"Can you give me the short version?"
Shane pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.
Now that he'd confirmed the man's identity, most of the wariness in his heart had naturally faded.
Mystogan looked at Shane sitting directly across from him and stayed silent for a full five seconds.
Then, in a dry, almost pleading voice, he said, "...Could you move a little farther away from me first?"
"..."
The look on Shane's face darkened by another shade.
Still, he grit his teeth, stood up, and reluctantly moved to the other end of the long table. "How about now?"
"Haa... this is barely manageable."
Mystogan still looked pale, but at least his breathing had finally evened out enough for a normal conversation.
He laced his fingers together in front of his nose and said slowly, "Do you remember, when we met in the forest a few years ago, I mentioned my... 'counterpart'?"
"Yeah, I remember." Shane leaned back in his chair and raised a brow.
"You said he was some monster running wild in your world and causing chaos everywhere. What, did he stir up another huge mess recently?"
"Not exactly." Mystogan shook his head and gave a bitter laugh. "That bastard is still the same as ever, like a bottomless pit, frantically plundering magic from all over the world to make himself stronger."
"So I guess you could call that... 'stable.'"
"This time, the problem actually comes from our country's ruler."
He paused, like he was choosing his words carefully.
"Our king can no longer tolerate the increasingly depleted, barren magic environment of Edolas."
"To preserve his rule and this so-called prosperity, he ordered the use of an extra-dimensional spell called 'Anima' against your world, Earth Land."
"Anima?" Shane frowned. That definitely wasn't a good sign.
"Yes. It's a brutally one-sided spatial spell that seizes magic from another world."
Mystogan gave a bitter smile as he explained.
"In fact, even back when I first ran into you a few years ago, that operation was already quietly underway."
"But I hate that approach. If our world is falling apart, then it should be the people of our world who figure out how to fix it. We have no right to dump our disaster onto someone else."
Mystogan took a deep breath, and his expression hardened with conviction.
"So for all these years, I've hidden my identity and stayed in Earth Land, tracking down and secretly sabotaging every Anima gate that opened."
"I see..."
Shane nodded thoughtfully.
No wonder the guy had been so cagey back then whenever the subject of his world came up.
Trying to save your own world by looting another one really wasn't something you could be proud of.
"Then I think I get it." Shane looked at him. "You joined Fairy Tail because it's the strongest mage guild in Fiore right now. Using that identity as cover makes it much easier for you to travel around, right?"
"That's one reason."
For the first time, Mystogan's gaze softened a little.
"The other is... I wanted to keep an eye on Wendy and make sure she was doing well here."
"But Wendy doesn't even know you exist, does she?"
Thinking back to Wendy's reaction yesterday, Shane couldn't help finding that strange.
"And this world's Jellal isn't some dangerous criminal or anything, so why go this far to hide yourself?"
"Because as far as I know, the 'me' of this world is working toward becoming a senior member of the Magic Council."
Mystogan calmly explained his reasoning.
"At a time like this, if another person with the exact same face started walking around in public, it would cause him all kinds of unnecessary trouble."
"And besides, I'm still an outsider from Edolas. It's better if I stay discreet."
"As for Wendy..." He lowered his eyes slightly. "Old man Roubaul and the people in the guild take very good care of her. She's happy every day."
"So as long as I still have a mission to fulfill and might have to leave at any time, there's no reason for me to disturb that peaceful life."
"So that's how it is..."
After hearing all that, Shane couldn't help seeing the man in front of him in a new light.
He hadn't expected him to have thought everything through so carefully, even taking his counterpart in this world into account.
He's a soft-hearted idiot too, Shane muttered inwardly.
He didn't dislike people like that. If anything, he liked people who were that straightforward.
And besides...
That uptight idiot Jellal is actually quietly working toward a Council seat now?
Shane found himself genuinely happy hearing how much his friends had moved forward.
"I've told you my side." Mystogan rubbed his forehead and tossed the topic back. "More importantly, why were you so determined to corner me all of a sudden?"
Up to this point, his gaze had kept unconsciously avoiding Shane's face.
What kind of horrifying thing did the version of me in your world do to you?
Shane screamed internally, but outwardly he didn't hide anything. He directly explained Mira's suspicions, along with everything surrounding Lisanna's strange disappearance a year ago.
"So she was caught in Anima..."
Mystogan rested a hand on his chin and fell into deep thought.
His mind raced as he tried to recall every Anima point he'd destroyed across the world a year ago.
After a long moment, he slowly looked up.
"If the time and location match... then yes, your theory is probably right. That strange magic you found was definitely residue left behind when Anima opened."
"Thank god."
Relief flashed across Shane's face, and he couldn't help clenching his fist.
"But..."
Mystogan didn't share his optimism. If anything, his expression grew even heavier.
"Most people directly taken by Anima into Edolas are forcibly converted into Lacrima containing enormous magic power, so the kingdom can extract and use them."
He looked at Shane, and there was a trace of reluctance in his voice. "It's already been almost a year since she vanished, so... I'm afraid..."
"..."
It was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head.
The joy vanished from Shane's face instantly, and his expression turned grim.
Even though they had finally confirmed what happened to Lisanna, if that was the ending, he had no idea what kind of face he was supposed to show Mira outside.
Seeing the dark look on Shane's face, guilt surged in Mystogan's chest.
The disaster had come from his homeland. On top of that, given the identity he'd kept hidden, he felt he had no right to dodge responsibility for what happened to Lisanna.
After hesitating, he finally spoke up to soften the blow.
"Still... things may not be beyond saving yet."
"If Lisanna was only accidentally swept up in the aftershock of Anima activating, rather than being directly targeted..."
"Then she most likely wouldn't have been converted into a Lacrima. She would've arrived there in her original human form."
"You mean..."
The light in Shane's eyes flared back to life. "Lisanna... there's still a chance she's alive?"
"Yes."
Mystogan nodded firmly.
"And after thinking it through carefully, I do remember this: about a year ago, I went to clear out a small Anima gate near the Beast Soul territory."
"If that's where Lisanna was taken from... then the odds that she survived are actually very high."
Shane shot to his feet.
"You have a way to cross between worlds, right? Take me there."
"I swear, other than finding Lisanna, I won't interfere in anything else!"
Four years ago, Shane had already tried to get Mystogan to take him to Edolas, partly out of curiosity and partly because he wanted to meet the legendary dragon-form version of himself.
Back then, Mystogan had refused without hesitation, worried Shane would cause chaos.
"..."
Mystogan looked at the eager black-haired boy in front of him and didn't answer right away.
If this had been back then, there was no way he would've agreed to such a ridiculous request.
Taking another "Shane" into Edolas? What kind of joke was that?
But...
Sitting there in silence, Mystogan couldn't help thinking of the ruined state of his homeland.
And of that terrifying black dragon looming over the sky—something the entire kingdom's army had been powerless against.
They were already out of options against that monster that endlessly devoured magic.
And the Shane in front of him... as the counterpart to that dragon, he also carried terrifying power.
If he really did go to Edolas, maybe he actually could stir that stagnant world back to life and force some kind of unexpected change.
Besides... Edolas was already a wreck.
How much worse could it really get?