This chapter serves to give us some insight into y/n's past. It's really short (barely 1,000 words). And in my mind, fairly boring. Sorry.
~~~
Zeref shut his eyes tight, unwilling to open them, as the black mist dissipated from the air around him. He couldn't open them. He couldn't deal with the sight of another innocent person dead because of him. His breathing became irregular as tears began to pool in his eyes. He pulled harshly at his hair, cursing himself, the gods and the cruel, cruel world. Why hadn't she listened? Why hadn't she run?
He froze at an unfamiliar feeling. One he had not known in a very long time. A warm hand resting against his cold skin. Dark eye snapped open to be met with a pair of warm e/c ones.
She was alive.
Not only was she alive, but she seemed completely unharmed. Zeref glanced around in confusion. The grass was dead. The tree was dead. The deer was dead. The butterflies and birds were dead, bodies limp on the ground. Everything around him had ceased to exist. So why hadn't she?
"Hey, it's okay," her voice was soft as she spoke. She cupped his face with her hands, directing him to look her in the eyes. "Breathe, just breathe. Everything's going to be okay,"
Zeref nodded dumbly, breathing in sync with the girl until his heartbeat slowed. She let go of his face to sit next to him, a foot or so away.
His mouth was dry as he watched her, his mind racing. "Why... Why..."
"Why aren't I dead?" she asked, voicing the question he was unable to word. "You and I are one and the same,"
Her voice was gentle and soothing and, against his better judgement, Zeref found himself relaxing at the sound of it.
The girl raised her hand up and an all to familiar black fog danced around her fingertips. There was a dull thud and the corpse of what was once a bird landed at her feet. She kicked it into the pond and watched it sink with emotionless eyes.
"You're cursed?" he asked, turning to her with a frown. "What for?"
"I didn't do anything," she said, glaring at the ground as she spoke. "It was my parents. But because they had the protection of another god, they could not be punished for their actions. So, Ankhseram had to find someone they could punish. Me,"
Zeref's eyes softened at the girl's words. He'd been cursed as a result of his own actions, whereas she was completely innocent.
"I was born, branded with this mark," she gestured to a black symbol on her ribcage. It resembled the sun in a sense, a series of flames branching out in a circle. The mark was common in ancient Mildian writings. It had many possible translations, destruction, decay, and most commonly death. "And when my parents saw it, they abandoned me. Left me to fend for myself, hoping that would be the end of it,"
Zeref felt like he should comfort the girl, though he was unsure of how to go about it. It was rare for him to engage in casual conversation. His social skills were lacking considerably.
"I got them back though," She said. A cruel smirk spread across her lips and a malicious gleam shone in her eyes. "I tracked them down years later and I made them pay,"
Her dismissiveness towards the matter unsettled him. She didn't seem to be that old. How could she speak so carelessly? How could she be so hardened? What else had she been through? Zeref felt a pang of pity for her.
"Oh! I'm y/n by the way," she exclaimed with a bright grin.
He hesitated a moment before accepting her outstretched hand. "Zeref,"
He expected her to recoil. He expected her face to become warped by fear. But y/n merely nodded her head and smiled softly.
"Cool,"
"You are here with the guild correct?" Zeref asked after a moment's silence. "How can you be around them without the worry of killing them?"
"I am worried," y/n said. "Every day, every time one of them gets near me. Touches me. I fear that they'll never see tomorrow,"
"Then why join a guild?"
"It's what Ace would have wanted,"
Zeref decided not to ask about Ace. The mention of the name alone had caused y/n's face to fall significantly. He didn't want to push her too far. He couldn't lose the only person with whom he could converse without the fear of killing.
"Besides, as I was not the one to warrant the curse, Ankhseram was lenient. They bestowed me with more control over the curse than most. That's not to say I've always had it or it always works," y/n toyed with her bootlaces as she spoke. "Many people have died due to my lack of or loss of control,"
Zeref knew from experience that there was nothing he could say to that. Nothing anyone could ever say would heal the hurt caused by the curse. It was a pain that those affected with it would carry with them for as long as they live. The crushing guilt, the hopelessness, the endless solitude. It hurt more than a physical wound ever could.
The silence between them was broken by a high pitched whistle. A flare burst into the air, it's deep red colour a stark contrast with the blue of the sky.
Y/n was immediately on high alert, her hand moving to the dagger at her hip. "We're under enemy attack?"
"You've got to come with me, please," Zeref pleaded. He lurched forwards grasping at her hands before she could stand. "Something terrible is about to occur here, it's not safe,"
She shook her head, scanning their surroundings through narrowed eyes. "I can't. Whatever happens, I'm going to stay here. I'm going to protect my friends,"
"You don't understand, if you stay here you'll die," He strengthened his grip as she tried to pull away. It had been too long since he had last been able to talk to someone without fear of the curse. Zeref couldn't bear to be alone. Not again.
"And what a shame that would be," y/n said. She met his gaze and her eyes softened. "I'm sorry Z, but I swore I'd protect my friends. It doesn't matter what I have to face. I will fulfill that oath until my dying breath,"
"Acnologia,"
She tensed at Zeref's words, meeting his gaze with burning eyes. "What?"
"Acnologia is coming," he said, clasping her hands as she climbed to her feet. He begged her to stay with his eyes but she ignored it.
"Acnologia is coming, here?" Y/n asked. She clenched her jaw as her hands curled into fists at her sides. Dark flames began to build up around her feet as she paced, stating at Zeref intently as she waited for his response. He could only nod, unable to speak under her scrutinizing gaze. "Then I'll be ready,"
Y/n turned her glare up to the sky. A feral sort of growl rumbling from deep within her chest. Do you hear that dad? I'm gonna be ready. You're not winning this. Not this time.
~~~
1,195 words
Some of you may be calling y/n a Mary-Sue at this point in time. And while yes you're correct in the sense that she has a lot of powers, she isn't exactly "overpowered".
Let me explain:
When y/n adds a new element to her roster, the amount of magic power at her disposal doesn't change. Only the things that she can do with it. This means that she's got the same level of power, just more diversity in her attacks. This puts a strain on her magic which is now divided even more than before. This means that she has to constantly be training in order to strengthen herself.
Not only that but while she can use other slayers magic's, she can only use spells she's seen them use. She can train if they tell her spells, but she's unable to just make spells up. And the more elements she draws from in a fight, the more magic she uses. As her magic is continuously switching between elements, which in turn drains more energy. This is why we never see y/n use all her elements in a single battle. Some abilities, have great physical or magical tolls and can only be used a couple of times in a fight.
So yeah. Y/n is strong, but that in and of itself is a weakness. I would say that she's stronger than Natsu but weaker than Mira and Erza if we're talking about raw magic power. How that magic is used, well that's another question.
Hope all that made sense and that this chapter wasn't too boring. Thanks for reading y'all.
Next time: y/n (and Natsu) vs Zancrow.