Kapitel 27: Chapter 27

'It's cold.'

Natsu thought to himself.

Being stuck in cold, dark, empty space feels profoundly isolating.

The silence is absolute, broken only by the soft hum of his own breath. The chill seeps into his very core, leaving him acutely aware of his own vulnerability.

He floats aimlessly, weightless yet heavy with the weight of uncertainty. The vastness around him feels both liberating and terrifying, as the absence of light and sound amplifies his sense of solitude.

Time loses meaning, stretching endlessly in this void, and a deep, unsettling fear begins to creep in, mingling with a longing for warmth and connection.

'Igneel... Gramps... Erza... Lucy... Lissana... Mira... Cana... Gray... '

He wandered aimlessly.

And after seemingly an eternity, he saw a light. Natsu's eye lit up in joy as he drifts toward the light.

It begins as a distant glimmer, slowly intensifying, casting warm hues that pierce the darkness. Each pulse of brightness pulls him closer, igniting a flicker of hope within him.

The cold fades, replaced by a gentle warmth that envelops him, wrapping him in a sense of safety.

With every movement, the light grows stronger, illuminating the space around him and revealing the contours of his surroundings.

As he draw nearer, the light becomes a beacon, guiding him forward and reminding him that even in the darkest voids, hope can emerge, transforming fear into possibility.

"Stop."

Only for everything to shatter. A pale, cold hand grabbed Natsu's shoulders, stopping him from moving forward.

His eyes widened, the light grew dim until everything went back to darkness, gone as if swallowed by the void.

"Who!?" Natsu turned his head to face the one who stopped him, "Why are you stopping m—!?"

His words got stuck in his throat as he saw the one who stopped him.

A humanoid creature with striking and menacing appearance. Its hair takes on a long, wild, spiky look, and dark purple in color. Its face was covered by a mask, a stark white, skeletal facade that covers part of its face, adorned with sharp teeth and hollow eye sockets that exude an intimidating aura. (Pic here)

It has a fierce and predatory demeanor that evokes both fear and awe.

"Who?" The creature spoke, and Natsu was sure it was smiling at him, "That's obvious, isn't it?"

Natsu took a step back. His mind trying to ignite his body in flames to evoke a feeling of security, but for some reason, he couldn't use his magic.

"Take a closer look," the creature grabbed its mask, before shifting it to the side, revealing its face.

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Because what he saw in front of him was his own face. His skin was ashen in color, with a black sclera and yellow pupils.

Unlike his own cheerful grin, his lookalike was giving him a cruel, and menacing smirk.

"Who...are you!?" Natsu questioned, raising his voice.

The creature just smiled at him mockingly, "What? Can't you see? I am you."

"What?" Natsu refused to believe that.

"You got your stomach pierced by a dragon, how pathetic is that?" the creature laughed, "We are obviously the strongest, why are you struggling with such weakling?"

The creature approached him, appearing just a feet away from him, its palm rested on his chest. "It would be troublesome for me if you died, so rest for now. I'll show you how to use our power."

Before Natsu could respond, pitch black chains bounded him tightly, before his eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness.

....

Animus flapped his wings, preparing to leave, only to freeze in shock as he saw a dark purple aura oozing out from Natsu's body.

'This aura... Don't tell me?!'

The purple aura engulfed Natsu for a few moments before retracting back to his body, and this time, his appearance completely changed.

Taking the form of the creature that Natsu met in the dark space.

Its eyes landed on Animus, and as if feeling an intense hatred, it let out a scream.

...

Thousands of feet up in the sky, inside a floating cube, a handsome man with long black hair tied to a pontytail was reading a book while sitting on a throne.

This man, is Mard Geer, the founder of the Dark Guild Tartaros, the strongest Dark Guild in the continent made up entirely of demons from the Books of Zeref.

Although he is the founder, he merely proclaimed himself as the Temporary Leader of Tartaros until their leader, E.N.D, returns and take over the role of the leader.

At this moment, his eyes widened in shock as he dropped the book. He stood up, staring at a certain direction.

"This presence..." His face broke out into huge joy and ecstasy, "There's no question about it, it's Lord E.N.D!"

He erupted into boisterous laughter, "Hahahaha! Lord E.N.D has returned!"

His loud laughter gained the attention of Nine Powerful Demons who immediately gathered at the throne room.

The Nine Demon Gates, the Nine most powerful demons in Tartaros, each possessing powers no weaker than a Wizard Saint, with the weakest of them having a power comparable to a Saint Candidate.

"Perfect timing," Mard Geer smiled at the Nine Demon Gates, "Everyone, Lord END has awakened. Use every ounce of our resources to search for him! We must return to his side!"

The Nine Demon Gates expresses their shocked, before turning into joy as they almost cheered at the news. All but one, as a middle aged man who stood amongst the demons, simply clenched his fist in anger, but hid it and appeared joyful as well.

"Now leave and search for Lord END," ordered Mard Geer, "I have felt his presence somewhere in the Southwest of Ishgar, look for him there."

Without giving any response, the Nine Demon Gates dissappeared from the throne room.

With a smile, Mard Geer sat back on the throne as he took out a book and stared at it with longing.

"Ah, soon. Very soon. Lord END, please wait for just a bit longer, your loyal and faithful servants will come to you soon."

On the cover of the book are three simple letters.

E.N.D.

...

On a dark cave.

A man with dark skin and long dark blue spiky hair, wearing a black cloack can be seen eating a whole roasted pig.

Suddenly, he stopped his meal as he looked up, his face showing a hint of curiosity and interest.

However, a moment later, he shook his head, returning to his indifferent and stoic expression.

"END huh," he chewed on the pig's fat, "Unfortunately, with how you are now, you aren't worth my time."

...

At this time, on a barren desert, Zeref furrowed his brows.

"END..." He stared at the direction of Stella, "It's still too early. Natsu isn't ready to wield that power. Just what happened to him for him to awaken so early?"

He walked forward.

Although Natsu couldn't handle that power, Zeref was sure that Natsu with the fragment of END's power is strong enough to handle any predicament he's currently in.

A smile broke out of his face.

"It won't be long...I'll see you soon, Natsu."

...

Stella Kingdom.

Animus felt his soul shake at the loud scream let out by Natsu. His scream is a haunting, visceral expression of rage and power that encapsulates a deep, primal fury.

His eyes, once oozing with confidence, was now full of timidity and fear.

'As expected....this presence... It's similar to that demon Igneel fought hundreds of years ago!' Animus slowly retreated to the sky to gain some distance.

'But how? Igneel sealed that demon...' His eyes widened, 'Don't tell me... He sealed it to his own slayer!? That's insane! Just imagine the strongest demon using the strongest fire dragon slayer magic... This boy, just what is he!?'

Natsu, or rather the demon, slightly bended his knees.

Animus eyes widened, and before he could react, he felt pain on his right side. Turning towards it, he saw his right wing being completely ripped apart from his body.

Looking up, he saw Natsu holding his wing, glaring down at him.

Without his wing, Animus was no longer able to fly and started falling down. Thankfully for him, he landed safely on the castle.

Animus stared at Natsu, observing him carefully. 'His stomach still has the hole from my attack, I completely scraped out his innards, it won't be long before even he dies from that.'

As he thought that, Natsu stretched his right hand to the side, and much to Animus' shock, a large dark purple eastern dragon bursts out from the forest further away from the castle.

And like a pet being called by its owner, it flew towards Natsu in great speed before changing its size to a smaller one and coiled around Natsu's body obediently.

"The Three Thousand Burning Flame!?" Animus exclaimed in shock. It is the flame he found underground, but he lost it...or rather, someone stole it! "This brat was the one who stole my flame!?"

He doesn't have time to express his anger however, as the Three Thousand Burning Flame who took the form of a small eastern dragon, entered Natsu's body.

Almost immediately, his body started to repair itself, even his lost organs and intestines was fully restored within a blink of an eye.

Animus can only stare at it happening, feeling helpless.

Knowing full well he couldn't defeat Natsu in this state, Animus can only pray to the Dragon Cry to give him more power.

'Dragon Cry...give me strength.'

As if responding to his wishes, the Animus felt enormous amount of power coursing through him. His scales, which had turned red after devouring the Dragon Cry, started to darken and turned into dark crimson in color.

His wings, which has been ripped apart from his body, immediately grew back.

Smiling, Animus flew back up and stared at Natsu face to face.

"Be prepared, Son of Igneel. Even I have no idea how powerful I've become. Even in that state, I don't think you can beat me."

However, the response he received was a bone chilling screech.

"Not even being able to speak, huh." Animus shook his head, "How pitiful. You have become nothing more than a rabid beast."

Natsu ignored his words, his body slightly bent down, preparing to attack.

Animus snorted, "Very well. Come! Let me see the power of the demon not even Igneel can defeat!"

With that, the two clashed once more.

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