Stepping into the library, Mirajane immediately spotted Pai Pai sitting quietly in his chair, absorbed in a book. She walked over gracefully, bowed slightly, and greeted,
"Grandpa, reading again?"
"Mm."
Mira opened her mouth as if to speak, but her gaze drifted between Pai Pai and the bookshelves, her face a mixture of tension and hesitation—anyone could see something was troubling her.
"You have something on your mind," Pai Pai said calmly, turning a page.
"Yes." Mira nodded, drawing in a deep breath as if summoning all her courage. "Grandpa… are you someone from four hundred years ago?"
"You could put it that way. I did indeed arrive in this world four hundred years ago."
Mira's eyes sharpened instantly, emboldened by his answer. She pressed on, "And I've heard… back then, you collected many lost magics?"
Like many myths and stories, the older something was, the stronger, the more wondrous it became. This magic world had inherited that setting: the human era of dominance paled compared to the brilliance of the ancient age—especially in terms of destructive power and uniqueness.
"Merely the eccentric ideas of various people," Pai Pai replied, still calm. "Not much different from the books I'm reading now."
Mira's excitement and anxiety peaked; her heart felt like it would leap into her throat. Her mouth went dry as she forced out the words:
"Have you… ever heard of magic that can bring someone back to life?"
"There is such magic," Pai Pai said evenly. "Zeref once designed countless arrays in an attempt to revive his younger brother. The most famous is the R-System—an enormous magical system built with vast amounts of magic power, requiring human sacrifices to summon back the dead."
"He also attempted to construct a gate that distorted time itself, trying to travel back into the past to save his brother."
Pai Pai closed his book. He already understood Mira's reason for coming.
Mira's breath caught, her nerves fraying as she asked, "And… did he succeed?"
"His brother did live again. In that sense, he succeeded."
"In that sense?" Mira caught the hidden meaning immediately.
"His brother lived, but forgot everything from before. So, only a partial success."
Mira fell silent, lips trembling, utterly torn. Before she could sink too deeply into despair, Pai Pai spoke again, cutting through her thoughts:
"His methods aren't suitable for you."
Mira's expression darkened further, her body shaking. Her voice quivered, "You mean…?"
"Exactly as it sounds. Your situation is different. Zeref's brother truly died. All that remained was a corpse—"
Mira's face drained of color, trembling like a leaf in the wind. It was true—Lisanna hadn't even left behind a body. The weight crushed her, and she whispered, devastated, "Lisanna didn't even leave a corpse behind…"
"Your sister is still alive."
The words echoed through her like a miracle. Mira froze in place, her hands gripping her skirt so tightly her knuckles went white. She stared at Pai Pai in disbelief.
"Lisanna… isn't dead?"
"Would you like to see her current state?" Pai Pai set his book aside. Sparks burst from the void, forming a glowing circle taller than a person.
Through the circle, Mira could see a massive house of twining green vines. The rooftop split into two curved horns that connected to the trunk, making it look like a natural slingshot. Above the entrance, the Fairy Tail banner flew proudly.
"Grandpa, that's… what place?" Mira asked, though her wish was so close to being granted that she forced herself to stay calm. Her eyes widened at the sight of an entirely different Fairy Tail.
"Another world," Pai Pai explained briefly. "Edolas. A parallel world to this one. That is where you'll find your sister."
But Mira misunderstood his meaning. Her hope collapsed into disappointment almost instantly, and the word failure was practically written across her face.
She understood the theory of parallel worlds: some existed within the same spatial system but on different timelines, like two trains speeding along the same track at different moments. Others shared a timeline but diverged in space, like cars driving simultaneously on separate levels of a highway.
If Edolas were truly this world's parallel, then yes, Fairy Tail would exist there, and Lisanna could well be alive there, too.
But that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want a Lisanna. She wanted her Lisanna—the sister who belonged to this world.
"Come," Pai Pai said, noticing her inner conflict but not dwelling on it. "See how your sister is doing."
"Grandpa, I…"
Before she could finish, a force shoved her forward, hurling her into the portal. She spun around, but the circle was already fading, and the world around her had changed completely.
Unlike Fairy Tail in Aslant, nestled in the bustling city, Edolas's Fairy Tail stood in a remote wilderness—deep in the forests.
Strange trees loomed like giants, many resembling massive mushrooms with umbrella-like caps that cast wide shadows. Beneath them grew bizarre plants of every shape, while colossal leaves, grasses, and fruits dotted the land. Some of the plants had even been hollowed out into homes.
Yet the soil was barren, stripped of vitality, as if these oversized plants had consumed all nourishment.
Mira's eyes rose further. The skies teemed with fantastical creatures—some thought extinct in Aslant, others entirely unknown, defying biology itself. Beyond that, floating islands pierced the clouds, like citadels in the heavens.
There was no doubt—this was a world utterly unlike her own.
"Would you like to look inside?" Pai Pai's voice resonated as a new vision shimmered into view: the interior of the Edolas Fairy Tail guild.
At the center was a young girl with a tray, serving drinks.
Her short white hair, her long dress, the way she carried herself—it was unmistakable. She resembled Mira so closely that her presence struck her like lightning. Mira's eyes locked onto her, unblinking.
Her tears broke free. They splashed down, soaking the floor. Her heart ached with memory—Lisanna's face, Lisanna's smile, the day of the Beast King mission, the moment Lisanna stepped between Elfman's rampage and Mira, whispering with a gentle smile:
"It's okay, Elfman. Let's all go home together."
And then, in the next moment, her fragile body was swatted away like a rag doll.
"Lisanna!" Mira gasped, choking back sobs as she covered her mouth, her body trembling. The vision before her was everything she had longed for—Lisanna alive, smiling, safe.
For a heartbeat, she wanted nothing more than to rush in and bring her home.
But then another figure entered the vision—a girl identical to herself, right down to appearance, demeanor, and warmth. She held Lisanna's hand tenderly.
Mira froze.
What right did she have to steal Lisanna away, to force another Mira and Elfman in this world to bear the pain of loss, just because she had failed to protect her sister?
"No… let it be," Mira whispered, her voice trembling.
Pai Pai glanced at her. "You may have misunderstood. The one inside—that is your Lisanna, not Edolas's."
But Mira wiped her tears, forcing a smile with all her strength.
"It doesn't matter. I couldn't protect her back then. Now… knowing she's happy is enough.
Besides… I can't take Lisanna away from this world. She deserves her sister."
She didn't know what this world's Mira had gone through—but if there was only one Lisanna, she couldn't bear to rob her counterpart of that joy. She couldn't let Lisanna vanish from someone else's life, not again.
And so… this was enough.
Before the moment could settle, a crimson beam split the sky, crashing down with a deafening roar.
The earth ruptured, and rocks and trees launched skyward like bullets. Dust choked the heavens.
The blast narrowly missed tearing through the Fairy Tail guild itself.
Fairy Tail—this time, you won't escape!