Fairy Tail Guild — Late Evening
The guild had quieted as night wrapped Magnolia in its cool embrace. Only a handful of members remained — a sharp contrast to its usual bustle. The crackling fireplace lent a warm glow to the wooden beams and stone walls.
Erza Scarlet stood near the heavy oak door leading to the upper floors, her crimson armour catching the firelight. Beside her, Gray Fullbuster flexed his fingers, a faint frost forming around his knuckles as he prepared.
Erza: "We can't wait for answers to come to us. If the Broken Circle is awakening the beasts, then we need to find their source."
Gray nodded, voice low.
Gray: "Makarov's been tight-lipped about the archives for a reason. But if there's a record of these seals and the dragons, that's where we'll find it."
Erza's gaze hardened.
Erza: "Then we go tonight. No distractions. No interruptions."
Gray smirked.
Gray: "You don't trust anyone, do you?"
Erza didn't answer, but her eyes glimmered with a rare softness.
The Forbidden Archives — Hidden Below Magnolia
They slipped through a hidden stairwell behind the library, descending into the depths beneath the guild hall. Dust motes floated in the stale air, disturbed only by their footsteps.
Ancient tomes lined endless shelves, some taller than a man, bound in cracked leather and fading ink. The smell of old paper and forgotten magic filled the narrow aisles.
Gray pulled out a small lantern, its flame flickering uncertainly.
Gray: "You think we'll find anything here after all this time?"
Erza: "We have to. The guild's fate depends on it."
They spread out, scanning titles in the dim light. Erza's fingers paused on a large volume with a dragon embossed on its cover.
Erza: "Here."
Opening it revealed illustrations of dragons entwined with sigils and strange runes — symbols of binding, destruction, and protection.
Gray leaned in, tracing the characters.
Gray: "These runes... they're ancient. Older than the dragons in any history I've seen."
Erza: "Look here."
She flipped to a chapter titled "The Verdant Flame: The Awakening and the Sealing".
The text described a long-forgotten cult who worshipped a primal dragon of green fire — a force so devastating it was bound with multiple seals across the world.
Erza read aloud, "Should the seals ever break, the flame will consume all, turning earth to ash and skies to poison..."
Gray clenched his jaw.
Gray: "Sounds like the Broken Circle's goal isn't just power... It's annihilation."
Suddenly, a loud creak echoed from the shadows.
Erza and Gray exchanged glances — the quiet was no longer safe.
From the darkness, a figure stepped forward — hooded, robes tattered and embroidered with the very sigils from the book.
Cultist: "You seek forbidden knowledge... but some truths burn brighter than the Verdant Flame."
Erza drew her sword, the steel gleaming fiercely.
Erza: "Who are you? What do you want?"
The cultist's voice was calm, almost reverent.
Cultist: "To warn you. The seals are failing because the vessels are awakening. You cannot stop the coming fire."
Gray's breath quickened.
Gray: "Then why tell us? Why not just destroy the guild now?"
The cultist smiled beneath the hood.
Cultist: "Because even in ruin, there must be witnesses. The flame will cleanse, but from ashes... new power will rise. Will you stand with the old world... or the new?"
With that, the cultist vanished into the shadows as suddenly as they appeared.
Erza lowered her sword slightly, heart pounding.
Erza: "We've just become a part of something much bigger."
Gray nodded, frost flickering again in his hands.
Gray: "Then we better be ready. Whatever comes next, we face it together."
Back in the Guild Hall, Midnight
The first tendrils of dawn had yet to brush the sky, but the guild were already stirring—whispers of unease spreading through the rooms.
Takeshi sat alone by the window, staring out at the distant mountains where his next battle awaited.
Behind him, the ancient book Erza had brought up lay open on the table.
The words burned in his mind.
"When the Verdant Flame awakens, only unity can hold back the abyss."