A brilliant white light swept across the starry sky.
The ruined buildings, the polluted Milky Way, and the collapsing celestial bodies all began to recover at an unprecedented speed.
Starlight returned to the world.
Radiant dazzling light once again filled the Celestial Spirit World, and the magnificent, elegant buildings reappeared before everyone's eyes.
Black smoke leaked from Natsu's mouth as he collapsed weakly onto the ground and asked, "Did we fix it?"
Lucy crouched down and held his head, still confused.
"After defeating the Celestial Spirit King, the Celestial Spirit World seems to have recovered. But I don't know about the Spirits…"
"Princess."
Lucy's words stopped abruptly.
She spun around and saw Virgo standing there.
Not the brutal Virgo in a military uniform wielding a whip, but the familiar, gentle Virgo in her maid outfit.
"Virgo!"
Lucy burst into tears of joy and threw her arms around Virgo.
Virgo was startled by the sudden hug and asked in surprise, "Princess, what happened?"
"You don't remember anything at all?" Juvia asked in confusion, only to see that Virgo looked just as puzzled.
Aquarius, now back to normal, hugged her water jar and complained irritably, "Running into the Celestial Spirit World without even telling us first. Honestly…"
Wendy gave an awkward little laugh. "Well, it really was an emergency…"
Gray pointed suspiciously at Loke and said, "You said you hated women the most. Did you forget that too?"
Loke paused, then pushed up his glasses with a smile. "What are you talking about? There's no way I'd ever say something like that."
After saying that, Loke eagerly ran off to flirt with Yukino.
Erza knocked Taurus out with one punch when he came sneaking toward her with a lecherous look, then analyzed calmly, "It seems all the Spirits have lost their memories from when they were affected by Eclipse."
"But that should also mean the Celestial Spirit World has truly been saved, right?" Gajeel said coldly, arms crossed. Several excited Plues had climbed onto him after running out, creating a strange but oddly adorable contrast.
"It truly feels as if we have awakened from a nightmare."
Just as Lucy and the others were reuniting with the recovered Celestial Spirits, a massive figure suddenly spoke from high above.
The members of Fairy Tail immediately showed delighted expressions, while Hisui and Yukino looked stunned.
The Celestial Spirit King, a being outsiders could hardly ever know about, was now standing right in front of them.
He had returned to his former majestic and powerful appearance, clad in armor, his voice filled with emotion.
"Though I do not know what occurred, I can sense that I was sinking deeper and deeper into chaos, and that I may have committed many unforgivable acts."
"Thank you, young friend, and thank you all, dear friends of the Celestial Spirit World, for the efforts you made to save this realm."
Lucy's eyes brimmed with tears as she choked out, "For the Spirits, this is something I should do."
Natsu also forced himself to act as if nothing was wrong, thumping his chest with false bravado.
"It was nothing. Cough, cough…"
The atmosphere grew warm and lively.
The Celestial Spirit King personally welcomed everyone who had come to save the Celestial Spirit World, and the Golden Zodiac Spirits returned their keys to Lucy and Yukino.
Because of this incident, the bonds between both sides deepened once again.
"Speaking of which, where are Ankh and the others?" Mirajane asked, holding an adorable Plue in her arms.
Erza looked into the distance. "It seems they're talking with Ophis…"
...
"Alright, get up already."
Ankh looked helplessly at Ophiuchus, who was kneeling on the ground in front of him.
Anmi and Elysia were each pulling one of her arms, but no matter what they did, she stubbornly refused to stand.
Ophiuchus had also returned to her former appearance.
She raised her head, both hands resting on her knees. She looked pitiful, but her voice was firm.
"I'm different from Loke and the others. They were corrupted by Eclipse Magic Power, so betraying Lucy and Yukino was never truly their own will."
"But I'm different. I was clearly able to resist the Eclipse Magic Power, and yet I was still tempted…"
Sorrow filled Ophiuchus's beautiful eyes as she lowered her voice. "It amplified my greed and made me crave everything in the Human World even more."
After saying that, Ophiuchus pressed her forehead to the ground again and said resolutely, "As a Celestial Spirit, I willingly developed the thought of harming my contractor. That is unforgivable."
"That's enough."
Ankh placed a hand against Ophiuchus's head to stop her. T
hen he sat cross-legged on the ground, meeting her at eye level, and said seriously, "You're alive too. You're an independent person. Having desires and things you want is the most normal thing in the world. Celestial Spirits were never tools."
Looking at the tears gathering in Ophiuchus's beautiful eyes, Ankh smiled and gently patted her head.
Then he took the Ophiuchus key from his pocket and placed it in front of her.
"Legend says the thirteenth Celestial Spirit is a great serpent cursed by the gods, one that brings misfortune and disaster to the world."
"But I know that's all bullshit. Whether the gods cursed you or not, do you think I wouldn't know?"
Ankh pulled Ophiuchus to her feet.
She was still as tall as ever, almost frighteningly so. Looking at her now, she resembled a giant doll that had been badly wronged.
"Because you're the most special among the Celestial Spirits, because you're gentle with others, because you possess great power yet can't be fully controlled or drawn out by Celestial Spirit Mages… I'd rather believe that this is the real reason history 'cursed' you."
"Now, let's form a new contract."
Ophiuchus stared blankly at Ankh.
Ankh smiled faintly, looked at the Ophiuchus key in his hand, and said, "From now on, you and I are no longer bound by the default master-servant contract of the Celestial Spirit World. Ophiuchus, you are my companion and my family."
Seeing Ophiuchus's dazed expression, Ankh placed the Celestial Spirit key in her palm.
"We'll use emotion as the book and our hearts as the contract, and we'll make our promise again."
Ophiuchus looked lost for a moment.
Staring down at the key in her palm, she couldn't help blurting out, "You don't want me anymore?"
"Of course I do. I hope you'll always stay by my side, but not only as a Celestial Spirit or a battle partner."
The tears in Ophiuchus's beautiful eyes finally spilled down her cheeks, and her voice trembled.
"But… the Celestial Spirit World has no rule like that…"
"Celestial Spirit King!"
The moment Ophiuchus said that, Ankh shouted toward the sky.
"Lord Ankhseram."
As if he had teleported there, the Celestial Spirit King's enormous face appeared in the sky, his tone deeply respectful.
Of course he was respectful.
Ankhseram was the only friend of Lairs, the Star God and creator who had brought him into being.
When the Celestial Spirits were created, Ankhseram had also contributed greatly.
In terms of seniority, it would not be too much for the Celestial Spirit King to call Ankh his 'godfather'.
Ankh pointed at the Ophiuchus key in Ophiuchus's hand and said, "I plan to connect the Ophiuchus key to the natural Magic Power of Earth Land. That way, Ophiuchus, who depends on external Magic Power, can directly draw on Earth Land's natural Magic Power instead of relying on a mage's Magic Power to move between the two worlds. Can you help?"
The Celestial Spirit King placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly, saying in a deep voice, "I shall obey your will."
"Thanks."
Ankh turned back and gave Ophiuchus an OK sign.
Ophiuchus cried like a child, opened her arms, and hugged Ankh tightly.
However… although Ankh had grown taller over the years, he had never used the divine power of life to edit his height, so when the two of them hugged, Ankh was nearly smothered to death!
Not far away, Elysia stretched lazily and smiled like a blooming flower.
"So this is how Ophi became our family. Feels like we just witnessed history."
"As expected of Father," Anmi said with a nod.
Then his gaze drifted toward the Fairy Tail members happily gathered in the distance, and his voice grew a little low.
"We… should be leaving too."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator