It was a bright, cloudless day in Magnolia, the kind that made the whole city feel alive.
Cael sat in his usual corner of the Fairy Tail guild hall, scribbling something into a leather-bound notebook. He muttered quietly to himself, something about elemental conductivity ratios and gear alignments. The pages were filled with diagrams and incomplete ideas—his mind always raced ahead of his hands.
"Still at it, huh?" Mira smiled as she leaned over the bar, watching him. "Planning your next great invention?"
He looked up, eyes wide like he'd been caught doing something dangerous. "I was not about to attach a flamethrower to a fishing rod, if that's what you're thinking."
She chuckled. "Wasn't, but now I am."
Before he could defend his latest brainstorm, the guild doors creaked open—and in stepped a blonde girl in a white and blue outfit. Her eyes sparkled with wonder, and her smile was hopeful. Lucy Heartfilia had arrived.
Cael's attention flicked to her briefly. "New blood?"
Mira nodded. "Maybe. Let's see how long she lasts."
Lucy walked further in, clearly overwhelmed by the chaotic energy of the guild—people shouting, drinking, throwing things, and somehow igniting furniture.
Then Natsu made his grand entrance, smashing through the wall with Happy in tow.
"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"
A wave of heat passed through the hall, knocking over mugs and ruffling Cael's notes. He calmly reached out, caught his page mid-air, and resumed scribbling like explosions were just another Tuesday.
Lucy looked between Natsu and the destruction in awe. "You're Natsu Dragneel... from Fairy Tail?"
Natsu grinned. "Yup! This is it—welcome to the craziest guild in Fiore!"
Cael finally looked up again, more curious this time. His eyes narrowed as he observed Lucy. Her keys glinted on her belt—Celestial Spirit magic.
Interesting.
Later that day, Lucy was officially welcomed into the guild. Cael didn't say much. He simply nodded when introduced, already tuning back into a discussion with Wakaba about non-magical gear modifications.
Still, Lucy noticed something. That guy with the purple hair and strange violet eyes... there was something off about him. A calm exterior, but she swore she saw his coffee stir itself without him touching it.
Over the next few days, Cael remained mostly in the background. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were busy taking on their first job—finding the missing Macao.
Cael didn't join them. Not because he wasn't interested—but because he'd already taken three small quests of his own. Fetch jobs. Transport runs. Minor repair missions. Things that didn't require magic blasts but gave him time to test his tools.
He had started designing things to help others, too. A wind-powered crop sifter for a village. A water-purifying device for a traveling merchant. Small stuff, but good practice.
Still, he kept his real magic hidden.
He hadn't touched the strange, violet-scribed book tucked away in his home since unlocking Machine Takeover. Not yet. He needed time to observe—to think.
On the fourth evening, the guild celebrated Macao's return.
"Turns out he was possessed by a Vulcan!" Natsu bragged. "But I punched the thing so hard it ran for its life!"
Lucy laughed, and the guild roared with cheers. Cael sat beside Mira, who slid him a drink.
"You didn't join them," she said softly, curious.
"Didn't need to," he replied. "They had it covered. I'm not... front-line material yet."
Mira's eyes flicked toward his gloved hands. "Still figuring it out?"
Cael hesitated, then nodded. "I think my magic is mechanical in nature, but... it's not traditional. Not like Requip or Takeover or Holder types. It's... messy. Complex. Like it wants to build."
Mira tilted her head, thoughtful. "If it's anything like mine, it'll feel wild at first. But you'll learn to control it. Just don't force it."
He blinked. "You're surprisingly wise sometimes."
She winked. "Only sometimes?"
Their moment was interrupted by Natsu and Gray starting another brawl, followed by Erza shouting them into submission.
Lucy turned to Cael, slipping into the seat across from him. "Hey... Cael, right?"
He looked up, mildly surprised. "That's what I'm called. You're Lucy."
"Yup! Mind if I ask... what's your magic?"
Cael sipped his drink. "Not sure yet."
She blinked. "You're in Fairy Tail and don't know your own magic?"
"It's complicated," he said with a smirk. "I'm complicated."
Lucy laughed. "That... actually makes sense."
Mira chuckled behind the bar. "Get used to that. He grows on you. Like a sentient science experiment."
"Hey!" Cael said. "I resemble that remark."
Later that night, Cael returned to his small home on the city's edge. He didn't have much—just a desk, a bed, tools scattered in piles, and the book hidden in a compartment under the floorboards.
He knelt, sliding the panel aside.
The runes glowed faintly. His fingers hovered over the cover.
Not yet, he told himself again.
Soon.
For now, he had a new world to explore, allies to understand... and strange gears turning in his soul.