The Lost Dragon (A Fairytail Fanfiction)

Chapter 132: The Pain of Unlocking Power

Ezra's pov

Luckily for everyone, by nightfall, we were nearly done with everyone going through the ritual to unlock their latent power. Tsubaki was still in a lot of pain, it was so bad to the point that she was practically sobbing. When Gray, Natsu, and the others finished their ritual, Tsubaki's pain slightly subsided. But she was still thrashing and writhing in pain because her ritual was still going, both Ethan and I couldn't stand to see her in so much pain. Uncle Grayson and Hairi were also going through their own rituals but thankfully it didn't take a long time so it gave Tsubaki a bit of relief. Although the only guild member who had not gone through the ritual was Erza, who had disappeared with Jellal, I assumed that they were having an important talk with one another. I got the sense that Jellal and Erza had a complicated past which Tsubaki told me. "I didn't think her ritual would last this long." Ultear frowned, her eyes shone with concern. Meredy and Ultear looked away from Tsubaki, Gray had been sitting by her side since he finished his ritual. He hadn't moved from his spot since he had gotten done with his ritual, even though I didn't always get along with Gray,  I could tell just how much he loved and cared for my little sister. It made me happy to know that and gave me peace of mind that she will always have someone by her side if something happened to Ethan and I. I was thankful for Ethan that he always kept an eye on our little sister even though he tried to be the bad guy in our story, it felt good to know she had support from everyone around her. Lucy and Natsu were very much worried about Tsubaki, Lucky could not handle seeing her partner in so much. She had to be consoled by Ethan, who stood next to me. The two of us were upset that she was still going through it since Kai was still going through his ritual but there was nothing we could do to help ease the pain she felt, It made me feel so helpless. "You said she has new powers?" Ultear asked, turning her head away from Tsubaki to look at Natsu and Lucy. "Yes, she got them the year before all the stuff on Tenrou Island happened. We had just come back from the whole ordeal in Edolas when her powers were unlocked and starting to surface." He explained, "What powers are those exactly?" Meredy asked, "She's a dragon protector. The way it was explained to us is that she can use the powers of the dragons and dragon slayers without ever having to come in contact with these Dragons and dragon slayers. She can use a lot of different powers and the main one that takes a huge toll on her is her clairvoyance magic. She is connected to all of the guild members through the guild mark and connected to them through her relationships with each member. She feels everything that we feel, on Tenrou, she had to deal with this a lot since everyone was fighting against the dark guild." 

"You mean she felt the fight between Juvia and I on Tenrou?" Meredy asked, "Yes, she did. Gray was with her when we fought. She felt my pain, your pain, and even the other members." Juvia explained. "What about when the Tenrou tree went down? Didn't that affect everyone's magic?" Ultear asked, "Yes, even when the tree went down Erza and Tsu were the only ones who could effectively still use their magic on the Island. And she was feeling everyone's struggle." Uncle Grayson explained. "So these powers activated when you all came back from that place called Edolas?" Meredy quipped, "Yes, that was before the S-Class trials. Tsu was still getting used to using her powers and she slightly has the hang of them now. But everything is still so new to her so she trains." Lucy explained. "I honestly can't believe that her powers are a double-edged sword." Meredy shook her head, I looked back at Lucky who had her face buried in Ethan's chest. When I heard the screaming stop, I looked back over at Kai and Tsubaki. Uncle Grayson looked relieved when he realized that Kai had stopped screaming and Tsubaki was finally done with her own ritual and had stopped feeling Kai's pain. 

"He finished his ritual," Ultear said, Gray finally moved and checked on Tsubaki. "How is she?" Lucy asked, "She passed out. Kai's ritual was longer than most of us and it wore her out." Gray looked back at us, he lifted her head onto his lap while Lucy checked on Kai. "How do you feel Kai?" Natsu asked as Lucy helped him stand up. "Tired and sore but I can tell that I'm stronger than I was before." Kai smiled, "Hey, you're back." Ethan turned our attention away from Kai and onto Erza, who seemed very sullen. Maybe the talk with Jellal didn't go as well as she planned or he may have rejected her feelings, I got the sense that when they were reunited, Erza and Jellal both seemed to have hidden feelings for each other.

"Yeah, how is everyone? Did you all finish the ritual?" Erza asked, looking over everyone. 

"Yes, Kai just finished his."

"And Tsu?" Erza asked, "She finished her ritual but it was a pretty long process." She looked over at Gray, who was still holding Tsubaki on his lap. "Did he go through it as well?" She asked, "Yes. And once he was finished with his, he immediately went to her side and hasn't left ever since then. You're the last one to go through the ritual, Erza." I explained, "Will that wake Tsubaki?" She looked at me, "I don't know. She might feel your pain but hopefully, it won't be as bad as Kai's." Erza nodded and proceeded with her ritual, which was hard to watch. Tsubaki had not woken up by Erza's ritual which we were all thankful for but she still felt her pain, I could tell that Erza's pain seemed a lot worse than everyone else's. 

"We must be going now. Notify us by pigeon if you find out anything about the mysterious magic power at the Grand Magic Games."

"Understood." Hairi nodded. 

"Good luck in the games. We'll be rooting for you from behind the scenes." 

"I wish we could attend, though!" Meredy suggested, "We could disguise ourselves." She added. "Forget it." I chuckled at the two, as Jellal gave his final goodbyes to Erza. When they left, I headed over to Gray who was carrying Tsubaki over to the group. "She'll need a lot of sleep, guaranteed she'll be very sore tomorrow." Gray said, "Then let's get her home." 

Erza took a stroll down the beach, thinking back on what happened between her and Jellal not that long ago. "A fiancée, huh... He's as terrible of a liar as ever. He hasn't changed a bit.  This is for the best. This... is our answer." Erza looked up at the moon, noting that everyone else was extremely tired after the day that they've had. "Look, Erza!" Happy called, pointing to the broken heart he drew in the sand. Erza looked down at the heart and thought for a moment as Happy started laughing, causing Erza to kick him into the air.