Wendy cries, "Please don't leave me!"

"I love you, Wendy. Always," Grandeeney replies.

Metallicana suggests to Gajeel, "You should get that face checked out!"

Gajeel shouts back in a flustered tone, "Way to ruin the moment, Rust Bucket!" He adds, smirking, "I'll miss you, too."

Sting says, smiling, as he and Rogue no longer feel guilty about having killed their dragons, "Weisslogia! Thanks for everything!"

Rogue says, smiling, "Rest well."

And, then, with a flash of bright light, all the dragons disappear.

🗡🗡🗡

It's been a week since the war with Tartaros ended. Anyone who has suffered from wounds had recovered. But we were all left with scars of our own.

The guild hall has been destroyed, along with most buildings nearby. My house and Lucy's were two of the ones still standing after that explosion. Magnolia has taken quite a lot of damage, just as much as other cities across the continent.

I'd avoided Gray for most of the past week, and spent it mostly with Rogue, but even he knew something was troubling me due to our mate bond, he just didn't say anything, as I had been at an internal war with myself on how I should tell him about his father. Sting and Rogue have left to go back to Sabertooth with Minerva.

As of right now, I left to go find Gray. I arrive at the place where his parents, Silver and his mother were buried. Ironically enough, it was snowing. Gray sits on a low stone wall facing his parents' grave, hands clasped together and head bowed. I'd changed into the same winter outfit as the day I rescued Rogue from Scarlet Shadows.

 I'd changed into the same winter outfit as the day I rescued Rogue from Scarlet Shadows

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My footsteps feel heavy as they crunch through the snow toward him

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My footsteps feel heavy as they crunch through the snow toward him. There were small piles of snow on Gray's head as I stop a couple of metres behind him. "Hey, I'm really sorry for interrupting," I say softly, causing Gray to look back at me over his shoulder, the snow falling off in the process.

"Viv-chan?" He sounds slightly surprised to see me here. "Why are you here?"

I bow my head as I reveal, "Sorry, but I had to come. I... I did something really wrong that you deserve to know about. I was the one who defeated the necromancer controlling your father." Gray goes still as a statue as I say this. No one else knew of this, not even Erza, that I'd kept this to myself the whole week. "So, it's all my fault..."

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