Birth of the Apocalypse

Three weeks…

For three weeks, a four year old boy with salmon-pink hair has been traveling aimlessly through the mountains, searching for a purpose in life.

The child was ragged and covered in bruises and cuts, his clothes were a nonexistent shirt, white ripped pants, black shoes, and a silver necklace with a cross as the penchant.

The most disturbing part of his disheveling appearance was not his worn-clothing or his wounds, but his facial expression.

His eyes were glazed over as if he was in a faraway place, but they also had a dark glow in them, almost sinister.

At first glance you would think this boy had been an orphan from the start, but three weeks prior was a different story completely…

"Hey mom, hey dad, look what I found!" yelled a salmon-haired child sporting a wide grin on his face. In his hands was an injured baby bird that he rescued from the base of a tree.

"What's that sweetie?" asked the boy's mother. She was beautiful woman with chestnut color hair. She was hanging the laundry on a clothesline before her toddler came running in from the woods.

"I found this little birdie, he looks hurt." answered the boy. He showed the injured bird to his mother who inspected it closely.

"It looks like its wing is broken. I'd take that to your father, he'd probably be able to help." said the mother.

The child grinned and then ran inside his house to find his dad, his role model and hero.

The house was a small, two floor brick building with a few windows and a wooden door. It wasn't luxury, but it was all they needed.

The child found his dad training in the makeshift gym/laundry room. He was a free-lance mage who occasionally went on missions to earn extra money for the family along his day job as one of town watchmen.

"Daddy, I found a little birdie who's hurt. Please help him." cried the toddler. He outstretched his hands to his dad showing the bird that was barely clinging to life.

"Nice find son. Give it here, I know just what to do." said the dad.

The father took the baby bird from his young son and channeled magical energy into the injured bird. In a few moments the bird was good as new and it flew away tweeting happily into the sunset.

"Wow! So cool, dad! I want to become a mage like you!" cried the boy. The father grinned and ruffled his son's hair in amusement.

"When you're a little bit older son. For now just enjoy being a kid." relied the father.

The boy grinned under his father's arm until the house was shaken by an explosion in the village.

"What was that?" asked the boy shakily.

The man was silent as he concentrated on sensing the presence on whoever was responsible. His eyes widened in shock when he sensed not dozens, but hundreds of intruders entering the village center.

"Honey! Come inside!" yelled the dad as he sprung to action. The boy watched his father in shock as he grabbed his gear that he wore on missions and his signature weapons, silver dual-wield daggers.

"What happened, dear!" yelled the mother as she ran inside the house.

"We have intruders, and there are hundreds of them!" yelled the dad as he finished strapping the last of his gear on.

"Hundreds!" yelled the mom in fear as she cradled her son who began to cry.

"Don't cry son…" began the dad as he ruffled his son's hair. Then he took off his silver necklace that he wore on all his missions and gave it to his son, "I will always be with you, as long as you have this necklace."

"Daddy, don't go." sniffled the boy failing to hold back tears.

"I have to son, it is the duty of the father to protect his family." replied his father bravely. The man kissed his son on the forehead before turning to his wife.

"I love you, honey." said the dad.

"I love you too." replied the mom knowing this was most likely the last time he was going to see her husband.

The dad nodded and then rushed out the door to join his fellow warriors in defending the village from the invaders.

The child wailed in anger as he tried to push those memories out of his head. The utter despair he was feeling filled his entire being and began to awaken.

The boy began to glow with a purplish-black aura that gave off a sinister vibe. Try as he might though, he could not push the memories out of his mind.

The village burned as the invaders spread out, wreaking havoc on its unfortunate inhabitants. The town watchmen were valiant in their efforts but they couldn't be everywhere at once against their massive foe.

The invaders had been identified as a group of cultists that worshiped the black mage, Zeref. Their aim was to massacre the entire village and bathe the area in blood to summon him.

The salmon-haired child's father, the most powerful of the town watchmen was fighting a unit of 20 cultists and while fighting them off bravely, he was fighting a losing battle.

"Fire!" yelled the captain of the cultist unit as they fired magic beams at their foe. The man was ducking and weaving as he dodged the various projectiles that flew at him.

The warrior quickly ran up a building before descending on the ranks of the cultists. He slashed and hacked with his magic-powered daggers slaying five of the invaders.

However, when his back was turned dueling with another three attackers he was blasted in the back and sent flying face first into a wall.

"Ugh…" muttered the man as he struggled to get up from the rubble. The cultists didn't give him a moment of rest and fired some more beams at him.

The man rolled to the side to dodge before channeling energy into his daggers.

"Silent Moon." chanted the mage. He slashed in an X formation towards his opponents sending an X-shaped wind projectile at the intruders.

The attack detonated when reaching its destination and created a small explosion. The warrior expending the last of his energy fell down to his knees and panted.

When the dust cleared, all of the remaining cultists were unconscious, but a new unit of them appeared and circled around the exhausted defender like a pack of wolves.

"Damn it. I'm sorry everyone, I've failed you." thought the mage as he dreamed of his family in his final moments.

The cultists fired their weapons and incinerated the defender with the countless magical blasts. His wretched screams could be heard across the entire village.

Ten feet away, hiding in a dumpster was the warriors' son, the salmon-haired child who cried unstoppably and suffered a mental collapse as he saw his father mercilessly obliterated.

Only half an hour ago, his mother sacrificed herself for him by hiding him in their laundry machine and drawing the invaders who came to ransack their house after her into the woods.

He helplessly listened to her screams as she was murdered in cold blood by the genocidal fanatics.

The salmon-haired boy cursed fate and all those who lived life free of the pain he had suffered. But most of all he cursed his powerlessness.

A few hours later when the village had been all but razed, the cultists finally left realizing the foolishness of their plan having any success of summoning Zeref.

When the 'coast was clear', the salmon-haired child emerged from his dumpster hiding place teary-eyed and traumatized.

He scoured the village looking for any signs of life, but all he found were bloodied corpses, splattered blood on the buildings and roads, and burning houses, taverns, and shops. The boy quickly realized that there wasn't any life to be found… he was all alone.

Walking to the village square, the boy fell on his knees, slammed his fists on the pavement over and over, and cried to the heavens, mourning the fate of his family and neighbors.

The boy radiated more and more of the sinister magical energy as the traumatic event, replayed in his mind over and over again. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the large reptilian monster that landed on the clearing above.

Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, landed on a high-elevation clearing. He had been flying for days and now just wanted to rest. He wasn't even in the mood to destroy a town two miles away.

"Maybe I'll destroy it next week." mumbled Acnologia.

Then before he could fall into a deep slumber, he felt a sinister magical power approach him. Believing it to be a powerful mage out to slay him, the dragon readied itself.

Acnologia was stunned when he saw the appearance of the supposed warrior, a child with salmon-colored spiky hair and ragged clothing.

Acnologia flew over to the kid who didn't flee in terror or even blink at his presence, stunning the dragon.

What startled the dragon even more was when the child walked past him without even looking up to acknowledge his presence.

"Insolent brat! I'll show him to ignore the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse." thought the deadly serpent.

The dragon rose its spiked tail and whipped it at the small child expecting to crush the boy with his power, but things didn't go as expected.

The salmon-haired child stopped the tail's trajectory with only ONE of his bare hands. Stunned beyond all measure, Acnologia tried a different strategy.

"What is your name?" growled Acnologia.

"Natsu." bluntly stated the child.

Acnologia studied the child and was intrigued with his find.

"What is your purpose in life, Natsu?" asked Acnologia.

"I have seen the unfairness of this world and the true nature of humans. For this, I will make the world fear my wrath." replied Natsu.

Now that was what Acnologia wanted to hear.

"What would you say if I could offer you that power?" asked Acnologia.

The boy paused for a second and thought about the dragon's offer.

Then his face broke out in a malicious smile.

"I would accept." answered Natsu.

Then exhibiting no fear whatsoever, Natsu jumped up on Acnologia's snout and made himself comfortable for the journey.

If dragons could smirk, then Acnologia would be one happy bastard. The dragon could feel that this kid had amazing potential if he was cultivated properly.

He planned to mold this child into an unstoppable force of devastation and utilize him to annihilate humanity.

"All right then, I will train you to become the most powerful this world has ever seen. The one and only Chaos Dragon Slayer." growled Acnologia.

Natsu nodded with the insane smile still on his face. Then, Acnologia flew off into the sky towards their destination.