The morning light in the Crocus penthouse suite was soft and warm, a stark contrast to the chaotic, otherworldly darkness they had escaped.
After finishing their shower, the comfortable intimacy of the mundane act was a quiet affirmation of the night they had shared.
They ordered breakfast to their room, a massive feast of pastries, fruits, and rich coffee, and ate in a comfortable, easy silence, simply enjoying the normalcy of it all.
For Blake, it was a new, calming sensation. For Cana, it was the first morning she could remember waking up without a hangover, and she found she preferred the clarity.
Once breakfast was finished, they packed their few new belongings. Cana, with a renewed focus, released the dark green beast. They started their journey back to Magnolia in his car, but this time, the atmosphere was completely different. The taunting was gone, the tension had vanished.
Blake made the ride slow and steady, driving with one hand on the wheel, the window down.
Cana sat beside him, her feet up on the dash, her hair blowing in the wind, a small, genuine smile on her face. They talked about nothing—about the weather, about the best place to get a drink in Hargeon, about how Natsu would probably try to eat the Urus's tires. It was easy. It was right.
Once there, in the familiar, bustling streets of Magnolia, Blake pulled up to Fairy Hills first. He cut the engine, and they sat for a moment in the quiet.
"So," he said, his deep voice soft. "See you at the guild?"
Cana leaned over, giving him a quick, firm kiss. "See you at the guild."
She hopped out, and he watched her go, a small smile on his face.
Blake drove the last few blocks to the guild hall, parked his car in the new, massive garage (which was, thankfully, still standing), and walked into the midday chaos.
His first stop was the Master's office. He gave a quick knock and entered.
"Ah, Blake, my boy! You're back!" Makarov beamed from behind a mountain of paperwork. "How was the 'spatial fluctuation'? Just a lot of hot air from the Council, I assume?"
"Not exactly, Master," Blake said, taking a seat. He gave him a run-down on what happened in the mission, carefully editing the details. He described the island, the rift, and the pocket dimension. He called Veyra'kul a "high-level, Cursed-magic entity" that was causing the anomalies.
"It was an S-Class trap," Blake summarized. "It fed on intruders. We found the core and destroyed it. The rift is sealed."
He placed the Crown of Null Light on the desk. "This artifact was at the center. It's dangerous. Probably best for the guild vault."
Makarov picked up the strange, dark crown, feeling the cold, illusory magic coming off it. His face grew serious. "You did well to secure this."
Blake said. "Cana was invaluable. Her magical intuition solved the wards that my Haki couldn't. I couldn't have done it without her."
Makarov's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then he smiled, a deep, knowing, grandfatherly smile. "Is that so? Well, I'm glad you both made it back safely. Good work."
Then Blake went and met up with everyone in the guild. He stepped out of the office, and the moment he was seen, the guild's "welcome wagon" kicked in.
"BLAKE'S BACK!" Natsu roared, his entire body igniting in flames. He met with Natsu, who tried to challenge him in the fight immediately. "I've gotten way stronger! Fight me, right now!"
Natsu launched himself, his fist cocked for a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist.
Blake didn't even stop walking. He just raised his left hand, his Haki coating his palm, and soundly one-punched Natsu in the face as he flew by. The Dragon Slayer was sent tumbling head over heels, crashing into the new (and already dented) pool tables.
"Later, Natsu. I need a drink."
Then he met with all the other guild members. He clapped Gray on the shoulder, who was (miraculously) wearing a shirt. He shared a respectful nod with Laxus across the room. He high-fived Elfman, who bellowed, "A TRULY MANLY RETURN, BLAKE!" He waved to Lucy, Erza, and Brandish, who were all sitting at a table, looking exhausted from a quest of their own.
He finally made it to the bar, where Mirajane was smiling, her eyes twinkling with a perceptiveness that always unnerved him.
"The usual, Blake?" she asked, her voice sweet.
"Please, Mira. And make it a strong one." He asked Mira for a drink, and she gave it to him.
He took a long, deep pull of the ale. He felt a presence slide onto the stool next to him. It was Cana, her hair still damp from a shower, a fresh barrel already under her arm.
"Hey," she said, her voice casual.
"Hey," he replied, just as calmly.
To anyone watching, they were just two guildmates. He hadn't announced the relationship with Cana to everyone. They had spoken about it on the drive. With Gildarts still on his 100-year quest, there was no immediate threat.
They were waiting for the right time, when they were ready to deal with the fallout—and the inevitable, guild-wide party that would cost him his entire car-fortune. Cana, too, agreed to it, though her reasoning was simpler: "It's way more fun having a secret."
"So," Mira said, leaning on the bar, her smile never wavering as she polished a glass. "Was the Shadow Island as bad as the reports said?"
"Worse," Blake said, taking another drink. "Dark, cramped, and smelled like a lich's armpit. I'm not going back."
"Well, you're back just in time," Mira chimed, her tone light. "Everyone's already getting excited about the Fantasia parade."
Hearing that, Blake paused. He stared into his drink, the name of the festival echoing in his mind. Fantasia. X784. The Battle of Fairy Tail.
His mind instantly began to calculate, to see the pieces on the board, and to recognize, with a jolt, how much he had altered the game.
Blake thought of the shift in the timeline.
The Tower of Heaven is no more. In the original timeline, it took place before the Battle of Fairy Tail, the trigger for the Magic Council to fire the Etherion, which Jellal would then absorb.
But Blake had prevented that. Jellal and his friends already started a legal guild, 'New Dawn,' with Rob as its Guild Master. Jellal was a free man, his mind his own. Erza's primary trauma was being resolved.
The true mastermind of the Tower incident. Ultear was rescued by him years ago. She was at Mermaid Heel with her mother, Ur. She had never known the darkness of the Bureau, never controlled Jellal, and would not be a part of this.
And also, there is no Loke in Fairy Tail. This was a new, huge realization. He had saved Layla Heartfilia's life. Layla didn't lose her life opening the Eclipse Gate. That meant Karen Lilica, Loke's abusive original master, was likely still alive or, at the very least, Loke had never been blamed for her death.
He was never exiled from the Spirit World. He was never forced to hide in a human body in Fairy Tail. He was still the Celestial Spirit Leo, likely in a contract with Layla or Lucy.
So... what happens now?
Blake looked across the hall at Laxus, who was sitting with his Thunder Legion. The core of Laxus's rage—his grandfather's shadow, his father's poison, his desperate need to prove the guild's strength—was still there.
"Blake?" Mira's voice snapped him back. "I've been calling you for a while."
Blake let out a slow, deep breath and finished his ale. He turned to Mira, a dark, dangerous, and almost excited smile on his face. He hadn't had a real fight since he'd left the Sun Village, and he'll get it one way or another.
"No, Mira," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I'm just waiting for this year's Fantasia parade. I have a feeling it's going to be one for the history books."
Mira just giggled, "Oh, you are really excited for it, huh?"
Then they all started discussing the parade.
"I'm gonna be on the main float!" Natsu yelled from the (now broken) pool table, having heard the keyword. "My fire is way prettier than any of Gray's stupid ice!"
"What'd you say, flame-brain?!" Gray shot back, already shirtless. "My 'Ice-Make: Goddess' sculpture will be the main attraction!"
"They're both wrong!" Erza declared, slamming her fist on a table. "The 'Requip: Pageant of the Blade' will be the headliner!"
The argument devolved, as usual, which ended in a brawl. Chairs were thrown. Magic was cast. The guild hall, finally repaired from the last party, was once again a swirling vortex of friendly, destructive chaos.
Blake and Cana just sat at the bar, clinking their mugs together, the calm, happy center of the hurricane.