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Enchantments have always been more of Virgo’s thing, the ‘Earthshaker’ well-versed with the tongue of magic spells, but five thousand years of experience have made him rather proficient with runic magic himself. He knew enough to enchant his rings with a forget-me-not charm.
It was safer to do it himself instead of searching for enchanters. He hated leaving tracks behind him. Besides, his charms were far more powerful than store-brought merchandise. His charms last.
Essentially, it caused the perception of himself to blur against the boundary of this world. In simpler terms, it would made people lost interest in him the moment they take their eyes off him. It was not exactly a legal spell, since it messed with the human mind, but he doesn’t really obey the laws of men anyway.
For someone who was used to commanding attention, the moment he walked into any room, with both his aura and looks, being ignored was surprisingly easy to cope with.
It has been so long since the Celestial Spirits have sealed away half of their powers, their original purpose long gone, and they were left as nothing but playthings of humans. Then again, they have always been weapons, but the memory of their once-proud legacy has faded into history.
Leo—no, his name was Loke now. He has to remember to act like he owned this name now.
Loke knew that his plan succeeded when he walked into the Fairy Tail guild and only half the hall’s occupants turned to look at the newcomer. He could feel the charm working, the rings growing warm around his fingers. Slowly, eyes slid away from his form in disinterest.
He made his way towards the bar with minimal fuss. Even if he doesn’t know anything about Master Makarov, nothing but hearsay from Master Bob, this tiny old man was the strongest in the entire room.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there!” It was a little hilarious to see the old Guild Master jumped in surprise when Loke cleared his throat loudly. The befuddled expression eased something in his chest.
The charm was working well.
“My apologies for startling you, Master Makarov.” He said politely, before pulling out an envelope from inside his jacket. “My name is... Loke. I have a recommendation letter here from Master Bob of Blue Pegasus.”
A thin, grey eyebrow rose in surprise. In an instant, intrigue gleamed in Makarov’s eyes and the effects of the forget-me-not charm was temporarily suppressed.
“A recommendation letter from old Bob?” Makarov repeated. “You must be one of their boys then! What do you need from me?”
“I would like to join Fairy Tail.” He requested. I want to come home again.
He could feel Makarov quietly evaluating him and silently hoped the old human doesn’t sense anything off about him. An old friend once told him that he had quite an unsettling presence, a lingering result from the overbearing nature of his magic.
“Well, now, if you’re personally recommended by Bob, then you’re welcome to Fairy Tail!” Makarov suddenly laughed. “We always welcome newcomers to our guild!”
Loke raised a brow in surprise as the old man shoved the letter into his pants pocket without even bothering to open it and verify the contents. He shook his head in quiet amusement.
Ninety-five years later and the Guild Master of Fairy Tail was still as whimsical and carefree as ever.
“Now just head towards Mira-chan to get your guild stamp and then you’re one of us!” Makarov said cheerfully, pointing at a white-haired teenager who looked a little too young to be wearing such skimpy clothes.
The scowl on her face could curdle milk, but she just looked like a very grumpy kitten to Loke. Not that he was going to tell her that. Even he knew that was just bad social etiquettes when meeting someone new.
Still, the startled look when he coughed again to catch her attention nearly made him laughed out loud.
Perhaps dying was not so bad if he could find the little things in life to find amusement in.
“What the fuck do you want?” ‘Mira-chan’ snapped after regaining her composure.
Maybe he should adjust the potency of the forget-me-not charm later. He wanted people to ignore him, not treat him as invisible.
“Hi, I’m Loke.” He tried on his best human smile. While he was one of the best in pretending to be human, there was the matter of him not being one. “I was told by the Master to get the guild stamp from you.”
The girl eyed him dubiously for a long second, and just like with Makarov, he could feel the charm bending under her unrelenting willpower. If there was one thing Loke could never forget about Fairy Tail, it was that the guild was full to the brim with astonishingly obstinate humans.
“Mirajane.” She grunted. “I guess, welcome to Fairy Tail, or whatever.”
The guild mark she placed on his lower back felt like a tiny zap of lightning against his skin. He couldn’t exactly describe the feeling in his chest when he glanced back at the green mark. Even back then, he has never been branded with the Fairy Tail mark. The irony of coming back to this guild to die and finally receiving the guild mark was so ridiculous that he couldn’t even muster up the urge to laugh.
He was more untouchable in those days. Even Mavis feared to touch him, worried that she’d cracked him too hard. To her, he was delicate, like a minefield that she wasn’t sure to step on or avoid.
But now he was nothing special. He was a dying star; the radiance of his light and the beauty of his power have long ago simmered down into a mere candlelight.
“Thank you.” He said, but Mirajane have already lost interest. Drawn to better things, more distractible things. Things that weren't boring, human Loke.
“Welcome home.” He smiled to himself.