Beyond the Eclipse Gate, light flickered, making it impossible to discern what lay outside.
"Haha, if I don't make those Dragons scream, I'm not a Dragon Slayer!" Natsu waved his fists, a look of excitement on his face, as he charged towards the Gate, as if eager to engage in a fierce battle with the giant Dragons.
Happy, beside him, flapped his wings, a joyful smile on his face, following closely behind.
"That Natsu guy is really excited!" Gray stood to the side, watching Natsu's receding figure, a slight smirk on his lips, and said with a teasing tone.
"Ah, it's finally time for us Dragon Slayers to make our appearance!" Gajeel grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, his eyes gleaming with fiery light, as he excitedly roared towards the Gate.
"Excellent momentum, Gajeel," Panther Lily, following behind Gajeel, nodded with great pleasure.
"It's a good time to let off some steam!" Laxus, his whole body shimmering with dazzling lightning, walked towards the Gate with steady steps, radiating a powerful and majestic aura.
"Laxus, you're the coolest!" Tami rushed forward, raising her cat paw and shouting.
"Wendy, I'm counting on you next!" Erza gently reached out and lightly ruffled Wendy's head, her eyes revealing her trust and expectation for her.
After enduring various battles, Wendy had shown astonishing growth and strength.
"Mm-hmm!" Wendy, holding Carla, nodded with a confident smile.
"Then, let's go!" Everyone shouted in unison, their voices echoing in the air, as if declaring their determination and courage to the whole world.
"Grandpa Master, I'm leaving the Guild to you!" Zorn turned and waved back, entrusting the Guild to Makarov.
Simi stood on Zorn's shoulder, politely waving goodbye to Everyone.
"This kid!" Makarov chuckled, scolding him. After all these years, how the Guild had managed, Zorn didn't need to entrust it to him.
With a command, the group took firm steps and walked forward.
...
Bang~ A figure heavily slammed into the light curtain above the Gate.
"Huh?" Natsu rubbed his head in confusion, seemingly unable to believe the situation before him.
He uncertainly reached out his hand again, and sure enough, just like before, he touched a solid barrier that blocked his hand.
"What's going on? Is the Gate broken?" Gajeel, seeing this, couldn't help but feel surprised.
He walked forward and also lightly tapped the light curtain above the Gate with his hand, producing a crisp sound.
"Impossible…" Future Lucy's face changed drastically, her voice filled with panic and unease.
She quickly extended her hand towards the light curtain, praying that everything would return to normal.
However, when her fingers touched the light curtain, a miracle occurred—the light curtain rippled like a drop of water falling into water, and then, like a soft silk, allowed Future Lucy's hand to easily pass through it.
Future Lucy was stunned by this scene. She turned back in disbelief, her eyes filled with doubt and incomprehension. She looked at Everyone behind her, trying to explain all of this, but didn't know where to begin.
Lucy, seeing this magical scene, was also filled with curiosity.
She eagerly walked over, also extending her hand to touch the light curtain.
However, the result was beyond her expectation—her hand did not touch a soft light curtain, but a hard barrier.
"This is!" Princess Hisui witnessed all of this, her face showing shock.
She gasped in surprise, her eyes revealing deep confusion.
Meanwhile, Ultear thoughtfully walked to the light curtain, placed her hand on it, and closed her eyes, seemingly sensing something.
After only a moment, Ultear seemed to suddenly understand something, and her eyes became very resolute.
Her tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, looking at Future Lucy with a hint of regret and sorrow, and then she slowly said in a low voice, "I'm truly sorry, Lucy, the world you are from and the time-space we are currently in are no longer the same world!"
"We can't get through!"
Upon hearing this, Future Lucy seemed to lose all her strength, her body slumping to the ground.
"Then how did I get here…."
Fortunately, Mirajane reacted quickly and caught her in time, holding her tightly in her arms.
Seeing Future Lucy's appearance, Happy stood anxiously on Natsu's shoulder, raising his question: "But if that's the case, we should all be able to go to Edolas! Why can't we go here?"
Facing Happy's question, Ultear patiently explained: "That's right, Edolas is another parallel world in our time-space. However, the world Lucy came from might no longer be in the same time-space as us! That's why she can't go there."
Ultear stated her conjecture. Although it sounded hard to accept, according to the information transmitted back from the mysterious light curtain, it was indeed the case.
Could it be that our future is truly gone?
Natsu, Gray, Erza, Master, Everyone… How could this be… Future Lucy's face instantly turned incredibly pale, her eyes filled with despair and pain.
She couldn't accept such a fact, couldn't accept that her future had been destroyed.
She remembered the companions who had fought, laughed, and cried with her; they were all gone now.
And all of this was because she didn't have enough strength to protect them.
Why give her hope? How could she accept such pain? Everyone was still waiting for her.
Since that was the case, even if it was just her, she would fight to the last moment with her companions.
Thinking of this, looking at the Fairy Tail Guild mark that Master had re-stamped on her hand, Future Lucy's eyes became firm.
Future Lucy slowly stood up, her body swaying as if she might collapse at any moment.
Her eyes were filled with despair and sadness, which was truly moving.
Meanwhile, Everyone else had teary eyes. They looked at the strong girl before them with heartache, their hearts full of emotion and regret.
"How can this be? How can this light curtain block my attacks? I don't believe it!" Natsu roared in anger, his fists burning with fiery flames, punching the light curtain again and again.
However, no matter how hard he tried, the seemingly fragile light curtain remained impenetrable, showing no signs of breaking.
"It's useless. This level of defense is not something we can easily break." Zorn stood quietly to the side, looking at the light curtain, his brows slightly furrowed. He recalled what Ultear had said earlier, and gradually understood the truth of it all.
He took a few steps forward and gently placed his hand on the light curtain. Ripples appeared on the light curtain, like waves stirred by a stone in water. His arm was actually able to easily pass through the light curtain and reach outside.
Zorn's gaze sharpened, and he thought to himself, "Sure enough…" He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, as if contemplating something. Then, he looked up, his eyes fixed on Everyone, a slight smile on his lips, revealing a confident expression.
"It seems only I can go through!" Zorn looked up and said to Everyone with a smile. His voice was steady and powerful, revealing an irresistible determination and courage.
Kana's face flashed with surprise and worry upon hearing this. She quickly walked over and tightly held Zorn's hand, her eyes filled with concern and unease.
She wanted to ask the questions in her heart, but held back, fearing it would affect Zorn's decision.
The others also seemed to understand the meaning of Zorn's words, and their expressions became serious.
If only Zorn could cross this world that didn't belong to the same time-space, what did that mean? The only logical explanation was that Zorn himself was not from this time-space.
Zorn looked at Everyone's reactions, knowing they had guessed the truth. However, he had no intention of hiding it.
So, he gently patted Kana's hand, signaling her to relax, and turned to face Everyone.
"I'll explain everything to Everyone when I get back!" Zorn finished, then looked at Laxus and said, "Laxus, I'll take you next time!" After saying that, he extended his fist, apologetically wanting to fist-bump Laxus.
Laxus looked at the extended fist, recalling the many times Zorn had told him "next time," and a wave of frustration washed over him.
"You jerk! We'll talk when you get back," Laxus said, bumping fists forcefully.
"Ahhh, that's not fair, I want to go too, I want to go too!" Natsu immediately yelled from the side, not caring who was from this time-space and who wasn't.
To be continued~
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