Divine Betrayal: A Demon's Rise to Power
Chapter -1: Lost .Fire.
That's what he saw. Fire. Everywhere. He had just gone to school like always, not expecting to come back to a burning village. What happened? Who did this? Why?
"I have to find Natsu," he said.
He ran downhill towards the burning village, towards the orphanage where his brother and himself lived. Natsu was an infant when they arrived at the orphanage, and he didn't remember their parents. The people there were nice and always took care of the kids; they even sent him to school.
And now they were dead. Some died in the fire, some looked like they were cut with a sword, some looked like they had no wounds, still having their eyes open… lifeless, like something just snuffed out their lives.
No one was spared. Not men. Not women. Not children.
As he continued on, looking for his brother.
"Please, please be safe," something told him he was not.
"NATSU!" he yelled.
"NATSU!"
"WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Nat-"
"Would you shut up already, mortal?" a voice said from the room to his left. His room, his and Natsu's room.
The boy looked to his left and saw a scene that would haunt him for a long, long time.
A tall man stood there, his skin an eerie shade of white, resembling the pallor of death itself. It was smooth and cold to the touch, devoid of the warmth of the living. His eyes were deep pools of darkness, devoid of any discernible iris or pupil. They seemed to absorb all light, giving them a mesmerizing and otherworldly quality. Cascading down his back in a tangled mass of silvery-grey strands, his hair flowed like wisps of mist, imbued with an otherworldly glow. It billowed around him like a dark halo, adding to his ethereal presence.
The man was draped in garments that epitomized the solemnity and dignity of a divine role. He wore flowing robes of midnight black, crafted from a rich, velvety fabric that draped gracefully around his form, exuding timeless elegance. A mantle of subtle embellishments adorned his shoulders, adding a touch of regality without overshadowing his presence.
But the man's appearance was not what terrified the boy.
No.
It was the body dangling from that man's hand that... thing's hand.
Natsu. His brother.
"What did you do to him?" the boy asked.
"Oh, you must be the brat's brother... Zeref, was it?" The now-named Zeref asked, tears already rolling down his face.
"What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"Watch your tone, boy, you speak to a god."
"What?" asked Zeref.
The man, now identified as a god, slightly smiled.
"Oh, I forgot how easy it is to leave mortals speechless."
"What did you do?" asked Zeref again.
"This again? What, you don't see?" said the god as he held the body up with his hand.
As Zeref opened his mouth to say something, the god threw the body to him.
"NATSU!" Zeref caught the body and started to look for wounds, only to freeze, realizing the body was cold, lifeless, that his heart was not beating.
Natsu was dead. His brother was dead. His only family.
"Why?" asked Zeref, crying.
"Because I can, because I am a god. This is an honor, to be personally killed by me, Ankhseram, the God of Death," said Ankhseram.
"No, no, why, why would you—for what?" Zeref could barely put his words together, the events overwhelming him.
Ankhseram turned away, scoffing. "Even with the fates' favor, did you really think a mere mortal could end me?" said the god under his breath, addressing someone or something not present in that place.
"Well, no use crying, boy, you will join him in a few minutes."
Zeref continued crying as Ankhseram started to make his way to him.
"What was the point of forging a fate like that, only to tell me of it? Did fate expect me to stand by and do nothing with a threat like this?" Ankhseram asked himself.
"What?" asked Zeref as he recomposed himself, ready to join his brother.
"Not worth answering that question, you will not have the time to think abo—" Ankhseram stopped as an ear-deafening roar was heard.
Ankhseram turned to the direction of the roar, only to see Igneel.
Igneel was a gigantic Dragon, whose bodily majority was covered with dark, red scales. Igneel's lower body, specifically his stomach, the inner portions of his long tail, and legs, were beige in color. Igneel also had scars on his stomach and neck, with the largest one, which was X-shaped, located around the center of his body. His back had numerous black spikes, reaching down from the back to the end of his tail. Igneel had a triangular head with horns, a pair of large, round eyes with yellow sclera, and a sharp horn pointing upwards just above his nose. Igneel also sported very sharp canine teeth and had claws with long, sharp, red nails. Igneel's large bony wings resembled a bat's, with rippled tips. Additionally, Igneel had four legs.
The King of all Dragons. One of the few Transcended Dragons. A god amongst dragons.
"Well, well, far away from home, aren't we, lizard?" said Ankhseram, smirking.
"You are outside your jurisdiction, Ankhseram, and for what? A town of humans?" growled Igneel.
"I was rather bored, so I decided to come down here personally," said Ankhseram.
"Oh really? In a completely different world outside your realms?" said Igneel.
"That is none of your business, dragon."
"Oh, but it is. This is my land."
"Your kind lost this planet a long time ago."
"Well, we are here now, aren't we?"
"I have business here, leave or—"
"Or what? You'll kill me? Again, this place is beyond your jurisdiction, you have no power here," said Igneel.
"No power? Well… let's test that," said Ankhseram angrily.
"We can agree on that, intruder," Igneel said as he stretched his wings.
Power began to surge around them, and they were suddenly gone. Unknown to Zeref, the monsters in front of him teleported to a different dimension to fight.
Zeref watched helplessly, not understanding what happened. A god attacked their village, killed everyone, and he seemed to have known him and Natsu, then THE Dragon King appeared, and they vanished right when it looked as if they would fight.
This all seemed so unreal, so much like a nightmare, but he knew it was real, that all that happened, everyone was dead, his brother died, Natsu was dead, and he could not change that.
"Oh, but you can," a voice whispered into his mind.
"Who's there?" questioned the boy frantically, looking around himself.
"A friend, if you will hear me out."
"Where are you?" asked Zeref.
"Far away for now, I'm afraid. You should leave too," said the voice Zeref realized was talking in his head.
"Am I already losing my mind?" silently questioned Zeref.
"Not really, you are taking this quite easy, you know? Considering you just met a god of death, The Dragon King, and you are still holding your brother's corpse."
Zeref looked down at his brother.
"What do you want? I have nothing to give you… I have nothing left."
"I can help with that. I can give you the answers you seek. I can give you the power you need to protect yourself, the power you need… to bring back your brother."
"What? How? Why would you help me?"
"Let me introduce you to a concept you mortals still question… fate. I will help you, and you will eventually help me. We both have things to gain from this, Zeref."
"I-I don't understand, what am I supposed to do?" said Zeref.
"Well, let's first get you up to speed on why the things that happened today happened. Now focus on this pressure in your mind, imagine you are opening a book and you start reading," said the voice.
Zeref did as instructed; he focused on the pressure and opened the 'book'. His eyes widened as information flashed through his mind. He now knew. Why the god attacked them, why he knew who he was, why he killed Natsu.
"So what now?" questioned Zeref, a look of anger in his eyes.
"Depends, what do you want to do? Bring back your brother? Take revenge? Ignore fate? You could certainly do that, your choice."
"He feared Natsu would kill him someday. Revenge… I think… I will leave that choice to Natsu when he returns. But what do you have to gain from this?" said Zeref.
"Hmm… Well, I do want Ankhseram dead, and annoying the Gods is always a welcome bonus. I suppose I saw your and your brother's fate and got interested in what you will do and become," said the voice.
"How is this going to work?" asked Zeref.
"Oh, I will give you all you need to start, Zeref, but first let me introduce myself. I am Mundus, ArchDemon, and The Prince of Darkness. If you want titles," said the now-identified Mundus, expecting a reaction he did not get from Zeref.
"Nothing? What an interesting child you are."
"After what I saw today? I don't think I will be surprised anytime soon," said Zeref.
"Hehe… good, now you should leave that place and take the body with you. I will handle the soul."
"How am I supposed to take the body with me? Won't the body decompose eventually?"
"One word. Magic," said Mundus, as he granted Zeref with some magical abilities. The boy's innate talent for magic was something else; magic came so naturally to him. Mundus did not even have to explain in detail how the magic he granted him worked; Zeref figured them out by himself in but a few tries. Truly, the boy would have become an ArchMage by himself most likely. But he will be much more under Mundus.