To be forthcoming

by Aeso3

Forced to live with a curse that has haunted him all his life, Sasuke Uchiha struggles to find his place in this new world. Even learning to care for the people who've filled the void in his heart isn't enough for him to tell them how he really feels. But if one thing is certain;no matter how far, he will always be there to protect them and to watch them grow.

16. Chapter 16

The walk through the mysterious cavern was surprisingly quiet and uneventful as Sasuke and Gray kept to themselves while following the enigmatic guardian. However, the comments made by Karrion with regards to their past sins still loomed on the minds of both of them.

"He murdered his older brother in retaliation for the massacre he committed towards his clan. In his quest for revenge, he has betrayed every single ally he has ever had, even after killing his brother" those words still rang in Gray's ears as he continued trailing behind Sasuke, keeping a watchful eye on him. He was visibly distraught by what he had heard and wasn't sure if he could fully trust him. The only reason he followed along was to get some answers.

Speaking of trust, he didn't know what to expect when he entered this so-called forbidden realm: it was large and spacious, with large shallow ponds dotting the landscape while strange bioluminescent plants lit their way. "Creepy" Gray commented, his eyes wandering all over the place before fixing on some large reptilian creatures roaming about in the ponds, "Especially those weird lizard things swimming around."

"They are called Dracontasaurs, a distant relative of dragons and drakes" Karrion refuted, "Their true home lies beyond a gate within this cavern, yet it has been closed for centuries. So for now, this is their only dwelling."

"Dragon's huh?" Gray thought to himself, "Natsu would have a field day if he were here."

His thoughts were interrupted as one of the dracontasaurs let out a thunderous roar within his proximity, causing him to jump back.

"Don't worry. That was simply a warning. So long as you respect their space, they will leave you alone and keep to themselves" Karrion reassured him

Hearing this, Gray let out a sigh of relief before composing himself. "Could've warned me first you know?" He grumbled which earned a chuckle from the spirit.

"And what about this Malebolge?" Sasuke asked, inserting himself into the conversation. He had to admit, that the place was weird yet also intriguing at the same time, letting his curiosity get the better of him.

"It was not always called Malebolge, its original name was Heliocerion: the land of light. Long ago, during the war between gods, the humans of this realm sought shelter in the world beyond this cavern. Life was harsh and unforgiving within this dark and desolate realm, and so, the mortals prayed to the gods for a reprieve" Karrion began explaining as they continued leading the two, "Eventually, Chronos, the god of time, and Ankhseram, the god of life and death heard their prayers and took pity on them. Together the two gods bestowed upon them many blessings, including everlasting light and crops that would never run out. The humans, in turn, worshipped and revered the two gods, living their lives according to their teachings. Eventually, the humans built great cities, expanded, and prospered as Heliocerion became the bastion of order. Artisans, intellectuals, and renowned mages from all over the world flocked to this great city, bringing about a golden age of arts and culture."

"Sounds like paradise," Sasuke said.

"Perhaps, but there was one condition that the humans of Heliocerion had to obey: they were forbidden from contorting the balance between life and death and they could not elevate themselves to the level of deities."

"So what happened?" Gray asked.

"As with everything else that has to do with humans, they brought about their ruin. Centuries of living in peace and comfort had made them lazy, corrupt, and decadent. No longer was it forbidden to cheat death but rather, mankind itself was now the source of all that was good in Heliocerion. It was now their birthright to become gods themselves."

Given the violent and bloody history of the humans in his world, Sasuke had a pretty clear-cut idea as to what was going to happen here. But then again, this story had a foregone conclusion anyway, simply for the fact that it didn't take much to guess how a bright and prosperous nation eventually became some dark forbidden place. "Let me guess, the gods wiped them out in retaliation" the Uchiha hypothesized.

"Surprisingly no" Karrion answered back, earning curious looks from both Sasuke and Gray, "As their delusions of grandeur grew, so too did their ambition. Eventually, one of their mages claimed that they had found the key to eternal life and a power struggle emerged between the corrupt nobles that spread to the rest of the humans living here. The civil war lasted for decades until no one knew why they were fighting each other for. Eventually, the light that Chronos gave them was destroyed and the crops stopped growing as the land became poisoned with corpses, resulting in the last few survivors sending out envoys in the hope of getting help from other kingdoms. To their surprise, they discovered that the entrance to the outside world had been cut off, leaving them alone and isolated. The last remaining humans fought over whatever morsels of food and drops of water they could find until they resorted to eating each other."

"That's a nasty way to go out" the ice wizard noted, a feeling of pity coming over the fate of the inhabitants.

"Sadly, that was not the end of their suffering. As punishment for their arrogance and for attempting to disrupt the delicate balance between life and death through the pursuit of eternal life, Ankhseram gave them what they had always wanted: immortality. Except, as walking corpses, forced to wander the desolate lands" the spirit clarified, "Meanwhile, for the destruction of his light, Chronos disrupted the flow of time within the lands, ensuring that they would have to relive the worst moments of their lives over and over again for eternity."

Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little bit of remorse for the fate of the people of Heliocerion. Even if their destruction was by their own hands, the Uchiha felt that they certainly didn't deserve such a grisly fate; after all, there might have still been innocent people who got caught up in all of this.

It was a sentiment that was also shared by Gray, even if neither of them expressed it to each other.

"Eventually the land became dark and desolate once more as a strange fog began to envelop the kingdom, thus turning the once rich and powerful Heliocerion into the miserable hell that is Malebolge, an eternal reminder of man's sin and their punishment for crossing the gods" Karrion finished rambling.

After a few detours through an ancient gate, the duo were eventually led to the edge of a cliff overlooking the ruins of the ancient city. And much like how the guardian spirit had described, the whole place was covered in some thick black fog. Giant trees with thick branches covered what remained as an eerie silence fell across the chasm. Karrion then stepped forward and pointed towards the city, "Gentlemen, welcome to Malebolge."

"You weren't kidding, this place is messed up" Gray responded, looking a little concerned by the sight of the land. He was worried as to where Cana could be held in a place like this.

Sasuke himself shared the same concern, as he carefully observed the place. He had been to strange places before and had even been teleported to alternate dimensions, but nothing as bleak as this. "Do you know where the witch is hiding?" he asked.

"I'm afraid I do not know the answer to that. What people do in this place is none of my concern" Karrion bluntly replied.

"Right" Sasuke blankly noted before moving to another question, "Can you at least tell us about what you know of her?"

"Nothing Justiça has not told you about, I'm certain," the spirit said.

Sasuke let out an audible grunt as he glared at the creature. "Useless," he thought to himself in frustration, considering that the thing ran its mouth when it came to explaining the lore and background behind the origins of this realm but was completely unhelpful when it came to giving out Intel he could've found useful, like the terrain of this land, it's inhabitants or the strengths and weaknesses of their foe.

"Now then, my work here is done," Karrion said as he began floating away, "I wish you both the best of luck."

"Just gonna ditch us here huh?" Gray said.

"I'm sure the two of you can handle whatever it is this ream will throw at you," he said before pausing, almost as if he had forgotten something, "Hmm, tell you what, a word of advice, on the house: Try not to get too close to the fog and never, ever dive into the chasm below. Also, just remember, the two of you are not the only guests from the outside world."

"Guests?" Gray repeated, before suddenly having a realization, "Wait, you mean that there are other people here as well?"

But just as he asked, the spirit had vanished into thin air, leaving the two of them by themselves again. There was an abrupt yet awkward silence as Sasuke and Gray nervously looked at each other.

"We should get going" Sasuke spoke up, "Come with me, Gray."

Rather than comply, however, Gray remained on the spot, staring down at Sasuke. His dark blue eyes met with Sasuke's black as he shook his head, giving a definitive answer. Closing his eye and taking a deep breath, Sasuke spoke once again, "Cana doesn't have much time, we need to-"

"Is it true?" Gray abruptly interrupted Sasuke.

The ice wizard's words took Sasuke by surprise. "What is?" he asked, confused by his question.

"What that thing said, that you killed your own brother"

Sasuke's eye widened with the realization that this was the moment Gray had chosen to ask him that question. He knew that Gray would inevitably ask those questions, he just didn't expect it to be so early. "Now is not the time for this" Sasuke argued, trying to deflect.

"No, now is the time" Gray shot back, undeterred, "I'm not going to risk my neck and Cana's out there just for you to stab the both of us in the back. So just tell me."

Sasuke scoffed as irritation grew on his face. "And why do you believe what that spirit said? Is it because what it said about you and your master is true as well?" he pointed out.

Gray's face contorted into a look of displeasure. "Why you…..just answer me!"

The stubbornness of his half-brother was starting to annoy Sasuke, even if it was justifiable. But as he continued gazing over Gray, the more he realized that Gray was getting ready to fight if necessary, with vapors of ice forming over his fist. They were already on bad terms since that fiasco days ago, but now, it seemed like it was a matter of whether or not they would remain allies or enemies and that was something that Sasuke did not wish to happen. Worse still, this moment was beginning to make him feel a lot like Itachi, hiding behind secrets and never being honest, even if he had his reasons. In the end, he made his choice.

Sasuke sighed and looked off towards the ruined city. "I did" he answered.

Gray reacted to his answer as any other person would, with horror; horror at the thought that someone would go to great lengths to murder their own family. 'W-why…why would you? How could you? Killing your brother…..why would you do something like that!?"

The Uchiha remained quiet as he continued looking at the scenery. His eye fixed away from Gray, as he let the boy take the time to register what he had just said. Sasuke knew he would react badly to this.

"You're sick!" Gray angrily snarled, horrified by the fact that someone would do this. He'd kill to have his family back and here was a guy who took out his own."How could you do this? To your own family?"

A look of sadness fell over Sasuke's eye as he gently exhaled. "Because back then, I felt that there was no other option. He killed everyone I knew and loved. My mother, father, not even a single member of my clan was spared,…..except for me. I couldn't see any other choice."

"He did what…but why would he?" Gray stuttered, unable to get the words out. Hearing his answer, he couldn't help but feel like seeing a mirror of himself in Sasuke; someone driven by grief and hatred, going down the dark path. But unlike him, it seems Sasuke had no one like Ur to lead him on the right path.

Sasuke crossed his arms and took a step back before facing Gray once more. "By the time I realized the truth, however, it was too little too late. Of course, you don't have to believe a single word I say."

"No, I believe you" Gray reassured him with a firm shake of his head, lowering his guard in the process. "Because what he said about me was also true. A demon named Deliora attacked and destroyed my home….it took out my parents too. My master Ur along with Lyon found me and took me in. She was the one who taught me maker magic, hoping that it would lead me to a better path than revenge."

Sasuke quietly listened as he observed Gray explain the story from his perspective.

"But I wouldn't hear any of it. I wanted revenge on Deliora and I would do anything to achieve it, even if it meant abandoning her" he continued, lowering his head as he stared at the ground with a look of shame, "In the end, I was no match for it and it was Ur who sacrificed herself to save me."

Hearing Ur's story once more put into perspective just how similar they both were. "It seems you and I are quite alike" Sasuke consoled him.

Gray looked shocked at Sasuke's answer. "Wait…you mean it?"

"We've both lost something precious to us, we've both walked the path of vengeance, and most importantly, you and I both know just how much it cost us" Sasuke admitted, emphasizing with the ice wizard.

Gray blinked in response. "Well, when you put it like that…." he said, awkwardly scratching his head before conceding, "I guess you're right. You and I got a lot in common."

"Listen, I know we've had our differences and I know I've said some things I shouldn't have" Sasuke admitted as he walked over to Gray and reached out his hand, "But right now, Cana needs our help more than ever and neither of us can do this lone. We've got to go at it together."

Startled by his sudden gesture of peace, Gray hitched his throat and paused as he gave it some thought. Finally, he came up with his answer as he reached out his hand and shook Sasuke's.

"Truce."

…..

Sasuke and Gray slowly walked through the cliffs overlooking the city as an enormous black fog engulfed everything around it. Reaching the edge, the two managed to climb down through the steep crevices with relative ease, with the Uchiha using his chakra to stick to the walls and walk down while Gray used his ice to safely slide to the ground. As they descended to the city below, the two of them could hear voices crying out everywhere.

"Run for your life!"

"Help us!"

"Get away! Get away from me!"

The sound of people screaming in terror and agony followed by what could only be described as a stabbing noise alerted the two of them. Once they had touched the ground, the cries of the people only got louder as they approached what looked like a house. "Sounds like trouble, we gotta help them!" Gray said as he rushed towards the door.

"Wait" Sasuke tried in vain to stop Gray, only for the boy to rush ahead and break down the door. With a disgruntled sigh, he followed behind. Once he had caught up to him, Sasuke discovered that Gray had frozen up, something that greatly concerned him. As he inched closer, he realized that the cause was the sight of a man grabbing a woman by the neck and stabbing her till she died. But it was no ordinary man either, as he wore some sort of armor all over his body, indicating that he was some kind of soldier.

Once the woman was taken care of, the soldier turned his attention towards the two boys as he slowly walked over to them, brandishing his still blood-soaked blade. "I smell…..fresh meant. I haven't had those in a long time" he mumbled, foaming at the mouth.

"Meat?" Gray repeated before the realization hit him as he raised his brows and looked at Sasuke, "Is he talking about us!?"

"Doesn't matter" Sasuke brushed it off as he prepared himself for battle while Gray followed suit.

As the soldier charged forth, Sasuke did the same as he held onto his sheathe before taking out his sword and slicing the man's torso through the gap in his armor in one single motion, all before the soldier could even react. In an instant, the soldier dropped his weapon before falling to the ground himself.

Instead of joyous praise or even a look of awe, Gray was more stunned by Sasuke's callous ruthlessness and efficiency. His movements and way of fighting were closer to that of the assassins he had read about in stories than mages. More important than that, was his apparent apathy towards the loss of human life, even if that person was an enemy. "You….killed him. Just like that..:" he said, looking at the lifeless body lying on the ground.

"Didn't you hear what the guardian said, they're already dead, to begin with," Sasuke argued, placing his sword back into its sheathe.

Despite his initial skepticism, the closer Gray inspected the corpse, the more he realized that Sasuke was right. The helmet and the armor may have covered it, but through its' gaps, Gray Fullbuster could see that the person wearing them was no longer human. Instead, there was nothing but a rotting corpse underneath it.

In retrospect, that theory seems to have applied to nearly everybody living here once Sasuke inspected the other dead body; the woman who was stabbed by the soldier resembled a rotting carcass, decomposed far too quickly than it naturally should have. It took all of Gray's willpower not to throw up at the sight of her body or the disgusting smell and even Sasuke felt the need to cover up his nose.

Sasuke stood vigilant as Gray ran over to the corner and attempted to vomit, only to dry heave. "They're forced to relive the final moment of their lives over and over again" he murmured as Gray panted in exhaustion.

"Thought it was bad when that ghost said it but looking at it now, it's pure nightmare fuel" Gray lightly laughed, trying to alleviate his situation.

"All the more reason to find Cana and get out of here as soon as possible" Sasuke added, walking over to explore the rest of the house.

"Right" Gray nodded as he followed behind.

The duo kept their guards up as they proceeded through the ruined city. It was surprisingly quiet for a place that was supposed to be war-torn, though it did give an eerie feeling to it. "Ugh" Gray groaned in discomfort as looked around. Most of the buildings were set in flames while the rest were in shambles. On top of that, a thick black fog surrounded them as people tore each other apart. It was like reliving a bad memory.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he glanced toward Gray.

"Nothing….just reminded of something" Gray hastily replied as he quickly looked in the other direction.

While he had no way of telling what he was thinking, Sasuke could guess that this city brought back memories of Deliora even though the circumstances surrounding these two events were different. "It looks like the war has ended," he said, attempting to change the subject, "And we're seeing what's left of it."

"Don't need to tell me" Gray mumbled.

As the two continued strolling through the ancient city, they were accosted by three more cursed soldiers, one wielding a spear, while the other two wielded two blades in each hand.

"Gray you know what to do," Sasuke said, taking out his sword. "Remember, they're already-

"They're already dead, I know" Gray replied, annoyed by his order.

Without hesitating, Sasuke dashed forward and crossed blades with the sword wielders, parrying and blocking their attacks. While he was keeping them busy, the spear wielder focused his attention on Gray. As he neared the boy, the undead soldier tightened his grip around his polearm and plunged the weapon straight at the boy, who blocked it with an ice shield, causing the soldier to grunt in confusion.

"Ice make: Impact" Gray cried out as he brought his right fist down onto his left palm, creating an intricately designed hammer before commanding it to fall on the soldier, who could only look on, dumfounded as it squished him.

Once he had dealt with his foe, Gray diverted his attention towards Sasuke, only to discover that the one-eyed boy had easily dispatched the other two with minimal effort.

"So, that's the last of them?" Gray approached Sasuke and asked.

For his part, Sasuke quietly placed his sword back on his sheathe before responding. "For now…" he solemnly answered. "We're wasting time here, let's go"

Feeling that they were getting by these obstacles a little too much, the two boys hurried along their paths, hoping to find Cana quickly as the gravity of their situation dawned on them. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any more soldiers or crazy inhabitants on their way, though that didn't stop them from hearing the screams of agony from the innocent and guilty alike from beyond the fog.

And speaking of the fog, once they had neared the city square, Sasuke and Gray found themselves against an obstacle they could not fight their way through as the thick black fog stood in their path. While it was perfectly normal to doubt the words of a shade, given what they had seen before, everything that Karrion had warned them about had turned out to be correct.

"Crap, now what?" Gray asked, pacing and forth as Sasuke stood still and thought of a plan. There was no other way around to go around it and there weren't any tall buildings to jump across either.

"Looks like we'll just have to go through it and brace ourselves," Sasuke said as he walked over towards one of the burned wreckages and picked up a stick, lighting it on fire with the flames that had enveloped the place around it. "We'll use the fires to light our way."

Gray watched Sasuke as he handed him the torch before going make to make another one for himself. He was confused by his actions but hesitantly decided to go along with his suggestion as he was also in agreement that they would have to take the risk. "Let's just hope we don't run into any more freakshows while we're in there."

The Uchiha nodded and took the lead once more while the ice wizard followed along. Sasuke slowly waved the torch around to clear the fog around their vicinity while Gray kept a vigilant watch over their backs so they wouldn't be ambushed. The air around the fog was thick and had a particularly nauseous and repugnant feel to it, causing Sasuke to hold his breath while Gray coughed it out.

Fortunately, they didn't have to struggle through the fog for long as they reached a small gate leading to another section of the war-torn city. Without any sort of key or mechanism to unlock it, the two had to suck their stomachs in and slide through the gaps between the bars. Once they squeezed through to the other side, the duo proceeded on with their journey.

Much like the first part of the city, this section was also in shambles as screams echoed from beyond the fog. The place itself was much smaller and emptier, save for the fact that it was barely containing the black fog from passing through. As Sasuke and Gray carefully strolled through the ruins to not attract any more attention, the screams that came from beyond the fog continued throughout the place, only serving to hasten their search for the Witch and by extension, Cana.

Grabbing a larger torch from a nearby statue, Sasuke carried it to a cart containing stacks of hay to use it as a makeshift vehicle as it would cover ground faster while also helping them go through the fog once more safely.

Sasuke tossed the torch onto the stack of hay as it began burning before looking at Gray. "Alright, let's push."

Gray silently nodded and complied as he assisted Sasuke with pushing the burning cart through the fog. So far, the plan seemed to be working as the flames from the cart dispelled a larger area of the fog, allowing them to see more obstacles clearly, along with the fact that the wheels helped them move quicker.

The two boys kept their senses on high alert at all times while making their way through another thick fog with the help of the burning cart. Even if they had arrived right at the end of the war, it had become obvious that there were still remnants of this civilization willing to fight to the very end, despite their sanity having long gone.

"Look! New meat, and young too!"

" I haven't eaten anything in days"

Alerted by their presence, Sasuke realized that they were being watched by two archers as they dashed for a vantage point to take a shot at them. "Look out!" he shouted as he pushed Gray away, saving him from a stray arrow in the nick of time as it hit the cart.

"Now they got archers?" Gray was flabbergasted, annoyed by the presence of more soldiers.

Without wasting another second, Sasuke grabbed a kunai from his bag and activated his Sharingan, tossing it just as one of the archers loosened another arrow towards them. The kunai and the arrow met right in the middle as both slid past each other by a few millimeters with small sparks following their wake and affecting their trajectory. While the Uchiha managed to catch the incoming arrow with precise timing, the same could not be said for the archer who was struck right in the eye, through the gaps in his helmet, taking him out.

On the other side of the fight, Gray had quickly risen to his feet and summoned a bow made of ice before creating an icy arrow as well. What he lacked in accuracy, the ice wizard made up for in creativity as he released the arrow in quick succession before the other archer could react. Just as the enemy shot him, Gray commanded his arrow to split off into multiple different parts, some intercepting the stray arrow and stopping it in its tracks while the remaining two struck the enemy and froze him from the inside out.

With the battle over, Gray heaved a sigh of relief as he looked toward Sasuke, who remained serious as ever. He was tempted to say something or comment on the situation but knowing Sasuke, he would most likely just ignore it and tell him to keep moving. At this point, he realized that it was all business with the eye patch guy and that it was better to just shut up and do what needed to be done. "I know, I know, we need to keep moving" Gray let out a resigning grumble as he grabbed one of the handles of the cart.

Sasuke nodded and grabbed the other end as the two continued pushing until they reached some sort of clearing where the fog was being blocked thanks to the fires from the ruins. Leaving the cart behind, the two walked towards the clearing as they notice a massive structure in the distance.

"Looks like a….temple" Gray stated, staring at the structure ahead.

"A temple?" Sasuke repeated with a confused look. Given what he knew so far, that place seemed like the best chance of finding Cana and the Witch. If the hag was a religious nutjob who sacrificed children, then an ancient temple would be the most likely place to perform such a ritual.

"Yeah, seen some smaller ones before. People used to worship gods and all sorts of weird things there" Gray explained before turning his head over to Sasuke, "Maybe we should check it out, could be the best place to start looking for Cana."

"Good idea" Sasuke agreed with an approving nod.

Unfortunately, before they could try to make their way over to the large temple, a massive humanoid figure emerged from the fog and charged straight for them. Giving the boys little time to react, the man grabbed Gray by the back of his shirt and tossed him halfway across the ravine and to the other side of the fog. He had little in the way of clothing aside from pants made of fur, giving him a look of a barbarian, further amplified by his thick hairy mane and body hair.

With a crazed roar, the man dashed forward and took hold of Sasuke by clutching his collar just as he was about to grab his sword and pinned him to a nearby wall with his inhuman strength, something that surprised even Sasuke. However, the Uchiha managed to release his sword from its sheathe with his free hand and attempted to strike the man down, only to be blocked by the man grabbing his wrist with his left hand while continuing to pin the Uchiha to the wall with his right hand.

Amidst the struggle, Gray managed to come back to his senses and was immediately put on high alert the moment he saw Sasuke struggle against their assailant on the other side of the ravine. "Sasuke! Hold on, I'm coming" the boy cried out with worry.

"No! Don't go through that fog!" Sasuke warned, continuing his struggle. "Just get out of here."

"Like hell I will" Gray protested, annoyed by the Uchiha's denial "I'm not leaving you behind."

Sasuke groaned as he kicked the man in the face, causing him to let go of his sword hand and back off a little. "Listen, the more time we waste fighting these things, the more we risk putting Cana's life in danger. Just focus on finding her" he advised, placing his sword forward in anticipation of the man's attack.

Gray gritted his teeth and tried his best to suppress his inner snarl. His patience was running thin and he was visibly frustrated by the way things were going. What was the point of saving Cana if it meant leaving Sasuke for dead? But at the same time, there was a huge ravine between the two of them and the fog made it difficult to shoot arrows at the enemy. The ice wizard was really in a bind.

"Gray" Sasuke called out to him as he aptly dodged the wild swings from the barbarian. It was audible enough for Gray to pick up on. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me" Sasuke reassured him.

Sasuke's reassurance did little to dissuade Gray from his worry. To the ice wizard, it felt like a repeat of what happened with Deliora; a place where he lost someone important to him while he was helpless to do anything. Clutching his fists, his breathing became heavier and heavier, as he found himself unsure of what course of action he should take. Abandon Sasuke to look for Cana or risk his life to help Sasuke at the cost of wasting even more time.

"I'm not like Ur"

Gray's eyes shifted forward and widened as he heard that name. He could see the one-eyed kid valiantly fighting against the monster without a hint of fear or hesitation.

"Your teacher sacrificed her life to save you because there was no other option left" Sasuke rephrased his statement, hoping to clear out any misinterpretations. "But right now, we both have a choice. Outcomes we can control. I won't let this thing kill me, I'll beat it and I'll find you, so just go and find Cana."

"But …" Gray hesitated before looking at Sasuke once again, "are you sure?"

"I'll beat him and then I'll catch up" Sasuke replied as he flipped backward, dodging a massive hammer fist. Once he found his footing he readied his sword again while glancing toward Gray. "Trust me"

Gray was left dumbfounded; that glance, that look of determination, that confidence. It was like looking into a mirror of Ur during her last moments, just before she took down Deliora. He slammed his right down onto the ground in frustration. "Trust him?" Gray repeated, groaning in vexation. But the more he thought about those words, the more it made him realize something. Sasuke wanted the ice wizard to put his faith in him, to trust him to see this through because he was inadvertently trusting Gray with finding and saving Cana, the same way Ur placed her faith in him. "Alright, I'll do it" he murmured.

It was then that an idea struck Gray as he reached out his hand and began rummaging through Cana's bag, eventually finding the object he was looking for. "Aha," he exclaimed with delight as he took out two call cards, perfect for long-distance tracking.

"Hey Sasuke, catch"

Without hesitating, Sasuke turned his attention to Gray and quickly caught the card that was thrown at him. "When you're done, use this to find me" Gray instructed, showing his version. "I'll go look for Cana, just don't waste too much time" the continued before running off towards the temple.

---

Gray couldn't see it but Sasuke let out an approving nod before refocusing his attention on the freakishly strong man. Though, given that they're dead and just repeating the last moments of their lives, it was perhaps not too surprising. On top of that, given the supposed magic they had researched, who knows what was done to make this one as strong as he was. Still, it seems to have come at the cost of his sanity, since he acted more like a rabid animal than a human being. Even the foes they faced before could at least coordinate their attacks and speak.

Regardless of the matter, he was still a threat that needed to be dealt with quickly. It wasn't just his strength that concerned Sasuke, it was also his animalistic speed that he had to look out for as he came running right at him before tackling the Uchiha through the wall and right down into the ravine.

As the two tumbled off of the edge of the ravine and into the base below, Sasuke managed to wrestle free of the man's grasp and push him off with his feet before using his chakra to safely land on the ground. The same could not be said of the barbarian as he crashed onto the solid earth with a solid thud and immediately laid there, motionless. Rising to his feet, Sasuke kept a wary eye on the prone man, reading himself for any surprise attack.

His suspicions turned out to be true as the man slowly began moving his body once more as he showed signs of recovery at an alarming rate. Not wanting to waste any time, Sasuke took the opportunity to strike him with a thrust of his blade, only for the wild man to send him flying with a punch.

Rolling on the floor, Sasuke managed to regain his posture as he realized the sword was now right next to the lunatic.

Standing upright once more, the man howled to the sky as his body began visibly changing, almost as if he was undergoing a metamorphosis. His clothes began to tear off as his body expanded, growing larger and larger by the second. His limbs grew longer while the ones below his waist bent into hind legs, and massive claws began to emerge on his hands and feet as the rest of his body was covered in thick brown fur. All the while, a sickening crunch could be heard as his bones began stretching and contorting in every direction. The only thing that remained intact was his face, which was unchanged aside from the presence of extra fur all over it. Eventually, what stood before Sasuke was an enormous, freakish creature the likes of which he had never seen before. Even amongst the abnormalities he had seen, this one stood out like a beast with a human face.

But it wasn't just some mindless, rage-fueled monster either. The first thing it did was grab Sasuke's sword and toss it to the side, far away from the Uchiha's reach, after which it came straight for Sasuke and tried to decapitate him with a horizontal swipe of its claws, which Sasuke aptly dodged with a forward roll.

Believing that he still had the advantage in speed and agility, Sasuke made a mad dash for his sword and almost reached it. But just as he was mere inches from reclaiming it, a massive hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him back. Before he could even react to the astonishing speed of the creature, it raised its hands and brought it down on the Uchiha, intending to crush him. Sasuke for his part, rolled back to safety, just as the two massive fists collided with the ground.

Even so, the beast-man was relentless and went immediately back on the attack, sending Sasuke flying with an upward swipe. The Uchiha's back hit the wall of the ravine before falling to the ground, yet despite reeling from the pain, he recovered quickly, just in time to see the beast charge at him on all fours, like a predator after its prey.

Without wasting any second, Sasuke ran headfirst into the charging beast, making it seem like he was intending on taking it head-on. However, when the beast attempted to take out Sasuke with another swipe of its claws, he instead slid underneath it, taking advantage of its large body to evade between it's legs before continuing to run towards his sword, which was his real target all along.

In one single motion, Sasuke took hold of the sword with his left hand before passing it to his right and immediately turned around to block a strike from the man-beast. The beast retaliated with a downward strike which was easily sidestepped by Sasuke before he responded with an upward slash, followed by him stabbing the blade right into the creature's chest. Not wanting to give the creature any time to react, Sasuke continued his assault with a flip kick to the beast's jaw that sent him stumbling back a few meters.

Despite having a sword stuck in his chest, the berserker seemed unfazed by it and immediately went back to charging straight at Sasuke. But this time, Sasuke was ready for him and before the creature could even get a hit on him, the Uchiha turned the tables and sent him flying straight towards the walls with a dropkick.

Pinned in the walls of the ravine thanks to the sword stuck in his chest, the beast struggled desperately to get out of his predicament. In the distance, the boy's eye began to glow red as sparks of electricity crackled in his left hand. The beast-man watched helplessly as the boy ran towards him and thrust the hand right into the handle of the blade, sending volts of electricity all over the monster's body. The creature roared out in pain as it was getting zapped alive from the inside out until it wheezed its last breath and left a charred, smoldering corpse in its wake.

With the battle finished, Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and retrieved his sword from the beast's corpse. Yet fate would not allow him to rest so easily, as monstrous roars began reverberating throughout the ravine, growing louder with each second.

If he had to guess, it was probably the creatures' 'friends' that had heard his cry and came to check-in. With a groan, he began frantically searching for a place to hide amongst the cracks and crevices. It wasn't that he couldn't fight them all, in fact, he was confident that he could defeat them all if he wanted to; the issue was that such a fight would be arduous and time-consuming not to mention a massive waste of his energy.

Feeling his way through the walls, Sasuke looked for a way to find any opening that was big enough to fit in and hide until the coast was clear. It began to worry him when every inch of the crevice was solid and lacked any sort of crack while the crazed screaming became more and more audible.

Just when he was about to give up hope, one of the walls suddenly began cracking before being split open as a hand grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him in. He was surprised to see a young girl pinning him to the wall, covering his mouth with one of her hands while using her other hand to press her lips with a finger, subtly telling him to remain silent.

Given the direness of the situation, Sasuke did not need a warning since he knew exactly what to do, which was why he offered little resistance aside from slowly pushing the girl's hand away from his mouth. While all of this was going on, a stampede was occurring on the outside as thunderous feet were stomping on the ground as the beast-men frantically searched for their target with incessant growls. Yet what they could not find with sight, they made up for with their sense of smell as they began to sniff out the air around them, hoping to find traces of Sasuke's scent.

Seeing the creatures try to sniff him out gave Sasuke paused for concern as he gave an annoyed grunt. In response, the girl did something strange and extraordinary. She reached out her hand as magic circles began opening around her and almost as if on command, the crack in the wall slowly began to close in on them, until they were completely enclosed in a dark and tight space, with only the sounds coming from the outside to indicate what was going on.

The locomotion outside the hiding spot within the crevice went on for a few more minutes before the wild men eventually gave up as the sounds of their footsteps grew fainter and fainter, until silence returned once more.

With the coast clear, the girl let out a sigh and commanded the walls to open up once more as the base of the ravine became visible again. Emerging from the hiding spot, Sasuke scanned the area for any more signs of danger before lowering his guard a bit.

"I think they're gone now" the girl calmly spoke from behind.

Sasuke crossed his arms and stood firmly as he warily kept an eye on her. It wasn't that he was ungrateful, but given the things that have happened, he couldn't afford to let his guard down. However, now that the present danger was gone for the moment, it also gave him a chance to get a good look at her. Skin as pale as the moon with deep brown eyes and dark purple hair tied into twin tails, she carried an air of confidence about her. Was she just another inhabitant of this world, living out her last life? She didn't look like a rotting corpse though. Was she an outsider? He couldn't tell and it was that unknown factor that made him keep his guard up.

Despite the initial awkwardness, the girl for her part didn't seem to mind his coldness; rather, she seemed more intrigued by his presence than anything. "They're called Berserkers" She began speaking again as she looked towards the path where the men left, "humans who gave up pieces of their soul in order to become beasts, obtaining their strength in the process; at the cost of their sanity of course."

Not exactly vital information, but it did explain the man's unnatural strength and ability to transform into a monster. Given his deceased opponent's lack of focus, strategy, or skill despite his strength and some signs of intelligence, it was no wonder that they were called Berserkers. At least, that was what Sasuke thought.

"They're quite tenacious too, as you can tell" the girl placed a hand on her hip and continued speaking. "Still, the way you fought and defeated one of them…." The girl stopped short of finishing her sentence as she moved in closer to Sasuke and leaned right next to his face, "What's your story anyway?"

Sasuke stepped back as he faced away from her, visibly uncomfortable by her closeness. "It's none of your business" he scoffed and brushed her aside.

Strangely enough, the girl didn't seem turned off by his attitude, which usually pushed people away, rather she let out a small chuckle at his response. Unfortunately, that was not the reaction he wanted from her. "Hmph, now's that gratitude for you" she continued giggling as she looked at him with a smug smile, "I just saved your life and that is the thanks I get?"

"I didn't need any help. I could've handled them on my own" Sasuke responded.

The girl placed a palm on her forehead and sighed. "Whatever you say….. boys and their so-called pride." Deciding to change the subject, the young girl placed both hands behind her back and skipped toward Sasuke. "Still, it's good to see another outsider here aside from me. I thought I'd have to bear through all of this all by myself."

"An outsider? Is she from the outside world as well?" Sasuke mused on her words. If what this girl was saying is true, then it seems the spirit was correct in his warning. But for what purpose? Even if she was a kid around his age, she showed a great deal of skill in magic and didn't seem scared of this place at all. And if she really was from the outside, then that would also mean…..

"All those who enter this realm have committed some form of sin" he repeated those statements in his thoughts as he clicked his tongue and looked at her observing the ravine walls, oblivious to his suspicions. Whatever sin she had committed, she was not some innocent girl.

"Say, I've been meaning to know" the girl turned around with a smile, "what's your name?"

Sasuke blinked in surprise before turning his gaze away from her. He had to be careful around strangers, especially those from the outside world here. Even something as harmless as giving his name might have some unfortunate implications. "Nobody."

"Nobody?" the girl raised a brow before snickering, "did your family hate you so much that they named you nobody?"

Sasuke had to control every muscle in his body to resist the urge to lose his temper; If only she knew. What was now apparent was that this girl also had a twisted sense of humor.

"Hmm, how about this then; since I saved your life, I get to choose a new name for you" the girl suggested, tapping her chin.

"Do whatever you want" Sasuke groaned in response.

"Excellent" the young girl almost seemed to break into excitement as she happily clapped her hands. "Then how about….Ajax? Sounds nice right?"

"Ajax?" Sasuke repeated the name as he tilted his head in confusion.

"It's the name of a demigod. Legends say that fighting was all he craved for and nothing else" the girl explained. "And you can call me Lynette" the girl continued, pointing at herself.

"Is that your real name?" the Uchiha asked.

"Of course not" the girl calling herself Lynette answered, "since we're going by fake names, I thought it's only fair that I give myself one as well."

"So Ajax" she called out to him, "wanna come with me? It's tough out here on our own."

Ajax….Sasuke sighed and rolled his eye at the thought of being called that all the time; though her offer did seem reasonable to some extent. She seemed to have far greater knowledge of the area here than he did on top of knowing the inhabitants better, given she was able to explain what those berserkers were.

Sasuke paused for a moment, before answering. "Alright, but only for a short while", he accepted with a nod. At least this way, he'd be able to cover more ground and get extra support. Whatever her intentions in this place were, he'd deal with it later, after he reunited with Gray and saved Cana.

"So where are you headed?" Lynette asked.

Sasuke took out the card from his pocket, revealing that it now had an image of Gray at the center and a compass that rotated around it, pointing to Gray's apparent direction. Once he took a look at what it was that the card was pointing at, he placed it back in his pocket and looked at Lynette. "The temple, do you know of a way to get back up there?"

"You can get there through the Library, past the Royal Gardens" Lynette summoned a crystal ball that began conjuring up images of the areas she had mentioned. "I'm heading to the library myself, so I can take you halfway there."

"Let's go then"

….

The journey to the royal gardens went faster than anticipated, about four minutes or so, thanks to the guidance of the girl known as Lynette. It would seem his hunch was correct and that the mysterious girl knew her way around this place better than he did. Any potential enemies they would've had to face were either quickly and quietly dispatched or snuck past without incident.

But the gardens itself was another matter entirely, resembling a small forest with tall trees everywhere, most of it untouched by the war although the same could not be said for the rest of the architecture, resembling an abandoned courtyard with several crumbling buildings. He was all too aware of the dangers such a place would pose, but he had no choice but to march forward, given that he could see the temple in the distance and the card itself was pointing straight in that direction.

"I didn't think it would be this big. I can only imagine what it was like back before the wars" Lynette wondered out loud, looking around the place with awe.

"Wait….if you've never been here before, how did you know this would lead to the temple?" Sasuke pointed out, warily watching her.

"I read a map" Lynette simply replied.

"How did you get one in the first place?" A curious Sasuke inquired.

To satisfy his curiosity, Lynette summoned a crystal ball from the palm of her hand as it began glowing before slowly revealing what looked like a drawing with some landmarks dotted around. "If you wanna know how I got it, you'll have to trade secrets with me and….."

Lynette's words flew over his head as Sasuke was too busy being distracted by the rustling in the nearby bushes. He could sense trouble was abounded and Lynette was too busy explaining things to notice it. Without a shred of hesitation, he took action.

"Anyways, why don't you-whaaa!" Lynette was cut off mid-sentence as Sasuke grabbed her by the hand and dragged her off to a nearby tree where he rested on the trunk while pulling her closer to his chest.

Lynette froze in shock as she was taken aback by his brazen actions. But as she looked up, there was not a hint of mischief or flirtatiousness on Ajax's face. Instead, he was as stern and serious as he had been before. Eventually, she found out why, as only a few seconds in, she began to hear sounds of a large creature moving about where they once stood. Glancing through the corner of her eyes, she spotted a four-legged creature with long hair roaming about carrying what looked like an elegantly large coffin all the while sporting an impressive row of massive yet bizarrely human-like teeth.

The two remained quiet as they kept a constant eye on the surrounding, hoping more didn't show up. While they were both capable of fighting on their own, neither of them wanted to risk bringing in more unwanted attention and potentially endangering their lives. On top of that, Sasuke for his part had to make sure to preserve his strength for a potential battle with the Witch later on. Lynette would've been captivated by the creature if it weren't for the fact that it might pose an immediate danger to her as well.

Eventually, the creature began to lose interest in the area and with a vibrating growl, started marching in the opposite direction. But it was also at that moment that Lynette's cheeks began to heat up as she realized how close she was to his chest before pushing him away. "I think that's enough stimulation for me."

Taking a look at 'Ajax', all she could see was an unamused look on his face, no different than before. She was surprised by how easily flustered she got, considering she never felt this way with other boys. Though, to be fair, she found most of them to be quite simple-minded and moronic at times, compared to the stoic and collected Ajax, who himself wasn't a bad sight to look at despite the broody attitude and the eyepatch.

"We should keep moving and get to the library quickly before any more of these things show up" Sasuke instructed, pointing towards the large intact building up ahead. "Is that the one?" he asked.

Lynette managed to compose herself and quickly nodded. "Yeah, that's the place" she answered.

They continued walking until they reached a wide clearing and were immediately taken aback by the massive structure in front of them, still intact despite the devastation of war surrounding it. Judging by the sheer size of the door, Sasuke estimated that the building had to be more than several stories high, enough to reach the Hokage monuments of Konoha.

"We're finally here," Lynette said, brimming with excitement as she slowly made her way to the entrance of the library. Without hesitating, she placed a hand on the door and slowly pushed it forward, intending on entering the library, given that it was the whole reason she came here. With a thunderous roar, the door slowly creaked open, until there was enough space for the both of them to enter.

Meanwhile, Sasuke kept himself on high alert and looked around everywhere for any sign of danger. He did not doubt that the loud noise made by the door would likely have attracted some of the denizens of this place, including that four-legged coffin-carrying abomination.

But as he turned around, he realized that the girl had disappeared, likely having ditched him in her haste to reach the library. "Lynette!" he called out as he ran after her.

The moment he entered the library, the door behind him immediately shut itself with a very loud thud, blocking his exit as Sasuke was instantly blindsided by the sight before him. His breath was taken away by the massive interior of the place; thousands upon thousands of books and manuscripts were stored on shelves climbing several stories high. Yet, they were not the main highlight of the area itself, as the thing that sparked Sasuke's curiosity and concern was the sight of several ghastly figures, some carrying books while others diligently reading strange manuscripts on the table. What was most intriguing about them was the fact that their feet could not be seen making them look like they were floating rather than walking.

Despite this, Sasuke had no reservations about walking up to them and asking questions if necessary. But as he approached one of them for interrogation, a voice called out and interrupted him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you"

Alerted by the presence of another person, Sasuke quickly looked around to find the source of the voice; it was feminine yet nothing like Lynette or even Cana, sounding slightly older. Eventually, he caught the sight of a tall young woman in one of the higher levels of the library, reading a book while humming a tune. As she returned the book to its shelf, she looked at Sasuke with a smile before disappearing with a snap of her finger and then re-emerging right in front of him.

Once he had gotten a better look at her, he noticed that she was much taller than him, at least the height of a woman in her mid-twenties; she had pale skin overlapped by a wavy green hair that was tied into a loose side ponytail with a feather ornament attached to the side which was further accentuated by her green eyes. She wore what looked like a normal blue tunic, white trousers, and a pair of high brown boots covered by an intricately designed long coat with a hood attached to it, with golden lines and highlights strewn all across it.

"These are the royal archivists who manage these tomes. Even in death, they continue their duty, guarding these treasures" the young girl explained, strutting about and circling Sasuke until bending over to reach Sasuke's eye level, "So you'd best take care not to interrupt their daily routine. You wouldn't like a ghost coming after you."

"And you are?" Sasuke raised a brow and asked.

"Me?" the girl placed a hand on her chest and giggled, "Well, I'm just a humble visitor, here to enjoy the sights and read some of Malebolge's famous archives. You may call me Selphia"

"So she's an outsider too" Sasuke muttered deep inside his head. If that were the case she must've had a few skeletons in her closet as well. However, she seemed way too lively and unconcerned about the horrors of this world, even more so than Lynette.

"This place is crawling with monsters and you're here sightseeing?" Sasuke pointed out, almost exasperated by her indifference.

The girl's response was to snicker and let out a dismissive gesture with her hand. "They look like monsters to you?" she replied with an almost contemptuous tone, "Come now, that's simply no way to discriminate them. I think they look quite adorable."

"Can we kill her already?" Even the other half of Sasuke's dark side broke his silence and chimed in, clearly irritated by her presence. And frankly, even Sasuke felt that way; in the few minutes Sasuke had known of her, she was already getting under his skin. She had an air of insufferable arrogance and haughtiness to her, simply from the smug tone in her voice to the way she strutted herself like a brightly colored bird.

As if reading his thoughts, the girl glanced back and waved a finger. "I know what your other half is thinking and frankly, I wouldn't recommend that either" Selphia explained, carrying a smirk on her face while she was at it, "After all, you are still a shell of your former self…Sasuke Uchiha."

Hearing his name being uttered from her mouth immediately put Sasuke on high alert as he drew out his sword and carefully observed her: the only beings who had known of his full name and origin without him telling anything were a literal god and an ethereal spirit. If she knew his secrets, then it meant that she wasn't an ordinary human either. He had to tread carefully.

"How did you know my name?" an irate Sasuke asked.

"I know everything there is to know about you, dear Sasuke" Selphia calmly answered, the shift in her tone from playfulness to impassive was concerning for the Uchiha; that level of confidence was either a bluff or she clearly knew what she was doing. "Your past, your present, and your future, I have observed them all" she continued.

"My future?"

"Indeed, it's quite fascinating. Your presence here in this world has been quite troublesome for us, affecting the causality of time and leaving me with more hard work to do" she expounded, returning to her more bashful self. "Still, you have made quite a few enemies here well, including my dear father. I do wonder how it will all play out."

Once again, he was met with a cryptic answer from another stranger who somehow knew all about him. Being constantly locked out of the loop was not something that pleased Sasuke and his patience was running thin. "If you know something, anything, just tell me everything right here and now!" Sasuke demanded, no longer tolerating these enigmatic beings and their games. But as he reached out to grab her, she vanished into thin air.

"All will be explained to you in due time and you will play your part in shaping this world" Selphia answered, reappearing on one of the elevated platforms as she leaned on the railings "But right now, I'm sure you have more pressing matters to attend to, like saving your half brother and Cana from that dastardly witch Abigail"

"More games" Sasuke quietly grumbled but refrained from speaking out. As annoyed and tired as he was if she knew where Gray and Cana were, he was going to take whatever answer she would give him, even though she somehow knew about Gray as well or their situation; he wasn't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth. "Where are they?"

"Beyond this door" Selphia pointed towards a large door much further away, tucked behind rows and rows of desks and benches. "You must go deeper into the lower section of the library to gain access to the temple, there you will meet Gray. As for the Witch, simply reach the bottom portion of the temple, the center of which is a large tree, where the sacrifices are made, you can't miss it."

"And if you're curious as to where 'Lynette' is" the green-haired woman continued, making a quotation gesture with her fingers when mentioning the girl's name, "You can find her in the chamber to the left." She informed him by pointing towards a smaller door on his left side.

Now that it was settled, Sasuke could only hope that the information that was given to him was true. The Uchiha believed that the best way to test it out was to find Lynette first since she was supposedly in the room right next door. That way, he could inform her of his departure, make sure she was safe, and then, if the answers turn out to be true, leave quickly for Gray and Cana.

"Oh, and before you go" Selphia interrupted again, stopping Sasuke in his tracks as he made his way over to the chamber where Lynette was. "I'd advise you against putting too much trust on that girl called 'Lynette'. She's not who you think she is."

Sasuke never truly trusted her completely to begin with, but the words of another stranger made his suspicions stronger. He'd have to be wary of her and tread carefully before he parted ways with her. "I already know that" he bluntly replied.

"Not even a thank you or a show of gratitude?" She admonished him in a teasing manner, "Hmph, you really are as tactless as they said you were."

Ignoring her words, Sasuke marched through the door, unable to bear a second longer in her presence. Hopefully, by the time he came back, she'd be long gone, or else he'd have to sneak past her to reunite with Gray quietly.

…..

As he slowly creaked open the door, Sasuke watched as Lynette had already begun eagerly rummaging through the books and jotting down notes. The room itself was quite small and square, big enough for two beds and a table. The shelves on opposite sides of the room were filled to the brim with all manner of books, each of them inscribed in a language he had yet to understand as he ran his finger through the covers.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Lynette spoke up, still facing away from Sasuke as she scribbled down on her notes. "Sorry for leaving you behind out there, but I couldn't afford to wait and I knew you'd be safe once you got in here."

The Uchiha's gaze was locked towards Lynette, the warnings of the mysterious woman still ringing in his head. But the question was how much of Selphia 's words could he trust as well, since, for all he knew, she could have some sort of grudge against Lynette. "I don't even know what I'm looking at" he admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Ancient compendiums" Lynette began, all the while continuing to scribble down notes on a blank page, "Tomes of the abyss, advanced dark sorcery, and scholarly articles related to the deepest darkest spells the world has ever known. It's all here; the key to the abyss of sorcery."

"The abyss of sorcery?"

For a moment, Lynette stopped writing as she lowered her quill down on the table and smiled. "True magic was born from the depths of the abyss and those who wielded its power were said to be unstoppable" the girl explained, rising from her seat and facing Sasuke, "Yet no one could harness its power the way one man could: Lord Zeref."

He never thought he'd hear that name again, whether it was psychotic cults or even gods, the name Zeref seemed to have an air of infamy about it. Yet, looking at Lynette, she almost seemed like she revered and respected him. Could she be another one of his loony followers? "Zeref?" he repeated with a surprised look on his.

"You know of him?" she asked with widened eyes before shaking her head, "Never mind, I guess you would too. There's not a single person alive who hasn't heard of Zeref."

While there were a lot of questions he wanted to ask, time was of the essence and he couldn't afford to dawdle any longer. "I see. Anyway, I'll be leaving now, just wanted to check up on you" he blankly stated.

"You still have to go to the temple right? Well, good luck then" Lynette nodded her head and gave a bashful smile before returning to her duties. "Let's meet up again someday."

Sasuke let out an indignant "hmph" in response before taking his leave. But once the door to the central chamber shut, the coy guise on the girl's face faded away, revealing a more bold, arrogant expression. At once, the girl known as Lynette summoned a crystal ball from her hands and began conjuring up some sort of spell.

"What is it? Have you found the place?"

"I have, but that's not why I called you" the girl answered, "I have news that might interest you."

"Oh?" the voice from the other side remarked, as if its curiosity had been sparked, "And what might be more important than the library?"

"The boy whose eye we have? The one our guests have been asking about? I've found him, in here of all places" the girl answered with definite confidence, a tinge of pride forming in her.

And it seems that sense of pride was not misplaced, for the voice behind the crystal ball seemed equally pleased with the news. "Well done…Ultear."

---

The card kept blinking as it pointed in the direction that he was supposed to take. Yet it did little to reassure Gray, whose mind constantly kept thinking about what might be happening to Sasuke and Cana. While he had made a promise with his one-eyed guildmate to meet up in the temple, part of him was worried something might've happened to him and if that were the case, then he would have to find Cana on his own; if he could find her that is. Gray could only hope that his assumptions turn out to be correct and that Cana was held somewhere in this temple.

The temple itself seemed to be in a bit of disarray, at least on the outside, since it was in complete ruins as expected of war. But the interior was mostly intact, despite a few fallen pillars here and there. For a moment, Gray paused himself to catch his breath and assess the situation at hand all the while looking around the place. There were signs of battle here and the treasures of the temple were most likely looted as well. Strangely, he couldn't see any bodies around, though he chalked that up to them being in a state of undeath or most likely in the process of being revived to start the process all over again.

As he looked at the card bearing Sasuke's face, it blinked even faster than before, indicating that he might be getting closer to him. "He's gotta be near," he said, looking at the card with widened eyes, shocked at his survival after everything that had happened and relieved as well.

Focusing on the direction that card pointed at, Gray quickly followed its lead as fast as he could, running through all manner of rubble and other obstacles. "C'mon Gray, gotta hurry!" he urged himself, sprinting through the tight, maze-like corridors of the temple.

But in his effort to find Sasuke, the ice wizard had made his presence known to the sentries still patrolling the temple as two of them blocked his entry to the main hall upfront while another two ambushed him from the rear. Not only that, he had worked up his stamina to the point of weariness and left himself vulnerable.

The sentries resembled pale-skinned men adorned in decorative bronze armor around their heads and arms, leaving the torso exposed while wielding swords covered in flames. "I don't have time for this, just bring it" Gray challenged them, placing his hand forward, daring them to come at him to which one from the back responded by running towards him and attempting to land a strike, whereby Gray evaded by ducking sideways. Another from the rear leaped towards him with both swords and attempted to slam them on Gray, who once again, quickly rolled away to safety.

"My turn. Ice make; lance!" Gray cried out as he retaliated by putting his fist over his palms and sending multiple lances towards the two sentries, impaling one while knocking the other back. The remaining three countered by melting the ice with their flame swords, though that did little to deter Gray.

"I've faced flames hotter than that" he taunted with a smile, daring them again to come for him.

But at that very moment, something prevented the sentries from answering the ice wizard's challenge. A sword ran through one of the sentry's stomach, rendering him immobile and causing him to drop his two blades taking the other two by surprise as they looked back in surprise.

"Chidori" Gray heard a familiar voice before witnessing jolts of electricity run through the sentry's body, causing him to scream out in pain before being unceremoniously sliced in half. He then proceeded to run through the remaining two sentries, slicing them apart with incredible speed, not leaving them any chance to get in a single hit. Once it was done, the remaining sentries collapsed on the floor, lying there motionless.

For Gray, however, it was a sigh of relief to see him again as he smirked, "Took you long enough."

Sasuke returned his blade into his sheathe and faced Gray. "I had to take a detour."

…

"Wait, so you're saying there are other people here as well?" Gray marched behind Sasuke with a look of disbelief once Sasuke had informed him of his misadventures. He couldn't believe his ears when the Uchiha told him of his encounter with two individuals who were from the outside world just like they were.

"Yeah" Sasuke nonchalantly answered, quietly walking along while running his hands across the temple walls as he traced his memories to the direction that Selphia gave him to find the Witch's lair.

"And one of them somehow knows where Cana is" Gray pointed out, skeptical of the information even if any lead was better than pure guesswork. It wasn't that he was angry or frustrated; it was just that he felt the stories had a lot of holes in them. "Can you even trust what they're saying?" he asked.

"Of course not" Sasuke acknowledged and shook his head, slowly descending over the temple steps. "Anyone who's entered this place has to have committed a sin to do so. We know ours but we don't know their story or what they're after" he continued, carefully looking around for any signs of danger.

Gray listened to his explanation while guarding their rear. Sasuke never struck him as the easily trusting type and it probably dawned on him as to the reason why he was taking unsubstantiated info. "But we need to find Cana and any information is better than nothing, right?"

Sasuke smirked, pleased by Gray's deduction. "Precisely"

Gray had to hold his breath and pause, watching Sasuke nonchalantly walk through the pathways as if what he did a few seconds ago wasn't incomprehensible to him. He had never seen him smile, let alone even smirk other than maybe with Erza, so it was a big surprise to see this side of him. Then again, Gray was also glad that they were on the same page here.

The stairs felt like they led to a bottomless pit but eventually, the duo managed to reach the bottom where they were greeted by a massive door. As they opened the door, Sasuke and Gray felt like they had entered an even more bizarre world. The entire place was drabbed in black and gray with only the flames burning from candles, torches, and braziers adding any sort of color. Even the plant life was eerie, with trunks and branches covered in thick black plating similar to the raven form of the Witch while some of the roots moved around like tentacles.

"I thought the surface was scary but this place gives me the creeps even more. It feels like it doesn't have any life of its own, it's just ….dead" Gray nervously noted, keeping his guard up. Fortunately, despite its eeriness and desolation, there were very few enemies to be encountered, likely because the Witch herself was an outsider just like them and had to have fended off any would be invaders, as indicated by the skeletal remains of enemy soldiers that the two of them passed by, many of whom would most likely return to life once the loop circled back.

"What do think, is this a temple as well?" Sasuke asked Gray for his input based on the murals they saw while they continued on their journey: they depicted what looked like a group of people surrounding a singular figure and holding them in reverence.

"Guess so, seems like they worshipped….something" was all the answer Gray could give, seeing that he was as much in the dark as he was. "If what that spirit thing said is true, it could be Chronos or Ankhseram" he added, based on his assumptions.

"Or Moloch" Sasuke murmured, based on what he could decipher from the murals, it seemed to be some sort of ritual sacrifice.

After walking further, the duo finally reached another flight of stairs leading up towards what looked like a large yet intricately designed door; brambles blacker than ink surrounded the pathway while candles lit up the way. Seeing no other choice, Sasuke and Gray proceeded through the door, whereupon opening they were greeted by the sight of something that caused both of them to look on with widened eyes.

"Cana!"

Dangling up high in chains, in what looked like an altar made for sacrifices was an unconscious Cana, bruised but no worse for wear. A feeling of relief fell over Sasuke, realizing that both their hunches and the information given to him by the mysterious woman turned out to be correct. All the struggles, the fights, the pain they had endured, all of it was worth it in the end.

"Hang on!" Gray cried out once more as he began freezing the chains connected to the pillars that supported and held Cana in the air. Once it had frozen the chains all the way to Cana, Gray summoned an ice hammer and smashed the chains near the supporting pillars to pieces, causing the remaining chains to loosen up and drop Cana, who was caught by Sasuke.

As he gently laid her down, all the while keeping his hand on the back of her head for support, Gray rushed over to them with a sense of urgency that he had never felt in a long time.

"Cana! Cana!" Gray desperately called out to her, anxiety in his face as he feared the worst. He had lost so many people throughout his life, whether it was his parents, Ur, or Lyon since he practically left him, he couldn't stomach another loss like that again.

While Sasuke didn't show it, he was also worried about her well-being, but from what he could tell, she was breathing and that was already a good sign for him.

Slowly but surely, Cana began to take a sharp, deep breath before exhaling as she gently opened her eyes. As she did so, her sight was met with the presence of Sasuke and Gray, looking bruised and beaten but alive nonetheless. There was a look of pure joy on Gray's face while Sasuke remained as stone-faced as ever.

"G-Gray?" was the first word she manage to muster as she slowly started coming back to her senses. The things she had seen, the horrors she went through in the last few hours, she couldn't even comprehend them, and there were even moments when she lost all hope of rescue. But now, to see her comrades go through hell and high water just for her and to realize that they never gave up on her, nearly brought her to tears as she began to sob. "I-I'm so sorry. I caused you so much trouble" she choked on her words, covering her face to hide the tears that were falling from her eyes.

"Hey, it's alright" Gray reassured her with a gentle smile, "We'd never leave one of our own."

"You're safe now and that's all that matters" Sasuke chimed in with comforting words of his own.

Cana bawled her eyes out for a few more minutes before composing herself enough to lie in a seated position with Sasuke's help. "You guys" she smiled as she hastily wiped away her tears; her feelings of guilt and hopelessness replaced by feelings of delight at the sight of her comrades. Even better still was seeing Gray and Sasuke standing together without any of the invisible barrier that separated the two of them.

"Listen, sorry to have to ask this of you, but can you still move?" Gray reached out his hands, standing next to Sasuke.

"Yeah" Cana replied and took Gray's hand without hesitation as she rose to her feet. "She didn't hurt me that bad or…..maybe I don't think she hurt me at all" she scratched her head, still trying to work through the hazy memories.

"The Witch was going to sacrifice you to her God, Moloch" Sasuke stated, matter-of-factly.

"She was going to do what!" Cana exclaimed as her eyes widened while she stumbled back a bit. A feeling of morbid unease fell over her entire body at the thought of her possible fate.

"Listen, I know this is a lot to ask but we really need to stop her before she hurts more innocent people. So can you still fight?" Gray requested, almost to the point of pleading yet with compromise and understanding in his words. "If you can't fight or don't want to, then that's fine too. Just stay here and rest and we'll come back for you."

Cana was many things and she wasn't always the best in everything, but a victim, she was not. Furthermore, she still had an obligation to do the right thing whether or not she was almost primed for a ritual sacrifice. "Hold on, just because I was captured, doesn't mean I'm gonna stay here and let you two risk it all. I've got some payback to settle too you know" she answered with a pout.

"Then I guess you'll need this back" a relieved Gray walked over to her and handed back her satchel, which Cana happily took back.

Cana was overjoyed to have her satchel in her possession and as she rummaged through its inside, was also glad that her cards were still intact. "You kept this safe for me? Thank you so much!" she sincerely expressed her gratitude.

"Sorry, we had to borrow a few cards along the way" Gray apologized as he displayed his half of the call cards that he loaned.

Sasuke did the same and attempted to hand it back to Cana only for her to reject it. "No, you guys keep it" she graciously shook her head and refused.

"Are you sure?" Gray blinked.

"It helped the both of you didn't it? You two might need it again someday" Cana explained as she carefully slung the satchel over her shoulder. "And it brought the two of you together" she muttered inside of her thoughts, seeing that the call cards must've played a part in them working together and finding her. Honestly, Cana was always going to give them those cards, as a means of helping them get along once more, but things seemed to have worked out better than she hoped.

"Alright then" Gray responded and slowly placed it back in his pocket, unsure of what her true reasons were for refusing to take back her cards. Then again, it was likely she could find more cards later, once all of this was over.

"Is everyone ready?" Sasuke grunted and asked, adjusting his equipment before looking at the two of them with a stern expression. He was uncertain if Cana could actually fight given what she had gone through, but he knew he would need all the help he could get to defeat the servant of Moloch and if she volunteered, then he had no reason to turn her down.

"Yeah" Gray and Cana answered in unison.

"Then let's end this."

---

According to what Cana could remember, after being chained up she saw the Witch flying through what looked like a secret hidden entrance to another part of her lair. "Wait, you're telling me that we're in some forbidden dimension cursed by a couple of Gods?" Cana said, surprised by the explanations provided by Gray on their current situation.

"More or less, yeah. It's a lot more complicated than that" Gray nodded, following behind Sasuke and Cana, but as he looked forward, he was met with a scornful look from Sasuke.

"We can talk about it later. Right now, we need to make sure not to give our positions away, so put a lid on it"

"Fine"

"Okay"

Once they had reached the end of the trail, Sasuke commanded the two of them to halt as strange mumblings could be heard in the distance. The three of them immediately hugged the walls and proceeded carefully through the sides.

"You hear that" Gray whispered.

Sasuke nodded silently as he led them to a nearby cover to find out the origin of the voice. As they got nearer, they realized that voice seemed to be chanting some sort of incantation in a language they were not familiar with. As his eye narrowed on the target, he could see that the source of that voice was none other than the wretched hag herself, kneeling before some sort of altar beside a massive tree in the middle of a massive arena and bowing continuously.

"So there's our target" Gray mumbled, carefully keeping watch on what the Witch was doing. "Seems like she's doing some sort of ritual, but for what?"

"To sacrifice Cana" Sasuke bluntly answered.

"Do you have to remind me?" Cana whined in a quiet tone, grumbling in discomfort at the thought of almost being her latest victim.

As they continued observing their target, the trio noticed a strange stream of white-like energy emanating from her body before slowly gathering into her left hand. Once all of that energy had reached her hand it formed into a while ball which she raised up high in the sky and faced the altar. "okoron'O apignod letig, Moloch. Igna okaib obanik." the Witch chanted before thrusting that energy straight at the altar, which began to glow. However, there seemed to have been some sort of side effect to this action, as she immediately fell to her knees, almost seemingly weakened by the process.

While Gray and Cana looked on with concern, Sasuke knew almost exactly what was going on. If what that god, Justiça had told him was correct, then she was sending a portion of her energy to begin the ritual. It robbed her of most of her strength but at the same time, it also meant that she was summoning Moloch as well, and given the deer god's warnings, he was someone they had to avoid at all costs.

"Gray, Cana, listen to me. This is our only chance to stop her, right here and now" Sasuke affirmed with a great degree of certainty.

The other two looked at him, almost a bit dumbfounded since he was always the more cautious of the three. Hearing him call for an attack without any plan or strategy threw them off for a loop.

"Wait, the last time we rushed in, she handed our butts to us. Can we really beat her without a plan?" Gray questioned his statement with a look of concern.

"She's sacrificed a portion of her powers to summon Moloch. Right now, she's in a state where she's weaker than before. This is our only chance to stop her and quickly, we cannot under any circumstance let her summon her god" Sasuke asserted, earning even more looks of surprise from the other two, but eventually they nodded in agreement. "And who said I didn't have a plan?"

"You do?" Cana asked, sounding almost relieved at the thought that they won't be rushing in blindly.

"Yes, now listen up."

…

Sasuke wasn't sure if the Witch could process human emotions the same way she once could've when she was known as the mortal Abigail but there was no doubt that their interference must have at least gotten under her skin, especially given the vicious snarl she let out as shards of ice covered her precious altar.

"Oops, was that important? Sorry" Gray gave out a sardonic apology as Sasuke approached from behind and stood beside him. Missing from the group was Cana, who was still in hiding and waiting in anticipation for the plan Sasuke had proposed.

All that Gray's taunting did was further rile up the hag, who shrieked in anger as she summoned her stave intending to kill the heretics who defiled her precious altar to Moloch.

But there was no sign of fear or hesitation in either of the boy's faces. In fact, Gray smugly smiled and ripped off his shirt before closing his fist and pointing it at the Witch. "Round two, you ugly crone and we're not gonna go easy on you this time!" he proclaimed, signaling Sasuke to ready himself as well as the Uchiha took out his sword and activated his Sharingan.

The Witch came charging at them with full speed, but this time, the duo were ready for her and jumped out of the way as she slammed her stave onto the ground, leaving a trace of magic energy in its wake. Not wanting to give them time to recover, the hag lunged at Sasuke, swiping at him with her stave, only for the Uchiha to easily evade all of them.

While Sasuke distracted her, Gray snuck up from behind and summoned a spear in an attempt to strike her while her guard was down. However, the Witch seemed to have noticed the coming danger and immediately spun around to block the spear with her stave. But rather than act surprised, Gray let out a smirk as Sasuke took the chance to jump and deliver a spinning back kick right into her face, sending her flying into the nearby pillars.

"You weren't kidding" Gray admitted to Sasuke as they watched her struggle just to rise to her feet again, something she clearly had no problem with in their previous battle. But in Sasuke's mind, it was actually Justiça who was correct in his advice. By giving away a portion of her power to summon her god, she was significantly slower and weaker than before, giving them the fighting chance they needed.

The battle, however, wasn't over yet as the Witch snarled and bore her black wings as they ripped open right out of her back. Levitating in the air, she took flight and hovered in the air before slamming her claws down on the ground, releasing a blinding white light from her hands, that left both Sasuke and Gray incapacitated as they covered their eyes.

As the effect began to wear off, Sasuke heard a loud clanging sound followed by the Gray shouting. Shaking himself off of his blinded state, he opened his eye and saw that Gray was in trouble, visible struggling to halt the attack by the Witch with his spear as she had him cornered.

Coming to the rescue of his brother, Sasuke activated Chidori through his sword and lunged forward, slamming his blade into the Witch's back. The hag screamed in pain as she let go of Gray and began focusing on shaking off Sasuke from her back. Seizing the opportunity of this momentary distraction, Gray dashed forward and struck her with his ice spear while Sasuke simultaneously jumped off of her.

Clutching her stomach, the Witch took a look at her hand and saw traces of blood from it. In all her years, no one had come close to making a dent in her, yet these children were able to do just that. Enraged, she roared and slammed her stave on the ground, letting out a stream of dark magic energy moving through the ground and straight towards the two boys, who dodged them. But in that second, the Witch took the chance to fly towards Sasuke and grab him by the throat just as he was about to turn around, lift him up in the air before slamming him to the ground and then picking him back up again, in an attempt to either strangle him or snap his neck.

"Gray!" Sasuke called out to Gray, who hurled his spear straight at the torso of the Witch, letting the weapon run through her. Reeling in pain, the hag let go of Sasuke and dropped her stave as she attempted to free herself of the spear that was lodged onto her. But having the upper hand once again, Sasuke jumped on her back once more and plunged his sword onto her while volts of electricity ran through her body. As she shrieked in intense agony, Gray joined in on the fray and grabbed the tip of his ice spear, inserting it further into the hag's body.

"Cana now!" Sasuke cried out once more, this time to their secret weapon. In response to his call, Cana emerged out of hiding and summoned two cards from her satchel, one dubbed "heaven" and another "wind", stacking them on top of each other.

The combined effects of the two cards began creating a gust of wind that came out of nowhere. "You two, get out of there" she ordered as the winds began picking up speed. Sasuke and Gray complied and immediately ceased their assault while finding cover. The Witch however was not so lucky as she barely had any time to recover from the attack inflicted on her by the two boys along with the spear that was still lodged into her stomach. "Wind Edge!" Cana invoked her spell as the winds began to gather on a singular current and then move towards the Witch, knocking her off of her feet and blowing her away into another pillar.

As the Witch collided with the pillar and fell to the ground, she realized that she was surrounded by a deck of cards, each meticulous placed circularly. "I'm not done yet, this is payback for what you did!" an irate Cana asserted, reaching out her hand as a green magic seal emerged from it, causing the cards around the hag to simultaneously glow as well. "Summoned lightning" she called on as green lightning bolts emerged from the cards and began zapping the Witch, whose body was shaking from the shock. The lighting also began damaging the pillar as cracks began to open before it eventually collapse and fell down on the Witch until she was buried underneath the rubble of concrete.

"Is it over?"

Gray sniffed and rubbed his nose as he tentatively looked over the rubble. Everything seemed to have quieted down and there was no sign of life anywhere within that vicinity.

"No" Sasuke candidly replied, his eye still fixed on the Witch's last position. Based on his previous encounters, he knew this was far from over.

And true to his statement, the rubbles slowly began to move once more as the Witch emerged from underneath, bloodied and bruised, but angry nonetheless. In fact, it would seem she could barely contain her rage as she began breathing heavily and baring her fangs like some animal. "an'gno ajnam! Gnosan neighs!" she shrieked, reaching out for her altar whereby she commanded her powers to return to her. As if it had a mind of its own, the stream of magic energy slowly began flying back towards her, coating her in a familiar dark white energy; once the last bit of magic had returned to her, the trio watched in horror as she yelled out a gurgling sound in response to her body twisting and contorting like a puppet. Her wings began to fuse with her arms as they grew larger and larger, jet black feathers began sticking out from every part of her body, her mouth elongated to uncanny proportions until it resembled a beak while bony armored plating began forming around her torso as well as the rest of her body. By the time the painful process was over, she resembled an enormous black raven-like creature.

With a deafening screech, the raven looked up and blasted the entire ceiling away with dark energy, opening up a blackened but clear sky. Once that was done, the bird refocused its attention on the three, charging forward to devour all of them.

"Move!" Sasuke pulled Cana back and pushed Gray out of the way as he braced himself to bear the brunt of the attack. The raven's head bore down on Sasuke and in one single chomp, he was gone entirely.

"Sasuke!" Cana called out in worry, rushing over with Gray to rescue him.

But their worries turned out to be unfounded as the beak of the bird started slowly opening up, revealing Sasuke to be still inside of its mouth, with his sword lodged on the raven's upper beak as he lifted it up. The raven in response tried to shake him off but to no avail as the Uchiha stubbornly clung onto it.

In the end, however, it finally managed to break free of Sasuke's grip as it tossed him in the air along with his sword, before grabbing him midair with its beak and slamming him to one of the sides arenas. Not letting up, the raven grabbed Sasuke with its beak once more and tossed him to the other side where he collided with the wall. But that wasn't enough to satisfy the Witch, as she had realized that he was the strongest among them and the one that was ordering the other two, meaning all of her pain was by his command. To show her rage, she grabbed the one-eyed boy with her talons and flew up to the sky before slamming him down to the ground. In an act of pure sadism, she began pressing deeper on the boy with her talons, hoping to crush every bone in his body as he screamed in agony.

"Get your claws off of him!"

Amidst the pain of getting crushed, Sasuke looked around the moment he heard Gray's voice, just in time to see the flaming cards and ice blades fly right towards the creature. But rather than let go of him, the raven simply ignored their attacks and pressed Sasuke further into the ground.

Despite the futility of it all, Sasuke's allies were not about to give up on him. Summoning another ice spear, Gray sprinted over to the raven, leaped off the ground, and managed to land a precise strike on one of the raven's eyes.

Sasuke's eye widened as the creature shrilled in pain before grabbing Gray by its beak just as it did to him and throwing him across the arena, causing him to crash through some pillars before being stopped abruptly by a wall.

"Gray!" Cana called out, but before she could make her way over to him, the raven blasted her off with a ball of magic that sent her flying to the back as she rolled on the ground.

Sasuke looked on with worry as the two of them seemed to have been incapacitated. Worse still, the Witch still had her claws on him as she continued crushing him even with just one eye left. Yet, the moment he saw a glimpse of Gray bleeding and unconscious, none of the pain seemed to register anymore. It was as if something had broken inside of him, a feeling that he had long forgotten: the feeling of dread. He hadn't felt this way in such a long time, not since the incident at the Tower of Heaven, but even that paled in comparison to the feeling of fear and anxiety that fell over him the moment he opened the doors to his parent's room on that fateful night. And right now, that haunting feeling was coming back.

"You think you're in control of this situation? You think you can handle this without me?"

A voice called out inside of his head, someone whom he knew as none other than his darker half. There was venom and contempt in the tone of his voice as if chastising him for losing control of the situation at hand.

"You fool"

"You think you can do this without me?"

Sasuke's counterpart continued lambasting him over his refusal to let him take control. "Get… out… of my head" he refuted, but with every second the claws of the raven continued pressing further, the more he put his thoughts onto what his doppelganger was saying.

"You need to let go. Stay on this path of self-righteousness and Gray is going to end up dead, just like mother and father!"

Mother….father….those names opened up Sasuke's eye as it had never before. Memories began flooding in, memories of their dead bodies stacked on top of one another, lying there motionless and with barely a shred of dignity. And with those memories, the dark emotions that followed began bottling up inside as well. The foreboding feelings of anxiety, fear, horror, shock, and heartbreak, all emotions that he tried so hard to keep inside of him began breaking down like a broken wall. The sight of a bloodied and lifeless Gray, his little brother, one of the few families he had left felt like a mirror image of his parent's dead bodies.

"No! I won't let that ….happen!" Sasuke snarled as he began struggling to free himself.

"That's it!" the voice exclaimed, sounding almost ecstatic, "See that thing in front of you. She's the one responsible for all of this. What will you do to make her pay?"

"Whatever it takes!"

"Then you know what must be done. Plunge yourself into the darkness once more, fill your heart with hatred and become the avenger you were meant to be."

And with those final words spurning him on, Sasuke mustered up every bit of strength he had and pushed himself off of the iron grip of the raven's claw. Once there was enough space between his body and the talons, the Uchiha wriggled himself out of the creature's grip and freed himself before flipping backward to give himself some space.

Meanwhile, Cana managed to come back to her senses as she opened her eyes while groaning in pain. But mere seconds in, she gasped in the realization of the memory of what had happened and quickly rolled over to see what was going on. To her surprise, Sasuke was free from the Witch's clutches and was standing right in front of the creature, almost seemingly ready for combat. Normally, she would be glad to see him still alive and kicking, but something about his presence bothered her. The way he moved around felt uncanny, unnatural and there was a miasma of dark purplish aura emanating from his body. It gave off an incredibly strong presence, enough that she could feel it all the way from her position and it seems even the Witch could feel it as it seemed hesitant to attack him, even in that enormous raven form.

But for Sasuke, nothing mattered at the moment, not the opinions of friends or enemies. The only thing that he cared about right now was making sure that the Witch paid for what she did. "Anyone who tries to take them away from me will get no mercy. You hurt Gray and for that, you will pay dearly" he declared as he darted at full speed ahead.

In response, the raven shot out a barrage of feathers from her wings like miniature blades, yet each and every single one of them failed to land a hit on the one-eyed boy, who deftly dodged them with ease. Cana herself had to blink and rub her eyes to see if she was not hallucinating. It was as if his reflexes had increased by tenfold.

Even Sasuke himself could feel the effects of his newfound strength. But he knew better than others what was really happening. It wasn't that he became faster but rather his perception had vastly improved. He wasn't just seeing things more clearly; he could now analyze the Witch's movements to such an extent that he could now predict them. It was that same feeling he had when fought Haku alongside Naruto. There was no doubt about it; he had unlocked a second Tomoe for his Sharingan.

Seeing that her feathers were ineffective, the raven gather energy in her mouth before releasing a powerful blast from it, only for it to be easily dodged as well, despite the large radius of the impact. Wasting no time, she flapped her wings and flew up in the air before diving down in an attempt to swipe at him with her talons but the Uchiha, once again, managed to evade evisceration by slipping through the gaps between her fingers.

With her back turned, Sasuke gathered chakra in his feet before leaping up in the air and diving straight towards her back. Once he landed, he quickly took some items from his pouch and began planting paper bombs all over her back until he ran up to her front and tossed a small bomb right down her throat.

As the raven flew higher up, Sasuke connected his kunai with wire strings and threw it right at her feet. Once it had connected, he held onto it tightly as the raven soared higher and higher until they were above the dark clouds. As soon as he felt that they were in the appropriate elevation, the Uchiha invoked the hand signs that caused the paper tags to detonate all at the same time, which included the one inside the giant bird.

A blinding white light began flashing all over the raven's body until all that was left was smoke. The creature let out a weak shrill as soot emerged from its mouth. Sasuke watched as the raven's wings stopped flapping and the creature began to plummet down from the sky and into the ground, dragging him along with it.

Sasuke was not done with the creature just yet, however, as he summoned the Chidori while free falling. Thanks to the paper tags, cracks began to emerge from what once seemed like her indestructible armored plating, meaning it was now vulnerable enough for a killing blow. With his newly enhanced Sharingan at the fray and thunderclouds acting as conduits for his Chidori, Sasuke dove headfirst into the raven's back and plunged his lighting right into its weakest point.

Mortally wounded, the raven crashed into the arena below with Sasuke in tow. Initially, the crash built up a lot of smoke, enough for Cana to cover her eyes as she checked up on Gray. Once it settled, however, Sasuke was the first to emerge, bruised but relatively unscathed. The same could not be said of the Witch, who had reverted back into her normal form, wheezing and coughing up blood.

Seeing the one-eyed kid slowly make his way over to her with murderous intent, the hag realized that the tables had finally turned, for she had gone from being a powerful acolyte of Moloch who sacrificed children for power to now being at the mercy of a child. Yet her pride would not allow such transgressions to occur and that was what compelled her to leap forward in a desperate attempt to kill the boy.

Ultimately, it would be her undoing as Sasuke easily disarmed her by slicing off both of her hands with his Chidori, leaving her crying out in agony while kneeling on the ground. Her eye widened in disbelief as the boy calmly approached her with rage and hatred in his eye.

The Witch blinked in shock as Sasuke's fist collided with her face, sending her falling to the ground. Before she could comprehend what had just happened, the Uchiha's knee was pressed onto her chest as he rained down punches straight to her face. With each smack, each sickening crunch, her resistance fell further and further.

This level of brutality was something Cana had never seen in someone like Sasuke. Sure he seemed broody and quiet at times, but that didn't mean he was crazy. But looking at him now, he seemed like a sadistic psycho taking pleasure in hurting those who have wronged him. She could only cover her mouth with one hand while holding an unconscious Gray with the other as she witnessed Sasuke's torture of the Witch, with the last gasp of air escaping her voice.

By the time the beating was done, the Witch Abigail's face resembled a mashed vegetable with lumps all over her face, a lifeless body just wheezing enough air to continue living. Once he was done with the beatdown, Sasuke took hold of her hair and lifted her head up before wrapping his left arm around her neck while holding her head with his right arm in the opposite direction. By this point, there was nothing left of her to struggle against other than a few croaking and wheezing as Sasuke wrenched her head to the side, leaving a hideous crunching sound, snapping her neck and dropping her to the ground with her eyes wide open.

It was finally over.

Or at least that's what Cana wanted to say, but given how Sasuke went on a rampage, she wasn't sure if he was in the right state of mind. Looking over at the carnage inflicted by the both of them, Cana never knew Sasuke was capable of this much destruction, yet as she watched him kneeling silently and staring at the blank space ahead, she couldn't help but feel compelled to check up on him.

Gently laying Gray down on the floor, Cana gingerly made her way over to Sasuke, keeping a cautious eye on him at all times. "Sasuke?" she gently called out to him only to be met with complete silence. Once she was face to face with him, Cana realized just how out of character he seemed. There was no shine in his eye; it almost seemed dead, like he was completely drained of life.

"Gray needs our help," Cana said, yet there was no response, just Sasuke sitting passively and staring blankly ahead like he was nothing more than an empty shell; something that greatly worried Cana.

But Cana wasn't about to give up just yet. Kneeling down, she crawled over to Sasuke and tried to look him in the eye. "We have to leave this place Sasuke," she said once more.

Still no response.

"Sasuke!" Cana shouted, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him in an attempt to snap him out of his stupor. Her efforts seemed to have finally done the trick as the light in his eyes returned once more and began to blink the moment he laid his eye on her.

Sadly, it seemed he was not completely out of it just yet as the Uchiha pushed Cana away and crawled back as if her presence was almost lethargic. The sight of the corpse seemed to almost send him into a state of shock as he looked at his trembling and bloodied hands with his pupils shrinking.

"You….you saw it, didn't you? Saw me….do it"

Cana couldn't figure out what was going on with Sasuke. He seemed almost apprehensive about what he had just done; he seemed ashamed of his actions as if he clearly regretted doing them even if they had resulted in him saving their lives. Regardless of what had transpired, Sasuke was still her friend and she was not going to abandon him at his lowest point.

"It doesn't matter what you did," she said, slowly approaching him and taking hold of his hands, "In the end, you saved us."

"But I lost control" Sasuke refuted.

In response, Cana placed her hands on his cheeks and looked at him with a piercing gaze. "Right now, what's important is helping Gray. He needs us to get out of here…..he needs you."

Sasuke continued staring into Cana's face, as seeing firm resolve in her eyes allowed him to process what she had just said. He spared a look at the corpse in front of him before looking over at the lifeless Gray. Once he looked back at the encouraging smile that Cana gave him, he let out a sigh, and finally rose to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

"I'll help carry him," Cana said and ran over to Gray.

As Sasuke was about to do the same, something stopped him in his tracks. "Aren't you forgetting something? You were supposed to carry her remains back to Justiça" a voice rang in his head. It wasn't the Sage of Six Paths nor his other half either. It was feminine and had a very haughty tone to it, and based on those two factors alone, he had to guess that it was the one called Selphia.

The Uchiha looked around everywhere for her but to no avail as she was nowhere to be seen. "Don't bother, I just came to thank you for the entertainment you've provided me. In return, I've decided to assist you, just a little bit, by delivering that Witch's remains to Justiça".

"But how?" Sasuke wondered out loud, even if 'how' was just one of the many questions he had for her.

"Never mind that. Take your friends and leave this place, I'll handle the rest. Oh, and before I forget, take those severed hands with you as proof of your victory to the villagers."

Just as she supposedly promised, the remains of the Witch began to glow in a bright sparkle before vanishing in an instant, something that shocked even Cana. "What the….how did she…no, where did she go?"

"I'll explain everything later" Sasuke answered as he walked over to the severed hands of the Witch, picked both of them up, and tied them around his waist with his strings. "Let's get out of here first."

A mortified Cana looked over at the hands that Sasuke was carrying while she flung Gray's arm across her shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked in discomfort.

"Bringing back proof for the village" he answered, taking over from Cana and carrying Gray across his shoulders.

Cana could only look on with disgust and uncertainty as Sasuke marched forward with Gray on his shoulders. At the very least, it seemed like the old Sasuke was back once more, so there was that. "Okay…..lead the way then."

---

"Well, I'll be damned!"

A familiar face stood on the outskirts of the village, waving his hand around to greet them. For whatever reason, the man whom they met a while ago was compelled to stand guard and wait for the kids, almost as if holding out on the hope that they would survive and come back in one piece.

"Hey, they're alive!" the man turned around and shouted back at the rest of the villagers, some of whom began to slowly emerge from their homes to see what all the commotion was about. Much to their surprise, they were dumbfounded by the sight of the three children who had fought the dreaded Witch returning back.

"No way!"

"Did they really beat her?"

"Luckiest kids I've ever seen."

As word of their return began to spread, more and more villagers began gathering at the gates until it was flooded by an entire crowd of people eagerly awaiting their arrival. But as they drew nearer, the man realized that something was not as it seemed. Once he figured out what was going on, he immediately rushed over to them.

"Didn't think you brats would make it" the man greeted them with an uneasy look as he set his sights on Gray, "what happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Sasuke said, his eye furrowed in annoyance as he continued walking with Gray on his shoulders.

The man scratched his head in embarrassment over his insensitivity before quickly rushing over to Sasuke's side. "Here, let me help" he offered, to which Sasuke accepted and gently lowered down Gray so the man could carry him in his stead, bridal style.

"Do you think you could get him to a doctor?" Cana earnestly requested.

"No problem" the man reassured her.

Meanwhile, the villagers watched with bated breath as Sasuke approached them. They looked on with great interest as he took out something that was attached to his hip and tossed it at them. Once the object landed, they reeled in horror at the sight of a severed hand in front of them as they all backed away.

As soon as the initial shock had dissipated, the villagers leaned in closer and gasped in unison at the identity of the hand. "I know those claws anywhere" one of them, a balding man, spoke up as he looked at Sasuke, "Is she really dead?" Whispers began murmuring throughout the crowd as news of the Witch's apparent demise came to the forefront.

"Did you really kill her?" A woman asked.

"Wait, is that true?" the man holding Gray looked at Cana and asked to which the girl nodded.

"She won't bother you anymore" Sasuke answered.

"But how can we know if you're telling the truth?" another villager asked.

At this point, Sasuke's patience was at an all-time low. They had just gone through literal hell to save Cana and stop the monster, on top of that, he did what he never thought he would do and intentionally surrendered control just to become the thing he no longer wanted to be. "If you have a problem with it, then find it out for yourself" he refuted in an indignant tone, voicing his annoyance at the doubts brought upon him and his guildmates before walking away.

"Wait! But what about our kids" a man in the front asked, stopping Sasuke.

The Uchiha simply turned around and solemnly shook his head, an answer that everyone picked up on and hung their heads. He could hear some of them weeping as he walked away; if it was within his power he would try to bring them back, but unfortunately, it was too little too late. The only thing he could do was avenge their deaths and give them some sort of closure. As he looked up at the sky, he noticed a familiar figure flying about; the sight of the crimson eagle meant that he still had an audience with the god of justice. However, even without that eagle, he still wanted to have a chat with the giant deer, if only to make sure Selphia was telling the truth and that he kept his end of the bargain and permanently ended the Witch or what was left of her.

"Where's he going?" the man carrying Gray wondered out loud watching Sasuke follow the eagle.

"He said he had some business to take care of" Cana answered, knowing exactly where he was going given that he explained everything to her on the way back. Still, right now, her attention was more on Gray and helping him recover, so she could only hope Sasuke came back soon.

---

Approaching the great tree where the deity Justiça resided felt like walking into an interrogation, for reasons he couldn't fathom. He was still a little bit peeved at the thought of having to do this, especially when it meant leaving Cana and Gray on their own, even if the present threat had been eliminated. As he entered through the borrow and into the large shrine beneath, a massive deer stood before him, stomping his hooves on the ground.

"I must say, you have performed your duties admirably, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was that praise? From the very same being that had a low opinion of him before? Ignoring the suddenness of his words, the Uchiha guessed that it also meant that corpse was delivered to him as promised by Selphia. As he glanced to the side, he could see the remains of the hag next to him. "So Selphia really did bring this to you" he noted.

The deer snorted when the name was mentioned, shaking his heading as if to show irradiation. "One of the Lords of Causality. I believe I have explained them to you in brief" Justiça explained, digging his hooves into the ground, "Still, it is a shame that she lacks her father's tactfulness."

"Lords of Causality" Sasuke rubbed his chin and wondered. As he searched through his memory, he did recall the deer mentioning a name like that. But he still had no idea what it was and for what purpose she chose to help him. Given that these two seemed familiar with each other, it was likely they had some ulterior motive.

"If I recall, you said that they were the children of Chronos, the god of time" The Sage of Six Paths appeared and spoke up, taking even Sasuke by surprise. But now that he mentioned it, he did remember that being mentioned. It just didn't matter to him at that moment.

"Correct" Justiça affirmed.

Sasuke stepped up and asked, "So you're saying she's a god too?"

"Almost, she is a half-god" Justiça corrected, "While her father, Chronos, is a fully-fledged god, her mother was a mortal woman. The same can be said of her brothers."

Neither Sasuke nor Hagoromo was sure if that information was necessary or even helpful at the present moment, but it was certainly interesting, especially for Hagoromo, whose own lineage was almost the same as hers.

"So what will you do now?" Hagoromo inquired.

If the god of justice could smile through that face of his, he probably would. The best he could do was chuckle "I will honor my half of the bargain and take care of her remains. Your vessel has done his part, so you both should take your leave."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "That's it? Just like that?"

"Yes"

Sasuke felt tempted to rub out his eyes just to see if he was really seeing the same deity that he met before. Compared to their first meeting, where he seemed standoffish and incredibly uptight, here he was being not only kind but very forthcoming as well. Perhaps, it would mean an opportunity to ask at least one question.

Given that any inquiries based around who knew him and the old man Six Paths would most probably be brushed aside, Sasuke decided to pick out a different question. "Just one more thing" he stated, staring firmly into the god's eyes "were you the one that send the request to the guild?"

The deity silently stared back into the eyes of Sasuke before answering, "It was a collaborative effort. Selphia was the one who convinced me to do this to get rid of this fiend and I approved of it. Although I did not know to whom and which guild the letter would be sent, that was her doing."

Sasuke clicked his tongue and rolled his eye. Of course, she would know, this girl had everything planned from the start. It was no wonder she was so confident and self-assured.

"Is there anything else?"

Sasuke remained quiet and deep in thought, leaving Hagoromo to speak in his stead. "I presume any further questions regarding the nature of our identities will not be answered" he speculated.

"As loathe as I am to say this, it is true. I have been sworn to secrecy by Selphia regarding the matter of the two of you but I assure you, all will be explained in due time."

Hagoromo noticed the disappointment in Sasuke's face. He knew just how much the boy hated being kept in the dark since there were so many questions left unanswered. Still, if what they said is true and everything will be explained to the both of them soon, then there was no need to linger around here anymore. It was something even Sasuke seemed to have picked up on as he began turning tail to leave.

"I see," Hagoromo said, giving off a respectful nod before slowly disappearing, "Regardless, you have our thanks. I hope you will be able to restore peace to this land now and that justice has been served."

"As do I. Go on in peace, the both of you. The journey ahead is long and hard but I know you will see it to the end."

"Hmph," Sasuke grunted and began making his way out of the shrine. But he didn't feel like he came out empty-handed as before; slowly but surely, the mystery was beginning to unravel and the questions were getting answered one at a time. He just needed to be patient and wait for the rest. He hoped, perhaps, that one day he might even get an answer to the true nature of his parents.

….

Once the boy was out of view, the green-haired woman appeared before the god of justice with a smile. "So…." she began looking over at the direction where Sasuke exited, "What do you think of him?"

"I underestimated him" Justiça admitted, "He is a remarkable mortal and a skilled warrior. Yet it seems his past weighs heavily on him."

"So it seems"

"Can he be trusted? There is good in the boy, I have no doubt about it but at the same time, I could sense lingering darkness within"

Selphia giggled at the concerns raised by Justiça, seeing as the god of justice was rarely troubled by the well-being of mortals, at least on that level. Still, her smile was also because of the fact that Sasuke managed to impress a god as well. "That remains to be seen" she answered him, "Still, given what he has done today, there is hope for him yet."

"Perhaps" he noted before the both of them turned their attention back to the Witch's corpse.

Selphia narrowed her eyes as she approached the remains. "He was thorough with his work."

Justiça grunted and stomped his foot. "That is the least this fiend deserves" he stated with disdain, not even bothering to hide the disgust he had for her and the pain and suffering she caused. Still, now that Sasuke had taken care of the problem, it was his turn to play his part and permanently get rid of her.

"May your death benefit the world that you deformed in life" he proclaimed as her body began to glow pure white before slowly disintegrating. Eventually, all traces of the Witch disappeared into nothing but thin air.

"And with that, I believe it is time I visited Moloch and ensure he keeps his end of the bargain," Selphia said before vanishing into thin air, leaving Justiça all by himself.

The mortal Sasuke had done a great service to him and because of that, he partially felt guilty for not being able to spill out the whole truth to him, especially concerning his destined fate. But it was the Lords of Causality who convinced him to enlist his aid and it was them who placed their trust in him in the first place, and they were the ones who assured him that they would reveal everything to him someday.

He could only hope that the mortal would continue walking down this path; the path of righteousness.

---

"He's awake"

Those were the first words Gray heard in a long while as he opened his eyes. Initially, everything seemed blurry and felt confusing, but after a few more seconds of looking around, the images before him began to seem clearer. From what he could make out, there was Cana, Sasuke, and that man they had met before, all standing beside him looking down.

Try as he might, he couldn't move his body; his muscles ached like crazy and his bones felt like jelly. The last thing he could remember was trying to save Sasuke from the giant raven before everything blacked out. And now seeing both Cana and Sasuke safe and sound was both reassuring and mind-boggling. "W-what's…..going on?" he weakly asked, his throat still parched and lacking the energy to properly exert his voice.

"Don't worry. Everything's fine" Cana reassured him, gently stroking his hand.

"Did we….win?" he asked again, his drowsy eyes staring up at Cana as he continued lying in bed.

Cana's eyes widened before she took a softer tone, "Yeah, we did. Sasuke pulled through for us and beat her. He really laid it down on that monster when he saw you get hurt."

Hearing his name, Gray turned his head over and silently looked at Sasuke, his gaze locked with the Uchiha's who firmly stared back. "You did huh? Guess-" he coughed before resuming, "Guess...Erza was right about you. You really are that good."

Sasuke frowned deeply and looked away in response to the compliment. He did the one thing he thought he would never do and broke his own vow, and yet, had he not done that, it was possible none of them would have made it. He was truly in a dilemma. "Just get some rest," he said as he walked away.

Unsure of his actions, Cana and Gray silently looked on as Sasuke exited the room and closed the door. Cana blinked before looking at Gray with a reassuring smile to assuage any worries Gray might have, "He's been through a lot. Just give him some time."

…

Standing on a small hill overlooking the village, Sasuke leaned against a nearby tree and looked at the night sky. The gentle breeze blew softly against his face, giving him a feeling of calmness amidst all of the turmoil that he had been feeling for the entirety of the journey. "How are you feeling, my dear Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't even bother to reply to Hagoromo's inquiries other than to narrow his eye and groan in acknowledgment, annoyed by the fact that he couldn't have a moment to himself without the Sage of Six Paths butting in and that he chose to remain silent until now.

"Why didn't you stop me?" he asked, his eye fixed on the quiet village.

"Stop you?"

"You're the one who insisted on containing the hatred within me; the one who told me not to lose control. But when the time came, you didn't do anything to stop me. Why?"

"Because the situation called for it: you chose to embrace your darkness, not out of bloodlust or pride but to protect your comrades. That is why I took exception to that rule."

The Uchiha wanted to argue back but refrained from doing so, feeling that it would be futile. Instead, he resorted to an annoyed "tch" as he continued watching over the settlement. He was surprised that his reasoning was the same as his, making them both in agreement over something. Still, as he said, this was an exceptional situation and he had to make sure something like this didn't happen again. He had to get stronger and more skilled with what he had.

As he continued gazing towards the scenery, quietly musing to himself, strange orbs of light began emerging all over the place. They reminded him of the fireflies that lit up the night only several times bigger. But the thing that intrigued him the most was the sounds that they emitted: sounds of giggling, laughing, they actually sounded like, chidren?

As the lights began moving past him, wonder began to settle in on Sasuke's face as he moved away from the tree and continued looking at the lights, his hands touching the trails of goldust they left behind.

But Sasuke wasn't the only one who noticed the strange anomalies, as lights began to turn on and every villager stepped outside to witness what was transpiring in front of them. Even Gray and Cana couldn't help but look on with awe at the strange yet beautiful display from inside the inn.

However, the lights themselves were just the prelude to what was to come. Once they had settled in, the lights began to take the shape of small humanoid figures, no bigger than children.

"Children?" Sasuke murmured before his eye widened with a gasp, "could it be?"

"Go little ones. Your time in this world will be brief but I give you this moment to say goodbye to your loved ones. A new world awaits."

"Justiça?!" Sasuke exclaimed as he heard that familiar voice, his eye trailing everywhere for the presence of the deity who was nowhere to be seen. All he could see and hear was the sight of the villagers weeping and kneeling in front the spirits of the fallen children who were sacrificed. He didn't have to think too much to guess what was going on.

"Indeed, it is I, the mover of mountains, the great enforcer of justice."

The Uchiha rolled his eye and sighed. Just when he was beginning to respect him, the stupid deer goes out of his way to inflate his own ego and self-importance. Still, the fact that he was back to his egotistical self was a sign of relief in its own way, since it meant that Witch had been permanently eliminated.

"I assume this means that the threat has been properly disposed of?" Hagoromo inquired, repeating Sasuke's own thoughts.

"Of course it has! You would doubt me, a god, of being incapable of such a trivial task!?"

Sasuke sighed some more, placing a hand on his head and shaking it; even more ego-tripping from the so-called god of justice. Were all deities this insufferable?

"Still, Sasuke Uchiha, one such as yourself who has performed such services cannot be allowed to return empty-handed."

Just as Sasuke was beginning to wonder what he meant by that, his left hand began to glow as a strange tattoo began forming around it. The experience was painless but it did bring back a lot of unpleasant memories of being marked, especially in the Tower of Heaven. But try as he might, no matter how hard he tried to shake or rub it off, the mark wouldn't disappear.

"What did you do to me?" he angrily hissed.

"A summoning Stigmata. I believe the name itself should be self-explanatory."

"Summoning Stigmata?" Sasuke repeated, having calmed down a bit, "For what?" As if on cue, the crimson eagle that had been guiding them throughout their journey swooped down from out of nowhere and landed on his right shoulder.

"Talyn has chosen you to be his new master. He will aid you in your journeys ahead."

"His master?" he wondered out loud, looking at the eagle perched on his shoulder. It lay still, moving only its head as it gripped him with its sharp talons. While it did sting a bit, the pain wasn't punishing either, feeling more like a weight had been added to his list of burdens.

"I can sense doubt within your words. But know this, you may not believe in yourself but Talyn believes in you. He sees in you what no one else sees and that is why he has chosen to serve you."

The Uchiha remained silent as the eagle slowly flew away and circled around him. The words of the god swaying in his mind. "Believe in me huh?"

…..

Meanwhile, on the other side of the village, Cana carefully helped Gray rise to his feet as she led him to the nearby window to watch the spectacle. "Gray look!" she happily pointed out, sights of parents crying in front of the spirits of their children.

"It's the kids" Gray added, letting out a smile. Knowing that the trouble they went through was worth something put his soul at rest since it also meant that Sasuke was telling the truth about the god he met.

"It's a bit sad that it had be like this, but at least they get to say goodbye"

"Yeah"

…

As the lights slowly began ascending to the stars above, he couldn't help but be reminded of the lantern festivals he had back home with his family, where he would make release one of the many lanterns that littered the night sky, with his mother, father, and Itachi right by his side. It was one of the few times; the whole family would be together. If he could have but one wish, it would be to relive those times once more.

Rubbing his eye, Sasuke looked up at the sky as the spirits of the children became one with the stars. He didn't know what fate awaited them in the next life but he more than hoped it would be better than what was given to them in this one. Gazing at the stars above, Sasuke let out a smile.

"Guess you really did keep your promise."

…..

A few days had passed and Gray had recovered from most of his injuries, enough for a journey back to Magnolia where he could check in with Porlyusica for additional checkups. As the trio stood at the gates of Misty Bloom, a large crowd gathered to see them off, a far cry from the cold reception they had received when they first arrived.

"We really can't thank you enough for everything that you've done" the villager with whom they interacted with the most spoke up as he approached them with a bag of coins, " But we can at least give you this. It's all of our savings combined."

"Sorry, but we can't accept this" Cana politely refused.

"Huh? Why not?" the man blinked in confusion and asked.

"Because, you didn't hire us for this job and therefore, according to the rules of our guild, you're not obligated to compensate us in any way" Sasuke replied.

"And, you guys need the money more than we do. Use it to rebuild your village" Gray added.

Hearing their answer, the man smiled with relief as he handed the pouch back to the villagers before coming back. "Then at least let me give you my name. It's Marcus. If you need anything from Misty Bloom, just ask. We'll do anything you ask of us."

"Alright, Marcus, we'll keep that in mind" Gray nodded with a smile.

"Guess we should be heading off" Cana advised.

Sasuke silently grunted as he made the first move and turned around, walking away from the village. Cana and Gray on the other hand continued waving goodbyes as they tried catching up to Sasuke.

As he watched the kids slowly disappear from the view, a smile fell on his face along with the rest of the villagers. "A guild of strong yet compassionate wizards, we'll never forget what you've done for us here. Fairy Tail."

---

The journey back to Magnolia was pretty silent as none of the travelers spoke a word. Yet, all of them were aware that there was much that needed to be discussed.

"Hey" Gray finally broke the silence, approaching Sasuke from behind as the Uchiha turned around to face Gray. "I heard about what you did, and well…..thanks" he reluctantly admitted, sheepishly turning his eyes away from him.

"I just did what I had to" Sasuke brushed aside the gratitude, "As long as the two of you are safe, that's all that matters."

"I see" Gray sighed in defeat, looking at Cana who gave him an encouraging nod. Exhaling, Gray spoke up once more, "Listen, about what I said to you that day."

"Forget about it. I was an idiot who rushed in and said those things without thinking, if someone else said something like that about my..." he paused, letting out a cough before continuing, "about my father, I'd get angry too."

Cana raised her brows as she keenly listened in on the conversation. While she didn't remember much of it, she could clearly recall Gray lashing out at Sasuke over some apparent comment about his late father. Considering the way the conversation was going, she hoped that these two were mending that broken bridge.

"Right…" Gray noted with a somber tone before immediately snapping himself out of his stupor, "No wait! About my father, you said something about him didn't you!?"

Sasuke's eye widened in response to Gray's questions; at this point, he had already begun having second thoughts about revealing Silver. At first, it seemed like a good idea to tell him the truth, but there was so much he didn't know about his own father and the new life he was leading. Why did Silver believe Gray to be dead? Why hasn't he gone out of his way to reunite with his own son? Most importantly, what did he mean when he said that following him was a bad idea? There were definitely a lot of questions unanswered and putting Gray at risk was not something he wanted.

"It's probably just a coincidence. A mistake on my part" he answered, downplaying his comments, "I must've thought of another Silver."

"But, that can't be right, you said that it was my father" Gray argued, "You said that he was still a-

"Gray" Sasuke interrupted the ice wizard, the thoughts of his past coming to mind. There were a lot of reasons as to why he didn't want Gray to poke into this mess any further, remembering how he himself lost his own sanity after realizing the truth about Itachi. "Don't end up like me" he gave a firm warning, looking at Gray straight in the eye, "When the time is right, I'll tell you everything, the whole truth. But until that time, promise me that you won't try to dig up the past, that you won't abandon everyone you know for answers."

Gray blinked, confused by what Sasuke was saying, yet there was a part of him that clearly understood what he meant by not abandoning everything he had just to dig up the past. He tried that a long time ago and paid dearly for it. It was a lesson he knew all too well. Still, that didn't mean he believed everything Sasuke said at face value. "No, if you know something about the whole truth that means you're hiding something from me" Gray refuted as he kept his gaze firmly on the one-eyed boy, "So just tell me."

"Gray…"

"Stop beating around the bush! I thought we were square here but I guess I was wrong!"

A chilly wind blew past the road as the two boys started down each other, the air gently brushing past their hairs while Cana looked on with worry. She thought they had finally gotten along, only to see them back at each other's throats once more.

"I can't, even if I wanted to"

Gray looked at Sasuke with fire in his eyes. "And what does that mean!?" he yelled.

Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled, "When I mentioned your father, I was being hasty; I was rushing into things thinking it might help you. But the truth is, I don't know as much as I'd liked to. I don't even know if the Silver I met is your father, I just jumped to conclusions because your father had the same name" he answered, keeping his eye on Gray, whom he could feel, the burning fire inside of him. It was a bald-faced lie, but one he felt he needed to say to throw off Gray. He had no doubt that the Silver he met was one and the same as Gray's father and his own, "I just didn't want you to risk your life on false information. I don't want that on my conscious"

However, Gray wasn't fully convinced just yet. "In case you haven't noticed, I can take care of myself" Gray argued with his arms crossed.

"Like how you handled yourself against the Witch? Nearly dying along the way?" Sasuke raised a brow and refuted.

Gray had no response to Sasuke's retort, other than grunting in annoyance and lowering his hands.

"I will tell you this much. I did see 'it'"

"It?"

"Deliora"

The ice wizard gasped as he stared at his guildmate with a surprised look after hearing that name, even if he had mentioned it before. "Wait, you're not pulling my leg here, are you?"

"No, I'm not" the raven-haired boy answered, "It happened before I came back to Fairy Tail, back when I was still on a journey across this world. It was in Isvan where I met someone who made a request for me to look for a wizard named Ur."

Before Sasuke could continue, Gray marched up to him and stared him down right in the eye, the mere mention of that name managed to set him off. "Who was it? Tell me everything about this person" he demanded, grabbing him by the collar.

"She called herself Irene" he began, "She's a powerful wizard, the strongest one I've met so far, probably even more powerful than Gildarts."

"Stronger than Gildarts?" Cana gasped as she continued eavesdropping on the conversation, letting her curiosity get the better of her. It was a sentiment shared by Gray as well, who was just as flabbergasted as she was at the thought of someone being stronger than Gildarts himself.

"Okay, so she's super strong. But who is she and what did she want with Ur?"

"I don't know what she wanted with Ur, but as for who she was" he said, taking a pause before continuing his explanation, "She's someone important to me. The same way Ur was to you"

Gray let go of his grip on Sasuke's collar and slowly backed away, a mixed feeling of shock and guilt creeping on his face. Cana was just as surprised as well. "If she's that important to you, then why would she order you to do this and why aren't you with her?" he inquired, with a less hostile tone.

"She…" Sasuke hesitated before swallowing and starting over, "She doesn't remember me and she's no longer the same person I knew."

"Sasuke…" Cana said softly as she slowly approached him.

Gray clenched his fists before exhaling and releasing them, feeling guilty for forcing him to speak about it. "I'm sorry to hear that and for getting mad at you. I guess I understand why you didn't wanna talk about it" he apologized.

"You don't have to apologize" Sasuke replied turning down Gray's apology, "Anyway, here's what happened afterward"

As Sasuke continued explaining his journey throughout Isvan, Trieste, and Brago in search of Ur, Gray and Cana listened with great interest, from his encounter with Ur's friend to his discovery of her Cabin where he reassured Gray that everything was investigated with respect and nothing was damaged, to his encounters with ice drakes in Gray's former hometown Trieste where he also met the mysterious man who called himself Silver, while omitting out the part where he mentioned his title of Fullbuster, and finally, his encounter with what was left of Deliora in Brago, the visions he saw when he touched the ice, his return to Irene and eventually to Magnolia, Fairy Tail, and Erza.

Cana looked dumbfounded once she had finished listening to everything, "Wow, you've been through a lot."

"Guess that makes a lot more sense" Gray rubbed his chin, "Is that why you asked me to not ditch everything and dig up the past?

"More or less. Like I said before, you and I are quite a lot alike."

"Yeah, that I'll agree with you on that one" Gray noted as he smiled, finally lightening up, "Thanks for letting me know. And don't worry, I won't abandon everything just to find out if my old man's still alive. I learned that lesson a long time ago."

"Good to know" Sasuke nodded and smiled back.

"Of course, that doesn't mean I'm gonna give up searching for answers" Gray added, pointing at Sasuke as he offered a hand, "You're gonna help me on that one, right?"

Sasuke smiled as he reached out his own hand and shook Gray's, all in all, he was simply glad to have been able to resolve their tension for the time being. But he knew he'd have to spill out the beans eventually. Hopefully, when that time comes, neither of them will be on bad terms.

Behind the both of them, Cana looked on with a smile on her lips as she wiped the water off of her eyes, seeing the two brothers finally getting along. "Guess the cards got it wrong this time. Maybe, someday I can tell my father the whole truth too."

---

And that about does for this arc. Sorry it took so long, a lot of things kept happening and I got really bogged down. Good news is, the next chapter is gonna be a new story arc with a new character from the guild. Can you guess who? And the plot will be moving forward as well, slowly and steadily.

To X : Don't worry, I plan to flesh out Sasuke's relationship with the both of them. I already have an arc with Irene in mind. Can't wait to write that one.