"So, it looks like my time is up?" Ian mumbled to himself as he watched his body gradually fade away.
"Ian, what's happening to you?!" Ur's heart sank as she tried to grab Ian's disappearing hand, only to grasp at thin air.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"Why? Why is this happening?" Ur muttered to herself, her body trembling slightly, showing just how shaken she was inside.
"Heh, don't worry," Ian said, smiling softly as he saw Ur's uncharacteristic panic. "Just as I said before, my time here is limited. You see, I'm not from this time."
"I'm not disappearing—I'm simply returning to my time. So don't worry about my leaving." Ian's voice was calm as he explained, trying to soothe Ur's worries.
"You're not from this time?" Gray asked, confusion filling his eyes.
"That's right. I came here from the future at your request—to fix some mistakes," Ian replied, giving a simple explanation without delving too deeply into the complexities of time.
"From the future? To fix mistakes in this timeline?" Ultear's quick mind raced as she pieced together what Ian had said. "So, Uncle Ian, are you saying that in the original timeline… something bad happened around this time, didn't it?"
Everyone fell silent after Ultear spoke.
Gray thought of Deliora… If Ian hadn't come, would his village, the villagers, and even his parents have been wiped out?
Lyon thought about Ur… Before Ian arrived, Lyon's entire goal in life was to surpass Ur. If there was no chance for him to surpass Ur, what could that mean? Only two possibilities: either he would die, or… Ur would die.
The idea of Ur's death was something Lyon couldn't even begin to accept.
Ur, on the other hand, thought about her daughter, about Gray, and about Lyon. And young Ultear stared at her mother, with a strange premonition in her heart. Without Ian, she feared she might have ended up hating her mother, making choices that would haunt her forever.
"Sigh…" Ian couldn't help but be impressed by Ultear's natural talent with time magic. After letting out a deep sigh, his expression turned firm. "There's no need for you to dwell on what might have happened in the original timeline. I'm here to make sure that none of your nightmares ever come true."
Ian had asked himself many times: why had he come to this world? Before, when he had no power, he could let things slide and go with the flow. But now, with power in his hands, he couldn't stand by and let tragedies unfold. What did he care about timelines or broken plotlines? Ian didn't. He was determined to use his power to eliminate the nightmares that haunted everyone in Fairy Tail.
Whatever the original future held—whatever tragedies had befallen Gray and the others—they didn't need to know. Those burdens would be Ian's to carry.
"…"
Gray and the others felt a wave of emotion after Ian's words. Their hearts clenched, and tears began to stream from their eyes.
"Now, listen closely," Ian said, snapping them back to attention. "Ultear's magic power problem isn't completely resolved yet. For her sake, and to ensure her talent doesn't go to waste, you must go to the Fairy Tail Guild and seek out Master Makarov. Ask him to introduce you to someone named Warrod Sequen."
"Warrod Sequen? You mean the top-ranking member of the Ten Wizard Saints, one of the 'Heavenly Kings' of Ishgar?" Ur's heart skipped a beat at the mention of such a famous name.
"Yes, that's him. Actually, he's one of Fairy Tail's founders and a senior member of our guild. He won't just ignore a problem facing a fellow guild member," Ian revealed Warrod's long-kept secret.
"Huh?" Ur was stunned, realizing there was far more to Fairy Tail than she had initially thought. Up until now, her impression of Fairy Tail was that it was a guild that constantly caused trouble—particularly that Gildarts fellow, who seemed to have made enemies across both the light and dark magic worlds. Despite his title as the strongest mage in the west of the continent, Gildarts had never been granted the title of Wizard Saint, not due to lack of strength, but because of his "questionable" morals.
In fact, many people saw Fairy Tail as a guild of troublemakers.
"Heh," Ian chuckled. "Believe it or not, the two strongest dark guilds in Ishgar, Tartaros and Grimoire Heart, both have deep ties to Fairy Tail. The master of Grimoire Heart is our second guild master, and as for Tartaros… its future leader will also be someone Fairy Tail brings back into the fold."
Considering all this, it wasn't hard to see why people might think Fairy Tail was secretly a dark guild disguised as a light one…
"Ahem," Ian cleared his throat. "I'll be joining Fairy Tail in X775, about a year from now. But you don't need to worry about meeting me then—I may not recognize you. However, in X778, four years from now, I'll definitely remember you."
"So, I'll see you all in four years, at Fairy Tail!" Ian said with a smile, raising his fading right hand in a fist.
Even though his body had already begun to vanish, the connection he felt with Gray, Lyon, Ur, and Ultear remained strong. Their hearts felt his presence as they raised their fists, sharing one final bump.
"Yes! We'll meet again in four years, at Fairy Tail!" Ur and the others shouted, their eyes red from tears as Ian faded into the wind.
[Simulation Complete!]
As Ian completely disappeared before their eyes, his world turned to darkness. When his consciousness returned, he heard the system's notification:
[Rewards have been automatically distributed.]
The system had merged all the magical power Ian had gained during the simulation with his present self. On top of that, he found that the souls of Deliora, Keyes, and Zero, along with the entire magic development facility, were now safely stored within his dark space.
"So, it's finally over," Ian thought as he opened his eyes, gazing at the ceiling of his villa. For some reason, he felt thirsty.
After a moment's hesitation, Ian got out of bed, still reflecting on the events of the simulation, and headed toward the dining room.
When he reached the dining room, Ian froze.
Standing there, making breakfast, was Gray.
Without thinking, Ian lifted his hand, ready to greet him, but then he hesitated. Though only a moment had passed for him, four years had gone by for Gray and the others.
"Uh?"
Gray noticed Ian's presence and turned toward him, a smile spreading across his face. Without hesitation, Gray approached Ian, lifting his fist.
"You never got to finish that fist bump four years ago. Shouldn't we do it now?"
Gray smiled warmly. The moment Ian hesitated, Gray had known the Ian he remembered was back.
"Yeah, it's about time," Ian replied with a smile, raising his hand.
Clap!
After four long years, their fists finally met.
"Welcome back, Ian," Gray said, tears spilling down his cheeks. He had waited for this moment for so long. For four years, Gray had been scared—the Ian who saved them all might never return.
"I'm back," Ian said with a laugh, ruffling Gray's hair.
Though Ian didn't want to ruin the emotional moment, he was already thinking about how to use the magic development device to help Gray unlock his full potential.
Gray: "Honestly, Ian… I'm starting to regret you coming back."