I have come bearing content for the hungry masses!
Sorry I took so long but I still have lots of stuff I'm doing and haven't had a whole heap of time to do stuff so yeah, not officially off the hiatus yet either simply because I don't have net yet this is me uploading from a public library after spending like heaps on public transport which wasn't even to do this I just did this because I could and I wanted you all to have something rather than me not being able to upload for ages.
So I'm going to be putting a massive warning chapter 60 is probably THE darkest I think I've gone and many of you will probably be surprised by it, please don't drill me for it because it was necessary for the plot and character development and the enemy character development and lore of species and stuff alright.
So yeah you now get the end of the GMG Arc and the start of the next arc so hopefully you all enjoy that I've been trying to make chapters where I can but like I seem to say all the time I'd rather post something good than something garbage.
Just to respond to The Rayvenwolves I mean yeah it is possible for a non Dragon Slayer's magic to have an effect on a Dragon I mean look at Dragon Cry that guy (can't remember his name haha) with the weird mind control magic was able to take control of a Dragon with it so I guess it's possible but to me examples are still very few so I'd rather stick to this approach simply because to me Dragons at least in the Fairy Tail verse always seem overpowered every one we've seen has done crazy stuff.
And yes I know Erza sliced Irene with her sword in the last arc but really let's be honest that last arc was so full of terrible endings to hyped up villains that it makes the Fullbring Arc from Bleach look good.
Anyway I don't plan on rambling on or anything so let's get stuck into the story!
The Horrific Past Of Draconia
/City Of Crocus/
All over the city countless mages watched on as the Dragons flew away with their opponent standing tall atop one of their heads, said mages could only hang their heads in shame knowing that they were placing the burden of the five Dragons into the hands of one man.
With the gathered mages from several notable guilds lied the rest of the gathered Dragon Slayers all of whom had no words for what had just occurred. Sting who up until this point had constantly boasted about killing his Dragon parent could only hang his head in shame as he realized just how much of a fool he made himself out to be.
However the gathered First Generation Slayers weren't there to simply feel sorry for themselves or their lack of power rather they now felt fear for the one slayer who could bring victory but at what cost they knew not.
"You don't think he's going to die … do you Gajeel," Rogue asked as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
"He's up against five fully grown Dragons what do you think … Salamander is plenty strong but he ain't leaving that fight unscathed, what do you care anyway … oh right you realized just how full of shit the two of you were didn't you?"
Sting and Rogue said nothing and hung their heads as Gajeel looked over at a medical tent which was where the other First Generation Dragon Slayer resided.
"Damn kid gave it her all huh … Salamander would've been proud to see her in action, she's gonna be pissed when she finds out what he's doing."
"About the way we've been acting … I know it's not really gonna mean much but Rogue and I we're sorry for everything, clearly we aren't as strong as we thought we were and not only Fairy Tail but this whole damn mess has proven that to us," Sting said as Gajeel grunted in response.
"Doesn't mean shit to me pal Salamander was the one you constantly harassed and right now he's out there somewhere fighting this battle for us so your words might be a little late."
"Yeah I know but you felt that power right, the power that was rolling off of him when he was flying opposite the other Dragons he was able to match them right?"
"True if anyone has a chance its Salamander but against five of those bastards its anyone's game … my money is on him pulling some sort of stunt that narrowly gets him the win but who knows against five he could die in minutes."
"How can you say that isn't he your friend," Sting shouted as Gajeel glared at him.
"Yeah he is but I'm not stupid enough to deny such an obvious outcome, one Dragon would have been enough to wipe out this entire city if Salamander wasn't here and he's up against five! To not factor in that he could very well die only proves that you two are absolutely stupid and should really find a better career since a mage has to be able to evaluate a situation!"
Sting promptly shut his mouth and Rogue just looked away prompting Gajeel to huff and walk over to the tent where Wendy was, looking inside he could only sigh and shake his head.
"She fought really hard you know," Mira said as she came up behind him.
"Yeah I heard the only other one of us to even put a scratch one of them aside from Salamander of course …"
"Does he have a chance Gajeel, you're a Dragon Slayer you must know? Can Natsu truly kill all five of them?"
Gajeel turned to Mira and noticed Erza and Elise were also thereand frowned before beginning to pace.
"Even with the full power of that other Fire Dragon behind him … no."
Erza couldn't help but burst into tears as Elise drew her into a hug and Mira also let a few tears fall.
"What Salamander is doing is essentially sacrificing himself so that we all can live … even with the power of one Dragon there's five of them and one of them has a counter to his primary element. There is always a chance he could pull it off but it's the slimmest chance he's had in all the fights we've seen him in."
"But surely there's something that can be done," Makarov asked as Gajeel shook his head.
"The Dragons all formed up after Natsu killed two of them because they know that he can't beat them all, Natsu is basically offering his life to save the rest of ours so the best thing we can do is try and destroy that damn gate before they get back here so that his sacrifice isn't in vain."
"That man is a hero without him my daughter and I would have been killed, I refuse to count him among the dead until I either see a body or those Dragons come back," King Toma said as he stepped forward. "Your guild is built on the belief in ones friends Dragon Slayer so how about showing some of it in your friends darkest hour!"
Gajeel just grunted and turned away as Makarov nodded in agreement at the Kings statement.
"The King is right we should all put our trust in Natsu he's never let us down before and has defied the odds!"
Everyone began to cheer and shout support to Natsu as the sun slowly began to rise on the damaged capital.
/Ocean East Of Fiore – Natsu's POV/
"So where exactly are we going?"
"We … we don't want to kill you, granted the magic of the Eclipse Gate requires us to but it never specified when," Scissor Runner said as Natsu looked at him confused.
"We want to speak with Igneel … we need to find out something from him and there is a spell that will allow us to do so but you need to be the one to cast it which means you will have to acquire it."
"What Levia is saying is that there is a magic the Dragons know which allows you to talk to one that is either passed or not currently on the plane of Earthland … Milky Way," Yamizou said as Natsu looked intrigued.
"We must head to the last place Dragons and humans resided, a place far from here that will most likely hold the spell we need."
"So this Milky way spell what exactly is it, is it unique to a particular Element or is it a universal spell?"
"Oh its universal but the Sky Dragon Queen Grandina invented it centuries back and allowed us all use of it within reason of course," Levia said.
"So … exactly how far away is this place we're going?"
"Hope you packed for a trip kid we're going to the ends of the world," Zirconis said with a toothy grin before laughing prompting Natsu to sweat drop.
"Does this place have a name exactly?"
"Figures Igneel never told you about it I suppose there wasn't much need after Achnologia and all but still … we're heading to what humans used to call Draconia the land of the Dragon Monarchs."
"Wait so this is where all the Dragon Kings and Queens used to live before Achnologia killed or forced them into hiding!"
"Yep … don't expect to find any Dragons there now though it was the first place hit by Achnologia and was hit the hardest," Zirconis said no longer joking around.
'Everyones gonna be so worried about me … but with the Dragons taking me to what they call the end of the world that surely means I'm gonna have a chance at finding something to combat Achnologia … right?"
"Well I sure hope so this adventure will be really fun I don't think I've ever been this far out before!"
Natsu shot up from his spot on the Dragons head and began to fall until he went into the Dragon Force and flew back sitting back down clutching his chest.
"GOD DAMN IT MAVIS WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!"
Mavis could only giggle at Natsu's antics as the five Dragons looked at Natsu confused.
"Sorry you see … I have the ghost of my guilds first master stuck with me and I keep forgetting she's there all the time and after everything that's happened she almost gave me a heart attack."
"Not my fault you keep forgetting," Mavis said whilst pouting. "But really though you shouldn't worry about how long you are gone for if you learn valuable secrets about the Dragons and all it'll be worth it right and you can just blame it on the fact that you had to fight five terrifyingly strong Dragons."
"Master of strategy … they call you the Angel of Fairy Tail but that was a pretty good cover-up you sure you aren't a little devil?"
"Well you hardly expected me to be as effective as I was by being nice and honest with everyone now did you?"
"Heh … right it's just that your appearance always makes me think otherwise."
At this point Natsu noticed that the five Dragons looked at him like he was crazy and siged.
"Ok look I'll let you meet her but I'll need to place the guild mark on you so that you can," Natsu said as he snapped his fingers and flames in the shape of the Fairy Tail symbol appeared on each of the Dragons burning the symbol into them.
"Did you really have to brand us!"
"Sorry Levia but I don't just carry the stamp with me besides now you look like 1000x better than before."
"You really are as cocky as Igneel you know that?"
"Really I haven't noticed," Natsu said innocently as Mavis waved to the Dragons.
"Hello I'm Mavis and I'm a dead person," she said cheerfully as the Dragons sweat dropped.
"Er ok … since your dead I assume you won't spill any of this to anyone right?"
"Nope my lips are sealed as tight as my current coffin!"
"Humans are really strange," the five Dragons said in unison as they continued to fly over the ocean.
/1 Week Later/
Natsu was impressed at the Dragons ability to fly a week straight without stopping for rest it had made the journey much quicker. Sure they had reached land by the second day but none of them were willing to stop though Natsu assumed they were just showing off.
"So are we there yet?"
"Just about Natsu … you know that we still have to fight after all this right?"
"Yeah I know but you aren't even here because you want to be you were forced here, helping us kill Achnologia is something that I can't be more grateful for."
"I know we said you had to kill us to earn what we were willing to tell you so we decided to do you a favour and take us to our resting place."
"But I thought that your resting place was in Fiore?"
"Never been to that continent before … rather warm there to be honest."
"Never been to Fior- so you never once left this continent?"
"We lived in Draconia never bothering to leave well we never had a reason to the land was suited to the Dragons needs but occasionally one would wander off and wreak havoc. It wasn't until Achnologia that things changed and many were scattered."
"That bastard really has done a lot of evil things hasn't he …"
"Indeed he has which is why we are bothering with you at all … Igneel was one of the strongest of us and if he is locked inside you then he must have answers to his destruction. We want to know … were our deaths in the past in vain?"
Natsu had no reply to that statement all he could think of is the question that they all had, did Igneel have a plan or was he just hiding?
"You should get some rest we'll be landing soon," Yamizou said as Natsu nodded and closed his eyes wondering what awaited him in this land of the Dragons his thoughts also briefly turning to his friends and Erza wondering if he'd actually live through this.
/Later That Night/
Natsu awoke with a start as he hit the ground roughly, his eyes opening abruptly he began looking around for the Dragons and only found one.
"Hey what the hell's the big idea!"
"You wouldn't wake up and Levia wanted to hunt after flying that long without food but who really cares your alive aren't you," Zirconis said with a toothy grin as Natsu frowned.
"So you couldn't just gently put me on the ground that hurt dammit!"
"You sure you're the son of Igneel or the son of a sheep need some more protective padding there for your poor little behind?"
"Hey shut up Zirconis or I'll kick your ass!"
"Relax kid I'm only pulling your leg it's not exactly the most interesting place here at least not at night."
Natsu just realized that Zirconis had said they had arrived and began to look around.
"Why are we in a hole?"
"This isn't a hole Natsu it's a crater, a crater caused by Achnologia. Go up there and look for yourself it'll give you an idea about what happened to us."
Natsu entered the Dragon Force and took to the sky, making his way high into the sky he waited a few moments for his vision to adjust and his eyes widened in shock.
"There's hundreds of them, no thousands of these craters for miles in every direction but that's crazy!"
"The war was hard fought but most of these craters held the charred remains of a Dragon though it seems that time as done away with them, I wonder if any of them ever found peace?"
"Man even the mountains have craters this destruction is on another level it's like a meteor shower just rained down on this whole place …"
Natsu came back down to the ground and sat in front of the large fire the Dragons had made before leaving and looked over at Zirconis who was using a large tree to pick his teeth.
"I get why you all want to speak with Igneel now … if Achnologia could cause this much damage against that many Dragons how can he counter it, maybe he does have a plan and I'm the key piece but that doesn't explain why he's sealed inside me unless he's hiding or transferring me power …"
"So he hasn't told you of the drawbacks of using Dragon Slayer Magic then … what the hell is he playing at I wonder?"
"There are drawbacks … aside from causing widespread destruction anyway?"
"Oh yes there is a massive drawback for using Dragon Slayer Magic, tell me did Igneel explain how Achnologia became what he is to you?"
"Well it wasn't actually Igneel who told me about Achnologia it was E.N.D he said that Achnologia was the first human Dragon Slayer kind of the prototype one is that right?"
"Yes that's correct and as you probably know he was captured by the Dragon Supremacist side during the war and tortured to the point of insanity though you couldn't tell at the time. Becoming the first Dragon Slayer in history and slaying said Dragons who freed him Achnologia swore vengeance though you probably know that too if you know about the prototype part."
"Yeah E.N.D said he poured his whole being into becoming stronger so he could get revenge on the Dragons," Natsu said as the other Dragons began to land.
"That he did but there was another factor that isn't well known and its one that I can almost guarantee you've heard," Scissor Runner said.
"They say he was still a man when he fought the Dragons but that is far from the case, from the moment a Dragon Slayer is borne a seed is implanted within that will grow alongside their power."
"Once the seed reaches a certain point the Dragon Slayer will begin the process of turning into a Dragon themselves … unless they have a countermeasure."
"Which is where Igneel being sealed inside you comes in … he's holding back the transformation within you and making it safer for you for when the time comes."
"What do you all mean by when the time comes?"
"Igneel can't stay inside you forever you know his magic would be slowly getting transferred into your own magic core albeit slowly but still, once Igneel is either out of your body or fully converted into your own the seed will be ready to sprout and turn you into one of us."
"But here's the thing Igneel as well as the others who are sealed away are changing the seed and making it so that you won't have to stay like a Dragon, of course Achnologia doesn't have to but he has countless souls and hundreds of years behind him so that's not really an option for you at the point of transformation."
"Wait so I'd be able to go from being a human to being … a Dragon?"
"Yes but remember in your Dragon form Achnologia would be able to sense you and come running, talking about this now however is pointless since we don't know how far along Igneel has come with your seed yet."
"Wait a minute though does that mean that I could become a Dragon if Igneel does whatever it is he's doing in there correctly, damn I hope he does if I could become a Dragon that would grant me the power to protect everyone … well Zeref and Achnologia would still be a problem but who'd be counting at that stage?"
"Perhaps it's up to him if he wants to grant you the power or not, no use talking about it now though there are more important things to think about. Eat up and get some rest we need to have a look around tomorrow and see what's up with this place."
"Yeah I hear ya the magic here feels … strange, it all seems to condense around certain spots and there's a really large spot at that temple thing over there."
"Like I said we've got work to do and not a lot of time to do it remember we are supposed to be killing you right now but the Eclipse Gate only has so much influence over us, besides we need to get all this sorted and get you back to destroy that gate for good."
Natsu nodded as he tore off a rather large chunk of meat from the strange creature the others had brought back and began eating.
/Fiore – Crocus/
"Are you sure you can't tell us if he's ok mother it would really really help?"
"No I can't Elise the entire affair is a mess in itself and I'm not happy that damn gate is being left untouched, Natsu is one of the strongest beings around you two have faith in his abilities."
"Easy for you to say you aren't the one having to fight five Dragons."
"Actually I would relish the opportunity to do so it's been so long since I last fought a Dragon …"
"But you have immortality mother it's not the same," Elise sighed as Eliza shook her head and sat down in front of both Elise and Erza.
"Listen Natsu is a Dragon Slayer, the most powerful Dragon Slayer on the continent that's been seen in centuries if anyone has a chance it's him. You were both there so you should know that he easily dispatched Motherglare perhaps he did the same already and is on his way home?"
The two young women in front of her didn't seem affected by her words at all, Erza just seemed lifeless and devoid of anything one could describe as emotion.
'That Natsu is so reckless … still it's a shame I can't tell them where he went and what he's doing but it's all part of the damage control for that stupid gate of Zeref's. Too many rules have been broken this year I won't break any more just so they can see Natsu especially knowing where he is right now, oh I bet Xicor is up there all giddy knowing Natsu's in Draconia right now … to find what remains of the legacy of the Dragons will be interesting to say the least I wonder how you'll handle it Natsu?'
"Then can you at least go see if he's alright … you don't have to tell us anything just, just make sure he isn't doing something stupid."
"I'm … not allowed to go."
"Wait why aren't you allowed to go?"
"Personal attachment dear remember the non interference policy-?"
"But this whole mess is the fault of the Gods," Erza growled. "If that bastard Zeref hadn't opened the gate Natsu wouldn't be dealing with what he currently faces now!"
Eliza couldn't refute that argument it was 100% fact, the Gods had screwed up and Natsu was paying for their mistake by not ensuring the gate wasn't within the Black Wizards reach.
"Alright look I'll see what I can do but no promises alright," Eliza sighed as she shook her head.
'Damn mortals I'm getting far too soft … but it is our fault so I suppose it is something we should at least watch over far closer than we currently are.'
"Alright I'm heading back but remember my position only gets me so much pull alright and you'd both better be training while I'm gone because when I inevitably return I WILL be looking to let off some steam!"
Eliza walked through a portal and it quickly closed leaving Erza and Elise satisfied for the moment but also somewhat terrified of what Eliza promised for later.
/The Next Day – Draconia/
Natsu sighed as he sat up and looked around, the camp was deserted which meant the Dragons had gone off to explore or hunt.
"Well guess I'd better make myself useful," he sighed as he launched himself out of the crater and began to run towards the strange looking structures not too far from his camp.
Arriving at the entrance to one of the structures Natsu couldn't help but smirk at the way the doors had been designed, two massive doors for the Dragons and a considerably smaller door within the larger ones for humans.
Walking up to the door he placed a hand on it attempting to open it but the moment his hand made contact he felt that strange magic again, shaking it off for now he pushed on heading inside the building.
"Man imagine this place back in the day …"
The entire area was a mess however Natsu could see what the area was supposed to look like and he was amazed to say the least, unfortunately the large golden statues of the Dragons were smashed across the large walkways so he couldn't really get an idea about some of the other Dragons that once lived here.
Walking up a large set of stairs he reached a strange type of balcony and there was another brief flash of the strange magic.
"Alrght seriously what is that?"
"Natsu that magic is very real and very dangerous you might want to be careful."
"You know you pick the most convenient times to talk to me don't you," Natsu sighed as Igneel growled in response.
"I have my reasons as you have your own reasons for the choices you make … some of us just have more freedom than the others."
"Alright I get it … so you know what it is then?"
"Yes but I want you to find it first to confirm my suspicions … I sense power but also … rage."
Natsu just nodded as he began to follow the faint trace of the strange magic to its source, twenty minutes of walking around the outer courtyard and he finally found a hidden path.
"Well here goes," Natsu sighed as he began to walk down the path and into the dark; the descent lasted a good five minutes as Natsu came upon a floor with a single wooden door. Igniting himself he found several lanterns and lit them for more light and began to look around the room for anything interesting.
As he searched the practically barren room Natsu began to wonder if there was anything behind the door worth looking at, shrugging he opened the door but it came off its hinges due to age and Natsu promptly dropped it as dust kicked up.
After the dust had cleared Natsu noticed he was in a strange room that had several layers of Magic Circles all centred around a single staff.
"What the … hell," Natsu said as he went to touch the staff.
"NATSU CONTROL YOURSELF!"
Shaking his head Natsu looked at the staff confused as Igneel sighed.
"That staff is the source of the strange magic, a staff that holds untold power but with its creation there seems to have been a price."
"Really how do you know this area looks newer than the others?"
"Yes and that's what worries me … touch the staff and you will understand."
"But you stopped me from touching it before?"
"I know that but you weren't in a stable state of mind now just grab it."
Natsu touched the staff and felt his mind become flooded with memories of the past as he dropped to his knees and began to realize what the images were.
/Draconia In The Distant Past/
Natsu stood on the tallest hill in Draconia unable to believe what he was seeing, in front of him was an event that he never thought he'd see … the Dragon War.
"Igneel is this real!"
Natsu received no response which he chalked up to him not actually being here and quickly made his way down to the battle, arriving he saw the bastard Achnologia gutting a turquoise coloured Dragon whilst fending off several others.
"Come O mighty Dragons come test your might, crash against the insurmountable wall of Achnologia and know fear before you pass to the next life!"
Charging up a roar Achnologia eviscerated the Dragon he'd been gutting and took to the skies and tackled another Dragon biting into its wing and tearing it off, the Dragon roared in pain and was sent to the ground just as Achnologia was hit by several roars from different directions indicating that more Dragons had joined the fray.
"That's it come, come to the slaughter and hand over that power! You will all fall and your Monarchs will follow suit, there is no hope, no salvation, no saviour of any kind for you ONLY … Achnologia!"
And that's what surprised Natsu the most, at his statement Natsu witnessed the creation of his first four Harbingers or at least he assumed they were the first as the Dragons seemed utterly terrified which he assumed meant as such.
"Slaughter the Dragons, find the Monarchs and leave nothing behind! Bring the lacrima to me and I will release you from your sin of existence!"
"Achnologia's will be done, life undone, we destroy all for one," the four said in unison as the area began to shift and change.
When the shift was done Natsu assumed this was after the battle since there was nothing but smouldering craters and dead Dragons littered about the fields, then he saw Achnologia standing triumphant over them all as he let out an ear piercing roar.
Natsu who was standing nearby unconsciously took a step back as the Dragon surveyed the dead Dragons, pure rage could be felt radiating off him which Natsu assumed was due to the escape of some Dragons.
At that moment Natsu felt terrified as Achnologia looked right at him and roared that terrifying roar that had ended entire kingdoms, his heart felt like it would stop as the Dragon looked right at him.
"But I don't exist here how is this possible none of the other Dragons knew I was here!"
"It's not you," a voice said as Natsu began to look around.
"How are you speaking to me, who are you!"
"A friend … well a friend of a friend I suppose, for now anyway."
"That's pretty vague," Natsu replied as the voice giggled.
"You know we've met before Natsu Dragneel and I must say you've grown since then … Natsu Dragneel and the Dragon Slayers one of the only good things to come through that damn gate."
"Gate … do you mean the Eclipse Gate?"
"Yes the very same … you know you were supposed to have destroyed that thing by now?"
"I know that but the Dragons brought me here who am I to refuse a Dragon, speaking of Dragons if Achnologia isn't roaring at me then who is he roaring at?"
"Yes I suppose putting your mind at ease would be a good idea, what you are seeing is a gathering of memories from the past Natsu. The staff holds the beings of many Dragons who fell here during this war but only fractions of their memories, what you are seeing is a memory of a Dragon who was still alive as Achnologia stood victorious assuming he had killed them all."
"And what difference would that make he slaughtered thousands what's one more to him?"
"Turn around and find out."
Natsu turned around slowly and when he did that surprised and shocked feeling returned as the voice in his head giggled once again.
"Th-that's Xicor and-!"
"The other remaining Dragons yes, well the ones that formulated the plan anyway plus a few others. I suppose you want to know who some of them are?"
Natsu just nodded dumbly as the voice giggled again almost amused at his awe in the Dragons.
"That one next to Igneel is Metallicana the Metal Dragon King, next to him is Grandina the Sky Dragon Queen, behind her is Weisslogia the White Dragon and his twin Skiardrum the Shadow Dragon, you know Lykyria the Gravity Dragon Queen, over there is Florumm the Forest Dragon Queen and finally Umikura the Ocean Dragon King."
"Wait so there were others besides the ones sealed inside us Dragon Slayers I thought that Lykyria was a special case but … for there to be a few others is just unreal. So where the hell have they been all this time!"
"In hiding same as all the others to avoid Achnologia and consolidate their power, Xicor only told you of Lykyria because he saw potential in you which he thought might give them a shot at wiping Achnologia out."
"Well the logic is sound but even so there are other Dragons that survived that's … good to know."
"There could also be others Natsu these are just the ones Xicor saved to use as part of the greater plan."
"I wonder how they are all doing … hiding from Achnologia would be a pain for sure."
"The time for talk is over just watch this next part carefully to understand what the staff is."
Natsu nodded as the dialogue between Achnologia and the other Dragons began to become audible for him.
"Do you really think I won't get you all one day?"
"Not even you can get into Terminus Achnologia don't make such foolish claims," Xicor replied as Achnologia made a sound Natsu assumed was meant to be laughing.
"So even you little Gods think your safe from me but I know better, on Earthland there is a certain human who recently acquired a soul of one of your greatest shames isn't there I wonder what would happen if I consumed him and took said power for myself?"
"This is madness Achnologia you've become drunk on power!"
"Foolish God you know nothing I am simply correcting a mistake made by all existence … the simple fact of existence itself! I will consume everything until nothing but myself remains then and only then will I allow myself to die!"
"He's beyond salvation Xicor let us go," Igneel said solemnly as Xicor nodded before a pained voice.
"Lord Xicor … why … save us …"
Natsu's gaze drifted to a Dragon who was clearly dying as his chest had been ripped open and his lacrima crystal had been removed, the Dragon was slowly crawling towards the projections as several other pained cries began to fill the air.
"Please Lord Xicor … save us!"
"Save the Dragon Race!"
"Slay … the abomination …"
Natsu could tell Xicor as well as the other Dragons had pained expression as Xicor shook his head.
"I … I am truly sorry to all of you but there is simply nothing I can do for you, Achnologia cannot be defeated normally so a solution will have to be devised. As for your lives … there is nothing I can do to change your fate … I am truly sorry."
"But Lord Xicor … we were … were faithful to … the end," one Dragon said as he died.
"Curse you Xicor!"
"Our God abandons us at our time of need!"
One by one the dying Dragons cursed Xicor as they died and Achnologia had what appeared to be a toothy grin.
"Don't worry Xicor you'll all be joining them soon enough I promise you that, I will wipe the stain that is the Dragons from existence first before all others this I do swear!"
The memory began to fade and another appeared which seemed to be some time later, the bodies of the Dragons were now mere bone which must have meant this was hundreds of years later.
Natsu watched in fascination as the magic in the air shifted and a strange glow began to appear around the corpses of the Dragons.
"This is how it began … the hatred for Achnologia, for Xicor, for the living world. What you are seeing is the creation of a staff that could destroy entire countries if it was wielded by evil hands."
Strange streams of energy were flowing out of the Dragons and into one singular spot forming a sphere that began to expand quite rapidly until a bright light appeared and in the spheres place was a staff that just hovered in the air.
The memory faded and a new one appeared this time it was of the staff where Natsu found it surrounded by some humans who appeared to be cultists of some kind.
"They called it Dragon Cry … to touch Dragon Cry would mean one would feel what the Dragons felt and in doing so lose themselves to their hate should they not be of strong will or pure heart."
"Those memories, the pain … calling it Dragon Cry … makes sense," Natsu said as the flood of memories began to make sense.
The area faded and returned with a mass of dead bodies some being cultists while others being a strange group of knights Natsu hadn't seen before.
"Word of the staff spread and many vied for its power Natsu … entire wars were waged here but in the end the staff was lost when both sides down to the last were cut down, another consequence was that there were no longer humans who inhabited this continent as they believed it cursed but now you know the truth."
"So … what do I do with this information?"
"A good question but one that can be easily answered … return to reality."
The memory faded and Natsu's eyes shot open, he realized that he was still on his knees holding the staff but now the staff seemed oddly calm.
"Where did … the anger and hate go?"
"It is still there Natsu it is merely dormant but remember the staff is still dangerous."
"I get that you've already explained that but I have a question … how do you know so much about this and who are you?"
"Ah you are back to reality so I suppose introductions are in order I will be there momentarily."
A strange yellow portal appeared in front of Natsu and out stepped a woman who Natsu immediately recognized, his jaw could only drop as he began to try and speak.
"Y-yo-your Lady Felicity the Goddess of Time right!"
Felicity giggled and nodded as he strange blonde hair seemed to have numbers flow through it as she moved.
"Um is your hair … supposed to do that?"
"Hmm well I haven't been in a mortal realm before so I suppose it's because I am the physical representation of time, either way it's not important, something that is important is you destroying that Eclipse Gate before Zeref can abuse time any more than he already has."
"Uh that's great and all but uh … why are you here I mean I'm not unhappy that you're here but Eliza told me that your job was a very important one and you don't usually have time to do other things?"
"Well Eliza is right but I'm usually 100% into my work so that I don't make a mistake coming here and doing things makes it go to about 99.7% still within acceptable parameters."
"Uh huh," Natsu said nodding as Felicity giggled again.
"You have no idea do you though I don't blame you after all you aren't really a time person, by the way those five Dragons why haven't you killed them so that they return to their own time yet?"
"They told me not to and that they wanted to talk to Igneel so I let them bring me here, who knows I could find out some important Dragon history while I'm here."
"I suppose that's true … oh right your friends and Erza Scarlett are worried about you and wouldn't stop pestering Eliza about you but she isn't allowed to come here due to the whole non interference thing so she asked me to come instead since this does technically fall under my jurisdiction."
"And you just came here, just like that?"
"Just like that," Felicity responded as she began skipping towards the exit. "Well come on let's get out of this dusty tomb and make sure you bring the staff!"
Natsu nodded and grabbed Dragon Cry and placed it in his requip space and followed the Time Goddess outside.
"This place is pretty nice though Eliza said that your continent is better so when do we get to go back there?"
"Wait how long are you here for?"
"Until the Eclipse Gate is destroyed of course," Felicity said with a beaming smile as Natsu sighed and shook his head.
'Well things can only get more interesting from here.'
Again sorry for the massive break I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you in the next one!