{Bonus Chapter for 500 powerstones.}
"How many years has it been?" I asked while sitting on my throne, looking at the city. Erza stood next to me, her eyes closed to calculate the time.
"About 150 years, many got bored after a few years, so they went to sleep inside you... oh, here." She said while the sword that held phoenix slayer magic glowed, the golden flames being summoned to her palm, which I took to eat.
"Why do you remain outside?" I asked softly, to which she shook her head lightly, a serious look on her face.
"I take my job as knight very seriously, I will not leave you here to sleep without a guard." She said to which I frowned.
"Don't worry, I do return inside to fill my stomach. I need to remain in top condition after all. Plus, I had learned to conquer my mind as well, so half of my brain is asleep... although not to the degree of your mind, since I only learned to put part of my mind to sleep." She said with a grin, to which I sighed as I could say nothing else.
I got up and stretched my body. I have been asleep for 75 years, a long time to be asleep. But It looked like I was truly no longer human since I could do such a thing, and live for so long. I had expected I would need to use up all of my rebirth to see the future, but maybe I might be immortal.
Once again, Dragon City had gone through a transformation. I studied the changes, before noticing that the dragon eggs had hatched. The parents of the newborn dragons spent time training and teaching their children, which led to new buildings being built to meet the children's needs.
With the children growing up feeding off my magical power, I couldn't help but wonder how strong they would be in the future. My magical power was growing stronger, I couldn't be compared the myself the last time I was awake.
After studying the place, I went to see Irene's statue, it looked as clean as ever... well, I made it to be just like that. This statue was made out of an ageless stone, which would also repel dust. The flowers here were also fake, and they looked the same as the last time I was here. Dust couldn't be found anywhere around here.
After staying there for a few minutes, I went on to head towards my throne to return to my sleep... but I couldn't help but wonder what type of books the dragons were reading. So, I went on to head to the library where I looked through the books. My lips twitched seeing the types of books, they were mostly books about sex.
"Since we are low on numbers, the council believed it was best we motivate the dragons to try and birth the next generation," Erza said seeing my reaction, I nodded lightly in understanding.
"What else did the council do?" I asked while leaving the library, and Erza told me everything, all while we headed toward the throne. There was a lot of stuff they did while I was asleep, leaving me sighing as being King was a lot of work. From worrying about the population to worrying about what would motivate everyone, they had to think of many things.
Every move the king made had to take in so many things, which made me amazed by the fact Irene could manage a whole empire, even with her out of the empire to search on creating dragon slayer magic...
"You need not kick yourself over everything, this is why a council is needed... plus, thanks to the whole noble things that happened in Dragnof, we decided that a council would be better." She said to which I nodded in understanding.
"About the nobles... here," I said while a stone appeared in my palm, Erza took the stone and sensed the pain coming from it. After closer watch, her senses saw into the pocket dimension, and she saw the hell the souls were under. Their never-ending screams, their unending pain, it was a hell they had been under for the past 150 years.
"... Good," Erza said her heart feeling relaxed seeing the pain Rung was under. She smiled, fully enjoying all of this. Seeing that bastard's unending scream brought her a unique level of pleasure, she wanted to keep the stone, but she gave it back to me.
"It's better it stays in your hands." She said with a gentle smileButut I could tell she wanted it. My black flames broke down the rock before they reformed it into a golden necklace with a scarlet red ruby.
"You can have it," I said while putting the necklace around her neck, leaving her stunned for a moment. She opened and closed her mouth, she normally wasn't one for jewelry or such things... but this she could accept.
"It matches that scarlet hair, it brings out your beauty," I said with a smile, my mind running back to Irene... I never got her a gift. What would have been a perfect gift for her? My mind wandered back to reality when I felt something touch my lips.
I paused, looking at Erza who was pulling her head back after kissing me, not understanding why I looked so shocked.
"Y-you... I mean, I thought," She tripped over her words realizing she had got the wrong signals. Her face flushed in embarrassment and panic, before she fell to one knee, waiting for my judgment, but she was shocked hearing me start laughing.
"I'm hurt you think I would get mad with my people... stand up," I said with a smile while holding out my palm. In embarrassment, she took my hand, right now she wanted to do nothing more than hide in the ground.
"You gave me more things to think about," I said while looking at her for some time. I was holding on too tightly to the past, this was a weakness. I needed to say goodbye to Irene and my unborn child and start healing.
"I need to accept the pass... I can't miss out on what I have at the moment. Maybe this could work out, but I have more healing to do than expected." I said lightly, to which she nodded weakly.
"... I guess I have my own healing to do," Erza said softly. To me, it had only been a few months since I found out Irene had passed away, so I was in no condition for a relationship, although thanks to my mastery over my mind, I was able to suppress the pain of the past.
Erza on the other hand had only moved on from Jaden's death, it had been 160 years for her but it didn't mean his memories didn't affect her. She had tried to forcefully move on from his death, jumping to being my knight to give her life meaning. I had to admit, she reminded me of my old self when I met Irene. I jumped to be Irene's knight since I had nothing, and I held tight.
"I will do what Irene did for me... until we leave this world, you're no longer my knight. Live, smile, cry, and relax." I said to which she nodded while breathing lightly, but it was clear, she was uneasy.
"That is your order," I said while leaving, leaving Erza there to stand not knowing what to do with herself without being my knight. What life did she have outside the battlefield, outside her empire, and outside doing her job? What life did she have without her husband? She had no life, no family... she had nothing at this moment. Being forced to stand here, forced to face the fact her world had fallen apart was hell.
She closed her eyes for a moment, before going to the garden of hope... she could start by conquering her mind...
{A/N: The next chapter would be arc 3, them leaving the seal. Also, Erza and MC would be married. I'm not good with relationship building, since from what I see in real life, it just happens. People can connect over pain, people can fall in love at first sight, friendships can grow into love, there is even condition love, and love which is purely attached through physical appearance. Currently, Erza and MC have no feelings for each other, Erza's escape from her past is what leads to the kiss.
Also, there would be some time without an update. A small 2 or so daybreak. But on the break, I think I should take a step back from the plans I had for Arc 3 where I planned to have MC be the villain, and Fairy Tail be the enemy. I did plan for MC's second kill... well, the second attempted murder to be Natsu. There is of course a reason for this, but as things are now, I can't help but wonder. I don't want to drop any spoilers, so that's all I'm saying.
So, should I stick with my original plan, or do something else?}