Chapter 29: Realization
Albion POV
The journey back to Magnolia felt like it took forever, even though we made good time down the mountain. My mind kept racing, trying to piece together why that crystal had felt so familiar. The pulling sensation, the reality distortions, the way it seemed to exist between worlds...
"You've been quiet since we left the cave." Erza observed as we walked through Magnolia's streets toward the guild hall.
"I was just thinking," I replied. " about that crystal... there was something about it that I should recognize, but I can't quite place it."
"Maybe it's from your past life knowledge?" Kuroka suggested quietly from my shoulder. "You said this world was based on fiction from your previous world, nya."
That was a possibility I'd been considering. But the more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. It was like having a word on the tip of your tongue but not being able to say it.
"We'll figure it out." Mirajane said reassuringly. "For now, let's focus on reporting to the Master."
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-Fairy Tail Guild Hall-
The evening crowd was in full swing when we entered the guild hall. Natsu and Gray were still arguing—or maybe they'd started a new argument—while Happy was stealing fish from someone's dinner plate. The familiar chaos was comforting after the unsettling experience on the mountain.
"Mira!" Levy called out as she spotted us. "How did the job go?"
"It's... complicated." Mirajane replied, her usual smile notably absent.
Master Makarov looked up from his position at the bar, his experienced eyes immediately picking up on our tense demeanor. "I take it the investigation didn't go as planned?"
"That's putting it mildly." Elfman said, his usual boisterous energy subdued.
"Conference room." Makarov said simply, hopping down from the bar. "All of you. Now."
As we made our way to the guild's private conference room, I noticed several guild members watching us with concern. Word was already spreading that something serious had happened.
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-Conference Room-
Once we were seated around the large wooden table, Master Makarov fixed us with a serious look. "Report. Everything you saw, everything you felt, every detail."
Erza took the lead, methodically describing our ascent up Mt. Hakobe, the terrified monsters, and the strange phenomena we'd encountered. When she got to the part about the crystal, Makarov's expression grew increasingly grave.
"A crystalline structure that warps reality itself," he mused, stroking his mustache. "and you say it was pulling at you? Not physically, but at your very existence?"
"That's the best way I can describe it," I said. "It felt like it was trying to... I don't know, relocate us somehow."
"And the flashes of light preceded patches of missing matter," Lisanna added. "like sections of the mountain had just been erased."
Makarov was quiet for a long moment, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Finally, he spoke. "In my seventy years as a wizard, I've encountered many strange and powerful magics. But what you're describing... it doesn't sound like magic at all."
"What do you mean?" Mirajane asked.
"Magic, even the most exotic varieties, works within certain fundamental rules." Makarov explained. "Energy is transformed, matter is manipulated, space can be folded or twisted. But what you're describing sounds like something that operates outside those rules entirely."
"Like it's from a completely different system of reality." I said, the words coming out before I'd fully formed the thought.
"Exactly," Makarov nodded. "which is what worries me."
Kuroka shifted on my shoulder. "Should we be worried about it affecting the town, nya?"
"I don't know." Makarov admitted. "But I'm going to contact the Magic Council and see if they've heard of anything similar. In the meantime, I want everyone to be alert for any unusual phenomena around Magnolia."
"What kind of phenomena?" Erza asked.
"Anything that doesn't behave according to normal magical laws." Makarov replied. "Lights that shouldn't exist, objects that flicker in and out of reality, animals acting strangely..."
As he spoke, I felt a chill run down my spine. Something about that list felt like a checklist of events that were about to unfold.
"Master," I said slowly, "what would happen if that crystal's effects started spreading beyond the mountain?"
Makarov's expression grew even more serious. "I honestly don't know, my boy. And that terrifies me more than I care to admit."
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-Later that evening-
After the debriefing, the guild hall had returned to its usual evening atmosphere, though I noticed the conversations were more subdued than normal. Word of our encounter had spread, and while most of the guild members didn't fully understand the implications, they could sense that something significant had happened.
I sat at a corner table with a cup of tea, trying to force my memory to cooperate. Kuroka was curled up on the table beside me, occasionally offering suggestions that didn't quite fit.
"Maybe it was something from one of those other anime you watched?" she suggested.
"Maybe," I said, though that didn't feel right either. "it's not just that it seemed familiar—it's that my instincts are screaming that it's dangerous in a very specific way."
I closed my eyes, focusing on the memory of that pulling sensation. The way it had felt like something was trying to relocate us, to tear us away from our reality and deposit us somewhere else entirely...
"Dimensional transportation?" I murmured, the words triggering a cascade of memories from my past life.
"What?" Kuroka asked, lifting her head.
"That crystal—it wasn't just warping reality. It was creating a dimensional anchor point." My eyes snapped open as the full realization hit me. "Kuroka, I know what that thing was."
"What?"
"It's called an Anima," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. "a magical phenomenon that can tear holes between dimensions and transport entire sections of one world to another."
The pieces clicked together so suddenly it was like being hit by lightning. The pulling sensation, the blue-white light, the reality distortions, the way space itself had seemed unstable around the crystal...
"Anima." I repeated the word carrying the weight of terrible understanding.
I was already standing, my chair scraping against the floor as the full implications crashed over me like a tidal wave. The crystal wasn't just some strange magical anomaly—it was a precursor to something much worse. An interdimensional gateway that would soon tear open and swallow half of Magnolia whole.
"I need to speak with Master Makarov." I said urgently. "Right now."
"Albion, what's wrong?" Kuroka asked, alarmed by my sudden change in demeanor.
"We're in trouble," I said grimly. "all of us. And I don't think we have much time."
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-Master's Office-
I burst into Makarov's office without knocking, startling the elderly guild master who was reviewing some paperwork.
"Master, we need to talk right now." I said, barely managing to keep the panic out of my voice.
"Albion? What's gotten into you?"
"The crystal on Mt. Hakobe—I know what it is," I said, closing the door behind me. "and we're all in danger."
Makarov set down his papers and gave me his full attention. "Explain."
I took a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts. "In my knowledge of magic, there was something called an Anima. It was a magical phenomenon that could tear holes between dimensions and transport entire sections of one world to another."
"That sounds..." Makarov paused. "Actually, that sounds exactly like what you described encountering."
"The crystal is either causing it or serving as an anchor point for it." I continued. "So if I'm right, then soon there's going to be a massive interdimensional rift that appears over Magnolia."
"How soon?" Makarov asked, his voice deadly serious.
"I don't know exactly," I admitted. "but the signs are accelerating. Even to my knowledge the progression is too fast."
Makarov was quiet for a moment, processing what I'd told him. "If such a thing were to happen, what would be the result?"
"In my knowledge, it could transport a large portion of the town and its people to a parallel dimension called Edolas or some other dimension," I said. "but Master... in that world, the people who were transported barely survived. Parallel dimensions sometimes operate under completely different magical laws. In some dimensions wizards lose their magic entirely, in others a wizard's magic becomes stronger than normal."
"And those who remain in our world?"
"They would be left to deal with whatever force is powerful enough to tear holes between dimensions." I said grimly.
Makarov stood up, his small frame somehow seeming much larger in that moment. "Then we need to prepare. If what you're saying is true, we have a responsibility to protect not just our guild, but the entire town."
"Master, there's something else," I said hesitantly. "the people who were transported... they needed the help of the dragon slayers who remained behind to eventually return home."
"You're saying you'd need to stay here while your friends and family get pulled into another dimension?"
The weight of that possibility hit me like a physical blow. Lucy, the Strauss siblings, most of the guild—all transported to a world where they'd be powerless and in constant danger, while I remained behind, possibly the only one with the knowledge needed to bring them back.
"I don't know," I said quietly. "I'm hoping that since I know it's coming, we can find a way to prevent it or at least minimize the damage."
"Then we'd better get to work." Makarov said, moving toward the door. "I'm calling an emergency guild meeting. Everyone needs to know what we might be facing."
As we prepared to address the guild, I couldn't shake the feeling that events were already spiraling beyond our control. The crystal on Mt. Hakobe was still active, still building toward whatever catastrophic event it was designed to trigger.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, a terrible thought was taking shape: what if my presence in this world, my knowledge of events that were supposed to happen, had somehow made things worse instead of better?
What if I was the reason the Anima was coming early?
But there was no time for self-doubt now. People I cared about were in danger, and whether I was responsible or not, I was the only one who knew what was coming.
I just hoped that knowledge would be enough to save them.
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-Main Guild Hall-
Master Makarov stood at the front of the guild hall, his small frame commanding the attention of every member present. The usual evening chaos had been replaced by an uncharacteristic quiet as word spread that something serious was happening.
"Members of Fairy Tail," Makarov began, his voice carrying clearly through the hall. "what I'm about to tell you may sound impossible, but I need everyone to listen carefully."
He gestured toward our team. "Mirajane's group encountered something on Mt. Hakobe that defies conventional magical understanding. Albion has identified it as a phenomenon called an Anima—a force capable of tearing holes between dimensions."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Natsu raised his hand. "What's that mean exactly?"
"It means," I said, standing up, "that there's a possibility that parts of Magnolia—including people—could be transported to another dimension entirely."
The guild hall erupted.
"WHAT?!" Gray shouted, ice crystals forming around his hands from shock.
"That's impossible!" Jet protested.
"Is everyone going to be okay?" Levy asked, her scholarly curiosity warring with obvious concern.
"Can we stop it?" Cana asked, her usual casual demeanor replaced by serious worry.
Laxus, who had been leaning against a pillar, stepped forward. "And you're sure about this?"
"As sure as I can be." I replied. "The signs are all there, and they're accelerating faster than I expected."
"So what do we do?" Mirajane asked, her gentle voice cutting through the chatter.
Master Makarov raised his hand for silence. "We prepare. We protect our town and each other. And we trust that our bonds are strong enough to overcome whatever comes."
"That's all well and good," Wakaba said, "but how exactly do we prepare for something that can tear holes in reality?"
I exchanged a look with Makarov, my hand still on my [haven bag]. "We're still working on that part. But I might have some items that could help."