Shirou's clones number 30 million

If done correctly, the two missing keys should be able to be projected out.

Although projection magic becomes more difficult and consumes more magic power when projecting something other than a sword, for Shirou now, that difficulty is negligible.

"Analysis complete... Projection begins."

However, halfway through the projection, Lucy's memory suddenly stopped, leaving only an empty shell of the two projected keys.

"What's wrong? Keep thinking?"

"Sorry, um... your finger is on my forehead, it's so itchy, I really can't concentrate on remembering."

"Okay, it seems this method is too time-consuming and some steps need to be omitted. You continue to recall, and I'll start over."

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Upon realizing that Shirou's fingers had left, Lucy's heart palpitations gradually subsided, and she closed her eyes again.

The next moment, Shirou lowered his head slightly and pressed his forehead against hers.

This method is significantly more efficient than using your fingers.

In just a moment, the two keys from Lucy's memory appeared completely in Shirou's mind.

"Projection begins..."

At the same time, the scene of Shirou using the Zodiac Key was also transmitted.

......

Four hundred years ago, at the gate of the solar eclipse.

By then, Tenrou Island had sunk, and all the main members of Fairy Tail had died in battle, leaving only Shirou and Lucy alive.

In order to open the Eclipse Gate, Shirou ran around everywhere and finally collected all the remaining keys.

A Celestial Mage could serve as one of them, but magic power is a major issue.

At that time, Shirou was just an ordinary mage, and his magical power was far from enough to open the Eclipse Gate.

So he resorted to poisoning, temporarily kidnapping many mages from the capital to act as "chargers".

Even so, its magic power is still considerably weaker.

Because the previous poisoning incident caused a great commotion, kidnapping people had become impossible.

After much deliberation, Shirou came up with a do-or-die plan.

They thoroughly drained these kidnapped mages, using their life force to replace the missing magic.

"Enough! Stop! If the president and the others were still alive, they would definitely stop you!"

Lucy gripped Shirou's sleeve tightly, stopping him from taking any further action.

"I'm sorry, we've come this far, there's no stopping us now." Shirou glanced back at her, a smile more painful than a grimace on his face.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't continue like this."

Lucy gritted her teeth, hesitated for a long time, and then said in an extremely low voice:

"Even though only the two of us are alive, Fairy Tail still exists. Let's go back, together, and rebuild the guild."

Chapter 384 He's Gone from a Boy to a Middle-Aged Man

Chapter 384, Section 385: He's Gone from a Boy to an Uncle

Shirou's feet suddenly felt heavy. Even though Lucy behind him wasn't using much force, he felt as if there was a mountain behind him.

Should we give up here?

No, the journey of a hundred miles is only half complete at ninety. We are so close to success, how can we give up here?

"sorry."

Upon noticing that Shirou had started moving again, Lucy instinctively grabbed his arm tightly, trying her best to stop him from continuing.

"Stop! I hate this kind of thing. If you keep going, I'm going to start hating you."

"I see. Thank you for not disliking me before."

As Shirou slowly advanced, he said:

“I had actually thought about it before, like you said, the two of us rebuilding the guild together.”

"Carry everyone's dreams on your shoulders and keep moving forward."

"If we support each other, we'll probably get married in three to five years, right?"

"At that time, she gave birth to a boy and a girl, and they lived happily in the newly born Fairy Tail."

"However, I still can't accept the ending where everyone dies."

"So, I'm sorry, please let me be willful just this once."

Finding she couldn't stop Shirou, Lucy simply hugged him from behind.

"Stop! If you keep going, there'll be no turning back. My gut tells me that ahead lies an empty hell."

"Perhaps, but I've already decided to do it."

As he reached the hostages, Shirou swiftly brought down his sword, and the many mages bound like dumplings died one after another, their blood flowing into the Eclipse Gate along the magic circle.

......

"what is this?"

Recalling the fragments of memory that had suddenly appeared in her mind, Lucy was about to ask a question when she suddenly saw eyes so close to hers and hurriedly stepped back.

"What...what are you doing?"

"That'll be faster. Projection finished."

Shirou glanced down at the two keys in his hand and nodded slightly.

While not 100% realistic, it's still a high-quality replica, enough to fool even the Gate of Eclipse.

"Alright, all twelve keys have been collected. We can now activate the Eclipse Gate."

Lucy took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down, and then asked:

"What was that memory? I think I saw some experiences that weren't in my memory."

"That's my memory."

"Did you abandon me and leave all alone?"

"It may sound a bit awkward, but that's basically it. I went back four hundred years alone and became the kind of person I hated the most."

Is it worth getting yourself all bruised and battered?

"I'm not injured either?"

"Physically, there were no injuries, but emotionally, it's already riddled with holes, isn't it?"

"So, aren't you the same?"

Lucy fell silent for a long time, then whispered:

“If you keep saying things like that, girls will hate you.”

"It doesn't matter, I'm already public enemy number one." Shirou shook his head with a smile.

"You looked nothing like you four hundred years ago, so why could Lisanna recognize you at a glance?"

"He hasn't changed much, has he? He's just grown a little taller and his skin has gotten a bit darker."

"No, he's completely gone from a boy to a middle-aged man."

"Haha...I see."

Shirou laughed for a while, then noticed guards rushing over. He waved his hand to set up a barrier, saying at the same time:

"Let's begin. Based on my personal experience four hundred years ago, you cannot travel to the future; at most, you can only travel to the past."

"Furthermore, I myself must remain in this era as an anchor point and cannot go with you to the past."

"However, in order to bring you back, I can send a shadow clone to help you."

Because of its unique nature, the future has become unpredictable; one cannot go to the future, but can only go to the past.

At the same time, this characteristic will play a role in any era.

In other words, once one travels to the past, the present era will disappear and never return.

The moment Lucy touched the Gate of Eclipse, she realized that Shirou had not lied and that the future had vanished.

Even the era when everyone was wiped out by the Wanlong Gang can never be returned to.

"Is there no going back? Maybe it's for the best..."

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. It's better not to go back; she'll just live in this era.

Anyway, after seeing it for myself, I finally don't have to worry about it anymore.

"Then, please guide me in the future."

"Please give me more advice."

Shirou smiled, glanced back at the half-open Eclipse Gate, and pondered:

"Since we've come all this way, wouldn't it be a waste to go back like this?"

"Huh...? But isn't the Eclipse Gate supposed to prevent travel to the future?" Lucy asked, looking surprised.

"Yes, but it can travel to the past. Depending on the amount of magic used, you can choose the era you want to travel to."

"I don't really want to go back to any particular era. Let's go back."

"Don't you want to see your mother?"

"Is this... okay?" Lucy's heart skipped a beat, and she stared intently at Shirou.

"If handled properly, we might even be able to save her life," Shirou said with a smile.

"If that happened, this era would definitely undergo tremendous changes, wouldn't it? What if it caused a disaster..."

"Don't worry, it's not a big problem if you're alone. Besides, my method can ensure that everything goes perfectly."