BOOK 1 - Fairy Gods: Ascension

Chapter 1: The Monster in the Sea

Natsu Dragneel stood on top of a dragon. Ready. Fiercely. He was in the middle of a gruesome battle, but some of the things going on around him were blurry. There seemed to be a blonde bulky man rushing to attack him. There were other dragons, as well as a giant storm causing chaos. A war is what was happening. Then, everything turned black.

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<<Somewhere, at and old hostel>>

Natsu opened his eyes instantly. He had been sleeping, dreaming the whole time. He searched around and noticed he was in a wooden room. Old. Dusty. He remembered what was happening. He had spent the night at a small inn, but now it was time to go.

He sat on the bed and grabbed a lacrima over his night table. As soon as he stared at it for a few seconds, the voice of a woman resonated from it. It was kind and charming. Natsu knew who it belonged to. No one else than the goddess of wisdom.

"Irene..." Natsu muttered. "I'm up now. What's the task this time?"

"Do not rush, Natsu" Irene replied calmly. "Not every time we talk has to be about that, you know?"

Natsu rubbed his face, bored and trying to wake up entirely. "Cut the chit-chat. Just tell me"

Irene sighed. "Very well..." Then, a vision popped up inside Natsu's mind, coming directly from the lacrima. It was the location of his next task: The Sea. "God Serena asked for this one privately. Apparently his domain has been threatened by a monster for several years. He wants that taken care of as soon as possible"

"Does the monster have a name?"

"Yes... The Hydra"

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<<3 days later, somewhere in the ocean>>

A monster in the sea, four ships colliding, and a storm trembling the ocean. It was a hellish view to anyone present, like seeing the hell of Tartaros in the flesh. The Hydra roared in rage while the few sailors that remained fought for their lives. The Hydra was horrific. A dragon-like beast with 3 heads, wrapping itself to the ships while slowly crushing them.

"NO! NO, PLEASE!" yelled a sailor in desperation.

One of the Hydra's heads rose from the sea and deveoured the man, not leaving a trace. Then, it roared in fury while the masts tore and the floor crumbled. That's when someone else showed up, falling right on top of the Hydra head while piercing it with 2 powerful blades.

"DIE, YOU BEAST!" Natsu roared while twisting the blades inside the flesh. The Hydra cried in pain and shook abruptly, tossing the pinkette away with a swing. "Not so easy, huh?"

Natsu stood firmly, waiting for the monster to attack. When it did, the young warrior was faster. He threw his blade towards the mast of the ship. The weapon was chained to his arm tightly, so when the blade got stuck in the wood, Natsu got pulled up.

He swung and reached the top of the mast. He dodged another attack and swung again, going even higher than before. He had a clean opening to one of the Hydra's heads, so Natsu got ready to attack. Blazing flames wrapped the metal of his blades, spreading to the chains until Natsu spun in mid-air. He delivered a precise slash, enough to slice right through the neck of the beast.

Natsu landed, the first head down as the Hydra got furious for this. The monster pushed the ship brutally, Natsu and the sailors losing balance and almost falling. One of the remaining heads of the Hydra took Natsu by surprise, tackling him so hard that he crashed through the wood of the ship.

The pinkette flew onto another ship, flipping back and recovering his balance, and just as he did, the Hydra caught up to him. Its 2 heads emerged and attacked, Natsu dodging and piercing both heads with one of his blades each.

He pulled from the chains. The heads crashed against each other while Natsu jumped high and pulled again even harder. As he landed, the heads crashed on the floor. Then, Natsu jumped again on top of the mast, pulling the chains even harder. The heads bumped in the air as Natsu unhooked one of his blades, wrapping it with flames. In a quick swing, he sliced another of the heads, the pinkette so distracted by the adrenaline that he actually let his guard down.

The remaining Hydra head trapped Natsu in his mouth, shutting it close while trying to swallow. Surprisingly, the warrior fought back with his bare brute force. He pushed against the mouth of the monster, forcing it open slowly. At some point, he freed one of his hands and grabbed his blade. He wrapped it with flames again until the metal itself turned orange from the overheat.

"FALL BEFORE MY BLADE!" Natsu roared one last time, his fury fueling his power as he pierced the final head.

The monster cried loudly in agony, blood spilling from his severed heads while the last one was mere moments away from dying. At that moment, a burst of flames ignited while scorching the Hydra's head. Natsu pulled his weapon out and jumped out of there, landing on what remained of the ship as the Hydra head fell as well. First, next to Natsu, and then finally drowning into the ocean.

Natsu panted heavily, adrenaline pumping in his veins while admiring his deed fulfilled. Just like that, he sighed, saved his blades, and stared at the sky. It was time to go home.

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<<The next day, at a merchant ship>>

Natsu rested on a hammock. Dangling from time to time, he experienced the same weird dream as before. But that was more than just a dream. He did not know how, but he knew that dream was actually a memory, the glimpse of a life he previously had, but what did it described?

The dragons, the blonde man, the storm. Occassionally, he would distinguish other things, like a giant monster of humanoid form approaching at the distance, as well as the sound of lightning striking down, and people fighting. However, the memory was always incomplete. Every time he would discover something knew, he would woke up, just like at that moment.

Laying on the hammock, Natsu heard the calls of the merchant sailors signaling to come to the helm. He remembered. After the battle against the Hydra, he left without saying a word, found a nearby merchant ship, and paid the sailors to take him to the merchant city of Hargeon. He was on his way there now.

Before going to the helm though, Natsu took out the lacrima he always carried. Soon, the voice of Irene resonated from it, congratulating him for a job well done. "Save your congratulations, Irene" Natsu replied slightly annoyed. "I fulfilled my job today. In fact, I've fulfilled my job successfully for over 2 years, but I still can't see beyond what my dream shows me"

"Answers will come in time, Natsu" Irene replied. "When I found you almost 3 years ago, you were a great warrior, just like you are now. You caught the gods' attention despite being a simple mortal, which is why they agreed to help you recover your memories in exchange for your services"

"And yet, the gods have helped me in nothing"

"They will. Whatever it is that made you forget can be undone. Just give us time"

Natsu sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do but be patient for now. After that, Irene said he would receive news of his next assigment soon. And just like that, her kind voice disappeared. Then, the sailors' calls brought Natsu back to reality. They had arrived at Hargeon.