"WHAT! Erza is Ankh's sister?!"
Natsu spat flames from his mouth, jumped onto the table, and shouted in astonishment.
His habitually unruly, pink hair, currently resembling a precarious bird's nest, was notably topped with a white egg intricately patterned with blue markings.
Cana, nursing a drink with an air of sullen resignation, confirmed the startling news.
"According to the Master and Ankh himself, that is indeed the truth," she muttered, the gloom in her tone reflecting the magnitude of the revelation.
Gray, ever the keen observer, mused with a touch of profound contemplation.
"No wonder Erza never truly dared to lecture Ankh with her usual intensity—it must be the instinctive, deep-seated suppression stemming from the elder brother's bloodline… a primal respect, perhaps."
Elfman, holding his recently acquired and cherished little parrot, offered his opinion quietly.
"Now that she's found family, Erza should be very happy."
Gray shook his head instead, expressing concern.
"Such a sudden appearance of family member will probably require some adjustment."
Lisanna's lively big eyes rolled twice before she brightly raised her hand and said cheerfully.
"Well, now Mira-nee can finally put her mind at ease!"
The mischievous girl's words immediately made everyone burst into laughter.
An irritated Mirajane rushed over and delivered an embarrassing iron fist to each of their heads.
With her expression turning serious again, Lisanna stroked her smooth chin and analyzed like a little detective.
"I wonder if Erza will cry when she hears this news?"
The little fairies with steaming bumps on their heads immediately looked up and began to fantasize.
The prospect of the typically stern, rigorously demanding, and perpetually armored Erza—the formidable 'Titania'—succumbing to tears... they imagined her crying must be something truly spectacularly loud and unrestrained.
'Hehehehehe'
...
"Thank you, Ankh... nii-san."
On the hospital bed, Erza leaned against the pillow, smiling as she accepted the chicken soup Ankh carefully handed her.
Ankh took a bright red apple from the fruit basket nearby, peeling it while making conversation with her.
"You don't seem surprised by my existence or identity."
Erza held the porcelain bowl with both hands, sipping the chicken soup with a contented expression.
After thinking seriously, she said.
"Actually, since the day you came to the guild, I've felt a certain stirring in my heart, as if... you were naturally someone I should feel close to."
'Really now...'
'Then why didn't I feel anything?'
Ankh silently complained in his heart, then continued peeling the fruit guiltily without speaking.
"Ankh... nii-san."
The sudden, soft invocation of his name caused Ankh to look up sharply.
He found Erza gazing directly at him, her eyes reflecting a gaze of profound gentleness.
She spoke softly, her voice filled with a quiet emotion.
"Having family feels... nice."
Ankh was momentarily stunned, feeling a surge of profound compassion well up inside him.
Especially when he saw Erza's eyes - only one of them - slowly shed a glistening tear...
Had it not been for the Tower of Heaven incident, perhaps Erza wouldn't have become this armored version of herself with shackles around her heart...
She would have been an outstanding Mage, not the Fairy Queen who appears radiant on the surface yet bears inner scars, always standing strong alone.
Ankh nodded silently, then stroked her hair while looking seriously into her eyes.
"Although... I'm not certain about your identity either, I acknowledge you as my little sister..."
"I cant be part of your past, but from now on, I'll definitely be present in every scene of your future life."
Though Ankh didn't understand why a blood-related sister had suddenly appeared in his life, since this opportunity had arisen, he couldn't investigate it thoroughly for now.
It was not out of carelessness or apathy; even Seram, a being of vast knowledge and power, had failed to unravel this mystery, and had consequently become introspective and self-isolating within their shared mindscape.
After handing her the peeled apple, Ankh simply watched Erza quietly.
Erza had been imprisoned in the Tower of Heaven since childhood, a place that had produced numerous powerful Mages, one of whom was Jelal.
In a few more years, he would likely earn the honor of becoming one of the Ten Wizard Saints and thereby enter the Council as one of the ten members.
Since Ankh had gained an unexpected sister, he needed to find ways to deal with these matters now.
First, he had to locate the Tower of Heaven.
With Seram around, this definitely wouldn't be a problem, but Ankh was currently considering another matter - the Council member seats.
If Jelal could become a council member using a Thought Projection, and Ultear from a dark guild could openly infiltrate them for so many years, why couldn't Ankh do the same?
Now that he was already an S-Class Mage and will be spending more time outside the guild, he could start planning certain things.
"What are you thinking about?"
At that moment, Laxus, covered in bandages, spoke with a solemn expression.
Ankh looked at him in surprise and smiled, "You're recovering quite quickly."
Laxus snorted stubbornly, "Next time, I'll break through your combined magic!"
Erza responded with full fighting spirit, "If you can do it, then try! We won't be standing still either!"
"Ankh! Come out quickly! Natsu gave birth to a kitten!"
Gray's raspy shout suddenly came from outside, making Ankh sweatdrop.
'Natsu... gave birth to a cat?'
'It must be that the egg Natsu picked up a few days ago had hatched Happy.'
Ankh stood up and stretched, saying to Erza with a chuckle, "Want to go see?"
Erza nodded, while Laxus, in an elaborate display of his trademark tsundere aloofness, turned his bandaged body away with a disdain.
"How boring."
Ankh helped Erza up while casually hooking his other arm around Laxus's neck, cheerfully dragging them both outside.
Laxus, being embarrassingly dragged out, roared in furious humiliation.
"Hey Ankh! Put me down! Don't make me use force!"
"Ah, alright, alright..." Ankh responded absentmindedly, then delivered a blunt blow: "But you're injured right now, so you might not be my match~"
When the three of them arrived at the guild hall, they saw from a distance a group of people gathered together, looking up at the ceiling and bursting into waves of cheerful laughter.
Ankh and the other two looked up simultaneously to see a blue cat with small white wings flying unsteadily in the air, its eyes still closed.
Then it slowly flew down and suddenly plopped onto Natsu's pink, messy hair that resembled a bird's nest.
Just as everyone thought the little creature was about to fall asleep, it suddenly stood upright on its hind legs, opened its bright big eyes, raised its furry paws, and cheerfully exclaimed.
"Aye!"
Happy is born.
"Oh! What an adorable little thing."
Lisanna's eyes sparkled as she looked at the cat.
She immediately scooped it up, stroked it a few times, then held it tightly in her arms, refusing to put it down.
Everyone was fascinated by this little creature.
For the younger generation of Fairy Tail members, this was their first time witnessing the birth of life firsthand, making them indescribably excited.
Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, Natsu happily lifted the blue cat and declared happily.
"Since you bring happiness to everyone in the guild, we'll call you Happy!"
Ankh watched Happy and Natsu with deep emotion while thinking to himself.
Only with Happy as his partner can Natsu grow into the true Fire Dragon in the future...
"Since everyone's so happy, let's have a guild portrait done first!" someone suddenly suggested.
The painter Mage Bickslow moved his round body, his brush flying across the canvas as he captured the boundless happiness on everyone's faces at that moment.
Childhood group photo
This painting had changed quite a bit compared to the one Ankh had seen in the original work in his previous life.
In the newly finished canvas, Ankh observed: everyone laughing heartily, Happy drawn as a flying dragon, Erza with bandages wrapped around her, and in the background, the tsundere Laxus crossing his arms proudly, and...
Himself, smiling.
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