The Side Where No Stars Shine

The Gathering

Lior's POV

I hadn't exactly gotten used to staying with Fairy Tail, but things were beginning to feel normal.

That was... until they weren't.

"We'll be hosting a gathering tomorrow. Quite a few guilds will be coming here to attend it. It will be better for bonding experience, considering we may have the need to team up in the future." Master Makarov explained.

I glanced over the guild of Fairy Tail.

They all seemed so excited.

I wish I could've felt the same, but they'd already had experience with these other guilds.

I still felt awkward around this one.

I knew this gathering would leave me feeling misplaced.

The Day of the Gathering

I watched as everyone in the guild sat, anxiously waiting for the other guilds' arrival.

Lucy was sat in her usual place.

I'd heard from Erza that other guilds had yet to be aware of her condition.

While it may have made me a terrible person, I could only hope they'd be disappointed, or worried.

It'd only mean that she had more people who cared for her, and that's all I wished...

For her happiness in this cruel world...

Suddenly, the door burst open.

To my amazement, quite a few guilds were at the door.

I recognized them from the Grand Magic Games, which had come into my memories one night.

Lamia Scale...

Blue Pegasus...

Sabertooth...

They were here, right in front of me.

Fairy Tail was so familiar with them.

I sat there awkwardly, waiting for something to happen.

I wasn't the best with meeting new people.

The only reason it'd been so easy with Fairy Tail was because I had seen them in person before, and they had the wrong idea of me.

I had a priority of apologizing, but with these guilds, I wasn't obligated to anything.

As everyone sat down with members of varying guilds, I felt lost.

I knew it'd turn out like this.

I'd been expecting it, but I still felt weird all by myself.

Maybe I should just head to the back room...

"Lior!" I hear a voice call.

I turn to see Mira calling me over.

I walk over to her.

"Do you need me for something?" I ask, wondering if she needed any help.

"Why don't you go interact with everyone else?"

I glance down at the floor in front of my feet.

"Nnnh... it's not really my place to—"

"Lior." She repeats.

I move my eyes back up to her.

"Go enjoy yourself. I think you of all people deserve it."

I sigh.

"I guess I could stay in here..."

After speaking with Mira, I go to sit back down.

It's not like anyone was going to talk to me anyway, but if it made her happy...

"Lucy!" A girl yells, beginning to run over to her.

I tried to beat her to it, stopping her in her tracks.

"Stop! That's... not the best idea."

The girl looks at me with concern, but she didn't reply.

"She's not herself." I say.

"We're working on it, though..." Erza says, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

I could see they were trying to keep things optimistic, as not to discourage other guilds.

"Who's this?" A blond asks, walking up with who I assumed to be another friend from his guild.

"Ah, this is Lucy's cousin, Lior. He's been staying with us and helping us out a bit." Natsu introduces me.

"Hey there! I'm Sting!" The blond exclaims.

The dark-haired male next to him steps up a bit more.

"I'm Rogue. Nice to meet you..."

The girl who I'd stopped from seeing Lucy gives me a little wave.

"I'm Yukino." She mentions.

I could see her keys at her side, still swaying from her movement.

She was like Lucy... a celestial spirit wizard.

I noticed her gold key.

It was legendary, thought by some to not even exist.

"Ophiuchus..." I mumbled to myself.

The Snake Bearer.

"You stupid child! Do you how much money you cost! So ungrateful!" An unfamiliar voice screams at me.

I tried to find the face within my memory.

"Gate of the Snake Bearer, Ophiuchus!" The same voice calls out.

"I'll teach you to be grateful, little brat!"

Pain wavered through my body, and then I snapped out of it.

"Are you okay? You spaced out after mumbling something about my keys." Yukino asks in worry.

"I-I'm fine, sorry..."

The memory that came to me was completely unfamiliar.

Who was that woman?

It wasn't Lilith's voice I was hearing...

"That key... Ophiuchus, right?"

"Yes... I can't believe you know of it!"

A second ago, I didn't know as much about it as I do now.

"Yeah, I read about it once, so I decided to look into it even more."

Whoever that was... I don't think I ever want to hear their voice again.