The Fairy Guild Seven Years Later

Seven years sounds like a long time.

In fact, it is quite long.

This feeling is especially pronounced inside the Fairy Sphere, because there is no alternation of day and night, only an eternal, soft golden light.

In the third year of his secluded cultivation, Jiang Bai suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

"First Generation, since I can't go out, why don't I use Space Magic to transfer Natsu and the others out one by one?"

He excitedly said to Mavis, who was studying the chess score nearby.

"Anyway, I'll cover for them and take care of their share of magic consumption; it's not a problem at all."

Upon hearing this, Mavis looked up from the chessboard and stared at him as if he were a fool.

Then, she asked just one question, which completely dispelled Jiang Bai's idea.

"They are currently in a state of absolute time freeze. Can you guarantee that time will immediately resume its flow after they are moved out?"

"What if they get out, but their bodies remain frozen in this state, while time in the real world begins to flow for them?"

Jiang Bai fell silent.

He dared not gamble.

He truly knew nothing about the subject of time.

If it really is as Mavis said, and Natsu and the others go out as living "statues," dying of old age in seven years, that would be a huge mess.

"Well..."

Jiang Bai sighed deeply, resigning himself to his fate once again.

It seems we can only patiently wait for this "egg" to hatch on its own.

Outside the barrier, however, time in the world never ceases to flow.

Having narrowly escaped that Heavenly Movement battle, Ultear, along with her adopted daughter Meredy, embarks on a long and seemingly endless path of atonement after learning of all the sins she has committed.

December, X784.

The Kingdom of Fiore officially announced the "destruction" of Tenrou Island.

Spring goes and autumn comes, cold and heat alternate.

Seven years is enough time for a little kid who only knows how to cry and follow his father around to grow into a teenager who can stand on his own.

It's enough to make a man in his prime start to worry about his thinning hair and growing belly.

Five years later, the protection order issued by the Magic Council, which was filled with both goodwill and apprehension, finally expired.

Having lost its strongest fighter and Magic Council protection of the guild council, Fairy Tail, like a small boat tossed about in a storm, quickly began to decline.

Ultimately, they were reduced to a third-rate guild, the weakest in the Kingdom of Fiore, and largely ignored by everyone.

X791. Hargeon town, port.

A black-haired boy who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old stood quietly at the edge of the pier, gazing at the vast, blue sea in the distance, seemingly expecting to see some figure appear.

On his left arm was a clearly visible Fairy Tail emblem.

"Hey! How long are you going to keep watching? Work's finished, we need to go home!"

A clear, melodious female voice, yet with a touch of mature charm, came from behind him.

She was a strikingly beautiful woman with green hair, and beside her stood a man with an equally resolute expression.

Bisca and Alzack were already married and had a lovely daughter.

Seeing that the boy didn't move, Alzack stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and began to persuade him.

"Oh, Romeo! If you don't go back soon, your father will worry about you."

This boy was Romeo, the son of Macao.

Seven years have transformed him from a crybaby into a determined young mage.

"Back then, Jiang Bai and his group started from here."

Romeo did not turn around, but spoke softly in a tone full of longing.

Upon hearing this, Alzack also looked towards the sea, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes.

"Yes! That's right! But who could have predicted what would happen next?"

The dock fell into a brief silence.

After a long silence, Romeo finally asked the question that had lingered in his heart for seven years, his voice trembling slightly.

Will they... come back?

"It definitely will!"

This time, it was Bisca who answered him.

Her tone was filled with an undeniable firmness.

"That's right!" Alzack nodded vigorously, a smile returning to his face.

"I don't believe Jiang Bai would die so easily. And the guild members, they must all be trying to find their way back!"

Upon hearing these words, Romeo's previously dimmed eyes lit up again.

"Um!"

He nodded emphatically.

The three then turned and headed back towards the guild.

Fairy Tail is no longer located in that spacious and bright building in the center of Magnolia Town.

To pay off their mountain of debt, they had to sell the house that held so many memories and move to the most remote corner of town, to a dilapidated tavern that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Since the Magic Council's protection order expired two years ago, most of the guild members have chosen to leave because they saw no hope.

Various demons and monsters that were once suppressed by Fairy Tail began to come knocking on the door one after another, demanding repayment of debts, provoking others, and kicking someone when they were down.

As the acting guild master, Macao risked everything to prevent the name "Fairy Tail" from disappearing into the annals of history.

Although the guild is currently dilapidated and impoverished, it can't even get a few decent commissions.

But this was the result that Macao and the few members who still cherished the guild had barely managed to maintain by putting in all their efforts.