Rowan returned to the Magic Dragon Guild in a blur of short-range jumps, his feet barely touching the floor before he found Elefseria. He laid out everything he had learned. The Fire Dragon. The Water Dragon. The Wood Dragon. Their locations, their nature, and the brutal truth of their strength.
"At our current level, we can't beat them," Rowan said plainly. "But give me a few years. When I'm stronger, I'll come back and finish the job. I'll seal the Five and end this century-long mission."
Elefseria didn't look disappointed. If anything, he seemed relieved.
"This is more than enough," he said with a quiet smile. "For a hundred years, every mage who took this task died without bringing back a single scrap of information. You found three Dragon Gods, faced one, survived, and returned with knowledge. That alone is a breakthrough."
Time meant nothing to Elefseria anymore. Years, decades, even centuries were all the same to a dragon. More importantly, Rowan had become something else now. A Dragon Slayer in truth. Someone who would keep growing, who might one day stand where Elefseria stood.
They parted on good terms.
Rowan didn't linger. Sealing the Five wasn't possible yet. Until then, he had other responsibilities. He turned his attention east, toward Fairy Tail. Two months was a long time to leave that guild unsupervised. With Natsu and the others running missions unchecked, the repair bills alone could bankrupt the place.
He jumped across continents in a chain of teleportations. The trip that had taken three days by air was reduced to minutes. The limitation was simple. He could only jump to places he'd already been. Anything new still required travel the old-fashioned way.
"Alright," Rowan muttered. "Home."
December 20th, X784.
He landed in front of Fairy Tail's guild hall, pushed open the doors, and grinned.
"I'm back!"
The grin faded.
The hall was empty.
At this hour, the place should have been loud enough to shake the walls. Instead, there was only dust and silence. Rowan extended his senses. Nothing. Not a single presence.
His expression hardened.
"This isn't normal."
Even in a crisis, Fairy Tail never left the guild completely unattended. Someone should have been here.
He raised a hand and cast a tracking spell.
"Makarov Dreyar."
Nothing.
His stomach tightened.
"Erza Scarlet."
"Mirajane Strauss."
"Natsu Dragneel."
"Macao Conbolt."
One after another, the spells failed.
Then one finally responded.
Rowan didn't hesitate. Wings flared from his back as he shot into the sky, following the faint pull of the magic.
As the landscape rushed past beneath him, recognition set in.
"…That direction."
Half an hour later, the sea opened up before him, and his path became clear.
Tenrou Island.
The sacred ground of Fairy Tail. The birthplace of the First Master. A place protected by ancient magic, inaccessible to outsiders. It wasn't just a location. It was a symbol.
And now, it was surrounded.
Warships filled the horizon, their hulls marked with the insignia of the Magic Council. The old Council had fallen after the Tower of Heaven incident. Rowan had heard rumors of a new one forming before he left for the northern continent. Apparently, they were operational now.
His tracking spell led him to one of the ships.
Rowan landed hard on the deck.
"Macao," he said sharply. "What happened? Why was the guild empty? Where's the Master?"
Macao and the others stared at him like they'd seen a ghost.
"Rowan… you're back," Macao said hoarsely. "They said the Master and Natsu were dead. I didn't believe it. Please, use your magic. Find them."
"Dead?" Rowan repeated, eyes narrowing. "That's impossible."
He stepped forward, pressed a clawed hand to Macao's forehead, and pulled the memories straight from his mind.
Two minutes later, Rowan was already airborne again.
"Stay here," he said without turning back. "I'll check."
What he saw in those memories painted a grim picture.
Two weeks after Rowan had left, Fairy Tail joined forces with Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter to take down the dark guild Oración Seis. They won. In the aftermath, Wendy Marvell and her partner joined Fairy Tail.
A month later, Gildarts returned from his journey and reported to the Master.
Then everything went wrong.
Three weeks ago, every mage in Fairy Tail had been dragged into another world. Edolas. A parallel realm. The battle there had been desperate, but they had won. Mystogan stayed behind as king of his world. The others returned home.
Just over a week ago, Makarov announced the S-Class trials.
The testing ground was Tenrou Island.
And now, Tenrou Island was gone.
The landmass itself had vanished. Along with every Fairy Tail mage who had been on it.
Rowan flew faster, eyes locked on the empty stretch of sea where the island should have been.
Something had erased it from the world.
And Fairy Tail had been erased with it.