They ate and set up their camp and everything else. It was getting too dark and chilly for Felix and Chester to play in the water so instead they were sitting with them around the fire. But the day had been really long and so many things had happened, they both fell asleep almost immediately even though they had sworn they could stay awake with adults.
Now they just waited for Baluhu to come back, talking this and that while Felix was sleeping on Laxus' lap, his dark fur lined coat around him and Chester was in deep sleep on Bickslow's lap, both not caring what was happening around them. Theophilius was murmuring something in his sleep, curled up on Freed's lap and his big ears flickered sometimes as he was seeing dreams, obviously enjoying how the rune mage's slender fingers were scratching his back.
"So guess we will leave tomorrow?" Evergreen asked.
"If there's no need for us to stay, we should", Laxus said adding few more woods in the fire. "It takes a day to go back to Ginkgo, might as well sleep there and leave with a ferry next morning and hop in the train."
"If we fly, we could get there faster and still have some time to look around, maybe shop a little bit", Ever suggested. "Laxus could carry Felix, I can take Chester and Bickslow can take care of Roscoe."
It could work and it wouldn't take long for them to fly back, but they all looked at Freed who thought about it a moment.
"Well, my magic hasn't acted up even once yet", the green haired man said finally. "And I'm feeling fine. If we're careful then it should be okay."
"You better fly near so I can catch you if something happens and your wings disappear", Laxus said. He didn't really like this, but he wasn't really fond of the idea of walking back a whole day either. As long as Freed would stay near he would be able to catch him at any second if needed.
"It takes no time at all to fly back to Ginkgo", Bickslow grinned. "We have a whole day time to do shopping."
"Remember that the ferry leaves Ginkgo at evening as well, we could go back and get to the night train", Freed suggested.
"I like that idea, we're gonna do that", Laxus decided and Evergreen whined.
"It would have been great to spend another night in that hotel where we stayed earlier", she said and she was really disappointed.
"Too bad, there's no need for us to stay there if we can get to the last train and be back in Magnolia by morning", Laxus huffed.
"I'm sure there's still plenty of time for you to do some shopping once we arrive at Ginkgo", Freed assured to Evergreen.
They talked a while more, until they heard steps and looked at Baluhu who arrived back to his cottage.
"That little fungus should have everything it needs now and one of my spirits is keeping an eye on it", the old man chuckled as he sat down with them, setting his flute aside. "It has a really nice spot where to walk around, not too dry and there are good little hiding spots from sun."
"It sounds like that little Laxus is enjoying its new home", Bickslow smirked and Laxus scowled at him.
"Too bad it cannot be helped that even if it will grow up to be big and strong, it will always be a bit slow", Evergreen giggled.
"It's not Laxus' fault, it's part of what it is", Roscoe reminded amused and Laxus growled.
"You guys want me to kick your asses? I can do that", he warned.
"Aww, don't get mad, baby", Bickslow snickered. "You know you're smarter than that thing."
"Technically, we can't know that for sure", Freed said. "It doesn't even have brain but it could understand when it was in danger and in what kind of a danger since it didn't emit poison but hid itself. It clearly knew what was the best option to do."
"Hey, who's side are you taking?" Laxus frowned looking at his husband.
"I'm not choosing sides, I just stated a fact that just because we don't know much about that creature we can't immediately assume it's stupid."
"The fact is that if you keep on with that, you can sleep outside the tent tonight."
"Brats, enough with that", Baluhu said. "If I wanted to hear fighting, I would have gotten married and had kids", he huffed. "So let's get to the point now. How much do you actually know about Yuidose?"
They told Baluhu everything that had happened lately. How Humphrey and Ichabod attacked Naava Town when trying to find Roscoe, Bickslow and the book they had brought to the white haired old man. How they ended up to Crocus so they could get rid of the collars and there they talked with Ivan who told them more about Yuidose and his plans. How Yuidose caused the dragon mating season to start even though they had no idea how that was possible.
"That is actually pretty much all what we know", Freed said. "We don't even know if he's aware that we had that book all along."
"But he must have had at least some hint since he knew to look it from Naava Town", Roscoe said. "So he probably guessed that mom gave it to Granny."
"I'm interested of how he hasn't tried to get it earlier", Bickslow said. "I mean, he must have noticed that book was missing, right? If it's so important to him."
"I'm sure he knows everything what's written in that book just like I do", Baluhu said. "But there are some spells that cannot be used without the book itself. He might have not needed it before but now he needs it, so it means he wants to use some of those spells."
"What are those spells then?" Laxus grunted.
"For instance, you cannot open a portal to Netherworld without this book", Baluhu said and he took the old leather covered book from inside his cape. "And if it's true and Yuidose really wants to bring back dead people, he has to open that portal. Opening that portal doesn't yet mean you can bring back anyone. For that you need to control souls so you can call the one you need. Otherwise you will just call someone who happens to respond."
"That's why he needs Bickslow and Roscoe", Evergreen nodded.
"Yes, and that makes things far more dangerous than I even suspected", Baluhu frowned worried. "He must have been thinking this for years already."
He opened the book and went through some pages, until he showed them the right page. They still couldn't understand anything of that text and there were some symbols they didn't recognize.
"This is a spell for calling out spirits", Baluhu explained to them. "Just now quite like the ones you have, Bickslow. Those five tiki dolls. As I mentioned before, they are very special spirits."
"I thought they were souls", Bickslow said and he took out the five tiki dolls from under his cape, without waking up Chester who was sleeping.
"They are. They are souls of spirits. A soul is still a soul, no matter where it's from. These are just not from this dimension. When you call a spirit, you can only call part of it since it can't be fully separated from the dimension where it's from, it would destroy it. There are lots of dimensions with different kinds of spirits and creatures like demons, doppelgangers, mirror worlds, we can't even imagine them all. Netherworld is just one of those dimensions, yet not same like the others. It's full of spirits that had once existed in our world. In other words, they are ghost spirits."
"So ghosts exist?" Ever asked with a shiver.
"Yes indeed. But they don't just roam around here without a reason. There is always someone who has called them. At one point of history, Spiritual Netherworld Magic was used to call and bound ghosts in some places to keep people away. Over the years the mages of course died but the seals remained, only activating when someone is near and the ghost would come out. These seals are designed to last for hundreds of years. Of course if something happens to the seal and it's broken, the ghost won't appear anymore and it's free again."
"So what you're saying is that those things are actually ghosts?" Roscoe asked looking at the 'babies' who were sleeping, staying silent and not moving while on the ground.
"Yes", Baluhu nodded. "Souls of them."
"And you have one too? That snake thing?" Laxus asked.
"Yes, but it's still slightly different than those Bickslow have. I can call all kinds of ghosts but Ozih is bound to me by a seal and we have a contract, it returns back to Netherworld when not needed. It works in same way as Celestial Spirit Gate Keys, but these are more personal as you can't just hand over these seals."
He opened a new page for them to see, almost at the end of the old book. There was a much bigger picture of a symbol, far more complicated than the first one.
"This one is used when you want to call a ghost and detach it completely from Netherworld."
"But wasn't that supposed to kill them?" Bickslow asked looking at the symbol. There was something strangely familiar in it. Like he had seen it a long long time ago somewhere.
"That is why you use this one next", Baluhu said and flipped a page. Another big symbol, slightly different than the last one. "And you anchor those souls at something. These two are forbidden spells and seals. It makes those souls completely dependent on that something where they are anchored. And that something has to be alive. When this seal is created and implanted, it cannot be removed and those souls and their master are linked together until the master dies, killing the ghosts as well."
Freed sharply looked at the seith mage who's mouth hung open.
"So they won't just return back to Netherworld?" he asked.
"Sadly, no. They just disappear. They are not attached to that dimension anymore after all and once their master dies, they are not attached to this dimension either. They can't have bodies like we do so they could live on their own", Baluhu said shaking his head.
"So... It really was Yuidose who gave me my babies?" Bickslow asked.
"Most likely. He used these spells, ripped those five poor little ghosts out from their home and sealed them into you, to follow you until the day you die and then they would disappear forever."
"That's... Horrible", Evergreen gasped and she actually felt really sad when even thinking about it, looking at the five little tiki dolls who didn't move.
"B-but why would he do that?" Bickslow stuttered and he was shocked because of this information. He had always thought those five souls had followed him because it was their choice! Instead they were here because someone had cruelly decided to use them for... Whatever the reason why Yuidose called them!
Baluhu sighed and he flipped few more pages at the end of the book.
"Five souls are needed from Netherworld and Soul Magic to rule them. Once combined fully, an Artefact is created and the one who controls that Artefact can rule over every ghost in Netherworld, calling them in and out as he wishes. When called through the Artefact, they are more powerful and they can last here longer. But even then they don't really have their own bodies. That's when you step up in Yuidose's plans", Baluhu said pointing towards Roscoe who frowned.
"I can't force any souls in dead bodies", he grunted. "No matter how much he might wish. And I wouldn't do it even if I could."
"I can guess that. However", Baluhu said and he opened yet another page. "Do you know what this is?"
They all leaned closer to look at the big picture.
"A gate?" Laxus guessed. At least it did look like a gate, with something glowing inside it.
"That's a Chamber", Freed said inhaling sharply.
"Oh, it looks like you've seen one before?" Baluhu said impressed looking at the rune mage.
"Now that you mention it, it does look kinda same as the one we saw at the Zaldevil mansion", Laxus frowned and Bickslow nodded with Evergreen.
"But the Chamber in our mansion works as a portal to call demons", Freed explained to the old man. "There is an Artefact as well. Our family has used it for hundreds of years to call out demons."
"I don't know about demons or their worlds", Baluhu said. "But I believe they have their own ways to create something like this. This is actually just a draft of how the Artefact and the Chamber might look like."
"If he's going to turn Bickslow to be an Artefact, then he's probably planning to turn Roscoe to be the Chamber?" Freed supposed. "But without actually turning them into some items?"
"They would be puppets", Baluhu nodded. "Not chained to stay in one place but he could take them where ever he goes and use them when he so wants. Bickslow would call out the spirit, Roscoe would command the body and combining the magic with seals there would be a person resurrected from death."
"Like hell we're gonna do that", Roscoe snarled.
"At that point I don't think you have your own will to think what you're doing. You're just objects who can move. One day Yuidose will die just like we all and you will remain somewhere, waiting until someone might once again realize the power you have and decide to use you."
"This is insane", Evergreen hissed angrily. "We can't let something like that happen! What about the book, Yuidose still needs it, right?"
"Of course, this book is really important so he can actually carry out his plan", Baluhu said.
"So as long as we have it, he can't do a thing!"
"That is true", Baluhu nodded closing the book. "He can't do a thing without this. But how are you planning to keep this safe?" he asked rising his eyebrows. "Do not take Yuidose lightly, he is not as stupid as he might seem and he is a very powerful mage."
"We can't really force you to give it to us so we can bring it back to Fairy Tail", Freed said. "After all, you're its rightful owner. But in our guild house we have a chamber guarded by different spells and lots of mages who can make sure Yuidose can't have it."
"I believe that. Mage guilds tend to have their own secrets", Baluhu chuckled.
He looked over to the dark forest, listening how somewhere deep inside it an owl was letting out its calls. The fire was crackling and he sighed, returning his gaze towards the book.
"You should take it back to your guild", he decided finally. "After I'm gone, whenever that might be, it would just lie here anyway and someone might find it. Someone who we don't want to find it. You can't read it without Netherworld Magic, but that doesn't matter."
"We got an impression that Netherworld Magic can't appear naturally among humans", Freed said now curiously. "Is that true?"
"Yes. It's taught by a teacher or ghosts."
"So you have taught Spiritual Netherworld Magic for Yuidose", Roscoe said. "What else there is?"
"Many kinds of forms, but I don't really know much about them. I've always been only interested about Spiritual Netherworld Magic."
"But it is really possible for someone to learn two forms of that magic? Like Spiritual and Chaotic?" Freed asked.
"Yes, it's possible. I've known one, it was a long time ago already and that mage has passed away decades ago. Netherworld Magic isn't really forbidden magic, but people don't really like it either as it has such an ominous ring in it."
"Much like Soul Magic", Bickslow snorted.
"Or Necromancy Magic", Roscoe muttered.
"That's true. That is mostly the reason why mages who have learned it usually keep quiet about it and not much knowledge is written down. These are one of the very few actual books that hold almost perfectly collected knowledge about Spiritual Netherworld Magic."
"I noticed that", Freed said. "I did my best to find any information I could, but it was almost impossible to find anything."
"I can believe that."
"There's something I've been wondering for a while already", Laxus grunted and he frowned. "How is it possible that Yuidose has learned Netherworld Magic and Bickslow and Roscoe just happen to have the kinds of magic he needs for his plans?"
"That is a good question but sadly I have no answer to it", Baluhu apologized. "Once you think about it, it really is an odd coincidence. If it really is a coincidence, but right now we can only guess what the real reason to that might be."
They all went silent, thinking about all what they had heard. Even now they still didn't really know much about Yuidose, but at least they had some kind of a picture of what he was really going to do if he managed to capture Bickslow and Roscoe.
"Do you know if there's something we can use against Yuidose?" Roscoe finally asked looking at Baluhu. "Does he have some weakness? Do you know what spells he uses?"
"I don't know what all he has learned after he left", Baluhu said shaking his head. "And I don't think I even want to know. It is such a shame I didn't realize it sooner how bad idea it was to teach him this magic. These kinds of magics come with great power and some people are just not meant to have that kind of power."
"Yeah, we know", Laxus grunted. "You might be able to explain one thing still, though. We saw Yuidose with Freed, he attacked us when we were camping near our hometown. It seemed we couldn't touch him."
"So he has learned how to create ghost mirages of himself."
"I don't really get it but it sure did feel like a ghost. So he wasn't really there?"
"He was, yet he wasn't", Baluhu explained, but it didn't help them much. "Depending of how much he has trained his skills, he might be able to do something physical even if it's not his actual body that is there."
"Thankfully he couldn't", Freed huffed and shuddered, still remembering how horrible it had felt when he looked down and saw a pair of scissors sticking out from his stomach. "But he did use illusions or such."
"Netherworld Magic users are capable to create illusions", Baluhu nodded. "But only with little things and only for a short amount of time. They can't make you believe the whole area has changed, but they can make you believe you've been hurt. They can't create the pain, but usually the shock itself is enough to make people unable to do rational decisions how to act next."
"I can honestly agree to that", Freed murmured scratching Theo's chin, making the quirlat yawn.
"Be very careful with Yuidose", Baluhu warned them. "If he knows how to make ghost mirages, there must be lots of other things he can do too. I can translate some of the texts in this book for you, but I'm sorry that is all help I can give even though you went through all this trouble to come here and help me."
"Well, we know more now than we did when we came here", Bickslow grinned.
"That's true", Ever smiled. "And we know what that book is and can protect it. We will make absolutely sure Yuidose won't get it."
"Then I'm going to trust you all", Baluhu smiled. "It has been a weight over my shoulders for years because I knew Yuidose had that book. I'm more than happy to hear that wasn't the case. Now I can spend the rest of my life in peace, protecting this forest and arranging festivals in Ginkgo", he chuckled. "Would you want to hear a little story?" he asked taking his big flute.
"Sure, why not", Roscoe shrugged.
"Just don't take the whole night with it, we have to wake up early and start our journey back home", Laxus grunted. "And don't wake up Felix and Chester."
"No worries, this is just a little story to bring luck to you all", Baluhu smiled.
The sound of the flute was deep, low and really beautiful. It filled the air and it felt hypnotic as they sat there in the dark of the night, listening to the song and seeing ghost spirits that danced over their camp.