Walk Through The Fire (Fairy Tail) [Book 1] [Discontinued]

Arc 2- Chapter 15

Zeref Dragneel

"Onii-chan?" a small, chubby finger jabbed at his cheek once, and Zeref nestled his face further into his pillow. Not even a heartbeat later, two chubby hands grabbed at his cheeks and wrestled his face away from the pillow. "Ooooniiii-chaaaaannn!"

"Mm aigh'... Alright, I'm up, I'm up," Zeref groaned and opened his eyes, catching the deep green gaze of a little boy with pink hair. Upon seeing him awake, Natsu's eyes crinkled at the edges as he grinned a bright smile.

"Took you long enough, onii-chan. Come on, we're just about to have breakfast," Natsu told him before scampering out of his room, arms held out at his sides as if he were a flying dragon. Zeref groaned and stretched his arms over his head with a loud yawn. His body was still drowsy with sleep, but as Zeref got out of bed and began getting himself dressed for the day, it became more and more awake. It's been so long since Zeref was last able to have breakfast with his parents. His father, as stern as he may be, was the village chef for good reason, and his mother always made breakfast exciting with the way she'd reenact old stories from her youth, using wild gestures and poking at her husband to make him act along with her. Her favorite theme: great things can happen in the blink of an eye. Great opportunities in work, great and profound love stolen in a second's glance, and...

Great calamities that claim the lives of all he loves.

Suddenly, it was as if a spell had broken, and Zeref was finally able to take in his room in full detail. His bed was still there, so was his desk and bookshelf, but something wasn't right. He couldn't smell food cooking, he couldn't hear his mother talking, and strangely enough, he thought he saw fires out of the corners of his eye, but when he turned to look, there would be none.

This is weird. "Uh, mom?" Zeref called out. Nobody replied, and Zeref frowned. "Mom? Dad?" Still nothing. The house was eerily silent now, and Zeref shakily reached towards the door. "Natsu?" Zeref opened the door, and instead of the corridor he was used to seeing, all that laid beyond the door was pitch blackness.

Zeref barely had a second to frown before the door suddenly pushed him into the darkness as it slammed shut and disappeared all together. It was as though he'd been thrust into space; he couldn't tell which way was up, down, sideways or not. He couldn't see anything. Not even his own hands and feet.

"Onii-chan," Natsu's voice echoed around him like a siren's song, it was alluring and hypnotic in a terrifying way. His voice echoed in his head and Zeref frantically turned in every direction for the source of the voice.

"Natsu!" Zeref cried out into the void. "Natsu! Where are you? Stay still, I'll come find you!"

"Why did you let me die, onii-chan?"

All the blood froze over in Zeref's veins. "W-what do you mean? Natsu? Natsu!"

"Onii-chan, why did you bring me back?"

"I-I-I just--"

"Why did you leave me alone, Zeref-nii?"

His tears seized him by the throat and strangled him, pushing all the air out of his lungs and building pressure behind his eyes. "I- I DIDN'T WANT TO LET YOU GO!" Zeref sobbed. "I COULDN'T FIND MOM AND DAD'S BODIES AND I- I- I JUST--" Zeref crumbled to his knees and buried his hands in his face, his fingers yanking on his black hair as tears dripped down his cheeks. "I just... didn't want to be alone..."

"Zeref." The voice was different this time, it was deeper and more mature. Zeref lifted his head and found himself staring at the Natsu that he knew. Natsu was in his demon form with large, scaly wings perched on his back and thick red scales all over his body, covered in black flaming tattoos. He frowned at the boy Zeref once was, his face strangely resigned. He lifted one scaled hand and held it up to his face.