"H-Hold up. Back track a bit. You're my what?!" Eric exclaimed with wide eyes and Atlas chuckled while he nodded at Druwat, who nodded back before he & the other two giants walked further away to give the two some privacy.

"Like I said, you are my son or is that so hard to believe?"

"Let's see. I don't have any wings or claws, can't breathe fire or use any kind of dragon slayer magic. Oh, and let's not forget the most important part. I had actual human parents."

"Melissa and Nathaniel Creed, correct? Such a shame when I heard they passed away." Atlas spoke with a sad smile, Eric freezing in place as he slowly processed the dragon's words.

"Y-You knew them?"

"Of course. When Igneel, Metalicana, Grandeeney, Weisslogia and Skiadrum sent their children 400 years into the future through the Eclipse Gate, I took the liberty to send my one year old son through as well. A close friend told me to wait for a minute after their children went through before I put you through as doing so would allow a couple that had trouble conceiving find you & care for you better than I could."

"…S-So…you're telling me that I'm…I'm actually…" Eric trailed off, the thought still sounding impossible in his mind as Atlas grinned & nodded.

"Yes, you are Eric Creed, son of Nathaniel & Melissa Creed and the human son of the Hell Flame Dragon King Atlas!" Atlaas roared to the heavens with an ecstatic grin as a monstrous pillar of crimson flames rose up from the pit under Atlas before it swiftly expanded & covered the both of them.

A look of awe was on Eric's face as he looked at the burning flames around him, looking up & giving a chuckle of disbelief at the sight of the pillar burning a gaping hole in the clouds.

He expected the flames to burn him or at least give off a smouldering heat that would make him sweat profusely and yet, it felt as if he was being enveloped by nothing but pure love, closing his eyes and taking slow deep breaths as he felt his ethernano & that of the flames slowly melding together.

Slowly opening his eyes once more, a small smile on his face as he looked up at the amused Atlas before he spoke.

"If…If everything you say is true, then…why don't I have some form of dragon slayer magic?"

"You never had an aptitude for it." Atlas answered bluntly with a shrug, to which Eric frowned.

"I thought Dragon Slayer magic was given by a dragon to their slayer and that it didn't have to be learned at all."

"Oh, so you were listening to my lessons and not goofing off like usual?" Atlas asked with an amused smile and Eric gave a sheepish grin as he nodded before he blinked in surprise at the warmth flooding through his body whenever he looked at Atlas.

'Wait, do I actually look up to him as my father?'

"Well, to be frank, I did give you the Hell Flame Dragon Slayer magic like you said." Atlas began speaking, knocking Eric out of his identity crisis before he blinked at the sigh that escaped the dragon's lips.

"However, you have a unique constitution as your body would reject the dragon slayer magic trying to bond with it. Even when we tried a more…dangerous enchantment by trying to fuse it with your mind & soul it felt as if your…very being grasped the magic in a firm grip, drained the ethernano from the enchantment before dispelling the enchantment while it assimilated the ethernano & fused it with your own."

"Wait, so you're telling that there's no chance of me gaining dragon slayer magic? Oh, as if my luck wasn't shitty enough already." Eric grumbled with a frown, which deepened as Atlas chastised him.

"Firstly, language. Secondly, dragon slayer magic can't bond naturally with you, but it was just two hundred years after you left & Acnologia had ceased his world wide genocide of all dragons that humans figured out a way to give dragon slayer magic without needing a dragon for it."

"A dragon lacrima." Eric muttered in realization, to which Atlas grinned as he nodded before Eric's eyes widened as the dragon lifted his front left leg before piercing into his chest with sharp claws.

"W-What the hell?!" Eric exclaimed, Atlas chuckling as he shook his head.

"Do not worry. A dragon has two hearts, one which pumps blood through our body and one which pumps ethernano." Atlas spoke before grunting as he ripped his hand from his chest, revealing a slowly beating heart the same size as Eric.

However, it was completely different from a human heart as it was made entirely out of white lacrima crystals, a blazing crimson inferno roaring in its centre while motes of flames spewed out from the severed arteries.

"This is the lacrima for the Hell Flame Dragon Slayer Magic. This…is what will give you the ability to use dragon slayer magic & my gift to you." Atlas spoke and Eric couldn't help the excited grin on his face as he nodded rapidly, the young mage's eyes widening as his new eyesight showed the ethernano of the world turning & surrounding him, Atlas and the still beating heart.

"Usually, this would be done by a surgical wizard, but since the closest one is a five day travel away from here and a dragon's heart can only survive for four days outside the body, I'm going to have to do this in a more roundabout way. Do you remember the Dragon Soul Technique I spoke of?"

"It's a technique used on a dragon slayer by their dragon that would seal the dragon's soul & magic into the soul of the dragon slayer, keeping the dragon alive even if they're nearly dead in exchange for providing antibodies that would stop a dragon slayer from turning into a pure dragon if they used their dragon slayer magic too much."

"…Okay, who are you and what did you do with goofy little Eric that I had to tie down because he'd rather watch 'awesome fights than listen to stupid lessons'?"

"Oi! I remember my lessons. You just made it too boring to make me care more." Eric grumbled and Atlas chuckled before Eric blinked as the heart in Atlas' hand shrank considerably until it looked to be the same size as a human one.

"However, since the Dragon Soul Technique will also seal away a dragon's soul inside of you, I'll have to be sealed with it."

"Wait, then what will happen to your body? And I thought you were important to the village? I can't just take you away." Eric spoke with a frown and Atlas smiled as he shook his head.

"This body, if you can even call it that is nothing more than me twisting the flames around me to that of my old flesh and blood one. Acnologia had already destroyed most of it when the other dragons & I tried to escape his wrath and the only thing that remained of it was my ethernano heart. As for the village, while they do regret having to lose me, the Eternal Flame will stay here & keep on burning brightly until the end of time as it has been fuelled by the natural ethernano of the world ever since I first created it with what little ethernano I had." Eric just sighed at that before a determined frown appeared on his face a few seconds later as he nodded.

"Okay. Then, let's not waste any more time. Dragon Slayer me up, old lizard."

"Hah! An old lizard would be honoured to be me." Atlas spoke with a scoff before Eric's eyes widened as a massive orange crest appeared on the ground below them, his eyes showing him that the amount of ethernano fuelling the spell was nearly triple the size of his own reserves.

Looking back up at Atlas, he frowned as he saw the dragon chanting under his breath while the lacrima heart floated up from Atlas' hand and down to be at equal heigh to Eric's chest.

"Now, brace yourself." And the young mage wasn't given a moment to respond before Atlas lifted one of his claws and pressed both it and the heart into the chest of a wide eyed Eric.

"Forbidden Arts: Dragon Soul." Atlas chanted and the magic crest under them shattered, Eric knocked out of the thought of having a literal claw impaling him as he looked down before frowning as he didn't feel any different.

"…Was that al-Argh!" His words were cut off by a burning pain exploding in his chest, the burn spreading to the rest of his body and he couldn't faintly heart someone shrieking in the background.

For some reason, his throat felt hoarse & dry and it was as he began to feel his consciousness slipping that he realized something.

That screaming was him.


Atlas felt a stab in his non-existent blood pumping heart as he heard Eric's scream echoing through the air, shaking his head to stop the concerned giants from coming closer as he focused on pumping more of the ethernano into his son's body.

Wait, that didn't sound right. Damn Metalicana and his infectious perverted mindset.

Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts before he fell into one of his year long melancholy trips down memory lanes, he frowned as he slowly bonded his lacrima heart with that of Eric's while also changing the boy's constitution to fit that of a dragon slayer.

Hearing Eric's screams now dying down and the light from his claw, he gave a sad smile as he felt his body begin to fuse with both Eric's container and the lacrima, acting as the final bridge between the two.

He wished he could have told his son that he would not be there like Igneel and the other dragons would be to see him grow into a powerful dragon slayer, but he also knew how emotional Eric could get when someone was about to die.

'Forgive me, my child, but I will not be there to witness you rising to the highest peaks of the world. Do not worry as I will leave you something to remember me by.' He has only given out one once and that was to young Flare as he wanted to at least make sure his dragon slayer magic lived on, but sadly, her body was not powerful to handle the sudden influx of power unlike that of the original dragon slayers who could tank blows from the average S-Class mage of today with a happy smile on their faces.

They don't make humans like they used to.

However, this mark was different as he remembered Igneel speaking of being able to infuse his magic into a mark that his previous dragon slayer could use only once in exchange for being able to use a fragment of his true power.

Now, he was going to take it a step further.

'Take that, you pretentious fire lizard. I shall show that I am the true Fire Dragon King.'


When Eric woke up from his 'torture' session, he winced as a flash of pain flew through his mind, the sound of humming in the background soothing his headache and he groaned as he slowly sat upright.

"O-Oh, you woke up earlier than expected." Eric blinked as the soft voice that was humming spoke near his side, taking slow breaths to keep the vertigo at bay before furrowing his brow as a cup filled with some green liquid was held in front of his spinning vision.

"Here. This should help." Usually he would be asking question, but his thirst won over his cautiousness & nausea as he took the cup before greedily drinking its contents, taking a deep gasp for air after finishing the last drop before a giggle made him give a sheepish smile.

"Um, sorry about that. Usually, I'm bet-!" Eric said as he turned to face the voice before his words got stuck in his throat as he looked at the sight of Flare sitting besides him on the bed he laid in.

The smile on her face radiated a happy aura that lit up the room and it took all of his willpower to keep himself from gawking at the beauty in front of him.

From far away & with his Heavenly Vision, Flare was indeed beautiful, but now that he could see her up close & without the bandages…

She was breathtaking.

"U-Um, is everything okay?" Flare knocked Eric out of his stupor, blinking before seeing the concerned frown on her face.

"N-No, not at all. I was just stunned by your beauty."

'Smooth, Eric. Real smooth.' Eric cursed in his mind while cringing at his action before he blinked as he tuned back to see Flare's face as red as a tomato as she looked down at the bed sheets.

'…Did that shit actually work?'

"T-Thank you."

"M-My pleasure. So…like I said earlier, I'd like to say sorry for just drinking everything like a barbaric idiot."

'…And we're back to cringing at my stupidity'

"D-Don't worry. When I first got my mark, it severely dehydrated me as well, so I don't blame you for it. Although, my mark isn't as big as yours."

"Wait, what mark?" Eric asked with a frown before blinking as Flare pointed to the left side of his chest, looking down and not caring for the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt as he looked down in surprise at the new addition to his body.

A black tattoo in the shape of a sun covered much of his left pectoral with a blank hole in the middle, the top & left rays stretching over his left shoulder & around his left side respectively to his back while the bottom & right rays stretched to the middle of his right pectoral & just below his abs respectively.

"You see? Mine isn't that big." Flare said as she reached up to her dress and Eric's eyes widened as she pulled the right shoulder part of her dress down slightly, showcasing the smaller Sun Village tattoo on the upper part of her right breast.

"O-Oh. You're right." Eric stammered out as he ignored the fact that he could see the upper bit of her pink areola, making sure to look into Flare's eyes as she pulled her dress back up before blushing slightly as Eric smiled at her.

An awkward silence hung as the two stared at each other, Flare looking shyly at the bed and Eric finding the ceiling interesting before they jumped as a deep chuckle echoed through the room, the door swinging open to reveal a grinning Druwat looking through.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"N-Nope! Not at all!/ N-No, Druwat." Eric and Flare quickly denied respectively, making the giant chuckle.

"Don't worry. I wasn't insinuating anything. Now, how much longer do you need to rest, young Eric?" He asked as he turned to the mage, who shrugged before he groaned as he spun & stood up from the bed, uncaring for Flare's blushing gaze as he stretched his muscles to wake them back up.

"Well, my body feels okay, so I guess I should be ready to go in a few hours or so? Also, Flare wanted to ask you something when you woke up." Druwat just smiled as he nodded before his head moved away, Eric blinking as he looked at where the giant previously was before turning to Flare, who couldn't meet his gaze as she blushed while looking at the roof.

"So…what did you want to ask me?"

"Um…"


"You sure you have everything? Your clothes, food & water for the travel, enough money to buy what you need?"

"Yes, Mister Druwat." Flare giggled with a nod, Druwat rolling his eyes as the other giants chuckled before the chief giant turned to the amused Eric, who straightened up as soon as he noticed the giant's gaze.

"You protect our little girl, okay? If anything happens to her, we're coming for you."

"For blood." The other giants chorused with frowns as they gripped the hilts of their axes & maces, Eric giving a nervous chuckle while the red haired beauty rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Everyone, it's going to be fine. Eric will protect me like you asked him to, right?"

"R-Right." Eric agreed with a rapid series of nods, not wanting to see what would happen if he tried saying anything else.

"Yes, yes. You may have a lot of trust in your boyfriend, but let us as your caretakers be sceptical."

"H-He's not my boyfriend!" Flare exclaimed with a bright blush, the giants chuckling as Eric decided to stay quiet and turned.

"C-Come on, Flare. The trip back is going to be long."

"O-Okay! Bye everyone!"

"Take care, Flare!"

"Make a lot of happy memories!"

"Remember to eat your meals!" Flare giggled as she waved at everyone, quickly turning and following after Eric while blushing as he smiled at her.

"So, I have to ask. Why didn't I see any female or child giants in the village?"

"Oh, that's because giants reproduce asexually. All members of the race are male." Flare responded, giggling as Eric slowed down while turning to give her a shocked look.

"…I have so many questions."


"…Eric?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Why is a girl hiding behind you?" Goldmine asked with a sigh as he looked at Flare, who was shyly hiding behind Eric who looked back at the girl with a reassuring smile before turning back to the old mage.

"Master, this is Flare Corona, a mage who is from the village that I had to deliver the meat to."

"Wait, you actually got to go in the village?" Bacchus asked from the side with a furrowed and Eric blinked as he turned to Flare, who explained.

"Um, the village is not accessible to any normal humans or mages apart from those personally invited by the chief or the great elder."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Wait, you're telling me that you were personally invited by either of those?" Guy asked with a smirk and Eric gave a grin as he nodded.

"Yeah, turns out the Great Elder knew my parents and so wanted to meet their son to see if I was like them."

"And what was he like? Is he as wise and as all-seeing as the people made him out to be?" Warcry asked and Eric hummed before turning to Flare.

"Am I allowed to speak about the village?"

"Normally, you would be hunted down the moment you do, but since you were a special guest of the Great Elder, you are allowed to speak."

"What's with all the precautions?" Goldmine asked with a smirk and Eric smirked as he shrugged.

"Considering the Great Elder was a giant flaming dragon, I'm not going to risk my life just to sate everyone's curiosity."

"…Is he joking?" Goldmine asked after a long silence as he turned to Flare, the rest of the guild going from doubtful to shocked as Flare giggled and shook her head, to which Goldmine just slowly looked back at the sheepish Eric before he sighed.

"Great. Just. Fucking. Great."