Blake's dark green Urus became a common, terrifying sight in the streets of Magnolia, often followed by Makarov's dark blue G-Class, the two mages treating the city like their personal racetrack.
Then, the floodgates opened. Heartfilia-Corvus Motors had officially opened its stores for the public. The result was not a success; it was a revolution.
The initial stock of convertibles and SUVs sold out in an hour. Many traders and merchants realized the cargo vans could cut their delivery times in half, making them more profitable than the vehicles cost.
Mages bought cars and bikes for the status, the speed, and the simple joy of it. The vehicles were a runaway success.
The main problem became production. The demand was so high that Heartfilia expanded their current workshop, increasing their efficiency threefold, hiring hundreds of new engineers and blacksmiths just to keep up.
The Royal Family, hearing of these magical marvels, asked for a custom-made armored vehicle.
Layla Heartfilia, invigorated and alive, had become the most powerful industrialist in Fiore, and Blake Corvus, by proxy, was one of the richest men in the kingdom.
But wealth and status had never been Blake's goal. His S-Class rank gave him freedom, and his new car gave him the means to use it.
The guild was thriving. Natsu and Gray were a constant headache, Erza was a pillar of strength, and Laxus was a worthy rival. He felt... content. And content was boring.
He found Makarov in his office, poring over the guild's new, massive repair bills.
"Master," Blake said, leaning against the doorframe.
"Blake, my boy! Come in! Have you seen the bill for the clock tower? Natsu managed to melt the mainspring. The mainspring!"
"He's talented," Blake smirked. "Master, I'm here to tell you I'm leaving for a while."
Makarov paused, his expression turning serious. "Another S-Class quest? The council hasn't posted—"
"No," Blake interrupted gently. "Not a quest. An adventure. I'm going to drive around Fiore and adventure a bit. No destination, no deadline. Just... see what's out there."
Makarov looked at the young man before him. At 15, Blake was already an S-Class veteran, a business mogul, and arguably one of the strongest mages on the continent. He had earned a vacation.
Makarov agreed with a warm, fatherly smile. "Go. You've done more for this guild—and for Fiore—in a few short years than most do in a lifetime. Stay safe. And," he added, his voice twinkling, "try to leave some of the Dark Guilds for the Rune Knights, will you? They're complaining we're making them obsolete."
Blake laughed. "I'll try."
He said his goodbyes. Cana was the hardest, making him promise to call her on his communication lacrima every week. Gray demanded a souvenir. Erza gave him a stiff, respectful nod and told him "not to fall behind" in his training. Laxus just grunted, "Don't get yourself killed, road-runner. I still need that rematch."
Before leaving on the adventure, he went to meet Layla Heartfilia. She was ecstatic, her business was booming.
"Blake, you're a miracle worker!" she said, showing him the profit-and-loss statements, which were entirely profit.
"I'm glad it's working out, Lady Layla," he said. "I'm going on a long vacation. Indefinitely. I wanted to give you these before I left."
He handed her a new portfolio. "These are my future car models." In it were designs for a heavy-duty transport truck, a single-seater, high-speed 'sports car' model, and even a rough concept for a gyroscopic magical airship. "You can use these. Keep R&D busy."
Layla looked at the designs, her eyes wide with possibility. She also gave him his share of the profit from the first quarter of sales. It was a massive briefcase, which Blake didn't even bother counting. He just took it.
Then he greeted Lucy and told her he was going on a vacation and she would not see him for a while. She was sad, but Blake promised her he would bring her souvenirs.
Then he walked out, climbed into his dark green Urus, and drove. He left Magnolia and drove the vehicle to wherever the road led him. He didn't care where he went; all he was looking for was an adventure.
He journeyed all over Fiore for a year. He drove his Urus through the misty mountains of the north, the winding coastal roads of the south, and the dense, ancient forests of the east. He was truly free.
He saw different places and met different people. He'd park his car in a tiny village, and the locals would treat him like a god. He'd share a drink with old merchants, listen to their stories, and then be gone by morning.
When he got bored, he would defeat Dark Guilds. His routine was simple. He'd hear rumors of a guild shaking down a town. He'd drive his Urus to their front door. They'd laugh at the rich kid in the fancy car.
Blake would get out, coat his blade in Haki, and thirty minutes later, the entire guild would be tied up and gift-wrapped for the local Rune Knights. It was pest control.
He regularly contacted the guild. One night, sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean, his Urus parked behind him, he made his weekly call to Makarov.
"Blake! My boy! How are you?!"
"I'm good, Master. Just outside a hunting village near a spooky forest. How are things back home?"
"Lively! You won't believe the new crop of kids we got!" Makarov's voice was full of pride. "Three siblings! The Strausses! Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna. Sweet kids, though that Mirajane... she's a little demon. Already started a rivalry with Erza that's cost me a new west wing!"
Blake chuckled, picturing it. "Anyone else?"
"Yes!" Makarov said, his voice softer. "A few bookworms. Levy, Jet, and Droy. And... the kids from the Tower. Rob's kids."
Blake's smile faded, his full attention on the lacrima. "What about them? Are they okay?"
"More than okay, son," Makarov said, his voice thick with emotion. "They... they didn't want to be a burden. Rob came to me a few months ago. With all the kids—Jellal, Wally, Sorano, all of them—and said they were ready. They formed a new guild. They're calling it... New Dawn. Rob's the Guild Master. They're a legal guild now, Blake. You gave them that."
Blake hung up the call, a sense of pride washing over him. Erza had stayed, but the others had found their own path. He had truly, finally, fixed that broken future.
After travelling for a year, he felt the itch again. He had seen the cities, the forests, and the coasts. He wanted something ancient, something primal. His S-Class training kicked in. He remembered the giants from the anime, and he wanted to meet them.
He set his next destination: the Sun Village of the giants, hidden in the great deserts of Fiore.
He drove south, the terrain changing from green to brown, to a vast, endless sea of sand. He didn't know the exact location, only the general region. He drove the Urus over dunes, its all-terrain capabilities pushed to the limit.
After a week of searching in the desert, driving in grid patterns, he relied on his Haki the whole time. He pushed his Observation Haki out, not searching for people, but for life. He scanned for miles, feeling only scorpions and lizards. Then, he felt it.
A cluster of massive, powerful, dormant life-forces, hidden behind a canyon wall.
He grinned. Found them.
He drove into the canyon, and the world changed. It was a massive, hidden oasis, and in the center was a village built on a scale he couldn't comprehend. The "huts" were the size of hills. And walking among them... were giants.
He parked his Urus (which looked like a child's toy) and stepped out.
A shadow fell over him. A 50-foot-tall giant with a massive, grey beard and a horn-helmet looked down.
"A little-folk," the giant rumbled, his voice shaking the ground. "You are brave, or foolish, to come here. I am Thrym, leader of the giants. What do you want?"
Blake, undeterred, just looked up and grinned. "I'm Blake, from Fairy Tail. I was here to duel with you."
The giant stared. Then he let out a laugh that was like a landslide. "Duel me?! A little man like you? I will crush you!"
"Let's find out," Blake said.
They moved to an open arena. They both prepared to fight each other. Thrym stomped, raising his colossal, tree-trunk-sized club.
"I will be gentle, little man!" he roared.
They fought for 3 days without stopping, and the duel ended with Blake winning.
Thrym, lying on his back, stared at the tiny figure. Then, he laughed again, a joyous, booming sound. "You did it! You won, boy!"
After that, they partied. The giants were a race of proud, simple, joyous warriors. They respected strength above all, and Blake had proven his. He drank ale from a barrel that was passed around like a mug.
The leader introduced Blake to all the male and female giants present in the village. There were some kids, too, giant children who played "catch" with boulders.
And then, Thrym introduced him to the only other human. "This is Flare Corona," he said, gesturing to a young woman with long, vibrant red hair. "We found her in the desert as a child. She's one of us, even if she is small."
Flare gave Blake a shy, slightly unhinged smile. Blake nodded politely.
From then on, his routine continued. Every day, he would fight a new giant. It was the greatest training of his life. He wasn't fighting to win; he was fighting to survive. He was honing his Haki against opponents whose every casual movement was an S-Class threat. He learned to use his size, his speed, and his internal-destruction Haki to devastating effect.
At night, they would drink, sing, and party. The giants accepted him as one of them. He was "Blake the Giant-Feller," the smallest giant in the village.
One day, after he had earned their total trust, Thrym and the elders took him to the center of the village.
"You are family now, Blake," Thrym said. "We want to show you the soul of our village. Motherflame."
They led him to a massive, pulsating, eternal flame. It was huge, beautiful, and trapped within a crystalline prison of ice.
The giants all bowed.
Blake stepped closer. His Observation Haki, now refined to an incredible degree, touched the fire.
And he heard it.
A deep, ancient, conscious roar. A voice of fire, agony, and dragon-might, trapped within the ice.
Atlas Flame.
Blake's eyes widened, but he didn't make much of it. He knew this wasn't his secret to uncover. This was part of Natsu's destiny. He simply bowed his head, showing the same reverence as his new family.
Like that, he spent some time at the giant's village, a 17-year-old human living as a giant, having a lot of fun with them, fighting and partying, growing stronger in body and spirit, completely unaware of the storm that was about to break back home.