Cursed (Zeref X Reader)

Chapter 6

Turning away before Wendy can protest, you leap into a tree and begin following the boy's scent. You don't dare use your teleportation magic here, lest you risk losing the faint trail. Obviously the boy didn't want to be followed.

You jump from tree to tree silently until you spot him sitting against a large tree trunk. Perched on a sturdy branch, you decide that you are well hidden amongst the foliage for now unless the boy kills all the trees in the vicinity again.

You teleport yourself behind the tree he's sitting against and take a deep breath. If anything goes wrong you can always put up a magic barrier to protect yourself

His shoulders rise and fall as he sighs. "I'm going to continue being rejected by the world again..." he murmurs. He extends his arm, seeming as if he's reaching for something he can never have.

"Why does the world have to reject you?"

You watch him jump in surprise, and he whirls around to face you, eyes wide with an unidentifiable expression. Fear?

"Who are you?" he demands, flinching away from you.

You stare at him in silence, the wind swirls the leaves around you and you smell death again. Taking a step closer to him, you ask him the question that's been on your mind for the past few weeks: "Why do you smell like death?"

The boy continues walking backward, retreating with each step forward that you take. He stares at you with wide eyes but still doesn't say anything.

"What was that black wave just now?" you question. "Why did it kill everything?"

He freezes as his back hits a tree and he realizes that he can't run. "I can't help it," he whispers, sliding down to the ground, and the sad expression on his face nearly breaks your heart.

You approach him slowly. "Why not? Who are you?"

He watches you in silence, and your foot crosses some unseen threshold and he jumps up abruptly. "Stop! Don't get any closer to me!" he yells.

You completely ignore his warning. "Don't worry," you murmur. "Your magic won't affect me."

He had begun to cry again, but at your words he looks up and studies you. Finally, he shakes his head. "I don't believe you. Everything that comes near me dies. No one has ever been able to survive."

You stop and tilt your head, staring at him quizzically. "Why not?"

He looks down at his hands, tracing invisible shapes in the soft fabric of his toga. "Because I'm cursed."

"Cursed...?" you echo, confused. Suddenly a thought crosses your mind, and you finally put all the pieces together: Cursed...death magic...black... "Who are you?" you demand, stepping close to him.

He lets out a sigh of defeat. "I'm Zeref."

Zeref stares at you expectantly and you meet his gaze head on. "I thought so," you finally state.

He blinks, surprised at your reaction. "But...I don't understand, why aren't you running away from me?"

You roll your eyes. "It sounds like you want people to hate you."

"Because I'm dangerous," he mumbles miserably. "I'm unpredictable because I can't control my magic. I don't want to hurt anyone."

You open your mouth to reply but he shakes his head furiously. "No...I hate people. They can die for all I care."

Blinking in confusion, you take another hesitant step toward him. Is there something wrong with him? He just said he didn't want to hurt anyone and contradicted those words with his next sentence. But before you can ask him what's wrong his head snaps up.