Chapter 681: A Chance Encounter with Wendy
Chapter 681: A Chance Encounter with Wendy
The words Feng Ye spoke to Erza were not empty promises. His mastery of magic was comparable to that of the Ten Wizard Saints, and with Erza's talent, attaining that level wouldn't be particularly difficult.
After offering his critique of Erza's magic, Feng Ye looked up at the sky and then left the guild, heading south towards the Kingdom of Fiore.
"It has begun."
His gaze drifted towards the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, and a faint golden gleam flashed in his eyes as if he could see through the very fabric of past and future.
At that very moment, in a certain location within the capital of the Kingdom of Fiore, a Celestial Spirit Mage with golden hair was pouring her magic power into a peculiar gate before her.
Eleven keys were inserted into the gate, which were the keys of the Zodiac used by Celestial Spirit Mages. However, the key for Aquarius was missing.
This gate was the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate, constructed four hundred years ago. Its purpose was to open a passage through time, sending people from the past to the future or vice versa. And the keys to opening this gate were the Zodiac keys of the Celestial Spirit Mages.
"Yaaaaahhhh..."
Due to the missing key, the current generation's Celestial Spirit Mage, Layla Heartfilia, had no choice but to use her own magic power to fill the gap, despite being a descendant of the Heartfilia family who had guarded the gate for four centuries.
Her magic power was considerable, and she was one of the most talented Celestial Spirit Mages of her time. Thus, even though she was nearly drained of her magic power, she still managed to open the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate, albeit with one key missing.
However...
The absence of a key caused the gate to open in an unstable manner. As a result, the first five figures that appeared were instantly turned into shooting stars that pierced through the ceiling and shot out into the sky, scattering across the world.
Layla looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. But, having exhausted her magic power, she could only watch helplessly as this unfolded.
"Unbelievable... Someone has actually managed to open the gate our kingdom has guarded for generations," the King of Fiore Kingdom remarked, a touch of shock in his voice as he observed the scene from a distance.
Layla breathed lightly, offering no response.
And at that moment...
Another figure emerged from the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate. She bore a striking resemblance to Layla, with golden hair and a similar age.
She was none other than Anna Heartfilia, the ancestor of the Heartfilia family who, four hundred years ago, had entered the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate with the five children who would become Dragon Slayers.
"What year is it now?" Anna asked as she stepped out, glancing around and gauging the state of the magical elements in the air before turning to face Layla.
Layla steadied her breathing and felt the severe magic depletion in her body due to forcibly filling in for the missing Aquarius key with her own power. But upon seeing Anna, she momentarily set aside her physical condition and replied, "It is X777."
"Four hundred years later? So, we succeeded," Anna murmured, a slight intake of breath escaping her as she processed Layla's answer.
The construction of the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate to traverse time was an uncertain endeavor for Anna, as such magic defied the very rules of the world.
And at that moment, Anna had not yet noticed the presence of Natsu and the other four Dragon Slayers who had preceded her. She looked around in surprise and asked, "Where are the children? The five children who came with me?"
The King of the Fiore Kingdom spoke up, his voice deep and grave. "I'm not sure if they were children, but when the gate opened, five beams of light shot out and pierced the ceiling above."
"This..."
Anna looked up at the five holes in the ceiling, her eyes reflecting a mix of emotions.
However, she soon regained her composure. After all, Igneel, the Fire Dragon King, and Grandine, along with the other dragons, had sealed themselves within Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers to protect them. Even if they were scattered across the world, they wouldn't easily come to harm.
The plan for the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate had been a joint effort between the Celestial Spirit Mages, the Dark Mage Jellal, and the dragons. From the outset, they had anticipated and prepared for many potential issues.
With that in mind, Anna exhaled softly. She didn't rush to search for Natsu and the others. Instead, she turned to face Layla first, nodding as she introduced herself. "I am Anna Heartfilia. And you are?"
Layla: "..."
Just as Anna and Layla began their exchange, Feng Ye, who had recently left the Fairy Tail guild, retracted his gaze from the direction of the capital.
He was intimately familiar with the Eclipse plan, having known Anna four hundred years ago. She had sought his counsel on the subject of time magic.
The overall story went something like this:
Four hundred years ago, dragons ruled the world. However, the dragons were divided into two factions—those who were friendly towards humans and those who despised them. The two factions were constantly at odds, and human magic was insignificant in this conflict, rendering humans incapable of providing any meaningful assistance.
That was Acnologia, the Black Dragon! But after all his scheming, Jellal realized that not even Acnologia could break the curse of contradiction nor kill him.
One could say his schemes were fierce as a tiger, but his results were utterly futile.
What's more, after Acnologia's birth, even the dragons were no match for him, let alone humans. Jellal, though unable to be killed, was equally incapable of stopping Acnologia, who began his rampage in that era.
Afterward...
The remaining dragons close to humans, including the Fire Dragon King Igneel and Jellal, judged that it was impossible to defeat Acnologia in this era. So, along with the Celestial Spirit Mage, Anna, they devised a plan to send the Dragon Slayers' 'Dragon Embodiment' to the future.
To defeat the Black Dragon Acnologia in the future! And so, the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate was constructed, and Anna ultimately escorted Natsu and the other four children through the gate, propelling them four hundred years into the future.
As for Feng Ye's encounter with the Black Dragon, it occurred after Anna and the others implemented their plan. Following that incident, Feng Ye began his solitary journey of magical research, allowing the world to continue on its original trajectory.
Of course,
Feng Ye was not actually interested in these trajectories, including the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate, as he didn't need them to freely traverse the past and future.
The only thing that piqued Feng Ye's interest was the power of the mind, a force that could transcend the curse of contradiction and delve into the abyss of magic - the First Magic.
...
In the southern region of the Fiore Kingdom, within a dense forest, a little girl with blue hair, around five or six years old, wandered with trepidation in her eyes, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
"Grandine... where are you..."
She was one of the five Dragon Slayers sent four hundred years into the future, a child of Grandine the Sky Dragon, Wendy Marvell.
At this moment, Wendy, along with Natsu and the others, was unaware of the Eclipse plan. Having abruptly arrived in this era due to the instability of the Eclipse Celestial Spirit Gate, which lacked the key of Aquarius, they became separated from Anna and scattered across the world.
"Boo...hoo...don't scare me, Grandine..."
Wendy explored the forest while calling out for Grandine, but despite usually receiving a response with just one call, Grandine, the Sky Dragon, gave no reply this time, as if she had completely vanished.
Unable to find Grandine, Wendy's fearful gaze filled with tears, yet she could only stifle her fear and continue her search through the forest.
From time to time, she would catch glimpses of flickering lights in the forest, causing her to jump in surprise and shiver in fear, sensing the presence of countless wild beasts lurking in the shadows.
The longer she wandered alone in the forest, the more intense her fear became, and unknowingly, her fragile body was scratched by some of the forest's sharp, blade-like grasses.
Finally...
After walking for a while longer, she crawled into a bush, and when she poked her head out from the other side, she saw the first person she had encountered since Grandine's disappearance.
She froze for a moment, then clumsily climbed out of the bush, recalling the way Grandine had taught her to greet people. With a timid voice, she said to the figure standing there: "H-hello..."
"Hello."
Feng Ye smiled gently at Wendy, who had emerged from the bushes.
In the normal course of events, Wendy would eventually join the Fairy Tail guild, so guiding her to join early posed no problem. As for Natsu and Gajeel... well, they were significantly older than Wendy, already teenagers capable of taking care of themselves.
Wendy looked at Feng Ye with a hesitant gaze, her eyes meeting his. She saw warmth and gentleness in his expression, which helped ease the tension in her heart, leading her to perceive Feng Ye as a friendly human.
"Umm... please, do you know where Grandine is?"
Wendy asked cautiously, her small hands clasped together as she twisted her fingers nervously.
Feng Ye smiled at her reassuringly and said, "I know. Do you need my help finding her?"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
