Hello everyone. It has been a very long time. I apologize for that. I can only say that life got in the way along with writer's block and not having the drive I used to have before. However, recent events have caused me to reignite the fire in the forge of writing. As many of you know; Akira Toriyama, the creator of Doctor Slump, Dragon Ball, and many more works has sadly passed away.

I won't deny that at first, I was in disbelief. I thought it was some prank as this is not the first time someone has falsified a person's death in the news. Sadly the news was true. I will admit, that when it finally hit that he was gone, I was balling my eyes. Dragon Ball was one of the first anime I had ever watched on Toonami alongside Sailor Moon, Pokemon, and Yugioh. It was my gateway into anime. It has been such an important part of my childhood and even adult life. I would not be the same person without it. That is why it's so hard to accept he's gone.

However, his legacy will continue to live. All the mangas he drew and the artwork for amazing games like Blue Dragon, Sandlands, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger will be remembered after our time comes. He has truly achieved immortality as his contributions will forever memorize his name and his works into the sands of time.

So let us continue to enjoy and celebrate his work as he would have liked. We will see him again, so until then, Thank you Toriyama-sama for everything. It was and always will be an honor of a lifetime to have your works in my life.

In honor of Toriyama, I have decided to write a Dragon Ball story. I am still working out some details, but I have the outline completed. You will see what this dragon ball story is about once I have it ready for publication. It might become a crossover, not just with one series but many different series, concepts, characters, etc. To represent all the people/anime/characters inspired by Dragon Ball. As I said some details need to be worked on. I was planning to do Dragon Ball later on, but as stated, plans change and that is being pushed to the front row.

Now in this chapter. This will cover the history of the Fairy Tail universe in this version of the story. We will also see the setup for the next arc at the end of this chapter. Bear in mind this chapter is a LOT of talking with NO action. So bear that in mind as you read the chapter.

Also, I will be making updates for two other chapters of this story as I have decided they needed either a long overdue correction or a few lines that will no longer impact the story going forward. This chapter would not have been completed without the help of Adventreader221, who contributed to editing and providing ideas for this chapter and future parts of the story. Check out some of the stories he has posted after you have finished reading this chapter. Thanks again Advent for all the help in getting me to finish the chapter and reminding me to enjoy writing again.

With that said, please enjoy the read!

The Tale of Creation and Prelude to Disaster

Everyone stood in reverence of the four deities before. For the dragon slayers, they stood in complete silence. The ones raised by dragons knew who these four were. Their parents made it a point for them to recognize the four gods of their pantheons, the ones who created their universe and brought rise to the dragon race.

The artificial slayers were in complete shock. They were never raised by a dragon, but the draconian instincts buried within their dragon lacrima resonated, and they felt compelled to submit to the four dragons before them.

The other non-dragon slayer mages were frozen stiff as the pressure was unlike anything they had felt before from all the other mages or dragons they had met. Even Acnologia's pressure was dwarfed by the four. Something they never thought was possible. It felt as if they were comparing an ocean to an entire planet.

For Naruto, Anna, Irene, Wendy, and the dragons they looked at the four as if they were meeting some old friends again. The last group mentioned quickly got down to one knee as they bowed to the four. The others quickly followed suit.

"Rise, heir of Thoron. Same to his queens, and his comrades." Arceus spoke.

Naruto gave a slight smirk as he stood up. "It's a pleasure to speak with all of you once again." He said politely.

"The pleasure is ours, Naruto," Dialga replied.

"We are pleased to see you back to your senses," Palkia said.

"Well as much as a bloodthirsty sadist can have his senses." Giratina jokes.

Naruto snorted in amusement. "I see you all have your sense of humor intact."

"We've had 400 years to keep it up." A cheeky Dialga said.

"Which is small when you think about our millennium-long lifetimes," Palkia replied in a thoughtful tone.

Giratina looked at her little sister with a raised eyebrow. "Are you calling us old?"

Arceus snorted. "We ARE old, sister."

"Speak for yourself. I still consider myself quite youthful." Giratina huffed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Now you sound like that hyper-idiotic fool, Rock Lee."

"Don't compare me to that boy!" Giratina warned in a dark tone.

"Oh dear. It looks like our beloved sister is having one of her moments." Dialga teased.

"It's adorable to see this side of hers. Always so serious." Arceus gushed.

Giratina glared at her three siblings. "What did I tell you about teasing me?!"

Everyone who had never met the four deities just watched the spectacle in complete bafflement. "Wow, they are nothing like what I expected." Happy finally said as he voiced the entire audience.

The four dragons turned to their audience. "Oh, did you expect us to act all high and mighty? To see ourselves as the superior beings, and see everyone else as inferior insects?" Arceus asked.

Natsu shrugged. "Not exactly that cliche, but close enough," he said in answer

The four rolled their eyes. "Oh please, that would be SO BORING~!" Giratina complained.

"Acting all high and powerful is so exhausting," Dialga said.

"Plus, a large majority of us divine beings act like our creations a lot more than we may care to admit," Palkia commented.

"We prefer interacting with our creations. They can be so interesting." Giratina said.

Everyone looked at the gods in complete awe. This was not what they had expected to hear from them.

"It's good to see you again Gira-chan!" Wendy cheered.

"You as well, Wendy!" The dark dragon replied. Everyone just looked between the two and then looked at Naruto in confusion. The blonde king rolled his eyes. "Giratina made an appearance while I was training Wendy in the Makai. They surprisingly connected well." Everyone 'ahhh'ed' in understanding.

Lucy slowly raised a hand. "So how did you all come to be?" she asked. As a writer, she couldn't help but let her imagination ask a question she had wondered for a long time. How did the world come to be? Where did magic come from? Dragon's? Kaijuu? Demon's? Monster's? Perhaps even the origin of the One Magic. All of it… It had all the things that would make up a fantastic story.

Arceus shifted a bit as he created several nice and comfortable chairs for his audience with a flash of his eyes. "Better sit down as this will be a bit of a long story." the Primordial Dragon King instructed them, "In the beginning, there was only the Primordial Mind, there was nothing but darkness. All that existed was the deep, eternal void that had no thoughts or conscience, but it did have a will of its own to an extent.." he began, particles of magic swirled around, and the illusion began crafted from the energy of the universe itself, bound to the will of its conscience turned to flesh, "From this mind sprang the whole of creation. The stars, the planets, life and death. But in time, the Mind was divided against itself. " he declared, the particles of magic moving and swirling around to produce the image of a golden egg, surrounded by a myriad of color and energy, "Then there was a light that illuminated from the darkness. This light took the shape of a golden platinum egg. And within this egg were two fragments of a whole being…" the white and gold dragon illustrated, the egg contents being unveiled to show a blue swirl mixed with a red swirl, a maelstrom of infinite power fighting against itself for balance and control, "These two fragments, the Radiant and the Dire, thought and action, warred over creation with irreconcilable ferocity, and this in turned caused the egg to shatter apart… from this infighting… this chaos…" Arceus stated as the image showed the egg exploding in a violent blast of light and color, "A blistering explosion rippled across the sea of endless void and illuminated everything within this realm. This was the birth of our universe, and at the center of where this explosion erupted from is where I, Arceus, came to be. But I was not alone upon my creation." The dragon god of creation explained.

The particles of magic coalesced to show the image of the young dragon god, surrounded by nothingness, and yet everything at the same time. A realm of infinite possibilities for him to bend and change to his whims.

"The great ripples of energy profoundly affected the black void. The mindless mass willed itself together. The essence of creation and nothingness came together, and the endless void was given a malleable form. A personification that the void was an extension of. This was how Giratina was born. The primordials of creation and death were now together in a seemingly empty universe."

The swirls of magic then changed to a malevolent black, red, and violet. These particles condensed together to form the familiar shape of a young dark serpentine dragon. The young dark dragon looked at her majestic brother as they turned to the vast and empty universe filled with limitless potential. Everyone was paying rapid attention to the tale. "So, you two are the oldest primordials?" Ultear asked.

Arceus and Gritina nodded. "That's right."

"So, what did you two exactly do then?" Meredy asked.

Arceus and Giratina shrugged. "We simply talked. We discussed our birth, creation, and our purpose. We began formulating an idea of what to do in this empty universe to breathe life into it. "

"How long did this take?" Happy asked.

Arceus tilted his head. "I'm not exactly sure. Remember, time and space did not exist yet. We have no clue how much time has passed if we could record time to give you an answer. So, eventually, we decided, why not create the concepts of time and space? So together my sister and I use powers over creations to form two new lifeforms. One to represent time and space respectively. This was how Dialga and Palkia came to be."

The swirls of particles showed the young dragon duo unleashing their primal powers of life and death together. The powers that govern the infinite powers to begin and end the universe swirled together as two eggs formed. The first was a sapphire blue that cracked as shockwaves rippled through creating nebulas and clouds of cosmos. From this egg came a familiar bipedal blue and silver dragon.

The other egg, a bright hot pink began to crack as well. The ripples began to create the first infant galaxies that would be abundant throughout the universe in the future. Portals to nonexistent dimensions began to sprout as the egg hatched and thus came the bipedal white and pink dragon with white wings.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the version of the tale the four siblings gave. 'So they are omitting THAT important detail from their story? Not that I can't understand the reason. For now, it's best to keep that information withheld for now.'

"Now with our new siblings, the four of us went on to begin forging the universe into what it is today. Expanding space, galaxies, nebulas of light and darkness, suns, planets, comets, and meteors. We gave these planets life in the form of vegetation, seas, air to breathe, etc. It was some of our most elegant works." Arceus said with pride.

"So, wait, Earthland is not the only planet with life?" Natsu asked.

The four Primordials shook their heads in amusement. "Oh no. There are plenty of worlds out there with life. Even ones where magic exists there as well, though not entirely the same as the one here."

"Does that mean dragons also exist in those worlds?" Gray asked.

The gods, Naruto and his wives, and the dragons all smirked in amusement. "Maybe.~" Irene teased. After their audience finished their grumblings, the four continued the tale.

"After a while, we filled the worlds with beautiful ecosystems, though none of the worlds had true life on them except for plant and animal life. We were unsure of what to do next, and that's when Giratina came up with a brilliant idea. To create something within our image. This is when we created the first dragons." Arceus answered the inquiry that his audience was about to make.

"What were they like, you might ask? Well, we created dragons that were from our domains."

"I name my first son Fobos; the Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon," Arceus said.

"My first child was known as Alduin. The Devourer of the Abyss and Stars. You may call him, The World Eater." Giratina explained. A bipedal wyvern-like dragon covered in dark grey scales roared in triumph. The audience, minus those who have heard the tale before, looked on in shock as the dragon devoured dead planets like a strawberry dessert.

"I created my child to be of the very cosmos itself that could forge literal stars, Aurelion Sol," Palkia said. Everyone watched in awe and fear as the particles formed a massive serpentine dragon whose eyes were like a distant star. In absolute amazement, they saw an entire galaxy form in the palm of its hand.

"My child would be named Chronous, but he would be known as the Chronicler," Dialga said. A familiar sea-green dragon with gray scales appeared to the audience. Naruto smirked as he knew he would be seeing the Chronicler soon. Though he does wonder what the watcher of time wishes to tell him.

"These four would be the first generation of Elder Dragons," Arceus explained. "The four of us then came together to form three more dragons. These were meant to be our greatest creations. The pinnacle of their kind. The respective gods of their races." The particles of magic formed into three massive dragon silhouettes. The first shadow was shown on a planet that resembled a very primitive Earthland. This shadow began to lay hundreds if not thousands of eggs that would hatch into a baby dragon.

"One would work on giving birth to dragons on the planet that would later be known as Earthland. Giratina proposed to create a race that could rival the dragons. This led to the creation of the first kaiju. Finally, there was the final dragon we created. Our Magnum Opus. A creation we took the most time in and had the most pride for. The Black Alpha." The particles froze before turning completely black as they merged to resemble a massive shadow. One that even dwarfed Aurelion Sol. Its wings completely covered the very night sky and everything else in absolute darkness. Its fingertip could crush a galaxy created by the previous elder dragon. Its roar was something else. Not like a triumphant cry from Igneel and his comrades. Not like the monstrous cry from Naruto's dragon form or the horrifying screech from Ghidorah.

It was like a loud drone that eclipsed any noise that could be uttered. Nothing but this fearsome bellow could be heard as their bodies vibrated from the roar itself. Everyone felt themselves fall to their knees. They knew this was an illusion, but they only felt defeat and despair as their eyes could barely look up at the existence that was crushing their very forms with its mere shadow.

The only one that seems able to withstand the phantom is Naruto though he was still pushed onto one knee. As the dragon king looked up he saw the existence that he feared but also one he should technically be grateful for. After all this creature created the dragon king lineage and helped give Naruto his new identity when he became the dragon king.

Suddenly the shadow was gone as the particles crumbled and the pressure was gone. Everyone sighed with relief as they could breathe and move normally again. The gods apologized as they did not expect the shadow of their creation to affect them as much as they did. The group accepted the apology though a warning would be appreciated next time. The gods agreed, but Naruto could tell there was something off.

They could have easily prevented that illusion from affecting everyone as it did. Meaning they intentionally allowed the shadow to influence them. He had his suspicions why, but he would wait until later to get an answer. Though he could tell that many could feel something was off. Wendy, his wives, Laxus, and several others were looking at him. He gave them a gesture to tell them to wait for their questions which they accepted. Arceus resumed his tale once more.

"Dialga and Palkia worked together to form the first generation of celestial spirits with their children and us giving them some ideas on what should be their responsibilities and domains. This led to our universe's creation to be complete now."

"Woah." everyone said in complete rapture. They were unsure what they would learn today. But now they could say they were a bit overwhelmed by all the information they were learning about not just their world, but the entire universe. It was utterly outstanding.

"What happened next?" Carla asked curiously.

"We created realms that represented our domains to rest for some time. We believed we had achieved a utopia of prosperity and peace as our creations co-existed with one another." Giratina explained to the group.

Arceus let out a tired sigh as he looked at his audience sorrowfully. "Sadly all good things must come to an end eventually."

Everyone who did not know the story felt a chill go down their spine. "What happened?" Happy asked in a worried tone.

"The Black Alpha. The shadow whose presence caused you all to buckle. One of our three great creations chose to rebel against us."

Everyone looked up in shock as the particles showed the massive shadow again with an army of smaller minions roaring together as they fought against the four primordials and their armies. An epic clash of dancing colors illuminated the entire vacuum of space as planets, stars, nebulas, and even galaxies were destroyed in this universal war. "But why though?" Erza asked the question on everyone's mind. Why would one of their creations rebel against them? They haven't been shown anything that would turn their creations against them. So why?

The four gods shook their heads. "We honestly don't know. We have never been able to understand. Greed for more power? Jealousy over our other creations? Perhaps believing we were playing favorites with our other creations and he saw himself and the dragons as the superior creations? Or a desire to destroy everything and everyone in the universe? Maybe it was a mix of all of them or it was something else entirely." Arceus explained.

"The Alpha would take the lives of his two brethren and absorb their powers and make him even stronger. He would take this time to build an army of his creations and those that followed his belief and waged a war against us." Giratina continued.

"The war was fierce and devastating to the planet and the neighboring systems and galaxies as you saw. Eventually, he was finally defeated by the combined efforts of the Alpha's two sons as the two completely obliterated his body and we believed the same for his soul." Dialga followed up.

Palkia continued. "After the war, we worked on repairing all the damage done to Earthland and all the other planets affected by it."

"Once the world was revitalized, everyone gravitated to the younger brother and saw him as a paragon to the dragon race. Seeing this opportunity we decided to make him the leader of the race with his brother guiding him. We took a portion of our power and fused it into a special item." Arceus explained as the particles showed the four gods take mana from their very souls and merge them. Particles of white, blue, pink, and black came together from the four as several million particles from the environment followed suit.

A brilliant light illuminated the arena in a blinding flash. When the flash died down, a brilliant glowing stone could be seen being given to a bipedal black dragon. This stone soon became a familiar object everyone had seen once the dragon pushed the stone into its own body and was absorbed.

"The Aurathon." everyone muttered in what was only a whisper.

Dialga nodded. "Yes, this is how the younger brother would be selected as our chosen vassal for the rest of the dragon race. This was how Bahamut became the first dragon king."

"And is still currently the strongest dragon king," Giratina added cheekily. Naruto and the other gods rolled their eyes. So childish for a death god.

"WHAT?!" everyone who did not know this screamed

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Natsu exclaimed.

"We are quite serious." they all replied in unison.

"But Naruto has to be close to him in power, right? He has to be like just below him or at least be close to him in power." Happy asked in a panic. After everything he saw Naruto do to them on Tenrou Island and during the Dragon Invasion; the idea that Naruto could be weaker than any of the other dragon kings was a hard pill to swallow. Sure he could see Bahamut being the strongest but Naruto has to be close to his level of power. Right?

Naruto shook his head. "Unfortunately, I am ranked fourth in power compared to the other kings." Everyone's jaw dropped at that revelation. All that power and he was only considered the fourth strongest?!

"You are tied for third place after your recent bout with Ghidorah," Giratina told him.

Naruto blinked at the revelation. "Well, that's neat." It was nice to know he was moving up in the ranks, even if he did not care about such things. However, the increase in his power will help against Zeref and everything else going against him. Though he won't deny a part of him felt some pride that he was tied with Spyro for the third strongest of the dragon kings.

"AT LEAST TRY TO ACT SURPRISED!?" several exclaimed in shock.

"How are you only third with how much power you have?!" Gajeel demanded as he pointed at him. After everything they saw him do, he was only considered tied for third place?!

Naruto shook his head in response. "I have an incredible amount of mana that I can attest to. With my wide range of abilities, I have numerous ways I could easily wipe out the entire population of Earthland or just blow the planet up with its moons if I wanted to. Back to the matter at hand, the ones above me can match all of my destructive capabilities and abilities plus go beyond them. They are power that's personified and their existence defies logic itself. Especially when discussing Bahamut the Stormbringer. He was an anomaly even amongst his dragons. Though considering who his father was. That is to be expected."

Arceus took control of the conversation. "As it stands, Naruto would be known as the youngest Dragon King over the second youngest, Spyro. There is also the fact that Naruto is the first human to become a dragon and take the throne. Which is unusual and we did not think was possible. And even if it was through force of combat, he defeated the dragon king and thus he was deemed the new king of dragons. The fact that the Aurathon chose him as its new master is proof of this. Even if it was made as a part of our souls, the Aurathon has a mind of its own and will decide who it sees as the dragon king and who would be the successor. Though it has been known to take the thoughts and feelings of the current king into consideration."

"However, Naruto will be known for being part of the Strongest Lineage of Dragon Kings." Palkia chimed in. Naruto and the others looked confused. "What do you mean?" Anna asked. The four gods manipulated the particles to show a silhouette of Thoron. Then another silhouette formed into a shadow of Naruto which turned into his dragon form.

"Naruto is the first son of a Dragon King to succeed to the throne. This has never happened before. And if one of Naruto's children were to ascend to the throne, you would have the strongest Dynasty ever created. The Marvell Dynasty of Thoron, the progenitor, will be remembered as the strongest bloodline of dragons to be sired. until the end of days; regardless of usurpation or even succession." Dialga explained. The time dragon and the other three then turned their attention to Naruto. "Now then speaking of Naruto I believe it's time for us to discuss why we called you here today."

"Yeah, we have been wondering why you called us all here. Not that we minded as we loved the history lesson." Ultear said. Giratina spoke up which gained the attention of their audience.

"You see Naruto wanted something and we agreed to grant his request as long as he performed his duty as king."

"What exactly was his request?" Laxus asked.

"He wished to bring the dragons he slaughtered back to life," Giratina replied.

"WHAT?!" everyone shouted.

"WAIT! You can do that?" Natsu asked.

The four gods looked a little sheepish. "Well yes and no," they replied.

"Huh?" was the reply of their audience. Palkia decided to clarify for his siblings.

"Let us explain this clearly. You must understand that resurrections are forbidden as we decreed it as an outcry against nature. Look what happened to Zeref. Those who break this law are cursed with the Curse of Contradiction, this law has been upheld since its degree, even if we are not the ones that enforce this curse, it affects everyone in this reality. It's also why necromancy is a rare magical art and severely frowned upon, even if it's not a true resurrection."

"Wait can't you manipulate souls? So, couldn't you revive anyone whose soul you have as you did for our parents?" Sting asked. Naruto and the dragons shook their heads at the understandable confusion.

"No, the dragons inside you slayers weren't exactly dead yet they were not alive either. They were in a bit of an in-between. And like I said they were more reborn than truly resurrected." Naruto explained.

"So technically, you found a loophole?" Lucy asked.

Naruto shrugged. " "In a way, it can be seen as such. Plus, while yes, I can manipulate souls, the most you will ever see me do when I am not devouring a soul to gain more power is summon it to get some questions answered. You will never see me attempt a full-on resurrection. Life must eventually end. We are all born into this world, we live in it, we age in it, and we eventually die. That is the Circle of Life. Death is what gives life meaning because of our awareness that it will eventually end. It's why I have never tried reviving Hinata or my other lovers. Hinata lived a full life and died peacefully as she felt fulfilled. To try and resurrect her and my lovers would be an insult to them, their memory, and everything they stood for when they were alive." He sighed deeply as he furrowed his brows.

"No matter how much I want them to be alive and be here with us, they aren't. I have accepted it as that's how things are," he said softly.

"But if you can summon their souls or spirits, why did you never do it?" Rogue asked.

Naruto seemed to freeze before he relaxed and replied. "Honestly I was scared."

Everyone looked more confused than surprised at the admission. Though the dragons, Anna, Irene, and Wendy seem to have an idea as to why. "Pa-Naruto, scared of….what?" Ultear asked as she ignored another slip.

"I feared that they would hate me for all the horrible things I had done in these nearly five centuries."

Anna and Irene smack him over his head while Wendy gives him a gut punch. "You know damn well they wouldn't!" they shouted in unison.

Naruto rubbed his head in slight irritation. He deserved that. "I know that. But that doubt ate me every time I even considered summoning their spirits. No matter how long it's been, that doubt clouded me from ever trying. It wasn't until I met Hinata and then Wendy again that my doubts began to dissipate."

"So, if resurrections are forbidden, how do you plan to bring the dragons back?" Gajeel asked.

"The process will be similar to what I did to your parents," Naruto answered.

"Wait, are you talking about the souls of the dragons you've absorbed throughout your life?" Wendy asked.

Her father nodded. "That's right."

"Won't you lose all the abilities that you have collected?" Natsu asked. It would suck if Naruto lost everything he had accumulated in his life. Even if he felt he might have a better chance of beating him without all of his busted abilities.

Naruto shook his head. "Nothing to worry about. I've had these souls for so long that the powers I have gained can never be taken away simply by taking the souls. Once I had the soul, the power was mine, but it was never the source, simply the means of obtaining the power or ability. Plus not all the souls remain in me all the time, the weakest eventually dissipate out of my body and return to the ether. Dragons do not die as humans do. Everything that we are passes into a new body. However, the stronger ones remain, but they cannot fight or resist me and are forced to remain dwelling in my body until I remove them."

"Can you talk to them?" Happy asked in a curious tone. Wendy flinched as she had a similar question during her training trip, but her father did not really answer the question. She got the message and dropped her inquiry for the time. She expected a similar response, but what she received was not what she expected, and did not like it at all.

Everyone was concerned when they saw the dragon king flinch as he looked down and grabbed his knees. "Naruto?" Anna asked in genuine concern.

She remembered during the war, how spook Naruto was getting during the end of the war. He always was on edge and seemed to jump at every little sound. He even looked like he did not get a lot of sleep as he would have dark bags under his eyes. He would rarely sleep with her or Irene during those as he said he was afraid he would not let them rest despite their protest. She looked to see Irene just as worried.

The only times Naruto seemed to be at peace were the times he spent with Wendy and the children and the very rare times he would allow himself to sleep in the same chamber as herself and Irene.

Naruto looked at his audience. "I would be able to talk to them under normal circumstances. During the war, when I absorbed the souls, I could on occasion hear their voices. But they were just whispers. A voice in the back of your head. It was negligible." Naruto's face then went grim as he shivered a bit. "However, as the war continued, the more my bloodlust grew the more souls I devoured, and the greater number of voices I began to hear that chipped at my sanity." He clutched his knees hard, "Normally I could ignore them, but as my mind fell deeper into the pit, the harder the task became. The betrayal caused an unfixable crack to stay in my psyche. Afterward, I continuously heard them and was unable to lock them away. The voices were malicious as they tempted me to perform acts of depravity and destruction on my loved ones and everything around me, but I could always control them. But then when I hurt Anna, the last visages of the walls in my head crumbled into the abyss of insanity and the voices all came pouring out. My rise as a dragon came also with the loss of my mind." he explained in a haunted tone that sent shivers down the mage's spines.

"In the aftermath of the war, I managed to put a temporary wall to keep the voices out. I attempted numerous times to speak with the souls, to come to an understanding so that I could have some peace if only briefly. However, the moment I tried I was bombarded by a massive ocean of unrelenting voices and emotions from all the souls I absorbed. It was all too much and I had to pull up the wall again. Though the walls sometimes faltered and the voices would seep out and the nightmares would come and continue my prolonged insanity."

Everyone looked horrified at what they were hearing. None of them knew about this side effect of devouring too many souls. Which they all reasoned was why Sapphira never devoured souls regularly. It was to avoid the loss of her mental peace and sanity.

Cobra shivered as someone who could hear the voices of nearly everyone around him, he could understand how overwhelming the sheer magnitude of the inner voices can be. It's why he focuses on one person at a time. He tried to hear the voices of an entire city before to find info on a mage he was hunting. He nearly died from his blood vessels nearly exploding from the sheer overload he experienced. Cobra swore to never attempt that again.

Anna and Irene were in tears, Naruto had never told them any of this. They had their suspicions but any time they tried to probe, Naruto would close himself off. Now they wished both had been more assertive in getting Naruto to open up more to them.

Wendy sighed, she had her suspicions about what her father was dealing with. His restlessness during the training trip was evidence enough, but she could only get brief and short answers to her inquiry. He did admit to having nightmares that barely let him sleep on many occasions; he never discussed the main cause of the nightmares besides the guilt and PTSD from the war itself.

Naruto dragged his hands over his face as he looked at his audience. "Eventually after MANY decades, I got enough of my sanity back to fix the wall into something far more durable than before. I then proceeded to the process of slowly getting all the souls individualized. However, while I did manage to do this for many of the souls, a majority had become too jumbled within my body as they were swallowed by the vast ocean of madness inside of me and thus lost what made them who they were. Now they are just an echo of voices that barely resemble the being they were while alive."

Again the audience shivered at the description Naruto gave about the consequences of what happened to the souls he absorbed. "Then if that's true, how will you be able to perform the rebirth?" Gray asked.

"That is where we come in. The souls of the dragons will be cleansed with our help and the power of the Aurathon." Arceus explained.

"There's no way it's that easy." A skeptical Laxus asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No. The souls reborn will be cleansed but they will be truly reborn. They will not have their memories. It will be a true rebirth. All of them will become those same faces and even come to have the same names, but their personality will be completely different." he said as he clenched his fist, "This is a penance for my sins. I will reign as King, but l will have to look at the faces of those I slaughtered."

"Are you sure?" Anna asked.

Naruto looked assured. "Yes. My sins may have been forgiven by all of you, but I have yet to forgive myself. Possibly never." He looked at his audience. "This action won't wipe my sins away, but it will be one of my many steps for my atonement to our pantheon and all of you."

"You don't have to…." Erza began but Naruto raised his hand. "I appreciate it, but my soul tells me differently. It's not necessary, yes, but I want to do this. Fate only binds you if you let it. I will do what is necessary, not because it has been written." he said with conviction.

"Are you ready, Naruto?" Arceus asked.

Naruto took a deep breath. "As ready as I ever will be." He then rose and walked up the altar until he reached the center of the room as the four gods surrounded him. Giratina was in front of him. Dialga was to his left and Palkia was to his right. Arceus appeared right above him. The blonde sighed as the Aurathon floated in front of him. A massive sigil appeared below the five. It was a massive golden triangle with a silver circle that had three marks on each side. Above the silver circle was a crimson sigil with a pyramid symbol pulsating where Giratina stood. Dilga's sigil resembled its chest gem that glowed a deep blue and pulsed almost like a heartbeat. Palkia's sigil resembled its shoulder jewel that pulsated in a pink glow slowly. (The symbol is one from the Sinnoh Ruins Event from Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver).

The four Primordial dragons each closed their eyes as they lowered their heads while Naruto himself closed his own eyes and spread his arms while he tilted his head back. Silence permeated the air before the five dragons began to glow a variety of colors. Dialga glows a striking blue and silver aura of magic. Palkia glowed a deep crimson and white color. Giratina glowed with dark ebony mixed with blood crimson and magenta aura of power while Arcues glowed an all-powerful golden-white mixed with black energy. As for Naruto, he glowed with a myriad of colors. Deep crimson, stunning yellow, pulsating orange, stunning azure, dazzling green, and an astonishing purple.

As for the Aurathon, it blazed like a sun of green around his neck before a pulse of magic echoed across all of Earthland with a crack of thunder that all life upon the world heard.

Everyone watched in awe as emerald ether particles rose from the sigil and the Aurathon itself. Silver particles also danced around the air itself. Naruto, Giratina, Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus all released their mana particles of blue, black-red, pink, white, and navy blue from their mana auras as they breathed slowly.

The four then began to recite in unison in the ancient draconic language as the particles all began to dance and bounce around each other in a beautiful symphony of lights. It almost resembled a multi-colored aurora. Suddenly massive dark pillars of blood-red miasma oozed out of every pour of Naruto's body. The group watched in awe as the dark mana seemed to come together to form a massive egg or ball of malevolence. They were a bit worried as they could see many dragon faces trying to rip out of the egg as they roared in anger and agony.

The five began to chant even faster as the particles all began to swirl around the dark egg and even began to enter it. The chanting continued to get louder and faster as the four gods' and king's mana aura began to enter the egg as well. Soon the orb became a massive orb of multiple colors that began to fight each other for dominance as lightning was released out of the orb with a literal windstorm that began to whip the entire temple.

The others got worried until a barrier erupted to protect them. They saw Naruto whip his suddenly sprouted tail at them. This cued them in that he was keeping them safe. The group smiled and silently cheered the five on. The positive feedback seemed to reinvigorate the group as their chant seemed to have reached a crescendo as they spoke one last line loudly in unison as a massive pillar of emerald light exploded out of the Aurathon and went right into the orb. There was silence before a massive explosion of white light blinded everyone.

For what seemed like an eternity everyone could hear nothing and see everything in white until everything began to die down. Everyone readjusted their eyes as they looked and were shocked at what they were seeing. The four gods and Naruto seem to look fine but it was the ball of malevolence that was completely different. Instead of a deep red and black or multi-colored whirlpool, it was a beautiful shade of white with thousands of green orbs. However, their amazement grew as the lights died down to reveal eggs. Everyone immediately could tell what these eggs were. Dragon eggs. The four gods then looked proudly as their eyes glowed and the eggs disappeared in a flash of light.

Arceus sighed as he and the other four looked back at the rest of his audience. "They are now back," he stated, "The Thunder has spoken."

"Though it will take time for all of them to hatch. Fortunately, we have prepared a pocket dimension that will act as a sanctuary where they can develop and grow into maturity." Palkia told them.

"Won't they need some kind of guardian to watch over them?" Lucy asked in worry while the others nodded in agreement.

The gods waved their concern off. "We have a solution to that. Naruto, I believe it's time for you to attempt the dragon call."

"The dragon call?" several of the slayers asked in confusion.

Naruto nodded, "It's similar to what I did to awaken your parents. I will awaken the remaining dragons that are scattered all around Earthland. Hopefully, they will listen to the call, but it is ultimately up to them." Naruto explained.

"Can the crystal tell you where they are?" Rogue asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No. But at the same time, they also won't know where I am. All they will have is a feeling of their instincts guiding them towards me, but it's not an exact location indicator. Plus they can choose to ignore it. It's not a binding command." he explained before he spread his arms widely, his eyes now glowing with emerald energy as he channeled the power of the Aurathon and shouted boldly, confidently, and with all the presence that one would expect from the King of Dragon's,

Naruto refocused on the Aurathon as his wings sprouted out of his back. The familiar blue tribal markings of his dragon form also appeared on his body. The markings soon began to pulse in power in unison with the Aurathon's pulses. "My brethren in slumber, the time has come for us to awaken to reunite our pantheon once more." he declared, the dragon slayers both natural and artificial all felt a calling in their souls from the power of the dragon slayer magic embedded into them, "NOW, COME TO ME! FULFILL YOUR OATHS OF LOYALTY! HEED ME MY BRETHREN, THE CALL OF YOUR KING COMMANDS YOU TO OBEY! LET THE THUNDER ROAR IN YOUR HEARTS ONCE AGAIN!"Naruto called as another crackle of thunder echoed across the planet.

Suddenly a beam of emerald light exploded into the sky as a massive wave of energy exploded outward with the roar of a dragon and traveled across the entire night sky and into the grand horizon. Naruto swiped the sweat off his face, retracted his transformation into his body, and turned to nod at everyone.

"How many do you think will listen to the call?" Irene asked.

Naruto shrugged. "It just depends on what dragon we are talking about love. Though I doubt the pentadrakes will care about the call. I will say at best three MAY listen to the call. But that is still a reach as they usually don't listen to the dragon king. Hell even with my father, they were only cordial at best. They can be unpredictable to whose side they are on."

"Pentadrakes?" Lucy asked.

"Powerful dragons that are considered Dragon Kings in their own right but hold no true authority as I do with the Aurathon," he explained.

"Are they enemies?" Gray asked.

"Yes, they hate my guts to varying degrees," Naruto confirmed. "I can say maybe one or two could be diplomatic, maybe three depending on the latter's mood."

"Why do they hate you?" Gajeel asked.

"All of them in the past have tried to kill me and they all miserably failed. I let them live on a whim. Well with Ignia, I was simply doing Igneel a favor." Igneel looked sheepish while Natsu had a confused look on his face.

"Igneel, why was this a favor for him?" Natsu asked.

"Well. He is the Fire Dragon King's biological son after all." Naruto smirked.

"I HAVE A BROTHER! FUCK YEA, IMMA FIGHT HIM!" Natsu cheered.

"NATSU!" Lucy and Happy exclaimed in shock, "You can't just fight him on a whim!" they cried as Igneel burst into laughter, that was something he could see happening.

"Sure I can!" Natsu beamed.

Erza shook her head and turned to Naruto, "Getting back on track, can you tell us what they are like?" she asked.

"One is a water dragon that is rather sadistic and cruel, but I believe he has mellowed out since the last beating I gave him, and he has learned a lesson in what it means to live as a human. I've heard he has a whole village worshiping him. The second is a moon dragon that I swear takes lunacy and obsession to a new level but can be reasoned with….hopefully if she's sober. I swear, she is a baby-obsessed dragon who only wants the world to be overrun by toddlers," Irene and Anna grumbled about a perverted bitch trying to get into their hubbies' pants which caused those who heard to blush/chuckle/giggle.

"The third is a wood dragon that I thought for sure I killed but like a cockroach he survived and only grew physically to be larger than any mountain you have seen. The fourth is a gold dragon that I have no clue where they are and what they will do. One is definitely dead unless he found a way to return which wouldn't surprise me. The last is your brother Ignia, a fire dragon that's obsessed with fighting me and proving their superiority to me and his father."

"So we may have to fight him?" Natsu asked in excitement much to everyone's amused exasperation.

Naruto shrugged, "It's not exactly a yes or a no, but he will want to challenge me now that I have regained a vast majority of my senses and power back to see how he stacks up against me. I recalled a rumor about a secret seventh member that was the true leader, but I could never confirm them to be true." Naruto explained.

"How strong are they?" Meredy asked.

"The pentadrakes are as strong as I was when I attacked Tenrou. Though I was out of shape and not using my full power, so consider that when trying to measure their capabilities when we meet them."

"I still can't believe you call that out of shape," Ultear muttered.

"But you held back, which means that they are stronger than what you showed on Tenrou," Jellal said.

"Will we be ready for them?" Lucy asked nervously.

Naruto nodded in confirmation. "Yes. We will be ready. I will ensure it." He assured them.

"Now that the business is done, we would like to speak with Naruto alone." Arceus proclaimed.

Everyone looked a bit nervous to leave without their ally, but Naruto waved their concerns away. "Relax. I will be okay." though reluctant, everyone eventually left.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" Giratina asked.

Naruto took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. "Better. I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. Those souls had a much stronger hold over me than I considered. But this is just the first step."

Dialga nodded. "Indeed. You must also reclaim the missing relics of our pantheon."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "I may know the location of two relics, but I am still unsure about the rest."

The four deities looked at one another in slight worry. Naruto gets on edge. Your anxiety tends to increase when you see the four primordials of your pantheon look concerned. That is usually the sign that something terrible has or will occur. "There is one other issue Naruto," Palkia said somewhat softly.

Naruto furrowed his brow. "What is it exactly?"

"We recently learned that the traitor is still alive out there." Giratina finished.

Everything was silent as Naruto's eyes went wide in shock before they narrowed in absolute hatred as a black and blue mana aura erupted out of him. The four gods saw Naruto's malevolent dragon form through his magical pressure. "WHERE… IS... HE?" He growled out each word.

Girtina spoke gently to placate the enraged king. "Unfortunately, he has found a way to cloak himself from our eyes. He has used his time in this world to great effect. All we have been able to confirm is that he is still alive after all this time. Palkia here managed to sense his mana for a brief instance before it quickly disappeared."

The blonde king growled as the pressure oozed out of him. "Calm yourself, Naruto. You will find him eventually and you'll make him suffer for his crimes." Arceus demanded.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he took a large deep breath before he sighed as his aura dissipated. "I will make sure he suffers for all that he has done, for those he has betrayed, slaughtered, and forsaken. I swear on my name, and to the dragons I couldn't save." He swore in a resolute tone.

"Naruto. We are aware of your conversation with Zeref." Dialga said.

"I know what he said. Do you….." Naruto began before the four nodded somberly. "Yes, he was being completely honest."

"So, our enemy is…The Bla...' Naruto could not finish his words as he shivered.

"It's okay, Naruto. There's no shame in being afraid. After all, he was meant to be one of the three Perfect Dragons we created and is the father of the first king. And you two do hold a special connection. After all, he is practically your namesake." Arceus gently explained.

"And his eldest son will be coming after me due to my connection to Bahamut, while he finds this all as a game," Naruto replied in a dejected tone,

"They will be crucibles for you, Naruto, but we have faith you will rise to the challenge and prevail against the odds," Gratina concluded.

"Why do you all have faith that I can prevail against those who have come before me? Especially knowing who they are and what they are capable of. How can you be sure that I will succeed where others have failed you?" Naruto asked.

"Because we see potential in you, Naruto. Just like we did all those years ago. While your rising to the throne was not under normal circumstances, the trials you have faced and will come to face in these coming times will show your true worth as king." Palkia explained.

"The Aurathon still sees you worthy as king, but as it stands; you have not yet made a complete connection with it. Use these coming trials to show your worth to the Aurathon and complete the connection. The Eye knows what it's doing and why it is burdening you in such a manner." Dialga said.

"Believe in yourself, as we of the Thunder, believe in you." Arceus said, raising his head proudly, "LET THE THUNDER ROAR IN YOUR HEART!" the four primordial dragons roared, the echo of creation shaking from their declaration.

Naruto looked at them with a determined glare. "I swear I will show my worth. Not only to all of you but to the Aurathon and the spirits of the previous kings that reside within it. I will fully merge with the crystal. I will need all the power to triumph against the upcoming threats." Naruto said before both Dialga and Plakia coughed and shuddered unpleasantly. Having seen Dialga and Palkia shivering and sweat was coming to their faces and they breathed labored hoarsely. He looked at the gods of time and space in concern. "Are you two alright? You both look rather ill."

"It's fine. The Eclipse Gate has simply caused a minor imbalance in the Celestial Spirit World; it's affecting our realms." Dialga explained.

"Will all of you be alright?"

"Oh, don't worry about us. We'll be fine." Palkia assured him.

"Then I will take my leave." Naruto was about to turn and leave, but Arceus stopped him.

"Oh Naruto, one last thing. We had some interesting visitors. Two old men that wanted to speak with you." Arceus explained.

"No." Naruto quickly denied the upcoming request.

The gods chuckled a bit. "Come now, Naruto. You don't have to be rude." Giratina lectured.

Naruto glared at the dark serpent. "I don't care. I nearly had a seizure just from speaking with them as they showed me a peek into the multiverse. I do not need to see any more from that crazy immortal vampire and that time-traveling top hat-wearing lunatic!" he said, waving his arms about trying to explain his reason for denying them.

The four gods could not hold it in and began laughing. Naruto glared at the four. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you." he told them," As I recall, there was this one world where the four of you were captured by spherical devices by some ten-year-old kid and a lightning rat."

All jovialness left the four as they glared at the dragon king. "You swore you would never speak of that." all four roared at him in unison.

Naruto smirked. "Not so fun right, huh?" The two groups glared at one another before they all began to chuckle in unison. Naruto turned and began walking out. "Well, I will be going."

"Take care Naruto and be careful," Giratina warned one last time.

Naruto waved goodbye. He stopped to look at Dialga and Palkia. "You two should rest. The strain of your realms has been taxing on you both. We can't afford to lose you two. The chaos that would erupt would be immeasurable." The two nodded in assurance. "We shall keep in contact," Palkia replied.

"The Thunder has spoken." Arceus bellowed one last time, "Fare thee well, oh Dragon King of the Apocalypse." he declared as the four gods disappeared in majestic flashes of light. Naruto breathed out as he turned and walked out of the temple.

As he left the area, his family and comrades were waiting for him. "Come now, we have some training to do," he said in a resolute tone.

[Meanwhile in the Celestial Spirit World]

"No. No. The seal can't be broken. Not now." The Celestial Spirit King cried in horror as he watched his throne crumble as a massive pillar of dark and violet mana erupted into the eternal night sky of the stellar world that went on for eternity. Dark clouds erupted from the pillar and began to cover the night sky. Lightning and flames began to fall from the black heavens and enveloped the world in chaos. The celestial king looked around as he saw his world become one of the nine circles of hell in seconds.

Suddenly a dark and melodious voice began to speak. "Oh, it can be. And it has. At long last I am free." A massive titan that was equal in height to the king. His body was dark violet armored skin. He had a dark grey combat skirt around his waist and a grey helmet with horns and a violet faceplate. There was no indication of any sentience in the Goliath except for the blood-red eyes peering at the king.

"Hello, brother." the titan spoke in a dark amused tone.

"Lanancuras, what do you want?" the king asked wearily.

The now-named Lanancuras chuckled. "No well welcome to your eldest sibling, Endymion. I am quite hurt," he said jovially before in a swift motion he grabbed the king by his throat and glared hotly at his brother. "As to what I want. I am taking back what's rightfully mine."

Well, that is the end of the chapter. For those who recognize him, Lanancuras is from the anime called Shinzo. It's a show that used to air on Jetix back in the day. The show was ok, but that was probably due to the dub and nostalgia.

Now then, we move into the next arc of this story: The Neo-Eclipse Arc. Yes, I will be using this filler arc, however, as you can tell I am drastically changing the story to fit the Earthland version I have created in RDK. Many more things will be occurring in future chapters that will set up future arcs in this story. I will say the Tartarous Arc will not be happening for a while. There will be A LOT of adventures for our cast before getting to the last arc before the one-year time skip. Tartarous will be the last big arc before the time skip. The first big arc was the Grand Magic Games and the second big arc is one we are building up to. This one is called Dark Remembrance.

Yeah, Naruto is only ranked third, and before he was ranked fourth. I had always intended for Naruto to rise to the ranks of the dragon kings, but he was not going to surpass Bahamut until MUCH later in the story.

I have also given out more hints as to who the final boss will be. I wonder if anyone will be able to guess his name. He won't be appearing for a while again along with Zeref. Several of the lines in this chapter were inspired by the series of DOTA: Dragon's Blood. I had never played DOTA before, but the moment I watched the first episode I was hooked. I recommend everyone go and watch the first episode to see if it's up your alley in animated material.

Also, yes I did just reveal the Celestial Spirit King's name as Endymion. I felt like it was an appropriate name. Now why did I not use the name earlier? The name was not finalized when I used the king in the story earlier but also there is an in-story reason as to why the king does not use his name anymore which will be explained in the upcoming arc.

Well please leave a like and a review!