"Ye Chuan! Ye Chuan! Are you home?!"
Natsu's anxious voice came from outside the door.
Ye Chuan slowly put away the enormous dumbbell in his hand, which weighed several tons.
He could clearly sense several familiar signatures of magic power outside the door, all steeped in sorrow.
He opened the door to find Natsu, Gray, and Lucy standing outside, panting, their faces more grave and angry than he had ever seen them.
"What happened?" Ye Chuan asked calmly.
"It's Erza!"
Lucy's voice trembled with the beginnings of a sob:
"We went to Akane Resort together for a vacation, but..."
"But Erza was taken away by her former companions!"
"They want to take Erza back to a place called the Tower of Paradise to complete some resurrection ritual!"
"The Tower of Paradise... Jellal Fernandes?"
Ye Chuan's gaze sharpened slightly.
In his mind, which held the merged memories of several worlds, the original story's events concerning this arc instantly surfaced.
The R-System, a structure of black magic steeped in sin and sorrow, built to resurrect Zeref, the most evil dark wizard in history.
Erza and that man named Jellal were once innocent children imprisoned in that tower, enslaved to build it.
But later, Jellal was beguiled by Zeref's Wraith and fell completely into darkness, becoming the tower's new master instead.
Looking at the Fairy Tail members before him, frantic over their companion's abduction, Ye Chuan understood.
He knew that this was the beginning of the "Tower of Paradise" incident.
"Ye Chuan!"
Natsu looked at Ye Chuan, his ever-vibrant eyes now blazing with fury:
"I know you're strong! As strong as a monster!"
"So I'm begging you! Come with us!"
"Help us rescue Erza from that bastard!!!"
Faced with the hopeful, pleading gazes of Natsu, Gray, and the others, Ye Chuan's expression remained