genessia | ⚜ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴛʜɪʀᴅ

{ Zeref takes a moment to adjust the device. He's leaning forward, fidgeting with... something. The sound of a heavy object behind the screen being adjusted behind the device could very clearly be heard. The device seems to be placed strategically to leave as little detail about where he could possibly be posting from; the area behind him was non-descript, except for a simple bare, wooden wall, typical to buildings in Fayren. There were no nearby windows or any decoration of any kind behind him. }

Is the concept of a 'mage guild' truly so foreign to other worlds? Other worlds with magic, of course. { Zeref had never been a part of one, nor did he have any desire to join one, but they were such an integral part of society in his world that it seems strange to him that so few others seem to know what they are. At least they exist in Fayren. } I'm curious... in those worlds in which they do not exist, what, exactly are mages expected to do? Join the military? Live as hermits? Die?

{ He's aware of more than a few worlds where mages are persecuted out of fear by non-mages, if not killed outright. }

[ Pivate to Mavis - text; backdated to the 14th ]
Can you meet me at Scribes and Scripts? There's something I want to give you.

[ Pivate to Erza Scarlet - text ]
Hello, Erza. Are you available? I'd like to talk about something if you have time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From what I understand, Acnologia required the combined efforts of nearly every single mage in Fayren, as well as whatever was left of Alvarez. That doesn't inspire confidence.

{ But it's a moot point. Acnologia is gone, and the dragons are extinct. The greatest threat to humanity remains humanity itself. }

Still, I wonder what will happen next. Several people attempted to 'resurrect' me out of some delusion that I was dead, and would approve of their depraved efforts to bring me back even if I were. Somehow, I can picture somebody being insane enough to think something similar about Acnologia.

[She'll have to think about that last statement for a bit - it's a terrifying possibility.]

It's hard to say, I suppose. On one hand, nobody thinks of Acnologia in a positive light, and I can't imagine that he'd listen to anything that anyone has to say. On the other hand, the sort of people who would do that aren't known for thinking logically.

Up until you learned about my past with Mavis and that I am Emperor Spriggan, you thought something similar about me, didn't you?

{ Of course, the difference is that most of Zeref's infamy stems from myths and legends, while just about everything Acnologia is not only true, but Acnologia is proud of it. }

I put nothing past humanity anymore.

I suppose so.

[It's not something that she'd like to dwell on, though. Taking down Acnologia was tough to begin with, but the idea of defeating him again, when he has the full use of his mind, is not a promising concept, despite her usual faith that her guild will pull through.]

Back to your point about Natsu, at least he's the only one that you might have to worry about from the guild. ...Probably. Gajeel and Gray might be troublesome. [Gajeel might wind up picking a fight with Zeref just to prove he's better than Natsu, and Gray's known for doing really stupid things when Zeref's involved.]

{ Zeref is silent for several seconds, trying to recall his few interactions with Gray in this world to the surface. They didn't talk much, of course; not as much as Zeref had with Erza, Lucy, Mirajane, and especially not Mavis, but for the most part, Gray restrained himself. Perhaps it was Mavis' influence, or perhaps Gray was actually using his brain for once, but whatever the case, Zeref was grateful that his interactions with Fairy Tail in this world have been mercifully peaceful if tense on occasion. }

Gray was in this world for a while. I don't think he ever told me which timeline he was from, but he behaved about as well as anybody could have hoped. I suspect Mavis had something to do with that, or perhaps Silver did, but I never asked.

That's good - from what I heard, he was going to take drastic measures to stop you before Natsu put a stop to it.

Still, if he didn't try anything last time he was here, then you shouldn't have a problem with him.

I never got to meet Silver, but from what I'm heard, I'm glad he showed up here rather than some other members of Tartaros. I'd hate to imagine what this place would be like if Kyouka was brought here...

He wouldn't be able to stop me. At most, he'd only be able to delay me, and even then it would be at the cost of his own life. { Oh, yes, he knows about Gray. After all, when Gray was here, the 'fear event' that had Erza confronting an apparition of Eileen had Gray staring down Deliora. Zeref knew why. After all, before Alvarez' invasion, he had the Empire's intelligence assets look into every single member of Fairy Tail, but especially Natsu's friends. And the story of Ur was well-known. }

Other members of Tartaros did show up here. Not Kyouka, but Mard Geer did, as well as Seilah. Needless to say, it took a great deal of effort on the part of both Mavis and I to prevent war.

I'm just glad he didn't follow through; no victory would be worth that price.

...And how did you pull that off? I haven't met Mard Geer, but if he's anything like the rest of his guild, I can't imagine he'd be too pleased to stop trying to kill humans, even if you were the one telling him. [Erza figures he'd think that Zeref had gone soft, or that he was an impostor, or something of that nature.]

I gave him something else to focus on. Or rather, someone. Kefka didn't exactly make it difficult to do so, he was quite obviously spoiling for a fight, and even attacked Tartaros' former headquarters in Everglade. Eventually, his instincts as an Etherious took over, and he recognized Kefka as the greater threat, not just to me, but to himself as well. Ultimately, his natural inclination to serve my will won out over his pride, even if I expect he would have immediately focused on Fairy Tail again afterward if given the chance.

{ It also helped that Kefka expressed more than a little interest in E.N.D.'s book, and Zeref gave Mard Geer explicit orders that Kefka was not to lay one finger on it, even at cost to Mard Geer's own life. }

⚜ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ᴛʜɪʀᴅ - video

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