After the black flames went out, only a scorched hole remained in the page.
Natsu reached out to poke it, but Makarov slapped his hand away.
"Master, I just wanted to take a look."
"Look with your eyes!"
"I can see better with my hands."
"That's called touching!"
Makarov locked the ancient book back up and added five more layers of seals. Mira stood beside him, counting. Only when the old man had applied the last paper talisman did she ask, "Will that many layers do any good? It caught fire from the inside just now."
"That's why we're going to see someone who's better at handling this sort of thing than I am."
Half an hour later, Lin Yuan stood before Porlyusica's cottage once more.
Mira, who had come along, had barely knocked once when a wooden spoon flew out of the window and struck Makarov squarely on the forehead.
"Get lost! I hate humans!"
"You knew it was me before you even opened the door?"
"Who else would bring a whole crowd of troublemakers here so early in the morning?"
The wooden door finally opened.
Porlyusica placed the ancient book inside a circle of medicinal herbs, then had Lin Yuan sit on the other side. She first checked the flow of his magic, then lightly touched the center of his forehead with a silver needle.
"Circulate your magic."
Black-and-silver magic flowed steadily through his limbs. Lin Yuan folded three stretches of distance in succession, then temporarily swallowed a small piece of space beside the table into his body. His breathing and heartbeat did not change in the slightest.
"The magic itself is very stable." Porlyusica withdrew the silver needle. "At least for this monster, it's much more stable than it was during the first examination."
Mira immediately asked, "Then why did the book burn?"
"Because the book touched something it shouldn't have."
With the tip of her needle, Porlyusica lifted a faint wisp of golden light from the center of Lin Yuan's forehead. The moment it left his skin, it turned into the phantom image of an extremely thin chain and vanished in an instant.
"There's nothing wrong with his magic. What's locked away is another power, deeper inside, along with the memories connected to it."
Lin Yuan looked at the ancient book. "What is the eleventh gatekeeper?"
"I don't know, and don't force yourself to remember."
"If I could remember-"
"Then first learn the difference between 'remembering' and 'prying it open.'" Porlyusica cut him off without ceremony. "Using your magic normally won't hurt you. But if you ram yourself against the seal in your soul for the sake of a name, don't count on me to stitch your soul back together if something goes wrong."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and tried to recall the figure.
He did not draw on his spatial magic, only reaching his consciousness toward the eleventh door in his dream. The sound of chains tightening immediately came from the depths of the darkness, and a golden marking rose from his chest to the side of his neck.
Porlyusica promptly rapped him on the head with her wooden staff.
"I just told you!"
Lin Yuan opened his eyes, and the golden marking faded. He felt no discomfort afterward, apart from a bump on his head.
Porlyusica waved her staff. "That bump isn't backlash from the seal. It's the price of not listening."
Mira folded her arms and sneered. "A genius who can't understand plain speech."
"I was just testing the limits."
"Did you find them?"
"Your voice is louder than the seal."
Mira immediately raised her demon right fist. Porlyusica beat her to it, driving both of them out of the herb circle before her floor suffered.
Makarov stayed inside and asked in a low voice, "Was that seal left by someone else?"
"It doesn't seem so." Porlyusica watched the two children outside start arguing again. "The power outside wanted to burn away the clue, but the seal inside was protecting him. It's more likely he locked it himself."
"A ten-year-old child?"
"Do you really think he's only ten?"
Makarov was silent for a moment, then tucked the ancient book inside his clothes.
When they returned to the Guild, the hall had resumed its usual clamor. Erza was supervising Natsu and Gray as they repaired the windows, while Lisanna set lunch on the table.
"Lin Yuan, is the examination over?"
"It's over."
"What did Granny Porlyusica say?"
Mira answered first. "She said his head was too hard for medicine to cure."
Lin Yuan looked at her. "She didn't say that."
"Same thing."
Lisanna held back a laugh and pushed the largest piece of bread toward Lin Yuan. Before he could sit down, someone knocked on the Guild's front door.
A young man in a dark blue uniform stood outside, a silver Magic Council badge pinned to his chest. He did not come in, but handed Makarov an official letter bearing the Magic Council's wax seal.
The letter did not ask about the casualties in Sunken Bell Town, nor did it mention the black stone.
It listed only three things: an unregistered Lost Magic, a spatial barrier capable of sealing off an entire church, and the words "god slaying," which appeared repeatedly in the mission report.
The final line contained just one sentence.
Fairy Tail was requested to bring the mage Lin Yuan before the Magic Council for questioning within seven days.
Mira read it over Makarov's shoulder, and the smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Makarov, however, folded the letter and casually tucked it into his pocket.
"It seems the Magic Council wants to see you."