Day 30,
I've gotten used to the quiet. But it is still unnerving.
I found the wreckage of the All Under Heaven not long ago,
it's just ghosts and skeletons now. Well, soon to be skeletons.
There were working Geiger Counters in the armoury and med-bay,
so I grabbed one to keep track of the radiation, not that it matters.

The food in the mess hall had gone off by the time I reached it,
there is no point in trying to eat it, radiation might not be able to kill me,
but mouldy food would definitely put me through the ringer.

I also stocked up on ammo and medical supplies, just in case I need them.
Happy used to play games where nuclear radiation caused the wildlife
to mutate, and strange anomalies to form. So far, I haven't come across
either of those, maybe it's possible, maybe it's not… not yet.

You know how they said that roaches would survive a
nuclear holocaust? Turns out to be true… they are everywhere.
Some animals seem to have survived; some are badly burnt with
bits rotting. I've been putting them down as I come across them.

There was another plus to rooting around the giant corpses of ships,
I've found an acoustic electric guitar! The strings weren't in the best
condition but I came across a music store in the city, so I grabbed
a new set, I even grabbed some picks while I was there. It's not much,
but even a little bit of music helps fill the void.

I never knew just how many photos Lucy had kept of us all…
her photo albums had photos of her and I, our squad. Everyone from
before the war… I can tell when some of the group photos are taken
by who is no longer in them and what is in the background.
So many faces that are now just dust and ashes, or buried six-feet
under. I can't help but smile at the photos as I slowly work my way
through them, but every time I stop, I always feel hollow…

I think that'll do for today, I need to get moving. There is still
places that I need to investigate. I might find someone out there,
maybe…

Natsu looked up from Lucy's diary that he had made his own, he had carefully marked where her recordings had ended and his began, each one beginning with how many days had passed since he had lost her. He slipped the velvet string attached to the spine between the pages he had been writing on and slipped the pen into the spine.

His attention snapped to outside his current shelter, the wreck of a crashed Condor, as a noise drew his attention. He sent the book away and requiped his M7 Battle Rifle, slowly walking out of the crashed Condor and towards the light humming and faint footsteps with the muzzle aimed at the source.

"Ah, here you are." Came the voice of a woman. It was soft and gentle, but something was off about her. She had perfect alabaster skin with no blemishes at all. Her hair was as white as fresh snow, and her eyes glittered like white opals. Around her slim womanly body was a luxurious off-the-shoulder white dress which spiralled around her, not a speck of dust, dirt, or ash anywhere on it, nor on the open-toe heels she wore. Adorning her arms, neck, and top of her head were gold ornaments. She was perfect, far too perfect to be a product of this world.

"Who are you?" Natsu asked cautiously, he kept the rifle trained on the woman but she didn't seem concerned in the very least, like she had no self-preservation instinct.

"My name is Ceres. And yours?"

"Natsu… Commander Natsu Dragneel." He replied slowly, his eyes roamed the woman's body and she held her arms out to the side to show she had no weapons on her. It put him at ease a little and so he lowered his rifle a little, but he couldn't sense her presence by any other means except for sight and the subtle sweet scent which he couldn't identify. So, either she was somehow suppressing it from him, or she was just beyond his current comprehension. "I thought there was no one else left on the planet…"

"And you would be correct in saying that, Natsu. Mostly." Ceres smiled sadly as she turned her gaze to the sky. She looked like a grieving mother as she said, "Ten-billion, one-hundred-and-sixty-five-million, four-hundred-and-thirty-nine-thousand, eight-hundred and fifty-one people. The total population of this world was that, but less than thirty of those people are currently alive, and only one has the ability to survive without an issue. The others will die shortly, anyway. So, it might as well just be you. They all perished in what amounts to an instant."

"Ah…"

"I suppose this solved the issue of overpopulation, though it brought out a new issue… I can't repopulate the world with just one man. Well, I could easily do that, but I think it would be best to write this world off. Maybe it'll be put to use later on."

"You're a goddess, I'm guessing?" Natsu murmured. He lowered his rifle completely and slowly approached her, coming to a stop a metre from her.

"Correct." Ceres nodded softly, smiling at the man as she threw her arms out to the side. "I'm the Goddess Ceres, a lesser deity tasked with overseeing a selection of universes. I like to drop by my worlds from time to time and see them from a mortal's perspective. You're not the first that I've approached and you won't be the last, well, you will be from this world."

"Plural?"

"Yes. While some are similar, others are set in different eras, with different themes, and some have completely different things going on." The white-haired goddess held up a finger in front of her like a teacher educating children would. "On the matter of mass extinction, there are some worlds that are consumed by a viral outbreak that turn the population into the living dead, others get hit with an asteroid but some of those manage to prevent that calamity." She folded her arms under her bust and gave the man a serious look. "I've come with an offer; you either wither away over the years and die here among the dust and echoes, or I place a marker your soul and allow you to come with me to my realm where I'll find you a new place to live? In one of the many worlds under my domain."

"Could you give me a little bit of time?" Natsu asked as he looked towards the Government Palace. "I'll go, she'd want me to keep living if I had the option to. But… I want to at least have the chance to say goodbye to them, to my family."

"Gather your things first, if you don't already have them stored within your magical core. It means we won't have to travel back to this aircraft."

"We?"

"Yes. I'm coming with you."

"The city is heavily irradiated." Natsu warned the pure-white woman.

"I'm a goddess, such things will not affect me."

Natsu sighed softly and went back into the wrecked Condor. He collected up the things that he had gathered in his travels and returned to the goddess. However, instead of stopping, the armoured man passed by her without a second glance. "Let's get going."

"I must warn you; manipulating your soul will take a toll on you, you're likely to fall unconscious." Ceres informed the pinkette as she followed his silent footsteps. He was walking faster than her, seemingly hurrying to the graves of his loved ones, so the goddess lifted off the ground and floated alongside him soundlessly.

"Right."

"You're prepared for it?"

"As you said, either I die here or I keep living elsewhere. I know what she'd want me to do, as much as it pains me."

"There are others, you know. In other universes."

"It won't be the same, it won't be her."

"Correct, but that doesn't mean it has to be. But I'm sure you'd find her to be just as loving as your one was, and be a good moral compass for you, as she was. It'll just take time to reforge a bond with her."

Natsu grunted softly and sighed. He remained silent for the rest of their journey until they reached the ruins of Pergrande's seat of governance, where four graves and an empty hole stood, looking just the same as it had thirty days prior when he buried them. "You're not going to ask about the last one?"

"I saw you dig it, so no." Ceres shook her head. "I had been watching the world end, it's my job."

"Right." Natsu glanced at the goddess but quickly turned his attention back to his fallen friends, kneeling before their graves. "Hey… Sorry I haven't been around in a few days. I've been checking out some of the wreckages of the warships, both ours and theirs… Found a few things to keep me occupied or help me keep going here. But it seems something has come up; I won't be able to come around anymore… You see, this woman is a goddess, and she said she'll take me to another world. I'm… afraid. Whatever this new world is like, I'm bound to come across you in it, I'm scared of what they may think of me. I'm a monster, a demon, a devil. I changed after you four had died, did some really evil shit. I just felt so damn angry… Would these other versions of you even accept me, can I even tell them what had happened here… everything I've done and how it all ended?"

"There's only one way to find out." Ceres glanced at the man, quietly interrupting the one-sided conversation he was having.

"I'll come find you lot once my time is up, but until then please rest well, say hello to the others for me and tell them I still miss them." Natsu finished up, rising to his feet. He turned to the goddess who had a gentle, motherly smile and he said, "Alright, I'm ready."

"Let's get going then." Ceres stepped forward and placed her hand over his armoured chest, channelling her divinity to mark the man's soul.

Natsu's vision rapidly faded to black and all the strength left his body, the strain from the goddess' tampering completely knocking him out. But a familiar voice echoed from within the darkness.

"Darling~."

Natsu opened his eyes slowly and blinked at the bright light. "Luce? What time is it?"

"A bit after ten." The woman giggled from outside the room. "I'm working on breakfast."

Something seemed off as Natsu glanced around, he was back in his house in Magnolia. This was his bedroom. "Where is Happy?"

"I took him to school and came back. I didn't want to bother you since you had a long day."

A light pattering started coming closer to him, footsteps were slowly and carefully coming up the stairs. Long blonde hair swept around the edge of the frame as Lucy poked her head into their bedroom, her bright smile lighting up the room. She was blushing as she hid her body behind the wall.

"I made some bacon and eggs with hashbrowns." She announced cheerfully. She stepped out into the doorway and her blush deepened a little, adding colour to her bare shoulders. The beautiful blonde was dressed in only a short white apron that stopped at her mid thighs and barely contained her bountiful chest. She glanced away bashfully and looked up at the man through her eyelashes. "How… how do I look?"

"Good enough that I forgot how to speak, or even think straight." Natsu chuckled softly and sat up in their king-sized bed.

"All the blood ran south I see." Lucy giggled playfully and balanced the tray of food on one hand so she could point at the rising bedsheets. "You can have your sweets after you finish breakfast, Mister." She sat down on the edge of the bed and placed the tray onto his lap, she brushed some of her hair behind her ear and her wedding ring glittered in the morning light. "Apparently there is going to be a heatwave coming… It's going to be hot outside."

"I'll put some lighter sheets on the bed then." The pinkette replied as he gazed out the window. Beyond it was Magnolia's cityscape, they lived up on one of the hillside estates, in one of the more affluent suburbs, so they had excellent privacy. Something caught Natsu's eye, something was falling from the sky over the middle of the city. The object burst and a bright light washed out the city, instantly making Natsu's hot blood freeze over. He launched forward and tackled Lucy to the ground. "Get down, Lucy!"

A thunderous rumble shook the building and the bright light filled the room. From underneath him, Lucy was enveloped by the light and began to fade away, she gave the man a sad smile before vanishing completely and the world was filled with white. "I'm sorry, Natsu. I love you…"

"No…" Natsu muttered as he opened his eyes, white carpet filled his vision. He was on his hands and knees beside a bed. "No, no, no… Fucking damn it! FUCK!" He slammed his fist into the ground before sinking lower and burying his face into the soft fabric. "Lucy…"

"Oh, you're finally awake."

Natsu stiffened and slowly rose up, sitting with his legs folded under him. His body was completely unclothed and bared to the pure-white woman, too perfect to be human. "How long was I out?" He asked quietly, quickly internalising the pain and shifting his features into a relaxed façade albeit with eyes like the abyss.

"A few days. You were lights out the moment I put the marker on you. I had to drag you to the bath and clean you before I put you to bed. Lucky I'm stronger than I look otherwise I'd have left you outside." Ceres walked to the bed and placed a bag down on it before turning to the man with a sympathetic motherly gaze. "You need not hide your feelings from me, I can still see them as clear as crystal. You'll only hurt yourself more if you shut them out."

"Right…"

"I brought a change of clothes for you. I took them from a world with a similar fashion sense to the one you came from. Would you like for me to leave while you get changed?"

"It doesn't matter." Natsu replied, tonelessly, as he rose to his feet and opened the bag. "You said you washed me and that you been watching me in my world, meaning you already know everything about my body. No point hiding it beyond preserving my dignity."

"Well, I hope these clothes are to your liking." Ceres said. She walked past the man and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I figured you'd be used to that kind of clothing."

She had grabbed an outfit that looked like it was inspired by a centuries' old desert uniform consisting of khaki linin pants and a matching jacket, white t-shirt, brown military leather boots with a matching belt, and of course, socks and underwear. Natsu looked up at the woman, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing.

"I took inspiration from your occupation. You were a soldier, so I got something that seemed fitting." The woman shrugged casually as she watched the man dress himself, tapping a tune on the bed's headboard which seemed to be made from some kind of white wood inlayed with gold and ivory. "Do you not find them suitable?"

"It'll do for now." Natsu replied, shortly. "Did you go down to a world to find these?"

"Yes." Ceres tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, watching the man curiously. "I did tell you that I like to roam around the worlds I watch over. Did you think it would cause a stir to have a deity, even a minor one such as myself, walk among the denizens of the worlds we oversee?"

Natsu checked his appearance in the mirror then turned to look at the woman. "You are literally the whitest thing I've ever seen. Your picture would be the literal definition of the word white."

"That's not fair, I'm not just wearing white you know!" The goddess puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "I do have gold on me."

"Accessories." Natsu said, flatly. Pointing to her jewellery as he listed them off. "Golden headdress thing, gold choker, gold earrings and rings, and a gold bracelet and bangles. Everything else is white, even the flowers attached to your headpiece."

Ceres' pout turned into an amused smile and shook her head lightly. She sighed gently and rose up from the bed. "You got me there. White is considered to be the symbol of purity, since all colours come from white." A sly grin replaced the woman's smile as quickly as it had arrived. "So, one could say that I am wearing every colour all at once."

"Your logic is flawed. Anyway, my point is that your peculiar appearance, combined with your impossibly perfect looks would draw significant attention."

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" The goddess narrowed her eyes at the man and placed her hands on her hips, cocking them slightly.

"I only meant what I said."

"Hm." Ceres sighed as her head fell forward. She quickly pulled herself together and moved onto the man's need for amenities. "The door to the side here will take you into a bathroom should you need to do any business. There is also deodorant inside that bag, along with soap, and stuff for your hair. I tried to get stuff that would seem to suit you but since you were out of it, I could only guess what would be best. Once you're sorted, head out the door opposite the foot of the bed and head left, I'll be in the kitchen."

When Natsu had left the bedroom, he was unsurprisingly met with even more white. From the marble floors to the alabaster walls decorated with gold leaf, at least it added a modicum of colour. If given the chance, he might have to redecorate before long or he'd got crazy. He found the goddess where she said she would be, humming to herself while busily preparing a meal for the two of them. "Gods need food?"

Hmm?" The woman turned around with her fingertip in her mouth, her eyes wide for a moment before letting the digit go with a pop. "We won't die from not eating or drinking, but food and drink evokes a certain pleasure within us. Hmm, think of it like when you eat some high-class food and your body feels all tingly and happy… Actually, that's kind of what it is like."

"Sounds like a rush of dopamine and endorphins, 'feel good' chemicals in the body. I'm surprised that deities have things like that."

"Have a seat, I'm almost done." Ceres turned back to the stove and added something to one of the pots. "Gods and Goddesses have their own needs and wants. They have desires and their own little idiosyncrasies. Dionysus for example, is a god of fertility like myself but his love of wine and sex had made him be seen as the god of such things, wine, pleasure, and ecstasy. This ended up influencing his followers." The white-haired goddess took two reasonably large bowls from a cupboard in the bench between her and the table and filled them with the contents of the two pots before bringing them to the table.

Natsu stared at the bowl placed in front of him for a little bit, long enough to earn a curious glance from the woman across from him. The food was all too familiar, something commonly found in the homes, diners, and some lower end restaurants of Fiore. "A chicken and egg rice bowl? I was expecting something a little more…"

"Divine? Or maybe you were thinking of something more alien?" The goddess smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth, and giggle softly. "Believe it or not, us deities do also take inspiration from mortals too. I find your cuisine to be, pardon the irony, divine." She averted her eyes to the side, bashfully blushing which added a light pink hue to her pale cheeks. "I admit, sometimes I do sneak down to the various worlds under my watch just so I can visit various restaurants. Their food is always so delicious. And I do my best to recreate those dishes up here."

"I expected something a little more… fancy, coming from a deity." As Natsu started to eat the food, he glanced up at the goddess. "It's not bad."

"Just 'not bad'? I think your taste buds have been damaged from eating all those irradiated rations…" Ceres grumbled and slumped down in her chair. "Speaking of which, I need to take you to the purifying lakes in my domain. It'll cleanse you of all that accumulated radiation, it may not hurt you but it will hurt others near you. To be frank, I'm surprised you aren't glowing right now…"

"Ah… will those lakes cause me any harm? I'm a hybrid species… and chemically augmented too."

"Hm, let me think about that…" Ceres murmured as she narrowed her eyes at the man. They started to shimmer with divine power and she scanned him down to the soul. "An Etherious-class demon, a human, and a dragon, that has been mutated by mortal science. I'll change the properties of the lakes, they'll only remove things that shouldn't be there, who you are will remain the same."

"Thank you."

"You don't need to; I've taken you into my care so I'll look after you. Not just now, but in the future too, if you need something then just ask." The woman shrugged and spooned more food into her mouth casually. The power in her eyes faded but she didn't stop observing the man while he ate. "I suppose I should explain a few things now that you are awake. Normally, only souls may travel here. In other words, only the dead are permitted to enter a divine's realm."

"Then I'm guessing the marker that you had put on my soul is allowing me to be here?"

"Correct in one." Ceres flashed the man a warm, motherly smile as she leaned in. "You are now one of my Chosen, one who has received my blessing. We can communicate freely and I can observe you easier than those who haven't been marked, even by looking through your eyes. But don't worry about knowing when I am there and I am not, you'll feel my presence within you. Let me show you."

When Ceres closed her eyes, a strange feeling filled Natsu's mind, like a very thin fog that grew from the middle of his mind and from it came a very powerful presence, more powerful than anything he had sensed in his world. Something was overlapping with his perception and Ceres' shocked gasp resonated in his mind. "Something wrong?"

'Is this how you sense things? It's so strong, I can hear the leaves rustling in the trees outside, and the animals too, and even the waterfall in the distance. Is that really how I smell? Eat something, I want to discover what things taste like to you.'

"That's a product of my mutations brought on by my dragon slaying magic. All my senses are heightened." Natsu spooned some food into his mouth and a disappointed mutter rippled through his mind. "Not to your liking?"

'I see why you said it was just 'not bad', your sense of taste is sharper than mine. Maybe I should have you cook something for me later, I bet you're an amazing cook.'

"Maybe." Natsu finished off his food and took the bowl to the sink, the feeling of a second presence within him quickly became normal. 'Can you hear me if I talk within my head?'

'Yep. Can you think of something for me, but not voice it within your head.'

The man closed his eyes and let out a soft breath, letting his mind wander to Lucy, the sound of her voice, the feel of her skin, her soft lips on his, her breath-taking beauty. It tore away at his heart but he never wanted to forget her. If his memory ever began to fail then he wished that the one memory that would stay would be her; her singing, dancing, the feel of her skin, and the sparkle of her eyes when she was talking about the stuff that she was passionate about, her cute giggles and those smouldering smiles.

'Are you doing it?'

"Yes."

'Ok, well it seems to only work with your inner voice.'

"Lucky me." Natsu reopened his eyes and began handwashing the bowl and pots. He glanced over his shoulder as the presence receded. "Satisfied?"

"Not really but it'll do for now. I didn't realise how much different you are to a normal human." Ceres rose from her chair with a hand held to her head as she steadied herself against the bench. "Never, in all my long life, have I felt this discombobulated… How do you handle so much sensory information?"

"I've been like that since about five or six, I've had over twenty years to get used to that. But that's not including the changes those chemicals made, I can enter a hyper-focused state. I wonder how well you would handle that?" Natsu shrugged and dried his hands. "Where are the lakes you wanted me to soak in?"

"Out in the surrounding woods…" Ceres took a few deep breathes and righted herself before leading the man outside. "It's too quiet now…"

"Is that so strange?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm…" Natsu glanced around at the strange forest surrounding the modest house belonging to the goddess. Unlike her, it had some colour to it, but it was very strange. There were cherry blossom trees with white wood instead of the usual brown, and the flowers themselves were shades of whites, pinks, and purples. At least the grass was green, and the deeper he looked into the forest, a greater the variation of colour became more pronounced with yellows, reds, oranges, and other colours, but they all had ashen trunks. They wandered deep into the forest but followed a seemingly planned path between the trees. In fact, when he looked at the grass, he noticed that there was a faint path between the house and lakes. "Is this whole place designed by you?"

"Yes. What gave it away?"

"Aside from the white trunks? At least you've added more colour to the area…" Natsu looked up at the colourful sky, it was filled with reds, purples, and violets. "Is it permanently twilight, or does this place have a day-night cycle?"

"Umm… I think it is currently set on a cycle. But I can choose how it behaves on a whim. Would you prefer something a little more natural for your world?"

"This is fine. So that means this is your private realm, away from other deities?"

"Correct." Ceres turned around and confidently walked backwards, her hair swaying in the gentle breeze. "There is a realm, a rather large one, that we share. It's like our own little world that has a bunch of amenities like entertainment, clothing stores, and more. But each of us have our own private areas where we can go to do our work peacefully. Between you and me, some of them can be rather obnoxious."

"You don't like talking to them much, I'm guessing?"

"Not really, a lot of them have really big egos and are larger than life. I do have some that I'm close with, and others that I've been a lover to." The goddess ducked and turned under a low hanging branch as naturally as if she had walked this path hundreds of thousands of times, which she probably had if not more. "It's just through here, though I have no doubt that you've already heard it."

Ceres pushed aside some low hanging pink willow and revealed strange-looking and small interconnected lakes. They had an unusual green hue to the water and it wasn't reflecting the sky like water naturally would which meant that this was another one of Ceres' strange creations. The rushing tumultuous noise that Natsu had been hearing was a cascading waterfall flowing down a fifteen-metre-tall cliff-face. "A product of your brain again?"

"Water can be green in the right circumstances…" The white-haired woman grumbled quietly, pouting at the man. "Whatever." She muttered before imperiously pointing to the man. "Strip and go soak in it for a while."

"If I'm irradiated, wouldn't these clothes also be irradiated by now?"

"Not if the radiation is inside you… I think. Is that how it works?" The goddess' voice faltered as she began to question herself. "Maybe I ought to have you go in clothed… No, I can just wash the clothes afterwards. So, strip."

"Wouldn't you also be irradiated too, since you were in the middle of a highly radioactive city?"

"Yes, but it's less of a concern for me." But as Ceres said that, she was enveloped by a bright, divine light. Once it faded away, it revealed her to be completely free of clothing and jewellery. She was pure white from tip to toe and didn't even have a single follicle of hair on her body, though her areola were a faint pink. While not as well-endowed as Lucy, the beautiful goddess was only a little smaller. She walked into the shimmering green water and sat down gracefully with the water coming up to the middle of her breasts. "Come on, get in already. Or are you going to stand there ogling me all day?"

Natsu gave the woman a small grunt before becoming enveloped in light, using requip to remove his clothing. His two pairs of dog-tags and rings hung from his neck and jangled as he walked into the water. "Happy?" He asked quietly yet no less stubbornly. Truthfully, he was a little surprised that he was able to call up his magic and use Requip to access his magical pocket dimension. His arms were covered in black ember-like markings that seemed to radiate – albeit by sight alone – with a dangerous power, signalling his demonic nature as an Etherious.

"Yes." Ceres replied. She looked up at the man then back down to water fall in front of her, enjoying the tranquillity of the lakes. "Swim, float around, come sit with me and soak, do whatever you would like to do."

The pinkette slowly waded in deeper until he was treading water and took a deep breath before diving under, he quickly swam to the deeper region nearer to the cliff-face. He slowly released air from his lungs until his heavy, densely muscled body was neutrally buoyant and he sat at the base of the waterfall's plunge pool. The man cleared his mind of thought and entered a meditative state, feeling his magic flowing throughout his body and practicing channelling it to specific parts to increase their instantaneous power. The passage of time became a foreign concept to the man but he soon felt a spiritual presence enter him.

'Are you ok down there? You haven't surfaced since you dived under…'

'I'm capable of holding my breath for much longer than a professional athlete. The lungs of a dragon combined with vigorous training and my enhancement have allowed for that.' Natsu opened his eyes and gazed around the green water. 'You feel what I feel, right? You should be able to feel how my body is behaving.'

'You're just a peculiar specimen, I still need some time to get used to how you feel compared to a normal person. For example, I've noticed just how much hotter your body feels in comparison to my own, even taking in the difference between man and woman. When I was taking care of you, I had thought it was just a side-effect of the radiation or something but you seem to be like that naturally.'

'It's another product of my draconic mutations. I don't really get sick because of it, most viruses get cooked within my body, even more so when I use my magic.' The man slowly rose to his feet and kicked off the lake floor, rapidly ascending to the surface where he grabbed the cliff-face and started to climb it freehand. He skilfully scaled the rocky wall steadily, carefully choosing which handhold to grab and which to avoid.

'Everything about you feels odd. Your senses are extremely sharp, your muscles defy logic as they produce way more power than they look like they should, and… are those fangs I can feel in your mouth?'

'Yes. Again, draconic mutation as well as my chemical enhancements. You didn't notice the fangs when I've been talking to you?' Natsu brought his legs up and leapt up a few metres since he couldn't spot any decent points to grab near him. 'Do you really find me so odd?'

'You're the first one of your kind that I've linked up to. I generally link up with priestesses and observe through them, sometimes offering guidance which they relay to the church. Sometimes I give them a little blessing.'

'You have never linked with another version of me, ones from the other universes that you oversee?'

'I never really had any reason to. In the worlds that died out, everyone died by one means or another. You are an outlier. Everyone on your world died except for you and yet you refused to give in and take your own life even if it meant that you might see your loved one once again when you died.'

Natsu pulled himself up onto the top of the cliff and gazed out across the top of the forest. As he suspected; the goddess' domain was limited in size and had the footprint of a small-to-medium-sized town. Her modest-looking house was the only building in the domain and it sat directly in the centre. And not far from it, to what he presumed was north going by the position of the sun, was a small circle of marble tiles with what seemed to be a half-circle bench at the centre and bordered by some pillars at the perimeter of the tiles. It could have been an entrance point for the realm but he wasn't certain thanks to passing out when Ceres had put the marker on his soul, so he never saw how they arrived in her world.

'The view is surprisingly nice up there, maybe I should make a path up to you and place a bench there.'

He dropped his gaze down to the water and his eyes instantly refocused and locked onto the white-haired goddess. She was floating around on her back with a peaceful expression. Natsu leapt from the cliff and dived headfirst back to the lake. As he plummeted, a shocked gasp echoed within his mind but he ignored it as he dived into the water then surfaced before he swam back to Ceres. "Is that enough time to cleanse myself?"

"Hmm…" Ceres opened her eyes slowly and they took on their divine glow as she peered at the man. She slowly turned and floated upright beside the man. "Yes, you're now free of radiation. I suggest disposing of any irradiated items, unless you can clean them."

"I'll get rid of the rations I gathered along the way but I'll keep anything that had been stored before the nukes and hadn't been exposed to radiation. I want to keep all the things I have like my weapons and armour… some of it won't be suitable for dipping in that water, in fact I think I'd rather try and make a solution from that which will allow me to clean my gear without damaging it."

"You're forgetting that I have full control over my realm, I'll make that water unable to harm anything you put it on be it paper or electronics, it'll only remove radioactive contaminants."

"That's too convenient…" Natsu swam over to the edge of the lake and walked up onto the bank. With a quick flare of magic, he dried himself as the goddess followed him out. "But it saves me the hassle, so go ahead."

"Already finished." The goddess replied with a smug smirk, her white eyes shimmering with mirth. "Go ahead and try it out. Might as well wash those clothes I gave you while you're at it."

The man gave her a prolonged stare, his disbelief clearly evident. "You're way too convenient for your own good."

"Well, I am a goddess in her own domain." Ceres shrugged her shoulders and created a towel from thin air. She bent over, drying her legs first. "Unfortunately, I'll only be able to help you in a very limited manner in your new world. I can't do anything major to avoid calamity but I can help you in small ways like manipulating records, setting things up for you specifically, doing a little bit of mental manipulation but not too great of it. I can even get things for you providing it doesn't impact your new world directly; I can't steal from somewhere in that world, for example."

"So, you are using me as a proxy?" Natsu asked as he requiped a canteen and emptied the contents into the green water before holding the container underwater. "Acting through me?"

"No, I wouldn't go so far as saying that. It won't be so grand as to call you the hero of the world. It's more just inserting you into the world and allowing me to watch over you, kind of like a reality TV show. Though I do ask that you participate in world events as a means to repay my kindness."

"And you think I'll be strong enough to counter world events? I couldn't even stop my world from ending, I couldn't even save my family…" The pinkette returned to the bent over woman, finding another part of her that wasn't pure-white but pink. He began laying out all of his weapons, ammo, medical supplies, armour, and other assorted gear and mementos out on the grass. He sighed softly as his shoulders slumped, his hand raising and wrapping around the dog-tags hanging from his neck. "I couldn't protect my wife and unborn child. What kind of husband, what kind of man can't protect the ones he loves?"

"Given the situation, there was no other path that could be taken short of storming that building before those leaders unleashed their devastating weapons, just like you did after you buried your friends and family. And that option wouldn't have come up without divine intervention."

"Then why didn't you do something, Goddess Ceres?" Natsu growled, bearing his fangs at the pure-white woman. The temperature spiked with his anger and the grass began to wither and die. He rose to his full height and glared down at the calm deity with furious crimson eyes, the eyes of a demon. Maroon embers began to float around the man as his markings glowed an ominous deep dark-red. "Why did you not tell someone there that the world was about to end, someone who could stop it? That everything and everyone I had ever loved would be ripped from my arms; my best friend, my childhood friend, my little sister, my wife! Every. Single. Fucking. Person. GONE!"

"And what difference would it have made?" The goddess replied with a question, her calmness a stark contrast to the man's infernal rage and pain. She straightened up and turned to the man, unashamedly naked. "Who would have believed someone who spoke of the world's end at the final moments of a war on the verge of victory? Even when I planted thoughts into the minds of those around the palace, none acted on them, not even you and your beloved family. Those thoughts about the cobalt bombs, the long-range missiles, the radiation, wasn't it extremely coincidental that you all had those thoughts leading up to the final moments?"

The man's face fell slack in shock and horror quickly replaced it. Memories of the previous month raced through his mind, rewinding like a movie right up to the point where the spike of negative emotions alerted him to something being off, that something was about to go down. And before then when he and Wendy felt something off about the situation. They didn't act on the bad feeling, just like the goddess had said, and it led to his world dying in nuclear fire.

"You see it now… don't you?" Ceres slowly walked through the circulating embers with not a single one harming her naked body and pressed a finger against his scorching hot chest. Nothing could hurt her due to being in her own domain. "I did try and prevent that calamity. I did try and influence a better future for your world. But in your inaction…" She snatched a hold of the dog-tags and lifted them up to his eyes. "You caused the death of all those you had just blamed me for. Had you acted, she would still be alive, and you two could be back in your home, cuddled up in bed together, snuggling or fucking like rabbits. Waiting merrily for your child as it grew within her belly."

It felt like the goddess had ripped his heart from his chest and crushed it before his eyes with her unwaveringly calm, motherly voice, like she was lightly scalding a naughty child.

"You had and still have more than enough power to have stormed that building and prevent the world from ending, even if you went by yourself. Just look at what you did afterward for proof of that. But you stood around, waiting for someone else to tell you what to do, not even once thinking about acting on your own intuition. Their blood is on your hands, your entire world could have been saved had you acted then and there. But now, there is just irradiated dust and echoes." Ceres dropped the dog-tags and they bounced around on the man's chest noisily before settling over his heart. She turned her back on him and began to leave. She was obscured by a divine light which faded to show her fully dressed and adorned with her jewellery once more. "Clean your things and hurry back to my place once you've calmed down. I'm going to find a suitable place for you to live, and see if I can pull enough strings so that you can settle in fairly easily."

Natsu's appearance returned to normal as he fell to his knees. Even though he had recently woken up from a long slumber, he felt completely drained of energy and his mind felt like lead. He shook his head clear, or at least as clear as he could achieve after having the wool pulled from over his eyes. Letting out a sad sigh, he turned and returned to the task of cleansing his gear. Around him, the withered and burnt grass started to return to life, surrounding him in a sea of green.

I met a woman just after I finished writing the last entry,
she is a Goddess named Ceres who is completely white
in appearance save for the golden ornaments decorating her,
and some pink on certain spots of her body. She looked too
beautiful and too perfect to be natural, must be goddess thing.

After I had said goodbye to my friends and family, she had
placed what she called a 'marker' on my soul. It allowed
her to take me to her domain where she oversees various
universes. I had passed out when she placed it on me
and only woke up today. She said I've been out for a few
days but didn't give me a concrete amount, so I'm guessing
three.

I woke up in what I believe is her room, she has loaned it to me
while I stay though I'm uncertain where she slept, if she sleeps...
Her scent is in the room and are on me too, which lines up with
what she said about taking care of me while I was passed out.

She took me to some small lakes shortly after waking and
having something to eat so I could be cleansed of radiation.
She had changed the properties of the water to allow me to
clean my things, so while I was at it, I did some
maintenance on all of the weapons I took with me;
Lucy's DMR, Wendy's BR, Erza's MG and MGL, my SPSR,
and the M18 shotgun that I picked up from the Fiorian soldier.
I checked over my armour too, it seems to still be in perfect
condition. I've replaced the electronics so my HUD and thermals
work, however I don't believe I'll be able to use them wherever
it is I'll be heading. I'm going to ask her that once I'm done here.

I suppose I should note that our intuition was thanks to her,
though, I regret not acting on it. Maybe I could have stopped
them from dying if I had… I'm sorry.

Natsu carefully placed the velvet string between the pages and closed the book. He sent it away to his magical pocket dimension for safe keeping as he rose from the chair. Even though the Goddess was completely calm earlier, he could tell that he had annoyed her, so he decided to give her a little time to herself and hope she wouldn't send him to some backwater world.

The man left the bedroom and walked to the kitchen, following his nose to where the Goddess was. She was at the table pouring over a notepad filled with ornate yet perfectly legible writing and she had magical screens in front of her with each one displaying a vastly different scene than the next. "Are all those different versions of my world?"

"Hmm?" Ceres jumped slightly at the sudden voice and turned to the man. She hadn't even heard him come into the room. "Oh. Yes, they are. I'm narrowing down places that would be best for you. Since I am sending you as is – without wiping your memory and resetting you to a new-born – I need to find ones that are suitable for someone like you."

"From an advanced variant of the world? Going by the technological states of these worlds you're looking at."

"Bingo. You wouldn't fare well in ones set in a time so alien to you that you'll lose your sense of self. Plus, you can't already exist in that world. Meaning Natsu Dragneel cannot already be there, it would only cause issues." The Goddess glanced over at the kitchen with a clear yearning. "Could you make something for us? I would, but I need to sort this out for you. Don't worry about not having something or other, there should be anything you could ever want or need somewhere in there."

Natsu walked past the white-haired deity and started to rummage through the kitchen. "Your realm is full of conveniences…"

"Perks of being a deity, though it does have limits." Ceres went back to writing in her notepad and changing the displayed universes on her screens. "I want to send you somewhere unusual but where someone with your skillset could make a living, either as a monster hunter or in the underground scenes if you wish to go down that route."

"A monster hunter?"

"The other gods and goddesses were talking about increasing the number of monsters in certain world types. And also increasing the variety, maybe adding some from other world templates."

"So, there would be a need of people capable of hunting monsters of increasing powers?"

"Exactly." Ceres sighed and stretched out across the table, her white eyes flicking from one screen to the next. "Ones like your own won't be affected, but it seems like you won't be able avoid it no matter where I look. I'd rather not send you to a similar world since it may trigger bad memories and you may be forced into another nuclear war, and have to suffer it all over again."

"Once was enough…" Natsu murmured softly. He shook the thought from his mind and busied himself in the Goddess' kitchen. "What have you got so far?"

"Hmm…" The woman flipped over the page and glanced at her listed worlds. "I've short listed a few, but I'll want your input once I've made a second or third pass. So far, I have a Wild West variant, a standard template variant, one with a mining colony on a neighbouring planet… that's it for now."

"What did you mean by not having me?"

"There are two natural permutations for mortals, males and females, mutations can occur but we'll ignore those for the nature of my explanation. Technically, you still exist either way, but you are a female called Natsumi Dragneel. And between every universe, there are subtle genetic differences which lead to minor changes in appearances such as undertones and shades of pink hair, depth of colour in your eyes... So, even if I took you and put another Natsu next to you, you both would look similar but different at the same time. You'll have other noticeable differences too, like the way you move, you talk, you behave, you'll think somewhat differently though your instincts will be the same. The changes are greater below the surface, genetic differences that would cause you to show up as completely different people on any test you take."

"Then why don't you want to send me to a world with another male variant?"

"Because there is a history of people becoming unstable when meeting their duplicates. It's not impossible to come across a version of you that looks exactly like you." Ceres rose from her chair and walked around to the other side of the bench, leaning back against it while she watched the man at the stove. "I've heard stories from the other goddesses that some of their universes have gone a little crazy due to meddling with powers they shouldn't really have. But none of them could be bothered interfering and putting a stop to it. I think Eris was telling me something about an insane talking watermelon…?" When she received a look of disbelief from the man, she nodded slowly. "I had the same reaction. Who would be crazy enough to create something like that?"

"A watermelon?" Natsu asked slowly, wanting to make sure he got this right. When Ceres nodded, he continued. "That can talk?" Again, another nod. "And is insane?"

"And is apparently very murderous, I've heard."

"What. The. Actual. Fuck…?"

"Yeah. I get the feeling that Eris enjoys watching the chaos unfold, a little bit of entertainment that doesn't come around all that often." Ceres moved over to the man and leaned around him curiously. "What are you making?"

"It's going to be a calzone but with a thick curry paste inside instead of pizza toppings. It's going to take me a little bit to get it where I would like it, so you head back to the table." Natsu shooed the woman away with a wave of his hand. He grabbed a spoon and taste tested it, scrunching his face up slightly. "Needs a little more cumin and garlic… I'll bring it over once it is done."

"I don't know if I'll be able to get much work done with that delicious smell drifting from the curry. And you say it's not perfect yet? I think I'm going to be shivering in delight once I finally get to eat it." The goddess wandered back to the table and started shifting through various universes within her roster. "No… that one won't do… nor that one… or that one… that may work, but, err, it's kinda… nope… no… nah… that one can go in… that one goes in the bin…" Grumbling softly, she turned back to the man, smiling mischievously. "Anyway, speaking of Natsumi, she's generally pretty feisty, and she's pretty hot. Oh, and since she's genetically different, there'll be no issues if you two end up fucking each other and she gets pregnant."

"What makes you think that'll happen?"

"You both have the instincts of a dragon. Yeah, the romance probably won't be there but the raw desire to mate with another incredibly powerful person is going to be there and will likely be pretty strong. You'll likely be instinctually drawn to each other, even if your heart belongs to Lucy."

"Yeah, in your dreams."

"I'm a goddess, Natsu. I can make my dreams your reality if I so choose."

By the time Natsu had finished cooking, Ceres had made a list of sixteen contenders, cut down to ten upon another pass, and on the final pass she reduced it to just five. Natsu placed the plate down in front of Goddess and noticed her pupils dilate and she licked her lips. "Smells good?"

"My mouth won't stop salivating…" Ceres swallowed and moved her notepad aside so she could bring the plate closer, she noticed there were no knives or forks. "How do I eat it?"

"Break it in half." Natsu instructed as he took his calzone in hand and held it up for the woman to see. He broke it down the middle and held each half vertically. "The curry inside is thick so it won't flow out, but only if you hold it upright. Now, just bite into it and savour the flavour."

As Ceres broke her calzone open, she was hit with an intense aroma that sent a shiver through her body. And when she bit into it, she let out an involuntary groan. "Ok, ok. I take it back; all that radiation and radioactive rations didn't even harm your sense of taste in the slightest." As she was about to take another bite, she restrained herself just enough to push her notepad towards the man with her elbow. "I've thrown out the standard template world and added three more. So, we have the Wild West and the Mining Colony. But I've added one with a tonne of huge monsters like dragons and giant lizards, tech isn't so great as it is a post-world-ending-event world which came back to life, you'd spend most of your time hunting monsters, for simplicity we'll call that one Monster Hunter. Another that is a futuristic one like yours but is a dystopian world full of cyborgs and corporations. And finally, one that is in the in the middle of an industrial revolution where they're using some form of lacrima power cell to produce electricity, power clockwork automatons, power both steam and a form of combustion engine. Honestly, it seems to be a jumbled mess of advancements that took a strange path into becoming reality."

"Bring up those last three on screens for me, I'll look over them while I eat." Three holographic screens appeared between Natsu and Ceres, each one displaying their respective universe with their focus directed on various locations within Fiore. He took a bite of his calzone and pointed to the cybernetic world, shaking his head in disapproval. The window vanished moments after and the remaining two moved closer. Natsu's face scrunched up as he toyed with two worlds. "I don't like that monster one, seems too much like what you pulled me out of, like if the animals and monsters had all mutated and became massive apex predators."

"That leaves the clockwork world. It's rather quirky, quite different than how most worlds progress as I said." Ceres hummed softly as she brought up a few more screens to display various faucets of its civilisation. "Underground fights would be a good source of income for you starting out. I doubt anyone could hold a candle to you in that regard. Alternatively, you could make a living as a Jaeger, a special type of hunter that hunts rogue beings who have been classed as monsters. That's what Fairy Tail is in that world, a guild of Jaegers. The world has a class-based structure with noble houses, the crown, and various levels below them." The woman turned her white eyes onto the pinkette and gave him an apologetic smile. "I can't put you as a noble, but I'll make sure I stick you into the upper class, even if I need to fudge some records. Hmm, if I'm willing to do that then maybe I could put you as a new noble family…"

"Don't, I'd rather not deal with the hassle of having to attend all the tedious parties."

"But it would open up a lot of opportunities for you. And you don't have to attend those parties if you don't want to." Ceres smiled lightly and rested her chin on her left palm, tapping her cheek with her fingers. "And you'll have better access to the amenities you are used to. It's a little extra work for me, since I need to fiddle with various things and play with some records but I'm happy to do it if I need to."

"I suppose you are right. Though I don't want it to be all that notable, maybe just a newly migrated noble who had bought some land and a house and has had his funds transferred to the local currency. I'll work my way up if I want to."

"I'll have a sizable house allocated to you within Magnolia, since you used to live there in your own world. Nothing too fancy, but enough for you to look like a noble, and it gives you room to expand in the future. Now, as for what the world is like, it's a world of swords, magic, and firearms. They have single shot duelling pistols, revolvers, rudimentary semi-automatic pistols, lever-action and bolt-actions rifles, but nothing like what you have on you. So, I ask that you use your own weapons sparingly, only in situations where you plan on leaving no survivors to tell of your gear, and definitely Do Not use your armour. Also, it's common for nobility to openly carry weapons, since there is a risk of being jumped and robbed either in alleyways or out on the road, speaking of that, there are cars too but early ones. Again, not what you're used to."

"Nothing like a little danger to spice up one's life." Natsu murmured and shook his head, he was a little amused with how the situation was turning out. "Alright, I'll take it, I think I'll try my hand at being one of these Jaegers too, if that's what they are doing. I'll leave it in your hands, Ceres. How long will it take you to do your thing?"

"Probably less than a week to get everything sorted out properly. But give me a full week to ensure nothing is missed; I want it to be a smooth transition to your new life. In the meantime, you're more than welcome to stay in the room you woke up in, and explore my realm. But as payment, I want you to make the food while you're staying here. I kind of want seconds… and maybe thirds." Ceres giggled softly and took her empty plate to the sink. "Oh, I'll be getting new clothes for you to wear later. Something more in the theme of a nobleman but also suitable for a Jaeger so that you can get used to wearing them and feel comfortable by the time you head to your new home." The Goddess turned to the man and gave him a friendly smile before vanishing in a flash of white light.

"A clockwork world, huh…" Natsu muttered as he gazed at the screen in front of him. "Maybe things will turn out alright after all, Lucy. Do you think I'll be able to live a decent life?"

That's another chapter done, the rewrite went from 7.3k to 10.5k so not as large of a jump like chapters 1 and 4. Hope you have all liked it.

Natsu and Ceres have worked out the new world that he would be living in. Plus, there were explanations on how the various universes are slightly different even if they look very similar, or in some cases are vastly different.

As mentioned, Natsu is heading to a clockwork world with a focus on machinery powered by Lacrima instead of coal and oil, with an emphasis on clockwork mechanisation. Think something akin to Dishonored.

Well, that's all for now. Again, I hope you've enjoyed. Don't forget to follow or favourite to keep up with future updates, and leave a review if you would like to. See you all next time.