The sun had only just begun to peek over the forested ridges of Fiore, its golden fingers brushing across emerald leaves and whispering down to sleepy brooks. The birds were just beginning their morning songs, and the world smelled faintly of dew and pine. It was quiet. Peaceful. Serene.
And then the sky cracked.
A thin line, like the edge of a blade, split the horizon just above a secluded clearing deep in the forest near Hargeon. From this seam in the sky, reality shimmered like rippling water—twisting, distorting—before a figure stepped out and landed lightly on the grass as if gravity was a mere suggestion.
He didn't fall. He simply arrived.
The figure straightened, brushing imaginary dust from a long, midnight-blue overcoat that shimmered with white symbols sewn into its sleeves. His silver hair glinted softly in the early light, slightly tousled by the breeze. A pair of violet-lavender eyes blinked beneath black shades resting casually on his nose, then turned upward to the sky, which closed behind him without a sound.
"Well," he said to no one in particular, voice smooth and amused, "this feels... different."
His name—at least for this world—was Shinra Satoru.
Not his real name, of course. Not the one he remembered from before. But names were just labels. What mattered was who he was now—and what he knew.
He smiled softly as a familiar presence tickled his senses—magic. Rich, dense, and beautiful. He could feel the leylines of Fiore humming beneath the soil, could sense spells etched into nature like fingerprints of long-forgotten gods. It was overwhelming—and intoxicating.
He sighed.
"Fairy Tail…" he murmured, eyes scanning the landscape as if he could see past the forests, over hills, across time. "A day before the story begins. Right on schedule."
Yes, he remembered everything.
The canon plot. Natsu and Lucy's fateful meeting. The Phantom Lord conflict. The Tower of Heaven. Tenrou Island. The Grand Magic Games. Tartarus. Zeref. Acnologia.
He knew it all.
And this time… he was here.
A Few Hours Later....
Shinra sat on a boulder near the riverbank, legs lazily crossed, watching the water ripple. His coat hung open, revealing a loose black tunic tucked into white pants. The Infinity symbol shimmered faintly across the back of his gloves. His blindfold was gone for now—he had no reason to hide just yet.
He had spent the last few hours adjusting, feeling the limits of this world and how it responded to his cursed energy. Unsurprisingly, he couldn't use it the way he had back home. Not exactly. But with some internal rewiring, he'd already adapted.
Six Eyes worked perfectly.
Infinity? Even better.
He'd tested a low-powered Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue to redirect a falling tree. The result: the tree hadn't fallen—it had folded into itself like a paper sculpture and vanished into nothingness.
Magic and cursed energy intertwined strangely here, and he had the terrifying suspicion that he was now stronger than before.
Still, he reminded himself, strength wasn't everything.
This was a world about bonds.
Love.
Laughter.
Family.
And somewhere in that distant city of Magnolia, they were waiting. Erza Scarlet. Mirajane Strauss. He'd seen them before—on a screen, in manga panels, in AMVs with emotional piano music. But now… they were real. And he was going to meet them.
Not as a fan.
But as himself.
He smirked. "Let's make this count."
That Evening — Just Outside Magnolia Town...
The road to Magnolia was lit by lanterns hung along the tree line, their warm glow flickering in the breeze. Shinra walked slowly, savoring every step. He passed a few travelers, exchanging lazy nods, earning curious glances. His presence stood out—unavoidably—but that was fine.
As he crested a hill, the town came into view.
There it was. Magnolia. Home of Fairy Tail.
He stopped, standing at the edge of the hill like a man at the border between fiction and reality. The air carried the scent of baked bread, smoke from chimneys, and laughter from taverns. He could hear someone playing a lute in the distance. Somewhere within that web of cobbled streets and wooden shops… was the Fairy Tail guildhall.
The most chaotic, beautiful, loving place in this world.
He inhaled deeply and whispered, "I'm home."
His next step would change the course of the story.
But for now… he simply watched.
Because tomorrow, everything begins.