Ultear and Meredy, who were beside them, said weakly, "Actually, we can't see or hear anything either?"
Mavis smiled gently. "Because I'm a spirit, only those who bear the Fairy Tail emblem can see me."
She hopped in front of Laxus, scrutinizing him for a while before turning to Makarov. "He feels a bit like Yuri. Third Guild Master, isn't he a member of the Guild?"
"Hmmm," Makarov pondered. "He used to be, but… some things happened."
Freed suddenly had an idea. Bowing ninety degrees to Mavis, he pleaded, "Mavis! Please allow Laxus to rejoin Fairy Tail!"
Laxus was startled. "Freed."
Evergreen and Bickslow immediately followed Freed's example, bowing in unison. "We beg you too, Mavis!"
"Don't make Mavis uncomfortable!" Makarov barked at them, his voice carrying both authority and worry. "I haven't forgiven him yet! Mavis… even if he is my grandson, he made a grave mistake. Please, don't listen to them!"
Freed raised his voice. "Guild Master, Laxus already knows he was wrong!"
"That's enough! Some mistakes aren't forgiven with just a few words of regret!" Makarov roared.
"But didn't he fight alongside everyone to protect the Guild? The bonds forged in those moments weren't fake." Mavis paused, thought carefully, and then smiled. "Then it's decided, we shall welcome Laxus Dreyar back as a member of Fairy Tail."
"Mavis."
Makarov still wanted to object, but Mavis gently waved her hand. A black Fairy Tail emblem appeared once more on Laxus's left abdomen, exactly where his mark had once been.
At that moment, Laxus could see Mavis clearly and heard her words: "Since you are Yuri's descendant, inherit his will. Protect your companions well."
"I..." Laxus stared at her in shock, then lowered his gaze. "I understand."
"Thank you, Mavis!" The Thunder God Tribe bowed deeply again before pulling Laxus into a tight hug. "That's great, Laxus!"
The others smiled warmly. Everyone had seen how much Laxus had risked to protect them, letting him back into the family was only natural.
Mavis then floated toward Ultear and Meredy, glancing at them curiously before asking Makarov, "These two were originally under Precht, weren't they?"
"Ah." Makarov nodded. "But they've already left Grimoire Heart."
"Then… do they wish to join Fairy Tail?" Mavis asked with quiet hope, the tiny 'wings' on her head bobbing up and down.
Rhodes, watching nearby, blinked. So those things did move, were they actually ears? He had thought they were just decorations!
"This may be… difficult." Makarov hesitated, not because he disliked the two girls, but because Ultear's past was far too complicated. No matter the reasons, she had once infiltrated the Magic Council.
Fairy Tail would never turn someone away over that, but explaining her presence to the Council would be another matter entirely. Unless they found a way to hide her identity, she would always be at risk of being taken for questioning.
Gray quietly passed Mavis's words along to Ultear.
Meredy, of course, didn't care where she went, so long as she could stay with Ultear.
A faint light flickered in Ultear's eyes, but it quickly faded. She shook her head and said firmly to Makarov, who was still thinking through solutions, "Thank you for your kindness, but someone like me has no right to join Fairy Tail."
Makarov shook his head. "For us, the Guild is a family. A place where companions trust and rely on each other without question. If there is any 'qualification' to join Fairy Tail, it's only that, being able to embrace that bond."
He didn't say more. He believed, deep down, that Ultear and Meredy could hold that qualification in time.
But he also knew what it would mean for Ultear, living in the shadows, hiding her true identity, always under the risk of discovery. It would not be the same as Mystogan, who had chosen his secrecy for convenience. Ultear's was far heavier.
If Ultear was forced to always hide, never able to show her true face, even if she wanted to, just to avoid bringing trouble to the Guild, then it would go against Fairy Tail's most important principle: "everyone should live the way they want."
And with Ultear's sharp mind, she clearly understood what Makarov had been implying. If she truly wished to join Fairy Tail, he would find a way to make it possible.
This Guild… they even dared to take in people from former Dark Guilds. In a way, they were recklessly kind.
For the first time since she had repented, Ultear felt the warmth of a place where she and Meredy might actually belong.
But she shook her head. "Thank you for your kindness. We still have things we must do. If I joined Fairy Tail now, it would only cause inconvenience."
Her refusal was quick and decisive. She tugged Meredy gently by the hand and bid farewell to everyone.
She hadn't even thought through what would come next, but she knew that if she lingered even a moment longer, her heart might betray her resolve.
The survivors of the disaster were noisy for a while, laughter and cheers echoing, but soon they fell quiet again.
That was when Rhodes finally said what had been weighing on his heart since earlier:
"Even though we survived, we're about to face a big problem, Mavis said it herself. It took six years for Fairy Sphere to release. In other words… to the world outside, we've been gone for six whole years."
Six years.
Who knew how much had changed? What state the Guild was in now? What hardships their companions had endured, waiting all this time?
The mood immediately grew heavy, everyone falling silent.
Until.
"Ehhh?! What?!! Six years already?!" Natsu clutched his head in disbelief.
Lucy instantly snapped back, "So you really weren't listening when Mavis explained it just now?!" But a beat later, she too froze, clutching her own head. "Wait, that means I'm already 23 now?! My youth is gone!"
The boys didn't seem nearly as fazed, but most of the girls felt the same sting. After all, going to sleep one night and waking up six years older, where could you even complain about something like that?
Wendy pressed her hands to her chest, eyes wide. "I–I'm 18 already?!"
But after a moment of panic, they all realized their bodies hadn't actually aged. Outwardly, they were still the same. In fact, compared to their old peers, maybe they had even gained something instead.
Mira, however, kept staring at Rhodes with a puzzled expression. She had noticed earlier that he seemed different, and when Mavis mentioned the six-year gap, she thought it was only natural.
But now, when she compared him with everyone else, none of whom had changed at all, she realized something was off.
His face was sharper now, more mature, his physique stronger, and he had clearly grown taller. The most striking change was his hair: once short and boyishly plain, it now reached his waist in a sleek black fall, tied loosely at the ends with thin white threads.
He looked less like the sunny youth she remembered, and more like a noble heir from some old aristocratic family.
"Oi!" Natsu blurted out bluntly. "I've been meaning to ask, what happened to Rhodes? Why does his hair look like Freed's?!"
"It's totally different!" Rhodes immediately protested. He was sure he didn't give off Freed's… overly refined "wife-like" aura. At most, he thought, he resembled Neji Hyuga.
Everyone stared at him curiously, so Rhodes explained, "Simply put… while all of you were sealed, I was trapped in a strange magical place. I couldn't come out until I reached a certain standard, so..."
He gave a soft sigh. "I ended up having a very… fulfilling six years."
Mira instantly grabbed Rhode's hand, her eyes misting with tears. She finally understood the pang she had felt in her chest when she first saw him after awakening.
He had endured all of that. Six years of torment, alone.
Rhode brushed away the tears at the corners of her eyes and smiled gently. "It's all in the past now. Didn't I come back safe and sound?"
And as he looked around at Mira and all of his companions, alive, together, and smiling, the hardships he had endured in that lonely world suddenly felt distant, almost unreal.
What mattered most was this. Reunion.