Chapter 8

Reunion and Reflection

It was early in the morning when I finally got back to Magnolia. I was cold, tired, and very dirty. I hadn't had a chance to wash the day before; to say I felt disgusting was an understatement. I let out a groan as I opened my front door, eager for a long refreshing sleep. However, the second I walked in the door I was bombarded by several bodies, each scrambling to hug me.

"LUCY!"

"Where were you!? I demand an answer now!"
"What's the go Lucy, where did you go?"

"LUCY!"

I stepped back in shock, almost tumbling out of my building. Natsu, Erza, Happy, and Gray kept on hurling questions at me, myself unable to answer them to due to how much they were smothering me.

"Guys!" I attempted to yell but to little success.

"GUYS!" I yelled again, a little louder.

They stopped and looked at me, confused. They clearly had not expected my outburst. I put my head down, a little embarrassed that I blew up.

"I just was away for a couple of days, doing some private research. Nothing serious happened, I promise," I told them. It wasn't a complete lie, I was doing some private research.

"Hm. Why couldn't I come along!" Whined Natsu.

I frowned. "It was something you couldn't really help with, Natsu. There wasn't anyone to fight, just some research in a library. Very boring stuff, you wouldn't have wanted to come."

Natsu seemed to accept this and shrugged. However, Erza was still eyeing me suspiciously, obviously not as believing as Natsu, Happy and Gray.

"Anyway, the point is I'm back now. However, I do have one question for you guys…"

"Yes?" Erza, replied.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ALL IN MY HOUSE!" I screamed.

They all laughed in sync, clearly glad to have me back, even if I was only gone for two days.

The team left soon after, leaving me to my devices. As much as I loved them, the group was exhausting, and I was glad to have them gone. Jumping into the steamy shower, I reflected on my experiences.

First off, my spirits were gone. Of that, I was certain. From my interaction with Levy, it was safe to say that I was the only one that actually remembered them. Although I do not for sure know why, I think it's safe to say that It has something to do with my ancestral connection to the original Celestial Wizard, Lyanna Sigem. Secondly, the mysterious man, Dusk. An enigmatic character with a scar on his face, who also seems to know Celestial spirits have gone missing, and has some unknown history with them. Although he didn't say it, it was obvious he also had some connection to the Lord and Lady of Sigem Manor. Third, The Decay, whatever it was, is bad news. Dusk didn't go into much detail, claiming that I should just know about him or her, or whatever it was, which was very annoying. I would definitely have to put it on my list of 'things I need to know about'. Finally, myself. Whatever happened with Dusk and the knife unlocked something inside of me that seemed to be hidden for a very long time.

"Astral Origin…" I breathed.

The words held so much meaning, yet meant nothing at all. However, there was one way to find out what the hell was happening: the book itself.

Drying myself, I went to my bed, where the book was hidden among the sheets. I quickly looked over my shoulder, as if someone was going to jump out of me. I breathed a sigh of relief, no one was there. Picking up the ancient tome, I analysed its cover. It was covered with a dull, faded red cloth. The discoloured gold lettering read, Ul Emoura Sacredo. Underneath, the small black inscription, The Stars of Origin.

"Well, it's definitely the right book," I murmured, to no one in particular.

Opening its fragile cover, I flipped through the few pages of blank.

To all those that have found this sacred book, well done. You have proven yourself to be a loyal, compassionate and intelligent descendent of mine, as only those who show these qualities are able to find this book.

Firstly, I must apologise for several things. I apologise for taking control of your body, however briefly. You needed to come to my manor to find this book. That is of the utmost importance. I also apologise for the knight in the manor. My husband, Lucas, absolutely insisted on housing that horrid thing. It reacts quite strongly to celestial magic, so your presence most likely awoke it from its slumber. It most likely caused you great distress, and for that I am sorry. However, I am most sorry for putting through the trial that you must now face. Celestial Wizardry is a dying breed. Even in my time, we are dying off slowly. I do not know what time this book will be received, but I hope that there is still some of us left, for all of Earthlands sake.

Secondly, as you now know, Celestial spirits have now disappeared, only very few shall remember them even existing. I cannot disclose the full story now, that is something you must discover on your own. However, something I can tell you, is that the Celestial World was far more than a place for spirits to live. It was, quite literally, a lock. A lock designed to keep a creature called The Decay from consuming our world. An organisation called Tribe One was specifically created to keep essences of The Decay from seeping through and effecting creatures in our world. When such breaches prove successful, that's when creatures such as The Misery Knight are created. This brings me to the third thing I must tell you. Your duty.

I must now ask you to do what I did before you, and what countless others have fought to achieve. You must recreate the Celestial World. You must forge a new contract with the universe to stop The Decay from reaching our world.

Please. Trust no one. The Decay is always watching.

It's up to you now, I solemnly beseech you this task.

Always,

Lyanna Sigem

I sat there in a stunned silence. I wanted to sob, laugh and punch myself all at the same time. I had no idea what to do. Of course, I couldn't just not do what Lyanna had instructed me. The fate of the world rested on my fragile body. Me. Lucky Lucy Hearfillia, blonde celestial mage on Team Natsu. Weak. I couldn't possibly deal with such a monumental task thrust upon me. Of course, I could get my team to help me.

Trust no one.

That line seemed to be burned in my mind. I had to trust them, they were my team, right? There is no way they would betray me. Right?

You are doomed to fall to temptation.

What Loke said to me was still in the back of my head. What will I do? How will I fall?

"I need answers damn it!" I screamed to the unresponsive air.

The chirping of the birds outside seemed to mock me. Their freedom teasing me as I was forced into this prison of responsibility.

No. I couldn't trust my team with this. What if I did fall to temptation? And hurt them? I couldn't live with myself after that. There's also that words tend to spread quickly in the guild, even if I trust them, not everyone in the guild was completely honest. I wasn't stupid, they were still family but even family can stab you in the back.

It was decided, I would pursue this by myself. I stood up in determination. There was no way I'd let some gross unknown lord of darkness take over my world.

"But what about the guild?" I asked myself as I sat back down.

I couldn't just leave without telling anyone like before, it made everyone far too worried. I couldn't exactly stay here either, it's too close. If Magnolia or my guild got attacked, I couldn't forgive myself. I couldn't leave the guild completely either, it meant too much me. That left only one option, an extended leave of absence. I could get Makarov to explain to the rest of the guild that I was going on leave for some individual research on my magic and how to improve, which wasn't a total lie. That would get everyone off my back and allow me to work privately. Yes. That was the perfect solution.

"Looks like I'll be going back to Sigem Manor far sooner than I expected," I laughed.

It was a cool Friday morning when I went to the guild. I went early enough so that the hall wouldn't be packed, but late enough that Makaraov would actually be there. Opening the great doors for the first time since my initial discovery, I took in the atmosphere.

"I'm going to miss the place," I said, silently to myself.

"Lucy! There you are!" said a friendly and familiar voice.

I looked ahead, expecting to see the jolly master sitting up on the bar chatting with Mirajane like he usually did. To my horror, it wasn't Mira he was talking to. A large powerful woman sat on the bar stool, with flaming red hair. She looked at me, and a smile graced her lips.

"Lucy Heartfilia was it? What a pleasure to meet you face to face. My name is Lady Katherine, and I would love to have a chat."

(A/N): Hey all! Look at me, actually uploading frequently. So apparently, I have a sort of schedule going of uploading every two days? Let's see how long this actually lasts! So I've noticed people actually reply to reviews? Didn't really know that was a thing, so I might do that now! Yeah, this was a really dialogue-lacking chapter that seemed to jump around a lot, hey? Oh, well I feel like it answered a lot of questions! For now, R&R!

- StingIsNotHere