Scarlet Lily

Epoch I

Destruction & Reconstruction

The destruction swept across Fiore in a manner no one anticipated.

A small group of individuals had successfully freed Zeref, the single most evil wizard known in history—but Zeref had annihilated them, along with most of the fighters present. Nothing could be done; most of the Ten Wizard Saints had been killed in the final battle to prevent Zeref's resurrection in the first place.

Hope was entirely lost now. Zeref had gotten a hold of the ancient artifact known as Elena's Mirror, a powerful mirror said to grant the owner power equal to the desires in his soul. With the mirror, the world was at his feet—and he trampled upon it.

Pergrande, the mighty kingdom to the far east of Fiore, fell in a single night. Taking the country as his own, Zeref advanced with his demonic troops against the rest of Earth Land. The inevitable destruction of Fiore came closer with every passing day. Mages, sorcerers, warriors, mercenaries—everyone who could fight took up arms against Zeref. But it was to be a futile endeavor.

Fairy Tail and Magnolia, having just barely survived the events in Edolas, an alternate world, found the war in full motion. There was not much left to do. They joined the forces of Fiore, a massive army of mages and sorcerers, and stood united against the denonic army.

But the fight was in vain. Zeref himself led his troops against the remaining countries, and Fiore's border was set ablaze with fire that seemed to burn away the light of the day, the shine of the stars, and the glow of the moon. A spreading fire that would never cease to burn.

Zeref wanted to make an example of the foolish humans who had once imprisoned him for ages. Fiore was chosen as the land of death, a country surrounded by fire, slowly starving itself and bleeding out.

Fairy Tail had been mostly wiped out in the battle. Even the mighty dragon slayers were powerless before the monster that was Zeref, the dark wizard. There were only a few survivors, and those had been spread across the land. Among the not even dozen who got away with their lives were two of the former strongest of Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet and Mirajane. Their lives had been saved by the sky dragon slayer Wendy Marvell. Wendy was hopefully alive somewhere in Fiore, but neither Mirajane nor Erza knew for sure. They had been separated in the chaos of the fight after Wendy had saved them. She could literally be anywhere.

Fiore was a land of ashes and destruction now. Towns were ruins and graveyards, rivers were polluted with a never-ending amount of blood, the sky was permanently darkened by clouds so thick that not a single ray of sun could penetrate it.

Life was hard and cruel now. Despite Wendy's magic, Mirajane had lost her right eye. The magic ban Zeref spoke over the land reduced their magic abilities to a minimum. The former glory of being an S-rank mage was now history. It was a daily struggle to survive in these lands. No one knew if it was due to Zeref's magic or simply the harsh life, but people had grown evil, greedy, and egoistic.

The old, the weak, and the defenseless were all abandoned or killed. Robbing one's fellow countryman was a daily occurrence. People took the food of others, leaving them to starve and die, so they could live a day longer. They took the little water they could find and slaughtered whomever dared to take from the small supply kept safe. The world had become a truly horrible place.

In the beginning, Erza and Mirajane had refused to become like them, to bow down to the harsh rules of reality. But in time, hunger, thirst, and the instinct to survive led them to abandon their morals.

Their friends killed, their guild destroyed and lost, the world in chaos and darkness. A world without hope. It was a place one could only try to continue living for a little longer. To endure the dark sky for one more day. To go on, despite there being no hope of ever leaving these lands.

Erza and Mirajane never stayed long in one place. They were still much more powerful than most people. They took what they needed by force, regardless of the victim's identity. It had been three months since Zeref attacked Fiore—for three months they had to fight every day for something to eat and little to drink.

Erza stepped over a couple of fresh corpses. Corpses from which blood was still dripping from her sword. Mirajane was flying a few meters above her. She was still able to utilize her Satan Soul body takeover.

Zeref's servants had been seen in this area recently, and even they had to eat and drink. It was a welcome change from having to kill fellow countrymen for a daily meal.

"Mira, do you see anyone?" Erza's black armor was bloodstained and dirty. There was no time or material to clean or repair her armor.

Mirajane turned around once more and flew a bit higher. There was nothing but scorched earth, ruins, and fields of corpses everywhere. They could still feel whether it was day or night, however. At night, the temperature of the lands dropped dramatically, often going below freezing.

"Nothing at all. We'll have to make do with what we have." Mirajane descended and stepped next to Erza. "What did they have?"

Mirajane's eye was cold as ice. She had locked away her kind and gentle nature deep, deep inside her mind. It, and she, would have died out here. This world was no longer a place for the old Mirajane.

"We're out of luck. They had literally nothing except a little bit of dry bread. They would've starved to death soon." Below Erza's feet was a pile of at least eight dead bodies, none of them old or very young. All were formerly healthy and strong men. The children and the elderly, and most women, had died weeks ago.

"Let's take cover in the basement of that building over there." Mirajane pointed to an abandoned building that looked like it had once been a mansion or a church. They still had to search the ruins for things they could use or eat.

Mirajane changed back to her normal body. She had changed her clothes for a durable set of leather boots, long pants, and a tight top over which she wore a sweater.

As they walked the little distance to the appointed hideout for the night, Mirajane and Erza were very quiet. Despite the silence, they had grown much closer than they'd ever been before over the last three months. One helped the other survive. One trusted the other with her life. Everyone else was the enemy.

They walked down the stairs, Erza still in her armor. They never knew where the next ambush might come from. And while Mirajane was constantly using up magic when using Satan Soul, Erza was a lot more cost-efficient.

Having secured the basement, they moved a few empty barrels into a corner to create a sort of wall against the cold that would soon sneak up on them.

Now that she knew the location was safe, Erza changed into something civil. It was an outfit very similar to Mirajane's—long black boots, trousers of thick cloth, and a sweater. Erza grabbed a few chairs and some other wooden furniture and threw them all into a pile. A fire at night doubled if not tripled the odds of one's survival through the night. They had been lucky so far.

Most of Erza's armory was gone and replaced by functional things. Only few armors and weapons remained. However, Erza had had a thick fur jacket in her armory by the time Zeref laid Fiore to ashes. She always shared it with Mirajane as something like a blanket.

Erza materialized a big bag they used to store food. It was, like most of the time, almost empty. Right now they had some bread and a handful of raisins. Erza broke the bread in half and handed Mirajane a piece. The raisins were their emergency ration.

Erza's greatest worry was that one of them would get sick. If it happened, they promised each other to end it quickly. There was no chance to survive in this world when one fell sick.

Deep down, though, Erza knew she would not be able to go on alone. Mirajane had become more than her single most trusted companion over the past three months. Erza very much loved Mirajane, but she never said so. She knew it would only complicate things when surviving was already a hard enough task.

They had a few bottles of water they had taken from a shelter they plundered nearly a week ago. The people there were all desperate for help and hope. They recognized Erza and Mirajane as members of Fairy Tail and begged them for help. But they were beyond help. Half their group was sick and injured, and none of them were fighters. They were people from Magnolia.

The only thing left to do was to put all of them out of their misery, quickly and painlessly. Erza had had terrible nightmares about that event for days. If Mirajane had any, though, she hadn't shown it.

Mirajane took a small gulp from a bottle and handed it to Erza, whose brown eyes glanced at Mirajane's lips for a second before taking a rejuvenating sip of water. They had to be very strict and sparing with their water. One could go without food for a few days, but without water…

After that, Erza broke most of the chairs and other furniture down into smaller parts while Mirajane hummed a melody from past days. Soon they had enough material to burn. And Erza had the amazing ability of always waking up when the fire had to be given more fodder to keep going.

Mirajane watched the strong knight from behind, leaned against a wall. Even like this, covered in dirt, her hair and hands bloodstained and wearing those ugly clothes, Erza still looked at Mirajane with passion. Mirajane was not that dense. She had long noticed that Erza had developed feelings for her. And so had Mira for Erza.

Mirajane thought it was natural. They only had each other and Mirajane was actually thankful that Erza felt the same way about her as she did about Erza. And Mirajane knew very well that telling Erza would temporarily give them a little bit of happiness. But in doing so, many problems would arise. Erza's character was, well…it was better to not tell Erza of her feelings. She would do things they couldn't afford anymore.

They both secretly looked forward to the night. It meant they could snuggle up with each other, enjoy the other's warmth without actually committing to any sort of relationship that could complicate their situation.

It took Erza a few minutes to get a fire going, but she managed it. After getting the big fur jacket Mirajane had remodeled into a warm blanket from her armory, Erza sat down next to the white-haired woman.

"Where did we leave off yesterday?"

It was a daily ritual. Before they slept, they would sit together and tell a tale. About what they would've done differently in their lives. They didn't kid themselves. They knew that eventually they would be killed, starve to death, or become sick from malnutrition.

"We never started. You've been arguing with me for the last three days about whether or not we knew what was going to happen." Mirajane smiled a little. Erza had not changed much. Her strict morals were gone, and she was trimmed on survival, but she was still Erza.

Both of them talked about the past a little, what they would have done differently. It was maybe half an hour before Mirajane fell asleep. Erza moved her a little to the side, so even if she leaned the other way, she would still lean against the wooden barrel. The red-haired woman was so close to Mirajane that she could feel her breath, thought that she could hear her heartbeat.

"I really wish we had a chance to do things over…"

Erza fell into a light sleep that was disturbed by the campfire's need for more wood and, occasionally, rustling sounds. The night was colder than it had been any night before. Erza woke up multiple times, she and Mirajane both shivering from the cold. Erza threw some more wood onto the fire and then grabbed Mirajane, pulling her so close towards herself that their shoulders and cheeks were touching.

But even that night passed, and both of them woke to the sound of people wandering about in the ruins above them.

Erza was up, had trampled out the fire, and changed into her black, bloodstained armor in a matter of seconds. Mirajane changed as well, taking on her demonic appearance. Whoever was up there, they had possibly food and water and maybe something useful.

Erza took a sneak peek outside from the basement, careful not to be seen. Five people, all men. They looked tough but not like mages. Her best guess was that they were bandits. They seemed to be passing through. They were talking amongst themselves and Erza tried to hear what they were saying.

"Five. My sign," Erza whispered to Mirajane, who was hiding below her.

There would be no questions, no demands. Only a short skirmish, and a few more dead bodies. The acceptance of killing had come after only a month. It was not a choice. If Mirajane and Erza took their food and water to survive themselves, those men would starve and die of thirst. Putting them out of their misery quickly was their way of showing mercy.

"There's a rumor about a ridiculously powerful sorceress in the west, near the ocean. She's said to grant you a new life if you pay her," one of the men said to another.

"There's nobody left around here who could pay her anything," another man answered.

"She's also said to heal the sick and injured."

"They say she's a little girl."

They fell quiet after that, busy with indecent thoughts. They were very close to the ruin Erza and Mirajane were hiding out in.

"Now," Erza whispered, and jumped out in the same second.

Maybe two seconds more passed before she had taken off the head of the first man. Blood sprayed everywhere. The other four screamed in terror, and took up their weapons—sticks and rusty swords. Mirajane had already passed them. She approached them from behind and broke the neck of one of the men with her claws. She strangled another with her tail.

Erza followed up with a clean cut. Not even twenty seconds had they needed to kill five men. Mirajane remained in her demon form, and Erza stayed armored. They searched through the belongings of the corpses and got lucky. They had several loaves of bread and a few bottles filled with water. Erza quickly stowed away everything. Besides that, there were only their clothes, the useless weapons, and a few coins and rings that were worth nothing.

"They talked about a powerful sorceress in the west. A girl that heals people…"

Erza thought the same thing Mirajane did—that girl could be Wendy. If they could team up with her, at least the threat of sickness would vanish.

"Mira, can you fly high up and make out what direction west is?" Erza didn't bother cleaning her swords or armor. They had enough food for over a week now, and water too. Not counting whatever they would find by going west.

"Leave it to me." Mirajane ascended high in the air, at least fifty or sixty meters. She had always had a good sense of direction and she remembered some landmarks here and there. After going down, she pointed in the direction the men had come from. "West is that way."

Mirajane had just transformed back when a loud shot suddenly echoed through the ruins. Erza's face filled with horror as she turned to see Mirajane drop to the ground, bleeding from her shoulder.

Erza spotted the attacker in a matter of seconds. There was a sixth man, and he was armed with a gun.

The man's face contorted with excruciating pain when Erza attacked him, her eyes full of cruelty and contempt. She brutally hacked off his hands and left him there to bleed to death.

When she dashed back to where Mirajane was, Erza picked her up and brought her back into the basement to look at her wound. The bullet was deeply embedded in her shoulder.

Erza remembered what they had promised each other. In a case like this, the other one would give the sick or wounded one a quick death, to avoid suffering.

But Erza couldn't do it. She couldn't even think about it. It was absolutely impossible for her to consider killing the only attachment to this world she had. Erza hit the wall so hard that dust fell from the ceiling. "Dammit!"

Erza had materialized one of her light armors and was ripping out some cloth from it when the white-haired woman came around from the pain of the wound.

"What are you doing…Erza…" Her voice was so weak that Erza felt like crying. But there was no time for that.

"I…can't do it." Erza's voice shook, and her body trembled. She had always thought that she could deal with this if it eventually happened. But now that the harsh reality was before her, and it was such an impossible task.

Erza left for a few minutes, just to return with a small clay bowl. It took her a few minutes to get the campfire going again. She filled the bowl with water, then used two of her swords to keep the bowl in place over the fire so that the water would boil.

She then materialized a small dagger from her armory and ripped out more cloth from her armor. Erza made sure to disinfect it before using it to cleanse Mirajane's wound. The former S-rank mage endured the pain, knowing what Erza was going to do.

After Erza cleaned the wound, she disinfected the dagger and ripped out a third piece of cloth. She wadded it into a ball and gave it to Mirajane to bite on.

"Please endure it…" Erza said, and started to use the dagger to remove the bullet from Mirajane's shoulder. A lot of blood came from the wound, and Mirajane would have screamed her lungs out from pain if not for the cloth knob in her mouth.

It took Erza a while. The bullet had been deep. Still, she managed to take it out.

Mirajane passed out as soon as Erza threw away the bullet. Erza undressed and changed armors, using most of the clean cloth to bandage Mirajane's shoulder. Despite the fire and her thick clothes, Mirajane was shivering with cold.

Erza would have done anything to keep Mirajane alive. She hugged the woman and sat closer to the fire, and Mirajane's shivering stopped after a few minutes. Mirajane came around a few times, but only for moments, each time making attempts to talk. And each time Erza stopped her.

"Don't die…don't die. Mira…"

It seemed like hours until Mirajane regained consciousness and stayed awake.

"Give me a little rest…and we can go." Mirajane was pale, but able to stand and speak. She had lost a lot of blood, so Erza gave Mirajane her own portion of supper without the woman knowing.

An entire day and night passed like that. If Mirajane survived the cold night, there was hope. Erza had never believed in God, but she prayed the whole night that Mirajane would recover and the wound wouldn't get infected.

The next morning came, but Erza's stamina was depleted. Her prayers had not been heard. After checking on Mirajane's wound, there were signs of infection. Erza felt like someone was grabbing her heart and trying to rip it out of her chest. She had lost so many friends, so many comrades. Her whole guild was gone, and now even Mirajane was being taken from her.

"Just put me out of my misery." Mirajane knew that she wasn't going to make it. She could feel her shoulder, but she didn't know for how much longer. The wound wasn't going to heal. It would become worse, and eventually she would die from it.

"I'm gonna take you to that healer in the west," Erza said firmly, refusing to give up hope.

"That's only a rumor, Erza. Listen, I—" Mirajane was grabbed and lifted up before she could even finish her sentence. Erza was still strong enough to carry her. Wrapping the fur blanket around Mirajane, Erza carried her on her back.

"I can't go on without you," Erza finally said, making sure that Mirajane couldn't see her face.

There was a long silence.

Erza started walking west, only taking breaks every couple hours. The night came and they hid from the cold in a small cave. Erza cut down a small tree to make firewood. Mirajane didn't feel well. The infection had worsened. Erza tried to suppress her panicky feelings, but it didn't work.

She had no idea where exactly that rumored healer mage was, only somewhere at the coast. She could only pray that she had enough time to get there and somehow pay the mage to heal Mirajane.

"Erza…" Mirajane crawled up and leaned against Erza, grabbing Erza's arm. If she was going to die anyway, then she would do so without regretting the last few moments of her life. "I know how you feel about me."

Those words…Mirajane would never have said them if she didn't know she was going to die soon. From all the effort Erza was going through, Mirajane figured that Erza would not go on alone. She would die with Mirajane. In that case, there was no pain in telling Erza what she felt.

"Mira, what do you—" Erza tried to deny everything, but was shocked when Mirajane kissed her all of a sudden.

"I don't want to die without ever having kissed you…" Mirajane said, and closed her eye. She knew she wouldn't live another three days. "I'll wait for you on the other side. With everyone else."

Erza immediately felt a wave of panic overwhelm her. "Don't say that. I'm not going to let you die. Who else do I have beside you? Mira!"

"I know you like me. I don't know whether it's only been since Fiore was devastated by Zeref, but I feel the same way. I love you, Erza. I don't want either of us to die without knowing that." Mirajane felt really weak, so her voice was a little broken.

Erza picked up the injured woman and started walking much faster than before. "I am not going to let you die. You're right. I do love you, Mira. That's exactly why I'm going to save you."

But the gods were against her. The black clouds were as thick as ever, and despite the cold, Erza never stopped walking except for little breaks to eat and drink. After two more days of nonstop walking, their reserves had dwindled to just a bit of water and no food.

Erza was starving, and so was Mirajane. Mirajane's wound had gotten really bad and she was hot with a fever. Erza was close to despair. She had seen the ocean from a hill, but it would still take half a day by foot to get there. And then she had to find that mage.

It wasn't much further to the coast. Erza could already smell the saltwater. She passed one last hill, and then her eyes fell on the ocean.

She had seen a lot in her life, but this…it was a scene she had only seen in nightmares.

The dark clouds stretched indefinitely. In the distance were Zeref's flames, burning everything that tried to travel past them. But that was not the truly terrifying thing.

Right on the water, embedded in a cliff, stood a small castle built of red sandstone. But the true horror were the grounds around the castle. Corpses. More corpses than Erza could ever count. Stacked on top of each other, some piled as high as ten meters or more.

The stench of decaying bodies was overwhelming. Erza felt ill.

There were thousands—no, ten thousands of dead bodies. No crows or other animals pillaged the corpses, giving the scenery a strange feel. And when Erza walked closer, she noticed that the castle was not made of red sandstone after all. The walls, the ground, the towers—they were drenched in blood. Was this the place the so-called healer called her home?

Erza had little choice but to go and find out, regardless of how much like a trap this looked like. In the worst case, she would die together with Mirajane.

Half an hour later, Erza walked past the gigantic piles of corpses. She felt like throwing up, but there was nothing in her stomach. Mirajane was unconscious the whole time, so she was saved from the unbearable smell.

There were no doors at the castle, but a single stone sign stood in front of the gigantic stone arch that was the entrance. Words traced with blood had been scrawled upon it.

For ye who step beyondthese gates, it shall be known, a risky gamble you take. To pass the trial, and be made anew. To fail, and be lost forever.

Erza had a really bad feeling this, but no matter what the owner of this castle put her though, she would endure it.

When she stepped past the sign, something grabbed Erza, something powerful, invisible. A force that made her feel like she was flying. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, she could see that she was in a hallway.

The ground was made of some sort of black stone, and so were the many pillars seaming the walls. The sound of her steps echoed through the hallway. There was no sign of the entrance she had just seen. To transport someone like that…powerful magic was at work here.

Erza walked and walked, but there was no sign of the hallway ending. The castle had not been this big on the outside. The inside and the outside of the building must be located in different planes of space. But that was downright crazy…how would someone…?

"The first trial."

A woman's voice echoed through Erza's mind, and three doors appeared before the two women.

"Choose wisely," the voice said.

The three doors. The left one was made of solid gold, and words were imprinted on it: For ye to step through here, unimaginable riches shall await you.

The next door was made of marble. For ye that step through here, unimaginable power shall await you.

The third door was as black as coal, and seemed to be made of some kind of wood. For ye who step through here, ye shall be judged. For death or life.

Erza knew right away that riches and power were traps. This thing was called a trial? Erza stood in front of the black door and opened it. An invisible force hit Erza and the knight coughed up blood. It was like her internal organs had been smashed.

"Lucky one, your sins weren't too grave. Your punishment has been light," the voice said. Erza thought she heard traces of amusement.

"Second trial."

Before Erza appeared three people—a fat, wealthy man, a poor beggar child, and a relatively normal man who could have been a simple craftsman.

"Kill the beggar and ye shall never be hungry again. Kill the noble and you shall share the fate of his servants. Kill the craftsman and ye shall have the most beautiful house of all."

This was another easy trap. Erza pulled her sword and slashed off the head of the noble in a single cut—only to scream out in pain when countless little cuts appeared all over her own body. Drops of blood speckled the ground while Erza breathed hard to keep standing.

"Brave, brave. Now for your reward."

Before Erza, three gates appeared. They were great stone plates, each with a vortex of magic behind it. The left gate had a blue vortex and was made of marble. On it was written Reborn. The right gate was golden, had a red vortex, and its words read Rule the world. The middle gateway was made of black granite, with gorgeous adornments and a black vortex. On it was written Eternal peace.

Erza was fooled at first. The left gate emitted a strange glow, and Erza was naturally drawn to it. She, after all, had no desire to rule the world. But she didn't want to be reborn yet. It would be the same as death. So the only real answer was…

Erza took a deep breath and braced herself for the pain that was surely to follow stepping through the gate of eternal peace, or death.

But there was no pain. All of a sudden, she was standing in a small hall, with a great pedestal in front of her. On it stood a woman.

The woman was tall—easily a hundred and eighty centimeters. Her hair was tremendously long, almost reaching to the ground. It was mostly silver-white, save for a few strands of black through the middle. She was wearing a simply cut and ornamented dark blue robe.

As Erza moved closer, she saw that the woman's eyes were indistinguishable from the darkness around them. But the most memorable feature was the tattoo on her forehead. It was a character Erza had never seen before, completely unlike a rune or a magic circle. It looked like a seven crossed with a gate.

"Wonderful," the woman said softly. "Not many ever manage to evade the three choices of Punishment, Suffering and Death. So tell me, what is it you desire?"

Erza was stunned for a second, then put Mirajane down before the woman and knelt down. "Heal her!" she said desperately. Mirajane surely didn't have much longer to live. "She was hit by a bullet and the wound got infected."

"This woman is beyond my grasp. Her fate in this world has already been determined. I am not willing to fight with the Guardian of Fate to bring her back. However…there might be another way for you."

The woman stood up and walked a few steps away. Each step echoed through the empty room. Now that Erza noticed it, there were no doors or windows or lights, yet the room was strangely somewhat illuminated.

"Do you like how things turned out?" the woman asked, and looked at Erza.

"Of course not! Zeref destroyed Earth Land! All my friends died! The person I love is dying! Who would like this? But what can I do? Zeref is far beyond my power!" Erza was desperate for a solution to keep Mirajane alive.

"Then, should you like to do things differently?"

What kind of question was that? There was likely not a single person on the planet who would've done things the same way if given the choice. But this was too weird to begin with. "Of course I would. I would do many things differently."

The woman looked at Erza for what seemed like a long time. "I am the Guardian of the Gate of the Past," she finally said. "My name is Syrnafir. I can send you back in time. But there are rules—rules you cannot break. If you do, be aware that I shall obliterate the entire timeline you exist on."

The woman called Syrnafir turned around and summoned a big book bound in black leather. It floated quietly in mid-air while the mage looked for a specific page.

"I like you two," Syrnafir said as she paged through the book. "I understand you two are in love?"

The question made Erza blush, which was a rare sight. Nodding, the knight knelt next to Mirajane. The white-haired woman was dying before her eyes. Erza felt so helpless—the same feeling of being powerless she'd felt when Zeref himself had wiped out hundreds of mages, whole guilds, and most of Fairy Tail.

"First, you shall keep your consciousness, but your body shall be of the appropriate time. Second, you cannot prevent fated events. You can alter them and their outcome, but they shall ultimately have to happen. Third, you cannot tell anyone that you are from a different time. Fourth, you cannot tell anyone of what will happen in the future. Fifth, you cannot abuse your knowledge of the future to gain wealth, fame, power, or to kill great numbers of people. Sixth, if you die before you reach twice the age of now, you shall be sent to hell for eternity. Seventh, you cannot kill yourself or sacrifice yourself."

The woman stopped reading from the book and it vanished just as it had appeared. "Those are the rules. Break any of them, and I shall terminate the timeline. Everything will return to nothingness. And be warned: to be sent back in time, to another time…you will have to die here. And not many can handle that pain. The mind of some breaks long before the pain stops, and without one's mind, the new body cannot live."

Erza had listened quite intently. "Can you send Mira back in time too? If her fate is to die, then it doesn't matter if she dies like this, right?" Erza was grasping at straws. She had no idea who or what she was dealing with. A mage so powerful that she could send people's souls or consciousness or whatever into another time? Why was such a powerful mage tolerating Zeref's rule?

"That should indeed be possible. But I will consult Fate first."

Erza was getting a little worried. Just…who was this woman? Consulting fate? This women talked as if fate were some kind of entity. But she had called herself the Guardian of the Past…

Erza shook her head and tried to get a hold of the situation. This wasn't like her. It sounded like another trap. Outside were so many dead bodies…this person seemed oddly…benevolent in heavy contrast to outside. But what choice did Erza have? If it really was a trap, then so be it. At least she would die together with Mirajane.

But the woman was gone. Erza looked around. Where had she gone? There were no doors or anything in here, so where…

The same voice from before echoed through the room. "Fate has agreed. Be warned—death to be put into another time is more painful than you can possibly imagine. Do you still want it?"

Erza looked at Mirajane and then down at herself. If it meant seeing all their friends again, to be able to do things over, and to continue living with Mirajane…she would endure any kind of pain. She was confident about this. She had already suffered so much.

Erza shouted, "Do it!"

Nothing could have prepared her for the pain that followed her words.

Every bone was on fire, her flesh melted like she was swimming in acid, her skin turned into a black slime that chewed the flesh from her bones. Erza fell to the ground in a matter of seconds, rolling on the ground, screaming with unbearable pain.

Blood was in her throat, in her eyes, in her nose, everywhere. Her body refused to listen to her. A million, a billion needles were inside her brain, her fingers rotted away, and her heart was flooded with the black slime. She breathed pure acid and nails, blood streamed from her body and all over the ground. Her ears were full of her own pained cries and Mirajane's, who was barely a meter away from her. Her vision blurred red with pain and blood, and nails rammed into her head, her arms, her hands, her legs, and feet.

Her lungs burst and yet she was still alive. The black slime started to catch fire, she was burning to death. And finally, her heart exploded and blood filled her mouth. Erza was dead.

"I forgot to ask how far back she wanted to go," Syrnafir said, her words echoing through the room.

It took a few more minutes before Erza's corpse had burned completely to ashes. Only a small scarlet crystalline orb remained. Mirajane's orb was half white, half black.

Taking both of them, Syrnafir unleashed her power.

### Scarlet Lily ###

Erza woke up with a booming headache. She immediately felt like throwing up. Her body burned and her mind was like a beehive full of explosive bees. She grabbed her chest and made sure her heart was still beating.

She was fine. She looked around and immediately recognized the room—it was her room.

Erza pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It hurt a lot, and she felt a bit dizzy. She decided to test her magic, switching from normal clothes to armor. Everything seemed to work fine. Her armory was full of actual armor. There was no trace of the things she had kept there before. Her armors were untouched by decay, rust or blood.

The sky outside was blue and almost without clouds. The sun was shining; it was the middle of the day. Erza frantically looked for a calendar—three years in the past. Well, not quite three, upon a closer look. The date looked very familiar to Erza and she had a bad feeling—a very bad one.

She left her room in a hurry, only to crash into Levy. Erza's eyes went wide. She had seen Levy die barely three months ago. Zeref's demons had virtually torn her apart. Erza could still remember the scene.

To see Levy alive and well felt so good. Erza wanted to hug the girl, to tell her how nice it was to see her, but she stopped herself. The rules! And three years ago Erza hadn't been all that friendly with everyone. She trusted the words of that Syrnafir woman, so she avoided acting out, even if it was painful. She didn't know what kind of chaos could unveil from even something small like this.

"Levy, have you seen Mira?" Erza remembered now that her mind was slowly clearing. This was the date Mirajane had gone on the emergency suppression mission with Elfman and Lisanna.

"She left for a mission a few hours ago. I didn't even know you were back, Erza." Levy was confused by Erza's unusual appearance. The usually calm knight was sweating and obviously worried and scared of something. This wasn't normal for her. "What's wrong, Erza? Is something wrong with Mira?"

"I can't explain it to you," Erza answered. She left Levy and ran out of the building. One of the rules was to never tell anyone that she was from a future where Zeref ruled the world.

She had to make it. She grabbed the fastest magic mobile she could find and rushed towards the town Mirajane had taken off to. She could still get there in time. This was the one thing Erza could not let Mirajane experience again. And even if Mirajane knew what was going to happen, she couldn't change it alone.

Levy was left behind, worried and confused. Cana joined her, alarmed by the noise Erza had made.

"What happened to you?" Cana touched Levy's shoulder, confused as she was. "Was that Erza who took off with the magic mobile?"

"She was totally agitated. I've never seen Erza like that, not in all the years I've known her. She asked where Mira was and took off without explaining anything. We should tell the Master. Something is wrong."

Erza drove the mobile to its limits. She could feel the magic being sucked out of her, but if necessary, she would give her life to arrive in time. She could already see the smoke from the town on fire. That was where Mirajane was headed.

Lisanna…Erza would not allow her to die right in front of Mirajane again. Erza was a fellow guild member and knew she could save Lisanna. If she only got there in time! Not waiting for anyone to pass, Erza almost ran over a few civilians. She could only think of one thing. Hurry!

The adrenaline cleared her mind and Erza was able to think while driving. What had happened? She was back in time, that much was clear. Erza could barely believe that it had actually worked. She had thought it another trick or a trap.

Erza recalled the seven rules the woman called Syrnafir had told her. She had to relay those to Mirajane as well. If she told Elfman or Lisanna about who she really was…! There were so many questions, so many things to think about that Erza's mind felt cluttered despite all the adrenaline. But for now, only one thing was important. To save Lisanna!

She could smell the smoke. She was almost there. "Please let me get there in time!"

Erza had only felt true panic a few times before, but this was the among the worst feeling she ever experienced. Seeing Mirajane die was already bad enough. She would never forgive herself if she was too late and Mirajane had to experience something traumatic like Lisanna's death all over again.

"Let me be in time!"

### Scarlet Lily ###

Mirajane had no idea what was going on. Why was she living through this again? The pain and the smell of smoke and blood told her this was all real. But how could that be? Before her was the monstrous beast, her brother, Elfman, after the failed Takeover. Next to her was Lisanna. It was all exactly like in her memory.

Everything unfolded like it was before. She was injured. And the beast was stomping towards them. Mirajane's mind froze. In a few moments, Lisanna would try to stop that thing, sacrifice her life. Mirajane felt sick. She couldn't do anything. Her body refused to listen. What in the world was this? What was going on? But…she did die. She died, and because she had killed so many people in Zeref's world, she had gone to hell. This was her personal hell. If she had died and was in hell, Erza had probably ended her life and had gone to her own hell.

"Lisanna, don't! He won't listen, he won't recognize you! He's lost his reason! You'll die!" Mirajane screamed on top of her lungs, but Lisanna didn't listen. It truly was hell. She was doomed to experience the death of her little sister over and over and over, for all eternity.

The beast lifted his gigantic claw and was ready to kill Lisanna. Mirajane couldn't look, couldn't endure it. Not again, not a second time! The feeling of sadness she had experienced before…the sadness that was still lingering inside her, that had changed her. It was coming back, filling her mind, clouding her thoughts.

The roaring sound of the beast filled the air and he swung his claw. Lisanna could feel the impact. It was like a house had hit her. She was thrown to the side, sent flying. Mirajane's mind was frozen, but somehow she knew something was different. What was it? Lisanna wasn't flying far. Maybe two or three meters. She crashed into the ground and slowly got up, confused as to what had happened.

Mirajane watched the scene before her. Erza had stabbed the beast's enormous claw with her swords, blocking his attack. The beast howled in pain and blood streamed out of the wounds over Erza's swords and armor. Erza was as pale as a ghost, breathing heavily. The beast lifted his other arm to get rid of the annoyance before him.

"Mira! Do something!" Erza yelled and switched to her Adamantine armor, boosting her defense abilities. Using a magic shield, she blocked the monster's other attack and was now in a dangerous position. She drew out her swords from his right claw and prepared for the impact of another hit.

Mirajane had finally snapped out of it, gritting her teeth. "Lisanna, get away from here!"

So Erza had followed her, to wherever this place was. Erza being here gave her new hope. She would not left anyone die.

Gathering her remaining power, Mirajane transformed into her demonic form, Satan Soul. She flew right into the air, aimed at the head of the beast, and started firing magic energy beams at him. The impact was followed by the beast's scream. Erza had changed armors yet again to her Heaven's Wheel armor and pinned down the arm of the beast with countless swords.

"Mira!" Erza yelled and the demon knew what she had to do.

Flying behind her transformed brother, Mirajane started firing at him. "Darkness Stream!"

She felt bad for hitting him, but it was impossible he would die from something like this. The blasts forced the beast to his knees and Erza pinned down the other arm with her remaining swords. The beast was trying to get free, but under Mirajane's constant fire, it was nearly impossible to deal with Erza right in front of him.

Erza knew she had to somehow knock the monster out. It was worth a try. Changing armors yet again, Erza put her Purgatory armor on.

"Mira, keep him busy!" Erza yelled, and Mirajane started to circle around the beast's head, continuously firing at him. She was exhausted and wouldn't be able to keep this up for even five more minutes. The beast's arms were still pinned down by Erza's swords. Blood drenched the ground. Lisanna watched the scene with horror. The creature was no longer her brother or even human.

"Mira! I'm going to knock him out!" Erza knew she couldn't just slash him. Killing Elfman was the last thing she wanted to do. The Purgatory armor gave her an extreme offensive boost. If she could just…

Mirajane retreated from the beast, which was on its knees now, suffering from the many wounds in his arms and the impact of the many blasts from Mirajane. Erza roared and started running towards the beast with all her power. Jumping up, she looked right into the crazy eyes of the monster. With a tremendous impact, she hit the forehead of the beast with all her might.

The beast let out one final roar and crashed to the ground. Erza released her swords and was about to give the beast another hit when Lisanna stopped her.

"Stop it! He can't even move. It's okay now."

Erza didn't want to run into any risks. She didn't know to what extent they could change history. She grabbed Lisanna and they staggered away from the beast.

"Don't go near it," Erza managed to get out. She was suddenly aware of how tired she was. "He's still the beast. We have to…we have to wait for it to turn back into Elfman."

That was the last thing Erza could say before the exhaustion caught up with her. Falling to the ground on the spot, barely thirty meters away from where the beast lay on the ground, Erza lost consciousness from using magic way past her limit.

### Scarlet Lily ###

It was so bright. This light was so bright. She couldn't see. Had she died again? Was this heaven? Had she been rewarded for saving Lisanna? For doing a good deed? But…wasn't there a rule that she would go to hell if she died before reaching twice her age? If so, then where…

Someone moved to her side. Erza tried to turn her head, but as soon as she did so, her vision exploded into painfully bright colors.

"Don't move. You used up way too much magic; you need to recover." It was Lisanna's voice.

Opening her eyes a little bit, Erza found herself staring at the ceiling of a room. "Where are we?"

"My room. You saved my life, Erza. Thank you."

"I made it in time…thank God. It wasn't just a bad dream," Erza said, and finally noticed her whole body was aching all over.

"But how did you know we needed help? How did you know my brother had used a Takeover on the beast?" Lisanna was pretty sharp about these things. It would be a pain to explain them.

"I heard about the beast on my last mission. I heard it was only you three, so…I think I was a little worried. You're all guild members. And I couldn't see Elfman anywhere, so…" Erza tried to get up. Her mind exploded again into a lot of bright colors and for an instant she felt like throwing up, but she managed to sit up. Her head and her hands were bandaged.

Erza spotted Mirajane in a corner of the room, looking a bit suspicious and confused.

"Where is Elfman, Mira?" Erza remembered the fight.

"He managed to take control when we knocked out the beast. He's injured, though. We gave him a good beating. He hasn't come to yet."

Mirajane had no idea what was going on. Fear clenched Erza's heart. She had to tell Mirajane quickly before she said something weird and everything was gone.

"Lisanna, I need to talk with Mira. Can you leave us alone for a moment?" Erza looked very serious, so Lisanna looked from the knight to her sister and back and sighed.

"No fighting in my room!" she warned the two and left, closing the door behind her.

Erza signaled Mirajane to come closer, but the white-haired woman didn't need a sign like that. As soon as Lisanna had left, she moved right next to Erza and sat on the bed, hugging the woman she had come to love in their three months of fighting for survival together.

"I'm so thankful, Erza. Lisanna is alive. She lives. And Elfman will recover soon. But…what is all this? Where are we?" Erza noticed Mirajane was wearing one of her old outfits, the ones made up of black and purple clothes. Erza herself was in her normal clothes, even though her head and her arms were bandaged.

"This is the past. Our past. I found the rumored 'healer'." Erza then told Mirajane everything she knew.

It took her nearly half an hour before she finished. She wrote down the seven rules they had to abide to. Mirajane could barely believe it. "So…we get to live our lives again?"

"Yes. And this time, Lisanna didn't die. The event of your mission was fated to happen, but not Lisanna's death," Erza explained, and saw tears appear in Mirajane's eyes.

Erza felt a little dizzy. She suddenly wanted to get back to her own room. She began trying to get up, and Mirajane helped her stand. "I…don't know how to thank you, Erza. I…" Mirajane was lost for words. Tears were now rolling down her cheeks.

"Mi—" Lisanna opened the door. Erza was standing there with her arms around the crying Mirajane, comforting her. Lisanna quietly left the two alone, thinking that Mirajane was just probably happy that nobody died. Lisanna herself was a little scared of her brother now. She would have certainly died if not for Erza.

But something was odd. Erza's story didn't make a lot of sense. If she knew the beast was so dangerous, why hadn't she gone with them in the first place? Maybe she had only heard later that Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna had taken that S-class request?

And Lisanna had never seen her sister cry before. And to see her in Erza's arms, crying like that…

Maybe she was thinking too much. Cana was looking after Elfman right now, and he was really distressed about what happened.

"Erza…what should we do? I want to be with you, now more than ever…but to suddenly tell people we're lovers…they'll become suspicious." Mirajane had calmed down a little but was still leaning against Erza, happy that the knight was holding her tightly.

"We shouldn't do that. I don't want to lie to them, but it is for their own sake. We just need to find a way to get closer…somehow." Erza's legs gave out and she would have fallen if not for Mirajane grabbing her and holding her up.

"I'll get you to your room," Mirajane said, and was a little confused when Erza declined her help and walked away alone.

"You should say something mean when I leave. That's what the old Mira would have done," Erza teased the white-haired woman.

"Not after what you've done. Thank you," Mirajane answered, smiling.

Out in the hallway was Lisanna. "Has my sister calmed down?" she asked.

Erza was a little worried that Lisanna had seen her sister crying in her arms, but…

"She loves you very much, Lisanna. Don't make her cry again." Erza smiled and patted Lisanna's head.

Lisanna was a little worried about those two now. They were different from before. But that wasn't a bad thing, right? Erza was nicer and more relaxed than before, and her sister seemed to be over her rivalry with Erza for the time being. Lisanna doubted that would be permanent, though.

Erza almost fell unconscious when she got to her room and lay down on her bed. "Lisanna lives…I wonder how much this will affect our future. Two years until Lucy joins…Juvia and Gajeel are still at Phantom Lord…Wendy at Cait Shelter. I hope we haven't changed history too much." With those words, Erza fell asleep.

It was a deep and dreamless sleep. When Erza was gently woken some time later, she opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything. It was pitch black in her room. She was on her back, still wearing her clothes and bandages. Kneeling over her was Mirajane.

"Are you feeling better?" Mirajane had a worried look on her face. She hadn't had a quiet moment all day. To see Lisanna up and well was something she thought she would never see again. And thanks to Erza, it would remain like that.

"Yes. But Mira, what if someone sees you? What would they think you are doing in my room in the middle of the night?" Erza was still a level-headed person, but even she had to admit that she wanted to be with Mirajane.

"They're all sleeping. I'll be back in my room before they wake up." Mirajane was wearing a shirt that was way too long. It could have easily fit Elfman. It probably was his.

Erza smiled. She had liked the kind and gentle Mirajane, but this one was much better. Without the trauma of Lisanna dying, Mirajane would have stayed the tough and wild girl she had been. Right now, Mirajane had to keep up this act. No doubt that Mirajane was happy that her sister survived, but the past events had left their mark. Mirajane needed to be the wild and tough girl, despite being different deep down.

Mirajane moved down and crawled below the blanket, feeling a bit cold. Erza didn't bother to switch out of her clothes and simply used magic to equip pajamas. It had been a while since the two slept in a real bed.

Mirajane took Erza's hands and held them tightly. They were happy to be alive, and even happier that they had successfully prevented Lisanna from dying.

"I want to change the future. I want to stop those things from happening. Most of all, we need to stop Zeref. But how much can we do without breaking the rules? We need to be careful. Maybe we should—" Erza was silenced by a kiss from the girl next to her. It was only their second real kiss, and Erza felt herself blushing. She had never really dealt with romance before.

"In a way…I think I would never have realized how happy I am with you if not for the circumstances after Zeref's attack. It's a bit weird…to like another woman, but I don't think the guild will be bothered." Mirajane smiled happily in the darkness.

"I never really thought about it…I don't think it matters if you like a girl or a guy." Erza was not very good at dealing with romance. But she felt safe with Mirajane. Much safer than she ever did with armor.

"I wonder if the date of Lucy joining will change. I was out on a mission when she joined…and right after, we had the problem with Eisenwald. Not much later, I took off to Galuna Island to bring back those three idiots who stole a S-class quest." Erza tried to get a rough grasp on the events that had yet to unfold. How much of it would happen as they knew it was questionable.

"I wonder if Phantom Lord will still attack us. I'm worried about Levy and the others, but after all, Juvia and Gajeel become members of Fairy Tail. And then…" Mirajane knew what was next. The event where Erza almost died.

"Gerard. I know what he is planning now. I know Shou and the others are alive. Don't worry, Mirajane, you'll be with me this time." Erza caressed Mirajane's cheek, reassuring her, but she was still worried. If they changed the past already, no one could tell how big the change would be.

"But that is years in the future. For now, we should watch out for any significant changes that saving Lisanna brings about." Erza rubbed her temples and yawned. "I'm going back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Mirajane."

Mirajane nodded and waited like she was until Erza had fallen asleep before she left as quietly as she had come, making sure no one saw her.

Neither of them noticed the strand of blue hair outside the window. "I knew there was something fishy going on. I have no idea what they talked about, but that Mirajane and Erza were into that sort of thing…!"

Levy was a little too excited about it and fell down from the tree she had climbed into spy into Erza's room, landing ruggedly on the ground. She had been awake at this late hour, doing research on a book in her room and caught Mirajane leaving her room through pure coincidence.

She wasn't sure whether she could tell this to anyone. Mirajane was famous for her temper and Erza wasn't to be joked with either. For the time being, Levy would observe. She was quite interested in those two.

But Levy was not the only one who had noticed Mirajane's nightly trip. Lisanna had checked on her sister after said sister had looked into her room to see if she was sleeping. And when Lisanna did, Mirajane was gone. When thinking about where her sister could be, Lisanna narrowed it down to a few rooms, and out of those, only Erza's had hushed voices coming out of it.

There was something fishy going on between Erza and her sister, that was sure. But Lisanna wasn't quite sure to what extent.

But despite all that, the night passed like any other night, and the morning came much too early for Erza. She still had a pounding headache, like after an hangover. Down at the guild, however, everything seemed relatively normal. The news that Erza had heroically saved Lisanna, Mirajane, and Elfman had spread, but given Erza's usual exploits, this was not that unusual. People were talking about how pissed off Mirajane must be that Erza of all people had saved her sister. Only two people in the whole guild knew better and they pretended not to know.

It was a regular morning. Natsu was as wild as always and fighting with Gray, but Erza didn't feel like putting their fights to rest more than once. It made her happy to see them all alive and well. Maybe a little too alive, considering how much they were fighting, but she would let it pass.

Erza was looking at the request board when Mirajane and Lisanna showed up, followed by a badly damaged and bandaged Elfman, who seemed a little depressed.

"Mira." Erza turned around and put on an expression of fake disdain. Mirajane showed a face full of contempt, pretended to spit on the ground, and took a big detour around Erza. Everyone else quickly moved out of her way, believing that Mirajane was really pissed that it had been Erza who had saved her sister.

She also gave Elfman a really dark look, apparently blaming him for the fact that she was now in Erza's debt.

Cana, setting down her barrel, sighed and shook her head. "Can't you two ever get along?"

Without caring for the harsh glares half the guild threw at her (what sense did it make to agitate those two right now?), she continued drinking.

Erza picked a job, still pretending to be horribly displeased that she had put Mirajane in her debt. It was a simple mission of hunting down a monster that was wreaking havoc in the east. Without looking back, she left. Mirajane watched her go. Having to keep up with this charade made her heart ache.

Erza was no different. They had to find a way quickly to get along. But then again, they wanted to keep the flow of history as close as possible to what it was supposed to be. And Erza and Mirajane only really became friends instead of rivals after Lisanna had died.

"Mira, can't you get along with Erza? You two made a pretty good team back there," Lisanna commented, only to earn a weird glare from her sister.

"A team? With Erza? Lisanna, did you hit your head?" Mirajane looked at the ceiling. That was exactly what she wanted—to be a team with Erza. But that was much easier said than done as things were.

"What are you looking so gloomy for, sis?" Elfman spoke up and looked like he was about to unleash another one of his "if you're a man" speeches.

"Because I'm in Erza's debt. I have to do anything she asks me, no matter what it is. I have no doubt she'll ask me to do something crazy." Mirajane made that up on the spot, and thank God Erza wasn't there at the moment. It would've been awkward.

"I don't think Erza's that kind of person," Lisanna commented.

The more she thought about it, the more Mirajane realized what a stroke of genius this was. Erza simply had to ask her to go on a date with her. She could pretend to not like the idea and then slowly warm up to her. It was a bit of a stretch, but it was better than nothing.

But Erza was gone for some time. Mirajane sighed and everyone else got the idea that it was better not to talk to her. Mirajane felt a bit weird wearing the clothes she used to wear before Lisanna's death, but she didn't have much of a choice.

Mirajane stood up and walked over to the request board, giving both her siblings a very clear sign to keep where they were. After picking a request that asked for a songstress, much to the shock of everyone in the room, Mirajane left the guild.

"Did she just…?" someone whispered.

"Yeah, she did…that poor business…" someone else answered.

Lisanna was a little worried about her sister. The incident with Elfman had changed her somehow.

Outside the guild, Mirajane was approached by a local kid. "A woman with red hair and armor told me to give this to Mirajane of Fairy Tail. Can you give it to her?"

Mirajane picked up the item from the kid's hands and examined it. It was an empty envelope. There was something written on the back.

Wait for post.

"I'm Mirajane. Thanks, kid." Mirajane looked around to see if anyone from the guild was watching her and pocketed the envelope. She had an idea of what it was.

It was a rare kind of envelope, one of a pair. If someone put a letter in one of them, the letter appeared in the other one. It could be used to send letters between people over long distances. The letters took hours to fully travel between the envelopes, so they were useless for quick communication. Still, they would serve their purpose well.

Mirajane had no doubt that this was left by Erza. How many red-haired women with armor were there besides Erza? Feeling a bit better, Mirajane left for the town of Hargeon to do her job. She would tell Erza about her idea with a letter. Everyone knew that she had a liking for racy books and things anyway, so it wouldn't be that weird for Erza to ask Mirajane out on a date.

Mirajane smiled and set off for the train station. Things were looking good.

### End of Epoch I ###