No sooner had the words fallen than the black-robed Lucy lying on the ground lightly twitched her fingertips.
The entire hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone held their breath and stared fixedly at her.
The black-robed Lucy slowly opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat dazed.
But when she saw Natsu, Gray, and Erza before her, when she recognized this familiar tavern—
Her eyes abruptly widened, her face filled with shock.
"Natsu... Erza... everyone..."
Her voice was hoarse and dry.
The next second, the emotions she had suppressed for so long completely collapsed.
Tears came flooding out.
She struggled to her feet and threw herself desperately into the arms of Natsu, who stood closest to her.
"Waaaaah—!"
Her heart-rending sobs echoed throughout the tavern.
Beneath those cries lay endless grievance, despair, and the wild joy of having survived catastrophe.
Natsu froze on the spot, his hands hovering awkwardly in midair.
"Hey, hey, stop crying first. Who are you, anyway?"
The black-robed Lucy clutched Natsu's collar tightly, terrified that everything before her would vanish in an instant.
Only after crying bitterly for several minutes did she barely manage to calm down.
She raised her reddened eyes, looked around at everyone present, and spoke in a trembling voice.
"I... I'm Lucy."
"But I'm not the Lucy of this era. I'm Future Lucy, who traveled back from the future through the Eclipse Gate."
Boom!
Her words struck everyone's ears like thunder.
The hall fell deathly silent.
Every core member's eyes widened, their faces filled with horror.
"Time travel?!" Gray staggered back two steps in disbelief.
"The future me?!" Lucy covered her mouth, her body trembling slightly.
"Ridiculous! How could something like that be possible?!" Gajeel cried out.
Only Makarov stared steadily into Future Lucy's eyes.
Those eyes held an unfeignable weariness, along with