"What?!"
"400 years ago?"
"What are you talking about?"
Everyone found it hard to digest Robin Lu's words. The elderly man indeed looked old, but he couldn't possibly be over 400 years old, could he?
"President!" Wendy reacted somewhat intensely, as if she didn't want Robin Lu to continue speaking.
"I'm sorry, Wendy," Robin Lu said apologetically, "Let me finish. My mission is already over."
Wendy gazed at Robin Lu, seemingly knowing she couldn't change the President's mind, her eyes began to fill with tears.
"400 years ago..." Robin Lu explained to everyone the origins of Nirvana, a story he had told Rhode and the others the previous day, but this time he revealed the conclusion.
"'Darkness' found us, and the Nirubit clan destroyed each other. The entire clan was wiped out. I was the only one left... No, in my current state, I shouldn't even be considered alive."
"How is that possible?"
Everyone was puzzled and confused—what did he mean by not considered alive?
As if knowing what everyone was wondering, Robin Lu explained, "My physical body has long perished, and now you could say it's my soul, or something akin to a thought body state..."
Wendy's tears had already begun to flow. She lowered her head, clenched her fists tightly, and her small body trembled uncontrollably.
"To atone for my sins, I have guarded this place for 400 years, waiting for someone who could destroy Nirvana to appear. Now, Nirvana has finally been destroyed—a 400-year-long mission completed, and it's about time I disappear as well."
Everyone's mouths hung open in shock, "You had already..."
"Survived purely in a spirit-like existence, holding on here for 400 years?"
"What about these villagers..."
"All the villagers here are merely illusions I created. I'm sorry, Wendy, I deceived you." Robin Lu looked at Wendy with gentle eyes:
"Seven years ago, that straightforward boy entrusted the sleeping you to me, and when you woke up, you said you wanted to go to a place called a 'Guild.'
Back then, you were too weak, too lonely, so I created imaginary companions..."
"No, stop saying it!" Wendy's tears fell like broken beads, one after another, onto the ground.
The others were too shocked to speak, creating an entire guild just for Wendy...
These dozens of seemingly ordinary people were all illusions, maintained for a whole seven years!
The most shocked were Rhode, Mira, and Gray, who had stayed at the Cat Transformation Inn more than once. They had interacted with many people in the village and never noticed anything amiss!
This means that each of those dozens of illusions had their own 'personality,' living day after day like normal people, so convincingly that Wendy and Carla, who had lived among them for years, never saw a flaw.
Robin Lu's gaze grew even gentler, "But you are a smart child and a kind one. You discovered our abnormality some time ago but pretended like nothing happened, diligently learning all kinds of ancient skills you originally weren't interested in..."
Wendy bit her lip, trying not to cry out loud. Her little hands kept wiping away tears, but they just wouldn't stop.
Now she couldn't stop the President from talking, she was too preoccupied.
"I always worried, if one day you discovered that we were fake, what would you do? If one day I couldn't hold on, couldn't look after you anymore, what would happen? If one day my mission was over and I had to disappear, what then...
You are so fragile, even with Carla by your side, you would still struggle, still feel lonely..."
Carla was feeling just as bad. Although she often said she only cared about Wendy, how could she be indifferent to companions she lived with for so many years?
But as the conversation continued, some people among the crowd behind Robin Lu were gradually turning transparent, disappearing one by one.
Wendy could no longer hold it back. She raised her head, letting tears stream down her cheeks, shouting at Robin Lu, "If you're so worried about me, then stop talking! Don't disappear! Everyone isn't fake! Magna, Pepel, Naoqi..."
Wendy cried out each name she would never forget, sobbing, "If you're going to deceive me, then keep deceiving me! As long as I believe, everyone isn't fake! Don't disappear! Don't disappear! Please keep deceiving me!"
She helplessly tried to grab those who were disappearing, but she couldn't hold onto any of them.
Mira, Lucy, and Jie Li had already instinctively covered their mouths, and hearing Wendy's heartbreakingly hoarse cries made their tears roll down their cheeks too.
Even Erza, who always prided herself on her strength, was moved.
The villagers gave Wendy encouraging smiles as they continued to disappear one by one.
Robin Lu glanced at Rhode, as if reminding him not to forget their past agreement.
Then he continued with his final words: "Wendy, since venturing out multiple times, you've grown into a strong child, a Mage who can hold her own.
Most importantly, you and Carla no longer need fake companions, because those truly worth cherishing, aren't they right here?"
Wendy stood still, still murmuring, "No, I don't want this..."
In the past, she always longed for life outside, loved the lively atmosphere of other guilds. But now, she only wanted to stay at the Cat Transformation Inn.
Robin Lu shook his head at her with a smile, seeming to urge her not to be willful any longer, his figure also growing increasingly illusory, "Go, our history has ended. Your future is only just beginning."
Before disappearing completely, Robin Lu looked at the others behind Wendy, "Everyone, please take care of Wendy and Carla."
Carla bit her lip and shouted, "President!"
Wendy cried out, "President—!"
The blue emblem of the Cat Transformation Inn on Wendy's right shoulder shimmered into particles of light and eventually vanished.
The legitimate guild Cat Transformation Inn, which wasn't on the Local Guild Alliance's list, disappeared.
"Ahhh——"
The great upheaval occurred in the blink of an eye, catching everyone off guard. The weeping of the little girl and the whimpers of the small white cat were heart wrenching.
Mira stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and took Wendy into her arms, allowing her to cry as much as she needed.
After a while, Mira loosened her hold slightly: "President Robin Lu had worked for 400 years; let him rest well... Besides, we are still here." She pointed to Wendy's heart, "Aren't everyone still living here?"
Wendy's cries gradually turned into sobs.
Erza knelt behind Wendy, placing one hand on her shoulder, "The pain of losing companions can be filled by new ones, come, join Fairy Tail!"
Mira repeated, "Join Fairy Tail."
Natsu, Gray, and Lucy all stepped forward, reaching out to Wendy, "Join Fairy Tail."
Wendy wiped away her tears, though she still couldn't dry them completely.
But the President had said she was a strong child.
She sniffed, nodding with determination, "Mm."
Rhode recalled the previous agreement with President Robin Lu—'If one day, the Cat Transformation Inn can no longer continue, Wendy and Carla... I'll leave it to you all.'
Turns out the elderly man had foreseen this day coming, such thoughtful consideration.
But did this even need an agreement?
The day's events had left him with so many astonishing moments that even he felt disoriented.
Rhode sat cross-legged next to Carla, reaching out to pat the small white cat's head.
Carla turned her tearful eyes away, but she didn't push his hand away.