"Queen Aurora… you've dropped something."
Aurora, who had just finished speaking with her son, turned back slightly. Two figures were approaching at a hurried pace behind her.
"What are you two doing here?" the attendant standing beside her frowned when he recognized them. "You were assigned to guard duty elsewhere."
The two guards stopped before Queen Aurora and bowed. One of them stepped forward, deliberately placing himself between the attendant and the queen for a brief moment. "My apologies, sir," he said respectfully, "but this matter couldn't wait."
"This is neither the time nor the place," the attendant replied coldly. "Queen Aurora has an important meeting with His Majesty."
"Oh, I see, I am sorry then."
As the first guard continued speaking, subtly holding the attendant's attention, the second guard moved closer to Aurora and slipped a small folded note into her hand. His voice was barely above a whisper.
"It's really important."
He said nothing else. The two guards quickly bowed again and retreated, disappearing down the corridor before the attendant could react. He could only blink speechlessly.
"Oh my," Aurora said lightly, her lips curving into an amused smile. "The guards here have so much energy."
"They shouldn't have ignored their post," the attendant said stiffly. "Please don't worry, Queen Aurora, I will—"
"There's no need," Aurora interrupted gently. "I'm complimenting them. It's reassuring, really. With guards like that, the palace feels very safe."
The attendant paused, studying her face for a moment before looking forward again. "I suppose you're right."
As they continued walking, his hand tightened subtly around the bracelet on his arm. The council had assured him it would render mind magic useless. He hoped—quietly—that it truly worked.
Aurora waited until his attention was fully elsewhere before unfolding the note with an almost lazy motion.
There were only a few words written inside.
'The king has set a trap for you. Please don't go anywhere near him.'
Aurora stopped for just a fraction of a second before her smile returned, softer at first, then deeper. Even in a kingdom steeped in darkness at its highest levels, light still existed. People were trying to protect her. That alone was… amusing.
Unlike her husband and her son.
But then her smile widened, twisting subtly at the edges.
But they actually had the right idea. If she ever needed help, she would simply ask them. As for cleaning up trash like King Runar and a handful of council bootlickers—she needed no one's assistance for that.
If anything, she thought calmly, they should be afraid.
After all, despite being the Queen of the Sin Kingdom and possessing the strongest 'mind magic' on the continent, that power wasn't even her greatest strength among the many abilities she could use. And from what she could tell, she likely wouldn't even need to use much of it today.
With that thought, Aurora loosened her fingers.
The note slipped from her hand.
But before it could touch the ground, an unseen force tore it in half—then again, and again—until the fragments were shredded into nothingness, erased as if the warning had never existed to begin with.
"Do you really think this is going to work?" King Runar asked, his voice low as he looked at the man standing across from him.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Itharan replied calmly. "The rune array surrounding this room is far more advanced than the palace's outer defenses."
Runar narrowed his eyes. "Yet I saw you get outplayed by a young girl tonight."
Itharan's expression stiffened for just a moment before he smiled again. "She simply possessed an interesting magic. I held back because of that. Regardless, there's no need for concern. I've stationed twenty more people above this room alone."
"But…"
Runar was about to press further when a knock interrupted him.
"Your Majesty," a guard's voice sounded from outside. "Queen Aurora has arrived."
"Let her in."
Runar fixed his gaze on the door. Moments later, it opened, and Aurora stepped inside, still dressed in her gala attire. She moved unhurriedly, her eyes sweeping over the room with mild curiosity. It looked like an ordinary office.
'Did they not even prepare a bed?' she thought lazily. How unimaginative.
"I wish you hadn't invited me so late at night," Aurora said calmly as she seated herself on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other. "Only to introduce me to a council wizard, King Runar."
Runar's eyes lingered on her legs far longer than they should have, his thoughts drifting until a sharp nudge from Itharan snapped him back to reality.
"N-no, nothing like that," Runar said quickly. "He's merely here on business. That aside… how did you enjoy the gala?"
Aurora looked at him as if he were asking something profoundly foolish.
Runar cleared his throat, visibly embarrassed. "That's actually why I summoned you. Is there a way you could erase everyone's memories of the incident? My son is going to be the next king, after all. It would be… inconvenient for him."
Aurora didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Itharan. "You're asking a wizard to use magic on civilians in front of a council member?" she asked calmly. "Did the council approve such a thing? Hm?"
Itharan's body tensed. His hand glowed faintly on instinct. Aurora's eyes flicked toward it, then slowly around the room.
In response, runes began to appear—starting from the floor, crawling up the walls, lighting the chamber in layered patterns. In an instant, the room was completely sealed. Twenty figures materialized all around them as well, each holding a staff, all of them aimed directly at Aurora.
She tilted her head slightly, unimpressed. "No Patience…hm? We haven't even introduced ourselves," she said with a faint smile. "You look about fifty. But I'm guessing you're still single."
Itharan's smile twitched. Her calmness only fueled his irritation. "This is the end for you, Queen Aurora," he declared coldly. "You dared to leave the Sin Kingdom, knowing how much the council despises you. Tonight, you'll pay for your crimes."
Aurora met his gaze without the slightest hint of fear. "Is that what your superior told you?" she asked lightly. "Did he bother telling you what crimes I actually committed?"
Itharan hesitated, then straightened. "That doesn't matter to me."
Aurora glanced at Runar, who was still staring at her with poorly concealed desire. "So he also told you to let me be humiliated by this pig?"
"What did you call me?" Runar roared, leaping to his feet.
Before he could say more, Itharan chuckled. "No," he said, eyes locked on Aurora. "It's simply that the opportunity to enjoy the most beautiful woman in Ishgar is not something I'd like to pass up either."
He waited for fear to appear in her eyes.
It didn't.
Instead, Aurora looked around the room thoughtfully. "Hm. So you're a pig too," she said calmly. "But you must lack confidence. Did you think the two of you wouldn't be enough to satisfy me, so you brought twenty more?"
Her smile curved slightly. "How bad must you be? Or perhaps my husband is exceptional. After all, with him I never even had to think about getting someone else… He can be so gentle yet rough…Just the way…."
Runar finally snapped. "Do you still think you're untouchable?" he shouted, pointing at her. "Do you think your husband will come save you? This place is sealed. No matter how strong you are, unless you're a council wizard, you can never use magic here."
Aurora paused, looking at him as though he were hopelessly stupid. Then she turned her gaze back to Itharan.
"You people really love rune magic," she said casually. "But did you ever bother to learn its origin? Its history?"
Itharan frowned, a sense of dread creeping into his chest. "What do you mean?"
Aurora sighed softly.
"…Idiots," she muttered.
"Enough talking. Tonight I will show you…" Runar reached his hand toward her, but before he could even touch the air, something went wrong. The space between them stretched, silently and impossibly.
Runar and Itharan looked around in shock, and…the room itself was growing larger, taller, wider, as if reality was unraveling. The twenty people they had hired stood frozen in place, stares fixed, bodies rigid, completely unmoving, while Aurora seemed to drift farther and farther away, her calm presence untouched by the chaos surrounding them.
"You really should learn history instead of trying to control the future all the time…" Her voice started to echo around the room.
"What is happening?" Runar shouted, panic lacing every word. "Is that her magic? No—but the runes are still active," Itharan said, his voice trembling, a cold sweat spreading across his back. And then it began: everything around them—walls, floor, ceiling, even the guards—started disappearing, vanishing not with a sound or flash, but as if they had never existed.
The world itself seemed to fold away, leaving only the two of them and the impossibly distant figure of Aurora.
"Do something, Itharan!" Runar screamed, desperation overtaking his fear.
"I…" Itharan's voice broke as he tried to activate the runes again, his hands glowing faintly as he gestured. But suddenly…His eyes widened in terror…he looked down slowly, only to see that… his hands… were gone. He…he…couldn't even feel them.
"I don't… I… I'm—" he couldn't finish; grotesque hands suddenly began to emerge from his face, his chest, twisting and crawling over him like something alive, forcing their way through his flesh.
"No…no…ahhh…" A scream tore from him, high and feminine in pitch, as instinct took over and he ran toward where the exit should have been—but the exit… stretched away endlessly. But suddenly he felt like he couldn't even walk forward… He looked down for his feet. There was… nothing….nothing below his waist…his legs were…. Gone.
"No…Wait…Please…I am sorry… I made a mistake… I am sorry."
His body began disappearing from the ground up, swallowed piece by piece by a void that crept with agonizing slowness until it reached his face. The worst part is he could feel the pain…it was like his body was getting eaten by ants slowly…very…very slowly….
"Ahhh!"...After what felt like a century, His scream pierced the impossible silence. And then, suddenly, everything snapped back. The room, the guards, the runes—all returned exactly as before. Itharan collapsed to his knees, panting, hands clawing at the floor, trying to convince himself he was still real.
Beside him, Runar crouched, tears streaming down his face, weak, broken, gasping. They both subconsciously moved to look at Aurora. But…She was gone. The twenty mages were still there, unmoving, expressions frozen, staves aimed, eyes glassy and empty.
Itharan's eyes widened as dread fully settled in. He suddenly realized something. After entering the room, not one of them had blinked, not one had moved. But somehow, he and Runar never paid attention to it. As if they both thought it was normal. Were they… under her illusion from the very beginning… But How? Are they still under her illusion?
"Boo."
A low whisper slid into both their ears, cold enough to freeze their blood.
"Nooo…" Their bodies leapt instinctively, hearts hammering as though trying to escape their own chests.
"You two are really weak mentally," the voice purred in a casual voice. "I wanted to enjoy it more."
Neither dared look back. No, it felt like they lost all their energy to even move a muscle. It was obvious now. Their runes, their carefully laid spells, their supposed advantage—none of it mattered from the beginning. They were always… at… her mercy.
A heel clicked sharply on the floor behind them, each sound echoing like a drumbeat of impending doom. Aurora's voice floated through the air, calm but edged with amusement. "But I at least hope you two are physically strong… I don't want the fun to end too soon."
She stepped into view, and their hearts stopped. She wore a tight, black leather bodysuit that clung to her curves, the sides laced up in delicate yet cruel detail, paired with fishnet stockings that made every movement impossibly sensual. A whip dragged lazily along the ground, leaving a faint scratch against the floor as if warning them what was coming.
Despite the provocative dress, despite the dangerous allure, neither Runar nor Itharan dared look beyond their terror anymore."Please… I will do anything… let me go… I'll give you everything in the treasury," Runar stammered, voice cracking under panic.
"I… I…" Itharan wanted to beg too, but realized he had nothing of value to offer. The desperation in his own mind mocked him. Aurora smiled playfully. "Hehe… don't worry. If you behave properly, it will just be one night…. Isn't that what you secretly wanted anyway?" With a flick of her wrist, the whip lashed against the table, splitting it in half with a deafening crack.
Both men froze, trembling, staring at how casually she destroyed it.
"Let's begin," Aurora said, licking her lips.
For a long, endless time, all that filled the room was the desperate cries of men and the sharp, stinging sound of the whip. Every pleading word bounced back at them, meaningless as no sound went outside because of the rune. The realization hit them too late. The runes had not trapped Aurora. The runes trapped them with her.
Outside
"So what have you been up to?" Alvemak's voice echoed lazily inside Astro's mind, carrying a familiar sense of ease. "You seem to have changed a lot since the last time we talked."
"Really?" Astro replied while cutting through the night sky, his wings spread wide as the cold wind rushed past him.
"Not much happened. Just tonight, I went to a gala, met my parents, and somehow got dragged into something involving a devil's lacrima. The prince of this kingdom also has devils lurking under his shadow for some reason now, and before that, there were some weird immortal people. Pretty uneventful night, all things considered."
"..."
Alvemak went quiet for a brief moment before responding casually, "Sounds like a normal night, yeah."
Astro's mouth twitched at that response, but he decided to let it go and shift to what mattered most to him. "I had a question, Alvemak. What's the deal with devil's lacrima? Is there any side effect to just destroying them?"
"I don't think so," Alvemak answered calmly, though Astro could sense a subtle gloom creeping into his mood. Humans usually make them by processing a devil's heart through a weird method. It's just a safer way for humans to wield Devil Slayer magic without any setbacks, or at least that's what they believe."
Astro hesitated mid-flight before asking carefully, "So… do I have a devil's lacrima inside me, or am I just using the unsafe method?"
"Do you want me to die or something?" Alvemak replied flatly. "I obviously didn't rip my heart out and hand it to you."
"Oh… then what's the danger without a lacrima?" Astro asked, genuinely curious.
"You should ask how I gave you Sky Devil Slayer magic in the first place."
"Well, I always thought it was some kind of enchantment," Astro replied after thinking for a moment. "Like you enchanted me with your magic or something."
"You're not completely wrong," Alvemak said. "I enchanted my personality on you temporarily, and you got my magic as a side effect. It's basically an easy way to make your body get used to Sky Devil magic."
Astro's mind froze for a second as he processed those words. "What do you mean by that?" Tonight had already been long, but nothing had shaken him like this revelation.
"Don't overthink it," Alvemak said dismissively. "I'm not interested in a human body. I'm a devil, and I'll live for thousands of years. Why would I want a fragile mortal vessel?"
"Well… I wasn't talking about that, but—"
"I didn't permanently enchant my personality into you, so relax," Alvemak cut in. "If I had, I'd already be using your body and your entire existence would be wiped out by now."
"You can do that with enchantment magic?" Astro asked, genuinely surprised again. "Enchant an entire personality into someone?"
"You can," Alvemak replied boredly. "It's one of the highest levels of enchantment. It allows you to give personality to inanimate objects or take over someone's body if you want."
"Wait," Astro said slowly. "So…did you ever take over my body?"
"Hm. Only the first time we met."
Astro went still again as memories he had always avoided resurfaced. "That's why my memory of that incident was so vague…"
He had always believed he lost control back in Inca, that the overwhelming power had driven him berserk, and that fear had haunted him ever since, holding him back whenever he thought about going all out.
But right now, after all these times, this lazy devil is saying that was just him all along?
What the hell?
"Hey, I did what I had to do," Alvemak said grumpily. "If I hadn't taken over, even if you got my power, you'd have been like a newborn holding a fancy toy. You'd never have escaped that place. The Inca Kingdom isn't somewhere you can treat lightly."
"Hm… but I still wish you'd told me," Astro said. "One time, I even had someone plant a mind block that would wipe me if I went too far. Now I just feel like an idiot."
"You are an idiot," Alvemak replied mercilessly.
"Hey—"
"I mean it," Alvemak continued. "Although there's still a risk of you losing control, that happens with every other type of magic anyway. If you were smart, you'd be worried that I could take over your body at any moment. Instead, you're still worried about that."
Astro fell silent before answering softly, "I trust you, Alvemak. That's why I'm not worried."
"You trust a devil," Alvemak scoffed. "How naïve."
"I remember you said something similar when we first met," Astro chuckled as he thought of their first meeting.
Astro descended and landed lightly on a rooftop beneath the night sky. He sat on the railing and looked down at the restaurant nearby, his orange eye glowing faintly as he rested his cheek against his palm and smiled.
"But yeah," he murmured, "I guess I am an idiot, Alvemak. When I want to trust someone, I don't like becoming paranoid, wondering if they're lying or thinking about when they'll betray me."
"Life is too short for us humans…how can someone enjoy it if all they do is just stay paranoid all the time?"
Astro's thoughts slowly drifted away from the present, carried by the cold wind and falling snow, until they slipped into memories from a life that felt distant yet strangely close.
"Liam, listen to this song," the girl said excitedly, shoving her phone toward the young boy's face. "The singer is so good-looking. And look at how cool he dresses—kya…."
"Shouldn't you be talking about his voice instead?" the boy asked lazily from the hospital bed, looking at the screen.
"Hm? Oh… yeah," she replied after a second. "His voice is… also pretty good. I think?"
"..."
The scene shifted naturally, like turning a page.
"Liam, my crush betrayed me," the girl complained, shoving the phone into his face again. "He got a girlfriend."
"Who is that lucky guy? He really dodged a bullet," Liam muttered, not looking up from the book he was reading.
"Hey, that's rude," she snapped. "I'm beautiful. He should feel honored if anything."
Liam finally glanced at her, raising an eyebrow in obvious doubt.
Should he book a mental hospital bed for her?
Her mouth twitched, and she lightly chopped him on the head.
"What's with that look?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.
"Nothing," he said innocently. "Just wondering why you didn't make a move sooner if you liked him that much." He glanced at the phone at last. "Wait… isn't this that drama you've been watching? You like the lead actor?"
"What? No way," she scoffed. "Who'd like that idiot? I'm talking about this character. He was supposed to be all cool and uninterested in love, rejecting everyone in his path and conquering the world—and then he just goes and gets together with the female lead." She crossed her arms, clearly offended. "What a letdown."
Liam stared at the screen for a second, then went back to get his phone from the table.
"What are you doing?"
"Searching to see if this hospital has any doctors for mental patients?"
"Do you have mental problems now, too?" The girl asked, tilting her head confusingly.
"..."
Astro's mind shifted again… Memories of this world resurfaced in his mind. He had met some kind people in Lunaris City. But he had met way more kind and interesting people in Fairy Tail as well.
"Hey, Astro, fight me!" a pink-haired boy shouted with reckless enthusiasm.
"Haha, they're saying a new idol is rising in Fairy Tail," a brunette laughed loudly. "I wonder if Mira's jealous."
A black-haired boy simply shrugged. "Well… I don't think I'm in any position to judge. Honestly, I could feel that you saved us more than once back there. Thanks for that."
"I'm Erza Scarlet," a red-haired woman said with a small, polite nod. "You can call me Erza, like everyone else."
A blond man snorted arrogantly. "Come on, Astro. Do you really think I'd lose to Natsu? Who are you kidding?"
"I barely did anything," a small gray-haired boy muttered with a pout. "Even against normal wizards, I couldn't help much. You fought one strong opponent after another… and even took down so many dark wizards at the end."
"In this world, I suppose it's different," a man with striking dark-blue hair and a mark beneath and over his right eye said on a rain-soaked night. "You may not know me, but in Edolas, I have always known you… or rather, another you."
"Young people these days have no patience," a tall pink-haired woman scolded with annoyance. "If you want to heal something, you don't jump straight into healing."
"I might be old now," a short elderly man said, his voice lazy yet resolute, "but I'm still strong enough to protect all of my children."
More and more voices surfaced in Astro's mind—until one presence settled more gently than the rest.
A woman with white hair stood behind the guild counter, wearing a warm, professional smile that somehow felt genuine rather than practiced. Astro always wondered how that was possible.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail. My name is Mirajane Strauss. I work here as the barmaid and receptionist. Everyone just calls me Mira. You should too."
Later, that same voice took on a firmer tone. It felt natural, as if she had been in a position of power for a long time and was now just experiencing side quests.
"Since it's your first mission, you'll need to be accompanied by an experienced member. That's in the guild rules."
And at another time, softer again. Astro felt like he was being treated as a child.
"It's because you're suppressing your magic level," she said with a small, exasperated sigh. "Everyone thinks you barely have any strength because of that."
Then there was the smile she gave him afterward, warm and open, as if she had already decided something on her own.
"As a thank you for helping me with those numbers last time, I'll take you shopping tomorrow. You need new clothes—and so does Shawn."
Astro remembered trying to refuse, fumbling for excuses, only for her expression to crumble in tears just enough that he agreed without realizing it. Somehow, saying no had felt harder than saying yes back there. Although Astro didn't regret spending some alone time with her.
There was another memory too, one that stayed with him longer than the rest.
"Sorry," she whispered. "I can't help it. I keep thinking about her. About how I didn't try hard enough… how weak I was that day. My little sister—the one I should have protected—died right in front of me… saving me."
The wind around Astro shifted as his thoughts returned to the present, his coat fluttering softly behind him as snow continued to fall.
"I don't think I have that many important people, Alvemak," Astro whispered. "But the ones I decide belong in that category… I won't give up on them so easily. Not unless I truly find that they've betrayed me, or are going to. So I'm going to trust you the same way I am going to trust my parents—with my heart. For now."
Alvemak remained silent for a moment before replying, "You are quite weird."
"I know," Astro said with a faint smile as he touched where his guild mark was.
"That's why I probably fit perfectly in Fairy Tail."
For a brief moment, Alvemak said nothing at all.
Under a distant purple sky, far away from the human world, a tall, black-haired humanoid with red eyes sat alone at a round table, dressed entirely in black.
"Well," he muttered quietly, "I wish I had the same mind back then, Astro… I really wish I had."
His gaze drifted toward the nine empty seats surrounding him. There was a time when they had all been filled—when everyone laughed together, sang together, and sometimes even fought for no real reason at all. Back then, his heart was so….full.
Now, there was no one left.
It had taken only one bad decision.
And in the end, he alone remained alive.