Hello Readers, here's the next chapter that focuses on August, Zeref's and Mavis's biological son. Enjoy the angst!
Chapter 2 Burdens That Befallen
The curse of his very being was the knowledge of his conception, the rush of memories came back to him when he revealed to Jellal that Zeref had a son. Throughout his long life, August was no stranger to hardships and death. Before he took his first breaths of air, his mind was already plagued by his parents' memories of death. He already had his first opinions of life decided for him when he was carved out of Mavis's womb. He had already experience years' worth of life on his first day outside the lacrima that preserved Mavis's body.
He remembered feeling confused as his eyes opened for the first time, as a blurred face of Precht glared at him. The memory of Mavis gave him a false security of Precht, being a mere infant August's body was defenseless and he can tell from Precht's expression the man was disgusted by him. Precht abandoned him outside of the Cathedral in the peak of winter. He didn't blame Precht, he remembers the man's horror-stricken face when Zeref dropped Mavis's corpse onto the pavement. He had guessed Precht was too disgusted by Zeref's defilement of Mavis to even stomach raising the black wizard's offspring.
August vaguely remembered his own childhood because Zeref's and Mavis's childhoods were his only comfort while his infant body was harbored within the walls of the Cathedral by the nuns. He was nameless, he was only referred to as "boy" for the nuns insisted if he ever found a family then they would name him. Once he was able to walk, he would always find himself gazing up towards the guild his mother had created. Sometimes the ghost of her memories walked down the street in front of him as she walked to and from the guild. His child-self dreamt of following his mother's footsteps to be closer to her imprisoned body below the guildhall. By the age of three he had the courage to walk into her guild, his eyes scan the inside comparing the hall to her memories. He knew all of the wizards' names and faces based upon her memory and to see them with his own eyes made him feel even more closer to her.
Due to his small frame none of the wizards notice him, he was intrigued by the younger children within the guild, running his mind back to Mavis's to see if any of these kids were present before his mother ran away to only return dead.
"Makarov! Come back here!" August's gaze found a five-year-old running away with a grin on his face as elder wizards' race after him. August's eyes sparkled with awe getting a flash of Makarov as a baby, he desperately wanted to befriend him.
Before he could trot over to Makarov, he felt himself be tugged from the back of his collar. August was turned around in mid-air to be face to face with his capturer. Precht glared at him, escorting him towards the door before any of the other guildmates noticed the toddler. Precht opened the door throwing the boy outside, August face planted into the pavement. He turned around with tears streaming from his green eyes, "Why…?"
Precht scowled at the child before him, it disgusted him how much this boy looked like Mavis, it was a sick reminder of what that bastard did to her – this child he could sense was more like the black wizard, the only thing he had of Mavis was her looks. "You are the dark stain of this guild; I will not have the likes of you tarnish what Mavis has built."
August looked down at him hands, tears and snot wetted his clothes, "I – I thought Fairy Tail – could be my home."
Precht glared at the toddler with malice, "Fairy Tail will not house the product of evil – now be gone."
August's found himself on his feet staring after Precht pleadingly – he never wanted to be considered evil. "Please! Teach me to not be!" August cried after him.
Precht looked over his shoulder, "The only good you could do for this world is to allow mother nature take her course and have her consume you." August felt his mother's happy memories of Fairy Tail and its members shatter as Precht slammed the door behind him. August's head bowed his sobbed became louder as he turned away from his mother's pride and joy.
He found himself exiting Magnolia, leaving behind his mother's memories. The nameless boy walked aimlessly within the forest doing what Precht insisted – to allow nature to take him back for he should have never been created in the first place.
August shook the memories away from his mind and sighs as he walked away from the defeated wizards. I shouldn't think of such things in the mist of battle. August found himself staring back at the Fairy Tail guild – once surrounded by a proud city now uprooted and overcasting a much larger shadow upon him then it ever had before. It had been decades since August had set foot anywhere near Magnolia since the day Precht threw him out in the streets. It still amazes him that he survived in such a fragile body into the unknown world.
Looking up at the guild August wished he had the understanding of the concept of light and darkness when he was a child – for he thought darkness was evil but that wasn't true for good and evil aren't seen as light or dark because people that wield light magic can be just as evil as a so called dark magic wielder. If Precht hadn't abandoned him – if he was just raised like any other Fairy Tail child then maybe… just maybe he would have obtain the only true good thing in this world… love.
August shook his head gazing back at the war zone, he knew somewhere out there his mother is witnessing her beloved guildmembers fall. Walking alone through the rubble, August's memory tugged on his mind when he wandered into the unknown finding any means necessary for survival.
He wasn't sure what made him decide to live after Precht shattered his hopes and dreams to join their Fairy Tail family. He remembered the immense hunger, scavenging for any little food he can find in neighboring villages and in the forest. Many times, he huddled under a tree and wished for his suffering to finally seize but there would always be something that pushed him to keep going.
On the fifty fourth day of wandering it had seemed faith brought him to the other side of the spectrum. Upon taking a break under an oak tree, August stumbled onto a lake. Across the sparkling blue water, there laid Zeref staring up at the nothingness of the sky. August's heart was beating so fast he thought it would explode, here he was face to face with his father. August hesitated to approach the black wizard, memories of his mother came to his mind especially the horrid events that led up to her death. His little mind was already tainted by the disturbing memories of Zeref's long life especially the events that took place after Mavis's death.
He was wary of his father especially because he had witness how Mavis affected him and he didn't want to burden him with the same demise that had befallen on her. However, looking through Zeref's centuries worth of scrambled memories within him, August came to the conclusion that maybe Zeref needed a friend that brightens that dark mind from its failing sanity.
August cautiously approach the black wizard and stopped at a safe distance if the death magic happened to strike. Zeref froze slightly feeling the immense magic approaching him, sitting up he took in a sharp breath realizing the magic was coming from a mere child that couldn't be any older than four.
Zeref gave the little boy a meek smile, "Hello there."
August gazed down at his shoes avoiding Zeref's calculating eyes, "Hello."
Zeref tilt his head slightly at the boy's appearance he looks so familiar… "Why are you wandering by yourself?"
August shrugs shyly staring down at his foot as it twisted little circles into the dirt, "I have no one to travel with, and I have nowhere to go." He didn't mean to sound desperate, but he already lost the chance to be in the company of his mother. It was by mere chance that he stumbles upon his father, and he didn't want to lose this opportunity to be in the mist of the nomadic wizard.
Zeref frowns slightly and stood up as he cautiously walked closer to the boy, "What is your name?"
August hesitated, "I – I do not have one." The boy was trembling on the verge of tears – he didn't want to lose the chance to belong with Zeref, he already lost the opportunity to be with Mavis's Fairy Tail. August just didn't want to be alone anymore – he wanted to be accepted, even if he was trying to get the acceptance of a man that blocks himself out from the rest of the world.
Zeref's frown deepens in pity, he stared at the boy as a locked memory surfaced in his mind, "You look like a girl I used to know… It was in the month of August." Zeref smiled slightly at the memory, "Her magic would light up the darkest parts of the world." His smile faltered slightly, "But like all good things, she died…" Zeref gazed back at the boy, "You remind me of her."
August smiled at that, "If you don't mind having me – I would love to be your student."
Zeref frowned everting his eyes, "I don't think I am suited to be a teacher." Not again. It was tortuous enough to have Mavis resurface into his mind, and to add to his suffering this little boy reminded him of her so much it pains him that he was asking the same thing out of him like she had.
August froze, fearing another rejection, "I wouldn't be a bother, I already know spells and different forms of magic – I just need guidance in releasing it." It was true, with the combination of both Mavis's and Zeref's memories on magic he knew a great amount, but his little body wouldn't find a way to muster and harness that type of magic just yet.
Zeref's eyes fell on the boy, examining the power that little body was radiating off. He had to admit he was intrigued that an unskilled child had this much immense magical power within him, he never seen such a case like this. But was he ready to divulge himself to other people again? He had dabbled in human affairs by conquering some guilds in Alakitasia, but he could not stay long before he could truly form something out of the Western continent. Zeref frowned in thought, maybe this is what he needed, a delegate that can handle the human affairs under his behalf to strengthen his relations with the people of Alakitasia.
Zeref smiled slightly, "Maybe we both need the other's assistance."
August's eyes sparkled with hope, "Yes, anything."
Zeref smirked at the boy's words, "Come now, what do you say we start your training, August?"
The boy smiled in joy, yes this has been his dream to finally be accepted! And best of all his own father named him unintentionally of the month that he and Mavis met. August wasn't sure if Zeref suspected him to be somehow related to Mavis, but the boy didn't mind he was just pleased to at least have one parent in his life. If the knowledge of his existence was just one sided – he could live with that, the only thing that mattered was that Zeref decided to welcome him with open arms…
August shook himself out of his own memory, he sighed gazing back at the destruction before him – his life would have been so different if he would have been just accepted by Fairy Tail. Maybe this whole war may have never happen if he didn't helped Zeref in conquering all of Alkakitasia, but who was he to doubt His Majesty's ambitions one way or the other Zeref would have taken over.
August couldn't push the feeling of being torn between the two sides of this war – both his parents' memories were surfacing on him trying to direct him to the different sides of their perspectives. August shouldn't have this issue… Zeref had took him in as his own raised him and taught him – while Mavis's heart that befallen on her Fairy Tail guild threw him out in the streets like a rabid animal. Why was it so hard to eradicate her feelings and memories towards these people that were strangers to him, these feelings and memories are hers not his. August shook his head, he needed to focus on His Majesty's goals, but he feared what would happen if he was faced with the ghost of his dreams. He could feel her presence deep within him and she was somewhere on the battlefield. He was uncertain how his unimaginable chance of being in her presence would do to him, after all these years of pain and rejection could he be able to face her? When he was a child he dreamt to be at her side, but now as an elder that is burdened by life's misfortunes with the determination to eradicate her homeland because of the gist of his father.
No, he was fearful of coming across her presence because his childhood dream would yet again be shattered right in front of him just like that door that mocked him for years as he walked beside Zeref. To see her, battle worn and defeated would surely destroy the memories of her carefree nature before she met Zeref. August found when he was a child, he was fond of her memories of her adventures with Yuri, Precht, and Warrod – he held those memories close to his heart. But under Zeref he had to let go of her ways, abandon his ideologies of his homeland to bring anew philosophy into his mind of what was considered his home and people.
August narrowed his eyes gripping his staff harder as he strides to find another worthy opponent. He had already chosen a side decades ago, and he be damned if he allowed his childish dreams to falter his devotion to his country and father. Mavis lost her chance to have him, it was as if it were her that threw him out in the cold instead of Precht. She had chosen him as her successor and Precht had her say in who and what he brought into her guild. August willed himself to believe that as he faced Fairy Tail once again. Destiny brought him to both sides of the spectrum, now he will show what these actions have created.
There you have it, hope you enjoyed. Let me know on your feedback on what you thought on this chapter and the rest of the story so far. Next chapter will be mixed with Mavis.
Thanks for reading!