard, after Magna Carta was signed between humans and dragons and the Alvarez Empire realised that dragons had become an ally to humans in the Alvarez's war against humanity, Zeref promptly sent Etherious to wage a war against the dragonkind. It is not exactly known how that went, but… the reason for such a small number of surviving dragon slayers and even smaller number of dragons in today's world is almost entirely attributed to Etherious' merciless campaign to hunt down and slaughter them. Also, Etherious at that time probably wasn't aware that Acnologia wasn't exactly on humanity's side despite being a dragon, and did not exactly agree to the terms of Magna Carta, so Etherious engaged Acnologia in combat as well."
Levi took a deep breath and squeezed her knees with her hands anxiously. She continued.
"--They say that after the unrelenting, years-long battle that Etherious and Acnologia waged against each other, which ravaged the entire world and rumours say that even gods themselves descended to watch the event unfold, the demon finally managed to bring even Acnologia down to his knees. The dragon had to finally flee the battle and hide from Tartaros. It's said that Etherious is still hunting for Acnologia, and the two are naturally drawn to each other. And… as for your question, from all that, I'd say it's definitely very likely that Etherious is every bit physically, and otherwise, as strong and terrifying as Zeref and Acnologia are. Maybe even more dangerous considering the other two have quite a bit of extensive research done on them over the ages. About Zeref's brother, on the other hand, we know next to nothing. He is a ghost. A phantom. A whisper in the night."
"Do you hear them? They speak of me. Of you. Of the real you. Do you hear the reverence in their voice? They speak as if you're a God."
Etherious' pleased sounding voice boomed in the darkness of the void as he spoke to Natsu.
Natsu had again woken up in the place that Etherious had mentioned was his subconscious mind. This time though, Natsu could hear the conversation going on between Levi and Erza who were in the same room as his body, unlike the last time when he had no clue what was going on in the real world around him. He comprehended what Etherious had just said to him, and then put together the two and two that Etherious probably made it so Natsu could hear the conversation this time around. How pleased the demon was from that conversation gave Natsu a clue as to why he did that.
He instantly felt irritated and explosive. He swiftly turned around, expecting to, and finding Etherious standing behind him.
"That's not reverence, you bastard! That's fear. They're afraid of you. And you and I aren't the same. You are Zeref's brother, not me."
The smile that had been resting on Etherious' face faded, and was replaced by an expression of annoyance and offence. "First, you and I are one. You cannot deny a fact. Second, fear is the only true reverence. About 600 years ago, when your mere gaze drew your soldiers in Tartaros to go insane with panic and subordination, you would have agreed with me. Without fear comes no service."
"You really think I'd trust you on the 600 years ago part? I still don't believe you. We aren't the same!" Natsu scoffed uncomfortably. Behind the abject denial, some form of doubt had begun to form in his mind. He was very disappointed that a disgusting demon was creating such self doubt in him, but he couldn't help it.
If he was Etherious, Zeref would become his brother, as already widely known through Zeref's recovered documents. And Natsu did hear that voice in his last episode of unconsciousness which sounded familiar somehow and spoke about his parents, whom he had never known about. His past before Igneel had been a mystery, so for all he knew, him being Etherious could actually be true.
Natsu clenched his fists. "I just can't be him…"
Etherious watched Natsu's back nonchalantly, before starting to speak up. "Your body is the same as me, a bit smaller for sure, but almost the entirety of your true spirit, which is me, has been sealed in a case within you. You can thank Igneel and Polyurischia for that. Technically speaking, since your spirit was sealed shut, you shouldn't have had a personality, which is what Igneel had predicted too. But the seal wasn't strong enough to hold Etherious, and streaks of his being slipped out. That is where your unstable nature, your explosive anger and your recklessness and destructive streak comes from. The effect wasn't too strong to stain you though, so Igneel taught you about culture and language, and the great innate worth that every living being carried within itself, as a safeguard against me taking complete control over you. He moulded you into Natsu, which is a shell of Etherious. And Igneel never gave you magic, he just gave a shape to Etherious' fire magic already present within you."
Natsu growled through pressed teeth. "Stop speaking… I don't trust a single word you're saying."
He took a deep breath. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe properly as panic started to set in. It could all be very possible. What he was saying was making a lot of sense all of a sudden. Why was Igneel always so hesitant about telling Natsu where he had come from? How could a human baby end up with a dragon? How did Polyurischia know so much about Natsu's magic buildup, more so than she did about the other mages'. Whenever Natsu has had problems with his magic not turning on, being unstable, his heat growing or lowering in strength and temperature, or suddenly flaring up while he slept, she had always been able to easily control or treat it. Not to mention he had consulted other witch doctors and none had seen such acute variations in someone's magic before. Could it all be because there was literally a system within Natsu that was controlling the outflow of Etherious' magic into him, to make sure all of it didn't come out at once? The result could be that it was very variable and unstable at times, and since Polyurischia and Igneel were the ones that created that system, they knew more about it than they let on.
It could all just be a massive array of coincidences, but the other way could be true too.
Etherious could easily read Natsu's mind, so he smiled for a few seconds at the amount of doubt he was creating within him and how much closer he had gotten the boy to trust him, but then hid the smile with his blank demeanour. He slowly took a few steps forward and spoke again.
"Look at Erza. She is scared and lost. She loves you so much that she can't bear to see you like this. It probably hurts her more than it does you. On top of that, she has a looming worry about the approaching war and the infinitely stronger enemies that she will have to face in order to protect you, and everyone else that she loves more than herself. She trains all day, and yet is at a loss for hope. Why don't you let me outside, and show Erza how truly strong you are? You can order Tartaros down to submission with your authority alone. Who's left afterwards? Acnologia? As you already heard, that little lizard ran away from you with his tail between his legs the last time. Once you truly awaken, he probably won't even present himself for a fight, and if he does, he would surely be heading toward his own demise. That leaves The Alvarez. Irene and August are both pests before your true strength. You can easily flick them apart. And Zeref. Zeref could be a problem, but you and I together can finally conquer him too."
He circled to the front of Natsu and looked deep into his eyes. "Awaken to who you truly are, and this war is yours to win single handedly. You will save so many lives, both of your friends and innocent strangers. Although I know you don't care about it, you'll be a hero. Your friends will be thankful."
Natsu's eyes quivered as he looked for something to focus them on as a storm brewed inside his head. He finally locked them on the hellspawn standing before him. What the creature was saying was correct. He had seen the fear in everyone's eyes regarding the approaching conflict. Outnumbered and underpowered, the guild's alliance was finding itself in more and more of a bind as days passed. It was the first time that they had to face such a large number of supernatural enemies all at once that they understood nothing about. And yet here he was, possibly Etherious himself, the third and the strongest member of Zeref's personal guard besides August and Irene, and the master of the demon horde of Tartaros that was the reason for half of the panic in the first place.
And even if he wasn't Etherious, just the prospect of letting this creature take over him just so he could utilise Zeref's own weapon against him was alluring. He had already experienced a touch of this demon's power when his left arm was taken over the last time.
In exchange for power to avenge Igneel and protect his friends, to protect Erza, letting an evil spirit from Zeref's book take over him and maybe even kill him as his payment for the power, wasn't a bad deal to Natsu
Etherious broke a genuine smile this time, not trying to hide it. He placed both his hands over Natsu's shoulders. "Good. Now you're thinking with your head. For your smart understanding, I have a present for you. You can wake up now. Do check your pockets after waking up. We will meet again, Natsu."
Smiling, he patted Natsu's shoulders, and then there was silence.
Natsu slowly opened his heavy eyes and let the stinging sensation of the sunlight flow into him from the window on the opposite wall. He looked around with difficulty as his neck felt strained, and found that he was in the medical bay area of the Fairy Tail HQ. Then, the memories of his encounter with the demon came rushing back.
He had just been in that dark and desolate place that the demon had said was his subconscious. In there, the demon had made him watch and hear what Erza and Levy were talking about. They were talking about Etherious and Zeref.
Etherious… him?
He still couldn't grasp his mind around the possibility, or even the fact that he could be the dreaded Etherious all along. There were so many unanswered questions that swirled in his mind at the thought. How did a weapon of mass disorder such as Etherious end up with Igneel, a dragon that loved humanity and justice and stood as the very symbol of what that demon was against, morality and virtue. If Natsu was the demon, he would have to be at least 600-700 years old, but as far as Natsu knew, he was only 24. How did he turn into a kid from an adult demon? And if what Erza and Levy were talking about was true, how did he die in the first place, and why was he resurrected. Was he really Zeref's brother? And did Zeref really reanimate him just because he missed Natsu, or because he wanted Natsu to be a weapon for him?
Natsu shook his head as the confusion paved the way for a stinging migraine. He slipped off his bed and walked towards a nearby table to get some water to drink.
He had some difficulty balancing his walk as the entirety of his missing left arm caused some problems. As he poured some water into a glass, his mind replayed whatever he could remember from his possession, or rather his half awakening, if the demon within him is to be believed, and the hopeless thought that gripped him that if he didn't do anything, he would end up destroying his entire guild under the possession, and that's why he had to part with his own arm to separate the demonic hold.
He could vaguely remember the battles he had engaged his guildmates in, and all the injuries he caused them. Mirajane, Gray, Laxus, Gajeel, Cana… even Erza. He felt a horrible pit in his stomach as disgust for himself started to take hold. How the fuck could he injure his own friends? People that would do anything for him without a moment's thought, and a minor loss of control caused him to hurt them all so badly. Maybe he truly was a demon, but of a different kind.
"Etherious, you fucking bastard…. Get out of my body and leave me the fuck ALONE!"
Natsu roared as he grabbed the glass of water he had filled up and flung it across the room. The glass shattered against a painting on the wall, which promptly fell to the floor and shattered as well.
Natsu slowly inched towards the painting. It was a painting of him and his teammates together. Gray, Erza and Natsu, painted while they were on a mission by some unknown artist. He stared down at the wet painting on the floor, the waters smudging the colours and dissolving, distorting the faces of the people in the painting, giving them sinister smiles, eyes vanishing, demonic features taking over. As he kept staring, his expression changed from anger and apathetic to scared, as the mouths in the painting started to move. Soon, he started to hear whispers coming from the three mages in the painting. It wasn't clear what they said, but Natsu could have sworn he heard a plea to let Etherious out, and all his problems would fade. The whisperings became overwhelming as Natsu's surroundings started to distort, and faces and hands started to poke out of the wall and reach for him.
"What… the fuck?" He groaned as the headache pulsed through his brows. He lifted his remaining arm and pressed against his head, trying to quell the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut as the millions of things that all pointed and talked and touched him became overwhelming to bear.
"Let me out Natsu…"
"Acnologia will tear your friends limb from limb if you don't fight him. My power… you need it to fight him and save everyone…"
"Zeref… Etherious… Alvarez… your true destiny awaits…"
"aaaaaAAAHHHH!" Natsu groaned in an incremental note as the voices coming in from every direction were too hard to bear now. His eyes shut, head down, he lifted his hand and brought it forcefully down over a table nearby, shattering it to pieces.
"Natsu!"
In the midst of the chaos, he heard Erza.
All the voices suddenly stopped, the distortions in the room and the faces and hands appearing from the walls suddenly vanished, and everything was quiet.
Natsu opened his tearful eyes, his lips parted and quivering in fear and mania, and it took him a while to make sense of his surroundings again. He looked around confused for a while, before focusing his wet eyes on Erza, who stood at the threshold of the door, watching him frightfully. She was dressed in a beautiful gown that he had never seen her before in.
Something broke in Natsu when he saw her. He felt so afraid and terrified of everything that had been happening to him the past few days that seeing Erza for the first time in so long was just too overwhelming. All the negative energies of the world would be on one side, and the soft, loving, caring and intensely protective caress of Erza's on the other. He had been so deprived of a friendly face that seeing her just opened something in him, and his eyes invariably started to flow.
He knelt down weakened, and extended his only remaining arm out weakly to her, begging her for an embrace.
Erza couldn't hold herself back either. This man, who was the most important thing to her in the entire world, someone she wouldn't even think twice before laying down her life a million times to protect and care for, someone she could destroy the entire world to protect and preserve, was kneeling on the floor, looking so helpless and insecure. She couldn't have that. Never. It had been such a long time since he had seen her as himself, with his own eyes, not the demon's. There was no way in the world that she would let this man be so weak and alone and afraid.
She advanced and reached for him, knelt on the floor herself, and before her eyes filled with tears and she couldn't see him anymore, she shut her eyes and embraced the man tightly. It broke her heart into a million and a billion pieces when she felt only one of his arms wrap around her, that too weakly.
Natsu buried his face into her chest and sobbed intensely. He needed her comfort more than ever before right now, as did she.
"Erza… I… I am afraid. Help me…" He managed to mumble between his sobs.
With every weak and fragile word that left his dried mouth, Erza's motherly instincts dictated her more and more to embrace him even tighter, never letting go and never ever wishing to see him being hurt by anything and not being able to do anything about it.
"Don't worry, Natsu. I am right here. I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe with me." Erza comforted him. Her heart was wrenching and yearning to let all her fears and pain out to this man as well, dwell in his warm and strong embrace and sob endlessly to him to, knowing that he was the only one in the world that could bring her satiety and peace from her pains and fears, but for his sake, she kept her voice stable and strong. He was afraid and in pain, and she couldn't be someone who was afraid and hurt as well, no matter how much she actually was. She reciprocated with every bit of physical strength that he was missing, and spoke with every bit of emotional and mental boldness that he lacked at the moment.
She felt so strong in this man's arms, and all her worries flew away. It had always been like this. Natsu gave her strength. Unimaginable strength. And with that strength, she felt invincible. She felt like she could protect Natsu with all her might and never let a single measly thing harm him. She would die for him. That's how important he was to her.
They remained that way for a while, before Natsu had calmed down a bit. Erza gently held him up and let him to the bed and helped lay his weakened and hurt body down. She sat down on the chair next to the bed.
Natsu grabbed her shoulder. "Could you… lie down with me? Please?" He asked.
Erza pursed her lips to hide the facial contortion that came up at his request. It was lovely that he wanted her to be even closer to him, but heartbreaking at the same time to see how the brash and not very keen on emotions Natsu had turned so weak and desperate.
Erza, without a moment's thought, climbed up on the bed and lay her head over his chest, snuggling into the cleft of his neck. She wanted this just as much as him, maybe even more. She wanted to forget about the world, and only stay like this with this man forever.
"I… love you Erza." Natsu mumbled.
A tear rolled down Erza's face and onto Natsu's chest. She grabbed him tighter, but still gently, and reciprocated lovingly.
"I love you more than anything, Natsu. Even more than myself. And I always will."
"Does it… hurt?" Erza asked Natsu as she slowly took his dressing off.
It was evening now, and Erza and Natsu had both taken a well needed rest on the bed in the medical bay. The entire guild, and the entire town of Magnolia had been celebrating Natsu's coming back to consciousness after defeating a demon that was apparently created by Zeref. It was being taken as a symbol of their first victory against Zeref.
The priests from the temple of Ankhseram had visited, along with the mysterious white hooded priests that had come specially for Natsu.
"It doesn't…. Much." Natsu replied sullenly. Erza watched his jawline for a few seconds, after which she got to undressing him again. She had undressed him before too, but not in this way.
Polyurischia came into the room with a tray of medicines, and then leaned forward to take a look at the amputation site that Erza had exposed. She smiled in wonder.
"No infections, and it has already healed very well. Igneel had a great healing ability too. No wonder you're his son."
"But I am not though." Natsu snapped. He looked at Polyurischia, with what someone would say was a look of anger.
"You've never told me how a human baby ended up with a dragon. Who are my true parents, Poly? You've always brushed this question off, and I didn't really care much before, but now I demand to know."
Erza placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder, surprised at the tone of his voice. "Natsu?"
Polyurischia's lips parted in angst as she had never seen Natsu being so intense with this question before. It was true that he had never cared for this before much, so why now?
"Did… something happen in your dreams when you were unconscious, Natsu? Did you… speak to someone?" She asked in a slightly quivering voice.
Natsu stared at her with a blank expression for a while, and then shook his head. "No."
Natsu didn't know why he was feeling so angry. And he felt bad for having the need to talk to Polyurischia that way as well. And as much as he didn't want to believe a filthy demon's words, it made more sense to him than any explanation Polyurischia had thrown his way before, which was that Igneel found him in a forest. Maybe he thought that if Natsu had known about his true identity before, which Igneel and Polyurischia already knew about, he could have quelled this disaster. Or maybe even that he should have found out about it from Igneel and Polyurischia, rather than from a demon.
The two stared at each other, Natsu in anger and tiredness, and Polyurischia in confusion and apprehension, before the doors to the room flew open.
Makarov followed by Guildarts walked in. He smiled at Natsu. "There's my boy. Up already? You're strong and fierce, just like my children need to be. HAHAHAHA!"
Gildarts laughed as well. "Now we are both missing an arm. Welcome to the club, Natsu."
Erza snapped at the joke that she thought was not very funny. "Shut up Gildarts. Your senile brain thinks that's funny, but it's really not."
Gildarts laughed at her. "Damn. Sorry."
He turned to Natsu. "Hey, kid. Make sure your wife here doesn't kill me before one of Zeref's monsters does. Hahahaha!"
Erza growled at him, and he went promptly silent.
Makarov then cleared his throat. "Alright, enough dallying you twerps. Now to the important part. Natsu, the priests of Ankhseram are here to see you… about your arm."
Natsu looked confused. "My… arm?"
"Precisely, master Natsu." The old warrior priest walked in. He looked almost the same as when Natsu had first visited the temple. Sometime Natsu wondered if this big guy ever aged.
Natsu felt a sour taste in his mouth as the memories from all the times when he couldn't light the candles came rushing back to him as he watched these priests from the temple.
The large old man was accompanied by two other warrior priests.
"Congratulations on defeating a fiend of Zeref's. A feat a lot of us couldn't have achieved, and we have been trained to fight darkarts all our life. Although, as I can see, this victory didn't come without a price." He said as he walked slowly closer, watching the part where Natsu's arm was missing, and extended his hands.
"May I?" He asked.
Natsu hesitated for a while, as he didn't like the old man very much, but he trusted him, since Makarov trusted him. Natsu stood up and nodded. The old man gently placed his hands around the wound site, and pressed around the skin in a fashion that didn't hurt Natsu at all, where Natsu had thought any manipulation of the wound would sting.
After checking for a while, he turned his head around and through the doorway walked in a woman dressed in black robes just like others. She was carrying an item draped in a cloth. She brought it to the old man, who picked it up with one hand and the cloth fell off, revealing an arm that was wrapped in white bandages.
Natsu's eyes narrowed as he slowly realised what they were upto. It was probably a prosthetic arm that they were probably going to reattach to him. Is that how much they were thinking about him? Was such a thing even possible? He felt confused, maybe a little terrified of the prospect. The old man sensed it.
He patted Natsu's shoulder. "It's alright, Master Natsu. This is just an experiment. You'll be completely fine."
Natsu felt hesitant about all this, as they didn't really tell him what they were planning. Where did that arm come from? Was it the one he had lost? But that one had burnt away. Is it a real human arm, or made out of another material? Will he be able to use it? He looked at Makarov who nodded at him reassuringly.
The old man held the shoulder end of the arm close to Natsu's amputation site, and then looked at Polyurischia who walked forward and placed her hands over the junction. She chanted a few spells with her eyes closed, and there was a bright momentary flash. Afterwards, the old man slowly let go of the new arm, and it didn't fall off.
Natsu's eyes widened slightly as he felt sensation return to him from his left arm. He could feel the bedsheets that the new arm lay on and touched. He tried moving his fingers, and although they felt heavy and rough, he could do it pretty well.
The old man, for the first time since Natsu had seen him, showed any expression on his face. Those were of shock and amazement. Others in the room were just as shocked, while Erza couldn't help but break a wondrous smile. She had been really sad about Natsu's lost arm, and for now, just provisionally, it looked as if it was back to him.
The old man shook slightly. "Wonderful. Amazing. We have tried the same with Gildarts and many more amputees multiple times but the arm always rejected them."
Natsu felt confused at that statement. "What… do you mean the arm has always rejected them?"
The old man partly collected his semblance, and walked forward again and pulled the white bandages off of Natsu's new arm.
Natsu gasped when he saw what was beneath it. The arm was made out of a hard black shiny material. He felt that this material was familiar to him. He lifted his arm and moved it around, wriggling his fingers and moving his fist.
"This is…."
"It is made out of Ankhseram's mysterious wax candles." One of the priests proceeded with explaining. "When our great lord was sundered, he broke into a billion pieces, which became these candles. They carry the essence of Ankhseram himself. We have found that these have great healing properties, but we could never put it to use, because beyond a certain application of the wax being able to heal wounds faster, the objects such as your new arm that were made out of this wax rejected the bodies that they were attached to, for example Master Gildarts here. Somehow, it seems to be very well adapted to you."
Natsu pondered about that fact. It was very amazing to him that simple wax could have such properties as this. Or as they said, it wasn't simple wax.
He had a weird feeling of peace and tranquillity with this arm attached to him. With all the experiences he's had with anything concerning Ankhseram, like the uncomfortable feeling that he used to get while interacting with the candles, he had never expected that something related to that dark god of war would bring him such comfort.
Did this mean that he had his arm back? To which extent could he use it? If it was made of wax, could he use his fire magic with it?
"G…go ahead, master Natsu. Try using your fire spell." The old priest said, looking as if it was more for the sake of feeding his own curiosity than for Natsu's assurance.
Natsu felt unsure about it. Whenever he had tried to light the candles of Ankhseram, that uncomfortable feeling caught him in the gut. Isn't this the same as lighting his candles? Would he be a victim of those voices and the same headache again?
He lifted his new arm up, and pulsed a very weak magic energy through it, and ignited it as it reached the end of his fingertips. There was a dark flash, after which black flames erupted out of his palm and brilliantly and powerfully flashed in and out over the new arm. Natsu felt bewildered, as the colour of his flames was usually saffron red. Was it because of the arm?
The priests of Ankhseram, including the old man, quickly got down on their knees at the sight of the black flames.
"The flames of Ankhseram!" One of them exclaimed.
Natsu looked at the priests in confusion, as he wasn't Anksheram, so why would they be bowing to him.
The old man explained his doubt. "We always worship these black flames at our temples. It's just the first time that we have seen it erupting out of someone's person. Ankhseram has blessed you, master Natsu. You own a part of his power. You are chosen by him to put an end to this war."
Natsu quickly put the flames out, as those words made him even more confused than already. If he was a demon created by Zeref, how would he also be chosen by the god that hated Zeref? It didn't make sense.
But one thing was clear. He had apparently, finally and successfully, lit a candle.
I'll be back soon.
The Fifth Incarnation out.