Somewhere very far away from Hogwarts...
In an empty and cold area, with only a few huge stones and big trees penetrated the stones and grew up, apparently somewhere around the mountains...
*WOOG*
With a tearing sound, three unstable figures fell down from the void like darts directly crushing the empty ground of the area...
But then two of these three figures moved to the side of the third figure that had its head was already swallowed with blacklight!
"GRAY!" Perona didn't care about the pain from the impact just now, and directly reached Gray's side with fear!
While Nagini already changed her size and moved around Gray with a restless spirit... Apparently, the black light is making her really uneasy, at the same time she's very anxious about Gray.
As for Gray... His situation right now, only one word can define it...
Pain...
What was pain again?
The pain was the feeling we feel when we got hurt...
But the pain also came on many different levels and types...
Well... Even though we said levels, but sometimes *pain* this word... Could be so unworthy of what a person could feel... And the feeling one could feel could go beyond the pain levels...
And such a situation, where the pain was not the right word.... was happening to Gray at this moment...
The moment Perona told Gray about the crown, Gray also knew that it was bad... But already too late to think much...
He knew what will happen next, so the first thing he did was to run away...
Yup... Runaway from Hogwarts! The black light the crown creates has a deep dark breath that simply feels so ominous... If such a thing was noticed by others while he's in a weak state... Things might be bad...
Hogwarts was safe? Dumbledore was a good old man?
Well... He won't be so naive to trust his life or secret to others as he did with Professor X before...
These years taught Gray many things... And his way of treating or thinking of others already changed many times...
But it was also late...
The moment he used apparition, the Crown already activated and the fifth awakening of the crown started...
The crown fifth awakening... An entire 100.000 GB as a price...
The fourth awakening before was enough to take his breaths...
But every time the crown awaken it will take ten times the same amount as the last awakening... In other words... This time pain will be ten-time... No... Even more than ten times the pain!!!
"GRAY!!!!" Perona reached Gray's side and held his hand trying to get an answer from him while looking at Gray's face that was already hard to be seen from the strong light!
While Nagini felt the strong rejection and threat of the light and didn't dare to get closer to the light. But at the same time didn't move away from Gray's side and even forced herself to get closer to feel what was wrong with Gray.
But Gray at this moment didn't feel all of this... Because his mind was completely chaotic from pain.
He felt many pains before... But nothing like what he felt right now...
Why does the crown awakening hurt?
100.000 years of life span? Too much for a high elf? In fact, it's not really that much... since the elves have so much more...
But that's not the problem here...
Galadriel before said only high elves will survive the third awakening, but didn't say anything about the fourth awakening or the fifth... Because most likely anyone will die at this point...
Why did Gray survive the fourth awakening?
As Galadriel said before... High Elves' life quality is much higher than normal beings... But this is not everything...
At one piece world when the crown awakened the fourth time, Gray's body was already much stronger than the normal body level... So even with its quality, it managed to pass...
Life... this thing inside the body was more like water inside a balloon... The balloon should be the body and the water inside was life...
When the water (life) inside was consumed by the balloon (body), this balloon will lose its power and pop which means the death of the body... At the same time, if something pierced this balloon, this water inside will be lost and the balloon won't be able to hold its life... which means death...
What was the crown doing exactly?
It takes the water through the closed ballon forcefully...
Just imagining it... Can the water be taken without opening or piercing this balloon?
And even if... Will this balloon withstand the forceful plunder?
That depends on the body itself... And the purity of the life inside...
But everything has a limit... Even if this balloon was made of iron... With so much life being plundered forcefully, this iron shell will crack and collapses very soon...
And that was what was happening to Gray at this moment...
The pain he was feeling at this moment was so hard to explain...
It's as if every drop of blood inside his body were being forcefully torn apart from its very essence... as if every inch of his body were being cut to pieces... As if his own soul was consumed and weathered forcefully... And no matter how weak his consciousness became, He was forced to feel all of this, not allowed to rest, which will eventually result in his soul collapse...
In such a situation .. nothing awaits Gray except death !!!!
...
Perona heard about the crown before... Tauriel told her that the crown on Gray's head, has many different weird abilities, but in fact, it's the curse Gray bears...
The first time she met Tauriel and the others, Gray was in a coma...
So out of curiosity, she asked many times about it... Especially after Gray woke up...
But no one told her till she joined them for real...
Tauriel told her about it...
At first, she felt a little unbelievable... Such a beautiful crown will take life in exchange for abilities...
It's somehow scary to believe... But looking at what was happening in front of her at this moment, she had to believe what Taureil said... And even felt that Tauriel's words were not right to what she feels right now...
Perona in this world, became stronger... Many times stronger than she was!
Just looking at Gray in front of her, she could feel it... his shaking soul... The weak breath... The death breath around him...
"What should I do..." Perona really didn't know what she should do...
Nothing can be done! She can't do anything...
Even her spiritual energy was destroyed the moment she tried to get closer to the light source!
'Remove the crown!' Suddenly such an idea appeared on Perona's mind...
This was the only thing she could think of... Just like Taureil thought before!
So without much thinking, she covered her hands with spiritual power and stretched toward the crown...
Well... if it was before Gray merges the [Devouring source] to the crown, Perona might be able to touch the crown... But won't be able to remove it... After all this crown already part of Gray... Can she really remove it?
"Shaa!" But before her hands really got more into the light, Nagini pushed her away...
Nagini felt the breath of death around Gray more clearly than Perona... So the moment Perona reacted she pushed her directly...
Reason?
Perona's fingertips were already skinned and blood was oozing from it...
Perona also looked at the tip of her fingers with fear... If Nagini didn't push her away just now... She might have lost her hands at this moment...
What happened? The crown [Devouring source] won't only merge attributes...
"Shaa" Nagini licked Perona's hand and told her not to try and touch the crown again... But then Nagini said something which surprised Perona even more...
"What!! What are you talking about!" Perona heard Nagini's words and asked with wide eyes!
But Nagini only nodded her head and said nothing...
*BOOF* The moment both of them were talking by their spirits, Gray's body... As said before... Really started collapsing!
First, the aging potion effect disappeared and he returned to the small body, but then his skin started cracking all over his body and blood gushed out like a stream, which directly covered the area around him...
While Gray's breath became weaker and weaker every second...
Seeing this, Nagini's snake eyes were clear and already made up her mind...
She saw her loved one die before... She won't allow this to happen again!
What will she do? She wanted to use her blood! Unicorn blood can save anyone from death even with half body... but the price will be cursed... Let's not say her blood strengthened a few times already... But this also might mean the curse also got stronger!
But what can they do? Nothing! This was the only thing both of them can do for now!
Nagini doesn't care if Gray will be cursed after, all she wants to do was to make sure he stays alive!
Somehow, Nagini has something not many has... Which was the heart ruthlessness...
Curse Gray just to make sure he stays alive? let him live a life worse than death? Who has such ruthlessness to those who they love?
But in fact, what Nagini wanted to do, was the best thing she could do... If she had another way, she won't think in this way...
For her, even if Gray fell into a million curses... As long as he stayed alive, things will be solved after... As long as he was alive...
But before any of Perona and Nagini really act...
*WOOOSH* The necklace around Gray's body that was already covered with Gray's blood shinned brilliantly and a golden-white flame appeared and directly washed Gray's body completely!
It was also at this moment, Gray who was dying moved his bloodless hand and touched the necklace...
The moment Gray's hand touched the necklace...
*BOOM*
...
(Author: Sorry... I'm late ...)