The moonlight danced on the water.
Raizel and Anna stood facing each other.
"I'm not sure how I should address you," Raizel admitted.
He truly didn't know how old Anna was.
Chronologically, she was over four hundred years old.
Biologically? She looked to be in her prime, perhaps the same age as Layla Heartfilia would have been.
He couldn't bring himself to ask such a risky question.
'Asking a woman her age is a death sentence in any era,' Raizel thought wise.
That was why he still pretended not to know Ur's age.
Anna chuckled softly, seeing his hesitation.
"Just call me the same way you call Layla," she said, waving her hand gracefully. "We're biologically about the same age. Also, there's no need to use formal language. It makes me seem like a fossil."
She narrowed her eyes playfully and tucked a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear.
"Then... I'll call you Anna-sensei," Raizel decided. It was respectful without being too formal.
"Sensei?" The corner of Anna's mouth twitched.
She crossed her arms and pondered for a moment.
"Hmm... acceptable. It has a nice ring to it."
"So, Raizel," she continued, her tone shifting to business. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"It's nothing too urgent, actually," Raizel shrugged. "I hadn't originally planned to seek you out. But Natsu discovered you today, so I used my magic to confirm it was you."
If he had urgent business, he could have just left a message with Layla back when the Eclipse Gate opened.
"It seems you know I came here for Natsu?" Anna quickly grasped the key point.
"Yes. And I know about the Eclipse Project," Raizel nodded frankly. "I helped gather the Zodiac Keys to open the Gate. I also have a general idea of your purpose here: to defeat Acnologia."
Anna's eyes widened slightly.
"I see," she breathed. "Layla didn't mention your involvement in finding the keys. Then I must thank you on behalf of my descendants, and myself."
"Do you need my help finding the other children?" Raizel offered. "Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue are all within the borders of Fiore. It would take me some time to pinpoint them, but it is certainly possible."
"No need," Anna shook her head quickly. "I'd like to find them myself."
She looked out over the lake, her expression melancholic.
"I also want to explore whether there are other methods along the way."
"Other methods?" Raizel tilted his head.
"Yes," Anna sighed. "Other ways to defeat Acnologia. Perhaps after 400 years, this era has developed magic or technology we didn't dream of."
She looked down at her hands, clenching them into fists until they trembled.
"Seeing Wendy and Natsu these past few days... I've been reflecting. I've been wondering if we were wrong from the start. Should we have burdened such young children with the fate of the world? Was it cruel to send them into the future to fight a monster?"
Her eyes dimmed with helplessness.
"But there truly was no other way back then," she whispered. "Acnologia... he cannot be reasoned with. He views humans as insects. He won't communicate. He only destroys."
Raizel looked at her. He saw the guilt of a teacher who sent her students to war.
"I think we can give it a try," Raizel said softly. "The world has changed, Anna-sensei. We have powerful mages now. Fairy Tail alone has wizards who defy logic."
Besides searching for the children, having a new goal wasn't bad.
Even if the hope was slim—after all, in the original timeline, not even the Rift in Time could kill Acnologia—trying to find an alternative was better than despair.
Anna looked up as a glimmer of light returned to her eyes.
"Thank you," she said. "After this, I'll go look for the other children. If they've already found a good Guild or a safe place, I'll let things take their natural course. I won't interfere with their lives unless necessary."
"Take this," Raizel said.
He pulled a small, glowing Lacrima crystal from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Long-range Communication Lacrima. You can contact me anytime if you need help or find yourself in trouble."
"Thank you."
Anna accepted the crystal with both hands.
Zip.
The crystal vanished from her grasp into thin air.
"Spatial Magic?" Raizel raised an eyebrow.
"Is it strange that I know Spatial Magic?" Anna smiled innocently.
"Not at all. I just assumed you specialized in Celestial Spirit Magic."
"Actually," Anna explained, "Celestial Spirit Magic is a unique form of Spatial Magic. We open gates to another dimension, after all."
She tapped the air where the crystal vanished.
"But this specific trick was taught to me by the Celestial Spirit King. You could say I stored the crystal in the Celestial Spirit World."
"The Celestial Spirit King is my friend," she added casually.
Raizel's mind reeled.
As expected of the Heartfilia ancestor.
Using the Spirit World as a personal storage locker?
'Celestial Spirit King, you spoil her too much.'
Outwardly, Raizel maintained his cool demeanor.
"I see. Thats.... impressive."
"By the way," Anna said, her expression turning serious again. "I wanted to ask about that mage... Laxus Dreyar."
"The Lightning Dragon Slayer," Raizel nodded.
"Yes. Sorcerer Weekly calls him a Dragon Slayer, but he wasn't one of the children I sent. How was that achieved?"
"That was done by implanting a Dragon Slayer Lacrima into his body," Raizel explained. "He is a Second Generation Dragon Slayer. Artificial."
"Artificial..." Anna pinched her chin, thoughtful. "I never thought such technology would exist in the future."
She looked Raizel in the eye.
"Raizel, you must be careful. Dragon Slayer Magic has a terrible side effect. Overuse causes the seed of a dragon to grow inside the human host. Eventually, the human undergoes Dragonification."
She shuddered.
"That is how Acnologia came to be. He killed too many dragons, bathed in their blood, and transformed from a human into a Dragon. He lost his humanity."
"Natsu and the others have antibodies," she continued.
Igneel and the other dragons used Soul Technique to hide inside their bodies to create antibodies and suppress the dragonification process.
But Laxus... he doesn't have a dragon inside him to stop it.
Raizel nodded.
He knew this lore.
"I'll let him know," Raizel said. "But from what I understand, the Lacrima seems to act as a regulator. It's been almost ten years since he had the crystal implanted. He's incredibly powerful, but he hasn't shown any signs of turning into a lizard."
In fact, Second Generation Dragon Slayers seemed immune to the motion sickness and the dragonification issues that plagued the First Generation (until the plot required otherwise).
God Serena, with his eight lacrimas, was proof of the potential.
"We still need to monitor this closely," Anna insisted, her tone sharp. "If possible, tell him to use it sparingly. We cannot afford another Acnologia."
She had no desire to witness another human lose their soul to the dragon's curse.
"Understood," Raizel nodded solemnly. "I will convey this to him."
"Good."
Anna pulled up her hood, obscuring her face in shadow.
"Then I'll take my leave. Please take good care of Wendy and Natsu for me."
"I will."
Anna nodded one last time. She turned and vanished into the forest, moving with the silence of a star.
Raizel watched her go as he himself departed from the place.
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