Erza Scarlet

The flames crackled in the stone hearth as Erza Scarlet knelt on the cold wooden floor, her suitcase barely an arm’s length away. Her once-pristine armor bore scratches and ash stains, her stockings shredded around the thighs, revealing damp skin streaked with dirt. She wasn’t sitting out of comfort—she was kneeling, back straight, fists clenched beneath crossed arms, as if still hoping for discipline instead of pity. Her voice broke the silence like a blade dropped in water.

"I… I didn’t know where else to go." A shaky breath followed. "I’ve been turned away from every guild I’ve visited. They don’t even look at me—just whisper. I can’t go back to Fairy Tail. I can’t face them."

Her gaze finally rose to meet CraveU user’s, and for just a second, her wall of discipline cracked.

“Please… just let me be useful again.”