The Hidden One (Sting x Reader)

C h a p t e r T h i r t y O n e

Sting's POV

"No way!" I exclaimed in shock as I flicked through the pages of the book they brought back. None of the pages were ripped out like the one at the library, "How did you find this?"

"It was just sitting untouched in the temple's library," Erza responded. I couldn't believe it. It was all intact. It was in perfect condition.

"We will leave you with this book so you can be doing something whilst we return back to the temple. We want to make sure we haven't left anything out that could potentially be a clue to their location," Rogue spoke and I frowned.

"You have to stay here and rest. Dhutia didn't go easy on you," Erza looked at me with a stern look in her eyes.

"Except he did go easy on you," Mavis shivered, "He went insanely easy on you."

"We get it Mavis," I groaned, "Dhutia is powerful."

I was starting to get annoyed every time someone spoke about how powerful Dhutia was. No, I'm not jealous of his power...okay, maybe a little, but that's not why I'm mad. I'm mad because right now, he's the one who has captured Y/n and Minerva, and if he's so insanely strong, I'm not sure if I can beat him. I mean, I'll sure try, but I don't think my strength is even a fraction of his, and I hate that.

I just want my Y/n back already.

The group left off. Mira had swapped places with Laxus so he stayed behind to make sure I didn't do anything 'reckless.' When have I ever even done something reckless? No, storming off and getting attacked by Dhutia was not considered as reckless since my aim was not to find Dhutia at that very moment.

"I think we're getting close to finding them," Laxus broke my thoughts.

"Did you guys find anything else at the temple apart from this book?" I asked.

"We saw a painting of Dhutia sitting in front of a building in the forest. We think that the building is where Y/n and Minerva are being kept, but Zeref and Mavis say that the forest he's in doesn't exist," Laxus explained as I listened intently, "So maybe to get to that forest, you need a portal or something."

"Possibly," I nodded slowly, "Okay, now shut up for a second. I'm going to read through this whole book and I need to remember everything."

"Alright," Laxus rolled his eyes.

There wasn't much in the book that was new to us. We already knew most of the information.

He killed all the gods and goddesses. He's the only one that's possibly alive. He likes apples. Wait, what? No, that part is new. Not that it's very relevant. I doubt that throwing an apple at him would help to save Y/n. Or would it? Okay no. Now I'm just desperate. Maybe I should pick up some apples just in case? Oh for goodness sake Sting! You're going to be fighting Dhutia, not having a picnic with him!

I got to the part of the book where it spoke about a forest. Was this the same forest that Laxus had told me about?

Y/n's POV

I was beginning to get weak now. Since being out of that anti-magic column, my energy was fading a little more everyday.

The liquid in the anti-magic column kept me healthy. It made me not have to sleep, eat or drink, but now that I wasn't soaked in that liquid, Dhutia was only using his own magic to keep me slightly alive. He didn't care if I was fully healthy or not. He just wanted me to be somewhat alive so he could take my power.

Dhutia had gone out. I don't know what for. He doesn't speak to me about that stuff anymore. I was asleep when he left anyway so it's not like I could've asked him.

My throat felt dry and sandy. I don't even think Dhutia has given me water. Why would he? He doesn't care if I'm comfortable. He wouldn't waste his magic on me to make me feel comfortable. He just wants me alive even if I'm on the very edge of almost dying. As long as I'm alive, he's fine with it.

Suddenly, the air around me got really thick. I couldn't breathe. It's like my body was refusing to take in the air.

I fell to the side. My head felt like it was going to explode. It burned. Everything felt like it was burning. My body felt like it was on fire.

Was something or someone strangling me? I'm so confused. What's happening?

My eyelids suddenly felt really heavy. I couldn't keep them open at all. I had no energy to.

That's when it hit me. My body was shutting down and what did that mean for me?

It meant I was dying.

Sting's POV

"We found nothing more to help us with the search," Erza spoke. The group was now together at the fireplace, sitting on logs.

"I found the forest," I announced, flicking to the map that I found in the book, "It's called the Forest of Demise."

"Quite fitting for Dhutia," Mavis shivered.

"But look, we aren't too far from it," Zeref peered closer, pointing on the map, "It'll take a maximum of three days to get there if there are no setbacks."

"Then let's begin our journey now," Erza nodded, "We shouldn't waste any time."

"We're another step closer to finding them," Rogue spoke to me as we were packing up our camp area.

"Have you not thought about what happens when we find them? We can't defeat Dhutia," I asked Rogue.

"I'm just kind of hoping for the best..." Rogue mumbled.

"Me too Rogue," I sighed, "Me too."