Tribulation

Chapter Three: Fear

Pain was nothing new to Natsu. But, somehow that all changed when the world was torn from his fingertips and the shards that remained became a blur. No sooner than the second he felt the Book of E.N.D. drop from his hand, he felt as if he were enveloped by a trance.

Agony clawed as his very state of mind and suddenly he was burning – a sensation completely different from the fire he manipulated – the pinpricks of pain so sharp he couldn’t describe it as anything other then ancient and foreign. But even so, it felt somehow familiar. A presence accompanied the pain, influencing his trance-like state and began slowly ebbing away at Natsu’s consciousness.

Subconsciously he felt its thoughts, and couldn’t help but want to greet this new presence as an old friend. He didn’t understand what was happening. Thoughts he didn’t remember thinking flashed before his eyes, describing memories he had no recollection of experiencing. The presence whispered into Natsu’s ears telling him little nothings until Natsu couldn’t distinguish what was reality and what was only in his head.

It wasn’t until the pain stopped that he remembered to breathe, each new breath feeling as if a little piece of himself was suddenly changed, like he was waking up from a dream he never realized was such. A veil draped over his sense of being, blurring all that Natsu knew made him who he was. Piece by piece he began to forget the things he never thought he would, the same way a dream was never remembered after waking up. The shards scattered relentlessly as he metaphorically reached after them with all his might – but soon enough they were all gone leaving nothing left to cling to but the names that no longer held a meaning.

Igneel. Lucy. Erza. Gray. Happy. Fairy Tail.

That’s all he was able to lock away in the deepest recesses of his mind before it was torn from him. However, he no longer knew what each one meant. He guessed they were the names of people or things he desperately tried to remember, but failed all the same. The sense of loss that overcame him was immense and capable of drowning out the rest of the pain that ebbed away at his remaining strength.

His vision suddenly cleared as he opened his eyes to the world around him, unsurprised to find himself kneeling on the ground with his head in his hands. What he didn’t expect to see was a blonde girl kneeling in front of him, tears in her eyes as she desperately called his name.

Who was she? Why was she crying?

He shifted his gaze downwards towards himself where he saw his hands, stained by red and adorned with claws. He couldn’t remember if they were supposed to look like that, but a feeling told him that they shouldn’t. He carefully brought his hands to his face, inspecting them further before a tremor shook the earth and caught his attention. Snapping his gaze towards the origin of the tremor, the sight of the enormous dragon didn’t register as anything more then confusion.

Why does this creature seem familiar?

He carefully watched as the crimson dragon grabbed for an object a few feet away, and as soon as the talons skimmed the edges a burning rage engulfed Natsu like no other. He didn’t understand as to why, but the feeling was so strong he wanted nothing more then to destroy the dragon that held whatever it was in its ginormous claws.

Pain seared once more through him, causing him to feel the horrid scream tear from his throat like a knife. His back burned and suddenly he felt two new appendages in the pain, a feeling that was somehow incredibly familiar. As it faded he observed his surroundings once more, momentarily forgetting the scarlet dragon that had taken something precious from him.

The girl in front of him was still crying, although she looked somewhat horrified as she scrambled backwards slightly. Natsu thought that was odd until a voice reverberated throughout his entire being, its influence parallel to no other.

Kill. Them. All.

Through what it seemed like instinct alone, he suddenly felt the desire to do exactly what the thought told him. He stood up just as another roar shook the air around him, this time caused by a different dragon, its identifying nature being the black of its scales. The influence of the thought still held, the primal instinct taking over his entire being and before he thought, he lashed out at the black dragon that had caused the disturbance.

You. Will. Pay.

Those were the only words Natsu processed before he realized he was soaring through the air as his fingertips dripped with the blood of the black dragon. He heard its pain as it desperately tried to stay airborne with one of its wings missing. Natsu felt his lips twitch upwards. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied at seeing such a daunting creature scramble through the air due to him.

Once again the crimson dragon made its appearance, directing itself towards the other of its kind. Some of Natsu’s anger had been relieved, but it reared up once more at the sight of talon that held something Natsu didn’t know. Just as he was about to attack the red dragon as he had the previous, pain seared in his mind.

No!

The thought thoroughly confused Natsu for a second and allowed the red dragon to send a barrage of flames towards him. Despite that, Natsu was already falling back towards the earth as he attempted to contemplate the outburst in his thoughts. He slammed into the ground with disregard and decided to be furious at himself for getting distracted once more at something so trivial.

He looked around at his surroundings, noticing the blonde-haired girl cradling her arm alongside a black-haired male. Looking at them stirred a hopeless struggle from the back of his mind, remnants of something that was clawing and attempting to reach the forefront of his mind. Natsu felt like he should know who they were, although the wisp of doubt disappeared as fast as it came.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a lonesome figure stand from its position on the floor. A look of pure respect shone through the face of the man as he proceeded to bow towards Natsu.

“I welcome you back, Master E.N.D.,” said the black haired man; “I am Mard Geer, at your service.”

The name “E.N.D.” rang through Natsu’s ears as if he should know it, and he vaguely felt that he did, although he couldn’t place the memory. The male on the other hand, interested Natsu not, and before he understood what he was doing he had acted.

He mocks you. He need not exist.

Just as the words were thought, they were fulfilled as synonymously as a command that could not be betrayed. The Etherious called Mard Geer had barely blinked before his head rolled off his shoulders to watch his body collapse as a corpse.

Natsu’s eyes gleamed with contempt at the head on the ground. Its eyes stared upwards into his own, still mocking him even in death. A presence interrupted his thoughts, alerting Natsu that someone was foolish enough to go near him.

As he spun towards the presence he realized its owner was the other black-haired male from before, the one he thought he should have known. The very act of thinking such seemed preposterous to Natsu now, as he stared at the walking dead.

Crush him.