Several decades had passed, yet Zeref's face remained as youthful as a teenager's. The only change this undying curse had wrought upon him was that the look in his eyes had become more lonely and desolate.
When did he arrive? Why hadn't he sensed him at all?
Darwin stood up with a "swish," staring blankly at Zeref for several seconds before turning to look at Weston.
"When did you find out?"
"Wait, this wasn't you bluffing again, was it?"
Weston glanced at Darwin. "Sorry to disappoint you, but this time I wasn't bluffing. I truly discovered he was here long ago."
"As for the time of his arrival, he was pretty much right on my heels."
Darwin looked up at Zeref, casting an inquiring gaze as if to confirm.
Zeref nodded slightly, his gaze then landing on Weston. "Not seeing you for decades, your perception remains as terrifyingly sharp as ever!"
Weston replied, "Not seeing you for decades, your changes are also very few."
"Whether in appearance or magic power!"
Normally, the magic power within a wizard is like the human body's vitality; it changes along with age. Weston possessed extraordinary talent, and several decades had allowed the magic power in his body to grow to an incredible level. Zeref was also a genius, yet after the same amount of time, his magic growth was not as expected—this was truly inconceivable.
"There is nothing strange about that," Zeref explained. "Although I became undying because of the 'Curse of Ankhseram,' the rate of my magic growth also stopped changing from that moment on. So even after several decades, my magic power growth remains limited."
Weston understood.
If one took "time" as the independent variable and "magic power" as the dependent variable to plot a Cartesian coordinate system, a normal wizard's magic power change would look like a parabola. Before reaching their peak, as age increases, magic power changes from low to high, and the growth rate increases simultaneously. Then, at a certain point, the growth rate begins to decrease until it reaches zero; at this time, the wizard's magic power reaches its maximum value.
Once a wizard's body passes its peak, the growth rate drops to a negative number, and the magic power begins to decline.
But Zeref's situation was different—his body was frozen due to the curse. From that point on, his magic power growth rate stopped changing, and the magic power growth curve turned from a parabola into a straight line.
Though Zeref was a genius, he was only a teenager when he was cursed, and his magic growth rate was far from reaching its peak. Therefore, after that, his magic power could still grow over time, but the growth rate was extremely slow. If he had been cursed while his body was at its peak, then by now, even Acnologia would likely be no match for him.
"Zeref... it really has been a long time." Darwin looked at this man whose appearance was identical to what he had seen in his youth, and his heart was filled with many emotions.
"Long time no see, Darwin!" Zeref wore a faint smile. "Although we have kept in contact all along, speaking face-to-face like this... it seems we haven't done so since the day you became a father, right?"
"Yes."
"Several decades have already passed." Darwin sat back down on the sofa.
Seeing this, Zeref looked around and, like an old regular customer, sat down on the single chair opposite. The three of them sat around a tea table in a triangular formation.
"It has truly been a long several decades..."
"It seems you even have a grandson now—the boy named Descartes in the 'Seven Kin of the Holy Knights,' right?"
Darwin's eyebrows shot up. "It seems you know quite a lot?"
Zeref said, "Don't be too nervous. It was just a chance encounter; I saw him once from a distance."
"He seems to be a junior with very good talent, not a bit weaker than you father and son. Should I say he is truly worthy of being your descendant?"
"I think in the future, he will also become a famous figure in the magic world." "If he can be like you two and make this world a bit more interesting, that would be even better!"
In the past four hundred years, this father and son were the most interesting people he had ever encountered. One seemed to know everything about this world like the back of his hand, while the other had actually lived to become his friend. No matter which one, they were unprecedented existences that would likely not exist again in the future.
"Hey, hey, hey..."
"You say I shouldn't be too nervous, but every word you speak carries a provocation!" "You were the one who said it, right?"
"Because the emotion between us is the purest 'friendship' rather than 'love' for 'life' or 'family,' it wouldn't trigger the 'Curse of Ankhseram.' But because I had a child, it caused you to start cherishing life again." "In view of that statement, we stopped meeting after I became a father." "So what's the deal with you contacting Descartes now?"
Despite Darwin serving as the guild master of the Council for decades and often being away from home for work, his concern for his family was second to none. Therefore, upon learning that Descartes might be in danger due to Zeref's proximity, he immediately lost his composure.
"Ahem..."
"Um, let me interrupt for a moment!" Weston suddenly gave a dry cough, cutting into their conversation. "Is the tone of your conversation a bit too ambiguous... ah no, too trendy?"
"If someone who didn't know heard this, they might think a former wife who had been divorced for decades came to the door to check on the kids."
"I'm just an old man with one foot in the grave; I can't quite accept this new-era way of speaking..."
Zeref: "..."
Darwin: "..."
"You're so annoying, you smelly old man!"
"If there's nothing else, go to sleep!"
"At your age and you still don't know how to stay healthy—be careful you don't die in front of the two old ladies!"
Weston chuckled. "Whether I die before Mavis and Zera, I'm not sure, but if you dare to be disrespectful again to the 'three great mountains' on your head, I'll make sure you die before me!"
Having said that, he ignored the speechless Darwin and turned to look at Zeref. "You two just said that 'friendship' won't be affected by the 'Curse of Ankhseram.' Is that true or false?"
"How come I didn't know there was such a loophole to exploit?"
Zeref laughed upon hearing this, and then, under Darwin's shocked gaze, he said, "Of course it's false!"
"That statement was purely me lying to him!"
"If there were truly such a loophole to exploit, how could I have been rejected by the world for hundreds of years?"