Magical Girl Phantom Ascension

Mulling things over, you glance back at the obstinate pillar you were leaning against, and your eyes narrow in impatience. "Sure, I'd be more than happy to take you up on that offer." At your tone of voice, she gives a nervous laugh, likely already regretting this. "If you could kindly spill, without being so cryptic, what the big secret of passing through things may be?"

Death shrugs sheepishly, looking away as she considers her answer. "Honestly, I don't know exactly how it works. What I do know, I know from conversations with other ghosts that had at least a little bit of time to experiment before I took them, and what I've observed from corrupted spirits."

"Wow, great," you mutter, throwing your hands up in exasperation. "Aren't you the helpful one today."

She just shrugged, starting to look a little irritated herself. "I can try to give advice, but it's something you're going to have to figure out yourself. Just, what I do know is that it's something easier to do when you aren't thinking so hard about doing it. Something along those lines."

You give a long sigh, letting your own frustrations out with it. You feel tired. "Alright, I'll try to keep that in mind. Sorry, It's just…"

She smiles easily again, waving off your apologies. "Don't worry, I understand. Anything else?"

You think a bit more, nodding slowly as something else comes to mind. "Well, if you don't know that much about it, is there anyone else I could talk to about ghost stuff? Maybe someone who could help me figure out the rules, how it all works. If this is what I'm bound by now, I want to know what I'm doing."

Tilting her head, Death tapped her finger to her chin. "Well, I can't just leave another ghost around to mentor you, especially since they probably wouldn't know any more than you do. And for those I've taken, I don't think I can bring them back, unfortunately. However, maybe you could look for someone still alive? I mean, I've taken many fake ghost hunters, but there are also legitimate Mediums out there in the world. If you could find one of them, they might be able to help you. Though those who do actually have a gift tend not to advertise it much, so it may be a bit tricky to locate one."

"Well, it's an option at least. Thanks." You nod to yourself, making a mental note to look into that later. Once again she mentioned taking people… "Wait, so, if you're Death, what exactly does that cover? Just humans?" You remember Nel mentioning the other worlds, and add "Sapient life in general? Or is it all life, including animals and plants and stuff?" And now just plain overthinking it, you recall some discussion from your science classes that you for once had paid attention to. "Or are you, I don't know, the embodiment of a broader sort of entropy?"

She blinks at you uncomprehendingly for a moment, before finally giving an embarrassed chuckle. "Nope, just humans. I think there are other psychopomps dedicated to different kinds of animals, and plants, and if there's anything living out on other worlds they probably have their own Deaths, but yeah, no, I'm actually not quite that omnipotent."

"Oh, huh." You suppress a bit of disappointment, then shrug and admit to yourself that it makes sense, since she does look human. "So does that mean you can take a vacation day or something?"

She just snorts and chuckles, shaking her head. "Only if there's a day when no people die, and given the world's current population, that just doesn't happen, unfortunately. Time passes in 'my' world much much slower than it does for you, but even then I tend to be kept busy running after everyone."

You nod thoughtfully. "But what if you took a day off anyway, just because? Would people just not be able to die, or…?"

Death giggles again. "Not quite. It would just end up with a bunch of people like you, hanging around as ghosts without being taken on. And well, I'd have a backlog again. Those aren't fun, not worth the trouble. Besides, I'm not even sure what I'd do with all that time!"

"So is there anything you like to do to unwind?" you ask again. "I mean, I'm not asking if you could hang out or anything, I'm just curious." You have no ulterior motives here, none.

She doesn't seem to agree, though, given the amused tilt of her brow. "Well, like I said I do like to talk to a lot of my passengers, when I'm ferrying them. When I have the time, I try to check in on certain things; even if I can't really influence them myself, it still helps to have some knowledge of what's going on in the living world outside of the circumstances of people's deaths. I also check in on the Corrupted Spirits to make sure they haven't gone out of bounds. And of course, now I've got you to talk to. I hope it isn't a bother."

You hesitate, but finally shake your head. "It's not a big deal." You still don't know how to feel about this whole thing, honestly, but at this point she's shaping up to be less of a hassle than some of the other things you've been stuck dealing with. She intrigues you, at the very least. "Anyway, on the subject of the corrupted spirits. You have me dealing with them now, but did you have to do it all before?"

"Well, sort of," she says, shrugging. "As I said last night, I can't really impact them directly myself, there's some metaphysical nonsense that sets them apart from normal ghosts. I can at least set a sort of barrier... or maybe more of a leash? to keep them from wandering too far from where they died, but that's unfortunately the extent of it. They're thankfully rare, and thankfully most tend to be in remote locations, but until you came along I had no way to really get rid of or save them. So, that's most of what I'll be asking you to do. Though you're limited a bit by geography, we can at least hopefully take care of some of the nearby ones. There's a fair few in this region alone I want to ask you to clean up, that seem to have shown up recently."

You bite your lip, wondering if you could convince Nel to door you further away to deal with more spirits, but you're still not sure how to explain it to them. You'd rather stay local for now anyway… And it sounds like there's a lot to deal with already. "I see. So, do you know how long that last one had been at the school, or when exactly they died?"

She looks away for a moment, frown slanting as she thinks to herself. "I'll admit, I don't exactly know how to tell time well, given this" she waves at the featureless red sky out past the bridge's underside, "But I do remember glancing at a calendar around that time it appeared, I think the year was… 2006, or maybe 2007? I'm not completely sure. It's not been there all that long, relatively speaking."

Your eyes widen in surprise; it was a full decade ago? Maybe not that long, but still more than you were expecting. If it took that long to develop, then what about… "Do you think this new spirit could have been created by the same person?" You ask.

"That one, I think, was from further back, maybe another ten years?" Death shrugs. "But it's entirely possible. Like I said, there have been a strange amount appearing around here in the past couple of decades, so a common cause behind it all makes the most sense."

You take that in, thinking aloud. "So in that case, what's the endgame for us? I didn't really get a good look at the killer when I was in that last one's memories, but maybe if I can learn more from this next one… If we knew who it was, I could find them and stop them. I don't want to just be freeing corrupted spirits until they die of old age or some nonsense."

Death nods. "We don't want them to take any more innocent lives, yes. It'll be dependent on catching them first, but perhaps you should put some thought into how to stop them once that's happened. Dark magic isn't to be trifled with lightly, and can hurt you even as a spirit."

The thought gives you pause, but you shake your head. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don't know what to expect from them, so there's no point in jumping to conclusions now." Pushing that aside, you return to the original subject. "Anyway, do you know where exactly I can find the spirit, when I go there? Easier to fight if there won't be other people around at the time."

"Oh, that at least shouldn't be a concern," Death explains, sounding more chipper. "I got it tethered in to where it died, an old abandoned mansion on the edge of town. You shouldn't have to worry about getting noticed; everyone already knows the place is haunted!" She laughs at her own joke, but you just give her another unamused stare until she stops. "You really are no fun, you know that?"

You just shrug brusquely. "Yeah, well, maybe it would be funnier if I wasn't dead, okay?" You try to suppress the upset feeling, but your tone is still far more defensive than you wanted. "Sorry, that was…"

Death fixes you with a concerned look, awkwardly patting you on the arm. "Don't apologize, that was on me. Sorry about that." Her touch is cold, and you shiver involuntarily.

"Let's just move on," You suggest. Mentally reviewing the conversation, something else sticks out to you. "Wait, so you've been around for… basically forever, yes?"

"Are you calling me old?" She says almost reflexively, before looking to reconsider the joke. "Essentially, yeah. Though things were… different, in some ways. Why do you ask?"

"Then in that case, what do you remember about the Ruling, and the Emperor?"

"The Emperor?" She tilts her head in confusion. "There have been lots of emperors throughout history, really. I never even got all of their names. What, is this for some sort of history assignment?"

You frown in frustration. "Okay, umm… When we talked in the graveyard, you acted like these shadow people have only started showing up recently. But when I talked to Nelchael, the one who recruited me, they said they've been around for ages. Were you just being cagey, or is there something not lining up here?"

Her eyes go wide in sudden surprise. "Oh," she says softly, "That Emperor. I didn't think you would know about that. Sorry."

"Well, I do," you shrug, "but not much. I was wondering if you could tell me more." She frowns, gaze distant, and abruptly turns away from you to walk back to her motorcycle. "Hey, what are you-?"

"I remember that it happened," she interrupts, stopping in place but still looking away. "I remember… collecting lots of people. I remember a fortress, a seven-spoked crown floating in the sky... But it's strange; there are a lot of… blanks." She clutches her arms and shivers. "I don't remember. Why wouldn't I remember?" She finally turns back to you, with a strangely vulnerable expression. "This is why I don't like to think back on it. Because something happened then, and I don't remember. What could even cause that?"

Shaking her head, she bites her lip. "Sorry, but I can't really help shed any light on it. Even the parts I do remember, it's mostly just chasing after the freshly-deceased. Just life and death as normal. I wasn't as much of a talker back then, and the people weren't much interested in sharing, either." She straddles the chopper, crossing her arms across the handlebars and resting her chin on them, expression troubled as she glances across the river. "That's about it."

Your earlier frustration falls away, replaced by a strange feeling of discomfort as you watch her face. You want to reassure her somehow, but you can't help but be reminded that it's death you're talking to, and so keep to yourself. "It's fine," you say, though it's not, and change the subject again. "Well, even if that's all weird, there's still the rest of history. What can you tell me about Magical Girls in general, at least?"

She at least perks up at that, sitting back upright and grinning at you, even if it doesn't entirely reach her eyes. "Well, they've been around basically since pre-history, as you evidently already know. The world was kind of a mess after the Ruling ended, so there were a lot of them running around dealing with all the… stuff… that got unleashed after the Ley Lines got flooded. But since then things kind of slowed down; usually it would be like, decades at a time between when teams got formed. Though there was this mess in Europe, when a bunch of dragons got unleashed. Raised hell for everyone at the time; I had to collect a lot of dumb knights who thought their little swords and axes could stand up to literal giant fire-breathing lizards from an entirely different world. It was the Magical Girls of the time that actually got rid of them, of course, though it was still a really public thing. I bet the Shades are glad people think it's all made up, nowadays."

You stare blankly. "Wait, dragons were real?" Death smirks, clearly enjoying your reaction, but you just feel your knees going weak. "Well okay, that is… that is a thing. I'll just count myself lucky I'll never have to fight one myself, and uh, and let's move on."

She nods. "Silver linings are important! Was there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Well, just like, recently. Nel said they've been having to make new teams more frequently. Is that accurate?"

Death nods in agreement. "Yeah, I've noticed it too, in a way. A lot more weird incidents, a lot more magical girls. It's been ramping up over the past half-century or so, I'd say, maybe a bit more. Nowhere near the level it was at back when the Ruling ended, mind you; if things were that bad, everyone would notice. Still, it is strange, and has me worried."

"Hopefully it won't be my problem," you mutter to yourself, and ignore her raised eyebrow.

"For what it's worth, almost all of these incidents have been bloodless. My perspective on things is incredibly limited, because if nothing else, Magical Girls are really good at their jobs. That's part of why I still don't know much about the Shades; I'm rarely ever collecting anyone when they happen to be around, and even when I am, the death has nothing to do with whatever magical things are happening… There have been exceptions, of course," she admits, hesitating before brushing it aside with a cheerier grin. "But at least they just prove the rule, right?"

"...Right." You nod in acceptance. You feel like you're missing something yet, but despite doing your best to formulate more questions, nothing else comes to mind. "Well, thank you, for all of this. It helps a little bit." She still seems troubled somehow, and you reach up to pat her on the shoulder without thinking. It's only when you make contact that you freeze up, remembering just who this is, but she doesn't seem to notice.

Instead, she flashes you a wide smile, leaning back and revving the engine. "I hope you can figure out your issue with going incorporeal, and don't forget about Mittsutakaihashi!"

And before you can respond, you're deposited back in the normal world; the sky dark once again as a cold breeze disturbs the grass at your feet. You stare blankly at the spot Death had just been, before dropping your outstretched arm with a sigh; feeling both freshly enlightened, and utterly mystified. It's hard not to feel overloaded, as you think back on everything that's happened; today alone has been filled with more information, more radical redefinitions of how you understood the world, than the entirety of your life before now. Taking a seat in the middle of the sidewalk, you look out over the river and just try to let it all parse together.


The past; the Ruling, the Emperor's overthrow, and the shift in Magical Girls' purpose from oppressors to saviors. A thousand centuries of secrecy, a strange sort of benevolence born from guilt. All of human history developing as untouched as possible, despite some unavoidable leaks. All with Death watching from her vantage point both omnipresent yet deeply limited.

The present; you, Midori, Pallavi, and others you have yet to meet, and a missing ring. Strange happenings throughout the city, and the possibility of another of Nelchael's people causing some of it. The corrupted spirit in the school, and another up in the mountains. And your family, so close, but so far away.

The future; so many things you don't know how to resolve. These incidents with so much still unknown, and their apparent growing frequency on a larger scale. Death's missions for you, and all that may entail. And your uncertain place in the world now that you're deceased. Even if you can solve all of these magical problems, what would you do afterward?

But even as you think back on everything, you find your mind wandering elsewhere. Perhaps it's just tiredness or overload, but it all just falls away the more you chase it. Lying back and feeling the grass cushion your head, you stare at the bridge to one side, and the starry sky on the other. You close your eyes, and with a cold breeze rippling off the river, remember another starry night.

It was winter, your breath becoming clouds in front of you. You were bundled up in your coat and layers of blankets, lying back in a folding chair set down in the snow. The lights of the city were spread out below you, while behind you, your parents' car rested in darkness, turned off to avoid disturbing the view. On either side in chairs of their own, your mother, eyes soft as she pointed out particular stars of interest, and your father, holding your younger brother on his lap, both of them bundled so tight they looked like a cocoon with faces.

And above, a gorgeous tapestry of diamonds against the darkness, so much brighter, so much clearer, and far far more plentiful than those you see in the present. As you watched, a chilly breeze blew, and slowly, ghostly curtains began to fade into view. Your mother fell silent, grinning widely, and your small self realized why she'd woken you all to come here in the middle of the night. You watched in awe as the billowing trails of light grew brighter and more vibrant, showing in violet, seafoam, pink, and coral, filling the sky; and felt both deeply moved, and yet just... content.

Opening your eyes again, you stare at the dimmer night sky half-blocked by the bridge, but now you find, somehow your heart isn't aching of loss. For possibly the first time since you died, you feel just… content. The worries of past, present, and future all take a backseat for a short moment, while you allow yourself be at peace. Without even thinking about it, you stand up once more, affording your surroundings only a brief glance to check for onlookers, before activating your ring to transform.

It feels different this time, or maybe you're just letting yourself feel it more. Either way, it seems to take longer than usual, and you watch as your outerwear melts away in a wave of sparkles, long boots closing around your legs and lacing themselves up. An arctic wind blows, but you feel refreshed rather than chilled, hair billowing up in its wake. The Aurora Borealis themselves come down from that gorgeous night sky in your memories, unraveling into impossibly thin silk threads of energy that weave themselves back together into a now-familiar dress around you. A flurry of snow rises in a cyclone around you, then disperses just as quickly, leaving behind the white vest and hip-sash. Finally, you hold out your arm, and a lengthy narrow icicle materializes in your hand, reshaping itself into a long polearm before the ice shatters, leaving behind the same form in steel and inlaid purple jems.

After a moment's pause, you step down the slope to the water's edge. You watch the waves lap up against your boots, and nod. Then with a graceful spin, you whirl in place, blade trailing outward, and plant your naginata into the ground. Instantly, everything freezes. The river ices over and the grass becomes encased in frost, an expanding circle with you as the epicenter. The air temperature drops sharply, the moisture solidifying into flurries of snow, but somehow you just feel warmer for it. The ice reaches the bridge supports and encounters resistance, fracturing upward, and you pull the blade free to stop it. Instead, you wave it slowly through the air, watching light trail behind it and understanding now what it is, why the coral and violet hues feel so comforting.

And you smile.


As a girl drags herself home, feeling tired and overwhelmed but having found a measure of peace despite that, elsewhere, those with darker designs plot and prepare…

A shadowed figure rests in darkness, surrounded by gilded doors, sipping a juicebox and planning their next move…

A woman of inhuman beauty waits in the center of her plentiful night-garden, humming as she shears excess branches from the bushes, waiting for confirmation from her messengers...

A robed man steps into an abandoned quarry, casting a critical eye at the dark holes in the rock, before pointing with purpose, and his followers wordlessly jump to comply…

On a midnight train, a passenger rests, all alone in her car. She is disturbed as a pair of boys step in and attempt to flirt, but she simply glances at them, and they immediately turn and leave, silently vowing to forget what they just saw in her eyes…

In his study, a politician reads over his recently-finished speech, before nodding to himself in satisfaction, confident that his cause is righteous...

In a deep cavern untouched by sun in eons, a massive shape breathes softly, eyes closed as it dreams, remembering fire and poison gas, remembering glorious purpose...

And in the twisted depths of another plane of existence, something waits. The time is drawing near, and its desire, its hunger, grows ever stronger…

The next morning finds you feeling less content, as again rediscovering your ghostly state and recalling all the chaos and revelations thrust upon you, proves an effective killer for your positive mood. Sighing, you get your futon in order and glance out the window; it's mid-morning again. And once again, you're left pondering your next move.

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