The faint clinking of chains echoed through the silence, and her weary gaze lifted toward the shadow standing beyond the iron bars. A man bathed in an eerie glow of dark magic. His piercing gaze carried the weight of malice and amusement.
"Ah, you're awake," Brain's voice slithered through the stillness, smooth yet carrying a sinister undertone.
Wendy instinctively shrank back, her pulse quickening. She had heard of this man—the leader of Oración Seis, a mage steeped in the darkness of forbidden magic. With a flick of his fingers, the unseen binds around her wrists and ankles dissolved. No longer restrained, yet far from free.
The iron door groaned open as Brain stepped aside, motioning her forward. Hesitantly, Wendy obeyed, her legs still weak as she followed him deeper into the cavern. Shadows danced along the jagged walls, torches flickering ominously.
Then Brain halted. And Wendy's breath caught in her throat.
Bound in heavy chains, confined within a stone coffin, lay a man with familiar cerulean locks.
Jellal.
Her caretaker.
Her protector.
The man who had taken her in, who had given her warmth and kindness when she had no one.
Her fingers flew to her mouth in shock, her eyes wide.
"Jellal…" she whispered, barely finding her voice.
Brain smirked. "That's right. You know this man, don't you? He was your benefactor, your guiding light." His tone was devoid of sincerity, his amusement barely concealed as he moved toward the unconscious captive.
Wendy could only stare, horror and confusion swirling in her chest. She had heard whispers—tales of Jellal's crimes, the monstrous acts committed under his name. But the man she had known… he was kind. He was good.
Her mind spun. "W-what have you done to him?" she asked, her voice shaking.
Brain let out a chuckle, devoid of warmth. "Oh, we did nothing. He had already suffered his fate before we found him." He crouched beside Jellal's lifeless form, tilting his head in mock sympathy. "This man was broken long before we got our hands on him. You should know, Fairy Tail was the one responsible for his downfall."
Wendy's eyes widened.
Fairy Tail?
Her heart lurched, her stomach twisting into knots.
No, that couldn't be right. Her friends, her allies—they wouldn't do something like this.
Would they?
"Why… why are you showing me this?" she demanded, voice trembling.
Brain rose, his expression turning calculating. "Because, dear child, you possess the power to heal him. To restore him to his former self."
Wendy took a step back, shaking her head. "I—I don't understand. Why do you want me to heal him?"
The answer was immediate, cold. "That is none of your concern."
A gloved hand reached into his robe, revealing a glinting dagger. Brain twirled the blade between his fingers before pressing it lightly against Jellal's throat. The edge barely grazed the skin, but even the slightest pressure was enough to draw a thin crimson line.
"You see, this man holds no value to me," Brain said, voice casual. "The world sees him as nothing but filth. Trash. A disgrace." His grip on the dagger tightened. "And if you refuse… I will relieve him of that burden myself."
A sharp intake of breath.
Then—
"NO!" Wendy cried, panic surging through her.
The moment she spoke, Brain smirked in triumph.
"Good," he murmured.
Wendy's body trembled as she sank to her knees beside Jellal, hands hovering over his shackled wrists. The familiar warmth of healing magic began to pool at her fingertips, glowing faintly as she channeled her energy into him.
Seconds passed.
Then, Jellal's eyelids twitched. His breathing steadied. His fingers curled ever so slightly.
A surge of magic burst from his body.
A brilliant, unrelenting force sent Brain flying back, his body colliding with the cavern wall as rubble rained down around him.
Wendy gasped, shielding her face as the dust settled. When she lowered her hands, she saw Jellal rise from his restraints, his body moving with eerie precision.
But something was wrong.
He didn't speak.
Didn't acknowledge her.
His movements were… mechanical.
"Jellal!" Wendy called out, desperation in her voice.
But he did not stop.
Without hesitation, he turned and walked forward, leaving the wreckage behind.
Wendy reached for him, but her hand brushed against something—
A lacrima.
It rolled toward her, stopping at her fingertips.
She hesitated, her body frozen as she stared at it. Unlike any she had seen before, the lacrima was pitch black, its surface almost pulsating as tendrils of dark smoke wisped from its core.
And yet—
A familiar sensation washed over her.
A presence.
Naruto.
Her eyes widened in shock.
How?
Shaking hands reached for the lacrima, its weight heavier than expected. The moment her skin made contact, a pulse ran through her, a sudden draining sensation sapping her magic just as Naruto's presence always had.
It was just like him.
Wendy's breath hitched. Instinctively, she funneled her magic into the lacrima, trying to understand—trying to unlock whatever was sealed within.
Then—
The siphoning stopped.
A crack splintered across the surface.
Her heart pounded.
The lacrima trembled in her hands before slipping from her grasp, rolling across the floor.
Another crack.
Then another.
And then—
A burst of energy.
The lacrima shattered into fragments, dissolving into the air like dying embers.
And in its place, unconscious but alive—
Uzumaki Naruto lay before her.
I will be Hokage! I swear I will bring peace to the Village Hidden in the Rain!"
A memory of his youth. A promise once made to a defeated Nagato.
"I failed that too..." Naruto murmured.
He had done everything he could during his time as Hokage, carrying the weight of the title passed down to him by Kakashi. Yet, despite his efforts, the Village Hidden in the Rain rejected Konoha's aid, their officials shutting them out. He hadn't realized back then—Kara had already taken root. The best he could do was offer sanctuary to the refugees who fled.
Then came the memory of his adopted son's vow.
"I will eliminate all Otsutsuki."
Naruto lowered his gaze, his hands resting over his gut where the Modified Double Tetragram Seal lay. The battle before his imprisonment had drained it, forcing his body's adaptation to halt. The moment he was sealed inside the Stygian Lacrima, time itself seemed to stop for him.
"Maybe Kawaki was right..."
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