So Close, Yet Worlds Apart
Above the raging sea, Tempester and thunder ripped the heavens and earth apart.
Riyao waved at the Black Dragon.
Goodbye!
The silvery-white Space Magic circle flashed by, and the young man's slender figure was instantly wiped out by the spatial rift.
Roar--
The Black Dragon let out a roar that echoed through the sky.
Acnologia watched his prey slip away right under his nose, the savage fire in his chest exploded instantly, and his roar shattered the surrounding hundred-meter-high waves into a shower of spray!
It determined its direction, and then its dragon wings flapped.
The enormous, dark blue dragon wings tore through the gale, like a black meteor streaking across the sky, heading straight for the continent.
The space distorted and created sonic booms as he charged forward, yet Acnologia flew at full speed for several minutes, and the surrounding sea remained the same gray reefs.
Before the Riyao disappeared, it left behind a spell.
[Time-Space Magic: So Close Yet So Far]
The relative space around the Black Dragon is stretched and folded infinitely.
The surrounding scenery was largely the same, and the Black Dragon did not realize for a moment that it had fallen into a loop. It seemed to have flown a hundred miles forward, but in reality, it had only flown one mile.
Since magic couldn't work on the Black Dragon, the magic was applied to the space around it. While this wouldn't completely trap the Black Dragon, it would hold it off for a while.
Meanwhile, in the skies above the newly expanded map of the Kingdom of Fiore.
Riyao returned to Ishgar, standing atop the back of the All-Creation Giant Dragon, looking down upon the distorted and shrunken Kingdom of Fiore.
The wind whipped his clothes wildly, and as he looked down at the bizarre landscape below, a patchwork of seemingly random, violently pieced-together scenes, he couldn't help but whistle.
"That's quite a generous offer."
He commanded the All-Creation Giant Dragon to fly towards Mirajane's direction.
The All-Creation Giant Dragon let out a deep roar, its massive body weaving through the sea of clouds, rapidly swooping down towards the familiar magical mark on Mirajane's body.
On a hillside below.
Mirajane was looking down, anxiously rummaging through his pockets and the cloth bag at his waist, but he couldn't find the crystal key.
"Where did my keys go? The keychain is still here, how did it disappear?"
She was so anxious that a fine layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her two beautiful eyebrows were tightly furrowed together.
"It must have just been moved."
A gentle ripple spread through the space.
Riyao appeared beside Mirajane and hugged her tightly.
His arm encircled the girl's slender, soft waist, and the familiar, warm scent of wood instantly enveloped Mirajane.
He gently rested his chin on Mirajane's shoulder and chuckled as he breathed into her ear.
Did you miss me?
"Riyao!!"
Mirajane shuddered violently, as if electrocuted, and instinctively pushed Riyao away, scrutinizing Riyao closely, trying to discern something from him.
The girl's azure eyes were filled with wariness and panic. Her hands instinctively rested on Riyao's shoulders, scanning him up and down three times.
There were no empty, lifeless crescent-shaped pupils, no Ankhseram's pitch-black death aura, and no that heartbreakingly pale white hair.
The person in front of me was wearing a loose floral shirt, with a familiar mischievous smile on his lips, and eyes as clear as a child who had just stolen some candy.
"Alright, it's me. The Interwoven Fates can only last for a minute at most. The main problem is that those two Riyao are consuming energy too quickly and too much."
Riyao shed his False God Form and spun around to show Mirajane.
He finally rested his chin on Mirajane's palm and winked.
She was relieved and hugged Riyao.
She wrapped her arms tightly around the young man's neck, then threw herself into his arms without any restraint, her voice trembling with a hint of sobs and lingering fear.
"You scared me to death! You don't know that Riyao said he wanted to refine the First Generation."
"It's most likely a joke. There's also an original in his timeline; if he wanted to create one, he would have done so already."
A warm, large hand gently stroked the girl's soft, silvery-white hair.
The two rode the All-Creation Giant Dragon, and his fingertips swiped rapidly across the screen of the magic phone.
Using their sense of life and the perspective from high above, they shared the scaled-down and reconstructed terrain sketch with the other members.
"That's fine for now. It's a bit messy, but it helps you figure out the direction. No one in our guild is bad with directions, so it shouldn't be a problem. Let's go."
"OK."
Mirajane clung to Riyao's arm and leaned against him.
The All-Creation Giant Dragon spread its wings and soared into the sky, its massive green wood wings parting the clouds and carrying the two straight toward Magnolia.
The two flew into the air, Mirajane also saw the shrunken Kingdom of Fiore.
Looking at the absurd landscape forcibly pieced together beneath her feet, the girl couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"Is this the power of the Twin Walls of Despair?"
Riyao patted the branches on the dragon's back, speaking casually as if he were just gossiping.
"Yes, it was Erza's mother, Irene, who made the move."
"What?!!"
Mirajane was completely stunned when she heard the news.
She sat bolt upright, her eyes wide, and frantically tried to contact Erza with her phone.
Why isn't this idiot answering?
"She'll most likely put it into her Requip space."
Riyao shrugged. Erza always stuffs all sorts of random things into her Requip room once she enters a battle-ready state, so it's no wonder she can't receive a signal.
At the same time.
All members of Fairy Tail received the message and immediately rushed towards the guild.
Looking at the map on their phones, which, though drawn like scribbles, had relatively clear routes, the Fairy Tail members scattered across various locations all changed direction.
The ruins of Magnolia, in front of the Fairy Tail guild.
The dark battle flags covered the entire land, and the chilling stench of blood filled the air.
The Alvarez Empire's army had gathered in front of the Fairy Tail guild, but compared to when it first started, only one-fifth of the original force remained.
Inside the guild hall, the first guild master Mavis, floated in mid-air.
Just like in the original story, Zeref had Irene Separation Enchantment on Mavis.
The scarlet-haired beauty held a staff made of antlers, and dazzling crimson halos coiled around Mavis like Cobra.
August stood on one side of the hall, looking at Mavis and Zeref, hesitant to speak.
When he actually stood before them, he hesitated again.
If this barrier is broken, the final result may not be what he hopes for.
He's now somewhat hoping that Riyao will appear.
The remaining Spriggan 12 gathered at the Fairy Tail guild.
Brandish stood nervously to the side, trying to minimize his presence; his actions were no different from betrayal.
The green-haired girl huddled in a dark corner, hugging her knees, her eyes darting around nervously, afraid of being singled out by Zeref or Invel as a scapegoat.
Invel prepared the remaining troops, his brow furrowed the entire time.
He pushed up his monocle, looking at the devastating battle damage report, his face so grim it could drip water.
Just then, a commotion arose outside the guild gate.
Neinhart told Irene about Erza's situation, and Irene slapped him out of the guild.
With a loud bang, it crashed through three stone walls like a rag doll, flying backward and rolling more than a dozen times on the ground before barely coming to a stop.
Irene didn't even turn her head, coldly retracting her staff.
Larcade tilted his head, wondering what had happened.
The blond, white-robed young monk held prayer beads in his hand, looking at the enraged Irene with a face full of innocence and confusion.
Zeref came out; he couldn't bear to see Mavis suffer and feared he would lose control again.
The black-robed emperor silently walked to the guild's threshold, his back to the hall, his body emanating a faint, oppressive aura of death.
He noticed that August and Larcade were watching him intently, and he frowned, assuming they were afraid of him.
"Prepare for battle, they're almost here."