It wasn’t a picture of Lucy, Happy, or even the whole guild roaring at a banquet. It was a fan-made digital painting, downloaded from a long-defunct forum, titled simply: Natsu & Igneel – The Silent Promise.
“Still that wallpaper?” she asked softly, sitting beside him. “You could get a newer one. Happy took a great shot of you, Gray, and Erza fighting that giant Vulcan last week.”
But this wasn't a static image. The pixelated tear from the dragon’s eye grew bright, then floated forward. It drifted through the air and stopped right in front of the real, adult Natsu.
He had finally found the one he’d been looking for all along. HD wallpaper- Natsu Fairy Tail- Anime- Igneel -...
“I did not leave you, my son. I made you. Every flame you conjure is my roar. Every friend you protect is my scale. You are not a boy who lost a dragon. You are the dragon who became a man.”
There, standing translucent yet solid in the middle of the hall, was the scene from the wallpaper. The young Natsu. And Igneel.
Natsu smiled back at the screen, tears streaming down his own cheeks, and set the phone down. He didn't need to search for a new picture. It wasn’t a picture of Lucy, Happy, or
In the image, a much younger Natsu—pre-scarf, wearing the tattered orange vest from his earliest days—sat on a craggy cliffside at sunset. Curled protectively around him, his scales glittering like molten rubies, was Igneel. The Fire Dragon King wasn't looking at the horizon. He was looking down at the boy, his enormous, cat-like pupils holding a universe of warmth and sorrow. A single, translucent tear, pixelated into a spark of light, hung at the corner of the dragon's eye.
The vision faded. The guild hall returned to normal. But Natsu’s wallpaper remained—now slightly different. The young Natsu in the image was gone. Igneel sat alone on the cliff, facing the sunrise, a small, proud smile on his draconic face.
Natsu grinned, a flicker of his usual fire in his eyes. “Nah. This one’s got… magic in it.” “You could get a newer one
Lucy gasped. Gray dropped his mug. Erza’s hand went to her sword.
“A tear of memory,” a voice boomed—Igneel’s voice, but softer, like an echo through time. “You have been searching for me not in the world, but in your heart. And you have finally found the truth.”