A vast shadow fell over Natsu.
Its outline was unmistakably draconic.
"Looks like you picked a fight with a ghost, Natsu. If you're going to lose that easily, don't go around calling yourself Igneel's son!"
Standing behind Natsu was none other than the Fire Dragon King Igneel—his adoptive father.
Natsu knew that voice far too well. The moment Igneel spoke, his expression crumpled.
"Igneel..."
Still sitting on the ground, Natsu stared at him in disbelief. Tears gathered in his eyes as his teeth pressed against his lower lip.
Igneel burst into booming laughter at the look on his face.
"Hahaha! You've got 'weren't you dead?' written all over you! This is a place where you can meet the dead. Does that explanation make sense?"
"???"
Unfortunately, Natsu did not understand a word of it.
"Is this heaven?"
Igneel scratched his chin with one enormous claw.
"Hmm... I suppose you could call it that. Strictly speaking, this isn't really heaven, but it's something similar."
Natsu suddenly realized the implication. He lowered his head and stared at his hands.
"Heaven? Then if I'm here... does that mean I'm... dead?"
Igneel did not tease him.
"You look dead, but you're actually still alive."
"What kind of answer is that?!" Natsu shouted angrily. "That doesn't make any sense at all!"
Grandeeney appeared beside Igneel.
"This truly is a world where the dead gather."
Metalicana appeared next.
"However, beings who are not dead occasionally find their way here as well."
"Just like you, Natsu."
The White Dragon and Shadow Dragon who had raised Sting and Rogue appeared after them, along with Atlas Flame, the Hellfire Dragon.
"You guys... aren't all of you...?"
Igneel nodded.
"That's right. We died a long time ago. There's no question about that."
"This place belongs to you, Natsu. It's a spiritual heaven formed inside your mind. For convenience, you could call it Beta Heaven."
"Beta Heaven exists within everyone's consciousness, and this place is the image of heaven sleeping inside your subconscious."
Grandeeney added gently,
"That's right. It may look as though we're living here, but all of this is determined by your subconscious. In reality, our souls disappeared long ago."
Natsu blinked.
"So this is the heaven I imagined? My subconscious made it?"
"That's right."
Natsu scratched his cheek in confusion.
"That's weird. I always imagined heaven would be covered in flames, with tons and tons of dragons everywhere."
Igneel looked delighted and threw his head back in laughter again.
"Hahaha! There are already plenty of dragons here. Maybe Acnologia is living in some corner of your Beta Heaven too."
As Natsu wiped the tears from his eyes, Igneel lowered his head and smiled at him.
"You're strong because you're a kind child."
Natsu gritted his teeth and looked down.
"But... this enemy's a ghost. I can't even hit him."
Igneel looked at him as though the answer were obvious.
"What are you talking about, Natsu? Aren't you basically a ghost right now too?"
"You may forget everything that happened here once you return, but that doesn't matter. We'll always remain in your heart."
"Now go. Your friends are fighting for you."
Natsu looked at them all and smiled through his tears.
"Thanks, Igneel. Grandeeney. Atlas Flame... all of you."
"I'll keep living... and I'll make it count!"
...
The white flame floating above Wraith's hand suddenly stirred back to life.
The fire sprouted a face and limbs. Soul Natsu sank his teeth into Wraith's hand, then drove a fist into his chin.
Wraith dropped to the ground so abruptly that it almost looked like he had thrown himself down for insurance money.
Soul Natsu roared furiously,
"Don't eat my soul without permission!!!"
"Natsu-nii!"
Wendy could see Soul Natsu and waved at him excitedly.
"Natsu-nii's soul woke up!"
Lucy and Happy still could not see anything, but Wendy's words gave them an immediate rush of hope.
Soul Natsu first noticed his own body lying unconscious on the floor.
Fortunately, he was good at adapting.
"I get it! Well, I don't really get it, but it looks like I turned into a ghost too!"
Wraith also noticed the change.
"A Thought Projection?!"
"If I go back into my body, I'll turn back to normal, right? Wait, that's not the important part."
"I hit him just now! If we're both ghosts, then my attacks can reach him!"
Soul Natsu moved his spectral body and punched Wraith in the face again, sending him flying.
"Wendy, leave him to me!"
"Okay!"
Wendy nodded and withdrew from the fight.
"Now that he has become a Thought Projection, he can affect me..."
Wraith wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and frowned.
His companions could not help him. Every one of them had been dragged into a difficult fight.
Nebaru in particular looked furious enough to activate Dragon Force.
Fifth Generation Dragon Slayers possessed extremely powerful Dragon Force, but it came with a lethal side effect: death.
Unless they were prepared to gamble their lives and take the enemy down with them, they would never use it.
Wraith fought entirely through his soul, and his close-combat ability was practically nonexistent.
Against Natsu in spirit form, he was beaten back again and again.
"Impressive. I've never met anyone like you before. However... Possession!"
Wraith's soul slowly entered...
Happy's body.
There was a reason he chose Happy.
When Natsu lost consciousness, Happy had cried louder than anyone.
Natsu's scent was also strongest on him, which meant the two of them must live together and share an extremely close bond.
For lack of a better name, "Spirit Happy" turned around under Wraith's control and faced Natsu.
"I can possess another body and control it freely. Although in this case, it happens to be a cat."
Natsu looked at him as though he were an idiot and waved both hands dismissively.
"No, no, no. Even if you possess Happy, you're still not gonna beat me."
An eerie smile appeared on Happy's face.
Wraith gave a cold snort.
"But you won't be able to attack your own companion, will you? Especially a cat you care about this much."
"Hmm..."
Natsu rested his chin on one hand and thought about it.
For roughly a quarter of a second.
"Sorry, Happy."
"You can hit him?!!!"
Natsu drove a full-force straight punch into Happy's face without the slightest hesitation.
Wendy covered her face, unable to watch.
"That really is... exactly like Natsu-nii."
Wraith was forced out of Happy's unconscious body, his voice full of disbelief.
"Th-This man actually struck his own companion..." Happy suddenly woke up.
The first thing he did was clutch his injured right cheek and burst into tears.
"It hurts! It feels like someone suddenly punched me in the face!"
"..."
Wendy really wanted to tell him that someone had.
And that someone was Natsu.
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