Cait Shelter

Just as everyone was resting, the Magic Council's Rune Knights finally arrived.

The sound of synchronized footsteps came from afar, and the Rune Knights soldiers, dressed in their standard robes, lined up in front of the crowd, forming two rows to make way for the people in the middle.

Lahar walked at the front, his robe splattered with mud from his journey, the morning light reflecting off his glasses, his face bearing the weariness of a sleepless night and a professional seriousness.

When Riyao saw his old acquaintance Lahar, his eyes lit up. He rushed forward in a few steps, casually put one arm around Lahar's shoulder, and leaned half his weight on him.

"Lahar, you're here again! You're such a hard worker!"

"Your Excellency Riyao, please have some self-respect."

Lahar stumbled as he was pulled along, nearly tripping over a pebble. He adjusted his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with a helpless "Why is it you again?"

He tried to shake off Riyao's arm by turning to the side, but the arm was as if it were welded to his shoulder and wouldn't budge.

He ignored Riyao and ordered his men to arrest all Oración Seis.

The rune mages moved swiftly, putting sealing handcuffs and restraints on each of the unconscious Oración Seis members, and carrying them out in pairs.

Hehehe...

Hehehe...

As Brain and Cobra were carried past Lahar, drool dripped from their mouths, their pupils dilated, and they emitted a synchronized chuckle.

The sound was particularly crisp in the morning air, and the rune mages carrying them all showed subtle expressions, their steps unconsciously quickening.

Lahar's lips twitched, and his hand, adjusting his glasses, paused for a moment.

"Riyao Excellency, please don't beat someone into an idiot next time."

"How can you say that about them? That's too much. They'll be fine in a while."

Riyao released his grip on Lahar's hand, spread his arms wide with an innocent expression, his tone showing no remorse, but even a hint of dissatisfaction at being wrongly accused.

Lahar didn't reply. He opened the document in his hand, his fingertips tracing lines of records on the paper, his brows gradually furrowing.

"According to intelligence, Jellal was also involved in this incident. Have you spotted him?"

These words drew gasps of surprise from the others.

Lucy's eyes widened, her mouth opened and closed as if stunned by the news, and she almost dropped the crystal ball in her hand.

"Jellal?! Wasn't he locked up by your Magic Council? What's he doing here?"

Lahar scratched his cheek awkwardly, his gaze shifting for a moment. The gesture betrayed his embarrassment; as a member of the Magic Council, he knew better than anyone how shameful this was.

The main character of Riyao is someone who is unhappy in the Magic Council, but he is very happy. He smiled, crossed his arms, leaned against a broken wall, and looked as relaxed as if he were listening to a crosstalk performance.

"Are you guys even capable? Lullaby is missing... headquarters destroyed... and now Jellal has run away again."

He counted them off on his fingers, one by one. With each item he counted, Lahar's face darkened, and the heads of the Rune Knights soldiers around him lowered further.

Lahar also wanted to berate those incompetent high-ranking officials, but his lips moved. In the end, he just took a deep breath, swallowed the words that were about to rise in his throat, adjusted his glasses, and resumed his expressionless demeanor.

Finally, Riyao reported that he hadn't seen Jellal, Lahar ordered a search of the Worth Woodsea. The Rune Knights quickly dispersed to carry out the order.

After the two sides parted ways.

Led by Wendy, the group arrived at the Cait Shelter.

This small town, hidden deep in the forest, is quiet and quaint. Low, domed houses line both sides of the stone-paved road, their walls covered with moss and vines, and the air is filled with the fragrance of flowers and plants.

Riyao lay comfortably on the rooftop, gazing at the starry sky and lost in thought. His hands were behind his head, his legs crossed, and the evening breeze brushed against his cheeks, carrying the scent of grass and trees from the distant forest.

The night was deep, the sky was covered with stars, and the Milky Way stretched overhead, much brighter than the night sky over Magnolia.

I wonder if Mira is asleep or not.

If it weren't for the fact that I need to bring Wendy home tomorrow, I would have already transformed into my Celestial Spirit form to remind Mira to summon me back, and then I would have cuddled the sweet and soft Mira and gone to sleep.

He imagined the scene, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up. Then he sighed, turned over, and buried his face in his arms.

He imagined what tomorrow would bring and closed his eyes with mixed feelings.

Wendy has spent seven years with her companions at the Cait Shelter, and tomorrow morning she'll have to face the truth. He doesn't know if that strong yet fragile girl can handle it.

As time slowly passed, the sun slowly rose.

The morning light filtered through the woods, casting a warm golden glow on the domed buildings of the Cait Shelter.

Riyao changed into the distinctive attire of the Cait Shelter: a wide white and gold short jacket paired with black, loose-fitting trousers with tapered cuffs, the fabric embroidered with strange patterns, and a woven belt tied around his waist.

She even tied her hair up to see if she could achieve a short hairstyle, trying to cosplay Goldie.

He stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself from left to right, then turned to the side to examine his silhouette, and nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm so handsome, I can easily charm any girl on the Continent of Ishgar."

Everyone else also dressed up in the Cait Shelter costumes and posed for photos.

Riyao squatted down next to Happy and complained, tilting his head to examine Happy's outfit from top to bottom and then from bottom to top, his expression becoming increasingly subtle.

"Happy, why aren't you wearing pants? You're even more of a pervert Gray."

"Hey, you bastard, what are you talking about? How am I a pervert?"

Gray peeked over from the side, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

I am a cat.

Happy puffed out his little chest and swished his tail behind him, looking as if it were perfectly natural.

Riyao pointed to Carla Carla was wearing an exquisite little dress with a bow around her neck, sitting elegantly drinking red tea.

Look at Carla, and then look at yourself.

Happy lowered his head, lost in thought, his two little paws supporting his chin, his tail stopped wagging, and his brows furrowed into a knot. This was probably the biggest philosophical dilemma he had ever faced in his feline life.

On the other side, Rob emerged, followed by all the members of the Cait Shelter.

He looked at everyone with a deep expression, his aged face etched with the weight of time, his lips trembling slightly as if he were considering where to begin.

The "members" behind him stood quietly, their expressions calm, as if they already knew what was about to happen.

"Everyone, please listen carefully to what I am about to say."

Rob's voice was low and slow, each word seeming to be squeezed out from the depths of his chest.

"We are not descendants of the Nirvit Tribe; we are the Nirvit Tribe from four hundred years ago."

"And Nirvana is something I created myself."

Everyone gasped in surprise, their minds going blank.

Lucy covered her mouth, Gray's eyes widened, Erza's hands clenched involuntarily, Natsu's mouth remained open for a long time.

The fact that people from four hundred years ago are now standing before them and speaking to them is more absurd than Nirvana itself.

Rob went on to explain the reason for creating Nirvana: it was simply to bring people a peaceful life. His voice was filled with the weariness and regret of four hundred years.

He recounted those ancient tales in a gentle, flowing manner, like a yellowed scroll being slowly unfurled.

"Nirvana cannot reverse good and evil without limit. Everything has two sides. When Nirvana reaches its limit, everything rebounds and falls on our Nirvit Tribe."

"In the end, only I survived. Oh no, in this day and age, that's not quite accurate. My physical body has long since dissipated; now I exist in a form similar to Thought Projection."

Wendy realized something and was reluctant to believe that the family she had been with for seven years was already dead.

Her body began to tremble slightly, her hands clenched the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turned white, and her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

One by one, the members of the Cait Shelter began to disappear.

First, those standing on the very edge, then those in the middle, their bodies began to become transparent from the edges, like thin mist blown away by the wind, gradually turning into particles of light that drifted into the air, smiling and bidding farewell silently.

Wendy and Carla out in alarm.

"Magna, Bebel... what's wrong with you two?!"

"Everyone?!"

"Don't disappear..."

Wendy rushed forward to grab them, but her hands passed through those transparent bodies, grasping nothing, her fingertips only touching a cold, empty void.

She tried to grab them one by one, but each one slipped through her fingers like sand she couldn't hold.

Rob said, "I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long. These are all illusions I created."

Wendy collapsed to the ground, the sound of her knees hitting the stone slabs clearer in the silence. Her shoulders trembled violently, and tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the stone slabs.

Rob continued, "I used to live alone in a nearby abandoned village. Seven years ago, a boy asked me to take care of Wendy, and I couldn't help but agree."

His voice grew softer and softer, as if it came from a very, very far place, carrying four hundred years of loneliness and seven short, warm years of longing.

"Wendy and Carla, you don't need imaginary companions anymore. You already have real companions standing right beside you."

Rob's figure was also slowly dissipating, starting from his feet and turning into particles of light inch by inch. Those particles of light drifted in the morning light, flickering like fireflies for a few moments before completely merging into the air.

"I'm counting on you two to take care of Wendy and Carla."

Wendy rushed over to hug Rob, but her arms only encircled empty space, and the guild emblem on her arms began to fade.

The mark that had been with her for seven years withered, faded, and disappeared from her skin like a flower.

She knelt on the ground and wept bitterly, her small body curled up in a ball, her cries heart-wrenching and echoing in the empty street.

Carla threw herself into her arms, and the two little ones hugged each other, crying and trembling.

Riyao walked over, knelt down, and hugged Wendy in his arms, gently patting her back with one hand, his movements soft, as if comforting a frightened little animal.

He didn't say things like "Don't cry," he just held her quietly and let her cry it out.

Wendy buried her face in Riyao's chest, her tears soaking the fabric of his shirt. Her sobs gradually turned from wailing to choking, and her body was still trembling.

After a long while, Riyao finally spoke, his voice very soft, but every word was clear.

"Come to my guild, Fairy Tail will be your second home."