Chapter 35 - Twists and Turns

Locki was… shocked, to put it simply. His thoughts had ground to a halt, forgetting just where he was for a couple minutes. By the time he had regained himself, Locki found himself in front of a large courtroom.

His cuffs were linked to a wooden rail that stood in front of the circular podium. Around him was an open room with a set of pews behind him where a couple of Rune Knight sat at the ready. In front of him was a large, raised bench where the seven presiding members of Fiore's Magic Council were located.

Locki had only really taken in the room for a couple seconds before he decided it was uselessly gaudy. Large pictures with expensive frames littered the walls of the room, and the floor seemed personally marbled with massive black and white slabs. Every wooden fixture screamed at him with his [Carpentry] skill, telling him just how much integrity they sacrificed to put prettier reliefs into them.

It was excessive, exorbitant, and wholly something Locki expected. An organization like the Magic Council was something that basically endorsed corruption. Its main headquarters in Era didn't move often, letting the main branches in each kingdom or alliance act as their own singular establishment. Those branches then reaped the benefits of the branches that further spread throughout the various towns and cities within their respective areas, which led to something like the Fiore Branch's insanely intricate building.

Of course, their success was not that contrived. They created the basis for all Magic Guilds within all of Earthland, and they took a percentage of literally all missions submitted through the guild system. If they didn't have a surplus of Jewels ot spend, Locki would be rather confused.

Still, as he looked about the room, Locki found that the old men on the stand were all unrecognizable. They all wore masks or face coverings as they looked on at him, but that mattered little to the young guildmaster as they were all within the range of his Curse. And a blanket question of whether they were corrupt came up with… with…

Locki tried to keep his face straight as his Curse told him that literally all of the present councilmen for Fiore's Magic Council Branch were corrupt. In one way or another, they had dabbled in bribery, adultery, blackmail, forgery, and other unsavory acts. The blonde was almost impressed as he tried to find something that they did not do.

"This is the case for the Guildmaster of," the middle masked man held a sheet of paper in front of his face, reading over what was written. "Scarlet Hand Magic Guild. Guildmaster Locki Wyn will be granted time to explain his case and be tried before the present councilmen today. Should there be any objections, please come forward."

There was barely a second before the man continued, "Very well, we will start the case with the presented documents from the presiding Magic Council inspector of Hargeon: It was stated, by multiple different Rune Knight witnesses, that the mage in question, Locki Wyn, had infiltrated a Dark Mage's guild –keep in mind that the information about said Dark Guild is still inconclusive through councilmember Vrain's note– and had proceeded to gather prominent intel about a possible Zeref Cult operating close to Hargeon's ports. He was expedited to Fiore's main branch, here in Crocus, as it was impossible to prove he was without fault, and his presence was noted to be the cause of several disappearances related to deaths of mages within Hargeon."

Locki blinked. He knew the people in Hargeon had slapped him with charges, and he really expected them to be something dumb, but they were actually right on the money. Even if they didn't have evidence of his crimes, they just slapped him with anything possible to get him out of the city.

"A mage killer, eh? I suppose this won't be a long trial." One of the councilmen at the left end leaned on his interlocked fingers, chuckling.

Locki tried not to glare at the masked man, slowly using his Curse to narrow down who exactly could be the Tower of Heaven's mole. It didn't help that most of them had a relationship or two to Dark Guilds or some unsavory element. Dammit, why did they have to make this so hard on him!

"That remains to be seen. I say we should look into the evidence provided about the murders and how they tie to Guildmaster Wyn." The councilmember to the right of the middle one reasoned. "We all know the reason why Hargeon was allowed to get away with things like they have for so long."

A round of nods clued Locki in on the fact that they knew about the corruption in Hargeon as well. For once, Locki felt he wasn't suited for politics. He was of the mind that these guys would just be corrupt and sit on their asses as they raked in cash; instead, it seemed as if even all the shady deals were some other scheme. It all felt convoluted and confusing for the young guildmaster who already had enough on his plate.

In the end, Locki decided it wasn't his problem.

"In any case, I feel like I've heard the name Locki Wyn before." Another councilmember mumbled before he turned to Locki. "What was the name of the specific Zeref Cult you found clues on?"

Locki licked his lips, getting a grip on all the personalities of the seven in front of him. He was a little thrown off as they started before he could get a bearing on everyone, but he slowly got a handle on them through liberal use of his Curse to crosscheck his theories.

"The Tower of Heaven." Locki answered.

"Right, I've heard of that before. They were brought up a couple years ago, right? Another mage murder in the middle of a town."

"Don't forget the blue-haired kid that mentioned them in their reasons for the Charm's Magic law."

Locki's ears perked up, hearing a juicy piece of information. It was one of those things he appreciated; the councilmembers in Fiore's branch were basically all forms of government within the building, so they often dealt with multiple cases from laws and enforcement of them to simple court rulings like his. Honestly, Locki felt it was rather inefficient.

"We can discuss those issues later." The middle councilmember spoke again. He turned to Locki, waving his hand dismissively. "We have a fairly good idea about why Hargeon's courts sent you straight here, so I would like to hear more about what you know about this pocket of Zeref Cultist you found."

Locki looked at the man. Was it that easy?

"I know they are stationed somewhere within the Calm Sea." Locki started, looking around as if he thought someone would stop him. When no one did, he continued, "I found that the Pirate Queen knew a greater amount about the sea, so I sought her out, infiltrating her gang through a strenuous process that I would like to say did not involve the loss of li–"

"Yeah, we don't care about that part. Did you find the cultists?"

Locki pursed his lips, feeling like he understood these council members. They honestly didn't care about what he did, and they really didn't have any plans to enforce whatever accusation Hargeon's courts had put on him, so they shifted completely to the other, more important, aspect. Zeref's Cult.

Thinking of this, Locki eased up. "I have a good idea where they are, but there is a good chance that the Dark Guilds who ran the underground of Hargeon would silence the Pirate Queen or her confidants the second she arrived on land. Instead, I sent Gildarts, one of my own guild mages, and another S-rank mage from Fairy Tail to accompany the Pirate Queen as she led them to the Tower of Heaven's Base of operations."

"So he admits to conspiracy."

"You crone, his plan was obviously the best one. I say he deserves a commendation for stopping some outsiders from breaching Fiore's lands!"

Locki looked over at the two council members who argued back and forth. The one who spoke first did it mainly just to get her voice heard, but the second one was someone who he paid more attention to. He was an obvious warhawk and nationalist; definitely someone who would have ties to Fiore's military. A quick application of his Curse confirmed that the man's name was Ignatius Vrain, Drumlowe's associate within the Magic Council.

"Silence you two." The middle councilman spoke harshly, shaking his head as if the arguments were a common thing. Carefully, he leveled another look at Locki, "I would also like to thank you for your quick thinking. Such a level of forethought is rather… appreciated in Guild Mages nowadays. Especially for guilds as small as yours."

"Thank you, sir." Locki answered perfunctorily.

The man hummed, seemingly appreciating Locki's acknowledgement. "Do you have anything else to add to this trial?"

"No, sir." Locki said quickly.

"Very well, then, I will ask that you follow one of the guards to your teammate. We will discuss our evidence and decide your ruling that you will receive tomorrow." The leader councilman nodded to him.

Locki shot a glance to Ignatius Vrain, Drumlowe's inside-man, and found the man had heaved a quick sigh of relief. His reaction was all Locki needed to know that his punishment probably wouldn't be that bad, or at least, they would not get in the way of Locki as he tried to stop Crawford Seam from passing the ban of Charm magics.

Inwardly, all he could think was "that's it?" The whole thing could be summed up as a way for them to get information out from him. Locki had not thought much about Fiore's Magic Council, but this experience definitely showed him just how deeply they simply did not care so long as a Magic Guild as in question. Evermont's situation sadly made quite a bit of sense now.

"Follow me, guildmaster Wyn."

Without even a hint of punishment, Locki left the courtroom. The only thing that showed he was even a prisoner were the manacles on his wrists, and even then, those were only for show.

Locki followed the guard silently for what felt like an hour as they weaved through the mess of corridors. Fiore's Magic Council branch was something that evoked the grandeur of that title, but Locki could sum it up in a single phrase: Large as hell.

They had long, meandering hallways full of picture frames. In those frames were council members each with a name and date of their time in service. Locki had found that many of them were related to each other as he had found that many family members seemed to come in right after the previous one left.

The branch also had its fair share of crazy rooms. Several times did they walk through a hallway to come through a large, open room with trees and flowers growing within. A few gardeners tended to the landscape and plants, waving to him happily as he passed. Locki had to spare a few seconds to realize that they had waved to him even if he was currently in chains.

Perhaps the craziest room Locki saw was one he only passed by briefly. In a path in a three-way intersection, Locki saw a completely pitch-dark room with glowing magic circles that floated around. A few guards stared at him from inside as they stood atop various magic circles that floated around, standing atop them like they were the floor even if they stood upside down. In the middle of the room was an important-looking purple sphere that Locki took note of.

"What's that room?" Locki asked casually, trying not to look back at it and commit the directions to the room to memory.

"Hm?" The guard seemed wary of his question, giving Locki all the information he needed. His Curse even confirmed that the room was important. "It is one of the control nodes for the floatation device used to keep the building in the sky. If you would like to study it like other guildmasters, then you will need to put in a request form through one of the councilmen."

"Oh. Gotcha, thanks." Locki hummed, feeling firmly putting the idea he just got into plan C. He would try to talk things out first, trying to get his magic to stick. Even if he knew it might not work, Locki didn't really want to get into a fight.

Finally, Locki and his guard reached his room. In all honesty, Locki had prepared himself for a cell. What he found was a large room that had been tastefully decorated; two beds that Locki had already decided in his mind to steal lay within the room across from each other as a large, circular table sat in the middle.

The blonde guildmaster felt a shock travel down his spine as he found Daki as she sat awkwardly next to Ghost.

His older self looked at him, sipping a cup of hot tea while he gestured to a cup and seat in front of him. Locki found himself once again stumped at the suckerpunch that was Ghost's reveal, but he quickly centered himself. If there was one person he should be wary about it would no doubt be himself; after all, Locki was not a fool to believe his future self would always have his best interests at heart.

"[So we can finally talk]," Locki started, feeling his nerves alight as he sat down and tried to look calm. "[What are you doing here]?"

It was a simple question, but it was one Locki knew had multiple answers. If Ghost really was himself, then he would know that Locki wanted to know why they had traveled back in time. If it was a mistake, then that was fine. If it was on purpose… Then Locki would need to know exactly why they had.

His older self didn't immediately answer, tilting his head to look behind him. Locki followed his gaze to the guard who stood warily at the door, looking at Ghost intently.

"[Don't worry about my presence here. There's no reason to raise alarm]." Ghost spoke for the first time, and Locki felt it. A pressure at the back of his mind; a siren's call that he wanted to desperately resist but he could not.

He looked at Ghost, knowing he didn't need to worry. Ghost wasn't the problem at the moment, and he had plenty of other things to worry about. He turned to Daki with that knowledge.

"Do you know where Kagura is? Did you see where they took her?"

Daki opened her mouth to speak but another voice cut her off.

"[Dammit, this is harder to control than I thought. Hey, my dumbass younger self, you can be wary of my presence again. Just stop trying to think of me as you. I'll go by Ghost when we work together]."

Just like that, the fog over Locki's thoughts disappeared. The blonde stood up in a hurry, chair hitting the floor. Locki narrowed his eyes at Ghost, and an unknown fear crept into his heart at how easily and quickly he had fallen under his own magic. For a second, Locki contemplated if this was what others felt. One second they were in control of their thoughts and the next it was as if whatever he said had become their thoughts and actions.

Ghost sighed, leaning on his calloused palm. Another metallic arm came up and Locki's eyes shot to it in a wide-eyed gaze.

[Vibranium Bionic Arm]

An arm that was used by the Winter Soldier in the Infinity War. It has been grafted onto Locki Wyn by a Madly-gifted Doctor.

Effects: You have a metal arm? That's awesome, dude!

"You're more swayed by my words than anyone else." Ghost said as Locki studied the arm in awe. "I would believe myself, after all."

Locki flinched as he realized his problem. His magic needed the listener to believe the speaker for it to work, and since Ghost was himself, there was definitely a subconscious bias.

"…fair." Locki mused idly.

Ghost sighed and leaned back. "It's weird being on this side of things now. Also, Kagura is fine. Probably more than fine when she gets a handle on that spear."

"Good to know." Locki nodded. He would still need to check himself, but it was nice to think that she was fine for the moment. "So… reasons?"

"Right, I'm getting to that," Ghost waved his hand lazily. "In any case, you guessed it right. I am you. Not a clone, parallel version, someone mind controlled to fake you, or someone wearing an elaborate illusion magic. In short, I arrived in the past by an accident in the future, but I am now thinking it was on purpose."

Locki raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"That… is a bit complicated." Ghost said tiredly. "It involves a lot of things that don't matter too much to you right now, but, since I know how much I hate unexplained stuff, it is none of your business."

Locki gave his future self a flat stare.

"What?"

"Is it going to kill me to know?"

For a terrifying second, Locki saw Ghost pause. "Yes, if you have the knowledge I do, it will most definitely kill you."

"Got it." Locki nodded, accepting such a statement. If he had something powerful enough to slow someone and every action they took simply with the knowledge of them, there were definitely people who could do something similar.

Besides, he had plenty on his plate already.

"So, are you here to help me or to… do whatever I can't know about." Locki asked carefully.

Ghost chuckled for a second, shaking his head as if it were a great joke. "Yeah, no. You're on your own for the most part. This is the only time I can meet you before I need to go off and do my own thing, but I guess part of why I am here will help you."

Locki pursed his lips, feeling slightly annoyed. "So you come out of nowhere, tell me to do stuff, and then screw off to who knows where? What's the purpose of coming to see me in the first place? To tell me shit I would have figured out myself?"

"Yeesh…" Ghost leaned back, scratching the stubble on his chin. "I guess I was pretty angsty back then. No need to get your panties in a twist. I was getting to the stuff you can know for now."

Locki looked at his future self, unimpressed. The older blonde looked casual and laid back, but the young man knew there was more to it. He would not underestimate a version of himself who had the [Dimensional Guild System] for a longer amount of time. He had seen the [Subspace Ring] still on the man's remaining flesh and blood hand, so there were definitely items that gave him confidence and assurance to face his problems without the help of his guild.

The young guildmaster grew pensive for a second, studying the [Vibranium Bionic Arm] before he sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. I will take whatever help I can get in my situation."

"Great–"

"However," Locki cut Ghost off easily, giving the older man a serious stare. Ghost ruined the moment with a knowing smirk, but Locki continued on, "I need to know if you are on my side. And not with a verbal agreement. I need you to promise me not to screw me over with whatever you are planning."

"Sure, sure, no problem." Ghost agreed easily with the same aggravating smirk on his lips. "But, don't use your magic for something so vague. Make it more specific. Things that are vague tend not to stick as easily."

Locki narrowed his eyes at Ghost words, nodding after a moment. Ghost definitely had a lot more time to master their magic based on his first interaction, so it would be wise to pay close attention to his words. "Then, [for as long as we both are in Crocus, where we don't get in each other's way, let's agree to not actively target each other]."

Ghost smiled as if he heard an amusing joke. "Deal. Ah, and before this wears off, I should tell you to [not get too involved with Crawford Seam]. You can deal with him, but the… people he has behind him are not those you can currently deal with. You'd need Gyutaro to have Bankai before you can deal with them. Also, don't keep our brother waiting."

"Do I get this cryptic when I get older?" Locki asked sarcastically.

"Not really, but you already are dealing with Zeref's Cults at the moment. It would be worse if you bring his creations against you right now."

Locki froze as he heard that sentence. Ghost certainly knew how to drop absolutely disturbing pieces of information, and the fact that Crawford Seam, the head of the Magic Council in Ishtar, had been consorting with demons from the book of Zeref was something Locki wished he didn't know. He chewed his lip hard as he watched his future self get up after he said that, walking to the door at a leisurely pace.

"Is that what you are doing in Crocus now?" Locki couldn't help but ask.

"Nah, the opposite." Ghost revealed easily, shocking Locki again. He pointed upwards to the sky as if to reference something. "I am dealing with all the people in the sky so that you can mop up those that crawl on the earth. I will leave you with something to think about, though. What do you think the [Dimensional Guild System] really is?"

"What?" Locki was flabbergasted at the sudden change in subject. "Does this also have some unknown meaning?"

Ghost shrugged. "I can tell you that I don't really know. I am just thinking over what Ren Hakuryuu had said a long time before; where he mentioned that there was a God that brought him to Earthland."

"What about it? That this ability was too good to be true?" Locki frowned.

"Possibly. Well, we could just be overthinking it like always." Ghost said carelessly, waving to the guard who stood outside. "I'll see you around, Locki, Ume– err, I mean Daki."

Locki felt a plethora of emotions as he watched Ghost leave just like that. He came and went without a care in the world, leaving Locki with even more questions than he started with. It honestly felt more annoying than anything else, and Locki wished nothing more than the headache that was Ghost hadn't even existed in the first place.

After a moment, Locki let the anger leave him. He didn't want to say it, but he had begun to put things together the second Ghost had revealed himself. Locki's journey had been smooth sailing on certain issues so far, and the young guildmaster had realized that maybe his luck might be Ghost's actions from before.

After all, his dad had disappeared right before he got the [Dimensional Guild System], Rose Tyrant's S-rank had been killed so that he could leverage their money and connections, and even False Giant's S-rank, Bommir, had his eyes removed long before Locki had gained his [Byakugan]. He started to think of all the times that maybe Ghost had stepped in behind the scenes like with Rebecca and Stein. Almost every key point in his journey had been laid out for him, and he had just… taken it for granted, thinking he was lucky. In a way, he was lucky.

Locki put his thoughts together as he threw those negative thoughts to the back of his mind. He centered himself as he heard a knock at the door, and his Curse let him know it was Ignatius Vrain.

The blonde guildmaster told them to come in, taking a seat where Ghost just sat. He smiled genially at the old man in a councilman robe who walked in.

"Take a seat." Locki said, gesturing like Ghost had done before. In more ways than one, "Let's get this started."