With Deliora's soul secured, a heavy silence fell over the scene, broken only by the wind.
"Alright, let's head back," Shun said, his tone as casual as if he'd just taken out the trash.
"Wait!" Mirajane interjected, her curiosity overriding the lingering shock. "How did you become invisible?"
Shun's face broke into a smug grin. "That? I just repelled the light around me. Simple, really."
Mirajane felt a faint blush warm her cheeks at his expression and quickly looked away, grasping for another question. "And... why are you calling me 'Mira' all of a sudden?"
"Oh, do you not like it?" he asked, a flicker of feigned apology in his eyes.
"N-no! It's... it's fine," she stammered, the words coming out in a rush. "You can call me that."
Watching their awkward exchange, Ultear felt a powerful urge to bonk Shun on the head. But she bit her tongue and remained silent. After all, the infuriating boy had just saved her mother.
When they returned to the floating paw-bubble, they were met with a wave of stunned excitement. The audience was still overstimulated by the impossible display they had just witnessed.
"Big brother! That was amazing!" Lisanna cheered, her voice ringing with pure admiration.
From beside her, an unexpected sound erupted: the loud, heartfelt sobs of Elfman. Tears streamed down his face. "You're a real man!" he bawled, his words thick with emotion. "I... I admit I doubted you when you said you were the strongest! I'll never doubt you again!" His declaration was barely intelligible as he cried even harder.
Shun could only offer a faint, somewhat overwhelmed sigh. It seemed he had gained a fan for life.
His attention then shifted to the gorgeous woman who stood beside Ultear—a mature, short-haired mirror image of her daughter. "Miss Ur," he began, his tone shifting to one of dramatic respect. "Thank you for your service. Keeping that unsightly demon sealed and away from innocent people was a true act of heroism."
Ur blinked, a flicker of confusion in her wise eyes. "And what might your name be, boy?" Though she hadn't been able to see the battle, it was easy to deduce that this was the one who had made a punching bag out of Deliora. This was the young man her daughter had brought to save her. A faint, long-dormant flutter stirred in her chest, which she skillfully buried beneath a calm and composed demeanor.
At least, that's what she believed. But a man with terrifyingly acute sensory magic, watching from the sidelines, noticed the subtle shift in her heartbeat all the same.
A confident smirk touched Shun's lips. "The name's Shun," he announced. "Just the humble youngest S-Class mage in Fairy Tail's history. And a future Guild Master." His tone was as modest as ever.
"Fairy Tail? An S-Class mage?" Ur's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise. She found she didn't doubt his claim about becoming Guild Master for a second. If someone with his power isn't the most suitable candidate, then Fairy Tail must truly be the strongest guild on the planet, she mused with quiet amusement.
"I actually met your daughter during a Fairy Tail mission," Shun continued, and from there, the two of them fell into easy conversation, the air soon filling with their shared chatter and laughter.
Watching from the sidelines, three of the young girls developed distinct frowns, much to young Lisanna's confusion.
"Was his personality always this… flirty?" Mirajane muttered, a crease forming on her brow.
Sorano crossed her arms, her voice a low, frustrated sigh. "So this is how he acts when he's interested in a woman?"
But Ultear was the most frustrated of all. She could only stare, utterly speechless. The boy she had feelings for… was he seriously interested in her mother?!
"Miss Ur, you must be hungry after your ordeal. Please, try this," Shun offered, producing an array of still-warm dishes and delicate cakes from his storage ring.
"You made these yourself?" Ur took a bite, her expression shifting to one of genuine admiration. "To be so powerful at your age, and yet possess such skill in the kitchen... that's truly impressive."
With every passing moment, Shun seemed to embody the perfect suitor—handsome, capable, and unnervingly powerful. The monster he had just effortlessly dismantled was one of Zeref's most fearsome demons! A quiet sigh escaped her as she glanced at her daughter's stormy expression. It was clear Ur was forming an attachment. Well, Ur thought, if I can't have him for myself, then he simply must marry into the family. She began steering the conversation with a new, subtle purpose.
What she didn't realize was that her daughter had completely misread her attentiveness. Ultear watched every smile and compliment, a seed of rivalry and resentment taking root in her heart.
It was a tragically funny scene: a long-lost mother and daughter, finally reunited, were now being quietly driven apart by their very savior before they could even have a proper conversation.
Finally, Sorano—the bravest among them—could take no more. She pulled Shun aside, her voice tight with frustration. "Shun! Shouldn't we be heading back to the guild?"
"You're absolutely right," he said, as if snapping out of a trance. "I got a bit carried away." With a thought, he set the floating paw-bubble in motion, charting a perfect course back to Fairy Tail now that his magical paws had memorized the path.
"The view from up here is incredible," Ur remarked, her voice full of wonder. The night sky was a breathtaking canvas of stars.
Hearing her voice, Shun immediately drifted back to her side. "It's a handy transportation method I came up with. By the way, we should get you some new clothes. There's a village just up ahead." And just like that, a new conversation blossomed between them.
As the night deepened, everyone eventually settled into the makeshift beds and blankets Shun provided. In the quiet, Ultear and Ur finally found a moment alone—their first true meeting after years of separation, now tinged with an awkwardness born of a certain meddling boy.
"Ultear," Ur began, her face softening with a serious tenderness. "Tell me everything."
And so, Ultear did. Through tears, she recounted the whole story: the betrayal of Brain from the Magic Council, his lie about her death, the pain of seeing her mother with two new disciples and believing she had been replaced, and her eventual recruitment into Grimoire Heart.
Ur's heart ached as she listened. She had been a fool to trust Brain's word, to not demand to see her daughter's body—a request he had denied, claiming the remains were too gruesome.
Mother and daughter held each other and cried for a long time, their tears washing away the years of misunderstanding and grief. Exhausted but finally reunited, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
High above the world, the long journey for everyone in the floating bubble concluded not with a bang, but with a hard-won and peaceful silence.