I can't lie folks, I got some new medication recently, and I feel like a new person. I can't stop writing. It's honestly incredible!
Also I worked really hard to make this chapter good, hence the absence. I hope it was worth it!
Enjoy!
"So..."Michael started, sitting with his Dad on a plateau of rock. "You saw Weisslogia in Oizys' magic?" He'd never really talked to his Dad about the dragon, as it usually just ended with him being sad. That being said, he couldn't help being curious. His Dad sighed, nodding.
"I did," he said. "I'll give her a little credit, it was nice to see him in some way other than my imagination after all these years."
"When was the last time you saw him, again?" Michael asked.
"When Tartarus was beaten," His Father replied. "When he revealed that he'd been inside of me making antibodies that whole time."
"Ah, right," Michael agreed, pausing for a moment. "Did you feel betrayed when you found that out?"
"A little," his Dad admitted. "At first, I was mad that he lied to me about being dead. It felt unnecessary. But, as I've grown older, I've realised he did it for my benefit. Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy all spent their time looking for their dragons, but Rogue and I didn't have too. Maybe he thought he was just freeing us from wondering where they went. It was more mercy that the others got."
"Why didn't they just tell you what was up?" He wondered aloud. His Dad sighed and rung his hands together.
"Probably because they were already dying at that time," he replied. "Explaining that Acnologia destroyed their souls and that they were going to hide inside of us after we time travelled hundreds of years into the future would be a lot for a kid to take in. Might have been best we were never told." Michael always forgot that his Dad was from the distant past. He often wondered if things felt different to him, but seeing as they'd only been little at the time he doubted it even mattered.
"I'm sure they would have stayed if they could," he said, trying to make his Dad feel better. He let out a weak laugh at this.
"Maybe," he admitted. "Then maybe the future where you got to meet him could've been real." Michael didn't know what to say to this, so he decided to pivot away from his Grandfather.
"I wish Drake had a dragon to help him," he said. "It's not fair that he had to run away to find a cure."
"Yeah," His Dad agreed, "That isn't really fair at all. I guess Lost Magic is lost for a reason, huh?" That was true. All of the Lost Magic that Michael knew of had some sort of hidden cost that the caster had to pay. Dragon Slayers inevitably became dragons. Arc of Time stole your own time. Rina had once explained to him that if she used to much of her power in one go, she started losing her humanity. So God Slayer Magic gave you a god complex if you weren't careful.
"Do you know anything that might have helped?" He asked his Dad, who shook his head.
"No," he admitted. "Like you already know, the only modern cases of Dragon Slayers are either immune to the transformation, or aren't susceptible to it. Drake is a wholly unique case even among unique cases." Michael frowned and looked down at the ground, wondering about his friend.
"I hope he's okay," he said.
"Me too," His Dad said, "although I'm more worried currently about the others. I hope they aren't dying out there." Michael had almost forgotten about that. What Mortavius had said was concerning to say the least, so he wondered what it was they were waiting for.
"I hope so too," he agreed.
Winter winced awake as the morning sun hit her face, forcing her to start her day. Opening her eyes, she stared at the dark bricks above her head in annoyance. It was hard being a maid and not a morning person at the same time, but, she would take whatever work she could get.
Pushing her sheets off of her, Winter stood and shed her bed clothes, grabbing her newly washed outfit. It was a pretty revealing outfit to clean in, but she suspected that was kind of the point. Maybe the King had a maid fetish.
Gathering herself, Winter took a deep breath and stepped out of her room, into the hallway of the castle. King Ajur's estate was absolutely massive, with an entire army of cleaner's just like herself. It was a good thing too, otherwise they'd never get it cleaned. Walking down the hallway on autopilot, Winter quickly got to the station where she could gather her cleaning supplies, seeing that her coworkers for this wing of the castle were already here.
"Would you just shut up and take the broom?" Percy demanded, shoving it in Malcolm's face. The other man refused to take it.
"No way man, I'm not sweeping. It's impossible to get all the dirt, and then the Head Maid gets an attitude with us."
"Well, I sure as hell don't want to do it!" Percy replied, "so take it!"
"No!"
"I see you guys are up already," she noted as she walked up to them, making her turn. Both men were her partners in crime when in came to cleaning, the three of them always getting the same corridors to clean. She had grown rather attached to the pair of them over the years, as their antics broke up the monotony of cleaning.
"Malcolm's being lazy," Percy accused, pointing at their other friend. Percy was a tall, well-built man with short-cropped black hair and blue eyes. His mouth seemed permanently twisted in a suspicious smirk, making him look constantly suspicious.
"Percy's the lazy one," Malcolm said. He was about the same height as Percy, but with brown hair and eyes instead. What he lacked in muscle, he made up for with his dexterity. He was a flexible one. "He's trying to offload the sweeping on me! You know how this place is, Winter. The dust just spawns out of nowhere."
"Just give me the broom, you moron," she said to Percy with an outstretched hand. He handed it to her, and she used it to smack the both of them.
"Ow!" Percy exclaimed as it hit him. "That hurt, Winter."
"Don't be a baby, get the mop," she scolded, raising the broom again to threaten them. The two quickly scampered to the nearby supply closet to find a way to assist her, making her laugh. The two of them were so goofy.
Resigning herself to her fate, Winter put the broom to the floor and began to sweep. Malcolm was right, of course. every time she managed to make a decent pile of dust and dirt to clean up, more appeared where she had been. It was all so frustrating. It paid well, though, so she couldn't complain. She could hear the other two begin to clean behind her, the three falling into a silent routine of scrubbing down the corridor of filth.
"You guys hear that the Princess is looking for a husband?" Percy asked.
"I guess she is that age, huh?" Winter asked, wondering about the aforementioned woman. Princess Etrra was a strong woman, one who commanded respect from everyone who met her. Winter had only seen her in passing, but the heir exuded confidence as she walked. It was honestly impressive. Winter wished she could feel that confident.
"Who're the suitors?" Malcolm asked.
"What, thinking of auditioning?" Percy teased, "she's looking for a political marriage, not a useless one Malc."
"Shut up," Malcolm replied. "I'm just asking a question."
"Probably the Prince of Artfi," Winter said, "they're close friends and allies. Plus, I've heard the cooks gossiping that the Princess is crushing on him."
"That guy?" Percy asked, "I thought he was sleeping with the Princess of Agepsus."
"That's only a rumor," Malcolm reminded him. "Besides, the Prince knows better than to sleep around as royalty."
"Does he?" Percy wondered aloud, "he strikes me as a royal horndog."
"Does that qualify as slander against a royal?" Winter asked with a smirk, making him roll his eyes.
"He's a foreigner, I can say whatever I want," he said. "What do you think, Winter?"
"I think you both better put your heads to the floor and clean," she replied, "before someone of authority walks by and see's you relaxing." She cast a glance over her shoulder and confirmed her theory, both of them standing around. They both just grimaced and got to work. One of them mumbled something about her being a hard-ass, but she ignored them. They'd get over it in record speeds.
Moving down the hallway as she swept, Winter hummed a little tune to herself as she did so. All things considered, this was a pretty decent job. Better than shoveling shit or joining a brothel, at least. If all she had to deal with was lecherous glances from nobility, she could handle that. As she moved down the hall, a door in front of her opened, and she looked up out of instinct.
"Drake?" She asked, confused. Her friend looked out of place in the royal palace, his modern clothes a stark contrast to the medieval surroundings.
"Finally," he said as he walked to her, "I found you."
"What are you taking about? Why are you here?"
"Winter, you need to snap out of it," he said, making her raise an eyebrow. "Archos is going to sap whatever remains of your sanity, and you'll be left a muttering husk. Wake up!"
"What are you talking about?" She asked him, frightened by the urgent look in his eyes. "How did you get in here?"
"Oh, I'm not really here," he replied with a wave of his hand. "I'm just an abstract construct of your remaining sanity taking this form to try and reason with you. You need to wake up, Winter. This isn't real."
"Don't talk nonsense, this is reality," she said. "Look, get out of here before someone spots you."
"Like who?" He demanded, "there's no here but us."
"What are you talking about?" She asked, turning. "Percy and Malcolm are right-"
The boys were gone.
Winter's blood ran cold as she stared at the empty hallway, a cold breeze somehow flowing through the castle. The entire castle, usually bustling with activity, was as quiet as a corpse. No sound came from anywhere.
"W-Wha-?" She tried, unable to form a sentence as the hallway rippled like water disturbed by a rock plunging beneath the waves.
"This isn't real," Drake's voice said again from behind her. She turned to see that he, too, was rippling. "It's a delusion planted inside you by Archos to sap your sanity."
"What are you talking about?" She pleaded weakly, lost. "W-Who is Archos?"
"You know who he is!" Drake shouted, "he's the Demon Lord of Madness! He's killing you even now! Snap out if it before it's too late!"
"H-How do I do that?" She asked, "w-what even is a Demon Lord? Drake, I'm scared..."
"Use your magic," Drake told her as he flickered in and out of existence. "It's effective against him, surely it'd work against his spell."
"Magic?" She asked, "magic doesn't exi-"
A gale force storm wind blew down the hallway, knocking her off her feet and face-first into the ground. She scrambled to stand, Drake watching her.
"It does exist," he insisted, "free yourself from this delusion."
"How?" She asked weakly. "How do I use this 'magic'?" Drake opened his mouth to speak, blinking in and out of existence as he tried to tell her.
"Use...Warmth...You...God...Punch...Self." He disappeared from her view, leaving her alone in the hall. As he did so, the hall itself began to crumble, leaving nothing but a void behind. Winter panicked and raised her hand, trying to use Drake's limited answer. He'd mentioned warmth, right? So maybe she had to reach for the warmth tugging at her stomach. Doing so, a gale of dark wind formed around her hand, hovering there staring at her. She gulped as she looked at it, but when she saw the hallway crumbling towards her, she made her decision.
She slammed her hand into her chest.
Everything faded.
Winter gasped and sat bolt-right up, reaching for her mouth to stifle the oncoming scream. She scanned her surroundings warily, noting she was back in the Circle. Her surroundings were still a mess of colors, fading in and out of existence as if to hypnotize her. Maybe it actually had.
Taking deep breath's and steadying her hands, Winter's thoughts returned to her delusion. Why had it been so real? She could remember every detail, her childhood, her parents, her job, her friends. It all felt so fresh and real.
And it was fake.
Winter blinked in surprise when tears fell from her eyes onto the ground beneath her, which was a swirling mass of tree branches. Why was she crying? Was she really that upset about a fake life she'd never lived?
Percy and Malcolm flashed before her eyes, and she winced.
Carefully getting to her feet, Winter pushed the fake men from her mind and looked around warily, wondering what she should do now. She didn't see Thanatos anywhere, which was good or bad depending on how you looked at it. She didn't see Archos either, but that was nothing new. She wondered briefly if her mother was okay, but didn't have time to dwell on it. A Demon Lord needing sealing. Question was, how to find him? Archos didn't seem keen on showing himself.
Frowning, Winter looked down at her hand and summoned another gale to circle her fingers. If her magic could destroy the delusion controlling her, what else could it do? She'd never tested her God Slayer Magic on an actual God or their powers.
First time for everything.
Summoned a gale, Winter aimed her hand at the nearest oddity, which happened to be a purple tree growing salmon with three legs. When the winds connected with the tree it bucked a little, like it was actually alive.
Then it let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Winter covered her ears in surprise as the tree screamed at the top of it's non-existent lungs, a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard if you were also being roasted alive. Every cell in her body screamed for silence, but none was to be had, as the tree seemed to have no plans to stop. Before she could even question what was happening again, the tree aimed all of it's branches straight at her.
Razor sharp glass shot from it's limbs, having long snce shook off the fish. Winter protected her body with a veil of wind, firing another gale at the tree and uprooting it in retaliation. She raised a hand and sliced it down vertically, a sword of air slicing the tree in two down the middle. The screaming stopped, allowing her a moment to get her hearing back.
"This is insane," she muttered, knowing damn well that implication was the point. "Archos! I know you can hear me! Come out and face me, would you?!" No response came, making her grumble and kick at the ground in annoyance. She hoped the others were having more luck than she was.
Winter jumped when she heard grumbling nearby, turning to the source. There she saw Thanatos stumbling out of the veil of hypnotic colors, his head down.
"Thanatos?" She asked warily, "you okay? Or do I have to fight you?" Thanatos perked up a bit when he heard her voice, raising his head to look at her. Her eyes widened when he did.
He'd clawed his own nose off.
Thanatos' nose was missing from his face, his cheeks and fingers stained with blood and flesh.
"Bugs," he murmured, "bugs, everywhere. Bugs in my head. Have to get them out, have to stop them. Bugs in my brain." Winter considered freeing him with her magic, but hesitated. Given how much pain he must have been in, did she want to? Would he even be any help if she did, in this state? She could heal him, sure, but he was the enemy too. Was she in need of his help that badly?
"Quite maddening, isn't it little lady?"
The voice had spoken right in her ear, the person's breath hitting her neck. She leapt away with a shriek, turning to blast the new voice with snow and wind. But it was gone, no one standing there.
"Archos?" She demanded, "stop hiding! Come and fight me!"
"Fight you?" Archos asked, "fight you? Little lady must be insane, she is. She thinks I's will fight her like she wants? Gahahahahahaha!" The crazed cackle of a madman roared in her ears, the surroundings distorting and waving like an ocean in a storm. "Little Springtime is insane, she is! Or at least she will be!"
"What is wrong with you?" She asked, already kind of guessing the answer. "Why are you...well, insane?"
"Isn't it fun?" Archos' voice echoed as the Circle rippled and transformed into the upper balcony of a theatre. "Mine siblings are so boring, they is! They's have no imagination or fun! I's do! I have the mostest fun with my job!" Winter spared a glance off the balcony seating towards the play, her stomach turning. The actors down below were versions of her parents, having raunchy, dirty sex. The sight made her gag and turn away, Archos laughing manically.
"Quite a show, they is!" He cried, "why's you look away, Springtime? Conceiving is beautiful isn't it's?"
"No!" She shouted, "especially not my own! Why would you do that?!"
"I need's a reason?" Archos asked, "none of the people in mine little Circle-Wircle had a reason! See's, I judges the madmen! The crazy's! You know any crazy's, Autumn?" The male actor below moaned loudly, followed by the crowd cheering wildly. She was going to be sick.
"I think I know one," she muttered.
"Do's ye? Well, they belonges with me! The Circle for the humans with some screws loose in they widdle 'uman head! I loves them so much. They're so much fun!"
The scene morphed again, this time the theatre fading into a dark house. Before Winter could ask, the door near to her was kicked open, and a man walked in.
Dragging the lifeless body of a woman.
Winter watched, stunned, as the man tossed her onto the floor and knelt over her, plunging a knife into her neck. Blood spurted from the wound, and the psycho put his face next to it and lapped up the blood as it splashed his face.
"See this guy?" Archos asked her as the man plunged the knife it again, ripping out her throat and chewing her flesh. "This one was a real bad boy. Ate about ten women and five kiddies! Reason? He had none! Voices in his widdle head told him to purge the streets of whorey-whores! Isn't it the best?"
"No!" Winter shouted, genuinely feeling sick now. "This is horrific!"
"Bah, you had to be there," he excused. "I took it upon my own widdle back to judge these guys! You should be thanking me's, you should. I make sures they never have a peaceful afterlife!"
"You do?" Winter asked.
"Nope!" Archos agreed. "Cause all they gets when they arrive with they suitcase is exactly what you've seen! What's fun about peace? Nothing! Chaos and madness, that's is where it's at! The best logic is when there is none! I am quites the philosopher, aren't me?" He was something, alright. "What do you think, Summer Sunset? How do you like my Circle?"
"It's...certainly something," she said weakly. "But hey, uh, listen. Wouldn't you like to be here forever? I could seal you here, if you want."
"Nope nope nope!" Archos replied. "Best part of my job is driving my takeover wizard to join me in my madness! Even now my current boyfriend is locked up in an asylum talking to walls! I loves that boy, maybe I's propose he become my personal widdle ''elper. Anyways, No can do, Spring Cleaning! It would be too crazy, even for me, to let you and your friends take Nashi's soul away! No sir, too much for me!"
"But..."Winter tried, "it'd be so crazy!"
" Yes indeed, crazy!" Archos agreed. "But see, that would mean my pretty widdle self goes bye-bye! That's too much. Can't allow that, Big Boss says so. Otherwise other Boss will come. Other Boss is crazy too, but not in a fun way. I'd go bye forever if he came."
"Yeah, but..." Winter was running out of ideas, but she still didn't even know where Archos was. "Just don't make this difficult, please. I need to seal you and get rid of that other guy."
"Other guy is noseless," he said as if that was a genuine answer. "Can't stick it in anyone's business anymore." Winter grit her teeth, trying to come up with an answer to this seemingly impossible riddle. During all of this, the murderous cannibal continued to munch nearby, having torn open the women's chest and gone for her breasts. Winter caught sight of him, and her temper blew over.
"Get rid of this!" She roared, swiping her hand over the scene. A gale force wind responded to her will, collapsing on the murderer like a ton of bricks and squashing him. He screamed loudly, like the tree, as Winter squeezed the life from him, just as he had that woman.
"Hey!" Archos shouted as the scene disappeared into the void, "don't interrupt! We were almost at the good bit where he finds that ladies daughter and-"
"Enough!" Winter roared. The wind whipped around her like a tornado, tearing and clawing at the void surrounding her. "Come out here and fight me, at least! I can't watch this anymore!"
"Well, you're no fun!" Archos moaned, "what to do's, what to do's? Oh, I know the exact thing you need to find this fun!" The Circle morphed to the madman's will, and Winter found herself on a scarred battlefield. Surrounding her on all sides were ghostly apparitions, all staring hungrily at her.
"What is this?" She demanded, preparing to defend herself.
"It's the Damned of the Fifth Circle, silly-billy!" Archos replied. "All the murderers and rapists and psycho's I've condemned! They can show you a good time! Be wary though, some of them are handsy! And hungry." Winter's eyes widened as she looked at the group, who were advancing towards her slowly. "Please show them a good time, Summer Rain!"
The group collectively screamed, and Winter turned to run.
The circle morphed as she did, transforming into a hallway, with no doors. She sprinted as fast as she could to put space between herself and the ravenous killers, who were screaming for her to stop. She turned and blasted the group with wind, which made them dissipate with screams of pain. A door appeared in the wall nearby, and a ghost charged through and slammed into her, knocking her down.
"Give me your eyeballs!" The ghost roared as it reached for her face, "pretty blue eyes! I need them!" Winter grimaced and blasted him off, quickly getting to her feet to continue running. No matter how many spirits she blasted, more showed up. They leaked from the floor, the walls, from thin air even, and she couldn't stop them. For every one she destroyed, four more appeared nearby.
The Circle transformed again, this time becoming the inside of a circus tent. Winter's eyes widened and she screeched to a halt before she fell off the platform she'd appeared on. She activated her magic without a second thought and flew over the gap to the other platform. Fire flew from tubes all around her, but she deflected them easily. When she landed her reality warped again, becoming what looked like the inside of a parliament building that was in session.
"It is decided!" Someone standing before the crowd said. "Let it be known that we, the people, have decided we will eat Winter alive and pick our teeth with her bones!" Her eyes widened as the entire parliament erupted out of their seats and barreled down on her. This was absurd.
"Ice Make: Dragon Brigade!" Using her other form of magic, ice dragons exploded from her hands and were propelled forward with her God Slayer Magic, consuming the ghosts and giving her time to run for the door and enter a completely different place, this one being an arena. The seats around her were filled with ghosts. They jeered at her as she ran to the center of the arena, looking around in confusion.
"On one side of the arena, we have Winter Vastia!" Someone shouted, "and on the other side, countless ravenous killers! Let the games begin!" A bell rang in the distance, and the gate opposite her opened to let more spirits stream into the arena. The crowd cheered as they did so, holding up signs to cheer them on like 'you guys are gonna KILL it!' or 'The killers are so good, the opposition may as well kill themselves!" It was so ridiculous, Winter almost forgot she was in danger.
"I've had just about enough of this," she grumbled as the ghosts charged her. Bringing her hands together in a sphere, a ball of wind began to cloud there.
"God Slayer Secret Art!: Zephyr's Sanctuary!"
The sphere of air exploded from her enclosed hands and flew outwards, the wall of God Slayer magic shaving the spirits away as it expanded around them. As it did so, it wiped away all the spirits in the crowd, the arena, even the Circle itself. She could faintly hear screaming from outside her sanctuary, but ignored it. Soon her spell completed itself. Once it did, she saw that the Circle had disappeared with in, leaving only a bare rock surface within as chaos reigned outside. Somehow, Thanatos had ended up inside her barrier, mumbling to himself incoherently. Winter sighed and raised a hand, her fingers glowing.
"Heal him, Zephyr," she said. Responding to her will, the sanctuary dispersed healing magic within it's domain. The magic glowed it the air as it began to swirl around Thanatos' face, gealing his self-inflicted wounds. Winter's magic within the Sanctuary was so absolute that the skin of his face knit back together, and his nose grew back out to it's prior length, like it had never left. After this, the fog in his eyes began to disperse, leaving him looking confused as her magic faded away.
"What..." He asked slowly, reaching up to feel his face. "What just happened?"
"Archos had you," Winter replied, a hand on her hip. "Made you tear your own nose off."
"I-I remember that," he stuttered, "but you healed me? Why?"
"Because I figured having your help would be better than not having it," she answered. "Don't get any wrong ideas, though. You try to kill Archos, I kill you." Thanatos made a face at this.
"You think you can stop me?" He asked. Winter did not offer a verbal reply. Instead, the winds of her barrier howled angrily, making Thanatos eye it warily. "Point taken," he said. "Have you even seen Archos yet?"
"No, and that's part of the problem," she admitted. "I've attacked both spirits and the Circle itself, but he's a no show. Any ideas?"
"No, but I'm not surprised," he said. "Archos loves nothing more than people's minds deteriorating. He'd watch us for a thousand years without doing a thing if it meant we'd lose our minds because of it. So, how can we contend with that?" Winter frowned and crossed her arms, looking around as if she'd find an answer.
"Do you think we can goad him out?" She asked.
"How do you suppose we do that."
"We could offer up our souls if we lose."
"What?" Thanatos demanded, "are you insane? In what world do we win that bet?"
"One thing at a time please," she replied. "Getting him to reveal himself is the only way forward we have." Thanatos sighed at this, rubbing his eyes. Somehow, that made her even more annoyed with him.
"Okay, so what do we even say?" He asked, "Ask him to place a bet with us?" Winter smiled a little as a plan formed in her mind.
"Just follow my lead," she said. Without waiting for a response, Winter lowered the roof the the Sanctuary to open it back up to the Circle. The madness threatened to intrude inside, but the walls kept it at bay when it tried. "Archos!" She shouted, "can you hear me?"
"I hear you. Autumn Heartbreak!" Archos replied giddily. "What's up, pretty lady?"
"Want to make a bet with me?" She asked him, Thanatos sighing beside her.
"A bet?" Archos asked, "ooh, humans who lose bets are so funny to watch! All mad and stuff, acting like it's so ridiculous a game of chance could be lost! What kind of bet?"
"I want you to reveal yourself, so we can fight," she said. "And if you win, Thanatos and I will offer up our souls as retribution. You can torture us for the rest of time, as you see fit until we lose our minds."
"Oooh! I like this bet!" Archos said gleefully. "But a bet is only a bet when both sides are at risk! What do you want in return?"
"If we win, I want you to let me seal you!" She declared, raising the arm that had been tattooed by Anhkseram. "I'll seal you in here so you can't leave without a takeover wizard using your power!"
"A good one, a good one!" Archos said, "is that what you want too, Thanny-Sanny?"
"If I win, let me kill you," he said. Winter cast an angry glare at him, but he gave it right back to her.
"I love it, I lose it!" Archos shouted. "A bet with all lives on the line! Oh these are so good when the humans lose! Lower your pretty barrier Spring Fog, and I'll show myself so we can begin!"
"See?" Winter asked Thanatos, "told you I could get him to come out."
"Yeah great work, now we have to fight him." Thanatos remarked. "Great job." Winter ignored him and raised her hands, lowering the walls of the Sanctuary around them. The madness did not rush to consume them, so she could only assume Archos was keeping his side of the bargain. Once the barrier was fully down, she heard a light-hearted giggle echo around them.
"Please prepare yourselves, sillies!" Archos called, "my form is not easy to comprehend!" Winter didn't know what exactly to expect, but given what she'd seen so far she did her best to steel her nerves. She heard someone approach them from behind, so she turned to look.
What she saw was not able to be understood.
Standing before them, towering over them at eight feel tall, was a figure. She struggled to say it was humanoid, but it was. It had two legs and arms, but what they actually looked like she could not tell. Every millisecond she spent trying to discern what they looked like, their form shifted. Covering the confusing and shifting body was a chest-plate of armor, at least she hoped it was. It looked like real human skin, complete with nipples and everything. From his back a massive, reptilian tail made of glass was swinging back and forth, and inside the glass Winter could see human could screaming silently, slamming their fists desperately against the glass in a vain attempt to escape. His wings were barely visible, as if they were made of magic, but every time they flapped screams echoed around him. Were they made of tormented voices? This was horrific.
But worst of all, was his face. If you could call it that.
Archos' face was not a face, bur rather a void of darkness where the occasional human feature could be seen. Eyes, mouths, noses, ears, all swirled inside this void, peeking out at seemingly random intervals. From the few seconds she was able to watch, no feature reappeared after it disappeared back into the murky depths of the void.
Simply gazing upon him made her head hurt.
Winter diverted her gaze when she heard voices telling her to go home and kill her father.
"IT's haRd To Look, I kNOw!" Archos said, and Winter nearly puked. Gone was the gleefu, child-like voice he had used before. The tone he produced now was a screaming symphony of different tones and voices. Every syllable of every word had a different intonation and tone to them. His words were on the cusp of indiscernible, bordering on the inane. She was certain he was making himself easier to understand, he just had to be. How could it be worse than this?
"W-What the hell are you?" Thanatos asked weakly.
"WELL THat'S ruDe! You knOW it'S mE! IT'S arcHOS! YOu told me TO shOW up aND EVERYthing!"
"Yeah yeah sure, just stop talking," Winter insisted. "Please." Archos made a sound that Winter could only assume was supposed to be displeasure, but she couldn't tell.
"NO matter! you MAdE A bet! Let'S seE How long yoU Last!" Winter's eyes widened at this, and she looked back at the monstrosity to see him raising a hand.
"What're you-?!"
"MaDNEs INcarnATE!"
Winter's world went black, the monstrous Demon Lord fading from view.
She woke up being stabbed.
Winter's eyes snapped open as she felt a blade shred through her intestines, a scream erupting from her lips as it did. Lifting her head, she looked down to see her own mother stabbing her, her eyes manic.
"Mom?!" She asked incredulously as the woman took the blade out of her stomach. "W-What are you doing?!" Her Mom watched her with an emoty glare, barely a hint of herself in her eyes.
"Purging the evil from inside you," she said.
The blade was plunged back into her stomach. Winter screamed as her Mother ripped through her flesh with the knife, cutting her like she would a slab of meat. Winter could feel her skin and flesh ripping as the serrated blade tore her apart, skin stuck to the blade as she did so. After cutting a decent sized hole into her, Winter watched in horror as her Mother reached into her and grabbed her intestines, ripping them out. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that she could do nothing but scream. She could do nothing but watch as her Mother carved her into pieces, slicing into her and ripping her organs out. She grabbed a hold of one of her ribs, and Winter felt it snap into two. After a while, her screams no longer felt real. Like they existed separate from her. The pain had overrode literally every other sense and part of Winter that existed. She felt like her entire existence was hinged on the pain she was feeling. It was so horrific that she couldn't believe she had existed prior to this.
"No no, no good," Her Mother said as she stood up. She had been carved into pieces and her limbs lopped off, leaving her an empty husk on the floor, just barely alive. "The evil is still in there, I haven't gotten it out. I must try again."
The feeling of Sky God Slayer Magic washed over Winter, and she could feel her body melding back together. Her limbs reattached themselves, her organs returned to her, and her skin meshed together. As she was healed. Winter could feel herself coming back, returning to being an actual person as oppose to a vessel for pain.
"Mom..." She managed to wheeze, writhing against her restraints on her arms and legs. "Let me go, please. Don't do this!"
"I have to!" She replied, "I have to get the devil out of you, honey! It's the only way to save you!"
"No, don't listen to Archos! Don't do what he say-?!"
The blade was plunged back into her stomach, and she screamed again.
Winter had no way of knowing at that time, but the horror she experienced had only taken place over about thirty seconds. However, inside Archos' magic, about twenty years of time passed. Winter was tortured, maimed, and murdered for twenty straight years by her own Mother. Archos had created this spell specifically to drive her mad, to cause her to snap and become a husk of herself.
And he succeeded, at a terrible cost.
God Slayer Magic, like all Lost Magic, extracted a terrible cost from the user. Whereas some lost magic, like Arc of Time or Embodiment took aspects or certain things from the user, Lost Slayer Magic caused the users to become what they wanted to kill.
Dragon Slayer Magic caused the caster to eventually become a Dragon, unless they received antibodies from actual Dragons.
Devil Slayer Magic caused the caster to become a Demon, unless they could go through a purification ritual and defeat the demon within.
But what of God Slayers? Did they become Gods?
Of course not. At least, not at first they didn't.
It was not a documented side-effect, as all God Slayers living had never been pushed to the brink of their minds. Never been pushed so hard they broke. All but one. One who was long dead. One who Zeref himself had killed.
Zancrow of Grimiore Heart was the only God Slayer to have his magic exact a cost from him. He was the only one who pushed himself, and his magic, over the edge and have a price taken from him.
His humanity.
All who knew Zancrow could tell you that he was a little crazy. A little psychotic. What they didn't know was that this was the cost of God Slayer Magic. Too gain even crazier power, God Slayer Magic took from you your humanity. It took what made you human, and replaced it with power. Raw, unfiltered, immortal slaying power.
Winter Vastia had just cascaded over this edge and fallen into the abyss. And when she stared deep enough, the depths of magic stared back at her.
But how much would her Magic take from her before it was all said and done?
The spell Madness Incarnate was shattered, freeing Winter and Thanatos. Thanatos collapsed to the ground in a muttering heap, unable to move.
Winter landed on her feet, magic glowing from her form. her eyes were glued to the ground, and Archos watched her warily. He said nothing, waiting in anticipation to see if she had lost her mind and would join his ranks.
What happened instead was Winter roaring at the top of her lungs.
All the air in the Circle was absorbed in an instant. Had Thanatos not been right beside her, he probably would have ended up suffocating. Archos obviously didn't need to breathe, so it didn't effect him. As the air was absorbed, Winter glowed brighter and brighter. This light was nothing at first, but soon it started to burn at Archos' nondescript face.
"WHat is this?" Archos asked, raising a hand to his face. "WhAt are you dOING?" Winter did not reply, she didn't have the mental fprtitude remaining to complete a thought, much less a sentence. What she did know, however, was that Archos needed to go. She sub-consciously reactivated Zephyr's Sanctuary as she did, the healing magic engulfing her and Thanatos. She did not notice that part.
"If I was allowed to kill you," Winter growled, "I would. You existing is a blight on the world! But seeing as I'm only allowed to seal you here, I'll do just that! AFTER I BEAT YOU TO A PULP!"
Winter was pushed into the air by gale force winds, flying into Archos' face without a second lapsing. She raised her open palm, where a miniature cyclone had formed.
"Infinitus Tempestas!"
The cyclone exploded outwards and engulfed Archos, tearing through the madness of the Fifth Circle as it flew. Winter took a brief moment to inhale more air before she launched after him, catching up in the blink of an eye. She positioned herself above Archos, raising her hand again.
"Boreas' Fury!" Dozens of tornado's flew forth, catching Archos and flinging him around like a rag doll. One caught him up above and send him hurtling towards the earth, where Winter was already waiting for him.
"Notus' Heatwave!" Super-heated gales of wind Winter's back, catching Archos as he fell and flinging him horizontally. The heat the gale exuded burned off his chest-plate, leaving his chest exposed. Winter spared no thought to wonder what lay beneath, raising her hands again.
"Eurus' Typhoon!" The winds changed again, this time a massive, swirling vortex of air engulfed the Circle and Archos, spinning him around at speeds unmatched by any other wind in the world. Archos was but a blur as he spun round and round, his laugh echoing as he did. This pissed Winter off. She'd had enough of this asshole.
Time for the main event.
Winter opened her mouth and inhaled. When she did, all the air and ether-nano within the Fifth Circle raced towards her. She engulfed every drop of both in the entire space she was in, magic surging through her veins. Archos had been pulled towards her by this, his face not showing any hint of emotion. Winter supposed it was hard to look surprised when you had no face. But all she cared about in that moment was erasing Archos' existence.
"Sky God Slayer Ascended Art!" She roared, the words tumbling from her mouth like she'd done this before. She clenched her fists and pooled all the air and magic she had absorbed into her right hand. After she had gathered all her strength, she threw a punch and spoke her spell into existence.
"Aeolus' Impact!"
To describe what followed as an explosion would be an understatement. The magic and air that erupted from her knuckles as they hit the void of Archos' face could have rivalled the strongest wizards of any age. The magic and wind exploded outwards in a show of force that could have beaten down even Fairy Tail's strongest if they were hit in the right circumstances. The explosion ripped away every shred of madness that remained in the Circle, leaving them in a blank white void as the wind carved through existence itself as it tore Archos apart. Winter had absorbed so much magic and energy, the spell she unleashed was as powerful as even a hit from END.
And then, just as it started, it ended.
The explosion tore the Circle asunder, Archos disappeared, and Winter landed softly on the ground all in an instant. She was panting from the exertion, but she quickly inhaled the air she'd just expended to heal herself back to perfect condition. She knew this wasn't over.
A laugh tore through the white background.
"InsANe!" Archos shouted, reappearing before her, His body was bleeding golden blood, his unclear face and limbs flickering weakly. "YOU'Re insane, WINTER vastia! NO ONE else in ten THOUsaND YEARS haS acHeiVED tHe fINAl form of GoD Slayer Magic!"
"Is that what you call this ass-kicking?" Winter demanded, noticing a reverberation in her voice.
"that IS the finAL foRM Of God slAYERS!" Archos repeated. "onLY ZaNCROW EvEr got clOSE! YOu'vE ACTivAted AsCENsion!"
"Ascension?" She asked. Now that she actually thought about it for a second, she felt different. Powerful beyond anything she had ever felt before. This was actually an insane feeling Who could stop her now? She felt invincible! "Thanks for letting me know. Now I can use it to beat your ass and seal you."
Magic flowed through Winter's body, and she formed them into wings of dark wind behind her back. A dark halo of magic surrounded her head from shoulder to shoulder, her clothes shredding to pieces. However, she was never naked, as magic coated her body in a dark sheet and glowing white lines to highlight them, waving up and down her body. This was what God Slayer Magic was capable of? Why had she never pushed this far before? She was unstoppable.
"You've wasted enough of my time," she said, the reverberation in her voice having grown more angelic. "It's time to show you what happens when you disrespect me." Archos laughed manically as she said this, clapping his hands together. He then raise a hand to his face, and the void of his face morphed into an actual face. Winter growled when she saw her Mother's face be stolen by the demon.
"You don't realize what you've done, have you?" He asked her with a giggle. Winter wanted to rip him apart for defiling her mother's sweet voice. . "Ascension starts God Slayer's down the path of consequence! You won't notice any changes right away, but you will soon! Insane, you're insane!"
"Only one of us is insane," Winter replied. "And it's not me." Archos just laughed again.
"Show me this strength! He shouted, "show me the insane strength of Ascension!"
Archos flapped his near-invisible wings, shooting towards her. Winter did not even move as she took hold of the winds, shoving them in Archos' face and slowing him down. He barely slowed, but it was enough for her to raise her fist and funnel winds behind her elbow, shooting it to match Archos' own blow. Dark magic and wind magic clashed, an explosion sounding around them as they fought. She and Archos exchanged hundreds of blows, both matching each other tit for tat. The insanity he exuded was washed away by the wind, his laughter swirling around her like a hurricane. After every hundred blows, Winter inhaled deeply and replenished her magic. She'd need all of it to win.
Wrapping the winds around the Demon Lord's waist, she pulled him away from her and flung him down into the earth. The gale followed him, slamming into his back and carving away at the white void he was crashing into. Winter raised her fists together and aimed them at him, a tornado forming around them.
"Skiron's Cyclone!" The cyclone fired from her hands and connected with Archos, and when it connected with the downward gale hammering him, the winds exploded against one another and sent him flying. He righted himself quickly and raised a hand, darkness forming around it. Winter responded by throwing another category five storm at him, watching it barrel towards him.
"Madness of Magic!"
The storm she'd thrown careened off course and flew into the distance, a maniacal laugh following it. Winter watched it go quietly, calculating what had happened. She quickly deduced that he had somehow applied his insanity to the magic itself. Normally she'd have had no idea how he'd done that, but he was a Demon Lord. Anything was possible at this point. She could see that Archos was about to start talking nonsense again, so she blinked beside him in an instant and trapped him in a tornado,
"Don't speak to me," she spat venomously, "you'll poison my ears with your voice." The winds whipped harder, shredding away at Archos' skin, which made his golden blood mix with the wind and give it a glow to it then made Winter feel much better about herself. Archos crossed his arms within the tornado and began shaking, and within moments broke free from it and grabbed at Winter, who dodged his grasp and punched him in the side of the head, making him tumble through the air laughing. Winter growled at the sound of his voice, the glow of her halo intensifying.
"Crazy girl doesn't know!" He said gleefully, "she doesn't know that every second she spends like this is one second closer to death!"
"You're the one who's in danger of dying!" Winter shouted angrily. "Just shut up and let me seal you!"
"I may be crazy, but not that crazy!" He replied, raising both hands and aiming at her. "You're the one who's going to regret this, not me!" Winter narrowed her eyes.
"I suppose I should hurry this up then, huh?" She asked. Opening her mouth, Winter inhaled more air. Her magic ballooned as she did so, and she felt another pair of wings grow from her back. However, this time they shone a white light instead of black. Archos giggled.
"You're getting really close now!" He said, "better be careful, before you go where you aren't allowed!"
"Don't talk," Winter replied. "It sours my victory." Her power had jumped to another level, and so when she blew a breeze towards Archos, she de-materialized into it and reappeared next to him.
"GƵϷᕓ ƓƼᕓ ƵԖΛ▍ Ц▍ՆП ƼԖΛĦ Ө┍Ϻ╥Ħ"
The words that left Winter's mouth were incomprehensible to the mortal mind, but her intentions were made clear. With a flick her her wrist, every molecule of oxygen in Archos' body was taken away. The Demon Lord's body shriveled up and his skin turned dark, his body falling towards the ground. Winter fell with him, watching as the disgusting husk hit the ground and didn't move.
"What I wouldn't give to be able to wipe your wretched existence from this world," she said. Her voice was even more reverberated, sounding barely human. "But that's not what my job is, so prepare to be trapped her for all time." Winter raised the arm that had been blessed by Anhkseram, the tattoos glowing.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Winter froze as a male voice echoed around her, A booming and commanding tone. She turned to look over her shoulder, a floating green orb being the origin of the voice.
"...W-What?" She asked weakly.
"You're about to trespass into the world of the Gods. Turn back before your soul is torn asunder. LEAVE!"
Her power blinked out of existence, disappearing completely from her body. Winter collapsed into a heap beside Archos, gasping for air as her entire being screamed. It felt as though every bit of magic within her was tearing into her soul. Trying desperately to heal herself, Winter gasped more and inhaled more air, using it to heal herself slowly. Archos laughed weakly beside her as she did.
"The ultimate cost of God Slayer Magic," he wheezed. "Trespassing into immortality and being torn to shreds by angry God's. It's insane that you were spared. I guess everybody get's one, huh?"
Winter had no air in her lungs, so she couldn't respond.
"You'll become addicted to that feeling," Archos continued. "Addicted to the power Ascension granted you, and you'll push further and further...And when you cross that line again, into the immortal realm, you won't be able to survive again. But you will, because you're insane." Winter managed to turn her head to look at the Demon Lord, an saw that he had recovered a bit from her spell, trying to sit up. He turned to her, and his face morphed into hers.
"I can't wait to see you come down to my Circle some day," he said, "we'll have so much fun I-"
Thanatos rammed a blade deep into Archos' neck from behind, Winter's eyes widening.
The Child of Nyx had come from nowhere, neither of them prepared to stop. him. The blade ripped open Archos' neck, golden ichor splashing his front and side as Thanatos nearly decapitated him. The man fell from slipping on the blood, landing on his face with a laugh.
"I killed you, you sick son of a bitch!" Thanatos shouted, raising his head. Winter could see the deranged look in his eye. He was still be affected by Archos' spell from before. Archos tried desperately to get his blood back in his neck, but it was to no avail. His body was blackening and shrivelling up, towards the slash wound.
"...What have you done?" He asked weakly, still earing Winter's face. "...You're insane."
The Demon Lord of Madness and Insanity disappeared, a red essence flowing into Thanatos' blade. Winter wanted to know the answer to that question as well.
Far away from the Circles, far away from Fairy Tail or anyone related to them, was a psychiatric hospital. This hospital in particular dealt with those were needed mental help and had dangerous magic, so all of the rooms were prepared to deal with outbursts.
And within one of those rooms, a certain patient fell on his face and died.
His name was trapped within the logs of the hospital, most of the Doctors not even knowing it by heart. He had died forgotten and alone, because of Archos. Maybe most would not miss this Demon Lord.
Three had fallen. Two were safe. And six needed to die to awaken Zomrus.
So I realized pretty quick while writing this chapter that I had no idea how to write a battle with 'Insanity' Magic, so most of it revolved around different spells he actually managed to hit. Well, that and expanding God Slayer lore. All in all, I had to re-plan this chapter a few times. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!