Early in the morning, three days after the day Lucy left, Gray entered the guild with a long yawn. Most of the usual people were already present, some having not left last night at all.

"Morning, Gray-san!" Wendy greeted him as she and Charla were drinking milk and tea at a table together with Levy and Juvia.

"Gray-sama, good morning!" Juvia instantly turned all lovey dovey, causing Gray to flinch.

"M-morning…" He muttered back, rubbing the back of his head.

"Morning, Gray. Your clothes, by the way…" Levy giggled as she looked at him awkwardly.

"When did this happen!?" He, as usual, exclaimed in frustration, finding his clothes a few metres back, near the guild entrance.

"Hey, has Lucy-" He asked as he put back on his shirt and coat.

"Come today? No, not yet…" Levy finished the sentence as she shook her head. They've all been worried about this, since they heard she's gone on a mission of some kind from Natsu and the others that saw her at the task board. Of course, since she went on her own, they all expected it to be a simple mission and that she would be back in a day or so.

"She… hasn't come today either, you say?" Lisanna, who happened to overhear them, asked with visible worry in her eyes.

"No…" Wendy muttered, catching on Lisanna's worry herself. "It couldn't be that… something bad happened to her… right?"

"That can't be. Love rival must only be sulking at her apartment. Maybe we should go over there?" Juvia asked, truly believing that Lucy was alright.

"That's actually a good idea, Juvia," Gray noticed, causing her to blush deeply at the praise.

"Then, should we go now? It's been a while since I've been at Lu-tan's place. Maybe she is indeed there, resting up after her mission," Levy said with a smile, but at the same time, a certain person stopped near their table, causing everyone to turn around.

"Even if you go, you will find nobody at that apartment…" Virgo, the pink-haired maid of Lucy, said, her face bearing sadness and her voice hiding guilt. Most people were surprised to see the celestial spirit all on her own appearing just like that, without her master, and many did exclaim her name, wondering why was she here.

"What do you mean, Virgo? Where's Lu-tan?" Levy asked, utterly confused. And only then did she and the others notice that the maid held something in her hands—a single piece of paper.

She did not answer, but only looked around as the sound of a door cracked. Her gaze met with the Master's, who looked at her from the second floor. She bowed down in respect to the elder, before moving ahead towards the stairs, ignoring everyone's gazes, no matter how much they inquired about Lucy. It was too late, she thought, to ask about her mistress…

The time she spend with Makarov in his office was short, before she left on the balcony, her eyes meeting with Gray, Levy and the others. With a single sorrowful nod of her head towards them, she disappeared.

Gray immediately headed towards the office, dashing on the stairs. Levy and the others were on his trail and as Wendy entered, the door was shut once again, before being opened minutes later by a very furious Gray. The crying of the girls were heard through the whole guild hall, surprising many and causing great chaos between the mages.

"Natsuuuuuu!" Gray shouted from the balcony, before jumping over as soon as he saw Natsu at a table, barely waking up. In no more than 3 steps, a punch was deep buried in the face of the fire dragon, sending him flying straight into a wall.

"Gray!" Levy yelled at him from over the fence of the balcony, tears running down on her cheeks. "L-Lu-tan-"

"Don't even begin!" He yelled, interrupting her sentence. Everyone was in shock, realising that something happened with Lucy. "It's because of you bastard… That all of this happened…" And as he was raging, glaring towards Natsu, his magic begun to take shape, enveloping the guild in coldness.

"Gray! Stop it this instance!" This time, Makarov himself demanded, coming out from his office, followed by Juvia, Wendy and Charla.

"Master, forgive me but I cannot comply to that…"

"What the hell do you want, ice princess!?" Natsu, who finally got out from under the tables he was send into, shouted, having slept until now.

"What I want, you ask? That's simple… It's to murder you for what you have caused!" Yelling that, Gray ran forward, his frost-coated fist meeting Natsu's fiery one. The magic in the air that resulted from this collision made everyone shiver.

It was only Titania that wasn't taken aback from the heavy atmosphere as she entered the guild hall, surprised to see the scene before her.

"What is the meaning of this!?" She demanded to know, her voice echoing through the hall. Only Wendy's constant sobbing made her realise that something was wrong and then, she searched for Makarov's gaze. "Master, care to enlighten me too?"

But to this question, only hesitation and a sorrowful sigh answered. The world seemed to stop as everyone saw tears in the eyes of the elder, before chaos erupted.

"Lucy… Is no longer part of this world…"

He left storming the guild, not caring for anything or anyone else. Only when he was alone, in the shadows of a dark alley, did he allow himself to cry, breaking down and falling by the side of the cold wall behind him. No one saw him, no one heard him—he wouldn't share the grief he felt for his former teammate, now departed from this world.

"Lucy…" He cried his heart out, muttering her name as he covered his face with his right hand.

The world outside this alley was as usual lively. He couldn't help but recall the past when he was left alone. No outsider cares for the death of one and they do not understand the meaning of one light going off. He couldn't help but feel betrayed by the world that did not understand, and wondered just how exactly did this tragedy occur.

Virgo explained as she handed the mission notice to the master that her mistress, Lucy, has indeed accomplished the mission, but her wounds were great.

Lucy… In a foreign land… died alone…

He couldn't forgive himself for letting this happen either, but he couldn't forgive the fate that led to this especially.

"Lucy… I'm sorry…For doing nothing…" He wailed ceaselessly, hours going by without him realising.

Night fell over Magnolia, his tears having long since dried. However, he already fell into despair, caused by his own lack of power.

Why didn't he stop her when he could? Why did he allow this to happen?

Full of such thoughts, he slowly got up and walked away, being the only empty shell in the city full of laughter.

He felt the need to murder everyone for some reason, but he couldn't allow his judgement to be clouded.

Lucy has always been a human of reason, beating sense into them, without violence. He probably didn't prize her as he should have and now, he was deeply regretting, once her light disappeared from his life. She was just that intelligent as to talk everything out.

They have been assured by Virgo that Lucy fell unconscious after the battle with the Alpha of the Shadow Wolves Pack and that she departed this world afterwards. But, how could she just die like that, especially after she won?

That was when it clicked to him. When… exactly did he hear the world 'death'?

He looked up to the sky with widened eyes, seeing all the stars gathered up there, as if looking for Lucy. Then, he noticed he was on the street where her apartment was, and that he could see it from the spot he was at—he could especially see the faint light coming through her window.

"It can't be…" He muttered, before dashing away towards the apartment.

No one mentioned her death, so why did they all assume it as such? She was a celestial mage that interacted with the other world so… Why would it be weird to think that she is no longer in this world? She was certainly intelligent enough to think of a plan as such to get away quietly. So why… Why did he too not realise it sooner!?

Breathing heavily, he dashed on the stairs, stopping in front of the door. He couldn't help but smirk, seeing it cracked open and through the crack, the dim light he saw on the window came to welcome him.

His shacking hand touched the door. He was hanging on a thread of hope and was afraid that once he would open this door, he would fall. But, he had to know the truth. So he gulped and pushed open the door.

His eyes widened as he saw a woman in the middle of the house, standing in the door's way, by the side of a candle. To the other side, a man was sitting down on a chair, in a philosophic position that made him seem to be waiting for something, or better said, for someone.

The pink-haired maid had a smile on her face and as she opened her eyes, certainty was seen in them, confirming all of his guesses.

"I see you had realised it, Gray-sama…" She said, relieved, as the dark-haired man stepped inside, smiling and showing resolve.

"You certainly took your time, didn't you?" Loki smirked as he stood up from the chair, looking at Gray for the first time since he arrived.

The door then closed itself, sealing off this secret from the rest of the world.

"Sorry it took me so long, Virgo. How is Lucy?"