[X784, Fairy Tail Guild Building]
— Gildarts Clive —
He arrived back in the guild with much fanfare. Many of the members waited for him in the front of the guild when he arrived at the doors.
The first thing he noticed was that the guild building was newly renovated, which probably meant that it got destroyed at some point after he left. He didn't know if the destruction was due to their enemies or because of Fairy Tail's regular shenanigans.
But looking at their happy smiles and cheering selves, he realized it didn't matter in the end. If there were enemies that they faced without Gildarts there to help, they proved that they were capable of handling themselves.
Gods, there were even some kinds he didn't recognize anymore. Mira no longer sported the gothic look. Elfman had grown as tall as Gildarts himself. Natsu and Gray no longer look like little brats.
A wistful smile appeared on his face. 'I really am getting old.'
As his boot met the first step of the front porch, a familiar pressure tugged at his senses.
High on the third floor balcony, two figures stood side by side—Dannis Martell and Laxus Dreyar, arms crossed. Gildarts paused, letting a rare smile curve into his beard.
'Well I'll be damned,' he thought. 'Looks like those two finally found common ground.'
He stepped inside to the warm scent of roasted meat, ale, and faintly burnt wood—a Fairy Tail classic—and was immediately met by Master Makarov and, curiously, the ghostly presence of Master Mavis, who stood just beside the fireplace with a small, serene smile.
"You're finally back, Gildarts," Makarov greeted him, his tone gentle—but his eyes sharp as ever.
"I am." He folded his arms, scanning the guild hall. "We got a lot to talk about."
"I'm sure we do."
It didn't take long for him to be corralled into Makarov's new office, though calling it an "office" didn't quite do it justice. The room was much bigger than the old one. A whole wall was converted into a library, packed with ledgers, tomes, and Fairy Tail records. A hearth burned cheerfully in the corner. Decorations—many likely chosen by Mavis, judging from the sheer number of floating crystal orbs and enchanted lights—glowed softly.
Behind Makarov's desk was a massive glass window overlooking the glittering surface of Lake Sciliora. Gildarts stopped a moment, letting his eyes rest on the view.
"Fancy," he muttered.
Makarov just shrugged.
Once Laxus and Dannis arrived, Gildarts motioned them to take seats. He didn't sit himself. He remained by the hearth, one hand on the stone mantel, staring into the flames.
"To be honest I don't even know where to begin." Gildarts shook his head. "But the one thing you should know is Alvarez is not a threat to take lightly. I'm sure you've all heard rumours, but the one true thing is that Alvarez is an empire made out of over seven hundred guilds subjugated through martial force, entire nations folded under military rule. And at the center of it all…"
"Zeref," Gildarts said grimly. "The Black Wizard. He was the one who founded the damn thing."
Makarov sucked in a sharp breath. Mavis lowered her eyes.
He told them of his time undercover. Disguised, wandering the empire's cities. Breaking bread with its people. Learning its language, its customs. Understanding that this wasn't just a military machine—it was a culture built around control, fear, and reverence of Zeref.
"The main head honchos of the Empire are the guys they called the Spriggan Twelve. They're the most powerful mages the Empire has in their employ, said to be monsters in human skin. I don't doubt each one would earn a Catastrophe Level Threat in the threat registry if the council knew of their existence."
He let out a breath. "During one of my outings, I met one of these Spriggans. A former prince of the many nations absorbed into the empire called Ajeel. The brat was pretty good, wielded Sand Magic like Max, but I managed to put him down quickly enough. The problem came later, when the leader of the Spriggans came in to find me…"
…
[Flashback – Alakitasia]
The Desolate Plains, South of Kystar Reach
Gildarts stood in windswept grass, the horizon bending under pale light. His eyes went up to meet the man floating in the air ahead of him.
He looked more scholarly rather than a fighter. An elderly man with hair that had long since turned gray, a long beard that went all the way to his chest. Though his power certainly didn't dim with age, for Gildarts couldn't even detect the slightest hint of magic within him, and that scared Gildarts more than anything else.
The larger magical power one had, the harder it was to conceal it. It was the reason Gildarts walked around carefully and the whole Gildarts shift thing had to be implemented in the city of Magnolia. So thick and powerful was his magic, it was practically impossible to hold it all back.
Many blamed Gildarts' lack of magic control for all the destruction he accidently caused. But it was actually the opposite. Gildarts' magic control is the only reason why the world doesn't crumble around him. Why every step isn't met with earthquakes on the other side of the planet. That was just the nature of his Crush Magic.
But the man in front of him held a control so tight that Gildarts would think he was a regular person if he wasn't floating in the air in front of him.
"Gildarts Clive?" The man asked.
"That's me. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Gildarts asked, cautiously cheerful. He didn't know if he was an enemy or not yet, better not poke a sleeping dragon and all that.
"I am August, General of the Spriggan Twelve."
Well, shit. The hair on his neck stood on end. Gildarts definitely recognized that name.
"And what does the famed Wizard King have to do with little ol' me?" Gildarts asked.
"Do not be coy with me, Gildarts Clive." His eyes narrowed. "The relations between Ishgar and Alvarez are strained at best, and we had just avoided war a year ago. What is the Ace of Fairy Tail doing in our lands, uninvited?"
"...Would you believe me if I said I was just out on a stroll?" Gildarts asked, earning an empty stare from August. "Well, I thought as much."
Gildarts sighed before all joviality left his person and a cold, serious stare appeared on his face. "You people attacked my guild, wanted to kidnap one of our members, and nearly killed our First Master." He cracked his neck. "Seems to me, you people were the ones who started it."
A flicker.
Just for a moment. At the mention of Mavis, August's expression shifted.
"You knew her," Gildarts murmured.
August said nothing. But the wind grew colder.
"Whatever." Gildarts' magic came rolling out of him, cracking the ground beneath as a massive weight appeared in the air.
"Do you truly want to fight me, Gildarts?" August asked.
"If that's what it takes," Gildarts replied. "Then yeah."
…
[Flashback ended]
"What happened then?" Dannis questioned.
Gildarts smirked, "We fought of course. He was a tough son of a bitch, I'll give him that. But I stood my ground, though I had a feeling in my gut that he didn't really give his all." Gildarts shook his head.
"Anyways, the fight lasted for days and it ended in a stalemate. Not that we were really tired or anything, but the whole area around us was broken for miles on end. There was a small village near there that I stopped by twice during my stay. The village crumbled due to our fight, some stray spells accidently going that way."
He hated himself for it. Those people were the ones nice enough to offer him a bed when he asked for it. Gave him food when it wasn't needed. And he repaid their kindness by breaking apart their entire village.
"I told him we should stop, and August agreed, surprisingly." Gildarts said. "I think he really came to only get a good measure of me. Whatever he saw, he was satisfied. He left after that, though not after telling me something."
"And what's that?" Mavis asked.
Gildarts turned, expression somber.
"Remember what we talked about when Dannis was doing his S-Class trials?" he asked Makarov.
The old man nodded slowly.
"What's this about?" Dannis asked, his arms folded but tension creeping into his voice.
"I figured it out, kid," Gildarts said. "What you are."
Dannis frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You've been hunting Etherious your whole life. Right?" Gildarts met his eyes. "Turns out, you're related to them."
The silence was immediate—and deafening.
"What?" Dannis whispered.
"There are a little less than two dozen Etherious ever created by Zeref. The very first… was named Zalgath. The thing about Zalgath was that he was…different from the rest of his kind. Since he was the very first one created, he wasn't built with the same restrictions or wants the later Etherious was shackled with. There was none of the compulsion that forced them to serve Zeref. He had freedom of choice and left Zeref's service. He lived among humans. Loved like them. Had children with them."
Gildarts paused.
"His wife's name was Dayna Martell."
Dannis froze. His mouth parted, eyes wide, disbelief flooding his features like a wave.
"You are his descendant, Dannis. You're what the Empire calls an Eclipse-Born—a child of both demon and man. That's what August told me. That's why your body's different. Why your affinity for darkness is higher than the norm. Why you're able to use the curse of the Etherious."
Dannis sat back slowly, letting out a breath. He looked down at his hands. The power that surged through him like wildfire. All this time…
"And that's why Zeref wanted you," Gildarts finished. "Why Jacob Lessio came after you all those years ago."
The room was quiet.
Even Mavis looked stunned.
Gildarts looked at them all—at the guild that had grown so much in his absence—and said, "There's more. But that's the part you needed to know first."
What they believed was that war was coming. But they were all wrong.
It was already here.
…
AN: Gildarts and August's fight being vague was intentional. More details of what happened will be revealed in a coming August POV chapter. For anyone wondering why Gildarts stood a chance, August was holding back, though not by much.
August is honestly one of the best written characters in all of Fairy Tail. A person with so much power, yet yearns for motherly love above all.
Visit my p-word if you want advanced chapters! Chapter 86 should be available by the time this chapter was posted! We're hitting the Oracion Seis arc pretty soon.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, cheers lads! Have a good one!