Fairy Tail was buzzing louder than usual that morning. Word had spread fast — Ren had brought something back. Something strange. Something that shouldn't exist.
And that word had reached ears it shouldn't have.
The heavy guild doors creaked open with a single, deafening sound. Dust blew inward as a cloaked figure stepped into the light. Strong. Silent. Unmistakable.
Gildarts Clive.
The few mages who noticed him went wide-eyed and stepped aside. Gildarts wasn't just a legend — he was Fairy Tail's hammer. The man you called when every other plan failed. He rarely returned to Magnolia unless things were bad.
"Where's Makarov?" he said without looking up.
"Upstairs," Mirajane answered from behind the bar. "But he's with Ren right now."
Gildarts paused, then gave a half-smile. "Even better."
---
Upstairs, Ren stood beside Makarov, mid-conversation.
"This stone is leaking Rift energy," Ren was explaining. "Even now. It's minimal, but... it pulls at the boundaries of our dimension. It's like gravity for magic that doesn't belong."
"Is it dangerous?" Makarov asked.
"Only if left unchecked. Or activated."
That's when the office door creaked open.
Gildarts stepped inside, letting his cloak fall from his shoulders. His left arm was wrapped in iron-bound seals, and his face had new scars Ren hadn't seen in any of the guild records.
"Looks like I came back just in time," Gildarts said, his tone graver than usual.
Ren blinked. He had never met him in person — only heard the name whispered in awe.
"You're Gildarts."
Gildarts nodded. "And you're the one messing with magic from outside reality."
"I didn't create it," Ren replied carefully. "I'm trying to understand it. Stop it."
Gildarts walked up to the Rift Stone and studied it. His eyes narrowed.
"This feels... like that thing I found years ago in the Western Wastes. Different shape, same pull. Same sickness."
"You've seen something like this before?" Makarov asked, eyes wide.
Gildarts didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he reached into his travel pack and pulled out a shard of dull black crystal. It looked inert — dead — but the moment it touched the air, Ren felt it.
The same vibration as the Rift Stone.
Gildarts placed it beside the one Ren had brought.
"They resonate," Ren muttered. "Same source."
"I found mine after a job went sideways," Gildarts explained. "There was a sealed cave. Buried under a collapsed mountain. Some ancient cult had tried to open a rift to 'the realm between flame and void.' Their words, not mine."
"And?" Ren asked.
"I closed it," Gildarts said simply. "With a very large punch."
Despite the tension, Makarov cracked a brief smile.
"But that stone," Gildarts went on, his gaze hardening, "survived. I kept it because I couldn't destroy it. And I wanted to be sure no one ever found another one."
"Too late for that," Ren said.
Gildarts nodded. "Which is why I came back."
---
Later, Gildarts and Ren stood on the roof of the guild hall, the midday sun filtering through thin clouds.
"You've got dangerous magic, kid," Gildarts said, watching the horizon. "But not just in your hands. Around you. Your presence is starting to shake the old dust loose. Stuff that should've stayed buried."
Ren didn't answer.
"You think you're here by accident?"
Ren looked over. "What do you mean?"
Gildarts turned to face him. "People don't just drop into Earthland with anti-dragon magic and memories of another world. Not unless something wanted you here."
"I didn't ask to come," Ren said. "I woke up in this world in pain. I've been trying to survive ever since."
"That's not what I meant," Gildarts said, his voice suddenly sharper. "I mean something might have sent you. A force. A will. Maybe even the Rift itself."
Ren's breath caught.
"You think I'm part of this?"
"I think," Gildarts said slowly, "you might be the anchor."
Those words hung heavy in the air.
"Look — I'm not blaming you," Gildarts added. "I've been around long enough to know when someone's fighting against their nature. You're not evil. But the kind of magic you carry… it draws attention."
Ren looked out at the town. "Then what do I do?"
"Learn control. Fast. And stop working alone."
Ren frowned. "You think I'm not capable?"
"I think," Gildarts said, with a small smirk, "that even I wouldn't walk into a Rift pocket without backup. And I've punched gods."
Ren couldn't help but grin.
---
That night, the guild hall was quiet — too quiet for Fairy Tail.
Ren sat at his usual corner table, the Rift Stone sealed in a containment glyph on the floor beneath him. Gildarts sat across from him, sipping a tankard of beer like he hadn't just delivered one of the most chilling warnings the guild had heard in years.
"You ever fight a dragon?" Ren asked.
Gildarts chuckled. "One. Just one. Blew off half a mountain and nearly lost my life. Strongest thing I've ever seen."
"Do you think… if I ever meet one… my magic will work?"
Gildarts' expression grew thoughtful.
"If your power really is 'Anti-Dragon,'" he said slowly, "then one day, you'll either kill a dragon…"
He paused.
"Or become something worse."
Ren looked down at his hand, glowing faintly with black magic.
Something worse.