After returning home, Lucy couldn't let go of her worries no matter what she tried to do.
What Bickslow had said about the "Celestial Spirit" today, combined with Loke's sudden, farewell-like conversation with her, left her deeply puzzled and unsettled.
As expected, Natsu and Happy showed up in her room again uninvited, something she had sadly grown accustomed to.
"Open, Gate of the Southern Cross: Crux!"
A large, cross-shaped spirit with a mustache appeared in a puff of smoke.
"Oh~ So this old man is Crux," Happy remarked, watching Crux, who started snoring the moment he appeared.
"You should address him as 'Master'," Lucy explained, noting that Crux was very old and full of wisdom.
"I'll get straight to the point. There's something I'd like to ask of you. Could you use your power to find information about Mages who were connected to Loke in the past?"
Snore~~
"He's sleeping, Lucy!"
"Don't worry, he's searching right now," Lucy assured him.
"You're lying! He's definitely sleeping!" Happy insisted it was impossible, absolutely impossible!
While Crux was still searching for information in his dream state, Lucy took the opportunity to explain to Happy.
"Old Master Crux is an expert in Celestial Spirit studies. He possesses all the information connecting the gates between the Celestial Spirit World and the human world. He even knows which Celestial Spirit Mages summoned which Celestial Spirits in the past."
"GRAHH!"
Suddenly, Crux woke up with a startled cry, causing a frightened Happy to hide behind Lucy while trembling.
"Did you find out something?"
"Hmm... Because the Privacy Laws of the Spirit World also apply here, I can't go into too much detail," Crux said, floating upright. "However, the Celestial Spirit Mage connected to Mr. Loke is Miss Karen Lilica."
"Karen Lilica?"
"Do you know her, Lucy?" Natsu asked.
Lucy nodded solemnly. "She was a very famous Celestial Spirit Mage and a great beauty too. She used to be a gravure model for Weekly Sorcerer Magazine. But she passed away a few years ago during work—about two or three years ago i think?"
"I believe she was a Mage from the Blue Pegasus Guild, right?" Lucy asked Crux. "May I ask what exactly was the relationship between Karen and Loke?"
"I cannot disclose any more information," Crux stated firmly.
"But—" Lucy wanted to say something more.
Snore~~
"Even though he says that, he's still helping me search for it," Lucy guessed.
"No, he's definetely sleeping!" Happy deadpanned.
Lucy had long figured out that when Master Crux has one snot bubble, he's searching for information, but when he has two bubbles, he's purely sleeping.
"Karen and Loke... Celestial Spirit, Celestial Spirit Mage..."
'I don't have long to live.'
'Loke time might be running out.'
Loke and Bickslow's words resurfaced in her mind, and the pieces began to click together.
BAM!
"Lucy, it's terrible!" Gray suddenly burst through the door, panting.
"Wh-why? What happened?"
"What!" Natsu, who had been sleeping soundly nearby, also woke up with a start.
"I don't know the details, but everyone is already out looking for him. Loke is gone!"
...
In the middle of the night, Fairy Tail members were searching all over Magnolia for Loke.
Lucy felt she had already guessed what was happening.
She rummaged through her old records of Weekly Sorcerer and found the location where Karen had died during her work.
"Natsu! Happy!"
Lucy, who had been completely absorbed in the documents earlier, looked up and realized that Happy and Natsu had already gone out to look for Loke without her.
...
Outskirts of Magnolia.
Ultear and Kagura hurried to the outskirts to find Raizel.
Ultear, who had galloped over on horseback to save time, gasped for breath.
"Loke... left... the Guild."
"Did he come to say goodbye himself?" Raizel asked calmly.
Kagura shook her head and said, "No, he left a letter behind and then departed. It was Mira who discovered the letter."
"Don't worry, I'll search for him," Raizel said.
Raizel closed his eyes and used Archive Magic to search for Loke's location.
Loke wasn't difficult to find—they just needed to search within Blue Pegasus's territory or associated locations.
"Found him."
Raizel spent considerable time scanning, but he couldn't locate Loke within Blue Pegasus's range.
So, using the same logic as Lucy, Raizel searched for the location of Karen Lilica's death.
"Found him. Surprisingly, he's still quite close to Magnolia," Raizel snapped his fingers.
"Should we go directly there?" Ultear asked.
"Alright, but don't worry—someone is already heading there."
Raizel also detected Lucy moving rapidly towards the location with Capricorn's help, and she was almost there already.
"Thank you, Capricorn," Lucy said as she dismounted.
"This is my duty, Miss Lucy," Capricorn bowed before returning to the Celestial Spirit World.
He actually knew about Loke's situation, but that was the Celestial Spirit King's decision, so he couldn't interfere directly.
...
Before a cascading waterfall, at the cliff's edge, stood a solitary stone monument.
It bore the Guild Mark of Blue Pegasus, and the name on the monument was Karen Lilica of Blue Pegasus.
This monument had been erected here by Hibiki Lates, also a Mage of Blue Pegasus and her former boyfriend.
At this moment, Loke stood before Karen's monument, staring at it in silence.
"Is that a monument? Why did Loke come here?" Ultear and Kagura quietly asked Raizel as they observed from the shadows.
The three of them had arrived slightly earlier than Lucy thanks to Raizel's teleportation and were watching Loke stare at the monument from behind the tree line.
"Lucy," Ultear whispered, seeing Lucy appear behind Loke.
"Shh, we'll know soon," Raizel placed a finger to his lips.
"Loke."
"Lucy?" Loke turned around, quite surprised by Lucy's appearance. "How did you find me?"
"Everyone is looking for you. That's Karen's grave, right? Celestial Spirit Mage Karen—she was your former master, wasn't she?"
Loke remained silent.
"Celestial Spirit Loke..." Lucy shook her head, correcting herself. "No, your real name is... Leo the Lion of the Zodiac."
Loke smiled bitterly, admitting indifferently, "You actually discovered I'm a Celestial Spirit."
Lucy placed one hand on her hip somewhat proudly. "I'm also a Celestial Spirit Mage who has formed contracts with many Celestial Spirits. That's why I discovered your true identity, though I should have realized it sooner."
Her expression softened as she continued, "Originally, after Karen passed away, your contract with Karen should have been dissolved, and you should have returned to the Celestial Spirit World. But you remained in the human world."
"It must be for some reason that you can't return to the Celestial Spirit World."
"Just as humans cannot survive in the Celestial Spirit World, Celestial Spirits cannot survive in the human world either," Lucy stepped closer, her voice trembling. "Their life force gradually drains away until they die."
Loke nodded solemnly. "It's already been three years."
Lucy was shocked by Loke's words.
"Th-three years??? Even lasting one year without a master should be impossible!"
Loke chuckled softly and said, "Heh, I've reached my limit. I can no longer muster any strength at all."
'Loke is actually a Celestial Spirit???' Both Ultear and Kagura who's hiding nearby, were equally shocked and stunned by the revelation!
Lucy couldn't just stand by and watch Loke disappear like this.
"I might be able to save you! Tell me the reason you can't return, and I'll try to open the gate for you!"
Loke turned away, unable to meet Lucy's desperate eyes.
"I don't need your help."
"The reason I can't return is simple—I violated the forbidden rules between an owner and a Celestial Spirit. As a result, I've been permanently exiled from the Celestial Spirit World."