When the golden lightning flashed, Lin Yuan's heart stopped.
Makarov caught the falling boy and immediately sent his magic power into his body. But the thunder seemed to have a mind of its own. It instantly turned on the invading magic power, sending a jolt through the old man's arm.
"Everyone, stand back!"
Makarov withdrew his hand. The thunder subsided, and Lin Yuan's heart began beating again, but his eyes remained closed.
His consciousness fell into a vast black hall.
Ten thrones stood in a circle, each pierced by chains. A door, a giant beast, a broken sword, a sun, a royal court, lightning, a spark, a forked road, a towering shadow, and a starless night were carved into their backs, one on each.
Lin Yuan did not examine them one by one.
He looked straight at the lightning throne, which was still glowing.
The dragon's aura inside Natsu had awakened it. Golden arcs danced along the chains, and a familiar power called to him from deep within the throne.
All he had to do was pull out the chains, and he could reclaim the lightning.
He would no longer have to practice control with stones, be forbidden from taking jobs for fear of accidentally hurting someone, or face danger in his current weak body.
Lin Yuan walked up to the throne and gripped the first chain.
Lightning surged into his arm.
Memories both strange and familiar awakened with it: dark clouds covered a wasteland, countless weapons stood embedded in the earth, and a figure taller than a mountain raised a lightning spear. Another person, drenched in blood, stood at the figure's feet and pierced the lightning with a broken spear.
That person had the same face as Lin Yuan.
"So these really are mine."
The chain loosened by an inch.
In the real world, however, Lin Yuan suddenly arched his back. Fine golden lines appeared on his skin, and his heartbeat weakened again. Makarov pressed down on his shoulder and watched as a black fissure opened in the space beside the bed.
In the dream, a slit-pupiled eye opened behind the lightning throne at the same time.
Lin Yuan finally saw clearly that the chains were not just sealing the throne.
They were also plugging the rift behind it.
Every inch he pulled out widened the rift a little more. The black snake's scales were already pressed against the gap. It only had to wait for him to reclaim his power, and it could enter this world through his body.
A voice came from the depths of the darkness.
"Pull it out."
It was not a command, but more like a temptation.
"Take back your throne. You were meant to stand above everyone else."
Lightning gathered in Lin Yuan's palm. The mere wisp of power that leaked out was far stronger than all the magic power he currently possessed.
Only one step remained.
He could once again become the person in his memories who had slain a god.
But Lin Yuan suddenly remembered a stone that had moved only half an inch.
He remembered the whole box of crystals Makarov had brought over, the laughter of the Guild members when he lost control, and the way Natsu had reached out and pulled him off the ground.
Those images were not as dazzling as lightning.
But they belonged to who he was now.
"The throne is mine." Lin Yuan looked at the snake's eye. "So whether I want it or not should be my decision too."
He pushed the loosened chain back into the throne.
The lightning struck back with a roar. His palm was scorched black, and excruciating pain reached his soul, but Lin Yuan did not let go until the chain had completely sealed the rift.
The snake's pupil narrowed in the darkness.
"Are you willing to remain weak?"
"I just won't take something that will get me killed."
"Without these powers, you are nothing."
Lin Yuan paused.
When he woke up in the forest, he had thought the same. He had lost his Authorities, his memories, and even his original body. It had seemed as though nothing he had left was worth mentioning.
But even with nothing, he had survived the Six-Eyed Horned Wolf's pursuit, defeated Natsu, and indeed made a stone move half an inch.
"Then I'll start from nothing."
The lightning on the chains went out completely.
The black snake had lost its way in, and its eye slowly receded into the depths of the hall. Before leaving, its gaze swept over the other nine thrones in turn.
Lin Yuan understood what it meant.
This was not over.
As long as he coveted strength that did not belong to him now, as long as he tried to force open one of the thrones again, the black snake would return.
The first divine throne fell into darkness.
The second and third followed close behind. The door closed, the giant beast lowered its head, and the broken sword and sun lost their light one after the other.
Lin Yuan did not try to stop them.
These powers had not vanished; they had merely been locked back into a past he could not reach for the time being. At least until he understood the snake and the rift, he would not call upon them again.
In the real world, the black fissure beside the bed quietly closed.
When Lin Yuan opened his eyes, dawn had already broken outside the window. Natsu was fast asleep, slumped over the bedside, Gray was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, and Makarov was keeping watch by the window.
"What did you see?" the old man asked.
"Ten thrones."
"Can you take back the power inside them?"
"Not now." Lin Yuan braced himself against the edge of the bed and sat up. "If I force one open, I'll let something else out with it."
Makarov was silent for a moment. "So?"
"So I'll keep training today."
Lin Yuan looked at the bag of practice stones on the table.
"If I can't use the power of the past, I'll first learn to control the magic I have now."
At the end of the dream, the starless night slowly closed.
The tenth divine throne went dark as well.