The group exchanged glances, uncertain what could possibly be discussed purely from a magical standpoint.
The King suddenly felt a twinge of unease.
"Is there… something wrong with Eclipse Magic itself?"
"One could put it that way," Rhodes replied.
He then calmly explained the origin, preparation process, and underlying magical principles of Eclipse Magic, speaking as if he had memorized them long ago.
Naturally, he only covered the key components.
Even so, the four listeners quickly fell behind.
The Knight Commander and the Minister of State were not deeply versed in magic, let alone Eclipse Magic. They were already dizzy by the opening explanation.
The King and Princess Hisui had studied Eclipse Magic to some extent, but neither was a professional Magician. By the halfway point, both were visibly struggling to keep up.
Rhodes paused, giving them time to breathe.
Seizing the opportunity, Minister Danton asked,
"Mr. Rhodes, why do you know so much about a forbidden magic that the kingdom has kept secret for generations?"
Rhodes turned his gaze to the King.
"Kept secret by the kingdom?"
The King felt a little embarrassed under that look and explained,"We promised our ancestors not to disclose it to outsiders. So we could only describe it as magic passed down through the royal line. Strictly speaking, the Eclipse Gate has indeed always been under royal custody."
He then added, partly to explain on Rhodes's behalf,
"Fairy Tail has historical ties to the Magician who first used this magic. So it is not strange that they might possess related information."
Danton nodded slowly. The kingdom had always held secrets, some even beyond his clearance.
Arcadios, clearly afraid Rhodes would continue lecturing, interjected quickly,
"I acknowledge your profound magical knowledge and your deep understanding of Eclipse. But, why are you telling us all this?"
"Why?" Rhodes looked at him, suddenly understanding the feelings of a middle-school teacher.
"Didn't you hear me when I reached the key point just now?"
"Ah.." Arcadios stiffened, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"I'm sorry, I just..."
"Never mind," Rhodes said with a sigh.
"I'll put it simply."
"From its most fundamental principles, Eclipse Magic contains no offensive function whatsoever. And even the portions I haven't mentioned are no different."
"In essence, Eclipse is purely a magic of spatial and temporal transformation."
"You understand that much, at least, yes?"
Arcadios instinctively looked toward Princess Hisui, the person in the room most familiar with Eclipse Magic.
She nodded firmly.
"What Mr. Rhodes described completely aligns with our own research, and is, in fact, far more detailed."
"I once believed that the so-called Cannon existed because we lacked sufficient understanding of Eclipse Magic."
"But now, it's clear that the mysterious future individual who refused to reveal his identity was lying."
As this realization settled in, Princess Hisui visibly relaxed.
That meant the accusations against Mr. Rhodes were false as well.
He was not an "emissary of the Dragons," nor a "being outside of time," but a trustworthy Ten Wizard Saint.
Following her reasoning, Danton continued,
"If that is the case, then the future person deceived us in order to make us ignore Mr. Rhodes's advice and open the gate according to his plan."
"In that case, we absolutely must not allow him to succeed. The Eclipse Gate must never be opened!"
"No, don't jump to conclusions," Arcadios objected immediately.
"If he was lying, then perhaps the matter of ten thousand Dragons will never occur at all. In that case, we should proceed with the original Eclipse Plan!"
Danton opened his mouth to argue again.
But Rhodes spoke first.
"As for the Eclipse Plan," he said calmly, "from a purely magical perspective, it is also impossible."
"What?!" Arcadios exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why?"
"It's actually very simple," Rhodes said.
"This magic was developed on the foundation of Celestial Spirit Magic, and like Celestial Spirit Magic, its core mechanism lies in gates."
He took out a notebook and began to draw as he explained, clearly worried they might not follow otherwise.
"Celestial Spirit Magic opens two gates: one in the Human World and one in the Celestial Spirit Realm. A Celestial Spirit enters through one gate and exits through the other, completing the transfer between worlds."
"In essence, it achieves spatial traversal through paired gates."
He added another diagram beside it.
"The Eclipse Gate works on the same principle. It also requires two gates. The difference is that Eclipse is Time Magic."
"One gate exists in the present. The other exists in the past, or the future."
"Activating Eclipse means entering through the present gate and exiting through a gate anchored at another point in time, thereby achieving time travel."
Rhodes tapped the page lightly.
"Which means there is an absolute prerequisite for traveling through time with Eclipse."
"The destination time must already possess a corresponding gate that allows the traveler to exit."
Arcadios stared at the timeline Rhodes had drawn, at the two gate symbols marking the present and the past.
A dreadful realization slowly dawned on him.
"Then… then does that mean," his voice faltered, "that when the original Eclipse Gate first appeared… Zeref had already.."
Rhodes nodded.
"That's correct. According to all available records, Zeref was already immortal at that point."
"And Acnologia had already become an existence that the people of that era could not defeat."
Silence fell over the room.
"S-so our Eclipse Plan…" Arcadios whispered, his face pale, "was completely impossible from the very beginning?"
He found it difficult to accept.
For the sake of killing Zeref in the past, they had exhausted themselves devising countless strategies.
The Royal Knights trained relentlessly, refining tactics, strengthening their bodies, hardening their resolve.
The kingdom had even organized the Grand Magic Games to gather magical power on a national scale.
If the plan had been impossible from the start.
Didn't that mean years of preparation had been meaningless?
In contrast, Minister Danton accepted the conclusion almost immediately.
In fact, it was exactly what he had hoped for.
If the plan could never succeed, then there was no need to risk executing such a terrifying, history-altering spell.
The King and Princess Hisui took a moment longer.
But the more they reflected on Rhodes's explanation, the more sound it appeared.
The magical theory was consistent. The logic was airtight.
Nothing contradicted established principles.
Its credibility was extremely high.
The King finally asked,
"Then… as long as we do not open the Eclipse Gate, the Dragons will not appear. Is that correct?"
"I can't give you a definitive answer," Rhodes replied honestly.
"The theory that the Dragon Clan originates from the past is still speculation. Future Lucy herself does not know where the Dragons came from."
"What we can confirm is this: Future Lucy was not lying. She truly experienced a Dragon invasion."
He paused, then continued calmly.
"That's why I have a proposal."
"One that can verify this hypothesis without causing catastrophic consequences."
"And even if something goes wrong, there will still be room to recover."
He looked at the four of them in turn.
"I would like to ask whether you are willing to cooperate."
After such a long and exhausting discussion, Rhodes had finally arrived at his true objective.
By this point, the King, Princess Hisui, and the other officials had almost lost confidence in their own judgment.
Since Rhodes claimed he could offer a safer, controllable solution.
They naturally listened with utmost seriousness.