The midday sun, filtering through the white sheer curtains of the Heartfilia Merchant Guild's guest room, cast fragmented light spots on Ezreal's face.
He turned over, burying his face in the pillow, trying to block the dazzling light.
Levy's voice came from outside the door: "EZ, if you don't get up soon, you'll miss lunch!"
Ezreal slightly opened his eyes, looked at the dazzling sunlight, then rolled around in bed, still wrapped in his blanket, and shouted without lifting his head, "Coming!"
Ten minutes later, the four of them, dragging their luggage, arrived at the Guild's central courtyard.
Lucy was already waiting there, wearing a simple beige dress, her golden hair glowing softly in the sunlight.
"I thought you guys were going to sleep until night," Lucy said with a smile, walking over and giving Levy a light hug. "Be careful on your journey."
Levy patted her on the back: "A year will pass quickly. We'll come pick you up then."
"Mhm!" Lucy nodded vigorously, then turned to the others. "I will definitely convince my father."
Jet yawned: "The young lady of the Heartfilia family becoming a Mage, that sounds pretty interesting."
Droy used his vines to roll up the luggage and gave Lucy a thumbs-up: "Work hard on your magic training."
"Definitely!" Lucy responded with a smile.
"Well, then, this is where we part ways," Ezreal said, raising his left hand. A white magic circle spun open in his palm, then dissipated into a blue-gold energy vortex.
Once the portal stabilized, he waved to Lucy and smiled gently: "See you at Fairy Tail."
Lucy stood rooted to the spot, watching the four of them step into the vortex one by one.
When the last speck of energy light dissolved into the air, she clenched her fist: "I definitely will."
...The Fairy Tail Guild's main door was suddenly pushed open. The noisy tavern hall, quiet for a second at midday, immediately erupted into even greater clamor.
"Yo! The Northern Expedition team is back!" Marcus jumped down from his bar stool, his beer mug sloshing foam.
Cana's cards were scattered across a table: "I heard you guys took out the Phantom Lord Guild?"
Natsu dashed over, his fists ablaze with fire: "Were there really Yetis there? Were they super—big?"
Mira put down the glass she was wiping, her smile gentle: "The Magic Council's bounty arrived yesterday. The old man deposited it into your Guild account."
Ezreal tossed his luggage to Droy's vines and casually snagged a glass of iced tea from a passing waiter's tray: "Didn't see any Yetis, but we did run into a group of Mages causing trouble..."
His words were interrupted by Gray: "Wait, you really took the Heartfilia's request? How's that young lady? I heard her family's restaurant has a ten-meter-long dessert bar?"
Ezreal looked at him in surprise, "Since when did you like desserts?"
Gray scratched his head, turning his face away, "The old man said there are many ways for Molding Magic to improve, and exquisitely shaped, intricately made food might provide inspiration. I've been researching this lately."
"That makes sense!" Ezreal nodded. "The old man is still so knowledgeable."
"I'm not too focused on food, Levy, you tell him," Ezreal said, pushing the blue-haired, glasses-wearing girl in front of Gray.
Levy was about to answer when the creak of the Guild door opening again suddenly silenced the noisy hall.
Erza walked in, wearing her usual silver armor, her steps heavier than usual.
She walked straight to the bar, her expression blank and empty: "Orange juice, with ice."
Mira keenly noticed her pale face but didn't ask anything when handing her the drink.
Erza took the glass and sat alone at a round table in the corner, sipping mechanically, looking like a hollow puppet.
Natsu scratched his head and strode over: "Erza! Let's fight!"
His fists ignited with flames, but he froze when he saw her eyes—it wasn't the usual sharp gaze ready for a challenge, but an emptiness and helplessness he had never seen before.
Natsu didn't understand what had happened, but he knew that expression shouldn't be on Erza.
"Natsu, can you let me have some peace?" Erza reached out and gently ruffled Natsu's spiky hair, her movements uncharacteristically soft.
Gray pulled Natsu away, lowering his voice and asking seriously: "Erza, what happened?"
A shake of the head.
Silence.
The ice in the glass gradually melted.
Erza's appearance dampened everyone's mood for idle chatter, and they too fell silent, unsure what to say.
Ezreal and the others exchanged glances, then silently nodded. They each ordered drinks at the bar and found seats not too far or too close, surrounding Erza.
Among friends and family, when someone is having emotional problems and doesn't want to answer or explain, perhaps the best approach isn't to press them, but to offer silent companionship.
Ezreal sat with his juice not far behind Erza, with Cana and the Levy trio beside him.
The blonde youth frowned, looking at Erza's dejected back, and silently thought, "This shouldn't be happening. This isn't in the original story, is it?"
"Could something I don't know about have happened?"
When the Guild door was slammed open for the third time, Elfman nearly tore the hinges off.
He waved that day's "Weekly Sorcerer," his rough voice rattling the chandeliers: "Big news! The Council is in an uproar!"
All eyes in the tavern swiveled in unison.
"Ten Wizard Saints Siegrain gravely injured a colleague!" Elfman panted, reading the headline. "A high-ranking Council official named Ultear is still in critical condition at the Magic Hospital! The Council just announced that Siegrain has resigned from his councilor position!"
The crisp sound of a glass shattering came from the corner.
Erza's juice glass lay in pieces on the floor, orange juice soaking her boots.
But she seemed not to notice, only staring intently at the newspaper in Elfman's hand, her knuckles white from clenching.
The entire Guild fell into an eerie silence, then erupted into an even greater wave of sound.
"That genius councilor? Isn't he the youngest Ten Wizard Saints?"
"Isn't Ultear part of his faction? An internal conflict?"
"How come I remember Ultear was Siegrain's assistant? Could it be a lovers' quarrel?"
"But putting someone in the hospital is too extreme, isn't it?"
"The Council has long been rotten, all they do is criticize this and that, if you ask me..."
Amidst the noisy discussions, Ezreal's gaze pierced through the crowd and met Erza's unfocused eyes.
He clearly saw the cold sweat beading on her forehead, and her shoulders trembling slightly beneath her armor.
The moment Elfman burst in with the news, Ezreal understood everything.
Siegrain was just an alias for Jellal.
Jellal was Erza's childhood companion; they were forced to build the Tower of Paradise together, and their home was destroyed by members of a Dark Guild who wanted to revive Black Wizard Zeref.
The Tower of Paradise, also known as the R-System, was built by a magic cult that believed in dark magic to activate forbidden magic that could revive the dead. The cult captured many child laborers as slaves, including Erza, Jellal, and later some members of Oración Seis.
Jellal became the leader of the slaves and planned an escape, but the plan was discovered. Erza, due to the immense magic power hidden within her, was taken by the cult and subjected to imprisonment and torture, losing her right eye at this time.
Young Jellal tried everything to rescue Erza, but he was ambushed and captured, then brainwashed and manipulated by the "Ghost of Zeref" disguised by Ultear, falling into darkness.
What happened next was simple: under Erza's leadership, the slaves rebelled. Although they liberated seven areas of the Tower of Paradise, they were ultimately defeated by the cult's magic soldiers, and Grandpa Rob sacrificed his life to protect Erza.
Afterward, a grief-stricken Erza unleashed powerful magic, awakening her Requip Magic and annihilating the cult's executives, freeing the slaves.
But the rescued Jellal had already turned dark, deciding to continue building the Tower of Paradise. He made Erza leave and threatened to kill her companions if she came near.
And in Erza's heart, her best childhood friend Jellal was now a bad person.
Simon, Sho, Millianna, Wally—Erza didn't want anything to happen to any of these childhood companions.
Now, this companion who had strayed from the path suddenly abandoned his Magic Council identity. What exactly he was planning was what worried Erza.
She was afraid Jellal had a larger conspiracy, and he might even have revived the legendary Black Wizard Zeref using the Tower of Paradise, which is why he dared to give up his Council identity.
Ezreal knew that what Erza saw at that moment was not the newspaper, but the final, insane smile of the blue-haired boy from her memories.
Gray held back Natsu, who wanted to press for answers, while Mira quietly signaled the bartender to clean up the broken glass.
The discussions in the Guild continued, but everyone's peripheral vision unconsciously darted to the corner—where the Fairy Queen sat, and she had never looked more like a lost child than she did now.
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