Chapter 20

Erza looked down at the white scarf she was holding in her hands. Why was she holding it? Why was it in her hands in the first place? Why… Why had Natsu returned?

She caressed it with her fingers, her eyes melting with tears. The soft and subtle fragrance of the scarf filled her nostrils and its silky texture brought her immeasurable glee and relief. It was as if… she was back in Natsu's arms, safe and sound, content and happy. But there was also fear and anticipation in her heart that beat out of her chest. Was Natsu here to stay? Could she meet him? Could she hold him? If she had to die here on this battlefield, could she die with him?

She looked at the battlefield. A stern and severe sandstorm brewed along it, wiping all vision and clarity away. She was blinded as to what was happening on the battlefield. But she knew Natsu was there. Fighting alone. Struggling alone. Persevering alone.

She didn't care if she would harm herself by going into the battle. She wanted to be there. She wanted to see Natsu again with her eyes. To prove to herself that he had returned. That would quench her thirst. Only that would satisfy her.

She eagerly walked to the edge of the battlefield and leapt down into the flurry of sands.

Acnologia lifted Natsu with his throat up in the air, as the sandstorm cut through their bodies. Natsu was strong. Acnologia hadn't yet battled such a fierce opponent. His body ached relentlessly wherever Natsu had injured him. But Natsu still wasn't channelling Ankhseram through him. His father was within Natsu, hiding somewhere. In fear? In inaction? Indifference? That was just like his father to leave humans to their own fates and do absolutely nothing about it.

He squeezed Natsu's throat, and the dragon slayer groaned and trembled. Natsu's breaths were cut off and his toes curled and eyes shut. Tears made their way to his eyes. He lifted his legs and kicked Acnologia's face with enough force to destroy mountains. Winds expelled out of their positions. But Acnologia wasn't deterred.

"You don't harm me." He smiled. The first ever smile on his face since Natsu had seen him. "You aren't fighting me with your full strength. You aren't bringing out the spirit of my father that coils within you, hiding somewhere. Are you afraid? Worried? Anxious that you would destroy the world should you use his fires? The world would be destroyed either way. If you don't destroy me, I'll swallow it. You need my father's strength to destroy me. But… you can't control it. That is why you aren't bringing it out."

Acnologia released Natsu's throat and let him fall to the ground. Natsu dropped limp on the ground, eating dust. His breaths resumed, and the lost strength started to flow into his body. As he slowly started to get up and made it halfway up, Acnologia swung his foot against his jaw and sent him flying into the distance.

Acnologia started to walk in the direction where he had kicked Natsu.

"This is your only chance. My father won't inhabit your body again. Such a great blessing from the greatest god of all… and you aren't even capable of using it."

He quickly dodged a flurry of fireballs spewed at him from the dust. He hopped on his feet sideways, spinning in the air, deflecting some balls, evading others, and kicking some others away.

He blinked and narrowed his eyes. Natsu was around him somewhere. Hiding in the shadows and the dust, merging into the sandstorm, injured but not defeated. Aching… but not giving up.

Acnologia felt the air thinning behind him, warm energies flashing behind his back. He quickly turned around. Behind him was a wall of flames heading towards him. He raised his arms and crossed them before his face. The flames touched his body, burning and searing around his skin. He groaned and knelt on the floor, screaming into the air. He took in a deep breath and expelled it out over the floor, the air from his roar dismissing the swirl of flames around him. Dust kicked up into the air and swirled even through the sandstorm, dispelling everything around him. The storm of flames he was surrounded with vanished, and for a moment the surroundings cleared up. The sandstorm took over again and the curtain of dust and sands covered up everything around him again.

He slowly rose to his feet, breathing in and out. His skin still burnt from the flames, much to his surprise. Natsu… reminded him of Igneel. Igneel's strength, his resolve… his mighty magic. Natsu had inherited all of it. But Acnologia had conquered Igneel, no matter how strong and powerful that dragon was. He didn't fear Natsu. He could conquer Natsu just like Igneel.

He turned around and swung his fist downward in the air. What his fist hit though, was Natsu's head. Natsu's face hit the ground and burrowed in the sand from the fierce force of the hit. He lay silent in the sand, still and frozen. His clothes fluttered in the dusty winds.

Acnologia smiled as he looked down at Natsu's half buried head. He placed his foot over it and pressed Natsu deeper into the sand. As he squeezed down, blood started to soak the sand around Natsu's head. That brought pleasure to Acnologia.

"What was my father thinking? Giving all his strength to a puny mortal who doesn't even know how to use it properly? Putting all his faith in you? Staking the world in your hands? Had senility driven him mad during his last days?"

Acnologia looked up into the skies. "Mother… Do you see this? Do you now wish you had taken my side instead of my father's? You abandoned me like a dog. You weren't here when I needed you the most. You disowned me in favour of your husband. Your beloved. You never loved me, did you? You only loved him. That was all for show, wasn't it?"

"She loved you…" Natsu's muffled voice was heard. He tried lifting his head from within the sand. Acnologia looked down at him, raising his brow. He bent down and grabbed Natsu's collar. He lifted him up in the air like a rat, and glared into his eyes.

Natsu's eyes were shut, his nose broken and much blood seeping out of his nostrils.

"What?" Acnologia turned his head.

Natsu smiled. "Liana… is an ocean of love. She loves everything. She loves… everyone. Man, animal, beast, monster… even you. She created you, just like she created this world. You are her child just as much as this world is. There is now way she couldn't love you. But…"

Natsu opened his eyes and scoffed weakly. "Even gods can make mistakes. She made two of them. First in creating you, and second in loving you. You failed your father. And you failed your mother. She even wished that she had killed you before you became what you are today. And your father… who resides in me… wishes the same."

Acnologia grinded his teeth, and struck Natsu in the stomach. Natsu's eyes popped out in pain, and then shut. Blood spurted out his mouth and splattered onto the sand below.

He gasped for breaths, and dropped on the ground as Acnologia unhanded him.

Natsu watched his blood soak the sand beneath him. Acnologia was correct. He didn't know how to channel Ankhseram's energy. He didn't know how to bring it out. In Liana's world, it had come to him spontaneously. But how? What caused him to bring that power forth in Liana's world? Was it the beating he had taken at Death's hand? Was it the pressure of the gods and goddesses watching him? Was it Liana? Were it her siblings?

He remembered. It was… Erza. Erza's thoughts. He had remembered Erza before bringing that power forth. He had mulled over how she would die if he wouldn't bring it forth. How she would be chewed up raw by Acnologia. How the world would end, with her in it. How… he would never see her again.

Natsu quickly shut his eyes. He brought Erza's face before him… but he couldn't picture her properly. It had been so long since he had seen her. And his bleeding and broken state right now… it didn't help his memory much either. He was half unconscious right now.

Acnologia started down at Natsu. Anger and bloodlust welled within him. Acnologia… loved his mother. It was a twisted and animalistic form of love… corrupted and broken… but it was there. He had longed to see her forever since she had banished him from the heavens. She left him. She abandoned him. She forsake him. Left him like a diseased animal that had served its purpose. That love for her was now marred by his broken ego at her betrayal. And now, after knowing that she had wanted to kill him, he wished nothing but death for her now. A loving death. A death of mercy, so that she didn't have to witness what Acnologia will do to her world and her children. That's what awaited her now. But first he had to destroy the essence of Ankhseram. His father. This human before him, already hanging by a thread. He had expected a better fighter to have been chosen by his father. Natsu… was weak. Too weak to hold the legendary power granted to him.

He turned his palm down at Natsu's sorry figure and started to brew a curse in it. A curse of death. A concentrated ball of black, shivering, trembling, crackling, manifested within his palm, ready to shoot out at Natsu, erasing him from existence permanently.

"I'll shred you to pieces." Acnologia said.

Before the ball could shoot at Natsu… Acnologia halted.

Pain… minute and prickling… sent shivers through his body. The ball in his hand vanished. He dropped his hands to his sides, and pressed his lips. He looked down, and found the tip of a sword penetrating through his stomach. It was quickly pulled out, in the manner of a well timed execution, and Acnologia dropped to his knees.

Pain revelled in him. The execution performed on him wasn't normal. It was an act of service towards Natsu. An act of protection for Natsu. An act of true devotion towards Natsu. It wasn't enough to kill him, but it brought him a kind of pain that he had never felt before.

Was this the power of love?

Natsu exhaled, propelling some grains of sand into the air, and looked up.

He found her.

There she was. In all her glory. Her red hair flowing in the winds. Her armour gleaming brilliantly even through the sand storm. Her arms holding her sword, strong and fierce. She was a woman that could level the world for the one she loved. That was a woman that could destroy for Natsu. That would preserve him till her last breaths.

Natsu screamed at her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Seeing her beautiful face after so long… it broke Natsu. Tears marred his eyes, and the urge to take her in his arms took over. He stood up.

"Erza…"

Erza let go of the fierce expression on her face and looked at Natsu. She had finally seen him. Now… even if she died, she wouldn't care. But… she would die protecting him. Preserving him. Doing her duty as a knight. Doing her duty as his lover. As his protector.

"Natsu…" she mumbled, smiling.

Acnologia stood up and grabbed her by the throat. He lifted her up, and both her hands grabbed his wrist, letting go of her sword.

Natsu could only watch. How did Erza cross the line of fire that was created by Death? Why did she cross it? Why was she here? To protect him? To see him? To fight for him?

Natsu had seen Erza's face now. And the picture of her face contorting in pain in Acnologia's grasp… it shifted something within him. Something was coming forth. He leapt forward to try and save her. Time slowed down.

Acnologia looked at Natsu, and then at Erza. Both of them were looking at each other, their eyes ripe with tears… and love. And the pain of a possible separation. He knew immediately that this red haired woman had replaced Liana in Natsu's heart. Acnologia knew that Liana still loved Natsu, but Natsu loved another. That made him angry. How dare his father love another woman when his mother was still alive? If Acnologia was to break this woman here…

He increased the strength in his hand and tightened his grasp around her throat. He smiled, showing his white teeth. His dark body ridden with the ashes of the millions of foes he had burnt to the ground glowed with a dark energy.

Acnologia could hear Erza's spine cracking as he grabbed her throat tighter and tighter.

Crack… crack… crack…

Erza's hands that were tightening around Acnologia's wrist loosened and soon dropped to her sides.

Erza was gone. Her limp body fell to the ground like rags.

Natsu halted. His mouth hung open, and a ringing noise took his ears. There was silence. Deafening, prickling, stinging silence.

His heart broke. Shattered. And what came out transformed him.

The mage alliance soldiers fell on their backs as a behemoth energy washed over them. A burst of heavy winds propelled out from the sandstorm ridden battlefield, bringing curtains of sand and dust crunching through the people gathered there. They all remained prone on the ground–they couldn't even move as the wind and energy washed over them, plastering them to the floor. They covered their faces and waited for the horrible storm to pass.

As it ended, they all slowly got up on their feet, hearts thumping in exhilaration and lungs breathing wildly. This energy that was just thrown at them… it wasn't normal. Something had broken free. An old ancient power was in the air and the wind, a power that transcended comprehension and measurement.

What was it?

Out of the cover of the sandstorm rose a red dragon. Several hundred feet tall. Roaring, seething, crying. Bellowing in the air and the earth shaking beneath it. Its head was massive, and its body even more so. It opened its maw and roared out at the sun, causing the sun to burn brighter and more intensely. Its wings spanned hundreds of feet themselves, flapping and fluttering violently, sending blades of wind cutting through the mountains and the plateaus. Its red scaly hide gleamed under the melting and burning sun, blinding everyone that dared look at it. An aura of fire burnt around it, red and brilliant, glowing like the sun itself.

The onlookers dropped their jaws and could only watch. This dragon didn't seem like the ones that Acnologia had brought along with him. This one seemed bigger than them, taller, faster, stronger. Angrier. The dragon raised its muscular arms and smashed the ground under it, seemingly trying to crush something or someone. The earth shook and rattled with each of its strikes, and the watchers were forced on their knees once again. This time, they didn't rise. This time, they remained on their knees. As if paying their respects to this massive entity.

"Igneel… that's him. He's back." Sting muttered.

"It can't be. We watched Igneel die with our own eyes." Rogue claimed, shaking his head.

Mirajane crawled forward, her body shaking with each of the loud strikes that the earth had to endure from the beast. She narrowed her eyes. "No… that's not Igneel… that's…"

Gray's eyes widened. He had seen everything. That fire that had started to burn on the battlefield. The sudden halting of this battle… that masked man that brought Erza Natsu's scarf… He knew Natsu was back. Natsu had returned, apparently. Natsu was back on earth, walking and breathing.

"That means… this dragon…" he gulped. "It's… him."

Another loud roar was heard. Amidst that sandstorm, there was another dragon. He rose up and stood almost as tall as the first one. His black body had streaks of uncanny and unholy blue glowing on it. It jumped at the red dragon, and their hands clasped, pulling and pushing, wrestling, maiming, hurting, injuring, intending to kill each other, destroy each other, and maybe even destroy the world as they clashed. The clash of two titans. Ferocious, fierce, animalistic. One represented death and disease and disorder. The second represented order and purity. A power to preserve and protect and carry. A power that could save the world. A power that could change the world.

Gray couldn't believe his eyes. "That's him. The red dragon… I can feel it. Those flames… that energy. That power. It's him. It's Natsu."

Mirajane watched as the two dragons clashed. Her lips widened into a smile and her eyes teared up.

He was back… he had returned.

Why was he a dragon? Why had he returned? Did he even die? Or was he just hiding somewhere? How could someone return from the world of the dead? Was Natsu even who she knew him to be? Who was he?

Everytime she and the others felt that they knew Natsu… he would pull out another trick from under his sleeves. Who exactly was that man? They had always considered him to be their friend, their brother, their companion… but was he really the same person they knew him to be? The person that they had always known? The person that grew up with them?

Who was Natsu?

Acnologia flew at Natsu. He hadn't foreseen this. A dragon slayer being able to master dragon force completely and turn into a full dragon? He had heard of this happening to some ancient dragons slayers… when emotions boil up and reach a splitting point, the human spirit would transform and take up shapes and forms never seen before.

All he had hoped when he destroyed that red haired woman was to break Natsu's spirit further. He had… never foreseen this. Was this his payment for not taking old texts and traditions seriously? Was this his payment for disregarding the old stories of how insanely strong true dragon slayers could be? He had thought that emotional strength didn't exist. But… he really should have given his actions a second thought before committing to them. He had made a mistake.

Natsu was blinded by rage and lividity. He couldn't see anything before his eyes but red. Fire. Destruction and death. That's all he saw. And he saw Erza. Her smile. Her loving embrace. Her pure and devotional love for him that he would walk miles for. Her love that knew no bounds. Her love that was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. Her angelic touch that could heal all his pain in moments.

Where was she now? Was she gone? Dead? Lost? Could she also return from the dead like he had done? Why did he let her die? Why couldn't he protect her? She died for him. There was no way he could continue living.

He turned around and swung his massive elbow at Acnologia, and sent him flushing backwards. Acnologia pelted on the ground and came to a sliding halt on the sand.

He quickly spewed black flames at Natsu, and surrounded him in a swirl of those flames. A tornado of dark flames engulfed Natsu, burning, searing, hurting. His massive dragon body was hidden within those flames… lost and gone.

Acnologia rose to his feet. This was the moment for an attack. He opened his maw and started to brew the death curse in it once again. The winds halted and the time froze. This was the end of Natsu. He will be finished now. His end was near.

Once again, prickling pain engulfed his body. He faltered and roared in pain. His stomach where Erza had scarred him hurt immensely. It was as if… before dying… she had made sure that he couldn't use his death curse on Natsu. Somehow, even after her passing… her love for this dragon slayer still lived and breathed in this world. It swirled and bloated, shrunk and expanded. It was breathing and beating, alive and well.

He fell down on his knees and the death curse vanished. He breathed and growled, and tried to start that curse once again, but it failed yet again. He couldn't do it. Erza had disabled his power.

Again... was this the power of love?

The tornado of flames before him exploded, and from the black flames and smoke rose Natsu. He emerged from the black and advanced towards the Black Dragon of Misfortune. Natsu grabbed his face and pushed him down onto the ground. Natsu climbed atop Acnologia and locked him in place. That was that. Acnologia couldn't move. A power halted him from moving. He was weak. He was disabled. The power of love chewed him up.

Natsu's eyes flowed. Erza… the woman he had sworn to always protect. The woman who he could give away his life for. She was now away from him. She was far away… gone forever. Never again could he lay his head down over her lap and enjoy her comforting presence and her gentle and soft hands stroking his hair. Never again would he kiss her… and her him. Never again would she smile at him after he returned from a mission and take him into her loving and healing arms. That was all gone.

Acnologia quit struggling, as it was all in vain. He was locked in place. His end was coming, marching on all fours, triumphant and tremendous, warring and burning. He looked up in Natsu's eyes, and through the wetness and tears that ran down his scaly dragon face… he saw blackness. Black eyes. Burning, searing. The eyes of hurt and bereavement. Of longing and tragedy. Emptiness. Blackness. Void. He then saw anger. Lividity. Rage. The strength to destroy the world was surging within Natsu. Acnologia had stirred the hornet's nest. And now… this was his payment.

Natsu opened his maw at Acnologia and started to surge fire within it. This fire wasn't red. Or crimson. Or orange. Or yellow.

This fire was black. Purest of the purest and the holiest of the holiest fires. The flames of a god. A broken god. A tragic god. The Lost God. The Broken God. Ankhseram. Natsu's true flames. Whose life had been marred with twists and turns and tragedies and pains. Innumerable pains. Whose life was one of longing, hurt, death, destruction and darkness. Whose life wasn't ideal.

But… whose life was? Life was suffering. Life was painful. Life was hurtful. And that is why, the one that lived through it to tell the tale was truly strong. Truly capable. Truly durable. That was life.

Acnologia breathed out. His end… this was it. All his wars… all his crimes… all his exploits… all of it ended here. All of it came to a halt here. This was the end of his legacy. This was the ending of his bloodline. This is how corrupted gods died. This is how… broken gods died.

At that moment, he had a change of heart. Something stirred within him. Peace… tranquillity… silence… that's what he saw. Broken threads within him that he never saw connecting anytime connected, and he was set free. He made terms with his condition. He made terms with his death. With his end. He made terms with his father.

"Goodbye… Father." he said.

In a matter of silent and scathing seconds, Natsu shot that fire at Acnologia. And there was silence.

Natsu's face was blank as he dug through the sand. His heart aching… almost even gone from his body. He couldn't feel his heart. It was as if he was dead. And… he might as well be dead. He didn't have anything worth living for anynore. All that he was… was Erza. Erza was his everything. Erza was his life. His smiles and tears… his pain and relief… his disease and comfort… his life. And his death. Why was he even looking for her body? He might as well kill himself right now. What was left for him on this earth anymore? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Digging and digging… digging and digging…

He touched something. It was soft and smooth. Pliable. He remembered how sometimes he would pinch Erza's cheeks lovingly. This… felt like her cheeks. His expressions changed. He slowly raised his hand above her cheeks and felt something soft and pointed… her nose. His hand moved automatically through the sand, as if he knew Erza atom by atom.

He dug his hands around her shoulder and pulled her body out. She was covered in sand… and death. He laid her down over the sand next to where she had been buried by the brewing sandstorm. He kept quiet. He kept silent. Only the whistling of the sandstorm was heard. The sad howling of the sandstorm. The grieved crying of the sandstorm. Even nature knew that what had been lost today could never be replaced.

Erza's eyes were shut. Natsu gently started to dust the sand off her skin. He didn't know why he was doing that. He touched her forehead… the same forehead he had kissed so many times. He touched her eyes… the same eyes that would tear up at even the slightest injury that he would accrue. He touched her cheeks… the cheeks that would burn red with embarrassment and love whenever she saw him. He touched her nose… the same nose he liked to nudge his own nose against playfully and lovingly. He touched her lips… the lips that had said so many sweet and endearing things to him yet. The lips that he had tasted so many times… the lips that would whisper sweet words of love and devotion into his ears. The lips that would tremble everytime Natsu proclaimed his love to Erza. The lips that would smile lovingly at him. The lips that were now dry and dead. Pale and purple.

Death slowly approached Natsu's back… saddened by what he was seeing.

"I see…" he muttered. "The heavens are in an uproar. You have destroyed Acnologia… but that's not the reason behind One's anxiety. This… on the other hand… is."

Natsu shut his eyes… and a few drops of tears shifted and dropped over Erza's dry and lifeless body. It was losing warmth by the second.

"Is there anything you can do?" Natsu asked.

Death shook his head. "One sent me here for that same reason. To see if there was something I could do. But… I command death. Not life."

Natsu clenched his teeth. "Where is Erza now?"

Death smiled morbidly. "At the gates of heavens. Awaiting me to bring her to the plane of the dead. I wanted to check on you first before I do such a thing."

Natsu looked up. His mind was elsewhere. It was churning and brewing with pain and misery. His heart was in pieces.

"I… I returned from the dead. There must be a way she could too."

Death shook his head. "You returned from the dead because you defeated me in combat. Everyone who dies is given that chance. But everyone fails before me. Just like she would."

Natsu felt anger welling up within him. He turned around and grabbed Death's throat and raised his feet in the air.

"TELL ME SOMETHING THAT IS POSSIBLE, YOU BASTARD!"

Death exhaled. "I am sorry. I know you are upset. But those that die cannot be brought back. Not even by me. That's how Ankhseram designed the world."

Natsu's eyes teared up. Was there really nothing that could be done now? Was this the end for Erza? Her sweet memories that she had left with him… will those be the last keepsake of hers to him? Was she gone forever? Will she never return? Will he never see her bright and beautiful face again? Her glowing visage? Her gorgeous smile that she would reserve only for Natsu and no one else?

Natsu dropped Death back on his feet, and knelt before the god. The tears that had mysteriously evaded his eyes until now flushed his ducts in full force now… and before long, he was crying and bawling at Death's feet, his eyes flowing unstoppably. His heart was beating faster and faster, as if it was running on lava, never to reach the edge. He was burning. He was searing. He was destroyed. Broken. Inconsolable. Irreparable. Incomplete. He was lost in a forest of a directionless world… never to reach an end. He was gone. At the edge of the world… the galaxy… the universe… he was at the edge of the creation. Should he bring his fires out and destroy the world? What was left in the world if not Erza?

Death looked down at his kneeling form. He had never been one for emotions. He was a god of the dead. He was death himself. He was the misfortune or the fortune that awaited everyone at the end. Sooner or later… they all came to him. Emotions were non-existent in him.

"There is a way." He murmured.

Natsu looked up at him, his eyes still flowing.

Death continued. "Killing someone… maiming someone… hurting someone is easy. But to bring them back to life… to create a life… to keep that life… that is difficult. To breathe life back into her, you must make a sacrifice. A great sacrifice. Something that even the most merciful gods would falter before. But… Ankhseram was the most merciful of all gods. He would do anything in his power to help his devotees. No one that was in pain would return empty handed from Ankhseram's doors. It is time that you show that. You are Ankhseram. That quality of sacrifice and mercy lives in you. It breathes in you. It breathes through you."

Natsu stood up and wiped his eyes, but they started to flow again. "What… what do I have to sacrifice?"

Death smiled. "What is dear to you? What can you give away to bring her back?"

Natsu looked at his open palms. He didn't have much. He never had much. He relished in Erza. Erza was his everything. Erza was his greatest accomplishment. Erza was his wealth. Without her, he had nothing. The next best thing was…

"M-my life?"

Death laughed. "You are pure of heart. Innocent and merciful. Just like Ankhseram was. But no. You must keep your life. You are the protector of this world. You are the ruler of the heavens. They would be unbalanced should you die. You have something else. A blessing. One of the greatest blessings ever bestowed upon a human. Your powers as Ankhseram. Ankhseram blessed you with his powers for a purpose. Now that the purpose is complete, you don't need those powers anymore. You will keep your regular powers. But those black flames… you can give those up. Surely, you desire Erza more?"

Natsu didn't even think for a second. He nodded. "I… I do. I want her back."

Death nodded once. "And you will have her back. Go to her body. Kneel before her. Place your hand over her heart. And wish… will… hope with all your heart… that she comes back."

Natsu looked at his open palms. He could… he could bring Erza back. He had that power in him. Before her… all his worldly desires failed. He would have her back, and nothing else than that.

He turned and walked to her body. He knelt down before her. His tears that had stopped flowing came rushing back to his eyes, and he started to weep and cry again. Sob and bawl before her. But he kept his composure. He had a duty to do.

He slowly placed his trembling hand over her chest… and shut his eyes.

"Erza… do… Do you remember all those promises I had made to you? The promise of a world all our own… a beautiful little world where flowers bloomed and nectars flowed? A world with just the two of us in it, and no one else? Our children and us. That's it. The promises of always protecting you with all my might, and never letting even a single thing harm you? The promise of always keeping you happy and loved… always keeping you before my eyes and never letting you go away? All… all those promises were not empty. I… I would like to keep them. I would like to uphold them. I would like to prove that I wasn't lying. Give… give me just one chance. I… I love you, Erza. I love you with all my heart, wishing for even more love to shower you with. I love you beyond time and death. Beyond life. Beyond existence. And… I would like to keep loving you. I want to keep loving you just like that. Come back to me. Please."

He placed both his hands and his forehead over her chest, and broke down into shambles. He started to cry and bawl loudly, tearing through ear drums, tearing through hearts, tearing through souls. Tearing through reality. The power of love was immense. But even greater was the power of bereavement and loss. Through that power, Natsu… or Ankhseram… at that time… shook the heavens and the world. The world trembled through the Lost God's tears… the Broken God's grief… the Dead God's suffering. Should Ankhseram continue to weep like this… the world would soon end.

Death quickly stepped forward and held Natsu's shoulders… containing him. It was Ankhseram's duty to protect the world… but right now, Death had to do it instead. He had to shield the world from Ankhseram's grief. From his heartbreak. From his loss.

He smiled to himself. He had never seen himself as the protector of the world. But yet here he was.

Black sparks started to surge around Natsu's hands that were over Erza's chest. The sparks rattled and flowed, exploding and crackling. Melting the air itself… vaporising the winds and the dust… searing through the sand particles.

The black sparks ignited… and started to burn around Ankhseram's hands. His black flames took form and started to dance brilliantly and brightly yet darkly over his fingers and hands. Death found himself getting slightly nervous at the sight of those black flames. Should even a single ember touch him, he would be reduced to ashes. But he held Ankhseram's shoulders all the same. It was his duty to protect the world for now.

Natsu had calmed down for a while. He knew Death was holding his shoulders. That… somehow calmed him down. He wasn't crying anymore. His mind… was filled with the thoughts of Erza now.

Her words sang melodiously in his head.

'I… I wouldn't be in the rain, Natsu. Even though it is beautiful and relaxing. I wouldn't be the ground… which is vast and fertile. I wouldn't be in the skies which are high and mighty. I wouldn't be in the winds… strong and fierce. I wouldn't be the stars… pretty and twinkling. I would… I would rather be with you. I would hold your hand and walk miles with you, celebrating milestones, seeing sights and living every single moment as if it was my last. I would hold you up when you slip, and I would look to you for support when I do the same. I… I love you, Natsu. More than I could ever love someone. More than myself. More than anything else in the world. It… It is difficult for me to put it into words. I love you, Natsu.'

The flames exploded softly, and started to engulf Erza's body. They seared around her skin, her dress, her armour, heer hair, her nose, her eyes, her lips, nose, cheeks, arms, legs, waist… they burnt over her entire body.

Natsu raised his head and looked at her brightly burning body. The flames didn't harm her. So… what were they doing? Healing her? Bringing life back into her? Breathing a soul into her? Would she remember Natsu? Would she remember his love? Would she still remember him?

Natsu slowly stood up and walked back, watching Erza's body in awe. Something was happening. Something miraculous. Natsu still didn't know how to use his powers properly. He didn't know if he would ever learn it. Maybe only Ankhseram knew how to do it. And now… there was no way anyways. He had given it up for Erza. But that was okay. He watched Erza as winds started to swirl around her body. Was it at least working?

Her body convulsed and trembled acutely once, and the flames were gone. Silence remained. Natsu stood in the silence and the quiet for a while, looking at Erza…

He turned his head around to look at Death… but he was already gone.

What now?

Erza's eyes fluttered open. She blinked once or twice. She raised herself up and stood, confused and bewildered. But okay. She was okay. She was alright. She was alive.

Natsu watched her standing at a distance… blinking his eyes… and not believing them.

Erza looked around, and then at Natsu.

"Natsu…"

She remembered him. She remembered his love. She remembered his promises.

Natsu knelt on the ground. Relief… washed over him. Relief and tiredness. He planted atop the ground, unconscious.

"NATSU!" Erza rushed to him. She turned his body around to face him up, and listened to his heartbeats. He was alive.

What even happened here? The last thing she remembered was… a sharp pain in her neck at the hands of Acnologia. There was a lacuna in the series of her memories. Had she died? Why was she back? Why was she alive? What exactly happened? She didn't have the answers to any of that.

She looked at Natsu, and fished in her pocket and brought out his scarf.

Theres still a few chapters left. Or maybe just one. But this isnt the end. I cant end here.