The mid-morning sun hung over Magnolia like a gold coin, casting long, peaceful shadows across the cobblestone streets. The guild was in a rare state of equilibrium. The brawls were low-intensity, the drinking was steady but not riotous, and the general mood was one of contented laziness.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, everyone was hanging around. Natsu was trying to teach Happy how he used his fire to cook the fish, Gray was idly freezing his drink while looking for his pants, and Erza was engaged in a very serious staring contest with a slice of strawberry cake.
The only notable absences were the guild's newest power couple. Blake and Cana were gone, having departed on a quest together again.
Suddenly, the air in Magnolia changed.
It started with a sound—a deep, rhythmic thrumming that seemed to vibrate up from the bedrock itself. It was followed by the shrill, piercing wail of sirens echoing from the Cardia Cathedral and the mayor's office.
"ATTENTION CITIZENS!" A magically amplified voice boomed across the entire city, shaking dust from the rafters of the guild hall. "THE GILDARTS SHIFT IS HAPPENING! I REPEAT! MAGNOLIA IS ENTERING SHIFT MODE! PLEASE SECURE ALL BELONGINGS AND STAND CLEAR OF THE CENTRAL AXIS!"
The reaction inside the guild was instantaneous and explosive.
"HE'S BACK!" Macao screamed, leaping onto a table.
"THE ACE HAS RETURNED!" Wakaba cheered, dropping his pipe.
"Finally!" Natsu roared, abandoning Happy. "I've been waiting for this!"
Everyone in the guild is excited. The lethargy vanished, replaced by a frantic, joyous energy. A stampede of mages rushed for the doors to go outside to see that happen, eager to witness the spectacle that was unique to their home.
However, the new recruits were completely lost.
Lucy and Wendy, who are new to the guild, stood in the center of the hall, clutching their ears against the blaring sirens. Carla hovered nervously beside Wendy.
"What is going on?!" Lucy yelled over the noise. "Is it an attack? Is it Phantom Lord again?"
"The ground is shaking!" Wendy cried, holding onto Carla. "What's a 'Gildarts Shift'?"
Then Erza, who had calmly finished her cake before standing up, walked over to them. Her armor clanked softly, a sound of reassurance in the chaos.
"Do not panic," Erza said, her voice calm but laced with a deep respect. "This is a celebration of sorts. The return of our strongest mage."
"Strongest?" Lucy blinked. "Stronger than the Master? Stronger than Blake?"
"In terms of raw, destructive magical power... yes," Erza admitted. "He is Gildarts Clive. He has been away for three years on a 100-year quest that no one else has ever returned from."
"Come," she said, leading them to the balcony. "You need to see this."
They looked out over the city of Magnolia. What they saw defied logic.
The entire city was moving.
Massive, magical gears ground beneath the streets. Entire city blocks were sliding sideways on rails. Houses retracted, shops rotated, and bridges lifted. The city was physically rearranging itself, splitting down the middle like the Red Sea.
A single, wide, unbroken path was forming, leading from the city gates straight to the steps of the Fairy Tail guild hall. It was a highway of empty stone, flanked by high walls formed by the backs of the rearranged buildings.
Hearing that, they are excited about that.
"Whoa!" Natsu yelled, hanging off the railing. "It's opening up!"
They too go and watch it.
Far in the distance, at the very end of that long, lonely road, a single figure appeared. He was a speck against the horizon, a man in a tattered cloak, carrying a small bag. He walked with a slow, heavy rhythm. Even from this distance, a palpable aura of power washed over the city—warm, heavy, and overwhelming.
Then they all see Gildarts walking towards the guild.
Lucy watched the solitary figure walking down the massive, custom-made avenue. Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
"That's amazing," Lucy asks the question. "Does the whole town respect him so much that they built a special mechanism for him so he can quickly come to the guild? It's like a King's road! They rearranged the whole city just to welcome him home!"
Wendy, at the side, was also looking eagerly at Erza, thinking that Gildarts is highly reputed. "He must be a wonderful hero for the town to do this for him! Maybe they want to give him a parade!"
Erza looked at the two wide-eyed girls. She crossed her arms, and a heavy, long sigh escaped her lips.
"I wish it were that noble," Erza says. "But no."
"Huh?" Lucy looked at her.
"Gildarts' magic is called Crush Magic," Erza explained, her tone deadly serious. "It is a magic that shatters everything it touches into pieces. It breaks bonds, it breaks matter, it breaks magic itself."
She pointed at the lone figure. "He is so powerful that he subconsciously leaks a small amount of magic, which leads to the destruction of anything in his path. He can't turn it off completely. It's like walking next to a disaster, things just... crumble."
Erza rubbed her temples. "And Gildarts is somewhat absent-minded. He gets lost in thought easily. If a house is in his way, he doesn't walk around it. He often doesn't even realize it's there. He runs into some of the buildings in Magnolia. He doesn't open doors; he walks through walls. He doesn't turn corners; he walks through shops."
She gestured to the split city. "Which leads to breaking of the houses. Many years ago, he walked through the mayor's private estate because he was thinking about what to have for dinner. And after some time, the town thought it was better to build a mechanism for him so that their houses wouldn't get destroyed in the future."
Erza looked at Lucy and Wendy. "This isn't a path of honor, Lucy. It's a safety measure. They move the city out of his way so he doesn't accidentally level it by walking to work."
Hearing that, Wendy, Lucy, and Carla, who were listening to everything silently, had shocked faces.
The romantic image of the hero crumbled instantly.
"So..." Lucy whispered, horrified. "They didn't move the town for him... they moved it to save themselves from him?"
"Thinking how much trauma did town people have to make this special road to him." Carla shuddered. "He's not a mage; he's a natural disaster in a cape!"
"Exactly," Erza nodded. "But he is our disaster."
The figure drew closer. Gildarts Clive was a rugged man with slicked-back orange hair, a bit of stubble, and a body built like a fortress. His clothes were worn and patched, evidence of a journey no ordinary human could survive. He walked up the steps of the guild, the "Gildarts Shift" mechanism locking into place behind him as the town slowly began to slide back together.
He stood before the guild doors. He looked up at the sign.
"I'm home," he murmured, a grin spreading across his face.
Then, once Gildarts returns to guild, he is welcomed by everyone.
He pushed the doors open.
"GILDARTS!"
The roar was deafening. The entire guild surged forward. It wasn't the polite applause of a formal ceremony; it was a chaotic wave of love.
"You're alive, you old geezer!"
"Did you finish the quest?!"
"You look terrible!"
Gildarts laughed, a booming, joyous sound. "I missed you brats too!"
He looked around. His eyes widened. Gildarts, seeing the new guild building, is surprised.
"Whoa," he whistled. "The place looks... different. Bigger. Did we get rich? Or did Makarov finally sell you all to a circus?"
"Long story!" Macao yelled.
Then, as soon as he entered the guild, a familiar streak of pink fire launched itself towards him.
"GILDARTS! FIGHT ME!"
Natsu challenges him to a fight. The Fire Dragon Slayer came down with a fist wreathed in flames, screaming his battle cry. "I've gotten stronger! I'm gonna beat you this time!"
Gildarts didn't even drop his bag. He didn't assume a fighting stance. He just watched Natsu fly toward him.
"Hey, Natsu. Energetic as always."
Just as Natsu reached him, Gildarts casually raised his free hand. He didn't use magic. He just... swatted.
WHAM.
Gildarts punches him out of the guild hall.
It was a single, casual backhand that sent Natsu rocketing back the way he came, through the open doors, through the air, and—if the distant crash was any indication—probably into the next district.
"He hasn't changed a bit," Gray noted, keeping a safe distance.
"Welcome home, Gildarts," Erza said, bowing respectfully.
Then, Gildarts walks towards Makarov. The tiny master was sitting on the bar, a tear of pride in his eye.
"Master," Gildarts grinned. "I'm back."
"Good to see you in one piece, Gildarts," Makarov said. "How was the quest?"
"Tough," Gildarts admitted, his smile faltering for a fraction of a second before returning. "But that's a story for later." He gestured to the high ceilings and the new layout. "Seriously, Master. What happened? This isn't the hall I left."
Makarov sighed. Then Makarov tells him what happened with the Phantom Lord guild. He gave him the short version—the war, the destruction of the old hall, the kidnapping of Lucy, their new guild member.
Gildarts listened, his face darkening slightly as he heard about the attacks on his family, but nodding with approval at their victory.
"So, the brats grew up, huh?" Gildarts mused. "Defending the home. That's good."
Then Gildarts looked around the hall again, his gaze sharper this time, scanning the faces. He saw the new members—Wendy, Gajeel, Juvia. He saw how strong Erza and Gray had become.
"Alright," Gildarts said, clapping his hands together. "Enough serious talk. My throat is dry."
Then he asks Mirajane for a drink.
"Mira-chan! You've grown into a beauty! Get an old man a beer, will you?"
"Welcome home, Gildarts," Mira beamed, sliding a massive, frosty tankard down the bar.
Then, after the drink is served and drinking it in one shot, Gildarts slammed the mug down with a satisfied ahhh.
He wiped the foam from his mouth. He turned on his stool, his eyes searching the crowd again. The jovial, loud energy softened into something warmer, something distinctively fatherly.
"So," he said, his voice casual but his eyes intent. "He asks, 'Where is Cana?'"
He had scanned the room three times. He hadn't seen his daughter. Usually, she was the first one to greet him (or throw a bottle at him).
The guild froze.
The background chatter stopped. Gray stopped looking for his pants. Macao and Wakaba suddenly became very interested in the grain of the wood on their table. Natsu, who had just crawled back into the guild, sensed the tension and actually stayed quiet.
Mirajane didn't falter. She kept polishing her glass, her smile perfectly fixed.
Hearing that, Mirajane smiles and says, "She went on a quest."
"A quest?" Gildarts slumped slightly, disappointed. "Ah. Bad timing on my part, I guess. Is she... doing okay? Is she safe?"
"She's doing wonderful," Mira assured him. "She's become very strong."
"That's my girl!" Gildarts beamed, puffing out his chest. "So, who'd she go with? Did she take a team? Is she safe?"
This was the moment. The trap.
Everyone in the guild knew. Everyone knew she had gone with Blake. And everyone knew that they were now officially, publicly, and undeniably a couple.
And everyone knew that if they told Gildarts that his "little girl" was currently on a romantic road trip with a man he considered a rival... Magnolia might actually get destroyed this time.
"Oh, just a retrieval mission," Mira said airily. "Very safe. Far away. She'll be coming back in a few days."
Macao nudged Wakaba. "Don't say a word," he hissed.
"Are you kidding?" Wakaba whispered back. "I want to see the look on his face when they walk in holding hands. It's going to be the best show of the decade."
The entire guild, in a rare moment of collective telepathy, decided on the same course of action. Silence. They wanted to watch the whole drama when Blake returns with Cana. They wanted the fireworks. They wanted the chaos. It was the Fairy Tail way.
"Well, good for her," Gildarts hearing that nods, oblivious to the conspiracy surrounding him. "I'll just have to wait to give her her souvenir then."
He turned back to the bar, ordering another round, completely unaware that his "little girl" was currently miles away, likely flirting with the one mage in the guild Gildarts had a complex rivalry with.
Then the guild members go on their daily work. The tension broke, the secret held, and the party resumed. But underneath the laughter and the brawls, there was a new undercurrent of anticipation. The Ace was back. The strongest couple was away. And when those two forces collided... it was going to be legendary.