In the world of Fairy Tail.
Tenrou Island.
The great wizard Zeref was waiting for the Group Leader to arrive.
Suddenly, sensing something, Zeref looked into the distance.
As spatial ripples rapidly twisted, a pitch-black oval teleportation gate materialized dozens of meters away.
Looking at the deep, black hole-like teleportation gate, Zeref's eyes gleamed with shock.
"Such a complex structure, even I can only vaguely sense the fluctuations of time and space within."
"Completely indecipherable."
Zeref's shocked expression had not yet faded.
The dimensional teleportation gate trembled slightly.
A soft sound of footsteps on the grass announced a girl walking out unhurriedly, her snow-white hair fluttering in the wind.
As the girl walked, her pleated skirt swayed in the breeze.
Ignoring her somewhat sharp eyes, from a distance, the girl and the surrounding natural scenery formed a very serene picture.
"Group Leader…"
Although he had never truly met her, Zeref had watched the live broadcasts and immediately knew that the girl who emerged was the Chat Group's Group Leader he had been waiting for.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. It took a bit longer because setting up spatial transfer points in different worlds is quite troublesome."
"No, not at all. It's thanks to your help that I can see my brother again. Waiting a little while is no problem at all."
"Have you procured everything I asked you to earlier?" Beryl asked.
Since it was a gathering, there had to be food and drinks, right?
"Yes, everything is prepared," Zeref nodded.
As one of the world's powerful figures, if he couldn't even manage this much, wouldn't that be too demeaning?
However, not long after speaking, Zeref suddenly hugged himself, his face contorted in pain.
He knelt on the ground.
"Ugh!"
Zeref trembled all over, and the surrounding trees and jungle withered at a visible rate.
"The curse… the curse has started again."
Every time he wanted to do something, this curse would stop him like a nightmare.
If he wanted to cherish life, the curse would cause all nearby living things to die.
"Group Leader… be careful."
Centered on Zeref, the withered area began to expand.
"Oh, dear."
Beryl sighed and stepped into Zeref's "forbidden zone."
"No… don't come over!" Zeref shouted, clutching his head, seemingly subconsciously.
As Beryl approached, a green glow rose from beneath Beryl's feet, and as the light spread, everything withered by the curse began to surge with life.
Whether it was the bushes or the withered leaves hanging on the treetops, they quickly turned a lush green.
The pitch-black, ash-like grass also shed its deathly pallor and became vibrant with life.
The curse was forcibly suppressed.
Zeref looked at everything around him with disbelief.
"The curse… the curse was actually suppressed."
He could feel the curse still active, but it could only spread around his body, unable to take even one step outward.
"This… how is this possible!"
Zeref, his thoughts in disarray, became extremely astonished for a moment.
"Even that foolish dragon could reflect the curse and severely injure Ankhseram. You wouldn't think this small curse would affect me, would you?"
Beryl's voice also made the confused Zeref react.
That's right!
Who was the Group Leader in front of him?
Even the foolish… Divine Dragon she created could easily crush Ankhseram. If it weren't forbidden to kill Ankhseram, he would probably be gone by now.
If the Divine Dragon she created was so terrifying, what about her personally?
Zeref also realized that whenever Ankhseram was involved, he became very agitated.
"I am very sorry, Group Leader. I have no disrespectful thoughts towards you at all. It's just… this curse has brought me too much grief, and for a moment…"
Before Zeref could finish speaking, an object flew over.
He instinctively caught it.
"This is?"
Looking at the crystal pendant in his hand, Zeref's face showed a puzzled expression.
"It was originally meant for after the gathering, but consider it an early reward for you now," Beryl said. "Wear the pendant, and you'll be able to control Ankhseram's curse, transforming it into your own power."
"It only lasts for one year. After that, the pendant will become completely ineffective."
"Of course, if you can fully comprehend the laws within it within one year, you'll be able to freely control the curse on your body even without the pendant."
"This…" Zeref's hand holding the pendant trembled slightly, and he opened his mouth, "Is this real?"
To remove Ankhseram's curse, he had spent hundreds of years with nothing to show for it.
Now someone was telling him that as long as he could master the things inside, he could completely control the curse and no longer worry about it harming others.
Zeref had witnessed too much life and death. He cherished life greatly, but the more he cherished life, the more lives around him would perish.
"It's true, you can set your mind at ease." A hint of helplessness appeared on Beryl's face.
It seemed Zeref had been tormented quite badly by the curse; his reaction was especially strong whenever the curse was mentioned.
Beryl did indeed sense Ankhseram's aura, still licking his wounds, hidden somewhere in this world.
But Beryl couldn't be bothered. As long as he didn't appear before her, it wasn't her business.
"Thank you very much, Lady Beryl," Zeref said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, his voice trembling.
"Don't be happy too soon. You only have one year. Whether you can fully control the curse is still uncertain."
"Oh, right, I just completely severed the link between you and the god who cursed you. In other words, your current curse is no longer affected by that god's karma."
"Do you understand what I mean?" Beryl looked at Zeref.
"Ankhseram and I, only one can live?" After calming down, Zeref's intelligence was still sharp.
"Exactly. Even if you don't seek him out, Ankhseram will come for you," Beryl said. "Given his injuries, you probably don't need to worry in the short term, but it's not certain. It's quite possible he might risk his life to kill you."
"Alright, that's enough about this."
Without letting Zeref speak, Beryl ended the topic.
"Oh, by the way, Fairy Tail is also on this island, seemingly for some kind of exam."
She remembered when she was checking on Ankhseram, she glanced at Tenrou Island and found something interesting.
Fairy Tail and Grimoire Heart, both guilds were here.
According to the plot, was it the storyline involving Precht?
"Uh, Fairy Tail?" Zeref hadn't noticed. "I'll have them leave right away."
Zeref had no particular feelings for Fairy Tail, but it was Mavis's guild after all. If it displeased the Group Leader, it might just disappear.
Don't be fooled by how easygoing the Group Leader seemed; could a God of Destruction be a good person?
Most likely, she was moody, like a rainy day.