Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Fullmetal Alchemist

Warning: This story will contain spoilers from the Alvarez Empire arc of Fairy Tail.

Eternity was a long time to live, a long time to suffer. No one understood this better than Zeref, who simply longed for a way to die. He had a plan in motion, one that would achieve this goal, but it seemed to be taking longer than he imagined it would. He longed to see Natsu again, for the day this would be over, but until then, he was wandering the world, doing his best to avoid others. Zeref still valued life, after all, and he did not want others to suffer as a result of his mistakes.

It was easy to see where he had passed through, his path created a trail of death everywhere he went. Right now, he seemed to be in a small town, which made him frown and stare at the nearby house. He believed a sign had called this place Resembool, and he wondered if he should turn back. This was too close to others, too much of a risk for him to be taking. Maybe he should return to Tenrou Island to wait, though it was rather uneventful there. He had left after realizing that even without people present on the island, he was destroying the animals near Mavis' home. She had loved them so much, and he couldn't bear to make her bright home turn into a place of death as a result of his presence.

The sun was out today, illuminating the area around him and he sighed. It seemed like there was no good place for him to be in the world, no where he could stand where he would not be punished for his past actions. While he had understood that there would be consequences for what he had done, he never expected this. This curse made him regret his every decision in life, and he now wished he could change it all. Perhaps there was a way to do so…though, he still hoped for another way out. After all, undoing his own actions would destroy everything remaining of Mavis in this world, and he wanted to avoid that last resort if possible.

Zeref frowned after a few moments, sensing something rather strange as he stood outside the small house in the countryside. It was powerful and strong, yet it did not quite have the same feel as magic. Intrigued by the possibility, Zeref walked over to the source, finding himself inside the building he had been next to. Following the strange sense he had, he found himself downstairs, where two boys were kneeling down next to an elaborately drawn circle.

"Ready Al?" one of them asked, as Zeref approached. The layout of the circle seemed strange, as did the markings within. It was similar to magic, yet not the same. It almost reminded him of magic circles, used only for the most powerful of spells, yet the elements present seemed slightly different, just beyond the reach of his own comprehension.

These markings were vaguely familiar to him, though, ringing a warning bell in the back of his mind. As he studied the circle for a moment longer, he realized why it looked familiar. He had researched all kinds of methods to return the dead to life, back before he had gained his curse. Many options were open to him and briefly, he had found research on an art different than magic, that had seemed to make it a possibility. Alchemy, the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter. Even so, everything he had researched told him that using it on a human was impossible, forbidden even, leaving him in the same situation he had been with magic.

The younger brother was turning to the one that had spoken, looking determined as he nodded. "Ready." he replied, but Zeref was not going to let this happen. He knew the results of interfering with the balance of life and death, he was not going to let others suffer the same fate. He still cared enough to want to protect people from that, especially when he knew how much it hurt to watch the world die by your own hands.

He touched their shoulders, feeling a bit startled at first from the contact. He had not touched anyone in years, not since the day Mavis had….died. He pulled back almost immediately, deciding it was not worth the risk. Still, it had gotten their attention, both boys turning to stare at him with confusion and fear in their faces. "Wha—we weren't doing anything! Honest, we…were just practicing! We weren't actually going to, uh, use this circle." the older one stated, sounding guilty already.

It was somewhat amusing, hearing the boy try and plead his case. Zeref felt a small smile on his face as he inclined his head, his hair nearly covering his eyes. "Do not interfere with what you do not understand. There are far more consequences to your actions than you comprehend, children." he told them, watching them frown in confusion.

"We've done our research…we know that we've gotten all the elements necessary to perform it. We just want our mother back…." Al stated, sounding miserable as he stared back at the circle.

Zeref stepped back away from them, already feeling his curse begin to react to his proximity to them. They were in danger the longer he remained, perhaps intervening had been a mistake. "Indeed…death takes us all, in the end. I simply wish it would do the same for me…" Zeref stated, before realizing he was taking this a bit too far. "My family is gone, I am alone in this world. I understand pain, however you will regret your actions if you go through with this. Tampering with the balance of life and death comes with a heavy price." Zeref told them, watching both boys frown and stare up at him.

"You've done this yourself, haven't you? Tell me how it works! Did you get to see your family again? Where are they?" the elder one demanded, seeming to pick up on Zeref's subtle hints.

Zeref looked away, his sadness growing as he thought of his absent family. His parents, killed by dragons along with his brother, Natsu. His dearest younger brother, the one person he cared about more than anyone in this world, taken away in one blow along with the only people he had to care for him. Natsu had been so young…too young to remember a thing when he returned to this world. It was lucky, in a way, that he did not have to remember the pain of death. Yes, Natsu existed somewhere, yet Zeref still had to wait for the day he arrived in this world. The Eclipse Gate would bring him here eventually, he just needed more patience.

"Not quite, from what I understood, this power utilizes an equivalent exchange of some kind. There was nothing in my mind that could equal the value of my family's lives, of who they were when they were here, thus I understood that it would fail in the end. Souls are precious things, once they leave this world, they are not meant to return, not without much effort." Zeref told them.

They were young, probably far too young to understand, yet Zeref understood pain like this. "Come with me. If what you see is not enough to convince you, then I will leave you alone and keep quiet about your actions. I am no one in this country, simply a traveler that keeps to himself." Zeref told them, watching the brothers glance at each other briefly, before nodding in agreement.

"You promise? You aren't going to turn us in for human transmutation, right?" the elder one demanded, while Zeref nodded, standing by the door to wait for them. The boys were still in the center of the room, a safe distance for now.

After another shared look between the brothers, they began walking towards Zeref. The black wizard moved quickly, not wanting them any closer than they already were. "Brother…is it just me, or is he avoiding us?" Al asked, whispering behind Zeref. Even so, he had long ago gotten used to listening in closely to those around him. Centuries of causing havoc in the world had made many enemies for him, and even if he was immortal, Zeref was not immune to feeling pain. He had to keep an ear out for any approaching threats, thus he could listen in to their conversation with little effort as he neared the trail of death he had just made moments ago.

The older of the two, the one Zeref still had yet to hear the name of, replied in a voice just as quiet. "Yeah, I noticed that too. What's with him? Does he have personal space issues or something?" he asked, while Zeref stopped, now standing in the center of his last outburst of magic. The entire circle around him was dead, trees and plants devoid of life. Zeref could see a few dead birds nearby as well, animals that had been flying above him when the death predation had started. Even so, he could not warn them in time to help them flee, before his curse stole their lives away from them.

The boys seemed to stop at the edge as well, looking afraid of the area Zeref now stood inside of. "This is the cost of tampering with life and death….the price I now pay. This world rejects me for my actions, and if you wish to avoid it rejecting you as well, I'd recommend accepting your mother's death." Zeref told them, watching as both of the boys stared at Zeref with wide eyes.

"You…did this? You killed….everything." the elder brother stated, sounding horrified at Zeref's actions.

The black wizard nodded, his smile having faded away from his face. "It is beyond my control, however, I suppose it was caused by me. I cared too much for their lives, thus they had to die." Zeref stated, watching both of them frown.

"But that's a complete contradiction! If you care about life, you want things to live, right?" the elder one demanded, while Al simply looked uncomfortable, hiding behind his elder brother in fear.

Zeref knew that very concept quite well, and lived it on a daily basis. His entire life was a contradiction, such was the nature of the curse. "That is the Curse of Contradictions, given to me after my attempts of bringing my brother back to life. The more you value life, the more you are forced to take it away. This is my existence, my eternal life is spent watching the life around me fade away into nothingness." Zeref told them, seeing the older brother's eyes stare at him, becoming focused and determined as he did so.

"That's not right. It isn't fair for you to suffer all these years for one mistake, for everything around you to suffer for your actions." he stated, glancing back at his brother before nodding, his face growing determined. "I'm Edward, and this is my brother Alphonse. We're gonna help you end this curse, that's a promise." he stated, making Zeref blink at him in surprise. No one had ever offered any assistance in ending his curse, not when he knew it was an impossible task. Even so, these two children had nearly discovered how to bring the dead back to life with alchemy, at a far younger age than he had during his time at the Academy. Staring at them, he wondered if there was hope, a path he had yet to find to free himself. If anyone could prove him wrong, he had a feeling that it would be these two boys in front of him right now.

Still, Zeref was doubtful. It had been centuries since he made his plan, since Natsu had been sent through the gate. He had seen the suffering others went through as a result of his curse, and tried multiple methods to destroy himself simply to make the pain stop. "It cannot be done. This curse was given to me by a god, only a god can reverse it." Zeref stated, though he still wanted to hope they were right.

Al seemed to be feeling a bit more comfortable now, stepping out from behind his brother and smiling over at Zeref. "Of course we can do it. After all, you did your best to protect us, now it's our turn to help you." he stated, reminding Zeref that he was dealing with people who lived in a world of alchemy and little else. Perhaps if they were helping him, he could show them a few new tricks. Magic would only make them stronger, and if they grew powerful enough, maybe alchemy held the key to destroying him.

Zeref stared down at them, glancing around at the death around him. Any chance was better than nothing, and he had little else to do at the moment anyway. Alvarez was running find on its own, and he was simply waiting for the day Natsu finally came for him. "Very well, I will not stop you. However, know that every second you spend near me puts you closer to your own deaths. I cannot control this curse without forgetting the value of life, something you should keep in mind." Zeref told them, before glancing up at the sky.

"So…who are you again? You never told us your name." Ed commented, frowning as the black wizard gave him a sad smile.

"I've gone by many names, in many different lands. This is one of the few countries that has yet to learn of me, though I suppose it matters little which name I use here. In the Alvarez Empire, I am known as Emperor Spriggan, however, my more common name comes from the land of Fiore. There I am known as the Black Wizard Zeref." Zeref announced. These two boys would likely not be aware of either country, considering how far away Amestris was from them, but it mattered little to him. In the end, he was still getting far more than he ever imagined getting when he came to this place. Here, he was being given a chance to be free once more, something he had never even imagined being given. If only Mavis were here, he thought. She would be able to understand his hope now, and how it managed to bring a small amount of light to him even if it was such a minuscule chance of success.

So, I'm kind of breaking my promise not to post any new stories while my schedule was so hectic...but after reading The Lives Zeref Saved by Link60fly, I just had to do something with this idea. Credit for the concept goes to Link60fly, I am simply expanding on it due to my desire to see a longer story than just a one-shot which is already written and posted. I hope you enjoy, and thank you to Link60fly for giving me permission to create this story. I do intend on changing a few things from the one-shot, but the overall concept is still the same. Please review and tell me what you think!