The image of Makarov's salute at the festival flashed through Laxus's mind.
The sky was miserable; it was high noon, but the clouds were dark and thick, spitting a frigid rain on the world below.
Laxus trudged down a muddy path, his shoes squelching in the filth. His eyes were gritty and his mouth tasted horrible. The last town he was in had lauded his name--Laxus, grandson of Makarov, the pride of Fairy Tail. They hadn't heard the news yet.
Three days ago, the Battle of Fairytail had concluded. Laxus had a lot on his mind--his grandfather, the failure of Fairy Law, what Fairy Tail stood for, what his former guildmates meant to him. Only it wasn't his guild anymore; it shouldn't be his problem. But he couldn't seem to banish the thoughts.
Laxus came to a halt beside a tree; the branches provided a meager cover from the weather and he leaned against the broad trunk.
Time. Time and rest were what he needed to put this from his mind. Laxus slid to sit on the ground. His knees obscured the road he'd traveled from his view. Laxus rested his hands in his hair, and he stared blankly at the ground before him.
He didn't know how long he sat there before he heard it. His ears pricked before he was aware of the sound, and goosebumps began playing along his arms.
"What is that?" Laxus muttered, focusing his attention on the distraction.
The forest behind him seemed to echo with a faint, tinny sound, almost like a distant whistle or...
Laxus stood immediately. The sound wasn't a whistle--it was a scream. Somewhere behind him, almost too far for even his senses to detect, someone was screaming--a high, continuous noise wracked with agony.
Laxus started walking in the direction of the noise; as he traveled, the sounds became louder and clearer. He was sure of it: this was someone in deep and intense pain. A little closer, and he determined that it was most likely a girl, a young girl, screaming.
Laxus came to the edge of a clearing. The sound was more apparent here than ever; he was close to whoever was in trouble. Laxus scanned the area, but gained no insight. This seemed to be a simple clearing, with nothing readily special about it. Yet, when Laxus pushed further on, the screams became muffled and more distant. He circled back to the clearing. This, then, was the place.
Laxus thought back to the times he'd talked with Freed about enchantment magic. At the time, Laxus thought it was a waste. Power and cunning would outmatch mere words any day. Since then, Laxus had gained an appreciation for the art, even utilizing it in his bid for power.
Now, Laxus called up the command to reveal hidden enchantments, spoke the words concisely into the clearing.
Words began to flow into place, piece by piece. When they had assembled, a wall of script had manifested before him.
Laxus began slowly translating pieces of the wall of text. The language was old and sinister and complex, an out of favor script nothing like the common language spoken across Fiore today.
It took Laxus longer than normal to do the work, because each scream distracted him. The screams came at random, and some were more ragged than others. Some were little more than amplified sobs, or piercing wails that harbored an undertone of broken defiance.
After a few minutes that were punctuated by the horrible screams, Laxus gathered that the script obscured something here, a construct of some sort; the very substance of the construct was entertwined with the enchanted script before him. The construct was magically hidden away, and the only doorway Laxus could make heads or tails of in the reference was...
Laxus thought of the landscape he had passed through. The character identifying the placement of the doorway translated simply to 'water.' Laxus tried but failed to remember any streams or ponds nearby. He considered searching further out, but something seemed off.
If this place wasn't the entrance, why would the sounds be coming from here? Laxus paused and contemplated.
"Of course," he mumbled to himself. Laxus thought back to the days he had spent at the guild.
Levy McGarden, a short young girl with a purple sweep of hair, jumped up with a cheer from the book she had been studying. The rest of the mages in the guildhall paused briefly about their business.
Levy pointed dramatically at her glass and proclaimed, "Solid Script! Water!"
Her guildmates oohed and aahed as the word "water" appeared formed from the clear liquid, and it splashed into the cup.
Levy held up the glass with a proud grin. "I did it!"
The others congratulated her and a celebration began to roll through the first floor of the guild.
Laxus looked on from the second floor and scoffed. He was so loftily assured that he was a much better wizard than plain old Levy McGarden.
Later, though, in secret, he went to the library. He read about Solid Script. He wanted to know how Levy did it. He read, and he practiced, and he cursed. Finally, he managed it. He looked on the water in the glass with a grin. His grin slowly faded.
What use was the skill if no one was around to congratulate him? Besides, he didn't want anyone to know he had copied Levy, of all people.
Laxus swore to himself he would never again use Solid Script magic.
Laxus remembered feeling so lost on that day. He had sworn never to use that spell again; sworn that he would never put himself in another wizard's shadow ever again. However, if he was right, it might be the answer to this riddle. Laxus concentrated his energy and his mind. He focused on pulling the word out of his thoughts and into the air before him.
"Solid Script: Water," Laxus murmured. The word wavered into view, projected itself forward, and splashed onto the character meaning "water."
The character began to glow, and the earth began to shake. Laxus braced himself. A light pierced through the forest, outlining a rounded door from the bottom of one side, over the top, and down to the other side to meet the earth again.
Laxus looked at the door and thought about what he was doing. No one had hired him. No one had called him, or asked for his help. Indeed, no one even knew he was here. And yet... Laxus knew he wouldn't sleep again if he let those screams continue.
Laxus grasped the handle and pulled the door open. It was heavy but well balanced, and it swung open with ease.
Laxus stepped into the doorway and into the shadows. He turned and looked at the forest a last time. Laxus pushed the heavy door closed with a deep grating sound. As he suspected, the same light appeared to trace the doorway, and the door dissapeared. The stone wall stared serenly back at Laxus, as though nothing had happened there at all.
END CHAPTER