Silence

After Neinhart's plunge into the deep sea below, after the sky turned a brilliant scarlet, as soft and warm as her hair, Erza had spoken a mere sentence. "What a beautiful, scarlet sky," she had murmured softly to herself as the stunning sight filled her vision. The love of her life and her precious comrade both had turned to face her as her voice filled their ears. Erza smiled gently, before falling back once more into darkness, the pounding of her own heartbeat fading into quiet, and she did not awaken.

She never heard Kagura's agonizing wails, and Jellal's horrified scream of her name, nor did she ever see her Mermaid Heel friend fall to her knees, bending over, with her face buried in her hands sobbing loudly. She never felt the blue haired, heavenly bodied mage gather her into his arms and hold her close. She never heard his pleading whispers to please stay with him.

She never heard him promise that he would never leave her side again as long as she didn't leave him. She never felt Jellal's lips touch the side of her head in a soft kiss. She never felt how tightly he squeezed her to him. She never heard the soft hitching of his breath, nor the warmth of his tears as they fell into her hair and splashed on her face.

She never knew that Jellal was weeping for her, just as she had wept for him all those years ago when he'd been taken from her. All Erza Scarlet knew, was somehow, somewhere in the back of her mind that she was not dead, that she was not gone for good. She was just gone temporarily. She knew she'd be back, just not right now. Right now, all Erza Scarlet knew, was silence.