User blog comment:Jrotc193/R.I.P. Gray/@comment-1359322-20130610040729/@comment-76.124.155.27-20130612155943

fewer characters doesnt neccesarrily mean death. maybe they use the gate to go back 400 years to prevent Zeref from going evil. It's obvious that Zeref knows Natsu pretty well and Natsu doesnt remember because either his body was reborn or for Natsu it hasnt happened yet. Remember Natsu and Gajeel couldnt walk through the seal that prevented anyone over the age of 80 from going through.