"You know where he is?!"
Gray and Mirajane turned to Kaien Blaze in surprise.
"Seriously, Kaien? You know where Loke went?!" Gray looked a bit frantic. Loke was one of his closest friends, and his sudden disappearance had him deeply worried.
"More or less," Kaien replied.
As someone who had watched Fairy Tail from start to finish, of course he knew. Loke didn't have a ton of screen time, but his story was unforgettable.
"Where is he?"
"He's probably with his master."
"Master?!"
Gray and Mirajane blinked, confused. What was he talking about?
"Oh, that's right—you guys wouldn't know. Loke's not actually human. He's a Celestial Spirit."
"...A what?!"
Both of them froze.
Of course they knew what a Celestial Spirit was. While rare, they weren't unheard of. In fact, one of their own rookies, Lucy Heartfilia, was a Celestial Spirit Mage.
"No way... Loke? A spirit?"
"How do you even know that, Kaien?"
Kaien quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
"I specialize in summoning heroic spirits, remember? Spirits can recognize each other. After the Galuna Island mission, when I saw Lucy summon her Celestial Spirits, I could immediately tell Loke wasn't human."
"Then who's his master?"
"That, I don't know."
Which wasn't a lie—he couldn't recall the name off the top of his head.
"Then we should go help look for him," Mirajane said, clearly concerned.
"No need. I'll go."
"You can find him on your own?"
Kaien nodded. "Yeah. I've got my ways."
"You're serious?!"
Kaien raised his hand.
"Full Take Over – Ulquiorra Cifer."
Right before Mirajane's eyes, he transformed into the Arrancar form of Ulquiorra.
He pressed his palm to the ground.
"Sensory Link."
Kaien closed his eyes. From his body, a wave of perception rippled outward—this was the Arrancar's spiritual pressure detection, capable of sensing all energy signatures in a wide radius. In his mind, everyone nearby appeared as flickering flames.
FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH—!
One by one, blue flames lit up in his mental landscape. Most were faint—ordinary civilians. The brighter ones were mages. The brightest by far was Makarov, his immense magic power outshining all others.
Then Kaien spotted a flame on the western side of Magnolia—flickering, fading, like a candle in the wind. Weak. On the verge of vanishing.
It matched Loke perfectly.
Kaien opened his eyes.
"Found him."
"Really?! That's great!" Mirajane and Gray lit up.
"Go tell the others. I'll bring him back safely."
"Got it!" they nodded and ran off.
Kaien leapt into motion, speeding through the town.
But if he was right about Loke's situation… he'd need one more person.
He arrived at Lucy Heartfilia's apartment and knocked.
"Lucy!"
"EEEEK—!!"
Lucy had just stepped out of the shower when he called. Her towel slipped, revealing everything.
Kaien's eyes widened. 'Damn... no wonder she's the fan favorite. That's a top-tier body.'
"KYAAAH—!!"
Lucy yelped, scrambling to cover herself.
Kaien coughed, trying to stay cool.
"Put on some clothes, would you? What are you, Gray's disciple?"
"I just got out of the shower!! And you—what are you even doing here?! Breaking into a girl's apartment in the middle of the night—are you some kind of pervert?!"
"Relax. I'm not into you."
"...Tch. Then why are you here?"
"Loke left the guild. Something's wrong. I need your help."
"What?!" Her eyes widened. "Loke left?! Why?!"
"Not sure. Get dressed. I'll explain on the way."
"Then turn around!"
At the waterfall beyond the western cliffs, Loke stood in front of a gravestone.
It was the grave of his former master, Karen.
He'd come here to die.
He didn't want his guildmates to see him like this—fading away, powerless. Better to vanish, to leave a letter and disappear. Let them believe he'd gone somewhere else, started a new life.
But—
"Loke!!"
The voice made him turn.
It was Kaien, and beside him—Lucy.
"...Kaien? Lucy? How did you know I was here?"
Kaien shrugged.
"Spiritual tracking. Nothing fancy."
Loke gave a weak smile.
"Figures. Of course you'd have something like that..."
He looked back at the grave.
"So… you figured it out?"
Kaien nodded. "This is your master's grave, right?"
"Wait… you knew he was a spirit?" Lucy gasped. "But how—?! I didn't even realize…"
Kaien raised a brow. "You really didn't notice?"
Loke sighed. "I thought I hid it well."
Lucy blinked in shock.
"You… you're really a Celestial Spirit?"
Loke looked down.
"And you're dying, aren't you?"
"...Even that, you figured out, huh?" He gave a sad smile. "Yeah. I am."
"Just like humans can't survive in the Spirit World, spirits can't survive long in the human world. Our life force fades… slowly. I've been here three years. That's already pushing it."
"Three years?!" Lucy was stunned. "Even a year is supposed to be nearly impossible!"
"I've reached my limit. I can't use my powers anymore. I thought if I quietly disappeared, it would be easier for everyone. Please… just tell them I moved on. Let them believe I'm still alive, out there somewhere."
Kaien crossed his arms.
"Yeah, no thanks. I don't like delivering farewell messages. Super unlucky. You've got something to say? Say it yourself."
Loke blinked.
Then smiled bitterly.
"I can't go back."
And so, he began telling his story.
His former master, Karen, had been cruel.
She craved attention, manipulated men, and treated her spirits like disposable tools. She once summoned Aries just to entertain the men who chased her. She hit them. Abused them.
Loke had had enough. To protect Aries, he forcefully closed the Gate—making it impossible for Karen to summon any spirit. He demanded she sever her contract with Aries.
He just wanted to scare her.
But then she went on a mission without her spirits—and died.
Because of that, Loke had violated Celestial Spirit Law. A spirit who defies their master is forbidden from returning to the Spirit World.
He had been exiled.
Now, his time in the human world was running out.
"...Thanks for listening," Loke said softly. "It feels good to get it all off my chest. At least now, if I disappear, I'll have no regrets."
Kaien listened in silence. Then finally spoke.
"...Don't worry.
You're not going to die."