genessia | ⚜ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-ꜰɪʀsᴛ - [ ᴛᴇxᴛ + ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ]

Action: Fairy Haven, Master's Quarters - Open to any member of Fairy Tail or anyone who lives in Fayren Haven

{ It would be quiet; barely audible, depending on where one was in the sprawling compound that Fairy Tail calls home. It was unmistakably Zeref's voice, but there could be none other heard. It might sound as if he were just... talking to himself. }

I almost gave this to them, you know. I was curious to know what they would have done with it.

{ There's the sound of rustling. Zeref sounded slightly sleepy, if one bothered to listen, as if he had only just woken up despite it being the middle of the afternoon. Maybe he was up late? }

What would they have done? Destroyed it? Opened it? They would have been in for a surprise if they had.

{ Whoever he's speaking to doesn't respond. If one bothers to peek into the room... he's speaking to a book laying on a desk parallel to the bed, propped up against the wall. Completely seriously, as if the book were alive and he was somehow expecting it to respond.

Suddenly, Zeref sighs, reaching for the white, outer-layer of his robe, unceremoniously discarded at the foot of the bed. He pulls it on, over the rest of his outfit. }

Why do I bother? I doubt you can hear me, anymore. I wonder if you're even alive in our world without this.

Text - OTA

I'd like to pose a rhetorical question, if I may. Much has been made about the issue of necromancy, in this world. The act of reanimating the dead into 'undead,' as the term I've been hearing up until now.

What I've heard little about is resurrection. Not merely reanimating the dead; restoring life itself. Reversing death. Bringing a soul back from the afterlife and returning it to this world. In my world, it is taboo, regardless of the circumstances or how unfair or undeserved the death was.

Death is ultimately meaningless in this world, at least for those of us with amulets. When one of us dies, we reawaken in the Bay, even if doing so often has a price. Regardless, I've heard some of us say that impermanent death cheapens it.

Why this distinction? What difference is there, truly, between necromancers, and whomever, or whatever it was that brought us here reducing death to a mere transaction?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They lie behind the barriers of the cities. If you were to go far into the woods of Fayren or try to fly into the atmosphere, you would find a barrier that even my magic can't break, not unlike Fairy Sphere. Occasionally, however, something does cause them to falter, or crack. And when they do... otherworldly spirits pour in, and they can't be harmed by what humans would consider 'normal' means.

{ Zeref pauses. He's encountered them a few times, and his magic was one of the few things he knew worked against them, but they were still incredibly dangerous. }

They feed on emotions. Direct contact with one has caused people from this world to become husks of their former selves. Only certain types of magic seem to effect them, specifically magic designed to fight spirits, or magic that can affect the soul itself. They were part of the reason why I've been teaching Mavis to better control her curse.

{ Of course, that's not the main reason, which should be obvious. }

Interesting... I can't say I've seen that barrier yet, so I'll have to go on a trip out there at some point. Can the spirits do anything to harm the rest of us?

Yes. They have had their emotions drained, as well. If you don't have any weapons that can harm the immaterial, find one. Otherwise... you're going to have to leave it to Mavis and I if they ever come back.

I'll have to check - I might have bought one recently, but I haven't had a chance to test it out. [She buys a lot of weapons, but after her fight with Jose from Phantom Lord, she would have definitely looked into that.]

If not, I'm sure you can find one in town. It just likely won't be cheap. { Demand is likely still pretty high, after last time. } I can't believe I'm saying this, but Franmalth would have been a huge help against them.

What happened to him, anyway? I never felt my magic stop flowing into his book. That would indicate to me that he's still alive.

{ As... a mushroom. That Mashima seems to have forgotten all about. }

Edited 2017-09-25 10:35 (UTC)

Franmalth... Franmalth... [Erza vaguely recalls Minerva mentioning that name. The redhead's main obsession at the time had been beating Kyouka, so she wasn't overly concerned with the other members of that guild, and they didn't have a lot of time to discuss what happened at Tartaros before the Fairy Tail guild was disbanded.] He was part of Tartaros, right? There was a mushroom who claimed to be one of the Nine Demon Gates - I think that's what Minerva called him.

He had the power to absorb the souls of his enemies and assimilate their magic into himself. Exactly the sort of power these spirits dread.

I see... He must have been weakened quite badly, then, because he didn't try anything like that with us. There was a woman - Sayla, I think? Her powers seem like they would be useful as well, if she could control that many things at once. [She could control corpses, so she might be able to control these invaders; she'd rather not have any demons from Tartaros here, if possible, but any of them would be an improvement over Kyouka in her mind.]

Ah, yes. Sayla. { He actually says that with a hint of fondness. } She was here, for a while, along with Mard Geer and Silver. In hindsight, I allowed myself to be closer to her than I ever was to any of the other Etherious. She would do things like leave books in my room for me to read. She had an... interesting taste in literature, but not a bad one.

{ He definitely bonded more with her than he ever did with any of the others, while Tartaros was here. }

Unfortunately, she never got the chance to test Macro on the spirits. She did help me to fight off Kefka's monstrosities, after Mard Geer dealt with the majority of them.

{ Sometimes, he wonders if any of those monsters survived. He doubted it; even if they were freed from Alegria when Mard Geer left this world, it's been close to a year, and they'd have starved to death or asphyxiated by now. Of course, this world has also shown little desire to adhere to the rules of logic, and he's been wrong about things like that before. }

So, you've met her, then? You're lucky. Her particular Curse is one of the most dangerous I've ever created, though it still wasn't enough to fulfill the purpose for which I created her. I would say few ever fight her and live to tell about it, but it would be inaccurate. Much like Dimaria and Bloodman, her opponents really don't get to 'fight' her at all. By the time they're under the effects of her power, it's already too late.

I met her briefly, when they were trying to activate Face. [If Kyouka hadn't said her name, she wouldn't have known which one it was, but it's hard to forget being forced to strangle yourself.] If Mirajane hadn't blind-sided her, I don't know what I would have done. [She considers thanking the other woman, if she ever shows up or Erza gets back home, but any member of Fairy Tail would have at least tried to do the same thing for each other, so it goes without saying.]

I haven't heard anything about Bloodman, but I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Is he one of the ones that you were worried about? I remember that you said a few of the Spriggans were a risk to the First, since they had personal reasons for wanting her captured. [Zeref seemed more open now, so she might as well press the issue; she has no idea what's going on back home or what could have changed since she got here, and while the others might not be as rebellious as Eileen, they could still be a threat.]

{ It's true; he has relaxed a fair bit since they started eating this cake and talking. Most of what he's told Erza is nothing she couldn't have found out on her own, and since Sayla isn't here anymore, he has no reason to withhold anything about her. He never did feel his magic stop flowing into Sayla's book, come to think of it... did she manage to survive, too? }

Yes, but not necessarily for that reason. { Larcade might, though, but only because his delusion that Zeref is literally his father might extend to her being his mother. But that's purely speculation at this point, considering he ~~and August~~ never said one word to her when he had the chance. } Bloodman is another Etherious I created, which means he'll behave himself if for no other reason than I ask him to do so. He was killed in action, but being dead certainly hasn't stopped anyone from appearing in this world, before.

What made him dangerous enough to be a cause for concern is his very biology. His entire body is composed of Magic Barrier Particles, which are lethal to mages. He's routed entire armies without having to cast a single spell. In a world like Fayren, well... use your imagination.