For most people in this world, unless they've already been put in a coffin, it's probably impossible to understand what it feels like to be buried alive in the earth.
All around him was absolute darkness and stillness. The pressure of the soil wasn't heavy at all. If anything, it carried a strange sense of being enveloped.
"I should really take in what this feels like. Once old man Makarov finally passes a hundred someday, maybe I can offer some valuable advice when they arrange his funeral…"
Shane's thoughts wandered aimlessly through the dark.
Then he immediately felt that was a bit disrespectful.
"No, wait. In a world of magic, only living to a hundred probably counts as dying young, right? That old fox Hades looks like he's already well past that…"
Perhaps because the laws of the underworld had not yet fully wrapped around him and severed his connection to the living world, Shane's thoughts were unusually lively.
He felt none of the dull, sluggish "your consciousness will sink into chaos" sensation Ereshkigal had warned him about earlier.
"I wonder if the goddess has already left…"
Shane muttered to himself inwardly.
Even though, at most, he had spent less than a day with the mistress of the underworld, for some reason he had developed a surprisingly positive impression of Ereshkigal.
Even her first appearance as that terrifying giant skeleton couldn't hide the thoughtfulness buried underneath.
That contrast—between divine majesty and the very human emotional response she showed over something as simple as a bouquet of flowers—made it hard not to feel close to her.
Maybe that was simply the natural charm of a god.
"I'm still here. But I'll be leaving very soon."
Just as Shane's mind was wandering, a vivid splash of color suddenly bloomed deep within his consciousness.
Ereshkigal's ethereal voice sounded at just the right moment.
It seemed she had already returned control of the body to Erza. What appeared in Shane's mind now was a phantom shape like a cluster of ghostly blue flames, with no fixed form.
From the way her voice was gradually fading, Shane could hear a trace of reluctance.
The regret of not being able to look any longer at the bright colors of the living world… and at those vibrant, living beings.
"There's still a little time before dawn. Since you haven't left yet, then look a little longer."
Faced with the goddess who was about to depart, it was Shane's turn to comfort her in a familiar tone.
Ereshkigal's blue flame flickered faintly.
As though she had decided Shane was absolutely right, she seemed to think that after going to such effort to stall for this one precious day in the mortal world, there was no way she should waste it standing around blankly.
"Since I've already come to a world that doesn't belong to me, I should learn a bit from that hateful Ishtar and allow myself to be a little selfish. There's no need to be so rigidly proper."
As the goddess talked herself into it, she spread her divine perspective outward without limit.
And, with remarkable thoughtfulness, she shared everything she saw with Shane in real time as he lay buried underground.
The first thing that appeared in his mind was that ancient forest where Nirvana had once been hidden.
"Wow… that level of destruction is ridiculous. Looks like it's really angry."
In the image, the forest, which was already in miserable shape, had now been completely plowed flat by some violent force.
Above the ruins circled a black dragon vast enough to blot out the sky, roaring in fury.
Then the scene rippled like water and shifted to the familiar central hall of the Fairy Tail guild.
"Looks like everyone got back safely under Ultear's urging."
Shane saw Erza slowly waking up. He also saw Makarov and the others gathered around her.
As his gaze swept across the hall, he noticed Wendy and old man Robinlu there too.
"Did they happen to run into each other while retreating? Is Wendy joining Fairy Tail?"
A trace of worry surfaced in Shane's heart.
"If they throw a little girl that young into a pile of problem children like this, won't she get led astray? Though… that white cat named Charle seems to be female. If Happy finds out, that idiot cat will probably pass out from excitement."
"Tch, what a shame. I didn't get to see Wendy's reaction when she realized Jellal looks exactly the same as the Jellal from the other world…"
Watching one vivid scene after another unfold before him, Shane was like an auntie in front of a TV drama, muttering nonstop in his head.
Speak of the devil.
The focus of the image suddenly zoomed in on a blue-haired boy with spiky hair.
"Hm? Jellal… what's he apologizing for with his head down like that?"
Seeing the deep guilt written all over Jellal's face, Shane immediately guessed the reason.
"It's probably because he was the one who proposed this whole plan to take down Brain."
"And because the intel was incomplete, it ended up drawing Grimoire Heart into it."
"So now he thinks I fell into this sleep because of him and he's taking all the blame onto himself, huh?"
"Honestly, that really is exactly the kind of thing someone with his personality would do…"
Shane sighed.
"What a pain. Once I wake up, I'm definitely giving him a proper beating."
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the image shifted back to Erza again.
The red-haired girl had barely awakened, yet without even listening to everyone's concern, she stood up in silence, turned around, and went home.
Then… she drew her sword, swung it, and began her daily sword practice like a machine that never tires.
"…This girl really is overthinking herself into a corner again."
Watching the determined young woman biting her lip in the image, Shane felt a wave of helplessness.
Every time a comrade was endangered and she felt she couldn't do anything about it, Erza always blamed it all on her own lack of strength.
And then… she would push herself twice as hard.
"I just hope she comes around on her own after a while and gets back to normal," Shane prayed inwardly.
"Otherwise… Kagura, as her personal student, probably isn't going to have a very pleasant time coming up."
Then again, Kagura was always glaring at him whenever she saw him…
And suddenly, Shane didn't think that was such a bad thing.
If you ignored the process, then under Erza's relentless pressure in this state, Kagura's strength was definitely going to skyrocket.
In the final images, Ultear did not appear at all.
Clearly, after confirming that everyone was safe, the woman who never liked opening her heart to others had left without the slightest hesitation.
She seemed to have gone back to the Magic Academy under the Council's jurisdiction.
Shane could guess her thinking easily enough.
She probably wanted to formally enter the Council as soon as possible, climb to a high position, and obtain real authority and influence.
"She's probably extremely annoyed at Grimoire Heart now," Shane thought silently. "After all, she owes me a ridiculous number of favors. With her twisted personality, if she doesn't repay every last one with interest, she probably won't even be able to sleep at night."
Why is every single person around me such a pain?
Grumbling as he was, the images before him began to blur and fade beyond recovery.
At his ear came Ereshkigal's faint sigh:
"I'm… leaving now."
"In the future… perhaps you may call my name again."
Her ethereal voice grew more and more distant, carrying a faint, satisfied laugh.
"It's just that when that time comes… the 'me' who answers may no longer remember the part where I knew you."
"Goodbye."
The ghostly blue flame went out completely.
With that final farewell, Shane's consciousness finally lost all support and slipped irresistibly into the abyss of sleep.
His soul formally fused with the dead, silent underworld buried deep beneath the earth.
However—
In the final second before his awareness was completely swallowed by darkness, Shane noticed in surprise that deep within his soul, the fourth vision of [Lancer], which had long lain still like stagnant water…
was beginning to pulse upward.
Faintly, yes—
but with unmistakable determination.
"Is it because… Ereshkigal is a goddess of the underworld who commands serpents and dragons, so the trace of her divinity she left behind happens to resonate with Lancer?"
That final thought flashed through his mind—
and then Shane finally let himself relax.
Wrapped in darkness and silence, he slowly closed his eyes.