4Hey everyone! I'm back. And with a new story. I'm really excited to see how this will go, considering that I'm using an entirely new method of storytelling.
Disclaimer: I do not the characters or settings of FT. All credits go to Mashima and ect, etc...
Ch. 1: "Thousands of years ago, dragons were the dominant species of the world."
On top of the Crocus Southhill hospital, two people sat on a wooden bench on the rooftop. One was a girl, she was dressed in a light blue hospital outfit and a large cashmere coat over top of it. She was wrapped in a light yellow futon.
Quietly sitting beside her was a man. He had a dark aura around him, and looked like someone an everyday person wouldn't want to mess with. His dark and tattered clothing made him seem like a homeless, traveling guy, but he wasn't your everyday homeless, traveling guy.
He has been a homeless, traveling guy for a very, very, very long time. Little did the people he would occasionally pass by know, that he was actually the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, he is the infamous Acnologia.
And here he was, secretly sitting on the hospital roof, visiting patient. And nobody knew that he was here.
The girl, Ollie, was an outsider.
Someone who came from another world, a completely different universe. And yet of all the people in this world, she just so happened to meet with this guy.
And it just so happened, that they became friends.
"Apocalypse, you're being quiet, it's getting awkward," Ollie remarked.
And that was the name she would call him. 'Apocalypse,' because he refused to reveal to her his real one when they first met.
"Not my problem. Fine, if you want me to talk, then I'll talk. How're the tests coming along?" He asked.
Ollie smiled weakly, trying to keep a happy face.
"Umm...the doctors said that they're not getting any worse, so I guess I'm pretty stable right now..." She said.
Apocalypse groaned, "'Not getting any worse?' You're trying to hide the facts. Don't pretend that I don't know your condition right now. Why hide it?"
"Hey! It's not easy for me to say so myself either! Besides...you're hiding some things too aren't you?"
Ollie's tone of voice changed.
A great silence fell between them. Apocalypse kept his emotionless poker face up, but behind that mask, he was very nervous.
Nervous and afraid.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said as he began to get up from the bench.
Ollie cried, "Hey, don't you run away! I've been thinking for awhile...and well, with all these talks about an oncoming war with the Alvarez Empire, I'm afraid that I may not get another chance to say this to you..."
Apocalypse stopped dead in his tracks. The war with the Alvarez Empire, little did the Fairy Tail guild know, that this would be a three-way war. Between the dragon, the immortal, and the humans. Yes, he would be participating in this war as well.
Ollie continued speaking as she saw that he's giving her his attention.
"Listen...I know who you are."
Apocalypse turned around and crossed his arms. She pulled her futon closer to her body as she gazed at her 'friend.'
"How long? How long have you known?" He calmly asked.
"For awhile now, I guess. Yeah, I've known for awhile. You're Acnologia. The 'King of the dragons', or so that's what people called you. You were the one who destroyed Fairy Tail's Tenrou Island years ago. You were once a dragonslayer during the 'Dragons' Civil War.' But then you and your comrades turned against the dragons on your side as well, and you killed so many, that you eventually became a dragon yourself. And here you are now..."
Ollie gestured to him.
"Well. You certainly know your history. Considering that you're not even from this world," he smirked.
Ollie shrugged, "I just don't get it though...if you're as dangerous as the people say, then why didn't you kill me that day we met?"
"I dunno. Maybe because you've brought back a part of me that used to be here, thousands of years ago," he admitted.
"Well then, what were you like? Thousands of years ago?"
Apocalypse's face turned dark. His hands squeezed into fists and the air around him just dropped several degrees. Ollie sensed this change, and immediately regretted bringing up the topic.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't. Don't mention it again. I. AM. NOT. revisiting that nightmare..." He said through clenched teeth.
Ollie struggled to stand up to her feet, "I get it now. That's why you're like this. You've been carrying loads of painful memories from the past. That's why you would refuse to reach out to anyone else. That's why you would conceal your emotions. But that's not good for you. Uh!"
Ollie stumbled a bit and fell to one knee. Apocalypse rushed forward to help her back up to the bench. He sat down beside her.
She said, "What my brother once told me, 'it's good to talk to someone about the things that hurt you. That way, it won't hurt so much anymore.'"
"My story...is a nightmare. I'm not going back there—"
"—You're not alone this time. I'll be here, listening to what you have to say. So. Say it."
Apocalypse looked at Ollie, her eyes awaited for him to start speaking. If this was any other situation, then he would've ran away by now. But...he owed a lot to Ollie. She deserved to know more about him. Sighing, he looked up to the evening sky, before speaking.
~Storyteller Mode from Acnologia's point of view~
"Thousands of years ago, dragons were the dominant species of the world."
"Every single one of those flying bloodthirsty beasts...dominated every inch of every terrain of every continent."
"All the skies, the land, the oceans, and the caves, were occupied by those cursed cold blooded reptiles!"
"And the dragons...they fed on all the living creatures that are smaller than them."
"Yes, humans were included."
"But the humans were abundant in number. Before the dragons came, the humans occupied the lands."
"And now, we've become fresh prey for the new top predators."
"All of the humans were driven to near extinction in just a few decades. We...we weren't prepared for such a brutal attack on our kind."
"But it's not only the fact that we've become dragon chow..."
"The dragons were also using up a significant amount of ethernano."
"All of the wizards that we once had, died of magic deficiency disease."
"Decreasing our population more than ever."
"That was a world of cruelty and hell. Where only, the strong will survive. And the weak will die."
"Usually in the most horrible way possible."
"But believe it or not, people were still being brought into that world everyday."
"Maybe humanity believed that if they repopulated the world with babies, we'll have a fighting chance against the dragons."
"And I was amongst them."
"My mother...she fell into labour when her group was crossing a wide open field. Her cries of pain alerted nearby dragons and everyone had to run to safety."
"Only half of the group made it to the safety of the roots of the waterborne trees."
"Luckily, one woman survived the attack, and she helped deliver me into this world."
"My mother, she named me, something that isn't Acnologia, but it was a real name..and I'm not in the mood to say it right now."
"Anyways, the half of the group that survived that day continued on, surviving like they always did."
"People would continue to die each day, either by the dragons, or by natural causes such as sickness or starvation."
"My mother was unable to produce any milk for me, due to a lack of nutrition and nourishment."
"So each day, many men would go out and collect milk from special flowers growing in certain areas."
"Not all of them would return each day. But they did it for me anyways."
"I was their next generation. They needed to keep me alive."
"Every now and then, we would meet new people along the way."
"Some of them would join with our group, but others would fight and steal our supplies."
"Everyone wanted to survive. But some wanted to so badly, that they would resort to extreme measures."
"It's either kill or be killed. At least that's how I was taught when growing up."
"I remember the first time I've ever seen a dragon."
"It was a large green one, with wings so sharp, that it looked like it could slice through full grown trees."
"I remember feeling so tiny and weak compared to that. I envied the dragons."
"But then came the day I saw a dragon kill and eat one of the people from my group. And it was not a pretty death."
"That man...he was screaming and crying as he was dragged by his feet off the ground, and placed into the dragon's jaws."
"The dragon shook his head back and forth until the man was motionless. Blood droplets and pieces of entrails fell everywhere."
"I was crying into my mother's chest that day as she and the rest of the people ran away, using that chance to escape while the dragon was occupied with its meal."
"I stopped envying the dragons, and started despising them."
"But as much as I despised them, I knew that there was nothing we could do about it."
"All we could do was learn how to survive and run away fast."
"As in very, very fast. Because I didn't want to end up like that man."
"I learned new skills everyday as I grew up in my group."
"When I could walk, I was taught how to gather certain fruits and edible plants. I was also taught how to quickly dig an underground shelter and cover it with musk, so that dragons won't be able to smell it."
"A year later, some men taught me and a few other children how to hunt and fish."
"I also learned how to make a fire, cut down trees, and how to find good supplies to carve into usable tools and weapons."
"But most importantly, I was taught how to smell a dragon."
"This was a skill that saved hundreds of us for many years. A dragon's smell is all the same, and the best noses could smell them without even having to sniff so hard."
"Every night, after the chief would count every head that's still in the group, my mother would tell me about my father."
"She would tell me that he was a good man, that he made her happy in a world like this."
"My father was with plenty of women before he came to my mother, but that was perfectly normal during those times."
"Humanity wanted to repopulate the world again anyways."
"My mother told me that I had lots of half brothers and sisters out there, and perhaps one day, I would meet them."
"I liked that idea...of living long enough to meet some very special people."
"I also wished that I knew my father too..."
"But he died before I was born. I wasn't surprised honestly."
"But even in the belly of some dragon I didn't know, I could still feel a connection to my father."
"I wished that I could've known him more. There's not much people you could get along with, so family and friends are extremely precious."
"But they're also painful to have, in this world, seeing people die everyday is as normal as breathing."
"Most would rather stick to themselves than risk having any relationships."
"But I couldn't help it. I loved my mother, and she loved me. We're the only two in the world for each other."
"Another year later, and I was taught what to do when encountered with a dragon."
"Apparently, we were supposed to run in zigzags in opposite direction and pick up any throw-able item from the ground."
"The running in zigzags would make it difficult for them to perfectly target you."
"And the debris thrown at them would make it difficult for them to concentrate."
"And then hopefully, you'll be able to find a nice good hole to cuddle up in until that dragon stops pursuing."
"That lesson taught me, that there's no way we could ever fight and kill a dragon ourselves."
"But it also taught me that if humanity kept slipping out of the dragon's fingers, we'll stay alive."
"At least that thought gave me hope."
"A thought that didn't last for very long."
"Everything changed when I was 7 years old. A pack of wind dragons ambushed us when we were crossing the wide mountains."
"It was the middle of the day, and some people smelled a few dragons, but they were far away."
"Nobody knew that wind dragons could travel so fast."
"And nobody took frequent checks of their scent and its location."
"They ambushed us and knocked us off the edges. And to the ones that survived the fall, they threw them into the air."
"Those people smashed against the rocks like splattered eggs. Amongst the commotion and panic, my mother and I tried to get away."
"But she was grabbed by one of the wind dragons. Another dragon saw and tried to take my mother for himself."
"The two dragons pulled her in different directions until she was ripped in two. Blood and guts spilled onto me and all the nearby people."
"There was...so much blood...so...much..."
"I couldn't move, all I could do was scream even though I wasn't the one being ripped."
"A man yelled for me to start running away, so I did."
"I kept on running and running alongside the rest of the survivors of the attack."
"We kept running until we reached the wild forests again."
"We lost about half of our group that day, including my mother."
"And that's when I knew."
"That the world is a merciless place. It didn't care if you're an honest man or a thief. Or if you only had one person you loved, or none at all."
"Every living creature, is meant to die, whether it be today or tomorrow, or a hundred years from now."
"But each morning, I would pray to the world, 'not today.'"
"Because I ain't dying today."
"And that's how I survived for so long. Because I understood the fundamentals of how life worked back then."
"I guess...seeing my own mother die is kind of a turning point in my life. I have no one looking out for me anymore, I have to look after myself now."
"I had to grow up, and become stronger."
"In a way, I hardened my shell. It was the only way to survive."
"As I grew older, I became one of the main suppliers for my group."
"I would go out everyday and help the other men and women gather food, collect drinkable water and scout for a good place to spend the night."
"And yes, I continued to watch people die around me. And no, it never got any easier."
"I still have nightmares about all those people who died today. I'll never move on from their deaths."
"Some things, are just not possible."
"Such as gathering enough food for everyone to eat in the group. There's not a lot left thanks to the dragons."
"People starved and complained about the lack of food, the group was becoming weak."
"But some people were so desperate to survive, that they went to extreme measures."
"One day, when I was 12, three men came back from the woods, they were carrying several large bags."
"Everyone was so excited, they thought that all the starving would finally end. But the food was not what I had expected."
"When the contents of the bag was poured out, I almost puked."
"There were hands, legs, torsos, and so many different body parts that I couldn't identify them all."
"They were all from humans. And from our group."
"The men countered that 'those people were going to die anyways, but that doesn't mean we're going down with them.'"
"Even though I knew it was wrong, I could see truth in those words."
"So I ate some of the food that night, and yes it was inhumane, but I survived. Along with the rest of my group who chose to eat."
"I still remember...when I was 13, and I made my very first friend."
"He was a boy around my age. My group found him with a bunch of other survivors one day in the marshes."
"His name was 'A.'"
"Said that he forgotten his name, but he still remembered the first letter of it, which was 'A.'"
"A and I understood each other. We both knew how the world functioned. And best of all, we worked well together."
"I enjoyed—no, I loved being with him. I never felt this way since I lost my mother."
"But then I realized why people never encouraged strong attachments."
"One day, A and I went down to the river to fish for our group. We finished our job early and wanted to have some fun."
"We went downriver a little more and began splashing each other.
"I guess it was because of the splashes, that the water dragon awoke."
"That day, we discovered that dragons also inhabit the waters."
"The water dragon was fast in dragging A down and instantly devouring him."
"The patch of water turned a dark red before I was able to climb out and start running back towards my camp."
"I ran in zigzags and threw every single thing I could pick up, but the dragon was fast."
"It caught me and I thought that 'this was it. My time is up.'"
"But I was wrong. A man came out of nowhere and threw two javelins straight into the dragon's eyes, temporarily blinding it."
"He yanked me from its grasp and carried me all the way out of the forest."
"I was so in shock from my near death experience that I didn't realize that this man was taking me in the wrong direction."
"By the time I realized it, it was too late."
"We've already arrived at his group's camp, and he and the chief there refused to let me return to my group."
"I didn't understand why, I said that this is kidnapping. But they said that I'm in their debt."
"That man rescued me, so now, I'm a part of this group. I couldn't return to my old one anymore."
"I learned something new that day, the world won't care whether or not you belonged to someone or somewhere before."
"It's a first come, first serve system. Finders keepers, losers weepers."
"And this group needed more people to help each other survive."
"But perhaps, I was meant to be in this group."
"It happened a few months later, by then, I've made myself a prominent member of the group's suppliers, and a band of six brothers joined with us."
"There was a rumor, well not exactly a rumor, but people were skeptical of believing it."
"Of believing in a 'Safe-Zone.'"
"This rumor was spreading like wildfire. A so-called Safe-Zone was located somewhere in the Western continent."
"And it was told that the people there could live peacefully and it was completely civilized.
"They were open to all survivors. But best of all, that place is completely protected from the dragons."
"It tore the group apart. Half of the people wanted to leave and look for this Safe-Zone, and the other half refused to believe in something as crazy as that."
"I was a part of the half that wanted to leave."
"I've seen enough of this hell of a world, if there was a Safe-Zone out there, then I'll take my chances and find it."
"So it was decided then, a week later, half of the group left in the direction of the west coast, myself included."
"Call us crazy, but I won't care."
"There wouldn't be rumors of a Safe-Zone if there wasn't one in the first place."
Please tell me how you think of this chapter. Thanks for reading!
I've been wanting to write this for awhile, and I got most of my ideas from watching apocalyptic tv shows such as 'The Walking Dead,' 'The 100,' and of course my main source of inspiration for this story, 'Attack on Titan.' (I love these shows and highly recommend you guys to watch it!)
