Chapter 40

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In a daze, Noah found himself in a very extraordinary place.

It was as vast as the sky, yet it seemed as if he could touch the boundaries of space by reaching out his hand. It felt as light as being in water and as ethereal as being in the clouds, a very wondrous place.

The sky was white.

The ground was white.

Everything around Noah, everything he could see, was all white.

A vast expanse of white, yet it gave Noah a warm feeling.

That feeling was like returning to the womb, being in the amniotic fluid, very, very wondrous.

Clearly, there was nothing here, yet Noah did not feel lonely, did not feel isolated, did not feel lost, did not feel cold, but rather felt warm.

If this could not be called wondrous, then what could be called wondrous?

However, this white world was not entirely empty.

Besides Noah, there were other wondrous existences in this world.

Feathers...

Feathers falling from the sky...

Feathers floating in bubbles, falling from the sky...

Feathers covered and enveloped by a white glow, floating in bubbles, falling from the sky...

If the world gave Noah a feeling of warmth like returning to the womb, then these feathers, falling from the sky and emitting a faint light, gave Noah another kind of warmth, similar yet different.

How to describe it?

If an example must be given, it would be like 'family'.

Yes!

Noah could be certain that these wondrous feathers in front of him seemed to be his 'family'!

Thus, looking at the feathers falling from the sky, floating in bubbles, and hovering around him, emitting a white glow, Noah showed a smile of genuine joy.

However, the next moment, a new scene before Noah made his smile completely disappear.

New 'family' members fell from the sky.

Still feathers floating in bubbles.

But these feathers not only lost their brilliant white glow but also became fragmented, as if broken, lacking the vitality they should have.

Then, the lifeless feathers replaced the intact ones, floating to Noah's face, gathering around him, moving back and forth.

It was as if they were seeking help...

...

"Noah-nii... Noah-nii..."

A sweet and familiar voice echoed softly in Noah's ears.

At the same time, Noah felt his body being shaken continuously.

Noah, who was still very sleepy, woke up from his daze, slowly opened his eyes, and looked blankly at the source of the sound.

What met Noah's eyes was an extremely cute little girl.

Around eleven or twelve years old, wearing a cute red dress, with snow-white short hair, her face, though small, was very delicate and adorable, making it easy to imagine the beauty she would possess when she grew up.

Looking at such an incredibly cute face, Noah's eyes still did not focus, but he muttered blankly.

"Lisa?"

"It's Lisa... Noah-nii..." Lisa's face was filled with worry. Just as Noah was about to wonder why she had such an expression, Lisa reached out and touched Noah's cheek, wetting her hand.

Wait...

Wet?...

Only then did Noah realize that, at some point, tears had flowed from his eyes, wetting his cheeks.

Did I... cry?...

"Noah-nii..." Lisa, while wiping the tears from Noah's face, spoke with concern.

"Did you have that dream again?"

Hearing this, Noah couldn't help but smile wryly.

Yes!

This was not the first time Noah had experienced the 'white dream' in his sleep!

Rather, since Noah began to have his own consciousness, the first scene, dream, and memory he experienced was that 'white dream'. Even meeting Makarov was after that dream.

Since then, every so often, Noah would have that wondrous dream, experiencing the warmth in the dream and the heartbreak and sorrow when the dream ended.

That heartbreak and sorrow were only felt for the fragmented feathers in the dream.

Thus, whenever Noah had that dream and woke up, this heartbreak and sorrow would make him shed tears he had never shed for anything else.

Only Lisa, who had taken over Gray's job of waking him up every day since he joined 'Fairy Tail', knew about this.

Not even Makarov, Noah's grandfather, or Gray, who never entered Noah's room before he woke up, knew about it.

Even Lisa only discovered it by sneaking into Noah's room one morning while he was still asleep, intending to play a prank.

Seeing the concern in Lisa's beautiful big eyes, Noah showed a rather steady smile and patted her head.

"Why do you have such an expression?"

Lisa pouted a bit.

"Thinking about Noah-nii having such a sad dream makes me feel uncomfortable."

"I've told you many times, it's not a sad dream. It just feels very wondrous and affects my emotions quite a bit." Noah smiled bitterly, got out of bed, sat up, and stretched.

"Why are you so sensitive at your age?"

"It's because Noah-nii is too insensitive and doesn't understand a girl's heart!" Lisa puffed out her cheeks and pulled Noah out of bed.

"Come on, Noah-nii, get up quickly. Everyone at the guild is almost there, and you're still sleeping in!"

"Okay, okay..."

Faced with Lisa, who acted like a housekeeper, Noah had no choice but to let her, like an overly concerned younger sister, find clothes for him and rush him to wash up.

Since joining 'Fairy Tail' and living alone in the guild, Lisa had become such a concerned younger sister.

At first, Noah was quite unaccustomed to it, but over time, he got used to it. Now, if Lisa didn't come to wake him up in the morning, Noah would feel uneasy.

From this perspective, Lisa had done a pretty good job.

Naturally, Lisa also became one of the few people in 'Fairy Tail' who had a good relationship with Noah.

Watching Lisa skillfully pick out the clothes he had just washed yesterday from his wardrobe and hum a pleasant tune, Noah couldn't help but mutter.

"Why do you always seem so happy when you're busy in my room?"

"Hmm?" Lisa, who was helping Noah choose his clothes, turned her head in confusion.

"Noah-nii, did you say something?"

Seeing Lisa still humming a pleasant tune, Noah sighed deeply.

"Nothing..."

...

'Fairy Tail' was as noisy as usual.

Chatting with Lisa, Noah came to the familiar first-floor bar.

Just as he came down the stairs, two black shadows suddenly lunged at Noah.

"Noah——!"

Hearing the enthusiastic and battle-filled shouts, seeing the two black shadows gradually approaching, Noah sighed again. At the same time the shadows reached him, he reached out, grabbed their heads with one hand each, and pulled them together forcefully.

"Bang——!"

With a loud collision, the two heads crashed into each other, stiffened for a moment, and then fell limply to the ground.

One head had pink hair, the other black.

Who else could it be but Natsu and Gray?