An ancient stone stage lay in the middle of a dark, sullen stone room. A golden barrier bordered the stage, giving the room an angelic glow; faintly illuminating the cracks in the stone walls and floors. Blue chains extended from behind the stage, attaching themselves to a figure in the centre. Barely visible through the barrier of golden light, the silhouette of a skeleton lay kneeling on the floor of the stage. Blue chains were cuffed around the skeleton's wrists and raised them up like a marionette while another pierced through its belly like a fish on a hook, and another two chains bound its feet in place. This was no stage, it was a cage. A cage that held a being so treacherous it would never see the light of day ever again.
Makarov
Powerless, helpless, weak. His magic had been taken away by one of José's Element 4. Without his magic, he could do nothing to bring Phantom Lord to justice for the attack on his children. A ruthless tyrant, his hatred for Fairy Tail and yearning to humiliate Makarov would mean that he would stop at nothing to bring Fairy Tail to the ground.
On the bright side, Lucy had been rescued successfully and along with that he now knew the reason behind this sudden attack. Makarov could accept "hate the guild" as a valid reason but he refused to entertain the possibility of one of his own being taken to an unwanted past. The stakes of the war had increased and he was prepared to pull out all stops to get rid of Phantom Lord. Only problem was that he could no longer fight. Who knew if his strongest member, Gildarts, was even alive anymore on his impossible quest, Erza was strong but no way could she take down the Element 4 and the iron dragon slayer along with José on her own. And Laxus? He was out of the picture.
Makarov's cane dug against the ground, the sudden loss of magical energy from his body left him unable to walk without some support. Never had he felt his age as much as he did now. He was one of the ten wizard saints, he stood leagues above all the other men yet now it was as if he was just a regular old man. By all means this war was unwinnable and they'd lose Lucy. But no, he couldn't let that happen, it was much more preferable to give up his life for her but whose to say Phantom Lord would stop there?
"But there is another option, guild master" a quiet voice whispered into Makarvo's ear. It was sharp, quick, like a knife scraped against a whetstone. Yet there was no malice, it was if the voice was trying to help him, guide him to an answer.
"You again?" Makarov replied
"No matter how much you try, you cannot tempt me into your wicked deals" he continued
"Your children are weak, Makarov, many lay wounded and unable to fight. But they are prepared to lay down their lives for you" the voice continued. "But will you ask them for that sort of horror?", it said.
"Your grandson loathes you. You're only hope at a fight is lost. None here can defend the girl or the guild from your enemies. Child, I am the only one who can guarantee your victory." the voice proclaimed.
And it was right, Makarov knew that nothing else but he could take down Phantom Lord right now. But accepting his help meant betraying his oath to his master before him, and the very principle upon which Fairy Tail was founded upon. Could he truly betray his sacred oath for his children? Was it not easier to simply accept defeat?
Could Makarov forgive the attack on his children?
Before he could ponder his moral dilemma further, the earth beneath him shook. Barrels fell of the bar shelves, breaking and spilling all the booze inside. Another tremor sent the furniture rolling across the floor.
"Master!" Mirajane called out, "It's Phantom Lord! They're here!"
The entire guild ran outside to the surface and behold, a giant building walked through the bay on four legs, atop the building stood a lone figure. Phantom Lord had arrived with it's army.
"FAIRY TAIL!", Phantom Lord's master José call
"IT IS OUR TURN TO RETURN THE FAVOUR! WE BRING THE FIGHT TO YOU!"
He raised his arm "Prepare the cannon!"
A giant cannot emerged from the body of the guild. A dreadfull, mechanical charging sound followed; like all the magic from the atmosphere was concentrating into one singular point. A blast which was going to wipe out the entire guild.
"Take cover!" Makarov heard Erza shout. Everybody hit the ground trying to make their bodies as flat as possible, to make themselves as small as possible. Erza dashed ahead in front of everyone, now requipped into her strongest armor.
The cannon focused a giant sphere of white magical energy at the tip of it's barrel, "Erza!" Makarov yelled as he tried to limp his way to the redheaded knight, "Get out of there!"
"Fire" José ordered
The cannon let out a devasting roar. The white sphere exploded into a beam of pure magical energy aimed straight at the guild. The only thing that stood between was Erza and her adamantine shield, and Makarov, who showed up there much to her bewilderment.
The blast ripped a path straight through the ground and blew Erza and Mackarov backwards. The earth thundered as the guild building was destroyed, the rubble collapsing on top of them. The Fairy Tail base was destroyed, and so was their hope.
Makarov couldn't think straight, neither could he see straight, in fact he couldn't see anything because it was so dark. He was buried under rubbled. No wonder his head felt like it weighed a million pounds. Fighting through the pain, he focused his breathing and made sense of the situation. First, he must dig himself out.
"Makarov" chills went down Makarov's spine. The voice was back, and it sounded more impatient than before; more urgent.
"You cannot win like this, you struggle to keep up a fight that you've already lost." the voice said. Makarov ignored it, he kept digging his hands through the rubble, trying to pave a way out.
Suddenly, a glowing red string appeared before his eyes, "Follow the path, it will lead you to me", it went through the rocks and down underground, far below the basement…into the dungeons that lay beneath Magnolia. The dungeons that housed the voice.
"I know what you want, guild master. And I can provide. All you must do is come to the dungeon", it said as if reading it's mind. Clearly the voice was manipulating him into doing what it wants. But freeing the being in the dungeons would most certainly assure Phantom Lord's defeat, and Lucy would be safe.
"Only on my terms you vile creature!" Makarov squeezed out with his lungs being crushed under the rocks. "You will swear to protect all members of the guild and you will do nothing to risk the safety of the people on the surface" The voice went silent. Perhaps it hadn't liked the terms Makarov set down. But to be honest, Makarov was ready to give up more if it meant the guild would be safe, even if it meant betraying Fairy Tail's most important law: never listen to the voice no matter what.
"Your terms are… acceptable", it finally said. "Come to me"
It was as if Makarov found some sort of secret strength from within himself. No longer was he burdened with a walking stick, his legs moving faster than ever. The rocks that blocked his path turned to dust under the lightest touch. The blast had destroyed the guild building, but it did nothing to Fairy Tail's basement. The red string showed him a path through the basements and down the stairs, deeper and deeper underground. The stone walls turned to dirt, and the only source of light was the red glow of the string. Makarov had read about Magnolia's underground network in the guild's oldest documents, but never had he expected it to be so large. Was it a coincidence that Fairy Tail was built upon such an extensive underground? Eventually, Makarov reached the end of the string. Before him lay a giant pair of stone doors. This was the entrance to Fairy Tail's most well guarded secret.
The doors were carved with intricate and the most detailed artworks he had ever seen. An angel and a devil stood side by side, holding ropes that restrained a horned dragon. A fox that devoured the moon and a lone warrior that stood against an army. A fairy tail emblem was carved in the middle where the two doors joined. Instinctively, Makarov pressed his palm against it. He felt a sudden tightness in his chest, his black guild insignia felt heavy, as if it was sucking the life out of him. The fairy tail logo on the door glowed a golden light, and the trapdoors opened revealing a spiral staircase leading into the depths of the underground. Makarov could make out the faint yelling on the surface, perhaps a fight had broken out? He was running out of time. "Here goes nothing" he said to himself as he made his way down the spiralling stairway.
The stairway seemingly went on forever, but eventually Makarov reached the end. The moment he placed his feet on the flat stone floor the walls ahead of him began to glow, symbols engraved on the stone walls glowed a dim, deep ocean blue. He followed the hallway, his only way forward, examining each and every detail. He had been hearing rumours of dungeons under Magnolia since he was a child, and when he became guild master those rumours were confirmed by his former master. Makarov learnt of what these dungeons held, and why no human should ever step foot in here. Yet here he was. With every step he took, he felt the knot in his gut tighten even more, he felt his body getting weaker and weaker and his breathing getting faster and shallower.
Finally, the hallway bought Makarov to a wall. On the centre of the wall, lay the carving of a single eye. A podium stood in fornt of him and a single, sharp and pointed piece of stone portruded from it. An inscription on the podium read "Only the master knows the sacrifice that lies ahead".
"A sacrifice", Makarov repeated. He knew what he must do. Makarove placed his palm on the sharp rock and with one swift stroke he pushed down his hand, impaling onto it. He let out a restrained yelp, the rock which was now covered in his blood retracted into the podium. The eye on the wall glowed blue and crumbled to rubble before him.
Makarov didn't know what he expected to see behind the wall. But if you told him that beneath Magnolia there was a room double the size of the city which held a single, magical golden glowing box made of light, he may not have called you entirely crazy.
But here it was in front of him. A stone stage surrounded by a golden light that reached the very high up ceiling. A figure lay inside.
"Finally, you have arrived"
The voice seemed to come from the room itself, the figure on the stage lay unmoving but Makarov had the eerie feeling that it was watching him. The strength that got him through the ruins of his guild seemed to have left his body, he was sick of all his power being sapped out of him.
"Come forward, and place your hand upon the golden light. It will free me from my prison", the voice stated.
"Why did you need me to come down all the way here, couldn't you get anybody else to free you?" Makarov croaked out, the knot in his gut never felt tighter, his stomach churned sickeningly, he felt like keeling over and puking. The sheer presence of this skeleton reminded him of everything he hated; violence, dishonesty, the magic council and their stupid rules. Being in this room, bought out his worst memories and fears. This is what he was about to release into the world?
"Do not show cowardice, boy!" , the voice shouted. It knew what he was thinking, or rather what he was feeling. This room, it was his domain, Makarov was the prey even though his hunter was corpse that may have been lying here for over hundreds of years.
"Only Fairy Tail's master can break my prison. You bear the emblem of the master." The voice said. "Your enemies are preparing another attack and this time it will destroy your children as well. Do what you are here for, guild master! Free me from this cage and your children will live to see the next day!"
Makarov had come so far, turning around was no longer a choice. This being, whatever it truly was, is his only way left to protect the guild, his family. With each second, danger would only grow, his former master and all the old text left by former master's warned him of this being. Today, he may have bought about a great evil. He brought up his hand above his head, and extended closer to the golden light. The air around him grew colder and heavier, his breath visible with each exhale. The black fairy tail insignia on his chest grew heavier, he heard whispers in his ears telling him to touch the light but his mind told him he was making the worst mistake of his life. Finally, having enough Makarov pushed his hand into the golden light. It shattered at the lightest touch, it felt like he had just broken glass. Shards of golden, transparent light flew past him and dissipated as soon they touched the ground.
The temperature in the room returned to normal, the whispering stopped but the knot in his chest didn't loosen at all. What had he done? The skeleton on the stage was unmoving. The blue chains on it's body seemed to glow a brighter blue.
But then it twitched. The chain on the corpse's wrist rattled faintly. Then it rattled again, but much more violently than before. The skeleton's wrists now moved freely, it tried to pull its hands closer to his chest, it was trying to break the chains by force. Without the golden barrier, Makarov finally got a good look at the corpse. The "corpse" resembled more of a mummy, it had grey skin just hanging on it's skeletal frame, no muscle whatsoever. But it's lack of muscle did not mean this being was weak, it rattled the chains harder and harder, still bound by it's feet it was unable to stand up. The sound of chains vibrating in the air echoed throughout the room. Makarov couldn't see the mummy's eyes, on it's head it wore what resembled a conical straw. A white cloth that was attached to the rim of the hat covered the mummy's face. On the white cloth there was another logo, the single eye, the same as the wall.
"Snap"
One of the chains on the mummy's wrists snapped. It raised it's hands to it's face, examining it closely. Without much thought it grasped the other chain and pulled it towards himself. The sound of metal tightnening got louder and louder, it was then followed by another crunch. Both of it's hands were now free.
Makarov stepped back, he didn't know how it would react to his presence after it was free. He may very well die here today. The mummy wrapped both it's hands on the rod that imapled it's belly, and with a swift motion pulled it out, no blood left the hole in it's gut. Finally, it tightly held the chains that bound it's legs and pulled it with such force that parts of the floor went flying with it.
Unbound and free. The mummy stood up for the first time in hundreds of years. It stepped down from the stage and stood in front of Makarov. Makarov looked up at the mummy, it dressed in a loose, baggy, tattered and grey looking trousers. As if a thin cloth was wrapped arounds its waist. It wore nothing to covers it gray chest, it's skin was loose and the ribs could be easily counted. On it's bony arms, it wore 5 golden bracelets, which looked as if they were heavy enough to break it's arms. The mummy's long white hair flowed behind him, covered by the concial hat that covered its face with the white cloth. That insignia of the eye stared back at him.
"You have done well, boy" it spoke. It's voice no longer rapsy or cold like a knife. But it was deep, firm and commanding. For a body that looked as weak and frail, it's voice held power. No longer did the voice speak to Makarov in his mind, but rather as a physical manifestation like all other beings.
"I-I hold you to your promises, demon!" Makarov croaked out.
The voice stood up straight, it examined it's own frail body. "A demon… is that how I am remembered?" it spoke, almost as if it was hurt by the comment.
"No matter, I will honour my promises." It stated. The mummy turned around facing the stage, then it looked up to the ceiling. "Do you feel the magic energy concentrating, Makarov?" it asked.
Stunned, Makarov focused, he was so deep underground, so terrified of what stood before him he forgot the real reason why he was here. The jupiter cannon was readying to fire, he was running out of time and his children were in danger. He looked to the mummy, for a response. Makarov tensed.
White steam emitted from it's body, surrounding itself. It had no smell, no fire. The mummy itself was the source. "Remember, you have not yet made your sacrifice." it spoke.
"You truly have grown, boy"
The mummy shot towards the ceiling, smoke billowing from it's body and forming a trail behind him as if it were some kind of missile. It crashed throught the ceiling and drilled it's way through the earth. Stone, rock, dirt fell through the hole it left behind, Makarov stumbled backwards.
"Is this…the sacrifice?" he pondered.
A ray of light shined through the hole of the ceiling. The mummy had reached the surface.
