A thousand worlds splintered from one, each a piece of a broken mirror that reflected the same dimension of the world that could somehow occupy the same space and yet infinite spaces. The horizon remained as out of reach as ever, the rolling prairie an endless march of beauty and death. Yet it all, in its grandiose scope, paled in comparison to the wavy-haired, big-bearded individual standing in front of Levy, who, without her even noticing, splintered her away from the rest of the refugees. It left her. It left him.
He set his staff into the ground casually, then removed his cloak, unfurling it gently upon the low grass. The lozenges that appeared to be a part of his cloak continued to float behind his head, stuck in place.
"Tell me," August said as he took his seat on the cloak, "of your days with Fairy Tail."
"What is going on here?" Levy asked.
"I wanted to carve a bit of your time," August said. "And though I could have sequestered your group toward one of our bases, it would have led, potentially, to a massive headache in dealing with the logistics of rehousing these slaves. Lahar, alone, would make things difficult to manage. Come, sit. We may be here a moment if you'll continue to ask questions."
He didn't have to exert any magic power at all for Levy's hands to shake. In the span of his arrival, he'd locked them in a time-space bubble, broken that bubble, and completely cut Levy off from the rest of the world. All without a single utterance of magic, without even an exertion.
Levy nodded and took her seat on the soft ground.
"So I imagine you joined as a young woman, full of heart and eager to see more of what the world had to offer," August said. "A dutiful, bright-eyed guild wizard."
"You're right," Levy said. "And I wanted to make friends. Life-long friends."
"And did you?"
"Yes."
"And now they're dead."
"Not all of them."
August placed his hands on his knees. "Your friends, the survivors of Tenrou Island, have caused quite the stir. Your merry band has as well, though not so much as they. Captors of Jacob Lessio, a Captain in our military, and victors of the Grand Magic Games. You should be impressed. None have made such an impact against the Empire as they."
"We're Fairy Tail," Levy said.
"You were Fairy Tail," August said. "For that guild, and all the others, are no more."
Levy sensed her guild mark on her back. "We still wear our guild proudly, and we'll do so to our dying breath. Nothing you do can take that away from us. So long as one of us stays alive, Fairy Tail will continue."
"My understanding of your guild is that it has always been based on such sentiments, no doubt seeded by the overwhelming emotion carried forth by your First Master, Mavis Vermillion."
Levy sat up straighter. Was this just a history lesson? And what, with all the power he had, did this August guy care about Fairy Tail for? The Grimoire Heart guys seemed as intent on Fairy Tail, too. Maybe Master Hades and August had similar goals in mind.
"Probably," Mavis said. "I've always read that First Master was the kindest and most pleasant soul you'd ever meet."
"Is that so?" August asked. "And you feel bound to this legacy? To show the world the guiding light?"
"No. But we'll help people that we can, and step in the way of bullies."
"Like the Twilight Empire, in your opinion." August adjusted and his staff floated down so that it was on his knees, too.
Levy balled her hands and swallowed a large lump in her throat. She wasn't going to be fast enough to use any of her magic if he attacked, though it wasn't like she could really do anything if he did lash out at her.
"Of the historic Fiore guilds, I must say, this one fascinates me the most," August said. "Not just for its connection to Mavis Vermillion but how its roots are so intrinsically tied to that of our Emperor."
"What's he got to do with Fairy Tail?"
"There would be no Fairy Tail without him," August said. "The bond forged between Mavis and Zeref in their scant time training and falling in love was what gave Mavis the push to have Zeref train the initial founding members of your guild, inspiring them to move forth into the world with the lessons they'd learned."
"Fall in love?"
"Oh yes. To her dying breath, Mavis professed her love to my…Emperor."
Levy didn't let his hesitation bother her, but he wasn't telling her the truth anymore. He, in his infinite power, didn't have infinite wisdom.
It wasn't Fairy Tail he really wanted to talk about, it was First Master.
"That was never mentioned in any of our guild history books," Levy said softly.
"I imagine it would've been quite the stain on the guild's reputation had that information, in any capacity, become public."
"Does he still love her?"
Their splinter of the world decayed into silence as August stared beyond Levy. She tensed, waiting for the inevitable. Would it be quick, would she even realize he'd killed her?
"The Emperor," August said, "has no capacity for emotion anymore. To lead as he does requires no such attachment to people or the past."
"Then what is your interest in all of this?"
"Simply that. Interest."
Levy sighed and nodded.
"You've been a wellspring of knowledge, Levy McGarden. An insight, a window, into a world I could never know, even with my incredible power. There are few magics in this world that allow us to move so simply between worlds and none are within the grasp of a single wizard's hands, even my own, even my Emperor's. But to glimpse more of what your guild was like would be a treat, I suppose, for a curious one such as myself."
"You could have," Levy said.
"No. Because the ideals between Fairy Tail and myself would never align such that we could stand side-by-side. Even now you're wondering how I may strike you down or kill you, thinking of any possible way to stave off the inevitable. You're afraid but can't manifest this fear. I imagine, if we were to have met in another life, it would be as simple as imminent destruction. And it wouldn't matter—there's not a wizard alive in your guild that could stand up to me."
"There is. Maybe just one, but there is."
"I do no fear Gildarts Clive."
Levy pursed her lips. Well, if she were going to go out, at least she could know that she was as regarded as Gildarts in the eyes of this bag of bones.
"So why am I still alive, then, if the inevitable is just waiting to happen?"
"You are alive because you have not made an attempt on my life. And I want you for our Empire, Levy McGarden. You see, the Emperor founded his state on the basis of strength. The greatest wizards in the world gathered together under one banner and marched upon a lesser continent and brought its great powers to ruin. One day, soon, Seven, Iceberg, Ca-elum, the Pergrande Kingdom…all of them will fall. Dragnof, Guiltina.
"Yet for all of that will come, all of that will fall under the Empire's dominion, I see a severe lack of something that may one day lead to the demise and ruin of the Empire, as it will, one day, no longer be run by the dutiful Captains and Generals of today. New generations will come into their own power with their own ideals, and have to be Broken.
"I would see the avoidance of such state, and to do that, the ratio of warriors to writers must be erased. And it needs all start, simply, with one."
"Why me?"
"Not simply you, Levy. There is another prepared to enter our service, so long as she casts aside the foolish ideals of Fairy Tail, though I fear her transition may be more difficult. But with the two of you, such noteworthy wordsmiths and scholars that you are, we may begin to turn the tide against the great, gladiatorial brutality that has seeped into the fabric of the Empire's existence.
"Think back on the foundations of Fairy Tail. The four wizards were no stronger than you, perhaps some of your friends, yet they one day created the guild that has formed the strongest resistance to the strongest Empire Earth Land has ever seen. Why? Because two scholars of magic fell in love and formed a bond, and such knowledge and creativity have continued to live on ever since. I believe that knowledge continues to live in you, in Lucy Heartfilia. The Natsu Dragneels and Erza Scarlets of the world will always remain and will remain the same.
"Soldiers will carry new weapons, and march in new formations, but they will spill blood all the same, hold their traumas and darkest memories closest to their heart. But to prevent that requires thinkers. To slow the inevitable destruction of our world, there must be a breath of life every now and then, a surge of thought, and art. Indeed, the stories of old must live on such that, as the new ones are written, mistakes are avoided."
"What would I do, then?"
"You would shadow me, for a time," August said. "Together, we'll explore the Empire to its fullest. And you, as you grow older, can come fully into the role of our historian, our backbone and spirit, as it were."
Levy wanted to ask how August knew of her love of stories, books, and writing as well as he did but it didn't seem to matter. The man was well-studied on Fairy Tail, no doubt having done so to be prepared to fight Fairy Tail in the initial days of their invasion.
It sickened her to think of being a willing participant in keeping the Empire alive, to extend its life further and further into the future so that, one day, the life she knew and cherished would be little more than a distant speck of memory in her mind.
"You could just kidnap me," Levy said.
"Yes."
"So why won't you?"
"I have no need. You will come with me."
Denial had to mean death. She could, maybe, work the Empire from the inside. If they had Lucy…
No. No! This was the Empire that ruined Fairy Tail, ruined so many lives.
Killed Jet and Troy.
"I—I won't!"
Levy shut her eyes. The world stilled. The soil remained under her, soft. Her body tensed waiting for a slight release that would last a microsecond before the void…
And nothing came.
Instead, when she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by the refugees. Lisanna, Lahar, and all the others were around her, staring at August, waiting for him to make a move. Dumbfounded, Levy stayed on the ground.
"Very well, then," August said. "I'd best get going."
"What?" Levy asked.
"I am pleased," August said as his body began to turn to mist, "to have met a true member of Fairy Tail. You have shown your worth, and your strength, Levy McGarden. Farewell for now."
He evaporated, his form vanishing, completely, from the world. Lahar let out a gasp as Lisanna dropped and hugged Levy.
"What happened?" Levy asked, breathless.
"You were just…stoic, standing there," Lisanna said. She pushed back from Levy. "You and him were just locked in place. Oh, Levy, we were so worried."
"I'm fine," Levy said. She could hardly believe it, but it was true. "Really." She smiled at Lisanna. "I'm good. But we need to keep moving."
"It's dusk already, Levy, do you—"
"Yes," Levy said, still feeling a bit of a quiver in her voice. "I do."
Lahar didn't say anymore but nodded, and rallied everyone to keep moving. They did so gladly, marching forth into the long stretch of prairie. Levy let her hand drift to her pen, holding it tightly in her grip.
They moved into the evening. Levy couldn't get the conversation with August from her mind, nor could she fully shake his presence. He'd probably put a tracking spell on them. She hoped to figure out a different location to go and take the refugees so they didn't blow the whistle on other rebel hideouts. Maybe Lahar knew somewhere remote where they could set up for a time, away from the fast-moving Empire.
Some stars twinkled above as they prepared to come to a halt. Lahar prepared everyone to find spots to sleep while Lisanna tried to muster up some more spirit, energized by August's appearance, to use her Animal Soul Takeover magic and prowl a bit.
Levy, drained, found her resting spot, but couldn't sit down just yet. That sensation of August…was it…growing?
She tightened her grip around her pen. What was this? It was like her heart had a second beat or a skip at the worst. Anxiety gnawed at her stomach. Her fingers and lips trembled, but they were fine. Out in the open, sure, but there were no signs of an Imperial attack—
Then, the fire reigned down on them.
Coming as if from the stars above, wheels of fire slammed onto the prairie and ignited everything in its wake, humans and grass alike. People screamed and ran to put themselves out. Levy immediately cast her magic but more fire came upon them in an endless whirlwind. Darkness swooped in after, a shapeless, maleficent entity that momentarily choked the life from Levy before obliterating some of the slaves behind her.
She dropped her pen, unable to find it as she was knocked aside by the running slaves. She covered her face from getting trampled and sprang to her feet.
The malevolent entity took form, bathed in a pure black aura that struck down, with ease, the running refugees. Lahar, in an attempt to call out to the others, had a black spike stuck out through his belly. Blood sprang from his mouth as he dropped to his knees.
Levy screamed but it was wordless, and she, it seemed, was motionless.
Lisanna sprinted back to the ground, tears in her eyes. She leaped over a massive wall of fire, ignoring the lips of it trying to burn her fur, as she turned to a massive tiger, prepared to maul her foe.
Said foe turned toward her, at last revealing its face as its shadowy aura dropped.
White hair unfurled in a manic wave, black scars etching up the woman's face from her deep, burgundy dress that ran all the way down her legs to black boots. Talon-like claws opened in a flex as Lisanna stopped, her eyes wide, but momentum carried her forward.
And Mirajane's claws ripped through Lisanna, tearing into her little sister's chest. Lisanna, without a sound, fell to her sister's feet.
"It is a shame that death should continue to fall to those around you, Levy. But it need not happen. As simple as I may grant a word of healing to these dying people, so to may you grant a word of partnership to the Twilight Empire."
A somber hand clasped Levy's shoulder, bringing with it the weight of the world. Blood pooled at Levy's feet from the nearby bodies as Mirajane resumed her hunt. She cut down yet another, a fleeing woman trying to chase her child.
"Wh—what choice do I have?" Levy muttered, her voice returned at last. "I'll go with you."
Out, in the fiery fields, Mirajane came to a halt, stopped from bringing death upon that little boy who'd tripped and stared in horror at a devil incarnate. Mira turned her gaze toward August.
"We'll return home, then," August said.
He placed his staff next to Levy. A green wave rushed out of it, restoring the grass to its full color, and removing the blood running into the soft soil, and within moments, people were able to pick themselves back up.
Lahar and Lisanna both rose to their feet, dazed. Words caught in Levy's throat, a thousand apologies, a thousand pleas for understanding, but they all failed her.
Everything had failed.
"Do not bother saying goodbye," August said. "We have work to do."
Levy tried to raise her hand, to at least gesture to them, but the world blinked away in an instant, taking the two of them, and Mirajane, with it.