ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ʜᴇᴀᴠᴇɴ ɪɪ (ꜰᴀɪʀʏ ᴛᴀɪʟ ᴇʀᴢᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ)

Chapter 232 - The Unexpected Path

Chapter Cover: Eve looking back toward us as in front of her Zeref was walking foward.

In the few weeks I have been traveling with Zeref, it had been surprisingly normal. I didn't know what I was expecting as we were traveling in direction of the coast of the Kingdom, but it was a lot similar to traveling with a very silent companion. Despite of his want to speak with me, the man beside me didn't seem to want to talk at all and I had spent that time to simply observe him.

He looked surprisingly harmless, almost ordinary in appearance. He was around Natsu's height if I had to guess, and from how he looked, he could have passed for a traveling student with how he held on upon the book of E.N.D. It's strange to think that a few weeks back I was locked into a war against Tartaros to stop them from awakening whatever Etherious that was asleep within its pages. Last I heard, the leader of Tartaros, Mard Geer had the book within his possession, so how did he managed to get his hands upon it?

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked after a few moments.

The dark wizard turned his gaze toward my direction, surprise appearing within the depths of his dark eyes. It was like he had forgotten that I was beside him. Then, a small huff escaped from his lips.

"You could say that we're heading home," he said.

I frowned lightly.

"Home?"

Zeref seems to be happy just talking.

"You see, a few centuries back I started to work with some countries outside of Ishgar," he said, "I conquered them and transformed it into an empire. It was quite something to see them grow and expand despite my extended absences. It had become quite something to see in the many years since I have started it, to see it grow and expend like this."

I blinked at that.

"An Empire…,"

"I needed something for my long time goals," Zeref answered, "But I feel that is not the question you were going to ask."

He had a point. It wasn't what I wanted to ask him in the first place but now that he had brought it up, it was something that I wanted to ask him ever since I first realized that I was a Demon. Something that I know only he could give me a straight answer. I turned my eyes back up toward the black wizard who had a patient look upon his face as he was waiting for my question.

"Why did you create Nova?" I asked him.

Zeref actually laughed at that, his shoulder shaking lightly at the effort.

"None of my Etherious ever asked me something like that directly," he said after calming himself down, "Deep within them I build something that instantly draw upon their instinct so that they should kill me as they should…but creating Nova…you should say, I was curious."

"Curious?" I echoed.

He let out a little nod, "Tell me do you know of the Gate of Eclipse?"

"I am aware."

"Two hundred years ago, give or take a few decades," the dark wizard started, "I've met you."

My eyes went wide in surprise.

"You…met me…?"

He nodded.