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Zeref and Mavis both shared the desire to fade away into pure legends without the chance of being brought back to life. They would be together at last on a new adventure to what waited for them beyond life itself and Mavis perhaps thought it would be a place of gold and sunlight. The duo waited in the center of the home of the Fairy Tail guild and decided to hold on a little bit longer for a goodbye for the one who allowed them to finally rest after centuries.
They would give the boy who saved them a little more time to be with those he cared about even if they impossibly wished for him to live a long life.
Down the streets the staggering form of Natsu Dragneel was trying to reach where he knew that Lucy and the others were. He could feel where they were and smell their scents as if every part of is body was geared to finding them even with the scent of destruction heavy in the air. That sense might as well have been the case because he knew that his life was going to be running out no matter if he never thought himself as being a Demon of the Book of Zeref. His life was tied to the wizard who gave him life and with his dying breath he would make Natsu return to death even if this was news to Natsu himself.
He kept going after those familiar scents with dark greens eyes focused on the path to take and an undoubting will that he would see them again. This was the present and he would live in as long as it was his even if it would end at any moment. The paths of Magnolia were familiar and he kept on ignoring the pain in his burnt arm and kept going. There was nothing his body could do to stop him any he doubted that even in his exhausted state no enemy would be able to delay this reunion.
Finally he made it to a park where three figures were staring at the ground which he thought was quite funny. There was nothing there even though a deep attached memory told him that his book was once there but it was gone now. The park itself was nice and had escaped most of the destruction with the bright smell of flowers on the air. They were still staring at the ground though so he smiled as he walked up and the three finally turned to acknowledge him. Each one of them started crying and Lucy and Happy raced over to hug their dragon slayer.
Natsu laughed as this was how he wanted to live his life. He wanted joy in his heart and friends by his side that could make him simile even in the worst moments. Even Grey walked over with tears in his dark eyes and patted Natsu on the back which was fairly unusual for the ice wizard. He soaked it all in as long as he could and then he felt the moment Zeref and Mavis passed on. There was no way he could blame either one for his death as without Zeref’s love for his brother he would never have been given the chance to be part of Mavis’ guild. He had lived a life full of happiness thanks to those two so he would be happy for them too for finally having peace.
Little dots of light started to pop up around his edges and he brought his head forward so that it would touch Lucy’s. They were not aware of it but those little dots looked like those that had taken the future Lucy’s body once they changed the future and now they would take Natsu as well. He never seemed to have the right words but he could say, “Thank you for all the adventures.”
His friends gasped and tried to grasp onto him but Natsu’s body was disappearing as fast as his book did. He was gone in less than a minute with the same smile on his face as he always had whenever he was excited to go on a job. The trio cried and soon Grey started wondering what they would tell their guild about what happened to the fire dragon slayer. In a place of magic six other dragon slayers were wondering were their seventh member was and had the suspicion in their guts that their friend was no longer in this world. It was difficult but they needed to push through to slay a dragon that was threatening everything.
Once the final battles had been settled the guild gathered and Grey had to tell them that Natsu died fighting Zeref and not even a body remained. He discussed it with both Lucy and Happy and they all agreed that they would keep Natsu’s origin a secret since it would not change anything for any friends but might due damage for strangers. Those people did not know Natsu and would jump to conclusions once hearing he was of the Book of Zeref. They were all sad and mourned the dragon slayer in all their different ways.
Some of them, like Lucy and Happy, were retreating into themselves for a time but found that the rest of the guild would not let them go to far away from their family. Others, like Grey and Erza, took a stoic approach but anyone could see the pain hiding behind their eyes as they looked for someone who was no longer there. There was crying but very few members thought that was what Natsu would want of them and decided that they would be happy with the peace they gained from the ending of Zeref not knowing that they would still have the dragon slayer if the wizard was still alive. They gave him a grave that held no body but it was still a place they could mourn their friend just as they had when they thought Lisanna was lost to them.
Natsu Dragneel was gone and took a portion of warmth with him but they all decided they would hold onto the embers of his life as a remembrance and wish he had more time.