Princess Hisui's Decision

Riyao sat behind the bar in the tavern, holding the bottle of Time Descendant's blood in his hand, raising it to his eyes and looking at the light through the bottle.

The liquid sloshed slightly inside the bottle.

The tavern was empty except for him. The tables and chairs were all cleaned up, and the smell of alcohol from yesterday's banquet still lingered in the air.

"We'll have to wait until we get back to deal with it."

He infused his blood with life energy, and green light flowed from his fingertips into the bottle opening, causing a faint sheen to appear on the surface of the liquid.

He locked in the activity.

He took out a wooden box, put the bottle inside, closed the lid, and pressed his fingers on the lid twice to seal it.

The Azure Dragon Form can devour magic and use it for its own purposes, but it cannot devour abstract concepts like time.

Or perhaps it's because there's no physical form, so you can't eat it.

Otherwise, they would have already absorbed Ultear's Arc of Time to strengthen themselves.

Tsk.

Riyao leaned on the counter, chin resting on his arm, his mind wandering freely.

In ancient mythology, what dragon controls time? Is it Zhulong, Yinglong, or Naillong?

His eyelids were half-closed, and his fingers tapped idly on the table, tapping three times, stopping, then tapping twice more.

Every now and then he'd seriously think about how to build a new form, furrowing his brow, then tilting his head back to continue spacing out.

A cold hand reached inside the back of his collar.

My five fingers were pressed against the back of my neck; the temperature was alarmingly low.

"Oh my god."

Riyao jumped up from his chair, his back hitting the liquor rack behind the bar, causing the bottles to rattle and clatter.

He turned around, covered the back of his neck, and rubbed it a couple of times.

Mirajane laughed so hard she almost fell over, clutching her stomach and her shoulders shaking.

"You..."

Riyao's lips twitched twice.

He grabbed Mirajane, pulled her into his arms, and placed his hand on her lower back.

"They actually ambushed me; they must be punished properly."

He lowered his head and kissed her passionately, his lips frantically stamping her face.

Nose, cheeks, forehead, chin—not a single one was spared.

They call it kissing, but it's really just random biting and rubbing against each other's faces.

Mirajane's face was covered in Riyao's saliva, from his forehead to his chin, it was soaking wet.

She reached out to try and push his head away, pressing her palm against his face, but she couldn't budge him.

Riyao's face pressed against mine again.

"Cough cough."

Riyao turned to look at the source of the sound, his lips still pressed against Mirajane's face, not moving away.

The Fairy Tail crew stood neatly at the entrance, completely blocking it.

Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Cana, Wendy, Gajeel, Levy... they're all here.

Riyao took three seconds to think.

The pupils moved from left to right, and then from right to left.

The corners of his mouth turned up.

"So, you guys actually spied on Mira and me getting intimate! Disgusting! Shameless! Despicable! Mira, let's go."

Riyao lifted Mirajane, supporting her back with one hand and slipping the other under her knees.

Mirajane's arm naturally hooked around his neck, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

He swaggered out of the door, walked briskly through the passage cleared by the crowd.

You should all reflect on your actions!

Everyone opened their mouths slightly, their minds blank.

It took me several seconds to realize what was happening.

Is that right?

What did we do wrong? What are we supposed to reflect on?

We've been tricked!

Gray burst out the door, his shoes screeching on the cobblestones.

He stood on the street, looking around, the streetlights casting a dim yellow glow.

"Riyao, you bastard!"

Riyao and Mirajane were nowhere to be seen.

The two strolled through the city, hand in hand, fingers intertwined, walking slowly under the streetlights.

Mirajane still had a smile that she couldn't quite suppress.

I had no intention of going back at all; nothing beats a romantic getaway for two.

The two wandered around until midnight.

They unexpectedly discovered Jellal and Erza.

The two stood by the railing of a stone bridge, with two people between them.

No one spoke; the atmosphere was awkward.

Riyao and Mirajane exchanged a glance, and the corners of their mouths turned up simultaneously.

In the blink of an eye, the two appeared beside Erza, flanking her from both sides, their faces close to Erza shoulders.

"Oh, look who this is."

Riyao's accent was twisted and convoluted, with the tone of each word taking several turns.

"Isn't this our Titania?"

Mirajane also spoke in a distorted, affected tone, perfectly matching Riyao's.

Erza blushed all the way to the roots of her neck, even the tips of her ears turned red.

I don't know where to put my hands; I open them and then clench them, clench them and then open them again.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"We haven't said anything yet, why are you talking nonsense?"

The two spoke in unison, their voices overlapping, not a single word different, and then simultaneously wore innocent expressions.

Erza pursed her lips, her fingers clenched so tightly that her knuckles cracked, and her lips twitched slightly.

Jellal stood to the side, awkwardly unsure whether to stay or leave.

He rubbed his feet on the ground and then looked down at the water beneath the bridge.

He let out a sigh of relief, his chest expanding and then contracting.

"I've come to discuss the strange magic I mentioned before with Erza."

"Oh, I know that."

Riyao said casually.

Jellal's eyes widened, his mouth opened and then closed.

We've been investigating for years with no progress, and you've only been here two days and you already know?

"So what exactly is going on?"

"The Eclipse Gate, a creation of Zeref."

"It's actually the Eclipse Gate, a legendary creation that allows travel to the past and future."

Jellal frowned, a vertical line appearing between his brows, his expression darkening.

Erza and Mirajane started playfully wrestling, pushing and shoving each other by the bridge, their laughter drifting over intermittently.

Riyao patted Jellal on the shoulder and pressed his palm against it twice.

"Go and investigate a person who returned from the future. See if there are any strange people in this city; he might be hiding in the palace."

"The royal palace? We can't get in."

Jellal shrugged, looking helpless.

"Tsk, so useless."

"Well..."

Jellal felt a deep weariness, and his shoulders slumped.

Riyao took Mirajane's hand, slipped his fingers between hers, and pulled Mirajane away from Erza into his arms, wrapping his arms around her waist to separate her from Erza.

"Then you guys handle it. We're going back to the palace to sleep."

"Hey, you're in the palace, so you can't just..."

We're not here during the day.

Riyao and Mirajane walked further and further away, their shadows growing longer and longer under the streetlights, until they finally disappeared around the street corner.

Erza and Jellal were left standing on the bridge, now separated by a distance of two people.

Erza felt extremely uncomfortable.

She bid a hasty farewell, her lips moved as she uttered a mumbled word, then turned and strode away, her armor making a faint rustling sound in the night.

Jellal stood there, watching her retreating figure, and sighed.

In the palace, Princess Hisui sat by the window, which was half-open, letting in the night breeze and causing the curtains to sway gently.

She watched as Riyao and Mirajane returned, walking side by side through the courtyard, their shadows stretching long in the moonlight.

His eyes held unreadable emotions, and the light within his pupils flickered.

His fingers gripped the window frame tightly, his knuckles turning white, and the veins on the back of his hand bulging slightly, before he slowly loosened his grip.

His breathing became a little rapid, his chest heaved twice, and then he suppressed it.

"You all forced me to this!"

The voice was very low, squeezed out from between his teeth.

Arcadios stood behind her, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke.

"Your Highness, is this really appropriate? Won't this...?"

"It's alright, this is my decision, we must succeed tonight."

Princess Hisui's lips were pressed into a thin line, her chin was taut, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

"All right."

Arcadios sighed one last time, his voice low and filled with helplessness.

As Riyao passed by the gatekeepers AB, he paused and stopped.

He patted them on the shoulder, once on each shoulder, with a "smack".

"Work hard, and one day you'll be able to work your way up to the inner gatekeeper position."

"..."

The two chose to ignore it, staring straight ahead, their facial muscles remaining completely still.

Riyao raised an eyebrow and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

He leaned closer to the soldier on the left and stared at him for two seconds.

The other person didn't even change their breathing rhythm, nor did they blink.

It's become immune; you can't tease it anymore.

Mirajane looked at her lover with a hint of helplessness, shook her head, but couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

She took Riyao's hand, hooked her fingers around his, and gently tugged at it.

"Okay, stop teasing them."

Riyao followed Mirajane inside, his shoulders trembling slightly as he suppressed a laugh.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away in the red-carpeted corridor.