Year X381, Summer.
6 years after Natsu's revival.
…
12-year-old Natsu read a book on the side of the field within the Belserion clan's estate. Meters away from him in the middle of the field, Erza continued her lesson with a Dragnof kingdom instructor that her mother personally chose.
Erza walked over to him while wiping away her sweat with a towel after the session ended.
"I don't get it. How is learning to fight supposed to help your magic?" Natsu looked up from his book as Erza drank from the pitcher of water that one of her attendants left behind.
As the princess it was a requirement on her end to have attendants serving her. She could shake them off when on academy grounds due to it being a private campus, but that excuse fell flat when she was at the clan estate.
"Because that's what swords and armor were meant for. If I want to learn more about my aptitude, then I need to learn how to fight." Erza explained while requipping to a clean set of clothes.
She picked up on the convenient Requip Magic once she learned of its existence. Changing outfits had never been so easy for the young princess of Dragnof. Unfortunately for her, Requip Magic didn't apply to makeup. Erza still had to be prepared by her attendants for events the normal way.
"It's the same reason you keep reading up on magical theory."
Natsu blinked. In hindsight, that made a lot of sense.
Suddenly, the air in front of them shimmered. The veil slowly shifted until the queen of Dragnof appeared.
"Mom!" Erza's annoyed outburst came.
"Hello, dear." Irene smiled at her daughter.
"Didn't I tell you to stop spying on us." Erza pouted.
"Oh, but you two are so cute together!" The queen waved her hand side-to-side nonchalantly. "Aside from that, I actually have a reason for scrying you this time. I need to talk to Natsu."
"Hmm?" The dark-haired boy perked up.
"Will you come to the castle? I need to talk with you and Zeref."
"I didn't do something wrong this time…right?" Natsu gulped.
The past few years in the academy didn't go as smoothly as hoped. Natsu found himself in the middle of politics when the nobles and aristocrats tried gaining Erza's favor. More than a few boys assumed that Natsu was a suitor just like many of them were.
And if not them, then it was Erza's fanclub who tried to scare him away from staying near her.
"No, none of that kind of problem. This is something different. Official business." The queen assured him.
"Okay, I'll go right away." Natsu stood up. The veil shimmered away, leaving the two children alone.
"You know, most people would be treating my mother with more respect." Erza commented after Natsu's casual reply. "Not everyone gets to talk with the queen privately."
"But she keeps telling me to call her mo-" Natsu's mouth was covered by her hand before he finished the sentence.
"Don't. Don't call her that."
Erza's face burned red while looking away.
"Why?" Her hand didn't stop Natsu's muffled question.
"It's humiliating! Don't you understand?!" She hissed.
Was that steam coming from the top of her head?
The confused expression on Natsu's face told Erza that he didn't.
"...nevermind. Let's just go to the castle."
…
The trip to the castle was fast. The awkward atmosphere from Erza slowly disappeared the closer they came to their destination, replaced by a thoughtful one as she wondered what project her mother had for Natsu this time.
When Irene Belserion called Natsu for official business, it was usually to help on small magical projects that needed a touch of Zeref's assistance. Natsu's brother was involved in Dragnof's magical development, being sent all over the country by the queen to oversee many projects.
Just like the brilliant Zeref, Natsu was becoming more and more like him.
It was honestly impressive how talented Natsu was with magic. Erza had her mother's guidance and lessons everyday. Natsu was more self-reliant on that field, many times being left notes by his brother Zeref for him to study on his own. Erza was better at picking up theory, but throw Natsu at practical application and he would come out with better results.
The both of them were like night and day when it came to approaching magic. Natsu did it for fun while Erza believed it crucial to her future as the princess of Dragnof.
"Princess." The knights outside the throne room thumped their halberds once they appeared.
"Good afternoon." She acknowledged their greetings with a nod of her own.
The grand doors opened and they were met with two figures.
"Nii-san!" Natsu rushed forward.
"Hi Natsu." Zeref laughed as he received the tackle from his little brother.
Erza smiled from her position by the door before she walked into the room. Zeref would be gone for weeks to months at a time and return after he completed another assignment from her mother. She was the same to her father whenever he returned from trips outside the kingdom.
"Good, everyone's here." The queen willed the throne room doors to close. "I've called you both here for an important project."
Erza's assumption was right. It was another project.
"Zeref, Natsu, are either of you aware of the Nirvit clan?" Irene Belserion asked the two brothers.
Natsu's blank face betrayed his lack of knowledge on them.
"They're a large roaming clan of mages on Ishgar." Zeref answered for the two of them.
The Nirvit were a fairly renowned clan on the continent. They had been around for hundreds of years, even older than the kingdom of Dragnof. In this day and age, that in itself was an accomplishment. Especially when most of the continent were under the contro
"The Nirvit reached out to all kingdoms for a large project. The biggest one in Ishgar to this day." Irene waved her hand to cast an image. A picture of a large spider-like structure appeared in the air. "Project Nirvana…a moving magical city built for the nomadic people of Nirvit."
Erza blinked in wonder. She had seen some of the projects Natsu and Zeref worked on. At best they were the size of buildings or larger to spread out the magical arrays. This project was beyond just the size of a building.
Wait…did her mother just say moving city?
"You're sending us to help." Zeref cut to the chase.
"Indeed. All human kingdoms on the continent are sending materials and mages to help in the construction of Nirvana." The queen of Dragnof confirmed.
It was extremely rare for humans to expand. Much of the wild was well, wild. Magical beasts, dragons, and other races didn't like it when humans popped up where they weren't supposed to be- leading to a few expansion waves failing.
The concept of establishing a moving city like Nirvana would give the humans available space to expand to without having to fight the other races on Ishgar. It won't be another kingdom, but still a step forward nonetheless.
"A project of this scale will take years." Erza realized. "Wait, if you're sending Natsu and Zeref then…"
"Yes Erza, they won't be in Dragnof for several years. I want them to focus on Nirvana until the city is finished." Irene looked at her daughter sadly. Her daughter had really grown close to Natsu in the past few years. She understood that sending him away from Dragnof would make Erza sad.
Erza looked at the floor. "...can I go?" She asked.
"Oh sweetie…" Irene left her throne and wrapped her arms around Erza. "I know you want to stay with Natsu, but I need you to stay here and study…" She was educating Erza to become her successor to the throne. The princess needed to continue building her relations with future subjects and allies.
"I know…" Erza looked away dejectedly.
"We can come visit them when we check on Nirvana's progress every year." Irene offered while holding her daughter's hands.
"...okay."
It was not a bad suggestion all things considered. Erza would be able to come visit Natsu while they were building Nirvana.
.
.
.
Zeref moved the rest of his and Natsu's bags into a storage seal he kept.
"So…you'll be leaving for a few years." The 16-year-old doctor-in-training repeated.
The last few years of his life were like a dream. Joining the two brothers on their trip to the capital of Dragnof, passing and enrolling into the magical academy, and studying medicine. All of it wouldn't be possible if he had not met them.
"The queen wants us to work on a large-scale project outside Dragnof." Zeref repeated. "I'll make sure to visit you when I come to the capital."
Acnologia crossed his arms. The teenaged student was becoming one of the emerging talents in Dragnof's medical circles. Most of his potential was honed through hard work and studies, but Zeref's occasional assistance gave him a different level of understanding when it came to medicine and health.
He really owed a lot to the Black Wizard.
"I'll make sure to take care of the house until you and Natsu return." Acnologia smiled. "When you come back, I'll be a doctor treating dragons and humans."
"I'll look forward to it." Zeref grinned. "I might come to you for help if I need it in the future."
Zeref's seal on his Black Arts was beginning to corrode. Not that it was in any danger of collapsing yet, he made sure not to use Black Arts since Natsu's revival. Without any reason to use it, the magic didn't have any chance to grow. Still, the potency of the art was enough to slowly burn through the protective measures he put in place.
Good thing his next upgrade to the seal was ready.
"Me? Help you in the future? You must be joking." Acnologia laughed. "The day I help you would be the day the world ends."
Zeref hid the sad truth behind the smile he presented. Acnologia didn't know how true those words were. Zered hoped that his efforts to cultivate the man's Healing Arts would one day sprout into a powerful magic that would be able to hinder the effects of his Black Arts.
Acnologia did not know it, but the assistance Zeref gave him was in theory the opposite of the Black Arts he learned. It should combat the influence of his Black Arts just like Natsu's Etherious Nature.
"Who knows? You're certainly making a name for yourself now."
Just another preventive measure in place should Zeref lose control over his power.
…
While Zeref bade Acnologia goodbye, Natsu was getting his own version from Erza.
Irene hid her smile behind her fan as she watched Erza lump book after book into his arms.
"...and here's another one for advanced transformation…"
"D-do I really need all this…?" Natsu swallowed while carrying the large stack of books.
"Hmph! You're going to help build a city right? You should at least read this much. Besides, half of them are for your magical lessons too. I don't want you slacking off while I'm not around."
Erza was really laying it thick on him.
Oh who was her daughter kidding? Irene could see that she really cared for Natsu. She would tease her all about it, but Erza really didn't see Natsu in that way. They were just friends. Very close friends.
For now, at least.
Ufufufu…
Who knew what the future would hold.
"Erza, aren't you forgetting about something?" The queen egged her daughter on. "A special goodbye gift that's not a book?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Irene Belserion raised an eyebrow mirthfully at Erza who looked confused.
"Something he won't forget?"
"Oh, right!"
Irene smiled giddily. She was going to mark this memory in her mind forever! Erza's first ki-
"Natsu look what I learned!" Erza held out her palm.
"[Concept] Blade!"
A small incorporeal dagger formed on the top of her hand. It held it's form for about a second before it disappeared.
Natsu froze. He didn't feel anything happen, yet suddenly something appeared in the space above her hand. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't created with magic.
"That…that isn't-"
"Nope. It isn't." Erza grinned. "And if you want to know how, then you need to listen to me."
"What? How?!"
"Clue: it's connected to our magical aptitude. So if you work on yours, then you'd be able to do something similar."
Irene blinked. How had her daughter missed the mark so badly?
Sigh.
Okay, maybe her daughter didn't catch on to her suggestion earlier. Nevermind, there were more chances in the future.
For now, she'd let the two children say their goodbyes.
When Natsu heard that they were going as part of the Dragnof Kingdom delegation, he thought they would be a team of scientists and engineers.
They were much much more than that.
Their delegation numbered in the thousands. Scientists and mages were just a small part of it. Dragnof sent farmers, hunters, craftsmen, builders, and even dragons to guard the expeditionary group as they made their way to the chosen project site for Nirvana.
It took them a month to reach it.
When they arrived, the venue was bustling with activity. Some delegations from the other kingdoms arrived earlier and had set up shop around the mountain.
Why a mountain?
Because they were going to use the mountain to carve out the city's core. Full of minerals and rock, it was the perfect material to form the main body and legs of the mobile city. The mountain will carry the city's foundation until it becomes strong enough to hold its own weight. From there, it was a matter of creating a magic system that would enable the city to move on its own.
"Woah…there's so many people." Natsu realized when his eyes laid on the project site from atop his and Zeref's wagon.
"We're just the first wave. More people and resources will come over the next few years as we continue." Zeref explained. A project of this scale needed constant manpower and materials to accomplish.
"How did the Nirvit even get the kingdoms to support a project this big? What did they offer in return?" Natsu wondered.
"Hmmm…I have a few guesses."
Something was amiss. Zeref felt the weird undertone that the queen tried to hide. There was more to the creation of Nirvana than it would seem. The human kingdoms rarely collaborated together with the exception of trade, each one preferred to use their resources to develop their country.
Zeref was going to have to dig around for answers.
…
The Dragnof contingent settled on their pre-arranged section of the site and began to set up camp. Project Nirvana had not officially begun in any capacity because the Nirvit were waiting for the last kingdom to arrive. While the Nirvit clan had the idea, it would be down to the architects to plan how to build the city step by step. For all parties to be on the same page, architects from each side had to be part of the planning stage.
In the meantime, each kingdom's contingent busied themselves with creating log houses, smithies, and other necessary infrastructure for the long term project.
"Natsu."
"Hmm?" Natsu perked. They had just finished storing clothes and simple possessions in the small room they were given for the time being. The carpenters were creating temporary housing for everyone before they started on creating the large community dormitories.
"Let's go meet with the Nirvit clan. It would be nice to know our clients for the foreseeable future."
That sounded like a good idea.
The two brothers made their way through the camp in the direction of the Nirvit clan section of the site. When Natsu saw them, he didn't really see anything that made them stand out from the rest.
"I thought that they'd be special." He commented.
"They're not much different from you and I, though you could say they have their own unique brand of magic, just like everyone." Zeref answered.
Some of the Nirvit clan mages spotted Zeref and Natsu approaching. Their group quickly moved to meet them.
"Greetings to the esteemed Black Wizard." The head of the group bowed his head followed by the others. "We are indebted to the Dragnof Kingdom for sending you to help us."
Zeref's constant appearance all over Dragnof only cemented the rumor that the Black Wizard had entered some sort of agreement with the Kingdom of Dragnof.
"It was my pleasure. It is not everyday that one gets specifically requested to help with a project of this scale." Zeref expressed his opinion. Irene Belserion had mentioned that the Nirvit were extremely keen to get him on the project for his input.
"We look forward to working with you and the kingdoms to accomplish this monumental task." The leader smiled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Roubaul, the current chief of the Nirvit."
"I am also looking forward to this project. It would be quite the eye-opener for me and my brother." Zeref introduced Natsu. "This is Natsu, just like me, he is quite fascinated by all things magical."
"Hooo?" The elder's eyes widened considerably. "We were not aware the Black Wizard had a little brother!" The man reached out to shake Natsu's hands eagerly. "My dearest apologies for not recognizing the connection sooner! You must understand that your brother's fame has spread far and wide for some time. I am quite shocked to learn he had a little brother."
Natsu heard some of the stories around his older brother when they were at Dragnof. He didn't know his brother had accomplished so much before then. First as a prodigy hailing from the Mildian Magic Academy and his following achievements after leaving the academy. Before he learned about his brother's reputation, Natsu wondered why Zeref had been sought out by the queen of Dragnof when they first appeared in the capital some years ago.
"It's also a pleasure to meet you sir." Natsu defaulted to Erza's lessons when meeting new people. It was always better to play it safe.
"What a respectful brother you have here, Zeref. He will grow into a fine young man in the future." Roubaul chuckled. "I presume you are here to meet with the Nirvit elders?"
"Indeed." Zeref confirmed. The chief of the Nirvit was right on the mark. "I'd like to get an early preview of what the Nirvit have in plans before the last kingdom's delegation arrives."
Zeref would prefer to get some ideas of what they were going to work on before the Nirvit became swamped with more work. Once the project begins, the Nirvit elders will be too busy managing everyone to answer his questions.
"Of course. Please, come this way." Raobaul beckoned them to follow him.
…
"So, Natsu. What do you think about the Nirvit clan?"
"They're plans are cool!" Natsu smiled. The magical blueprints he and Zeref saw were just as impressive as the projects in Dragnof. Who knew a wandering clan of mages were this sophisticated.
"That is to be expected. They must be capable in order to survive outside of the kingdoms in such large numbers."
The Nirvit clan numbered in the tens of thousands. That was enough people to start a city. The implication of how strong the clan was to keep moving around in the wilderness while being independent from the cities just settled on Natsu.
"Just how strong are they?" Natsu wondered.
"Strong enough to get all the kingdoms to support them on Project Nirvana. That Roubaul chief is quite impressive." Zeref smiled. "Maybe even better than me and Irene."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Natsu blinked in confusion. Surely there was nobody as good as his older brother…well maybe aside from Erza's mom. At some point, it was inevitable for the two friends with a competitive streak not to compare family. Erza dragged Natsu to one of her lessons with her mother, and in return, Natsu dragged Erza to his with Zeref.
"You can feel it when people perform magic around you, right?"
"Yeah. I can feel everything."
Natsu's etherious senses became well-honed with Zeref's training. It was part of the reason why he picked up on lessons quickly in the academy. Watching the professors manipulate their magic in real time allowed Natsu to see them and deconstruct how to replicate the spell. He could pick up most spells after watching it the first time.
It was also why he was commonly requested as an assistant for the research branch back at Dragnof. That was when he wasn't busy studying or helping the queen.
Dear little Natsu was really taking after his older brother Zeref.
"Did you see his magic?"
"He wasn't casting anything, what do you mean?" Natsu tilted his head.
Zeref smiled cryptically.
"You didn't see him cast anything. Even I didn't see it." If there was one person that would beat Natsu's ethernano sensing abilities, it would be Zeref. His brother was still learning all the tricks the Black Wizard picked up on Ethernano manipulation during his time creating etherious before Natsu's revival.
"W-what?"
"I'm guessing it's something connected to his magic. Illusions, if I'm correct."
"But…I would've noticed him casting it."
"Not if he put an illusion that he wasn't. An illusion that even hides the use of ethernano in the air." His brother pointed out.
Natsu's eyes widened.
"T-that's…"
"Improbable, but remember, we're dealing with the Nirvit clan's chief here. Even I wasn't able to escape its effects." Zeref rubbed his chin as he thought. Chief Roubaul was as impressive as he expected. "Though it is nothing to be worried about. We are all working on the same side here. Roubaul doesn't have a reason to do anything drastic to build Nirvana."
But that begged the question…
Did he manage to convince the kingdoms to support him using illusions, or were there some other reason?
The first one seemed plausible if the Nirvit clan wanted it. But between the two, the second proved even more worrying.
What kind of reason would push the kingdoms enough to work together?
.
.
.
The last delegation arrived a week later. As predicted by Zeref, their arrival was the final step before Project Nirvana began in earnest.
Architects from all kingdoms met and discussed with the Nirvit elders while the workforce continued to build shelter. The surrounding woodland was chopped and farms established to start making the location self-sufficient for the coming years.
"No lessons for today."
"Huh?" Natsu looked up from the breakfast Zeref prepared for them both.
"The last kingdom arrived yesterday. The architects and mages will convene today to begin planning how we will build Nirvana." Zeref answered. "So I won't be having lessons with you for today."
The past week has been spent teaching Natsu while everyone waited for the final group to arrive.
"Okay."
Natsu could think of a few things to do for the day.
…
Exploring the project site proved much more interesting than Natsu first thought. For one, the temporary housing facilities being constructed by the other kingdoms were small in comparison to Dragnof's.
It reminded him of the first village he visited during his time in the wilderness before coming to Dragnof.
The buildings weren't actually small. They were just the right size for people. Dragnof was the outlier. They built their shelters with one adjacent unit for dragon-sized visitors when they stayed for the night.
For each and every housing unit that was. Not to mention the wide roads which could fit a dragon passing through. Not as big as Dragnof's streets which could fit two or more, but it was still several times wider compared to the other delegations.
It actually felt weird to Natsu after some reconsideration. He must've grown far too used to Dragnof's extravagant size. Comparing everyone's camps, theirs was by far the largest and most expansive.
Which begged the question.
Why were they designing such big facilities for dragons when Natsu hadn't seen any with them?
He approached one of the Dragnof carpenter-mages who were busy fireproofing wooden beams for the newest housing unit being built.
"Oh, some dragons will be coming over later. Dragnof posted some requests for earth dragons to help us work. They aren't here yet because the last delegation haven't been notified. They might think it's a dragon attack."
"Why would they think it's a dragon attack?" Natsu blinked.
"Kid, Dragnof is the only human kingdom in the continent that is comfortable around dragons. To everyone else they're practically enemies. That's how it's been for thousands of years." The wizard grunted. "Can't blame them. We fought dragons a lot back then too."
Right. Natsu learned history as part of his classes back in the academy, but they never mentioned about the other kingdoms and their histories with dragons. It made sense not to have dragons appear right away when the other delegations weren't ready for them yet.
Their little conversation ended shortly and Natsu resumed his little tour of the site. He didn't go too far away from the Dragnof camp, but he did watch the other kingdom camps for a little bit.
So, it came as a surprise to him when he recognized a familiar yet ancient magic being used. The kind only one could find in Dragnof and the wild.
Here? Now? But they weren't supposed to be around yet…
Natsu couldn't help but track down the potent magic until he found the source.
A little blue-haired girl healing a boy who scraped his knee.
The boy's sniffles disappeared while watching the girl his age magic the pain away. The small green glow coming from her hands showed the tell-tale signs of a spell being cast over the wound.
Natsu narrowed his eyes.
The effects were nothing to be impressed about. It was just healing. Rather, it was the magic behind it that absorbed his attention. It was documented to be extremely difficult, bordering impossible in all but theory. There were hundreds of research papers on the topic, even some headed by the queen and the Sage Dragon Belserion.
It just simply lacked the breakthrough to make it succeed.
Yet, here was one sample that proved the theory true.
"There, all done!" The girl eagerly announced. "How does it feel?"
"Woah! The pain's all gone!" The boy blinked at his knee. "That's so cool!"
"Hehe, thank you."
Natsu wanted to approach the little girl and ask about her magic but didn't really know how to. He hadn't really made many friends outside of Erza and Acnologia, so this was unfamiliar territory for him. Instead, he opted to follow the two around until they finished playing. The boy broke off and returned to his family while the girl headed off into the forest.
A forest…?
Definitely unusual, but not outright suspicious. Not that Natsu had much to stand on. He and Zeref lived in the forest at one point.
He followed the girl deeper into the forest. They travelled a considerable distance away to another nearby mountain on the same mountain range as Project Nirvana. Natsu watched the small girl leave the treeline and run into the meadow heading in the rock outcrop's direction.
Natsu frowned. This was getting dangerous. They were very far from the camp with no people in sight. He needed to get the girl back to-
A strong magical signature entered his range. Large. Powerful. Ancient. The young child's energy mirrored the larger creature's to a degree. It flew through the sky at insane speeds towards their direction. It decelerated the closer it got to them.
It was heading for them.
Natsu buckled down when a large white dragon appeared overhead. The dragon flew in a circle before landing in the meadow behind the girl.
"Grandeeney!" The small girl shouted excitedly and ran to the white dragon.
"Hello,Wendy." The large dragon greeted with a caring voice. "How was your day?"
"It was so much fun! I played with a friend at the human camp today!"
"Oh? That wouldn't be your friend watching us over there, would it?" The white mythical beast looked in Natsu's direction.
She sees me!
"H-huh? I didn't bring anyone with me…" The girl blinked in confusion.
Natsu darted out the treeline and dropped to his knees quickly. He didn't know if the dragon was friendly or not. The Dragnof carpenter-mage from earlier warned him that not all humans took to dragons kindly because not all dragons were friendly.
"I-I'm sorry! I was just interested when I saw her do magic! Please have mercy!"
When in doubt, beg for forgiveness. It was sometimes effective when he did it for Erza.
"..."
"E-eh? What about my magic?" The blue-haired girl asked.
"It's dragon magic! Something that should be impossible-" Natsu paused. "Sorry- something that we believed possible, but unproven."
He looked up from his kneeling position.
"How did you do it?"
"Don't you think it is rude not to introduce yourself when meeting others?" The dragon tilted her head.
"Ah! Uhhh- I'm Natsu!" He mentally slapped himself for not thinking of that.
"Well Natsu, how did you know it was dragon magic?" Grandeeney inquired.
"Her magic felt just like yours and the other dragons!"
"Other dragons?"
"Yeah! Like the ones back in Dragnof!"
Grandeeney inwardly released a sigh of relief. The young boy wasn't a threat. It was fortunate for them that he was raised in the one kingdom dragons weren't antagonized.
"I see…"
On another note…
"You can feel what magic she used?"
"Yeah! It was light and soft, but that was only when she casted the healing spell. It was more like…" Grandeeney watched the dark-haired boy attempt to explain how dragon magic felt.
"So…you were interested in Wendy's magic?" She smiled gently.
"Yeah! It was so cool!" Natsu didn't hide his excited tone. Dragons were cool in his eyes, especially when their magic was so different from humans.
"Well then, would you like to come here? Wendy, you can show him some of your magic." Grandeeney looked down at her adopted charge.
"O-okay."
She looked back into the treeline as Natsu ran towards them. Further behind some trees, hidden behind a veil of camouflage magic was a black-haired mage with features not unlike the little boy she met.
Grandeeney smiled.
Seems like she wasn't the only one worried about their family.
Author's Note
Whew, this time I made sure to NOT update this fic after 6 months. Though 3 months time between updates is still quite painful, my apologies. I'm trying to cycle between my works to spread out the update sessions.
20k words a month should be enough to update my 4 active projects with a chapter each this month.
Shirou in Another World is on indefinite hiatus RIP.
Each little donation helps me out and motivates me to finish chapters earlier, so it would mean a lot to me to have your support!
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