Fairy Tail: The Three Sacred Magic

Jellal's laughter made Mavis tremble all over, as if every laugh was tearing her heart apart.

She couldn't help but look at the man in front of her, pain and helplessness appeared in her eyes, and finally she gently closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jellal..." She whispered softly, tears sliding down and dripping on her transparent figure.

The tears seemed to have weight, and the faint ripples caused by falling broke her heart, tearing out a trace of unspeakable pain, "If it weren't for me... If I hadn't brought you illusory hope a hundred years ago, and then destroyed it with my own hands, you might not have become like this..."

Jelal's smile was still morbid and crazy, and he didn't care about Mavis beside him at all.

He was like a prisoner addicted to despair, with a dark breath overflowing from his body. The surrounding trees withered under this magic, and the dim branches and leaves hung in the air, as if whispering to the god of death.

Mavis took a deep breath, trying to bring the man in front of her back to his senses: "Believe in Natsu!! Zeref! Your brother, he is your only family, you still love him, don't you?! Zeref!"

Sure enough, the name "Natsu" made Zeref's smile stop abruptly.

The sick smile on his face faded, and his eyes gradually became confused.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Mavis beside him, muttering: "Natsu..."

At this moment, memories of the past flooded into his heart eroded by darkness like a flood.

A touch of tenderness appeared in his eyes, but was quickly swallowed by pain.

He spoke tremblingly, with a few sobs in his voice: "Yes... I still have Natsu, he has grown up... He is almost twenty years old, his birthday... I still remember... But, four hundred years, time is too long..."

His words became lower and lower, as if he was talking to the young brother in his memory alone.

He covered his head, shook it painfully, and murmured in a low voice: "But I have never celebrated a birthday for him, never been his brother, I... I am not qualified at all..."

Mavis looked at him quietly, and the pain in her heart deepened.

She advised softly: "Zerff, hold on a little longer, wait until Hal gains the power to defeat the black dragon, maybe everything will change, maybe even the curse of Ankerthram will be lifted. By then, you can be Natsu's brother and stay with him..."

However, the names of "Hal", "Black Dragon" and "Ankerthram" seemed to touch a taboo deep in his heart.

Zerff raised his head suddenly, his eyes were dyed deep by the dark magic, and murderous aura filled the whole forest.

The terrifying darkness surged around like a tide, and even Mavis's ghost body could not withstand the impact of this power, and her body began to gradually dissipate.

"These three people..." Zeref almost gritted his teeth and roared, "I must kill them with my own hands!!!"

The killing intent surged out like a huge wave, covering the entire forest.

The moment he finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed, and he covered his head in pain, his face confused: "No... Why should I kill them? Don't I want to die? I want to die... I want to be free... Natsu, kill me, please..."

Mavis looked at his painful struggle and felt heartbroken.

Her ghost body was driven hundreds of miles away by Zeref's black magic and gradually dissipated in the darkness.

In the end, she could only leave with deep sadness, leaving behind a silent forest. In the dark shadows of the trees, only the boy's crying kept echoing, penetrating the silence for a long time.

...

In the time tunnel, Hal closed his eyes in pain, and a tear unconsciously slipped from the corner of his eye, turning into a faint light, falling and dissipating in this endless void.

He looked at the afterimage of the memory, and was silent for a long time, his heart was too complicated to express.

He could conclude that Jellal had gone crazy, and even his last memory of losing control was transmitted to Hal.

Hal clenched his fists, his eyes flickered in the faint light, his heart was heavy, and he didn't know how to respond to this heavy emotion.

He whispered softly, his voice was so low that it was almost inaudible: "Maybe... deep in your heart, you also believe that I can help you, right? Jellal..."

The weak words escaped with Hal's voice, and a circle of subtle ripples were swaying in the time tunnel, like throwing a stone into the water, spreading layer by layer.

(I'm finally well after my illness. I almost fainted when I was writing the book before =-=)