Morning light slipped through the crack in the curtains and fell silently across Shane's face.
His eyelids twitched, but he didn't open them right away—he first focused on the changes inside his body.
That familiar heaviness and sluggishness he usually felt after meditation or mana expenditure was gone, replaced by a strange sense of lightness and liveliness.
After learning Requip magic, it was as if something inside him had been unshackled. His mana began to flow on its own through the pathways in his body—slowly, naturally.
The change was subtle, but the feeling of it "moving" was unmistakable.
"Mana… it's finally starting to increase!"
At that realization, Shane sat up abruptly, a grin tugging uncontrollably at his lips.
A long-lost surge of excitement rushed up. He made a decision on the spot:
"I need to push while the momentum's here!
If I don't have to chew through theory in the library anymore, I'll put the extra time into meditation."
He clenched his fist. "First small goal—Mana E+!"
In a great mood, he ran out of his room—only to find the house strangely quiet.
As he wondered why, the door creaked open, and Erza walked in, lifting a letter with elegant, faintly patterned stationery.
"Jellal sent another letter."
"What does it say?" Shane leaned in.
"Still sealed." Erza naturally handed it to him.
"Then we read it together." Shane took it and cleanly tore through the wax seal.
Mana light shimmered, and Jellal's image condensed again.
Compared to last time, his expression looked much more relaxed—no longer tense with strain.
"Shane, message received," the projection said. "I didn't expect you'd really resolve Ultear's situation."
He sounded impressed, then continued.
"And I've also learned about Brain. But the Tower of Heaven… I don't plan to abandon it yet. I want to avoid unnecessary surprises."
"Also, our remaining funds are almost used up. Lately I've been considering forming a guild. I've been busy teaching Hugh and Wally using the spellbooks Brain left behind, so my reply is late—sorry."
At the end, Hugh and Wally appeared in the image too, pumping their fists and shouting, "We're improving fast—watch out!"
The projection faded.
Shane pinched the letter and raised an eyebrow. "Jellal really can't sit still. Managing the tower, teaching students, and now he wants to build a guild too… where does he get the energy?"
"Maybe he enjoys it," Erza said.
Shane thought about it and nodded. "Fair. You can't know a fish's joy if you're not a fish."
His thoughts drifted.
Everyone who escaped the Tower of Heaven seemed to be slowly finding their own path. He wondered if Simon had found his sister yet.
As they chatted, the sun climbed higher.
Today was New Year's Eve.
…
In this world, it was also an important day to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new. Since Erza was back, Shane wasn't about to let her rot at home.
They headed straight to the guild to meet up with Cana, Gray, and the others.
They played hard and messed around—from table games in the guild to food stalls in the streets—easy, loud, and carefree.
By the time they staggered back to the house, the night was deep and the cold had sharpened.
Shane, still thinking about the backyard hot spring, grabbed Gray when he tried to sneak off to the boys' dorm.
"Don't even think about running. Come help!"
He dragged Gray to the backyard. "Make me ice. I'll heat it."
"Huh? I've been tired all day—"
Gray complained about the "trouble," but his body was honest and followed Shane anyway.
Frosty air spread. With Shane's flames, the melted water gushed into the freshly dug pool pit.
It filled quickly, steaming white mist into the night.
Shane wanted to keep Gray around to ring in the New Year, but Gray waved him off. "Nope, nope. The boys' dorm has stuff going on!"
After sending Gray off, Shane stared at the steaming hot spring with immense satisfaction.
He cleared his throat, about to deliver a grand "completion speech," when a flash of magic light cut in beside him.
Erza's body glowed—and in an instant she'd changed into a black one-piece swimsuit, completely ignoring the below-freezing weather, eyes shining at the water.
"Hey! I said I get to soak first!" Shane shouted.
Erza didn't listen. She grabbed his wrist and stepped straight into the warm water.
Splash.
Shane didn't even finish his sentence before a warm, soft hand yanked hard.
The next thing he knew, the world spun—water exploded everywhere.
Erza surfaced, wet scarlet hair plastered to her pale cheeks.
"Doesn't this still count as you being first?" she said, wiping water from her face, blinking at him with a smug, mischievous sparkle.
"Y—You…" Shane was half-submerged, clothes soaked through. Seeing her triumphantly smug face, he didn't know whether to be mad or laugh.
He could only activate his still-awkward Requip magic. Light flashed, and his wet clothes became a dry white bathrobe.
Then he sighed and sat at the pool edge, resigned, running his heart-flame continuously to keep the temperature stable.
The scene he'd imagined—a snow-covered hot spring, calmly appreciating the moon—had been completely destroyed.
Now it was basically an open-air warm-water swimming pool.
But watching Erza splash around like a happy little mermaid, Shane shook his head helplessly—while his lips still curved into an unconscious smile.
Warm water wrapped the body, driving away the winter night's chill.
Gradually, Erza got tired too. She leaned against the edge and finally quieted down.
They tilted their heads back toward the starry sky, blurred by steam, and talked in lazy fragments.
Guild gossip. Who caused what disaster. Memories of the Tower of Heaven.
Quiet. Peaceful.
As the clock crept toward midnight, Shane suddenly remembered something and stood up out of the water.
"Hm? What is it?" Erza looked at him, confused.
Shane turned back and made a "keep it secret" gesture, wearing a mysterious grin. "You'll see."
He jogged out of the yard.
A few minutes later, when he returned, Erza raised her brow in surprise.
The bathrobe was gone.
In its place was Senji Muramasa's heroic outfit.
"What are you doing?" Erza grew even more curious.
Shane didn't explain. He walked to her side, looked up at the sky, and silently counted down.
Three. Two. One.
Right as the New Year's chime should've hit—
"Look up," Shane said softly.
"Whoosh—!!"
A blazing streak shot up into the sky from outside the yard, shrieking as it climbed.
The next instant—
BOOM—!!
Brilliant fire blossomed across the dark night like a grand festival burst.
But it wasn't ordinary fireworks.
The flames opened like massive flowers in layered petals, and then—clear as day—formed a huge, burning Fairy Tail guild emblem in the sky.
The giant flaming crest blazed, bathing the backyard and the two faces lifted from the hot spring in bright red light.
Shane admired his own handiwork with deep satisfaction.
In his old world, fireworks were banned in many places, and New Year always felt like it was missing something.
Here, with magic, he could finally make up for that regret.
He'd set up a "firework formation" using highly compressed, delayed-trigger heart-flame just for this moment.
"Well?" Shane asked with small, smug pride, glancing at Erza. "Pretty, right?"
Erza stared upward, her dark eyes filled with color and flame, shining with a childlike, pure awe.
Her mouth opened slightly, her voice so soft it almost melted into the steam. "So beautiful…"
And at that exact moment—when the fireworks froze in the sky and the old year crossed into the new—
Humm.
In Shane's mind, the Book of Heroes turned soundlessly, stopped on a page, and glowed with gentle light.
[Trial: Initiation II — Complete]
[As one who aims to become a Heroic Spirit, you have found warmth and belonging in this world, and stood shoulder to shoulder with companions to witness the turning of the year.]
[This tangible stability and bond is the clearest proof that you have truly begun to belong.]
The writing style felt different—more aligned with the mood and heart of this moment.
"So that's it…" Shane murmured. "To count as 'Initiation,' you really had to live through a year… and have a real life here?"