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For a single moment, there’s no pain.
And then every nerve in Gray’s arm is lighting up in agony. Gray wants to scream. He tries to scream but nothing escapes the tight constriction of his throat. His arm… oh Mavis... His arm is gone .
Gray’s experienced enough traumatic events in his life to know he’s in shock. But watching a demon level his town or having your not dead dad die again is almost on par with watching some dark mage chop off his arm.
He can see it still, his arm. It’s just lying there in front of him in a pool of blood. A pool of his blood. Gray should do something; anything but he’s as frozen as his magic. A magic he can no longer do.
‘Ice maker magic requires two hands for stable creations.’ Ur’s voice echoes in Gray’s mind. The words are similar enough to the ones he repeated to Lyon all those years ago on GaLuna Island.
Gray hasn’t been so defenseless since before losing his parents. He can’t use his magic. He can’t defend himself from any kind of threat. He needs to move or fight… oh he really should stop the bleeding.
“Hey Gray, why aren’t you chasing…” Natsu’s voice trails off.
Gray doesn’t need to look up to know Natsu is looking at his bodiless arm. Or maybe Natsu saw his bloody stump. The stump that’s still bleeding heavily. He really should do something about that.
Gray hisses as an unexpected pressure is applied to his arm. He tries to pull away until he realizes it's Natsu holding his arm. Natsu guides both of them to the ground. It’s one of the things Gray admires most about Natsu, his ability to work through traumatic events.
Natsu may get distracted easily or forget important information but when his guildmates need him most, Natsu is there.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. Everything’s fine.” Natsu continues speaking, the words fade in and out of Gray’s ears.
“My arm’s gone.”
“I know Gray, but we can fix this!”
“I can’t use ice maker magic anymore.”
Natsu’s grip on Gray tightens. They both know Gray’s confession is true. Even if Gray manages to learn a different type of magic, things will never be the same. He promised Ur he would never cast one handed. Now he’ll never cast her magic again. It’ll be up to Lyon to continue Ur’s legacy.
As much as Gray thinks Lyon would enjoy it; being the sole carrier of Ur’s legacy, Gray doesn’t think Lyon would enjoy it happening like this.
Gray doesn’t think the weird demon slayer magic his dad left him is a viable option either. In all honesty it feels like tempting fate a little too much for Gray’s liking. He’s spent enough of his life chasing the demons of his past, Gray isn’t sure how using ice demon slayer magic will make that better. Or easier.
And all that relies on the magic being something Gray can use again. He was under the impression the magic was a temporary gift. One his dad left as a way to fend off Tartaros and protect both himself and Fairy Tail. And the rest of the world…
The mark never faded off his arm- the one still attached to his body. It’s still there like a badass tattoo. Juvia likes it… and Gray has made no efforts to try and have it removed.
Does that mean he technically still has access to that magic? Could demon slayer magic be used safely with one hand?
So much had changed after they rebuilt Fairy Tail. Gramps almost disbanded the guild. Lucy lost one of her oldest keys. Wendy and Carla nearly died trying to stop F.A.C.E. Gray and Juvia are something . E.N.D is out there…
Maybe Gray should try accessing his dad’s magic. His magic? It would be better in the long term if Fairy Tail had at least one mage whose magic was made to harm demons.
Gray concentrates on everything he felt when the slayer magic coursed through his veins. He thinks about everything he experienced when fighting against dad. The power he felt when everything around him froze with just a thought.
“Rage?” Gray whispers to himself. During that whole fight and every moment afterwards was filled with a deep seeded anger that never ended.
“What was that?” Natsu asks.
There’s a darkness inside of him. One Deliora planted in him. There’s a magic lost to time giving freely to him. A gift he won’t throw away. All those emotions Gray has frozen deep inside the recesses of his mind.
“Rage.” The words are spoken as Gray attempts to pry his arm- stump- from Natsu’s grasp.
Gray can do this. He can make himself another arm. He’s lost enough to demons and dark mages, it’s time they gave him something instead of taking it. Gray can see the mark glowing on his arm. He can feel the power coursing through his body.
Finally, Gray pulls his stump free. Natsu gasps in shock as a small magic circle begins to form atop Gray’s bloodied stump. The magic circle is purple in color, and it glows as the circle fully forms. The glow expands, filling out the space previously occupied by his missing arm.
Once the glow stops, a newly formed arm is revealed. Gray’s old one still lays motionless in a pool of his blood.
“What did you do?” Natsu shouts. There’s a bit of awe and fear lacing his words.
Gray can’t answer Natsu, not really. All his attention is taken up by the foreign arm attached to his body. This isn’t what Gray wanted. This isn’t what he expected. The arm- his arm? - is completely black just like the marks that appeared when he and Natsu fought Mard Geer together. And the fingernails curve like pointed talons.
“What have you done?” Natsu carefully touches Gray's new arm as if he’s afraid it’ll fall off again.
Gray can’t answer. Truthfully, he doesn’t know how he achieved this. Maybe Ur was right, there’s a darkness inside Gray; one he’s just left loose.