Another chapter.

Chapter 5

In his right pocket was a small blade, similar to the one that was flung at him and released the demon within his left shoulder and arm. It was now very clear why the demon had asked him to check his pockets after coming back to consciousness. That was the 'surprise' that he was referring to. He held it in his hands and wondered if he really needed it, or if the new arm upgrade that he had gotten was enough.

For that decision to be made, he first needed to test his new arm out.

Natsu stared at the stone in his hand. The stone was inconsequential, as he had just picked it up off of the riverside and was playing with it while thinking about his new arm. A soothing cool breeze swept up off the cool river water and gently caressed his skin, bringing him peace and tranquillity. The chirping of the birds was the only sound that filled the surrounding.

He had an idea. He switched the stone to his left hand, his new hand, and then sighed patiently. He wondered what could be the consequences of what he was thinking of doing. It was still a very new thing to him–this new arm, and it's weird black fires that erupted out of his fingers whenever he tried using his own magic through them.

"Why don't you try it?" A sweet feminine voice startled him.

He dropped the stone and stood up off the boulder that she had been sitting on, looking around.

In the clearing of the forest nearby, on the dirt pathway that led to the town of Magnolia, he saw a young beautiful woman standing in white robes. She had long black hair, coming down to her waist and then into a long ponytail. Her fair and clear skin contrasted with her dark long beautiful eyes.

Natsu had a lingering suspicion that she seemed familiar, and yet didn't.

She smiled and walked forward, standing a few feet away.

"Don't look so alarmed, Natsu. We've met before. I am Liana."

Natsu felt a bit nervous at her casual nature even though she seemed a stranger, and also at her striking, almost otherworldly gorgeousness.

"Have… we met before?" He mumbled, absentmindedly, partly lost in her beauty.

She giggled. "Well, not exactly. I am a priestess from a temple far away. Think of us as the counterparts of the priests of Ankhseram. We are the followers of One, a goddess that represents peace and union, as opposite Ankhseram who represents War and Destruction. Although, both our temples remain on good terms with each other. I saw you on that day from a distance, and you saw me as well. Do you remember?"

Natsu thought about what she said. He had heard of Ankhseram multiple times, but never heard of One. She must have been a faraway goddess, not very popular in these regions, or she must be very obscure or not popular in general for him to have heard about her for the first time just now.

He then yanked his mind away from his thoughts and pondered about her question.

Did he see her sometime before?

Going through his mind, he finally put his finger on what day she must have been talking about. She probably meant the day he was at the temple of Ankhseram, trying to light that candle, following which he went and sat down outside when he failed. Then he was called back in when some people from a 'faraway' temple came to visit him. It was her and her companions. He remembered seeing some people in white robes in the black temple. One of them was probably her, the ly woman amongst the group, who seemed to be much more interested in Natsu and his inability to light the candles.

"I remember. I saw you. Not your face though." He said. "You're… beautiful."

Natsu mentally hit himself in the head for saying that without thinking first. He didn't know how, but those final words just came out of his mouth.

The woman seemed a bit taken aback, but didn't lose her kind and peaceful demeanour. Natsu could swear he saw her cheeks turn a shade of red that reminded her of Erza's hair. It seemed like she was happy to receive that compliment.

"Thank you, Natsu. That's very kind of you." She replied nervously.

She then looked deep in his eyes, and walked forward, stopping inches before his face. Natsu wanted to take a few steps back, but didn't out of nervousness and his inability to think properly in the situation.

She then said genuinely. "I am very glad that you remembered me."

"Uh… I…" Natsu muttered, pulling his face back a bit to try and not bump his nose against hers.

Liana giggled again, and then sat down on the same boulder that Natsu had been sitting on, and patted the space next to her.

"Please, have a seat. I wish to speak." She said.

Natsu gulped. He was feeling a bit too self conscious against this lady's casualness around him paired with her ungodly beauty. What did she want to talk about? Was it about the events that just happened? Or something else? He just hoped Erza didn't come looking for him.

He sat down beside her, although leaving a small gap in between. Moments passed as the two basked in awkward silence before the lady started to speak.

"You're special, Natsu." She said,

Natsu jolted slightly as it came out of nowhere. He didn't know what she was referring to. Was it an insult, or a compliment? Hearing those words from someone as beautiful as her would make any man nervous, so he didn't blame himself.

"I don't understand." He replied, looking at her.

She stared at him with a pleasant expression for a while, before looking ahead and speaking again.

"As if you being the only person to not be able to light the candles wasn't enough a sign, when I heard that you had been possessed by a demon from the Odd Book, I came rushing with the black priests to the guild to try and help. When I entered, all I saw was you lying in a pool of your own blood, your left hand missing. Your condition brought… tears to my eyes. It was horrible. But it was also inspiring and moving, the distance that you could go to save your friends, even from yourself."

She turned slightly towards him while sitting and grabbed his left, black hand. "You severed a part of your body to protect your friends from something. You went that distance to make sure that that demon wouldn't harm anyone anymore. I always knew you were that kind and courageous."

Amongst the awkwardness from her that he was feeling as she held his hand, was a feeling of confusion. What did she mean by 'she always knew'? Had she known Natsu for a very long time? She definitely acted like they were old friends.

Natsu didn't ask her about it, and neither did she clarify. She just continued.

"I am so sorry about all that has happened, Natsu. Things weren't meant to turn out this way. I had always hoped that things would be better for you than this." She spoke, turning Natsu's confusion into outright bewilderment. What was she even talking about? Was she mistaking Natsu for someone else? Natsu had no clue what she was on about, but he felt it wasn't right to question her. Although, it seemed like she read Natsu's mind and knew immediately that he was horribly lost at her words.

She shook her head and broke another beautiful smile. "I am sorry, I got swept away in my emotions. Nevermind what I said."

She got off the boulder, and bent over to pick up the stone that Natsu had dropped when she had alarmed him. She handed it to Natsu.

"Go ahead. Try your new powers on this."

Natsu, who was still confused, put past his bewilderment and focused on the stone she had handed him. Although he tried to forget about her weird words, they remained in the back of his mind and painted her as a very weird person in his head. He received the stone and looked at it.

"I am not sure about this. What if it is dangerous?" He asked.

Liana circled her palms around Natsu's black fingers and packed the stone tightly within his grasp, and claimed confidently. "Trust me, Natsu. Ankhseram was a very benevolent god, no matter how he is actually known by people. His blessing is a blessing, not a curse."

Natsu unsurely looked at her expectant face, and then at his hand that was encircled by the both of hers. He made up his mind, spurred on by her confidence, and then flashed magic in his hand. As expected, a black yet brilliant flame erupted from his fist that held the stone, creating gentle shockwaves around him sending winds flying around. The river water rippled, the trees and the leaves swung, and the birds all fled at the advent of what they thought was an oncoming storm. Natsu felt exhilarated at the use of this magic, power rushing through him. He hadn't felt this powerful and capable and strong with his own flames ever. He now knew why it was called the flame of Ankhseram. It was only a measly fraction of the god's power and it held enormous power within it.

After a while, he turned off the power, and the black flames vanished into his hand again. Liana smiled and slowly retracted her unharmed hands away from Natsu's, and looked at him happily.

"Great job, Natsu. Open your fist."

Natsu did as he was told, and realised that the stone had completely vanished. He looked at his empty black palm in awe as he realised that the stone had been vaporised. He hadn't expected that to happen. Even with his dragon force flames which consumed things fire usually wouldn't consume, some remnants of the burnt object would be left behind. But with these flames, no ashes or remnants were left, even without him being in his dragon force form. It was very clear that these flames were vastly superior to his normal ones.

'Maybe I wouldn't need that demon afterall.' He thought to himself.

Liana stared silently at Natsu as he pondered deep. She didn't want to interrupt him. She already knew how much he was going through, and some deep thinking and pondering over his problems would probably help him out, or maybe not? She made it a point to stay there and get him out of his thoughts once she believed they were getting too troublesome for him.

She looked deep in his eyes which were focused on his new shiny black fingers. They were deep grey, just like she remembered.

'You haven't changed a bit. Even though you have a different colour of hair after so many years, a different shade of your skin, a different shine and brilliance in your eyes, you are still just as beautiful and lovely. How I long for us to be… United again. Maybe once this war ends… but I wouldn't want Erza to–'

She was broken out of her thoughts when Natsu looked at her, and had also waved his hand before her eyes. She believed that was what brought her out of her trance.

She smiled nervously and then started a conversation anew. She extended her hand and gently put it over Natsu's cheek, caressing it lightly.

"Say 'Xych', Natsu."

Natsu narrowed his eyes in his lack of understanding. "Xych?"

As soon as he said that, a splitting headache pierced him. He shut his eyes and faced down, grabbing his head hard with both his hands, but squeezed too hard with his new hand which was far superior and stronger than his normal hands that he was used to, and that just exacerbated the problem. He couldn't understand what was happening to him all of a sudden. He heard some whispers in his head and couldn't comprehend what they were saying. Soon, his fingers that lay over his left cheek felt wetness run down them. Natsu slowly opened his eyes and then looked at his hands, finding that they were stained with blood. His own blood, he assumed.

He looked at Liana for answers.

She gave him a concerned look. "It's okay, Natsu. The demon isn't gone from your body. The eye is still here. Say Xych again. It's the Zerefian word for eye. It will deactivate the eye."

Natsu repeated the obscure word, and found his headache receding promptly. He guessed that his eye that had been replaced by the 'hole' had come back to normal as well. He had never known that the eye was under his control and merely saying a word could bring it about. He felt a tad bit happier to know that he could exert that control over Etherious.

Liana sighed in worry and produced a handkerchief that she gently dabbed Natsu's left eye and left cheek with. Afterwards, she wrapped her hands around his head and pulled him into a gentle embrace. Natsu felt the remnant of the blood over his face stain Liana's bright white cloak, but she didn't seem concerned about it. She was more concerned about him. For what reasons Natsu didn't know.

"I am so sorry about all this Natsu. A wonderful and beautiful person like you doesn't deserve any of this. Your destiny was too heavy for your shoulders to carry."

She pulled herself away, and looked desperately into his eyes. "I promise you, I will try my best to make this alright. I would like to invite you to our temple. There, we can fix some things that couldn't be fixed here. Your eye needs replacing. One forbid you see a friend of yours with that eye and the demon takes over again. As long as you have it, the demon has a better hold on you."

Natsu stared at her in deep confusion. Did she know about the demon he had been conversing with within his mind? Did she know he is Etherious, and that's why she asked him to say that word because she was sure his real demonic eye would pop out, or did she still believe just like everyone else that he was merely possessed?

Natsu nodded his head to her question, and didn't ask any further. He didn't want to risk knowing the answer to whether she knew his real identity or not. He had wanted to keep it a secret from everyone, and as long as that was true, he didn't really care.

Before he could ask her to keep the fact a secret, she apparently read his mind again and replied before he could question.

"Don't worry, Natsu. No one will find out that the eye is still there. You and I will return to the Temple of One alone. Is that alright?"

"I wouldn't like anyone to know." Natsu mumbled to her.

She nodded sincerely. "No one will find out. And we will get rid of this before it's too late. I promise."

She carefully wiped a remaining smear of blood off of his cheek, and looked at him dearly. "Natsu, just be with me."

Natsu didn't know why he trusted her. He had just met her. She could be a demon from Zeref's army in disguise for all he knew. But somehow, he just trusted her.

Seagulls chirped their familiar chirp, and along with that the washing sounds that the ocean made to make everyone aware of its latent power, it was the only other noise. It was relatively quiet and peaceful.

Natsu felt sick as the ship moved up and down with the waves. He was on his way to the Temple of One where Liana had promised she would treat his remaining demon eye that was still within him.

He squeezed the guard rails of the deck harder, and felt like he would throw up everything that was inside his stomach, except there was nothing inside because he hadn't eaten anything that morning in preparation for the journey. Usually people would eat something, but Natsu had to take care not to, lest he throw it all out. Still, he felt nauseous, and cursed at himself for being a dragon slayer as along with that came his weakness of motion sickness.

Erza had come along with him. He hadn't revealed to her the exact reason he was travelling to the temple–the 'hole' that still lingered within him. Only Liana knew about that. And no one knew about the fact that Natsu himself was the demon, not possessed by one. Natsu had only told Erza that he was going to get One's blessings for the war, just like Ankhseram. He had told her that after all that had happened with him, Liana was of the idea that Natsu needed it.

Erza patted his back, trying to ease his problems. She and Natsu hadn't been talking much on this journey, as they had somewhat of a fight before starting it. Erza had wanted to come along, while Natsu kept refusing. Erza didn't understand his relentlessness at not letting her come, which escalated things to a point where she started suspecting that he had been getting it on with Liana behind her back. Why else would Natsu want to leave on a journey alone with her, and not want Erza coming along? He has had no problem in letting Erza follow along wherever he was going before, so why now?

On the other hand, the lady priest did look like she was interested in Natsu, as she kept talking about him and trying to speak with him. It was obvious to the entire guild, and rumours had also started flying around. Erza didn't like that one bit.

What was Natsu trying to hide from her? Being upset a little was understandable.

Natsu smashed the guardrails lightly.

"This was a bad idea…" He grumbled.

Erza sighed as she patted his back, looking across the ocean surface. "Told you."

"I am sorry I brought you along, Erza." Natsu said in a voice that sounded like he was dying.

Erza wanted to laugh loudly at the irony of that last statement that he made, but resisted with a pressed smile. "You didn't ask me to come along, you idiot. I did it by myself."

Natsu sighed as he felt even his very recent memories failing him at the time. "Right… I forgot. We had a whole fight about it."

Erza nodded as she kept comforting his motion sickness. "Yes, sir, we did. By the way, I still don't know about why you didn't want me to come along."

Natsu gulped and took a deep breath as he kept facing the waters just below. "Don't ask me. I can't even remember my name right now."

"It's Natsu." Erza snapped. "You truly are a specimen, you know?"

Erza then heard a giggle from behind her, and turned around to find Liana standing a few feet away. It looked like she had been listening to the conversation.

Erza gave her a weak smile. She knew that the head priestess was a very good person, but still, Erza wasn't too fond of her, for very obvious reasons.

Liana looked at Natsu in concern as her giggle slowly faded. She felt bad for having brought him on a ship as she now thought she was the one responsible for his condition right now. She didn't know he had such motion sickness.

He never had motion sickness before when they knew each other.

She placed her hand over Natsu's back and tried to comfort him. She looked at Erza. "I can cast a sleep spell. We can wake him again after we've made the coast."

"Please do…" Natsu mumbled.

Erza stared at the side of his face, internally laughing but keeping a flat demeanour on the outside. "Sure. Go ahead. I had hoped this would be punishment for jumping into journeys like this without thinking through. But I think he has suffered enough."

In actuality, Erza wanted his suffering to end just as bad. It was just some simple motion sickness, but no matter what the cause, her heart couldn't see Natsu suffering at all. That was also the reason she came over to him to comfort him even though they weren't talking properly. Now that she thought about it, she was glad she did, as now they were back on talking terms at least.

Liana smiled and nodded. She placed both her index fingers over the back of Natsu's head, and mumbled some words. As soon as she did that, Natsu started to go limp. Erza and Liana quickly supported his weak, almost asleep figure, one on either side.

Liana looked at Erza over Natsu's slouched shoulder. "He is surprisingly light."

Erza smiled. "The idiot is rushing around all the time. Of course he is light."

Liana giggled. "Okay, we should take him inside. Let him rest over the bed."

They both led Natsu into the cabins on the ship, and into one of the many rooms and laid him over the bed. They both sat down over the chairs around the dining table and stared at Natsu's sleeping figure, snoring slightly.

Erza couldn't help but feel that he looked adorable.

"He should be fine now." Liana said, smiling as she watched him.

The two sat in silence for a while, thinking about nothing in particular. Erza felt a bit awkward as she had just been thinking about how this lady could be threatening her relationship with Natsu, and now she was turning out to be so great all of a sudden. Erza tried and tried, but couldn't find any fault with her behaviour or anything related. She seemed very nice. Perfect as a human being almost. Except her beauty, which was beyond perfect for some reason.

Liana looked at Erza and started the conversation that the both of them needed to have to break the awkwardness.

"How has Natsu been doing?" She asked. "I mean, after everything that has happened? It's hard to read his true emotions sometimes because he always puts on such a brave face."

Erza looked at her, feeling a bit surprised. Liana had read Natsu perfectly. Natsu did put on a brave face for everyone to see, not wanting to show that he was also a human being who was sometimes weak and in need of support. Even after him and Erza had gotten together, she only started to see his more emotional side years after. She disliked that quality about Natsu, and also adored that quality at the very same time, because she knew he did this to appear supportive to others, so that he could look strong when others couldn't and needed his strength. It was an act of selflessness.

"He's been doing good," Erza replied. "He's grown a lot since he first joined the guild. Both mentally and physically."

She thought for a while. "He sure does put on a brave face. He thinks that way he can always be the beacon of hope and strength for everyone else in the guild. He is fiercely loyal to his friends and endlessly selfless. Those qualities are rare in someone that has been through so much. He understands what true pain and emotional fragility is, and that's why he helps everyone that needs help with those things. That's why, never letting his own pain and fragility show so he could always help those that have it is something he does quite a bit, even unintentionally. That's something I admire."

Erza smiled as she watched Natsu sleep.

Liana looked at her with a bright smile plastered on her face. "I can tell that you love him very much. That you are very close to each other."

Erza looked at her and blushed. "Uh… yeah, I mean. I do like him a lot and…"

Liana giggled, causing Erza to break a smile as well as she realised she was being teased.

"Stop doing that." Erza said laughing. "Everyone teases me about Natsu, don't you get on with it as well."

"I am sorry, I couldn't help myself. You are so innocent and sweet, I had to." Liana said.

Erza brought her streak of laughter to a smile, and looked at Liana, thinking that she wasn't very bad afterall. She was a very kind and genuine person, she thought.

Liana asked another question. "I have seen his strength and powers, and I have heard stories of him defeating great wizards all by himself. He must be very strong."

Erza nodded, "Yes, definitely. He is one of the strongest in our guild. Probably only second to Gildarts and Master Makarov. When he first joined the guild, he was just a brash little kid. I used to see him as a little brother that needed to be taught things about the world and guidance about manners and everything. But as he grew and learnt things, he slowly became what he is today. Well, he had that streak of loyalty and selflessness since the beginning. I am guessing Igneel taught him all that. As I watched him through the years, fighting, struggling, going beyond any perceivable limits just so he could make sure that anyone that he cares about could sleep peacefully, I started to fall for him more and more."

She paused for a while, correcting her track of thoughts back from the overly emotional to logical, and then continued.

"He has become very reliable and strong through the years that I have known him. If his magic wasn't so unstable, he could have been so much more."

Liana shook her head in comprehension. "I can understand. Fire mages usually have a very unstable magic buildup." She looked at Natsu and said slowly. "He… reminds me of Ankhseram."

Erza was caught by surprise at that. The God that presides over war and destruction? Natsu reminded her of him? She couldn't believe Liana was making that comparison. A god that was known to be ruthless and cold and merciless, reminded her of someone that was completely harmless and silly?

But there was also the fact that this priestess was well versed in religious texts, so Erza didn't question her view on the matter much as she probably knew what she was talking about.

She–although, asked curiously. "What… Do you mean by that?"

Liana smiled. "I am sorry. I was being very vague again, wasn't I?"

She explained. "Ankhseram was a fire magician as well, a wielder of the all consuming black flames. As a result, his magic was unstable in his youth as well, just like all fire mages. He became very unruly and bratty as a result growing up. His clan was worried about it as he was a god and had duties to uphold and couldn't do it productively if he behaved like a goon even in his adult age. So they had him married to One, our goddess. She was the symbol of grace, mannerisms, and elegance. Weeks followed, and she and Ankhseram fell in deep love, and she learnt intensity and ferocity from Ankhseram, and Ankhseram learnt grace and elegance from her. That's what made each of them complete, and how they are known today. A god of destruction being complete with a goddess of creation."

Erza watched Liana as she felt that the retelling of that story was in itself quite beautiful. She felt that it taught that two very different people could always find something to cherish in one another, learn something from the other and grow to become better versions of themselves. She had actually never heard of this story before. She had heard of One and Ankhseram separately, but never knew they had been in a union.

She stole a quick look at Natsu as the story made her realise that their love for each other–for opposites, wasn't new and untold. Ankhseram and One apparently shared such a relationship before.

Liana continued. "That's how our world stays in balance. Destruction and creation working in union."

Erza smiled in wonder. "That's very interesting. Thank you for telling me that."

Liana smiled in return.

She looked at Natsu, at his new black left arm that was made out of Ankhseram's candles. "I think even Ankhseram realised that he and Natsu were similar, that's why he blessed him. That arm that Natsu possesses is no ordinary thing. As you must already know, such a blessing from the dark God has never been bestowed upon anyone else before. Natsu is special."

Erza looked at Natsu, agreeing with what Liana was saying. "He definitely is special. He is….something." She said with a weak smile as she sounded lost in her thoughts and good memories of Natsu with her.

Liana stole a look at Erza, smiling gently herself as she could feel the intense love and dedication that the red haired woman before her held for Natsu. And she also knew about the same feelings that Natsu held very deeply for this lady. She felt really glad inside that the two had found each other and we're so happy with each other. She felt happy for Natsu because he wasn't alone in the world as he had Erza, and also so many other good friends. After being abandoned by Igneel and every other horrible thing that had happened to him in the several years past, he deserved good friends like these and good memories with them.

But why did she feel a bit sad about the fact that Erza and Natsu were together? Was it because she wasn't in Erza's place, when it was her rightful spot? Was she really that shallow to mind something such as that? Was she ready to cave in between Natsu and Erza just for her own selfishness and cause them both hurt? She didn't know. She only hoped that her goddess gave her the strength to resist such temptation and not cause anyone any form of pain.

She suddenly felt a deep urge to mention something important to Erza. It came out of nowhere. Was it because she had even the slightest microscopic fraction of disappointment, maybe even jealousy, because of how good things had turned out between Natsu and Erza and mentioning this was her own way of making things right within her, or was it because she cared about Natsu and wanted someone to have his back at all times that she needed to mention this?

She shook her head clean of the doubts and mentioned it anyway.

"Natsu… has been through a lot, Erza. His past is a mystery, but it is very clear that it wasn't exactly ideal. His parents must have had a very good reason to abandon him with a dragon. It must have broken their hearts to pieces to do it, yet they did it. Some great tragedy befell their family and they had to keep him safe somehow. After that, he had been through a lot more with being one of the strongest assets in Fairy Tail and having heavy responsibility rested on his very young shoulders of the oncoming war. Then the thing with the demon almost taking over him, and then this new blessing by Ankhseram, which gives him even more responsibility in the war. My heart aches for him because of everything that he must have to go through everyday. Someone as pure, innocent and honest doesn't deserve any of this. But never once have I heard him complain about it. He is ready to go even further for his friends. For you. He is ready to take even more upon his shoulders that are already aching with some of the heaviest weights I must have witnessed in my life. That's why…."

Erza watched her intently and listened carefully. She didn't know where she was going with this, but Erza felt like she was listening to herself talk as everything that Liana had mentioned just now, Erza had felt the exact same things now and then. So Erza paid Liana her utmost attention.

Liana stood up from her seat as it seemed that keeping sitting was difficult in her unrestful state. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and managed a sincere smile through the storm of concern and worry brewing through her heart, and spoke again, her voice shaky at first.

What she said was difficult at first, but her selflessness finally took over.

"Natsu… loves you, Erza. I can tell. He loves you more than anything else in the entire world. He adores and admires you fiercely. To be able to get his attention and admiration like this, you are very lucky. I want you to always cherish him. I want you to always stand by him, support him in his endeavours, and help him through his tough times which he will face a lot in the coming years. I know it. Please share in his burden. Be by him. And I am sure from what I know of him and the kind of person he is, that he will return all your love and dedication multiple times over…"

Erza stared at her as a lot of thoughts went around in her mind. She could tell that Liana was getting emotional. Her eyes had started to glisten more, and her gaze that was fixed at Erza was looking elsewhere now.

Why was Liana telling her all this?

Erza already knew all these things, and was already ready to go beyond her place, strength and capabilities anytime and anywhere to help and support Natsu and bring him even a slight iota of peace and happiness if possible. Because she loved him deeply and intensely. No matter what he was doing, she wanted a part in it. She wanted a part of his secrets, a part of his grief, a part of his cheer and happiness, a part of his burden and a part of his responsibilities. And no matter what the cost, she was ready to take all of it in a proud stride. Whenever and wherever possible. Natsu belonged to her and her only. And she wasn't letting him down. Ever.

Liana walked out of the cabin in a hurry without saying anything else. She calmly yet somehow quickly walked to the edge of the ship. She took a few deep breaths as the emotional storm inside her got overwhelming to bear. She leaned over the guardrail, and watched the ocean water–peaceful and tranquil, and wished her internal storm would learn something from it.

A couple of tears rolled down her beautiful glistening eyes and merged with the ocean.

"I hope you the best, Natsu…" she muttered. "You deserve everything in this world. And someone to love you beyond any limit….just like Erza."

Erza just watched Liana walk outside without saying a word, and in her confusion she couldn't say anything either.

But one woman to another, one thing was clear. Erza knew exactly what Liana was going through. Erza felt truly sad and horrible for her in her helpless situation. Maybe even guilty being in the place that Erza was.

The rumours were true after all. Liana truly, deeply, beyond any doubt, was in love with Natsu, and had no way to have it reciprocated back.

I'll be back soon.