The Next Day
"Noel, where are we going?" Wendy asked curiously, following behind Noel while holding Carla in her arms.
Hearing Wendy's question, Noel gently shook his head and said softly, "Before we arrived at the guild, I told you, didn't I? That I had a surprise for you. Now, I'm taking you to see it..."
"Huh? What surprise?"
"You'll know when we get there." Noel winked mischievously and smiled.
"Mysterious guy." Carla huffed in mild dissatisfaction.
Not paying much attention to Carla's remark, Noel simply shrugged and continued leading Wendy away from the bustling city.
They slowly made their way to a quiet forest outside the city.
Eventually, Noel came to a stop.
"What's wrong, Noel?" Wendy looked around at the empty surroundings with a puzzled expression and asked.
Noel didn't answer Wendy but instead spoke on his own, "How long do you plan on hiding, Mystogan?"
Whoosh—just as Noel finished speaking, a gentle breeze swept through, making it difficult for Wendy and Carla to keep their eyes open for a moment.
When they finally managed to open them again, a figure had appeared before them—someone who hadn't been there a second ago.
A dark cloak wrapped around his entire body, his arms and lower legs were bound in white bandages, and a dark hood and mask concealed most of his face, leaving only a pair of cold, piercing eyes visible.
The newcomer was none other than Mystogan, one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages and one of the guild's Three Great Powers.
"So, you finally decided to show yourself," Noel said teasingly, gazing at Mystogan.
Mystogan sighed helplessly. "Noel, you really are..."
Hearing that voice, Wendy's pupils shrank suddenly as she murmured in a daze, "This voice..." Beside her, Carla also looked shocked as if she had just recalled something.
Mystogan turned his gaze toward Wendy, reaching up to slowly remove his hood and mask. "I never expected you to join this guild, Wendy."
"Jellal!!" Wendy gasped in shock upon seeing Mystogan's face.
Carla, equally stunned, exclaimed, "What's going on? You were supposed to be captured!"
"No, even though they look exactly the same, they are two different people. The one standing before us is the Jellal we were with seven years ago..." Noel answered Carla's question.
Then, he looked at Wendy apologetically. "I'm sorry. I never found the right moment to tell you..."
"Just as Noel said, I am Mystogan of Fairy Tail. Seven years ago..." A look of nostalgia appeared on Mystogan's face. "At that time, I didn't fully understand this world yet, so I told you my name was Jellal..."
"This world?" Carla's expression turned to one of uncertainty and suspicion.
"You... you are the Jellal from seven years ago?" Wendy murmured softly.
Seeing Noel nod in confirmation, her eyes gradually turned red with emotion.
"That's wonderful... we're finally together again... Noel... Jellal... I've always, always been waiting for this day—the day the three of us would reunite..."
"I'm sorry, I never went to see you," Mystogan said apologetically.
"Alright, no more tears. Right now, all you need to do is smile, Wendy." Noel gently patted Wendy's head.
..............
With Noel and Mystogan's comfort, Wendy gradually calmed down.
After convincing Wendy to leave, only Noel and Mystogan remained in the forest.
"How much time... is left?" Noel sighed and spoke first.
A heavy expression appeared on Mystogan's face. "Not much longer... The 'Anima' has expanded to an immense scale recently. It might be soon—I may no longer be able to suppress its activation."
"I see..."
Noel furrowed his brows, unable to come up with a good solution.
The initiative lay with the other side, leaving them in a completely defensive position—an immense disadvantage in itself.
Not to mention that the magic 'Anima' surpassed even the level of Super Magic, nearly on par with the Council's Etherion.
It had the power to break through the barriers between parallel worlds.
Even if its quality couldn't compare to Noel's divine power, its sheer magnitude was overwhelming.
In his current state, there was practically no way for Noel to cross the world's barrier and destroy Edolas' spell formation.
"Well, whatever. Things will work out when the time comes. Worrying about it here won't help—there's always a way." Noel stretched lazily, speaking with a carefree tone.
Mystogan let out a wry smile, then glanced at Noel with a look of surprise.
"What is it?" Noticing Mystogan's gaze, Noel couldn't help but ask curiously.
"It's nothing... I just feel like you've changed a bit."
"Hmm? In what way?"
"For example... your way of thinking seems to be more positive than before. If it were the old you, you would never have said something like that. Did something happen to you during this time?" Mystogan thought for a moment before asking Noel.
"Heh, who knows..." Noel chuckled lightly, then changed the subject. "By the way, now that I think about it, I never asked you this—according to what you said, everyone in Edolas has a counterpart in Earthland. So, what kind of person is my counterpart in Edolas?"
Mystogan fell silent. After a long pause, he finally said, "...The you in Edolas is my half-brother."
"Hmm? Can you be more specific?" Noel asked, his expression piqued with interest.
"Noel... you could say that, in terms of personality, he's the complete opposite of you. He's someone utterly obsessed with power. In a way, he's similar to Laxus... but his personality is even more extreme and dangerous. He doesn't trust anyone or anything other than himself.
To him, the lives of others are nothing more than ants he can crush at any time. He doesn't care about life or death—whether a single person dies or the entire world perishes, it wouldn't cause him any emotional fluctuation. For him... cruelty has seeped into his very bones." Mystogan's voice grew quieter, his expression gradually becoming sorrowful.
Noel scratched his cheek. "Hearing you say that just makes me even more curious about the Edolas version of me. Sounds like an interesting guy. I'd love to meet him sometime... the 'me' from Edolas."
"...If Anima continues expanding like this, you might not have to wait long," Mystogan sighed, raising his head to look at the gradually darkening sky.
The color of an approaching storm loomed overhead, pressing down with an inexplicable weight.
"I just hope that day never comes."
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