The walk to Magnolia took hours, but with Makarov beside me, time passed quickly — and safely. Curious animals appeared along the way, but all the old man had to do was look at the woods and spread his golden aura, and everything fled.
When the city finally appeared, my eyes widened.
Magnolia was not the vibrant metropolis I remembered from the anime. It was smaller, simpler, with light wooden houses, stone streets, and vendors loudly calling out to customers. A welcoming place, smelling of fresh bread and faint magic floating in the air.
"Does it look smaller than you expected?" Makarov asked gently, noticing my expression.
"Just... different," I replied, choosing my words carefully.
"Magnolia grows alongside the guild. And Fairy Tail is still just beginning to make its mark," he said with a proud smile.
We walked through narrow streets to a wooden bridge over the river. On the other side, a large, yet rustic, building stood out. It was like a huge tavern with a red flag of the fairy symbol waving in the wind — a simpler version than I remembered.
"Welcome to the home of the fairies," Makarov said.
We climbed the few steps. I took a deep breath.
As soon as the door opened, a hurricane of voices, laughter, and confusion overwhelmed me.
It was a mess.
A bottle flew over my head. A blonde boy, about my age — maybe eight years old — was accidentally electrocuting an adult, yelling:
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I'M TRAINING!"
The adult, with smoke coming out of his hair, yelled back:
"THEN TRAIN OUTSIDE, LAXUS!"
My brain froze.
Laxus. Child. A monster in the making.
At a nearby table, a little white-haired girl — perhaps seven years old — watched everything with sparkling eyes, with a mixture of fear and admiration.
"Wow, Mira... do you think we'll ever be that strong?" said a sturdy little boy beside her — clearly Elfman, 'lollipop' version.
"Of course we will!" Mirajane replied, closing her fist with a mischievous air. "And when I'm strong... I'll tell all these grown-ups to shut up!"
Lisanna, still very small, about five years old, giggled shyly behind her.
Across the hall, sitting alone at a table, with an entire fish in his mouth — I swear — was a pink-haired boy.
Natsu. Child. Bright, innocent eyes, but with a real flame burning within them. He looked directly at me, sniffed the air, and tilted his head. "Hey, you smell weird. You're not from here."
I wanted to answer, but Makarov lightly slapped the back of my neck.
"Natsu, don't talk to people like that!" the old man complained.
Natsu chewed the whole fish and shrugged.
"But it's true."
The mess stopped for an instant as several heads turned towards Makarov.
"The Master is back!"
"Master Makarov, who's the kid?"
"Did you bring backup?"
"Is he lost?"
The Master raised his hand and everyone quieted down — or at least reduced the noise to "acceptable chaos."
"This is Axel," Makarov announced. "He came from very far away. And from today, he will stay with us until he decides his own path."
The adults nodded sympathetically. The children stared with curiosity.
Makarov turned to me.
"Do you know how a guild works, Axel?"
"I have... an idea," I replied.
He smiled.
"Great. I'll show you how it works in practice."
We approached the mission board. The wall was covered with simple papers — no absurd rewards. Small, humble jobs: finding lost cats, helping at the port, collecting herbs.
"A guild is a family," Makarov explained as I read. "We support each other, work together, and help the city. Every mission helps someone... and strengthens you too."
Mira approached slowly, her blue eyes evaluating every detail of me.
"You look like trouble," she said, without ceremony.
Elfman agreed.
"Yeah... but you can get strong that way!"
Lisanna smiled shyly.
"Welcome..."
Natsu appeared behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder, without any sense of personal space.
"Hey, Axel. Do you fight? Because you look strong."
Laxus heard and snorted, crossing his arms.
"He doesn't look strong. He looks weak."
A shock ran through his body as he said that, electricity escaping his fingers. He was definitely annoyed... or simply had poor control of his magic. I took a deep breath.
"I might be stronger than I look."
Laxus narrowed his eyes.
"Hmph. We'll see."
Makarov sighed deeply.
"Children, no fighting. At least not until lunch."
I laughed. It was exactly the loving chaos I remembered... only much more childish, rawer, truer.
Makarov placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Axel, before anything else... we need to make an important mark."
He raised his staff. A small golden light danced at the tip.
"Are you ready to receive the symbol of Fairy Tail?"
My chest tightened.
I had barely arrived. I barely knew this world. But that familiar feeling, that warmth... it felt like home. I nodded.
"Yes. I'm ready."
Makarov smiled as only a proud grandfather knows how to smile.
"And where do you want the mark, my boy?"
On the left shoulder, in black, I replied, and the Master nodded with a satisfied smile before going to fetch the stamp.
As he walked towards the table where he kept the inks, I could finally look properly at the guild. And, for the first time since I entered, the excitement gave way to a silent strangeness.
Fairy Tail was as lively as ever — laughter, the smell of old wood, scattered tables, colorful banners. But... something was wrong.
Very wrong.
I blinked, frowning.
Erza wasn't here. Neither her firm presence, nor the shiny armor, nor the intimidating gaze. What was even stranger... Laxus was leaning against a column, arms crossed, with his usual arrogant expression... but something was different about him. He didn't have that electric confidence that only a Dragon Slayer would have. In fact, his aura seemed... normal.
"Huh... where's the walking lightning bolt?" I murmured unintentionally.
Almost at the same time, I heard a laugh coming from a table further back. Mirajane — much younger, still with the rebellious air from before she became a guild icon — was pushing Elfman away after a silly argument about who was more "beastly."
They shouldn't be here yet. They arrived after Erza... always.
And near the door, with an almost innocent smile on his face, Natsu was arguing with a mage I didn't recognize. Small, restless, with that posture of someone who hadn't yet lived anything that would transform him.
He also shouldn't be here so soon.
And Gray... nothing. Not a frozen thread, not a "take off your clothes again!" coming from Mirajane.
I inhaled deeply.
This must be a parallel universe.
"You have a strange look on your face, boy," a voice said behind me.
I turned around and found Makarov coming back with the stamp in his hand, raising an eyebrow.
"Is there a problem?"
"Oh, no, Master," I replied too quickly. "Just... absorbing it all. The guild is incredible."
Makarov chuckled softly.
"You'll get used to it quickly. Fairy Tail is the kind of place that changes people's lives before they even realize it."
I smiled back, but inside, my mind was racing.
Yeah, Master... but this Fairy Tail isn't the one I knew.
As he raised the stamp, Mirajane approached out of curiosity.
"Does the newcomer have a name?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"You're going to scare him if you keep staring like that, Mira," Elfman complained, crossing his arms.
"That's being a man!" Elfman automatically retorted.
"That's not how it works!" Natsu yelled from the other side, joining the discussion without even knowing what it was about.
I laughed. I couldn't help it. Even if it was an AU... it was Fairy Tail. And when the hot stamp touched my skin, I felt the entire guild vibrate. Not just physically — but like a bond forming, pulling my destiny into that strange and familiar world.
Very well, I thought. Alternate universe or not... I'm in Fairy Tail. "Welcome to the family," Makarov said.
And, for the first time since I arrived, I took a deep breath.
This was going to be interesting.
After much conversation with the younger members of the guild, night finally fell, and the Master let me stay in the guild's dormitory. He let me pay after I started working; after all, I was still a child.
The guild dormitory was quite cozy. I can finally check my system, my rewards, and look directly at my status page and the store tab to see if I had gacha spins.