"Ugh…"
Shane sat up in bed, pressing a hand to his faintly aching head.
It was already bright outside, but Erza—his usual human alarm clock—hadn't come knocking yet, which meant it was still early.
His pupils contracted slightly. It felt as though the retina still carried the afterimage of that violent lightning from the night before—the one that had seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.
Without even bothering to steady his breathing, the first thing Shane did upon fully waking was lower his head and search the bed frantically for the cup.
"If the wish failed, that's one thing. But if the cup got used up and counted as some kind of one-time item too, that would be complete nonsense…"
Thankfully, the solid sensation in his palm immediately eased the tension in his chest.
The golden cup was still tightly clenched in his hand.
Only now, the mysterious glow that had once flowed across its surface had dimmed considerably.
It looked like a cheap crystal that had run out of magic—dull and gray.
Apparently, it would need some time to "settle" before it could be used again.
"What a scam."
Letting out a long breath, Shane tossed the dimmed cup into the air with petty annoyance, then turned it back into a stream of light and sent it into the depths of his consciousness.
He truly hadn't expected that the cup not only fulfilled wishes by summoning Heroic Spirits, but that the Heroic Spirits called by it would also apparently have the freedom to reject his request.
Thinking back on what had happened in that inner world last night, Shane still felt lingering fear.
If he wasn't mistaken, then that towering being seated atop the white elephant, holding a vajra and calling down world-destroying lightning with nothing but a glance…
had to be Indra, the king of the gods in the Indian mythological tradition.
There was simply no other explanation. The traits were too distinctive.
The thunderbolt symbolic of storm and lightning, and that flawless white elephant named Airavata.
In the Rigveda, Indra was the god mentioned more than any other.
His authority extended over the sky, lightning, weather, storms, rain, rivers, and even war.
Without question, he was the king of the Indian gods—the very center of that divine system.
Among the countless legends surrounding him, beyond his conquest of the human and demon worlds, the most famous was surely how he had subdued the sun and slain Vritra, the great serpent who obstructed the monsoon rains.
"If I could've borrowed that level of divine authority, then forget just lifting the curse on me and Ultear—even going head-to-head with that black dragon that made Igneel wary might've been possible."
Shane dragged a hand through his hair in irritation and let out a long sigh.
Unfortunately, that arrogant king of gods clearly had no interest in the prayers of mortals.
He hadn't even bothered saying a word. He had simply answered with the most violent thunder imaginable.
"What a pain…"
He kicked off the blankets and shuffled toward the washroom in his slippers, shaking his head as he went.
Then again, thinking about it carefully, that kind of reaction was normal.
Leaving aside the rare gods from legend who were especially close to humanity—
Indra's response last night was probably the most natural way for a lofty god to answer a mortal's plea.
Thunder and rain were both divine grace. It was just that last night, it had been all thunder.
Splash.
Cold tap water slapped against his face, finally cooling the last of his frustration.
Shane grabbed a towel, wiped himself off, and stepped out of the room—only to run straight into Erza in the hallway.
"Hm? You're up already?"
Today, the red-haired girl was wearing a soft, loose set of home clothes, looking far gentler than usual without her normal sharpness.
She blinked in visible surprise at the sight of a fully washed and awake Shane.
Clearly, she hadn't expected the resident bed-lumper to suddenly reform.
"Breakfast is on the table."
True to form, Erza didn't pry. She simply pointed toward the dining room, then walked straight into the living room, spread out a sheet of writing paper, and began writing.
Shane pulled out a chair and sat down. As he bit into a piece of bread, he leaned over curiously.
"What are you writing this early in the morning?"
"Hm? Wasn't it your idea to invite Kagura to spend New Year at the guild this year?"
Erza paused, turned toward him, and gave him a mildly reproachful look.
The one who had made the suggestion had apparently forgotten it completely.
"Ah… right."
Shane awkwardly smacked his own forehead.
He had been so preoccupied lately—with the S-Class exam, Zeref, and the divine curse—that the whole thing had slipped his mind.
"Sorry, sorry. Too much going on lately. But if you're writing to Kagura…"
He thought for a moment, then added:
"Ask Jellal and the others too. See if they'd like to come to Magnolia and join the fun."
"That's a good idea."
Erza nodded seriously and lowered her head to keep writing.
Meanwhile, Shane tore through the rest of breakfast at top speed, then sank comfortably into the soft couch.
Closing his eyes, he let part of his mind sink inward, keeping constant watch on the dimmed golden cup and how quickly it was recovering.
He needed to figure out how long it would take for it to regain its divine function so he could make his next wish.
"At the current rate of magical reflux…"
Shane calculated silently.
"About twenty-four hours, give or take?"
That actually wasn't too long at all. Totally manageable.
Still, after last night's painful lesson—being "sent off" by Indra's lightning—Shane had made up his mind.
Next time he chose a Heroic Spirit presence, he was absolutely going to pick something that felt a little less terrifying. Something a little gentler.
Just as he leaned into the couch with his eyes closed, a rapid, insistent knock suddenly came from the front door.
"Ultear?"
Shane opened his eyes.
After what had happened yesterday, with her personality, there was no way she'd be able to sit still.
And truthfully, he wanted to ask after Ur's condition too.
So instead of disturbing Erza, who was concentrating on her letter, he got up to answer the door himself.
But as soon as the hinges creaked open, what slipped through the door crack was not the long black hair he'd expected.
A silver-haired girl stood outside radiating fury.
The instant she saw him, one pale hand shot straight up under his chin.
"Give it back."
"Give what back?"
Shane blinked.
"Stop playing dumb! The negatives! The negatives from those pictures of me in the dress!"
Mira glared at him through clenched teeth.
Before the exam, she'd forcibly swallowed her anger and pushed the matter aside.
Now that the exam was over, though, just remembering that her most humiliating black-history moments were still in this bastard's hands had kept her tossing and turning all night in rage.
At dawn, she had marched straight over.
"…"
Three black lines practically dropped down Shane's forehead.
He was already stressed out enough over the curse and the failed wish. He had absolutely no energy to banter with her or turn this into some sort of comedy routine.
He rolled his eyes and waved her off.
"We'll deal with that later. I'm busy right now."
And with that, he started closing the door.
Mira, of course, was not about to eat a shut door to the face.
Quick as lightning, she lunged forward and jammed half her body into the doorway.
"No way! If you don't hand over the negatives today, you're not going anywhere!"
Like a little wolf protecting its food, she refused to retreat an inch.
Just as the two of them reached a deadlock across the half-shut door, glaring at each other—
"Could you move aside a bit?"
A cold, frosty voice sounded from behind Mira.
Ultear was standing there in a fitted long dress, her long legs wrapped in black tights, her posture straight and elegant.
Completely composed, she stepped forward, pushed the two childish idiots blocking the entrance aside, and walked in as if she owned the place.
"Tch…"
Mira scowled at the girl's unhurried, haughty attitude.
"What is this? It's not even your house."
She'd noticed at the guild yesterday that Ultear had dragged Shane off somewhere suspiciously.
And now, first thing in the morning, she had shown up again.
Why was she so clingy?
Mira gave a cold snort and simply pushed past them into the house as well.
"…"
Watching her force her way in, Shane pressed a hand to his forehead.
The curse obviously wasn't something they could discuss in front of everyone.
"Erza."
So Shane turned toward the red-haired girl, who had just finished sealing her letter.
"I need to talk to Ultear about something important. Alone."
He flicked his gaze toward Mira, who still looked ready to bite somebody's head off, and lowered his voice.
"Can you take this overactive creature out for a bit?"
"Hm? Something important?"
As always, Erza proved herself absurdly reliable at moments like this.
"Leave it to me."
She nodded briskly.
Then she strode over to Mira, hooked one arm around the silver-haired girl's shoulders, and with a completely irresistible amount of force, began dragging her toward the door.
"Hey! Erza, what the hell are you doing?! Let go! I'm not done talking yet! Shane, you bastard, give the negatives back—!"
"Come on, Mira. I just happened to want someone to spar with while trying out my new armor. Your timing is perfect."
"Who wants to spar with you?! Let go, you violent maniac!"
Their arguing and footsteps faded into the distance.
Finally, the house was quiet again.
Ultear walked to the sofa and sat down, speaking first.
"I already checked. There's nothing wrong with Mother. She's eating fine, sleeping fine, not even sneezing."
Then, after a slight pause, her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"But I still don't feel at ease… For the next stretch of time, I'll do everything I can to keep her in Magnolia. No outside jobs."
"Yeah. That's the safest option."
Shane nodded and took the seat across from her.
"As for me, the reason I didn't experience that same abyss-like warning you did…"
He leaned back slightly.
"My guess is that some of the abilities I already possess forcibly blocked off that sort of mental sensation."
The two of them quickly slipped into discussion mode, piecing things together like a jigsaw puzzle, exchanging all the information they'd gathered and laying out every conclusion they had reached after thinking it over the previous night.
In the end, they confirmed their current strategy:
Do everything possible to slow down the divergence of the timeline leading to X784, and thereby delay the arrival of that "critical point."
Once all the details had been sorted through, the room fell into a brief silence.
Ultear took a deep breath and unconsciously clasped her hands together on her knees.
Looking at Shane, who didn't seem panicked at all, she still couldn't help asking:
"So?"
"How exactly are you planning to break a curse cast by a god?"
Seeing the tense line of her jaw, Shane relaxed into the back of the sofa.
"It's not really anything especially sophisticated."
"In simple terms… I just need to seek help from another god."
"You can communicate with gods?"
Ultear straightened up from the sofa before she could stop herself.
"What's so surprising about that?"
Shane spread his hands.
"Doesn't Grimoire Heart have someone who specializes in God Slayer Magic?"
"If a magic designed to slay gods can exist in this world, then why is contacting a god somehow unthinkable?"
"That may be true, but…"
Seeing her face still drawn tight, Shane leaned forward and gently pinched her cheek.
The warmth of his hand made Ultear pause, and whatever she was about to say stopped in her throat.
"I still need a little time to prepare on my side."
He looked straight into her eyes, his voice very soft.
"Until then, what you need to do is relax, act like normal, and make sure nobody notices anything is wrong."
Then he smiled faintly.
"Don't forget—this is the first New Year after you and Ur reunited."
~~~
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