Ankh pressed his fingers against his temples, feeling a sharp, throbbing headache that had nothing to do with physical fatigue.
It was the strain of comprehending concepts that mortal minds were never meant to hold.
"Won't the other gods in the Divine Realm intervene?" Ankh asked internally, his voice laced with concern. "If we tamper with life and death this blatantly, surely there are cosmic checks and balances?"
[Not as much as you might think,] Seram's voice echoed in the void of his mind, sounding surprisingly casual. [Take the Soul God, Soda, for instance. He has always stood in opposition to our former self, Ankhseram. Since his divine concept governs 'Souls' rather than the 'Cycle,' he would probably be delighted to see chaos erupt in my domain. It weakens my hold.]
'What the hell?' Ankh thought, stunned.
These gods... they sounded less like omnipotent arbiters of justice and more like bickering politicians.
They had their own little schemes, their own petty rivalries? What happened to the supposed emotionless, impartial pantheon of great deities who watched over the multiverse with indifference?
[...My way of expressing it might be problematic,] Seram corrected, sensing Ankh's confusion.
[Since we became human, we have naturally developed human-like emotions to process data. It colors my explanation.]
[As for those other gods, their actions probably aren't driven by personal gain in the human sense. It is simply a reaction to consolidate divine authority. They are like programs executing code to maximize their influence.]
"Hearing you say that," Ankh sighed aloud, his breath misting in the cold air, "I get the feeling the 'God' profession is somewhat like being a machine operating by strict algorithms. It sounds... lonely."
Ankh stared at the ice, but his eyes were focused on something far deeper.
A chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the cave crawled down his spine.
'Will I lose myself?'
The thought surfaced unconsciously, terrifying in its implications.
If ascending to godhood meant becoming a slave to a "concept," what would happen to Ankh the human?
Right now, Seram and he shared emotions.
Ankh had formed genuine bonds with his guildmates.
He teased Erza, he protected Natsu, he felt pride in Fairy Tail.
Though his heart was still thawing, and he remained fundamentally selfish in his pursuit of power, he felt things.
He was willing to pay a high price for supremacy, but to completely lose his emotions? To become a cold, calculating cosmic tool like the original Ankhseram? Ankh found that prospect unbearable.
'No point in dwelling on existential dread now,' Ankh told himself, shaking his head vigorously to clear the dark thoughts.
'We've digressed too far from the main goal.'
He redirected his crimson gaze to the massive block of ice. The faint blue glow he had noticed earlier was intensifying.
"Mo...ther...?"
Huh?
Ankh turned his head curiously.
Beside him, Ultear was standing rigid, her hands trembling by her sides.
Tears were streaming down her face, unbidden and silent. Her eyes were wide, unfocused, staring not at the ice, but into it.
'Crying? Ultear?'
Ankh waved his hand in front of Ultear's eyes.
She didn't blink. She didn't react. It was as if her soul had been pulled out of her body.
'Is it like the original story? 'Ankh realized with a start. 'The magic power released by Ur... it has resonated with Ultear's bloodline. It's drawing her consciousness into her mother's memories.'
In the original timeline, this phenomenon occurred during the battle with Gray, allowing the mother and daughter to resolve their misunderstanding through a spiritual link.
But here, without the battle, Ankh's mere presence—and the Life God power he carried—had catalyzed the reaction early.
'Hiss.' Ankh sucked in a breath. 'The emotional power in the Fairy Tail world is always so idealistic. It defies logic.'
"No! Don't do it!"
Just as Ankh was analyzing the magical theory, Ultear suddenly let out a frantic, heart-wrenching scream.
The light in her eyes snapped back to reality, but it was a reality filled with horror.
She rushed recklessly toward the ice block, slamming her hands against the freezing surface. Her eyes were bloodshot, her voice mournful and trembling.
"Don't! Don't use that spell! Don't leave me! Mother!"
She slid down the ice, her fingernails scratching against the unyielding surface.
She had seen it.
She had seen the memory of Ur casting the Iced Shell, the memory of Ur's final thoughts—which were filled only with love for her lost daughter.
Ankh stepped forward, shaking his head. "Give it up, Ultear. Ur isn't just asleep. She can't be awakened so easily by your calls. That ice is her flesh, her blood, her soul."
"She's not dead! She's not dead!" Ultear turned her head violently, her hair whipping around.
She was muttering incessantly under her breath like an obsessive madwoman. "She's still here. I can feel her warmth in the ice!"
Ultear suddenly scrambled to her feet, a dangerous, manic light igniting in her eyes. She grabbed Ankh's arm, her grip bruising.
"That's right... The Tower of Heaven! The R-System! We can use it! I know how to build it!"
Ankh pulled his arm away and cut off her train of thought immediately.
"Stop it."
"Why?!" Ultear screamed. "It revives the dead! Jellal is building it! We can take it!"
"By sacrificing lives to resurrect the dead!—you saw her memories, didn't you?" Ankh's voice was stern.
"You know exactly what kind of person Ur was. She sacrificed herself to seal a demon to protect the future. Do you think she would ever accept a resurrection bought with the blood of thousands of innocents? She would hate you for it."
Ultear clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms until they bled.
The darkness she had buried deep within her heart—the ruthless pragmatism of a Dark Guild mage—surfaced uncontrollably.
After a long, heavy silence, she spoke, her voice low and terrifyingly calm.
"I don't fucking care."
She looked up at Ankh. "All the sin... I will bear it alone. I don't care if the world burns. I just want my mother back. If Ur can return, even if she despises me afterward, even if she never speaks to me again... I'll accept it! I just need her to live!"
Ankh looked at Ultear. She had lost all reason.
She was a child throwing a tantrum against the laws of nature.
He sighed, deciding to use logic to break her delusion.
"It wouldn't work, Ultear," he said kindly but firmly. "Even if you built the tower, the R-System cannot revive her."
"Why?!"
"Because the R-System operates on the principle of Equivalent Exchange," Ankh explained, gesturing to the glowing monolith.
"It requires sacrificing a living being with immense Magic Power—one whose power rivals that of the Ten Wizard Saints—to exchange for the soul of a deceased person."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"But Ur's situation is unique. She exists as a conceptual spirit trapped between life and death. She is not in the afterlife to be summoned back. She is right here, transmuted into ice. The R-System is designed to pull a soul from the underworld, not to reverse a transformation of this magnitude. It would fail."
Ultear froze.
The hope that had flared up was extinguished instantly, leaving her hollow. She slumped against the ice, defeated.
"Then... there is no way?" she whispered.
"Master..."
Ultear suddenly raised her head, her eyes locking onto Ankh.
"Earlier... before I saw the vision... you said that if you could revive my mother... you asked me that."
She scrambled toward him on her knees. "You would never ask such a question without reason! You aren't cruel enough to mock me with that!"
'He must have another method!'
Seeing the desperate urgency in Ultear's eyes, Ankh was caught off guard. He hadn't expected her to latch onto that slip of the tongue so fiercely.
He looked down at her, considering his options. He could lie, but lies were fragile. The truth—or a version of it—was a stronger chain.
Ankh nodded slowly.
"My Magic can indeed achieve it," he admitted.
Ultear gasped.
"But," Ankh raised a finger, "it will require a very long time. My current mastery isn't sufficient to reverse a spell of this magnitude without killing myself in the process. I need to reach the pinnacle of my power."
Ankh looked at Ultear frankly, his red eyes boring into hers. "The future me can accomplish it. But right now, to you, it is nothing more than an empty promise. A possibility. Can you trust in a possibility?"
Ultear gritted her silver teeth.
She looked at the ice, then at the man standing before her.
Ideally, she shouldn't trust him. He was dangerous. He was manipulative. But he was also the only person who had told her the truth about her past.
Soon, she made up her mind.
She bowed her head once more, pressing her forehead to the cold stone floor.
Her attitude was no longer one of fear or forced submission, but of utter, religious sincerity.
"This is my only hope left," she declared with determination. "If there is even a one percent chance... I will take it."
"I beg you, Master Ankh. In the future, please resurrect my mother! My life is yours. Use me as a tool, a weapon, a shield—I don't care. Just save her."
Ankh looked at Ultear with genuine surprise. "Aren't you worried that I might be deceiving you to secure your loyalty?"
Ultear shook her head without lifting it. "You've already controlled me with the poison. You could have forced me to do anything. There's no need to toy with me over something like this."
"Moreover," she added, her voice regaining a shred of its usual sharpness, "your plan to come here... deep down, it must have been for my mother's sake, right? You knew the truth."
It seemed that after witnessing Ur's memories, Ultear had become calmer, her intellect returning. She had pieced together Ankh's motives.
Ankh clapped his hands, a sharp sound in the quiet cave.
He smiled. "For Ur's sake... you've truly become more remarkable, Ultear. I accept your request. It is a pact."
Ultear sat back on her heels. Her originally delicate and charming face appeared disheveled after her bout of intense crying—makeup smeared, eyes red—yet at this moment, her expression revealed an unusual, steely coldness.
Those who bury their longing and emotions deep within their hearts, making it their sole purpose for existence, are often the most terrifying people in the world.
She had found her purpose.
Ankh carefully examined the ice into which Ur had transformed, silently wondering in his heart.
'In the original story, Ur never reunited with Ultear here. Ultear walked away thinking her mother hated her. Yet now, the timeline has shifted. Is it because of me?'
[Most likely,] Seram's distant voice echoed. [Your constitution contains the Life God Power. Your mere presence acts as a catalyst for hidden vitality. You are a walking miracle, Ankh.]
Ankh furrowed his brows tightly.
For some reason, he felt that this Fairy Tail world was becoming fundamentally different from the one he knew. The butterfly effect was flapping its wings hard.
"Someone's coming, Master."
Ultear suddenly stood up, wiping her face quickly and composing herself.
She glanced toward the dark tunnel leading to the surface, her voice dropping to a professional whisper.
Ankh blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.
'Right.'
At this moment, whoever was approaching could only be those kids causing trouble outside.
"The intruders," Ankh muttered, a smirk touching his lips. "We almost forgot about Lyon, Gray, and the loudmouth Salamander."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator