The sun climbed higher over Galuna Island, washing the village in clean, golden light that carried no trace of the old purple haze.
Down in the square, the islanders moved about in their true forms—horns, wings, tails, scales—all of it out in the open again.
Their voices rose in a mix of cheers and quiet sobs as families reunited and old friends embraced.
Children darted through the streets, testing their restored wings or claws with delighted shrieks, while the elders stood together, heads bowed in silent thanks.
Ace lingered on the cliff's edge, hands in his coat pockets, taking it all in.
Sakuyamon and Angewomon stood quietly beside him.
The moon drip had faded completely, leaving only clear skies and the steady rhythm of waves against the shore.
Natsu's shout drifted up from the beach below, rough but full of life despite the bandages.
"Hey, Ace! You guys planning to sightsee all morning? Boat's ready let's move! My stomach's about to start eating itself!"
Gray snorted, leaning against a rock nearby. "You ate enough fish at dawn to feed half the island."
"Yeah, well, island fish isn't the same as Mira's cooking," Natsu shot back, grinning through the pain.
Lucy managed a tired laugh, still holding Happy close.
"He's got a point. I miss real food and a real bed."
Erza clapped her hands once, sharp and decisive.
"That's enough. We've done what we came here to do. The islanders have their lives back, it's time we got back to ours."
Ace gave a small nod. "On my way."
Sakuyamon inclined her head, voice soft as wind chimes.
"The darkness here is gone. Call if it returns." Golden light folded around her, and she returned to the Digivice without another word.
Angewomon stayed a moment longer.
Her wings settled as she met Ace's eyes.
"You handled the harder parts well," she said. "Ultear's grief… some victories aren't won with force."
Ace allowed himself a faint smile. "Couldn't have done it without you two."
She dipped her head, then dissolved into shimmering light and was gone.
Ace dropped from the cliff in one smooth leap, landing on the sandy path below.
The others were already climbing aboard the small boat the chief's son had offered—the same man who'd ferried them here weeks ago, still hiding under the curse back then.
Now he stood at the helm in his true demonic form, eyes bright with something deeper than words.
"Thank you," he said as Ace stepped onto the deck. "All of you. My father, the village… we'll never forget this."
Natsu slapped him on the back—hard enough to stagger him.
"No big deal."
The boat pushed away from the shore, and Galuna Island slowly shrank behind them.
For the first stretch, no one spoke much.
Everyone was turning the last few days over in their heads.
Lucy sat near the front watching the water slide past.
After a while she said, "It still doesn't feel completely real. We came here because of a forbidden quest, and we ended up breaking a curse that lasted years. Deliora, the Moon Drip… everything."
Happy nodded from her lap. "Aye."
Gray had taken a spot near the stern, staring back toward the island until it was only a smudge on the horizon.
"Master's ice held on all that time," he said quietly. "It protected everyone and Lyon too in the end. I almost…"
He trailed off, then shook his head. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Natsu, stretched out on the deck with bandages wrapped around his chest and arms, cracked a grin.
"You'd have done the same for me, stripper."
Gray huffed, but there was no heat in it.
Ace stayed near the rail, letting the wind pull at his coat.
He listened, adding a word here and there when it fit, but mostly he watched the horizon.
Something faint tugged at the edge of his awareness—a ripple through his Digital Soul.
Anger, destruction, aimed at something he knew well.
He couldn't place it yet, so he kept it to himself.
...
As the day wore on, the mood lightened.
Natsu and Gray bickered over who'd taken more damage.
Lucy told stories about her spirits to distract everyone. Happy told a story about exaggerated tales of his "heroic aerial support."
Even Erza cracked a small smile when Natsu tried to challenge Gray to arm-wrestling and got shut down immediately.
Eventually Lucy turned to Ace.
"Those partners of yours.... they're incredible. How does it even work? Calling beings like that?"
Ace shrugged. "Not so different from your celestial spirits. They fight beside me because they choose to."
...
Night fell while they were still at sea.
Stars scattered overhead, bright and sharp.
They took turns sleeping on the deck, wrapped in whatever blankets the boatman could spare.
Ace took the late watch, standing alone at the bow while the others rested.
The uneasy feeling returned stronger now, like a string pulled tight inside his chest.
The Digital World side was calm, but something in Fiore felt wrong.
He gripped the rail and scanned the dark water ahead, willing the boat to move faster.
Dawn the next day brought them to a small mainland port.
Legs stiff, backs sore, they transferred to the train for the final leg to Magnolia.
The trains were crowded and Natsu groaning about motion sickness, Gray absent-mindedly stripping until Erza's glare stopped him, Lucy laughing despite herself.
By late afternoon they were walking the familiar road into town.
The sun hung low, painting everything orange and gold. Everyone's steps quickened.
"Finally," Natsu said, stretching. "I can already smell the stew."
Lucy smiled. "And a proper bath. I've still got sand in places sand should never be."
Gray smirked. "You and me both."
They crested the hill that overlooked Magnolia, and every voice died.
Smoke hung thick in the air, bitter and acrid.
Below, where the Fairy Tail guildhall should have stood proud and loud and alive, there was only wreckage.
Charred beams jutted at broken angles.
The roof had caved in completely.
Walls were smashed inward, windows blown out, the emblem cracked and half-buried in ash.
The whole street around it lay too quiet—no music, no shouting, no doors banging open with some new brawl spilling out.
Just devastation.
Natsu's fists ignited on instinct, flames licking up his arms as his face twisted in fury.
Gray stood frozen, eyes wide.
Happy whimpered.
Erza was the first to speak. "This wasn't random. Look at the blast patterns, it was heavy, coordinated."
Ace stepped forward, gaze sweeping the ruins.
The ripple he'd felt—it was this.
From the basement entrance, Mirajane emerged, behind her came the others—Wakaba, Macao, Cana, Lisana, Levy.
"Natsu… Erza… everyone…"
The group hurried down the hill.
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