December 21st, Year x795
Earth Land, Eastern Continent, Kage to Hone no Machi.
There was once a time when very little had been known about the Eastern Continent of Earth Land. While many around the world had been aware of the existence of the continent, no one had known anything about its inhabitants. It was a largely unexplored land of the world that few had braved the venture to explore, even fewer returning from said adventures and those that did, turned back long before even reaching the coastline.
As a result, while much was known about the journey there, the rough seas filled with dangerous monsters making each voyage a harsh test of will and determination. The actual continent itself was shrouded in mystery which caused many rumours to surround what might reside there, some even calling it the Dark Continent. A place of wonder and mystery, filled with the harshest environments and most dangerous beasts known to man, yet also filled with miraculous artefacts and elixirs from a forgotten land that could revolutionise the world as was currently known.
But in the year x792, a large gathering of mages departed from the Kingdom of Pergrande and opened the Eastern Continent up to the world. A single voyage that inspired and created easy means of travel and communication between the known world and the land out of reach. However, this single voyage brought with it the revelation of truth, all the secrets the Eastern Continent had held were revealed and what followed was chaos.
Chaos and destruction caused by a single individual.
A single individual who hid himself amongst the first voyage and departed upon his journey across the Eastern Continent in pursuit of even greater power. His ambition and thirst for more was unquenchable, bordering on the edge of madness that led him to the ancient ruins of a fallen Kingdom, Kage to Hone no Machi. It had been the goal of many upon its discovery, but all who had ventured there faced defeat in the face of the many obstacles that stood in their path.
From devilish Demons, towering Giants, ancient Dragons and the very inhabitants of the Eastern Continent desperate to keep them from the truth. All those obstacles stood in their path and prevented all who approached from finding the answers they sought so desperately. Except for one man who vanquished them all and moved on unimpeded upon his journey till he reached his destination.
This man was Yuri Dreyar.
Brother of Laxus Dreyar.
Son of Ivan Dreyar.
Grandson of Makarov Dreyar.
Former S-Class Mage of Fairy Tail.
Currently the most wanted criminal in all of Ishgar.
A Dark Mage with a Flee on Sight warning to all those who encountered him.
His goal?
One of seven seals scattered across the Eastern Continent holding back the flood of ancient entities that once ruled over all of Earth Land in its infancy.
So great was his power, so terrible was his ambitions that the inhabitants of the Eastern Continent worked alongside the invaders of Ishgar and the Alverez Empire, uniting all of Earth Land in an attempt to prevent him from seeing his plans come to fruition. The world's most powerful and skilled mages fought him together, combining their might into an unstoppable force that no force in the world would be able to stop its advance.
Yet this force now lay defeated before him.
The landscape around them was blackened and destroyed.
Vast craters and trenches with no end in sight.
Entire mountain ranges were reduced to rubble.
The sky above was covered in a thick cloud of ash and smoke that left the land engulfed in shadow.
Yuri had stood in the face of the world's mightiest power and despite all the odds, emerged victorious.
"You all fought well." Yuri told them, watching Natsu collapse to his knees before him, Gray, Erza and other powerful and recognised mages scattered around him. He rose to his full height, squaring his shoulders and taking a deep breath to even his breathing. His body was burnt and frozen in numerous places, a curse spreading across his left hand and deep cuts littering his body, bleeding profusely. But injuries such as these were not unfamiliar to him as the black tattooed lines across his body slowly subsided. "I can see why the Dragon Gods were defeated by your hands, Natsu. But in the end, it was not enough."
As he addressed the young Dragon Slayer, this was when unconsciousness claimed him, his outstretched hand toward him dropping to the ground as he lay still and unmoving. Yuri sighed, his shoulders dropping as he closed his eyes, regulating the flow of magic throughout his body to speed the process of his recovery.
"You must be proud of them, grandfather." He did not have long though, his gaze opening to look to see the sole figure limping toward him, passing the unconscious bodies of the Wizard Saints and the Four Gods of Ishgar.
"End this madness, Yuri." Makarov stated firmly, the grip upon his staff tight as he used it to support the weight of his weak and injured body. "I know the truth, Warrod told me everything. Enough is enough. There is no need for you to go any further than this."
There was a moment of silence that followed before Yuri laughed.
It was a humourless one, mocking and cruel.
Almost pitying.
"Warrod told you?" Yuri laughed. "You think that old fool knows the truth anymore? Do you think any of them do? No." He shook his head, the single word punctuating the silence as the wind fell still. "They know nothing anymore."
"Yuri?"
"Do you really believe that after all these years I'm still playing that little game of theirs?" Yuri questioned disbelievingly. "Perhaps in the beginning when I was naive, I played by their rules. But that ended a long time ago. Warrod, Hyberion, Wolfheim. None of them understand what my true goal is and when I stopped playing by their rules or playing their little game, they lost what little control they had over me to begin with. Everything I've done, everything I will continue to do it is all for myself and my ambitions. This is not the end of anything. All I am doing is opening up a new stage for me to enter upon."
Makarov frowned heavily, his gaze fixed upon the man who at one point had used to be his grandson, trying to understand truth from lies. However, he could not and that made his frown deepen as the grip on his staff tightened, the magic within him rising, a noticeable white aura surrounding him as the ground around him rumbled in response to his power.
Yuri, even while weakened and exhausted from days of fighting, raised his magic to match his grandfather's, an aura of his own surrounding him. One that was a dark purple, blackening the ground beneath his feet as it spread toward Makarov like a flame.
"Enough of this!" Makarov warned. "It is time to end this madness once and for all."
"Madness?" Yuri huffed in amusement. "There is no madness here. I am simply pursuing the path I chose and seeing it till its end. That is what you taught me. Or did you forget?"
"I have not forgotten." Makarov replied, his aura erupting outward as Yuri matched it. "But if you will not stop, then I will stand in your way."
"Do you believe you can?" Yuri retorted, spreading his arms out openly as the magic within him erupted, completely dwarfing the aur of Makarov in size and potency. "I have fought for days against the greatest mages in Earth Land. Yet despite that, I still stand far above you. The time in which you could pose any measure of threat to me passed many years ago. I have fought every step of the way, from the moment I was a child. I grew, I learned, and I kept fighting. I grew stronger with no limit and now I am about to embark on the next step. There is nothing and no one who will or can stop me when I am so close."
Makarov felt a drop of sweat form upon his brow, the aura of his grandson suffocating and all-encompassing. "You would unleash destruction upon our world in pursuit of power?"
"Gladly."
The single word reverberated in his soul and Makarov could not help but let out a sigh as his body seemed to deflate. The aura around him dissipated as he closed his eyes, head turning to the side to try and hide the look of disappointment and anguish upon his face. It was still plain to see and Yuri rose a brow in bemusement, his own aura disappearing as he looked upon the defeated form of his grandfather.
Yet after gathering his thoughts and affirming his resolve, Makarov clenched his fist, once more turning to look upon Yuri with his head held high. "Then you will have to kill me," Makarov told him simply, taking a single step forward, then another and another as Yuri remained still. "For I shall not stand by idly as you threaten the lives of my children, nor the safety of this world in your mad pursuit for power. If that is truly what you desire above all else, if you truly can not be redeemed or saved; then you will have to kill me. It is selfish of me. But I do not wish to see my grandson bring about the destruction of the world. I do not wish to see just how far you have fallen from the young boy I once knew, the one who would sit in our guild hall and chat endlessly about magic with excitement and wonderment."
Yuri smiled sardonically. "Do you think I'm incapable of it?" He wondered, a flash of light appearing in his hand before a blade appeared. "Killing you?" Raising it high, Yuri poised it at Makarov's neck, the tip resting against the skin as the older man came to a stop.
"I would hope so."
The tip of the blade broke the skin, a slow drip of blood dribbling down.
Makarov did not so much as blink as he stared up at Yuri. "I would hope that despite everything you have done there is still my grandson within you?"
There was a pause.
Yuri tilted his head to one side then lowered his sword and for just a moment, Makarov allowed the thought and hope that maybe this could be resolved with words alone to cross his mind. A hope that was crushed instantly when he saw Yuri's muscles tense, the blade rise before he felt it pierce cleanly through his chest.
Makarov's eyes widened in shock as blood spurted from his mouth. "Perhaps if this had been some time ago, I might have been unable to strike you down." Ripping his blade free, Yuri caught Makarov's falling body in one hand and slowly lowered him gently to the ground. "But to continue down this path I chose, I had to kill that young boy a long time ago."
Attempting to pull his hand away, Yuri found his wrist gripped tightly by Makarov who prevented him from pulling away.
The sight of his grandfather's last moments of struggle made Yuri frown deeply. "But I suppose there is still some sentiment I had yet to eliminate." Yuri told him in a measure of comfort, ignoring the anguished cry that pierced through him from a distant mage. "However, after this one final act of mercy, I am free of that now. Be thankful that I allowed you to die before you could see me continue down this path, just like you desired."
Allowing the blade he used to kill Makarov to clatter to the ground, watched Makarov breathe his last breath before his body went still, a choked gasp all he could muster in the end as he reached out to cup Yuri's cheek. Yet as he looked down upon the dead body, Yuri noted that there was no hatred in the man's gaze, only sadness as the hand dropped to the side.
Remaining kneeled by his side, Yuri reached out and closed the eyes that looked up at him. "I know what awaits me at the end of this path, gramps." Yuri told the corpse. "But that does not mean I will back away now, not after how far I have come and everything I've sacrificed. If I did, it would all be meaningless. Including your death."
Yuri then rose to his feet turning to look out across the battlefield to see a sole figure still struggling. It was the figure of Laxus Dreyar, his older brother who despite bleeding profusely and his legs broken, continued to claw at the ground with his one good arm, dragging his battered and broken body through the debris toward him. His teeth were barred and tears streamed down his face, one twisted into a visage of rage and anguish.
Neither said anything to the other.
No words needed to be said.
The time for talking had ended long ago.
Turning on his heel, Yuri looked away, never once sparing a glance back as he entered the ruins leaving destruction and death in his wake.
Just like he had always done.
-X-
March 7th, Year x771.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia Town, Fairy Tail Guild Hall.
The year was x771 in the continent of Ishgar on Earth Land.
In the small town of Magnolia, the Fairy Tail guild was being as loud and rambunctious as always.
Booze was plenty and its members were guzzling away as they celebrated the birthday of their youngest member, one five-year-old, Yuri Dreyar.
Makarov smiled gently as he watched Laxus pick Yuri up and place him on his shoulders, the two walking through the chaotic guild hall. As always, Yuri was chatting away, no doubt bombarding Laxus on his Lightning Magic. Though young, the boy held a deep love and passion for learning magic, often pestering all guild members with questions and requests for demonstrations of their magic.
As always though, Laxus was showing off to his younger brother.
Placing Yuri down, Laxus was suddenly engulfed in lightning as he burst through the guild hall like a bolt. Naturally though, still new to the magic he was learning and not fully in control, caused his own manner of mischief as he barreled into a few of his fellow guild members. Though Laxus had a talent for Lightning Magic, even able to use a powerful A-Rank Lightning Spell like {Lightning Form}, he was far from mastering the spell.
Unable to fully control the trajectory of his flight, Laxus and the unfortunate victims of his most recent blunder rolled across the floor and rose to their feet. For just a moment the guild went silent and still as the members stared at the perpetrators and then one another. Then the guild erupted into a massive brawl as one person threw a punch.
Makarov laughed uproariously at the sight.