Dawn of Adventure {Book One of The Paths We've Traveled}

Chapter Thirty-Four: Truth Comes Out

She'd never once been this exhausted. Not when she was facing down the final monster in Pandemonium. Not when she and Wendy finally defeated her mother, Irene. Not even when Azuma kept striking her down again and again. This exhaustion weighed her down like she wore all of her armor at once, each step like wading through a waist-high pool of molasses. Her vision was unable to focus on anything, forcing her to rely on the touch of her left hand against the wall to guide her.

Erza gasped for air, clutching her sword tighter so she wouldn't lose her grip. Sweat dripped down her spine, drenching her shift every time she shivered because of the chill seeping into her bones from her bare feet. The damp red hair hanging in her eyes was just begging to be chopped off, she thought in a corner of her mind. And then she'd take her sword and bring down the entire manor herself. Maybe then she'd have enough strength to stand on her own.

Her fingers curled around a corner, drawing her attention to the room appearing on her left. She blinked furiously, clearing the sweat and haze from her brown eyes. It gave her only a moment of clarity, but it was enough to latch onto the giant, glowing machine in the center of the cathedral-like room. The breath left her lungs at the sight of it, her thoughts reeling before settling on one solid idea: this was it. She'd been searching for seemingly years, but she'd finally found it. One stroke of her sword, and this country would finally be free of the pain and devastation that had plagued them for a century. It almost made her want to cry out of relief.

There was just one flaw she hadn't considered until the moment her feet dragged her into that airy room. Tendrils of pitch black light latched themselves onto her, and this time the air was forcibly torn from her body. She stumbled forward, falling to her knees. Her sword clattered to the stone floor beside her, making her aware for the first time that she had dropped the weapon. The tendrils pumped something away from her, and each passing second left her more and more lightheaded, stomach churning and bile rising in her throat.

It's going to kill me, Erza managed to think. After coming this far, I'm going to die. It's going to suck all the ethernano from my body and leave me a shell of myself. Oh god-

All reasonable thought left her brain as more ethernano was drawn from her system, feeding the machine with more power. Through darkening eyes, she watched the machine grow brighter, pulsing vibrantly with each new deposit of her life force.

Tears ran freely down her cheeks, stomach clenching fiercely and threatening to empty itself before she lost the strength to do even that. She closed her eyes, refusing to give in and yet doubting she would ever find the energy to move again. Her hands braced themselves against the floor, stone biting into her knees and palms as she resisted the urge to curl into a ball. Even with her eyes closed, she knew her sword was only a few inches from her right hand. But she couldn't do it, she couldn't reach it, she couldn't move, she couldn't-

Erza.

XXX

Grimstone Manor had never been so silent. Wendy's nails dug deep into Natsu's arm, leaving grooves she feared might scar if she dug any deeper. His pulse raced under her touch, as did practically everyone else's in the room. Her stomach churned, but she was unable to tell what the cause was: the remains of Evia's tonic, or the sight of her fallen friend. Tears burned her eyes, but she forced herself to think logically before falling victim to grief. Lucy had survived so much; a kick into a wall certainly wouldn't be her downfall.

She closed her eyes and reached out her senses, trying to ignore the heartbeats and breathing that threatened to drown out what she searched for. Her own pounding heart and reeling head certainly did nothing to help. Her nose wrinkled when Gray's intake of air disrupted her concentration, and her eyes shot open when Evia's soft sob completely shattered what focus she had left.