Eye of The Storm

(A/N: Apologies for the confusion. I accidentally uploaded this chapter before the other one. I had to fix that. 

That said, Patreon is ahead by a large margin. Next time there's an upload here, it should be ahead by 80 chapters. Thank you.)

(Jason's POV)

"Jason!" I hear a voice call out

I opened my eyes to see Lucy look down at me with a worried look.

"Lucy?" I said as I felt my entire body ache in pain, "Ugh..."

I tried to sit up but couldn't.

"Don't move too much." Lucy said as she gently pushed me back down, "You suffered really bad injuries. We had to get Wendy over here and help with healing you."

I looked at my body and saw that it was covered with bandages. I also felt that my right eye was bandaged up.

"H-How long was I out?" I asked

"Almost a week." Lucy said as she sat beside me, "You started sweating and your body began convulsing, which is why I was calling out for you."

I nodded, "I see."

"Your injuries were horrifying." Lucy told me, "We thought you died..."

I looked at her, "I'm not."

She smiled slightly, "I know." She said, "Thank goodness. Oh and can you move your arm? Wendy and the surgeons did their best in reattaching it."

I looked to my left and saw my left arm completely wrapped up. I tried moving my fingers and saw that they wiggled a bit. It felt completely numb but at least it is still working.

"What happened?" I asked

"Tartaros retreated." Lucy said, "You were right. They took the magic power stored by Eclipse and just left. We couldn't do a thing about it."

"And Kyoka? Seilah?" I asked

"I'm sorry, Jason." She said, "They were taken....."

I sat up, despite my body aching in pain.

"J-Jason!" Lucy exclaimed

"I'm fine." I said as I got off the bed, "Where are the others?"

"They're at the inn, discussing our next plan." Lucy said

"Okay." I said

*********************

"Oi, Jason, you shouldn't be up!" Natsu said as I walked towards the table

Sitting on the table, Erza, Minerva, and Kagura sat. They all looked at me with shocked faces.

"Your injuries..." Erza said, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

I gritted my teeth, "Fuck these injuries." I said as I placed my hand on my chest

"Life Return."

I cast the spell. I felt as my wounds were being regenerated. In a couple of seconds, all of my wounds were closed completely.

I then sat down in the chair and leaned in.

"So what now?" I said, "What's the next move?"

Minerva looked at me, "We're thinking of tracking down Tartaros and launching a full-scale attack."

"Considering that their ritual will probably take them out of commission for a bit, we think it is appropriate to strike now," Erza said

I rubbed my head, it was beginning to hurt like hell.

"Are you okay?" Kagura asked

I nodded, "I'm fine." I said, "We have to hit them hard now that they've given us some space. Have we tracked down their base of operations?"

"Cube." Minerva nodded, "It is currently going north. But where they're going is up for debate. We have to gather our bearings and hope that their ritual hasn't ended."

"Okay." I said, "We have a couple of days to rest and then we go and hit them. But there is an issue."

"What is it?" Erza asked

"Suzaku." I said, "He's the guy that Mard Geer was with. He's not a mage from this land. He's from Guiltinia. A member of Diabolos, their strongest mage guild."

I heard Natsu shout, "Fuck that guy!!" He growled in anger, "He hurt Lucy!"

"That aside." Lucy said, "He almost killed you, Jason. He's at a level completely different than anything we ever faced."

I clenched my fists. I didn't expect the gap between Suzaku and me to be so great. Why am I so shocked? Suzaku is at a level far beyond what these guys currently deal with.

"We must be careful, then," Minerva said, "If someone as powerful as him is on their side, then it doesn't matter if Tartaros is crippled. As long as Mard Geer and him are active, it'll be a difficult battle."

I stood up, "Fuck him." I said with an annoyed tone, "I'll crush him too."

I then walked away.

***********************

I stood on a bridge overlooking a river. This was on the outskirts of the capital. I merely looked at the flowing water as it passed by.

"Hey." I heard a voice say

I turned to see Kagura walk up to me.

"Are you okay?" She asked

I nodded, "Yea, why?"

"You seem rather disturbed," Kagura said

I placed my hands in my pocket as I looked back at the water.

"Disturbed?" I said, "What makes you say that?"

Kagura stood next to me, "I can tell that losing your companions is bothering you." She said, "But worry not, we'll get them back."

I didn't say anything to that. I merely stared at the water.

"I understand that suffering such a terrible defeat must bring your morale down." She continued, "But if it makes you feel better, you're still standing. You cannot let it bring you down further. I also suffered a humiliating defeat and with Erza's encouraging words, I felt so much better."

"Hm." I said, "That's good to hear."

"Would you like some encouraging words, too?" Kagura asked

I shook my head, "They'll be useless to me." I said, "I didn't just lose. I almost died. For whatever reason, that bothers me the most. The fact that I almost died."

Kagura looked at me, "What do you mean?"

I sighed, "I think...." I said, "I think it's bringing back some bad memories. I haven't told anyone, but I've been having strange dreams. Of a past that I forgot. I...never mind..."

I then felt her pat my shoulder, "Jason." She said, "If you wish, I could help you distract yourself."

I looked at her, "Huh?"

She gave me a slight smile, "I....want to thank you...." She said, "For saving my life."

I nodded, "No problem." I said, "But..."

She leaned in and kissed me on the mouth, using her tongue. I was completely caught off-guard. She pulled me into her as her tongue wrapped around mine.

I pulled back, completely shocked at this. Saliva dripped from my mouth.

"W-Wha.." I said

"I'm sorry." She said as she blushed slightly, "I thought..."

I shook my head, "No..it's okay..." I said, "I was just surprised..."

She smiled, "Do you wish to take this further?" She said placing her hand on my chest,

"Do you wish to have sex?"