Basically, you normally just respawn at the beginning of the map after the losing cutscene. However, losing a boss fight has a cutscene that results in a game over, meaning you have to restart at your latest save. The fairy is there before every boss fight to remind you to save your game, so you can view the scene without having to start over from god knows where.What does this game mean with meta elements and the meta fairy?
They are called "meta" because the concepts of saving and game overs only make sense outside of the game's narrative.