Rowan blinked, then shifted back into his small golden cat form.
"…Right. So. This might sound wildly unhelpful," he said, scratching behind one ear, "but I'm generally of the opinion that being alive beats being dead. There's an old saying where I come from. A miserable life still beats a perfect corpse."
Zeref stared at him, unmoving.
Rowan sighed quietly.
He understood the man's despair. Honestly, he did. After copying Zeref's memories and seeing the centuries of isolation, loss, and self-loathing layered on top of a divine curse, Rowan didn't need empathy lessons to grasp why this guy wanted out.
And yes, purely on a practical level, Rowan wouldn't have minded harvesting Zeref's spellcraft first and letting him die afterward. That would have solved several long-term problems at once.
But not like this.
Not now.
First problem: he probably couldn't do it.
Zeref's curse came straight from a god. Not a metaphorical god. An actual one. Ankhsaram. The being who governed life and death in this world.
Even Acnologia, who could erase nearly any spell by instinct alone, hadn't been able to kill Zeref. He could beat him into paste. Torture him. Break him. But not end him.
Rowan didn't need prophecy to figure out what that meant.
If Acnologia couldn't do it, then the odds that Rowan could casually solve a divine curse on his first try were… not great.
Second problem: even if he could, he wouldn't.
Zeref wasn't sick. He wasn't broken machinery. He was a criminal who had violated a divine taboo and gotten punished accordingly.
If Rowan stepped in and nullified that punishment, he wouldn't just be helping Zeref.
He'd be declaring open hostility toward Ankhsaram.
And Rowan wasn't suicidal enough to pick a fight with a death god for zero profit.
Mavis had only died because Zeref carried the same curse. Divine rules eating themselves didn't trigger divine retaliation.
This situation didn't have that loophole.
Zeref shook his head slowly.
"You don't understand what it's like," he said. "You don't understand what this curse does to your mind. To your heart. If you won't kill me, then you're my enemy. I'll still attack the eastern continent. I'll still take Fairy Heart. I'll still rewrite history."
His eyes were calm.
Resolved.
"You're strong. Stronger than anyone I've ever seen. You might even rival Acnologia now. But if I decide to leave, you can't stop me forever."
Before Rowan could answer, Mavis floated forward and grabbed Zeref's hand.
"I can," she said softly. "I really can."
Zeref looked down at her, stunned.
"You remember why I died, right?" she continued. "It wasn't just the curse. It was because your love for me was stronger than mine for you. That made your curse overwhelm mine. That imbalance killed me."
Zeref's eyes trembled.
"…It was because of my love?"
"Yes," Mavis said gently. "And if my love for you becomes stronger than yours for me, then the same rule applies in reverse. My curse would overwhelm yours. And you would die."
Silence fell.
Zeref stared at her like the world had cracked open.
"But you're dead," he whispered. "You're only a soul. You can't trigger the curse anymore."
Mavis shook her head.
"My body never truly died. If I choose to return to it, I can live again. And if I live again… then the curse applies to me just as much as it does to you."
Her voice didn't waver.
"So stop this war. Stop your plan. Let me stay with you. I'll end this properly. I'll free you."
Zeref's expression finally broke.
Emotion surged.
Love surged.
And the curse surged with it.
Black death-energy exploded outward from his body in a violent pulse.
Rowan reacted instantly, expanding into his dragon form and stepping in front of everyone.
The death-wave tore into his scales, ripping away life force directly instead of dealing physical damage.
It hurt.
Not badly.
But it hurt in a way magic usually didn't.
When the wave dissipated, Rowan shrank back into cat form, grimacing slightly.
"…Yep. That tracks," he muttered. "Direct life erasure. No defense. Just endurance. Feels a lot like a souped-up killing curse."
Zeref forced his emotions back down and sealed his heart again.
After a long silence, he nodded.
"Fine. If what you say is true… then I'll wait. No war. No Fairy Heart. If you can truly free me, I'll stop everything."
Mavis exhaled in relief.
Then Rowan cleared his throat.
"…So. I actually agree with all of that," he said. "But not right now. I have a proposal."
They both turned to him.
"You're basing this whole plan on love strength, right?" Rowan continued. "But you two haven't seen each other in over a century. How exactly are you measuring emotional intensity here? With a ruler?"
Zeref and Mavis froze.
"…That's… fair," Mavis admitted.
"So here's my suggestion," Rowan said. "Live together for a while. A few years. Let things stabilize. Let your feelings settle into something real instead of emotionally radioactive. Then try again."
He gestured casually.
"Mavis is immune to your curse in soul form. You don't need to suppress your emotions anymore. No ticking bomb. No pressure. No wars."
Then he glanced sideways.
"And also, you might want to have this conversation with your actual biological son."
Zeref blinked.
"…Our what?"
Rowan turned toward August.
"August is your son. Both of yours."
He explained everything. The pregnancy. The abandonment. The second guild master. The crystal. The adoption. The lie that had lasted a century.
Mavis stared at August with trembling eyes.
"…Is it true?"
August smiled softly.
"It is, Mother."
Behind her, Zeref's curse detonated again.