Why am I not loved?
These words were like an unhealable wound, deeply imprinted on August's soul.
Once, he was a young and helpless child, wandering the world alone, forced to beg and hide from bullying in order to survive.
Every meal was a difficult struggle, and those who pursued him became wounds in his childhood that could never be healed.
At that time, he was filled with confusion and pain.
He kept asking himself: Was he really unloved? Why was no one willing to give him even a shred of care and warmth?
Fortunately, I ran into my father. Although he didn't recognize me, it was still a good thing.
At that moment, his mother appeared before him.
At that moment, all the grievances and expectations welled up in my heart, turning into endless tears that streamed down my face.
With a trembling voice, she murmured, "Just once... just once, I long to be hugged by you!"
Mavis gazed at August, now a grown man, her heart overflowing with regret and self-reproach. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's all Okāsan's fault..."
Tears streamed down her face as she tightly embraced her son. Even though he was just a ghost-like figure, August could still vividly feel the warmth emanating from his mother.
Zorn, standing to the side, witnessed all of this, and in his eyes, August gradually transformed into a five-year-old boy. The child joyfully rushed into his mother's arms, his face beaming with happiness.
Five-year-old August looked up, smiled happily, and said to Zorn in his childish voice, "Thank you."
These two simple words contain boundless gratitude.
Perhaps it was because of Zorn's existence that he had the opportunity to experience that long-lost maternal love again.
Five-year-old August seemed to re-enter the body of middle-aged August with a sense of satisfaction and happiness, making up for the regrets and expectations of his childhood.
"What... what is going on?" The Third Generation Guild Master, Makarov, stared wide-eyed at what was happening before him, completely stunned and unable to process what was happening.
He never imagined that the First Master Guild Master would have such a grown son!
In his view, the First Master Guild Master was like a child.
And when did this happen?!
"Well, Guild Master Chairman, he's not our enemy! Hahaha." Zorn laughed as he gently patted Makarov on the shoulder.
At this moment, he was in an exceptionally happy mood, because this heartwarming scene had perfectly filled a major regret that had existed in Fairy Tail.
This time-travel trip was truly wonderful.
He was sincerely grateful to the radiant Goddess, for it was because of her that all of this was possible.
Now, not only has Lisanna escaped death.
Laxus's attack on the Fairy Tail was also prevented.
Even Fairy Tail from Another World has ushered in a new turning point.
All those things that once made him cry, all those regrets, have been completely rewritten without him even realizing it.
Zorn felt a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
He firmly believes that as long as they continue along this path, there will surely be more miracles waiting for them to create in the future.
With unwavering Belief and relentless effort, no difficulty can stop them from moving forward.
On the other side
Inside the maze.
"Hey, have my sister and the others already left?" Elfman was a little surprised and quickly looked around, but he still couldn't see his sister Mira.
The two teams were making smooth progress eastward when they spotted two gold coins directly ahead – their luck was simply incredible.
Suddenly, the ball began to shake violently, and the two teams separated.
It only caused a short delay.
"Unexpectedly, it could even rotate, and the road became intricate again!" Gray was equally surprised. He circled around, but at this moment he had completely lost his sense of direction.
His and Natsu's Observation Haki hadn't yet developed to the terrifying level of directly covering the entire labyrinth.
"Hahaha, this is so much fun! I'm not dizzy at all now!" Natsu put his hands on his hips and laughed heartily, clearly having a great time.
Originally, when the ball was shaking, he instinctively felt like vomiting, but nothing came out. Who would have thought that the organizers had considered everything so thoroughly and even used Magic to prevent motion sickness in vehicles?
"Idiot! You only realized it now! I knew it a long time ago!" Gajeel retorted.
"Hmm~ What did you say? You want to fight!"
"I called you an idiot... so what? I'll hit you then!"
Gajeel and Natsu were about to start fighting again at this point.
Levy only smile helplessly.
"You two idiots, shut up for a minute!" Laxus flicked each of them on the head, ending the fight instantly, and then calmly analyzed the situation.
"We must find the gold coin as soon as possible before the other teams enter! Only by finding it can we have a chance to pass the qualifiers."
After saying that, he immediately released his powerful Observation Haki, using all his strength to sense everything around him.
In an instant, the entire maze was under his control.
His extremely refined Observation Haki could even penetrate the clouds, clearly detecting the situation above, and accurately capturing even the trajectory of lightning within the clouds.
Therefore, there is absolutely no pressure for the entire maze.
Laxus raised an eyebrow; he noticed that the gold coins were no longer in their original positions, but had all changed locations.
The location of the gold coins can actually change as the maze rotates?
It seems the organizers were well-prepared!
"Oh? Erza and the others found the gold coins so quickly!" Laxus suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the east with great joy.
"What?!" Natsu and Gajeel, with bags on their heads, got up, their faces full of astonishment.
Then, as if remembering something, he deflated like a punctured balloon, muttering listlessly, "Ugh, this game was incredibly boring; it's already over so quickly..."
Who could have predicted that the competition would end before it even officially began!
Just as everyone was feeling disappointed, Laxus curled up the corners of his mouth, revealing a cunning smile.
"No, the real excitement is just beginning! Let's turn northeast right now, there's a gold coin there!" Laxus abruptly changed the subject, glancing coldly towards the northeast before shouting loudly to the crowd.
He didn't want the preliminary rounds to end so quickly; he wanted to play one match first. Besides, the people he had encountered earlier were now chasing after them.
Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback at first, but then they suddenly realized what was going on, and their previously low morale was instantly ignited.
After subtly observing their surroundings for a moment, they spotted other Fairy Tail.
They rallied their spirits and sped off in Laxus towards the northeast...
"Hello everyone, it seems you've all noticed that after the first Fairy Tail enters, the maze will rotate intermittently!"
"Good luck everyone!" Pumpkin, the host, announced the situation again.
Northeast direction -- Saber-Toothed Tiger
"It's like the heavens are helping me! I never imagined the key would be right in front of me!" Minerva stood on a platform, gazing happily at the golden box high in the sky.
As soon as their Fairy Tail entered the maze, the sphere began to rotate.
When they came to a stop, they discovered a golden box that had suddenly appeared not far away. Minerva quickly used Spatial Magic to capture it.
Little did they know that Fairy Tail's Laxus and his group were heading their way.
Clearly, Laxus didn't intend for them to get the key so easily.
It's still uncertain whose key this is!
There are other Fairy Tail too. Since we're going to take them down, let's all stay in the qualifiers together!
To be continued~