Highlights
- The Eclipse Gate is a powerful magic item in Fairy Tail that can send people to different timelines and was created by the Dark Wizard Zeref.
- The Eclipse Gate is a key part of the series' premise and is involved in the 400 Year Plan, which aims to save humanity and dragon-kind.
- The Eclipse Gate requires Celestial Spirit Magic and a solar or lunar eclipse to activate, and it plays a central role in the Grand Magic Games arc, leading to the appearance of Dragons from the past.
The world of Fairy Tail is teeming with magical powers that push mortal limitations, with some even going as far as altering time and space itself. The Eclipse Gate is one such magic item that is capable of incomprehensible feats, as this all-powerful device is capable of sending people to different timelines. Since the device goes against the laws of nature, its source can easily be traced back to the likes of the Dark Wizard Zeref.
Considering the Eclipse Gate’s unparalleled power, it’s only natural for it to become an integral part of the series’ premise. Its role in the series is further solidified by the revelation of the 400 Year Plan, revealing exactly how this magic item was at the forefront of saving humanity and dragon-kind alike.
What Is the Eclipse Gate?
Birthed from the demonic scripture known as the Books of Zeref, the Eclipse Gate is an all-powerful magic item that allows those that pass through it to travel to the past or future. However, activating the device is no simple feat as it requires the use of Celestial Spirit Magic, a rare form of spatial magic that only a few mages are capable of using. The gate’s usage has another prerequisite – a solar or lunar eclipse, and without this requirement being fulfilled, the Eclipse Gate stands useless and powerless.
The Eclipse Gate was created by Zeref more than 400 years before Fairy Tail’s set time, making the magic item an ancient device. The Eclipse Gate’s initial purpose was for Zeref to travel back in time to save his younger brother, Natsu Dragneel, from meeting his untimely demise. However, Zeref later abandoned this idea as he found other better ways to bring his brother back to life.
The Eclipse Project
The Eclipse Gate was introduced in the Grand Magic Games arc, where this magic device was at the center of a conspiracy involving several parties. The gate was at the forefront of the Eclipse Project, a secret plan launched by the Princess of Fiore in a bid to save the country from imminent destruction. The plan involved siphoning magic power from the contestants taking part in the Grand Magic Games to utilize it for the Eclipse Gate’s opening. Lucy and Yukino also became embroiled in the plan due to their status as the only two Celestial Spirit Magic users in the entire games.
The entire ordeal becomes a chaotic mess as two characters from the future settle in within the current timeline, both joining the fray with their own motives. Lucy Heartfilia from the future urges Hisui to open the gate and use it as a cannon to deter the imminent Dragon invasion, though she fails to realize that the gate’s opening is the true cause of the invading Dragons.
Since the plan had already been set in motion, the Eclipse Gate opens and lets out Dragons from an era 400 years back. The events that conspire after clear any doubts about the actual reason behind the Dragons’ appearance, and they debunk the misconception of the gate doubling as a cannon. Yukino and Lucy eventually close the Eclipse Gate with their Zodiac Keys, though the damage done by the gate remains irreversible. Since the Eclipse Gate is eventually destroyed in the conflict, the time paradox sends future Lucy and Rogue back to their own timeline, though the two still keep their memories intact.
The 400 Years Plan
The Eclipse Gate wasn’t always a tool to facilitate evil as it once served a righteous purpose that could potentially save all of humanity. Almost 400 years before the set time in the series, Zeref concocted a plan with the remaining pro-human Dragons and a Celestial Spirit Magic user in a bid to save both humanity and dragon-kind.
To defeat the Dragon King Acnologia, Zeref conspired with Anna Heartfilia to send the remaining pro-human Dragons to the future, albeit as dormant souls within their foster childrens’ bodies. The Dragons would then manifest themselves in a time rich with Ethernano, allowing them to recuperate their damaged souls. The plan was for Anna’s family to pass down the secrets of the 400 Year Plan, with one Celestial Spirit Magic user from her lineage eventually opening the gate from the future for Anna and the Dragon Slayers to pass through.
On 7th July X777, Layla Heartfilia opened the Eclipse Gate, finally making Zeref and Anna’s 400 Year Plan a success. Since Toma E. Fiore, the ruler of the Kingdom of Fiore, also became involved in the entire ordeal, Layla asked him to destroy the Eclipse Gate. However, Toma failed to honor Layla’s wish and kept the Eclipse Gate intact, evident from its usage during the Grand Magic Games years after this event.
Fairy Tail is available to stream on Crunchyroll.