Chapter 1012: [1012] : Resurrection

Inside the massive crystal, a young girl with incredibly long, pale blonde hair floated peacefully, her eyes closed in an eternal slumber. This was the life-support system maintaining the First Master’s physical form.

Makarov stared up at the crystal, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “This is her… the First Master, Mavis Vermillion.”

“Since you are from a higher world, you already know her tragic history,” Makarov said, his voice trembling. “I finally learned the truth about how she died, but I have been completely powerless to help her. I watched her suffer, and now I watch her sleep, unable to do anything but stand by and watch.”

He turned to Shin, bowing his head deeply. “Please. I am begging you. Help me bring her back.”

Shin nodded calmly. “You have my word. I will handle this.”

“Since her physical body is perfectly preserved, I don’t need to use the Edo Tensei,” Shin muttered to himself. “I can just use the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.”

Makarov, entirely unfamiliar with the terminology, simply stood back respectfully. “I understand. I will stand guard right here. A magic of this magnitude must require a massive amount of preparation and time.”

Shin shook his head and raised a single finger.

“One hour?” Makarov asked, surprised. “That is incredibly fast.”

Shin shook his head again.

“A day? A month? I can wait as long as it takes.”

“No,” Shin smirked. “It will take exactly one second—heh.”

Shin focused his Rinnegan on the crystal.

“Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!”

CRACK.

The massive lacrima container instantly shattered into a million glowing pieces, raining down onto the stone floor.

Makarov gasped, falling to his knees. “FIRST MASTER… FIRST MASTER! SHE IS BREATHING! SHE IS REALLY ALIVE!”

Makarov wept openly, bowing repeatedly toward Shin. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Shin simply shrugged. Even in a universe filled with overpowered magic, true resurrection was an incredibly rare and terrifying feat.

As the glowing dust settled, Mavis slowly fluttered her eyes open. She blinked, looking down at the weeping old man at her feet.

“You… are you the Third Master?” Mavis asked, her voice soft and melodious.

She looked around the dark cavern in confusion. “Who are you? And why am I here? Wait… didn’t I die? Why am I suddenly alive again? This doesn’t make any sense.”

Seeing the sheer confusion on her face, Makarov practically tackled her in a tearful hug.

“First Master!” Makarov sobbed. “The Second Master… Precht… he is dead! He left the guild and walked down a dark path. I am the only one left! I couldn’t stop him! I have been so incredibly lonely…”

Mavis gently patted the crying old man on the head, offering a warm, sad smile. She waited patiently as the two old friends reunited after decades apart.

Shin, deciding not to interrupt the heartfelt moment, quietly stepped back into the shadows. ℯ

“You really brought me back,” Mavis murmured, looking down at her hands. “I never thought I would see this world again. I don’t know what to say.”

“First Master, we can finally show your true face to the world again!” Makarov cheered, wiping his tears. “We will make Fairy Tail even greater than before!”

Mavis smiled softly. “I know you have done your best, Makarov. What happened to Precht wasn’t your fault. I believe in you.”

Her expression then shifted into something far more serious as she turned to look at Shin. “But right now, I need to know who resurrected me. And why.”

Shin stepped out of the shadows, his footsteps echoing in the silence. “You truly are quite charming, First Master. It is a shame your story ended in such absolute tragedy.”

Mavis frowned, tilting her head. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“Who are you?” Mavis asked, her tone turning cautious. “And what do you mean by a ‘tragic ending’?”

Makarov quickly intervened. “First Master, this man is from exactly eight hundred years in the past. He possesses knowledge of our entire history, and his power is absolute. He means us no harm.”

“He stumbled into our era by accident,” Makarov explained hastily. “He is looking for a way back to his own time. He believes the secret lies in the history of fairies and elves.”

Mavis’s eyes widened in realization. “I see. If you are truly from eight hundred years ago, then you existed during the era of the true Elves. But… the Elves were completely wiped out during that exact same century.”

“As for fairies,” Mavis continued softly, “we are the offspring of human mothers and Elven fathers. I am a fairy. But unfortunately, that is the extent of my knowledge. I don’t know how to send you back.”

Shin sighed in genuine disappointment. “So that is the truth behind fairies. It seems you don’t hold the answers I need after all.”

“Well, since I am stuck here for the foreseeable future, I hope you don’t mind me staying in Fairy Tail,” Shin said casually.

He then locked eyes with Mavis, his Rinnegan glowing faintly in the dark.

“And since you are back, I should let you know… I can permanently erase Zeref’s curse. The two of you can finally be together without killing each other.”

Shin wasn’t bluffing. Erasing the Curse of Contradiction would actually be incredibly easy for him. He could simply use Kotoamatsukami to permanently rewrite Zeref’s subconscious. If Zeref’s mind genuinely believed he ‘hated’ everything, the curse would trigger in reverse, effectively neutralizing it.

Mavis’s entire body began to violently tremble. Her eyes filled with desperate, overwhelming hope.

“You… you really have a way??” Mavis choked out, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You can truly save him??”

“Yes,” Shin replied coolly. “I can fix everything. But you are going to have to help me.”