The next day arrived, and Acnologia and the others planned to leave. Although the Fairy Tail companions of this world were a bit downcast, they knew that they weren't from this world after all, so they didn't try too hard to make them stay.
Because, their companions from the other world were still waiting for them.
Before this, Acnologia and Irene had gone out once. Upon their return, they brought Natsu and the others to the location of the Eclipse Gate.
Number Two Lucy opened the Eclipse Gate. Looking at them, her eyes brimmed with reluctant tears: "You better not forget us."
Irene rubbed her little head and smiled, "You've cried so much you look like a little calico cat. You look better when you smile."
She reached out and gently pinched Number Two Lucy's cheek: "We're about to leave, give Sister a smile!"
Number Two Lucy's tears flowed freely as she hugged Irene tightly, sobbing, "Will I never see Sister Irene again?"
Although they had only spent a short time together, it felt as if a long time had passed, as if they had always been together.
Acnologia, Irene, Natsu, Happy, and her other self... was this really the last time they would see each other?
"Sister Irene, Lucy, may you all be safe and sound in your world. We will miss you."
Mirajane and many of the other girls were also full of reluctance, hugging them one by one with teary eyes.
Seeing their teary-eyed faces, Irene couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental, but she didn't say anything more.
Perhaps it really was a final farewell... Finally, Erza walked over, saying somewhat awkwardly: "Sister... Irene..."
Seeing her like this, Irene felt as if she were seeing her own daughter who was often dishonest with her feelings.
She took a few steps forward, gave Erza a gentle hug, and said, "A girl needs to be more straightforward sometimes. Some things must be fought for by yourself."
Erza was immersed in the warm embrace. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she felt an incomparable sense of closeness.
This was something she had never experienced before—different from a companion, it was a feeling of being connected by blood.
Irene leaned in close to her ear and whispered softly, "You can call me Mom if you want, you know."
She saw that the Erza of this world was a child who had never felt a mother's love, so she gave her a light kiss on the cheek.
Erza buried her head in Irene's chest, her tears flowing uncontrollably. She didn't dare look up at anyone. Her lips moved slightly as she uttered two barely audible words.
Irene stroked her hair, gently smoothing it with her fingers, and whispered, "If the me of this world were still here, she would definitely love you. You deserve to be loved."
Erza gave a soft hum of agreement. She looked up, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on Irene, wanting to engrave her appearance, her gaze, and everything about her into her heart... Natsu looked at Number Two Natsu and waved with a laugh: "Goodbye! Let's meet again if we have the chance. I hope you become even stronger too."
Number Two Natsu nodded seriously: "I definitely will!"
Happy waved his hand: "Goodbye Number Two Natsu, Number Two Happy, goodbye Gray, Laxus, Gajeel..."
"Goodbye Acnologia, Irene, Lucy, Natsu, Happy!"
Makarov stood at the very front. Natsu, Lucy, Mirajane, Lisanna—everyone stood together, making Fairy Tail's iconic hand gesture, pointing toward the vast clear sky.
Family forever, the unchanging Fairy Tail forever!
Acnologia and the others smiled knowingly and pointed toward the sky. Their figures vanished within the dazzling light... Stepping through the Space-Time Tunnel, Acnologia and the others saw the sky once more, along with their companions who were waiting for them.
Everyone felt as if a lifetime had passed... Although they had experienced many things in the other world, upon their return, only a blink of an eye had passed.
Mirajane gave a sweet smile: "Welcome back!"
"Welcome back!"
The Fairy Tail companions beamed with smiles, waving their hands as they all rushed forward to hug them.
"We're back!"
Lucy's eyes shimmered with tears, and everyone wore Happy smiles.
Gildarts looked at Acnologia, slung an arm around his shoulder, and asked with a laugh, "The scent of blood is quite strong. Did you go off to exterminate some Evil Dragons?"
Acnologia sniffed his clothes and asked in confusion, "Is it? I took a bath, though."
Laxus punched him in the chest and laughed, "It's not just the scent of blood; the smell of alcohol is heavy too!"
Looking at them, they must have had a great time.
Erza reached out and hugged Irene tightly, her eyes reddening: "Mom, welcome back."
Irene pushed her away in mock disgust: "Can you take off your armor? It's poking me to death."
"I won't!"
Erza hugged even tighter. Although her parents' presence had only vanished for an instant, she had felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
Irene smiled helplessly: "I really can't do anything with you."
She reached out to hold her acting-spoiled daughter; she was even more clingy than when she was little.
Makarov said with a smile, "It seems you've experienced a lot. Let's go back to the guild and tell us all about it."
"Okay!"
...Parallel World
The Fairy Tail members watched as the light from the Eclipse Gate faded. They remained silent for a long time; not a single person spoke.
Makarov looked at the children's downcast expressions and said softly, "Let's go home. They have companions waiting for them to go home too."
Levy asked in a low voice, "Will we ever have the chance to meet again?"
"We will!"
Lucy wiped away her tears, her eyes fixed on the Eclipse Gate, her voice filled with determination: "We will definitely meet again."
Because we are all Fairy Tail Mages. Even if we are separated by a world, our hearts will always be together.
Mavis said seriously, "As long as the Eclipse Gate hasn't disappeared, there will be a chance."
"Yeah!"
"Let's go home."
Everyone collected their feelings and showed smiles once again. There would surely be a chance to meet again in the future!
As they returned to the Fairy Tail Guild together, before they even pushed the door open, they heard voices coming from inside.
Natsu was startled. He immediately kicked the door open and shouted angrily, "Who dares to trespass in our guild?"
Everyone surged in all at once, even breaking the door frame in the crush. Levy and a few other frail girls almost had the breath squeezed out of them.
However, when Gray, Mavis, and Lucy saw the four people sitting on the chairs, they suddenly cried out in shock.
"Ur?"
"Zera?"
"Dad, Mom?"
The four people were also very confused, their minds not yet catching up: "You guys..."
Lucy lunged forward and hugged Layla and Jude, her eyes misty with tears: "Mom, Dad!"
Mavis hugged Zera, and Gray hugged Ur, all of them in tears. This felt just like a dream.
Layla stroked Lucy's little head and smiled gently, "You've grown up..."
Makarov and the others were filled with doubt. They didn't know Zera, but weren't Lucy's parents and Gray's teacher dead?
What was this?
Resurrection of the dead?
Ur and the others were also very confused. They each explained their situations: a blue-haired man and a scarlet-haired woman had saved them and then told them to wait here.
"Acnologia, Irene!"
Everyone was shocked. There was no mistake; if anyone had the ability to reverse life and death, it was undoubtedly those two.
Moreover, Acnologia and Irene had left once. They hadn't told anyone specifically what they were going to do. Now it seemed they were resurrecting these four people.
Mavis was beyond shocked. Reversing life and death—Zeref was cursed by death for exactly that, living in agony forever.
Were those two not afraid?
Hearing everyone's explanation, Layla was still puzzled: "Ur's soul merged with the ocean, and her consciousness remained; Zera was an illusion, so it's not a resurrection in the true sense. But Jude and I were truly dead."
Not only that, Jude had died of old age, yet he now had a restored young body. This sort of thing was simply incredible.
The Fairy Tail members couldn't figure it out either. After guessing for a while, they could only conclude that those two were powerful enough to transcend life and death.
In truth, since Acnologia devoured Solence, the Undead Dragon King, he possessed the ability to awaken the undead. Combined with the Power of Life and Death and Enchantment Magic, he could fully achieve the level of resurrecting the dead.
When a dragon dies, its soul can persist for hundreds of years without dissipating. While Layla and Jude were Mages whose souls couldn't compare to the Dragon Race, they could still persist for several decades.
Thus, Acnologia had sought out their remnant souls from their graves.
Lucy wiped her tears, a Happy smile appearing on her face: "Acnologia and Sister Irene left too quickly; otherwise, I would have definitely thanked them properly."
Gray nodded in agreement: "Indeed, we really should thank them properly!"
Ur was a permanent pain in his heart; he hadn't expected there would actually be a day to make up for that regret.
Laxus said, "They didn't mention it before leaving because they were afraid you'd be too polite."
Makarov said worriedly, "The Magic Council considers the resurrection of the dead a taboo..."
In the next moment, he saw Lucy and Mavis's cute big eyes full of pleading. His heart softened instantly, and he immediately said, "Let the Magic Council go to hell. The ones who did the resurrection are Acnologia and Irene; let them go to the Parallel World to hold them accountable."
"Thank you, Master!"
Everyone immediately cheered and threw Makarov into the air.
"You brats, put me down!"
Bang!
With a loud bang, everyone used too much force and threw him too high. Makarov crashed straight through the roof and disappeared from sight.
"Master???"
The culprits were momentarily stunned. After staring at each other for two seconds, they suddenly scattered. The entire guild was a mess, and finally, only Makarov's angry Roar remained echoing.
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