From the Ashes

[Gildarts]

"I know. I know[i] you hear me Gildarts. The [i]strongest prime and S-class Mage of the lost guild, Fairy Tail. Soul survivor. What does it mean to you? To be but a man with only his memories to carry him." Her voice slithered into his mind, finding all the nooks and crannies of weakness only to exploit them.

"Gildarts, what will you do now? This town is in ruins just like the last. Will you run back to Ambrosia, only to destroy them too?Come now, you're no fun when you don't respond. You know you want to. Defend yourself, go ahead, I'll grant it. I may be power hungry, but I'm still a nice person, well, voice. Don't you think it's sad? How I've been reduced to a voice inside a nobody's head? Disgusting, isn't it?"

The voice paused, then turned cynical. "You can't ignore me forever. Not as an immortal. Ha-ha. You'll crack one of these days, and when you do, that's when it will be my turn. Oh, and I'll make sure to enjoy it. Especially when I'm killing the young, the innocent, and those you loved, but could never be with because of your curse."

The voice smoldered into the receding tide of his darkest dreams. Gildarts woke to a puddle of cold sweat, pooling on his brow.