PRIMORDIAL Events
- Location
- Earth
[X] Go take a long bath; you earned it after yesterday
[X] Double Down
[X] Double Down
You stretch a few times and get going, the dorm being your goal now. Walking around under the afternoon sun was nice, but you are a little sweaty by this point; plus, you did not really get to clean yourself properly after the mission the previous day. With how tired everyone was, Spring ushered you to bed as soon as you were done talking with White Glory.
Now you have time... and no idea where your friends are, anyway. Chi is probably still asleep, though she might wake up soon.
Ah, no matter.
You hum a little on your way to your room, falling into a nice rhythm with yourself by the time you got your pyjamas and left for the large bath you were shown a week ago. Your clothes wander into the lockers and you hurry inside and into the warm air.
However, your thoughts wander back to the mission you went on just the previous day once you set yourself down on two neighbouring stools; washing up does not take much of your attention, instead you go over what happened.
No one was hurt a lot back then.
Except that "Hunter"-person, but you rather not think about them. It was pretty scary in retrospect; you could not do anything at the time, just watch him point his gun at Sky while everyone was frozen in place.
Good thing Autumn was there; you could see her the whole time, with how she stayed out of reach of whatever weird gadget Hunter used. You also saw Hunter carefully hiding behind the corner, readying another of those things... and then Autumn just crashed the wall.
Pushing the image of his broken body and the slowly pooling blood out of your mind, you quickly get to scrub your back. The short hair is really helpful with that, you do not even have to push it aside. Though you do turn that head when you hear the door, only to find... Ana. She wears a towel just like you did on the way in, but her face seems relaxed. "Ah, so that's where you are!"
You return her wave with both right hands; good thing you can use the one left hand with the sponge so well, too. ""Hey, Ana! Come sit with me.""
She quickly wanders over to take the stool by your left side, sitting down with a sigh and grabbing a sponge. You continue working on your back and talk to her from the side. "What were you doing today?"
"Hm? Oh... mostly spending time with Flower. She's getting better after losing her friends, but she holed herself up in the sewers a lot over the last few days. Her garden is growing back, too; you should come see it sometime."
"Is she okay?"
Ana only hums at first while carefully wiping over her arms and legs. When she does respond, you are already switching places to wash your other back; this time you have to be careful to push your hair out of the way, though. "I think so... and I hope it, too. She is really nice, just... I'm worried..."
It makes you feel a little warmer that your friend has people she cares about so much. You never really said it, but you were worried about Ana as well. She looked so unhappy about a lot of things recently, having something good happen should help her. Actually... now that you think about it...
"Mhm, I'll go and talk to her sometime. She must be great if she's your friend. But... are you okay?"
"...yeah, I'm fine."
That does not sound like she means it; you finish up with your own back, rinse yourself off and only respond after finishing. By grabbing your sponges and wandering over to flank your friend. "Do you mind if I help you?"
"Huh?"
While she looks up, you pull the smile off of your faces and frown down at her; she better not say no right now. "...okay? D-Did I do something?"
You look at her like this a moment longer, trying your hardest not to break into a wide grin before you got down; then you start gently wiping her right shoulder. You also put away the second sponge and make a grab for the shampoo, to work it into Ana's hair. ""Yes, you did. You did really good yesterday, so I think you earned some spoiling.""
You faintly remember the times where your mother or big sister spoiled you for doing well in class or something similar. It always felt really nice and made you happy. So right now, you will do the same for Ana. That also means no more having fun with speaking in synch, though... aww.
It is a sacrifice you can accept for now, all things considered. Ana does not say anything while you take care of her arms, her own sponge resting on her knee; she feels a little stiff, even though you try to be as careful with her as possible.
"But... I didn't do much at all..."
She is quiet, almost too quiet about it; you have trouble hearing her despite being right next to her. Her voice... reminds you a little of how you used to feel back when you started as Magical Girls; always getting hurt without being able to do anything... that memory makes you feel a little cold even now, though you finally understood that not everything in the world is in your hand. Ana... had to do a few really bad things, too. Just like that one soldier you ended up killing, she probably did not want to.
Has she someone to tell her it is alright and to look forward? Now that you think about it... where would you be now if you had not been two at the time? This is... not good?
Instead of pondering any more, you loose your soapy hands out of Ana's hair and gently comb it back into something resembling order. You also continue cleaning her up, wandering from her right to her left side. "I don't think so. It was I who did basically nothing yesterday... I was just... there. Sky defeated Soldier Supreme and the people with her basically by herself. And you gave us the opening we needed and made it so we reached Glory in time with your Spell. It's not your fault that Hunter was right there, okay?"
"B-But-" "Nah!"
You flick her forehead the moment she tries to talk back, grinning from ear to ear; it is actually a little painful with that face, seeing how rarely it had such a big smile. "You did well, Ana. Nothing you say will make me change my mind."
Then you hug her. It is really awkward with how she is still sitting and everything is full of soap, but you do it nonetheless; you hug your friend from both sides so she can feel as warm as you have ever since you gained your magic, your four arms locking her safely in place.
She squirms a little at first, but then relaxes and hugs you back with a sniffle. "T-Thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you..."
You do not answer; there is really no need to right now. You just let her mumble into your shoulder and pet her head as best as you can without getting the shampoo everywhere. Once the two of you separate, you only just manage to stop Ana from wiping her eyes with soap-covered hands. "Here, let's finish up and get into the tub."
So you quickly gather the second sponge, offer another smile to your friend, and get to work again. Every nook and cranny on her arms, hands, legs, feet, back, and chest gets its proper care; you let Ana do the rest, though; touching certain places without her permission would be rude.
Once she is done and you rinsed her as well as yourself off properly, you all sink into the warm water with content sighs. You can really see why the Japanese do it that way; Strength had a great idea when she had this place made.
Your friend looks a bit more upbeat now, too; you watch her as you sit to her left and right quietly, enjoying the warmth together.
After a while of soaking in peace however, your friend throws you contemplative looks and starts fiddling with her blond locks. "What about you? Irene said you're different, too... and I think she is right."
"Who is Irene?"
"Oh... whoops? I meant Sky."
"Ohhh!"
So that is her actual name. You have to keep that in mind, though... later. For now, you should get to answer the question. Ana seems concerned with how she is fidgeting. "I... I still have trouble describing. I'm not even sure what to call it myself, actually. I'm... different now than from what I used to be."
"...um..."
Your friend looks a little confused between you and yourself. "Which one? Eva or Rico?"
"...Both."
You carry on before she can digest that and try to explain as best as you can: "I... I don't think calling myself with either name is right. I am both." "I can do this easily now, I can see everything either of me sees... either of my bodies, I mean." "They are both mine is all."
You switch back and forth to show her what you mean, but it does not seem to help. Ana's eyes are small and concern is written all over her face. You can understand her; this is not normal at all, so something bad might come of it.
"I... don't know what this will end up being. All I know right now is that I don't dislike it; I feel... good with how it is."
You realise it is the truth the moment you say it. Even though near everything about it is uncertain and you have to think about so many things before you can say you understand yourself. Even though you have no real idea who you are now or what to call yourself, you are absolutely certain that this is something you like.
"...then that's okay with me."
""Huh?""
Ana giggles a little over the looks you give her, then she offers you a smile of her own. "You like me the way I am... so if you're okay with whatever happens to you, I like you, too... I... just don't think I really get it."
"That's okay, I don't get it, either."
You both laugh for a few precious seconds, then your bodies shift around a little to sit better. Not just your skin feels warm now, your chest does, too. Deep down... just like back at home, with everyone. Technically, Ana is a small piece of home you have here.
"You... really don't care how mean I was to you?"
Her voice brings you out of your pondering and makes you blink a few times. That was... not the kind of question you expected at this point. Is she still thinking about it?
"It's just... I did so many bad things... and I never even apologised..."
You do not stop her, letting your friend speak her mind as you think how to work this out. It seems to bother her a lot, even though you already put it past yourself. There is so much change in your mind that those feelings went forgotten, or something like that.
When Ana does not continue and ducks her head instead, you sigh doubly and shimmy around so both of you are sitting in front of her. "Then how about you apologise now? I'm right here."
It takes her a moment to look up and stare at you, but then she nods shily. A few shifts of her own happen before Ana looks you -Eva's body- in the eyes. "I'm sorry. For everything."
Her voice is clear this time, but you can see the liquid build up in the corners of her eyes. She is trying really hard. So you smile back without ever breaking eye-contact. "I forgive you."
It is just a handful of words, soft and careful. Yet they make the tears leak out and your friend dart over to hug you close again. You pretend you do not hear her sniffing and sobbing as you rub her back.
Hopefully this will make her feel better.
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When you are out of the bath, it is almost time for bed. Though you are set on finishing your current mission of spoiling your friend, so she has to sit between you in her pyjamas as you dry her hair, then brush it. Neither of your hairs is as long as hers and you like how it is almost golden. Shiny and curly, heh.
Ana herself is slumped a little bit, but not in the bad way; she looks more relaxed now, enjoying your work with her eyes closed. "I'm glad you feel better now. Don't think about the past too much, okay?"
She hums in response before peeking up at you from one eye. "You sound like adults now... or... an adult? Uh..."
You shrug in response, both to what she said and her confusion. "I guess so. I had to concentrate to do it before, but now it comes almost naturally. I read some nice books, too."
A lot of the words you use now are from those books, in fact. You need to read more and find more words... maybe you should read a dictionary? Though that would be pretty boring and take a lot of time. Alternately, you realise you can just keep listening to the older girls talking to each other. That might work.
But for now you shake off the thoughts and finish up with your friend's hair. Now it is all nice again and Ana looks decidely more happy than earlier today. She does not say anything, but the look she tries to hide is enough for you to know. You also notice that it gets easier to tell her mood from just looking at how she acts... Ana never was one to really talk about her feelings, was she?
You continue to ponder this while the two of you wander back to your rooms, small baskets with your dirty clothes in hand. Ana is happy being silent for now, so you leave her be and watch how straight she holds herself now; it is a lot more like she used to be back in Verona, back straight and head held high. Though her usual frown was replaced with a softer expression, lips slightly curled upwards and the rest of her face relaxed.
You like this Ana a lot more than the one she used to be.
With this decision made and after saying good night to your friend, you finally make your way back... only then do you return to previous thoughts. Ludger yips hello and jumps out of his basket to greet you, so you quickly pick him up and place him on your laps to pet him for a bit.
Who are you now? Or... maybe you should start with what you are? Still human at least, but definitely not normal any longer. You know you used to be two girls, but now you no longer feel like either one. You feel like being both.
You raise one left and one right hand respectively before touching their palms together in-between yourself. The feeling is the same as if you intertwined both hands from one body instead; it is no different to what you remember.
Does that make you more than other humans? Does it just make you different? How should you call yourself now, with neither Eva nor Rico being able to describe you properly?
Those are still hard questions despite everything. You suddenly do no longer feel like spoiling your dog; he is quickly carried back into his basket while you clean off bits of fur. ""Good Night, Ludger.""
A sleepy yip is his only response; you finish cleaning up and slide under your own covers, hugging yourself. At least you will never feel cold like this.
The thoughts do not leave until you fall into a deep slumber, though. You do not find any answers this night.
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Say, is the world really such a bad place?
Only time will tell, for no one human can perceive this properly.
Listen, dear child: it is never too late to change yourself for the better.
Lastly, however, the decision lies with you.
Unless this is how you always wanted to be, of course.
Not to mention the fact that most see themselves as good.
Alas, turning better means to realise your own flaws first.
Granted, some are aware of their own failings.
Although not many try to correct them.
Is it not fine to have faults, you wonder?
Answering this question is out of my power; only you can know the answer.
Only time will tell, for no one human can perceive this properly.
Listen, dear child: it is never too late to change yourself for the better.
Lastly, however, the decision lies with you.
Unless this is how you always wanted to be, of course.
Not to mention the fact that most see themselves as good.
Alas, turning better means to realise your own flaws first.
Granted, some are aware of their own failings.
Although not many try to correct them.
Is it not fine to have faults, you wonder?
Answering this question is out of my power; only you can know the answer.
You only barely remember gentle light when you wake up; it is early in the morning, way too early for anyone to be up. What you do hear is the patter of rain outside of the window, though. That is something you found does not change no matter where you go; the rain sounds the same everywhere.
You stifle one yawn and roll out from under the covers; after getting up, you pull the curtains aside and look outside. The streetlights are still on, so it must be nighttime; your alarm says it is around five in the morning.
That aside however, you can see drops of rain falling; the faint light illuminates them from behind and each one produces a little splash on the soaked ground.
You could go back to sleep... but right now, you do not really feel like it. Might as well start early for once. What homework Spring gives you, you think you can finish later in class... so there is nothing stopping you from doing that thing Bianca talked about one time you asked her what she likes.
But first of all, you make your bed -but put the blanket aside- and dart to the nearest bathroom to wash your faces; the cold water helps in waking up and gets the sleep out of your eyes. After wiping yourself dry and putting the towels back, you quickly rush back to your room to get dressed for the day.
Once that is done too, you double-check that Ludger is properly covered and open up the window; a rush of cold air comes in at once, making you shiver a little as you push two chairs in front of the opening. After getting the blanket you put aside earlier, you sit down and cocoon yourself into the warmth.
Then you can look out into the darkness, listening to the loud patter of water hitting stone and earth and glass and everything else. As you watch, the sky gets gradually brighter and you know that the sun is rising behind this dark curtain. The nightlights are turned off at some point while you just stare out into the rain; it never lets up and you come to enjoy just watching and doing nothing as you rest your head on your shoulder.
Bianca was right, this is really relaxing. Though doing it this early might have been a bad idea with how sleepy it makes you; at least the cold air hitting your face keeps you somewhat awake. The smell is nice, too; another thing that does not change, the way the air smells when rain hits.
It is only when you hear shuffling from behind that you turn a head, to find a corgi digging himself out of his blanket and yawning. When he sees you looking, he yips sleepily and wanders over to lie by your feet. Sparks dance over his fur once in a while and he radiates more warmth from the ground up. Heh, definitely the best dog in the world.
After staying like this for a while longer however, your alarm starts to beep and you hurry over to shut it up; how in the world did you just lose two hours watching the rain?
...whatever. Time to get going.
A few minutes are spent getting your hair in order, then you pack your things for school and make your way to the cafeteria for breakfast. Ludger cheerfully follows you outside to take a little walk... though you transform into Primordial Moon first, just so you do not have to change when getting back inside. Any water that hits the corgi just turns into steam and is gone again, too. Magic is actually a pretty nice thing to have.
It is also a good thing that you can just order breakfast for two and bring the rest along to class.
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There is... nothing special happening throughout your lessons. However, you do notice in-between questions that Spring keeps looking out of the window and into the light dripple; with how she frowns a little and seems concerned, there has to be something going on.
You considered asking, but that would probably not do much. Adults have this habit of not telling you even when you know they are bothered by something. Not that you do not understand, they are probably trying to appear strong for everyone younger than them... but that does not mean you have to like it.
It is just a few minutes before your last break that you notice a weak flash outside of the window; as you turn one head to look, you quickly turn the other as well to make sure you are not seeing things. Autumn is in the courtyard, with half a dozen other people. One is Strength... but the rest you did not expect to see again anytime soon.
Soul has her wings folded and her back to the window you are looking through; Igni stands with her head held low... actually none of them looks happy or anything like it. Truth and her slime are there, as are Mirror and Iron.
Soul Queller, Ignition Sentinel, Eye of Truth, Mirror Memento and Iron Memento... they are all Yggdrasil-girls, so what are they doing here? Autumn brought them, so that was probably what Spring was thinking about.
It is only after class and lunch that the bell tolls and Strength calls everyone into the town hall again; the girls from Yggdrasil are in the first row, flanked by Summer and Spring while Strength seems to wait for everyone to gather. The room is actually filled with people today; it seems as if everyone from Kibo is here.
"Thank you for making it this quickly" is how Strength starts; her frown seems etched onto the delicate face and you can see how tense she is on that big stage. "I know this is not a good time after we saw off the dead just yesterday, but the situation is too dangerous to ignore."
Her gaze wanders over the people gathered before snapping back to the first row; none of them responds as she motions for them. "We got an emergency call last night and Autumn just returned with this handful of girls from our sister-group Yggdrasil. They are the only survivors of an attack on their stronghold in New York-"
What?
You perk up in an instant, the same moment as the surprised/concerned/alarmed/scared murmuring starts all around you. Yggdrasil was attacked? But by who?
"-as well as a separate attack on Abyss Knight's expedition that left the city a few days ago", Strength cuts through the many voices and silences them. You can see her shiver a little, but her posture relaxes just a moment later. Your own thoughts are with her words, though; Strength said that those five are the only ones that survived.
Does that mean... Red and Purple... and Dragon and Grace... and even Knight herself... they are all dead? And what about this other girl, Hand of Fate?
Are they... can they really...?
Your hand is wrapped into another pair and you quickly blink a few times, turning to Ana by your side. She squeezes gently before letting go with one hand and slinging it around your back. She understands...
Wetness rolls down your cheeks and you lean into the one-armed hug as best as you can while trying to make sense of the sudden tightness in your chest. It feels so weird, so... so unreal. You talked to them just last week, how can they be... dead?
"I see quite a few faces that met the girls and got along with them before joining us here and I'm sorry I have to tell it to you like this. Please be strong for now, I need all of you to hear what our friends had to say on the matter."
Strength had been waiting before and she does it again, giving everyone time to calm down; your friend receives a grateful nod while you wipe your eyes and take a deep breath. There are some other girls watching you, some in sympathy and others with curiosity. At least it was not bad enough to make Ludger jump up so far; he is still curled up by your feet.
Once the atmosphere turned back to somber, Strength herself sighs and motions for the girls in front of her again. "From what we gathered, the attack on New York was carried out by an unknown; a large dragon entered the city and tore it to pieces over several hours, alongside almost every Magical Girl living in it. Any attempts to fight back were near meaningless. Ignition Sentinel ended the fight by killing it off after her partner weakened it."
Igni flinches and your own chests tighten painfully. Dragon is not here.
"I know I said it is dead, but we can't be sure that was the only one of its kind. Whether it was a Magical Girl or something else we don't know, but something like it might come here in time... but I will get to that later. The next part is... more disturbing."
Despite of what she said before and that you should keep your attention on what Strength says, you have trouble keeping the tears from rolling again; your eyes burn a little and only constant wiping makes you capable of actually seeing anything. This...this hurts. They were your friends!
"You see, Knight's... Abyss Knight's expedition was paid a visit by someone we call the White Reaper."
That... is a name you do not know. It does draw your curiousity and you finally manage to snap out of it and listen properly again. Who or what would they call like that? Going from how most people around do not seem to know it either, this is not something everyone knows. Strength looks... pale.
"That person is... very much known to everyone who fought in the war. The White Reaper appeared all around the world, killed people of interest and then left; not once did anyone manage to even scratch her during the months she was active in."
"She vanished around the time the war ended", Summer supplies from her seat when Strength stops. "We didn't hear about her since those days, or at least no appearance was documented. With how powerful she is, we can't even be sure she is actually a Magical Girl and not something else, from beyond Earth."
There is a momentary silence as everyone digests this. At first you wonder if someone that powerful can really exist, but then you remember the dream you had; the great leaders of the Unified Light were talking about a single Magical Girl doing incredible things. Could that be her? But why was she doing these things?
"Actually... I can confirm that she's a Magical Girl."
That is Truth in the front; she looks at Summer but you can tell that everyone is waiting for her to continue. Even Strength wandered over and has her arms folded. Truth fidgets a little before continuing: "I... don't remember much. We were on a ship at that time and I was the only one outside when she came. After I saw her, I only had a moment before she killed me. But... that was enough for me to at least see a little bit about her. I couldn't find out her full name, but I know that she is a Magical Girl. One of her Affinities is Annihilation."
"She killed you?"
That was Spring this time; her question makes Truth nod slightly. "It's hard to explain in detail, but I can regrow my body from my blob."
The slime gurgles in response from below her chair, then it wiggles out of there and builds itself up so everyone can see it. "And she didn't kill it after I died... it happened so fast I don't even remember getting hit."
While the blue thing makes itself small again, Strength offers a nod to Truth and starts pacing around on-stage. "I see. Thank you for telling us about that. To get back on topic... the only casualty from this attack was Abyss Knight herself. We don't know why the Reaper would go after her, though... yes?"
One of the boys had his arm raised a moment earlier; he lowers it once Strength looks at him and asks a question: "What does she look like? Is there a way to tell we're standing in front of that person?"
There is some agreeing murmuring from the sides, though you feel a little weird right now. How long has it been since you heard any deep boy-voices? Uh, male voices, that is.
"Good question... or so I'd like to say. With the White Reaper, you know when you stand in front of her. Remember when Nightmare Child was hanging with us a few weeks ago?"
The boy who asked earlier nods slowly and so do a few others you see. Strength continues: "If Night's transformed, you know it is her even without seeing her. Same with that one, her presence alone will tell you who you're up against."
A few moments pass and after she says nothing, the same boy slowly shifts in his seat before speaking up again. "Um... it would still be nice to know what to look out for just in case... you kind of didn't say anything about how she looks like..."
"What, looking for a girlfriend?"
The sudden shift in tone has you blink; a few others such as Summer laugh and another boy slaps the one that asked on the shoulder with a sly grin. He himself is blushing a little and quickly shakes his head, but Strength waves him off before he can speak. "Yeah, I know. It's just... okay, show of hands: who wants to know it anyway?"
You raise your hands along with... basically everyone else. Strength's eyes rest with you a moment longer than with anyone else and she sighs, turning around to hide her frown. "Okay... I really didn't want to single someone out, but... Moon, care to come up here?"
Moon?
You?
Eyes quickly wander and a few people whisper with each other, fingers are pointed your way as you think about it for a moment. What does she want with you?
Shrugging off the thought, you get up with one body and watch yourself walk up the stairs; you will know what it is in a moment anyway. Strength asks you to transform, so you do with the words you know so well. "I am the custodian of all, Magical Girl Primordial Moon!". Your power radiates out from below your skin and light illuminates the room a little more; it shines gently... and everyone's eyes are on you now.
You did not think this through; are you supposed to say anything or do something now? It really looks different from up here, but... the best you can do not to fidget is to clutch your scepter tightly while Strength walks around you once. She is quiet for a but a moment, yet it feels a lot longer than that to you. The girls from Yggdrasil are watching also... and Iron is shivering heavily, her eyes fixated on you.
"I don't know why, but Moon here shares almost all of the Reaper's traits. The only real differences are that she is quite a bit smaller... and the Reaper wields a waraxe instead of a stave."
You freeze up for a moment as she explains; why would another Magical Girl look just like you? Everyone is supposed to be really different, so why would that happen?
Also... Strength got scared when she saw you for the first time.
For a moment, you want to ask her right now if that is why; but you are in front of everyone who lives here. Now is not a good time. You will bring it up later, definitely. For now however, you just stand quietly and wait until the Japanese girl pets your head and gives you a little push towards your seat. "Sorry... and thanks for going along with me."
You can't help but offer her a reassuring smile in response. "It's okay."
And it is; you do not mind helping with something like this. Going by how relieved she is looking though, Strength was bothered by it. You hover over the first three rows, make a loop for vanity's sake, and then detransform the moment you sit.
There is more whispered conversation, though all of it turns into a somewhat loud humming all around you. Strength lets it happen for a bit... at first it seems as if she just likes indulging the others, but then you see her clenching and unclenching her fist a few times. So she needs to calm down, too...
Once that happened however, Strength taps her microphone a few times to make everyone shut up. "These were the two important things... and they got me thinking. There's someone going after Magical Girls for some reason and the Reaper reappeared. I'm confident I can take anything that gets thrown at me, but... as we saw last week, enough of those things can keep even me busy. That's why all the dates you had scheduled for the afternoon are cancelled. Sorry guys, but all Magical Girls are taking part in an extended training session today."
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There was... surprisingly little resistance to the training. Everyone might still be shaken from what you heard, though. In fact, your own head... heads?... are spinning a little. That was a lot. You would like to talk to the Yggdrasil-girls, but Strength said to give them some space for today... they do not have to train with the others, either. You could see why, with how beaten they looked.
"Do you know any Magical Girl who looks like you?"
You shake your head in Ana's direction and continue on your way outside; training will start in twenty minutes, so you need to get some water and towels and... maybe old gym clothes? You have not really done much exercising lately.
"Sorry, Ana... I don't know anyone who looks even just a bit like me."
Your friend kept quiet the whole time during the assembly. That was her serious part coming through again, the one all the teachers liked her for. Now that it is over and you wander the slightly wet streets, she is talking again.
However, Budding Flower is also with you instead of Sky today. You do not mind her, though it is a bit weird how little she speaks most of the time. On the other hand, I'm not talking much more right now...
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After you all got your things and went back to the training grounds, everyone is waiting for Strength.
When you do see her walk up with her transformation already active, she has Soldier Supreme by her side. Her transformed clothes are clean and neatly done, but she obviously does not seem to understand what is going on. There is also another girl right next to them.
When Strength sees people looking, she just makes a dismissive motion. "Don't mind her. I just can't really keep one of my girls sitting in that cell when this is for everyone, so she is joining us."
"I will keep an eye on her, so rest assured", is what the other girl says; the large thing around her writhes and screeches a little bit as it readjusts, her expressionless eyes staying on Soldier Supreme's form.
You can see a few familiar faces here and there, with Ludger exploring around at his own leisure already.
"With that out of the way, let's get started. We're doing an hour or two of self-study, so practice whatever you want. After that, we're going on to sparring and joint exercises. Transform at will and let's go!"
You join the cheering with smiles while Strength lifts her own body with one hand and raises the other far above your heads.
After that however, you have to think about what to practice. There were some ideas you had especially for your sunlight scepter.
So you take some space -Ana and Flower are watching- before lifting your weapon properly and smashing it into the ground.
(Sunlight Scepter: +63 Base Damage, +15 Discipline, +5802 Veil of the Solar Goddess, +851 dice = 6,731 Total Damage)
You can feel your magic surge out of the weapon's tip on impact, rushing forward and brushing past yourself almost gently; it ruptures the ground around you while also heating up the air a bit. But you do think you can keep a hold of it to make it hit a smaller area. So you try again.
(Sunlight Scepter: +63 Base Damage, +15 Disicipline, +5802 Veil of the Solar Goddess, +3072 dice = 8,952 Total Damage)
It comes stronger this time, but you can hold the magic in somehow for a little moment. It still tears up the ground a lot, but... there is a tiny bit of less scorched earth forming a ring around you. Baby steps.
The other magic you are holding onto swirls around within you, so you go and start practicing the other thing with Moon's powers... or rather, not. With how you are now, maybe...?
"Supernova!"
It is the same light surging forth from your body in the air, even though this spell was not supposed to be cast by Primordial Moon.
You notice a few people watching you with interest, but most everyone is doing their own thing. Ana is right next to you, though; she looks confused. "But... that's Sun's spell?"
You shrug and let the air cool down again, then throw your friend a mischievous look. "I'm Sun and Moon both."
"But that's cheating!"
Her indignant pout looks so cute you can only barely suppress your giggle; with one body, that is. Hopefully her ears are not as good as her nose is.
After a while of your practicing however, you notice that Flower is watching you -Moon- rather intently. So you turn to her to listen to whatever she wants. "Can I help you?"
Flower fidgets a little before nodding. "Yes, actually. I was wondering... could you help me practice? It's... I was trying to use my Lifebringer better, but it just doesn't work without an actual target. Um... Ana told me you're strong, so I thought you wouldn't mind..."
You blink over the sudden flood of words and process them; Flower wants you to be her target, for whatever her "Lifebringer" is... probably her weapon. She... does not look strong from what you saw, so... after everything, maybe you can give it a try? Maybe it helps you learn your own limits.
"Sure. Go ahead."
You stick your scepter into the ground and wait for the other girl; Flower fiddles with her shirt for a moment, but then she nods gratefully. Then the leaves sprouting from her arms and back start moving, constricting you within a moment.
(Lifebringer: +120 Base Damage, +140 Stationary Target, +60 Holding Firm, +22 dice = 342 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +33 dice =633 700 Total Damage Reduction
No damage)
Ana was a bit away fiddling around with her trumpet, but she becomes attentive again and looks over the moment half of your body is wrapped into those firm leaves. Actually they are warm and feel a little fleshy... ew.
It takes a moment for you to realise that Flower does not hurt you at all. She is looking at you with extreme concentration and you can feel something sliding over your back and throat, but this is it.
"Um... when do you start?"
"I'm trying!"
She starts frowning and the fleshy leaves move again.
(Lifebringer: +120 Base Damage, +140 Stationary Target, +20000 Crushed Windpipe, +39 dice = 20,299 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +33 dice =633 700 Total Damage Reduction
19,599 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
She lets all of them wind around your throat this time and seems to pull and push with all her might, but it still does nothing to you. There are more people watching now and you can see even Spring looking over from whatever she was doing... this is a little embarassing.The other magic you are holding onto swirls around within you, so you go and start practicing the other thing with Moon's powers... or rather, not. With how you are now, maybe...?
"Supernova!"
It is the same light surging forth from your body in the air, even though this spell was not supposed to be cast by Primordial Moon.
You notice a few people watching you with interest, but most everyone is doing their own thing. Ana is right next to you, though; she looks confused. "But... that's Sun's spell?"
You shrug and let the air cool down again, then throw your friend a mischievous look. "I'm Sun and Moon both."
"But that's cheating!"
Her indignant pout looks so cute you can only barely suppress your giggle; with one body, that is. Hopefully her ears are not as good as her nose is.
After a while of your practicing however, you notice that Flower is watching you -Moon- rather intently. So you turn to her to listen to whatever she wants. "Can I help you?"
Flower fidgets a little before nodding. "Yes, actually. I was wondering... could you help me practice? It's... I was trying to use my Lifebringer better, but it just doesn't work without an actual target. Um... Ana told me you're strong, so I thought you wouldn't mind..."
You blink over the sudden flood of words and process them; Flower wants you to be her target, for whatever her "Lifebringer" is... probably her weapon. She... does not look strong from what you saw, so... after everything, maybe you can give it a try? Maybe it helps you learn your own limits.
"Sure. Go ahead."
You stick your scepter into the ground and wait for the other girl; Flower fiddles with her shirt for a moment, but then she nods gratefully. Then the leaves sprouting from her arms and back start moving, constricting you within a moment.
(Lifebringer: +120 Base Damage, +140 Stationary Target, +60 Holding Firm, +22 dice = 342 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +33 dice =
No damage)
Ana was a bit away fiddling around with her trumpet, but she becomes attentive again and looks over the moment half of your body is wrapped into those firm leaves. Actually they are warm and feel a little fleshy... ew.
It takes a moment for you to realise that Flower does not hurt you at all. She is looking at you with extreme concentration and you can feel something sliding over your back and throat, but this is it.
"Um... when do you start?"
"I'm trying!"
She starts frowning and the fleshy leaves move again.
(Lifebringer: +120 Base Damage, +140 Stationary Target, +20000 Crushed Windpipe, +39 dice = 20,299 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +33 dice =
19,599 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
After a few more seconds, Flower sighs and retracts the leaves before gently massaging them. "Sorry... I am just... not happy about being so weak."
Oh... so that is what bothers her. Hm... you do not really have anything to do as Moon for now, so helping out some more ought to be fine. "It's okay if you want to try again, I don't mind helping a friend."
"...a friend? We're... friends?"
Flower looks oddly hopeful about that. She is Ana's friend, so that made her your friend last week already. "Of course."
With how bright she starts beaming, you are sure you said the right thing. Ana shows you a thumbs up from behind Flower's back, too.
"...Would you mind me joining in?"
A slight turn reveals Glory standing nearby; she sounded hesitant before and fiddles with her hands. "I... do have a few spells I would like to practice."
"I thought you didn't have anything to protect yourself?"
Your question makes her avert her gaze slightly and scrape her foot on the ground. "One of my... abilities is to take over unique abilities and spells from Contractors when they die. I gathered together a few things over the years, though I could never really use them. If they had known I was not helpless, my chances of escape would have been gone entirely. It... it was a risk I couldn't take. I hope you understand."
After her explanation ends, she just stands there and waits for you to say something. In fact, you stop practicing with the Sunlight Scepter to exchange a look with Ana over the matter... but it is Flower who speaks up first: "I... think it is okay. It must have been hard to be in there for so long... anyway, your spells?"
Glory relaxes gradually as she nods and looks at you questioningly; you nod as well, go back to your swings and take some more distance to give her space to work. "Go ahead."
"...thank you. I will start with the weaker one... at least I think it is weaker... at the start. Temporal Fracture!"
You do not have the time to make sense of what she said, seeing that the space around you and within you begins to break.
(Temporal Fracture: +20 Unexpected, +711 dice = 731 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +20 Unexpected, +187 dice = 207 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +20 Unexpected, +167 dice = 187 Damage
1,125 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +29 dice = 629 700 Total Damage Reduction
425 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
But your magic swipes aside what is within you and there is no more than a tingling on your skin. You shiver a little at how wrong it feels, though.
Glory was watching this carefully and nods slightly to herself before turning to Flower. "May I take another turn? This spell in particular is weird... and not just in its execution. I used it a few times back in that place and it ended up growing stronger each time."
You both give your okay and she casts again; even though you know what is coming, it feels so incredibly weird.
(Temporal Fracture: +255 dice, +1065 Time Walk = 1,320 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +47 dice, +1065 Time Walk = 1,112 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +104 dice, +1065 Time Walk = 1,169 Damage
3,601 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +21 dice = 621 700 Total Damage Reduction
2,901 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
The tears are getting stronger, though they still fail to actually hurt you. This time Glory only throws a quick look at Flower before continuing; though some other girls are watching you yet again.
(Temporal Fracture: +41 dice, +1471 Time Walk = 1,512 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +816 dice, +1471 Time Walk = 2,287 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +125 dice, +1471 Time Walk = 1,596 Damage
5,395 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +5 dice = 605 700 Total Damage Reduction
4,695 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
You can definitely feel the magic growing more powerful each time. The ground around you starts to ripple and flicker under whatever effect this is. When there is still nothing on you, Glory casts once more. Even Summer and Strength are watching this.
(Temporal Fracture: +49 dice, +2453 Time Walk = 2,502 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +261 dice, +2453 Time Walk = 2,714 Damage
Temporal Fracture: +584 dice, +2453 Time Walk = 3,037 Damage
8,253 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, -100 Standing Still, +12 dice = 612 700 Total Damage Reduction
7,553 Total End Damage
Veil of the Lunar Goddess: Attack negated
No damage)
Something crackles and the air starts smelling weird by this point; Glory stops and shakes out her hands for some reason, then she shakes her head a few times. "I think this is enough, thank you for your help."
She bows her head for some reason and you respond to her easily this time: "You're welcome. But what about your other spells?"
Glory hesitates at that before tilting her head and nodding. "You're right. I don't want to use Magic Missile on you because I am not sure you are strong enough to take it, but... Onion Layer!"
A weakly glowing layer appears all over her form within an instant, its shine vanishing within seconds. Glory bows again before tensing up a little. "This is a defensive Spell I know; seeing that you did not mind being my target, I can now return the favour. Go ahead."
This time you are the one to share a look with Flower before you nod and bring up your scepter. Your magic makes you float and helps you realign as you shoot towards your new friend. Then you swing.
(Moonlight Scepter: +170 Base Damage, +42 Discipline, +308 Stationary Target, +21 dice = 541 Total Damage
White Glory: +1540 Base Resilience, +70 Stronger Than You, -100 Standing Still, +600 Onion Layer, no dice = 2,110 Total Damage Reduction
No damage)
You frown a little when your scepter simply pings off of her skin without doing anything. You know there is not much you can do on the offensive as moon, but this is still dumb.
"...it seems I am quite sturdy."
You pout in response to that and are glad your glow hides the blush somewhat. Then you have an idea; Supernova actually worked, so what about Scorching Sunlight? "Can I... can I try a Spell?"
Glory thinks about that for a moment, then she casts Onion Layer again... and again... and again. In the end, she nods for you to continue. "Go ahead, I cast as many layers as I can right now."
"Okay... Scorching Sunlight!"
And with its usual bright glow, the beam homes in on your target.
(Scorching Sunlight: +10240 Base Damage, +308 Stationary Target, +12 dice = 10,560 Total Damage
White Glory: +1540 Base Resilience, +70 Stronger Than You, -100 Standing Still, +7200 Onion Layers = 8,710 Total Damage Reduction
1,850 Total End Damage
Arcane Protection (50%): 925 Total End Damage
Barely Human (50%): 462 Total End Damage
462 Final End Damage
White Glory Health: 18,678 - 462 = 18,216
Armour damaged, Burn applied)
It shines brightly as it crashes into Glory, actually making her shields shine in a radiant white before punching through. You can see her dress being burned in places, though the remaining light just splashes against her form before flickering out.
That only leaves White Glory in her torn attire, with tiny burns on her form that actively pulse. You quickly cast Soothing Moonlight once you can to restore her while the girl shakes herself a few times, like a wet dog. "Brr, that was such a weird feeling..."
(White Glory Health: 18,678
Armour restored, Burn removed)
At least she did not get actually hurt by you casting this; it is a strong spell after all. Glory seems to be pretty strong too, though.
Overall however, with how there are all different kinds of people trying to do stuff, you like it here. Kibo is a nice place.
. . .
Line Break Recognised
. . .
Line Break Recognised
. . .
After your little show, more of the weaker girls came up to ask you for help; with Spring being the only other person who can actually take a strong hit, everyone who needed an actual target was asking her.
So you spent the rest of your time helping others by standing still and letting all kinds of attacks wash over you while also doing the boring part of trying to get a grasp on your magical explosion.
Thanks to Summer giving you a few pointers in-between, you have it somewhat under control for now. Both of you use similar power, so her advice worked really well... though there might be other things you can do with this later.
Now however, Strength claps her hands with a loud ringing noise and calls out to everyone: "Okay, ladies! We spent enough time playing around, now it's time to get to the fun stuff!... yes, what is it?"
One of the other girls had her hand raised and starts speaking while everyone else wanders closer to form a circle around the Japanese girl. "Can you show us your spells first? I'm curious..."
You can see even Soldier Supreme perking up from the side of the open field... which is now riddled with holes and black spots and the like. Whoops? Anyway, everyone seems to agree and you have to admit to yourself that you are curious also. What kind of magic does the strongest Magical Girl have?
Strength herself looks around for a moment before shrugging and turning to Spring... who suddenly turns really pale. "I... don't mind showing you one. Be my target, Spring?"
The last part actually sounds more pleading than anything else and Spring thinks about it for a long moment; even Summer does not seem sure about it. That makes you wonder how strong Strength actually is.
"Okay... but please give me a minute to prepare."
Strength nods and the circle breaks up into a crescent to give her free space in one direction; Spring walks that way and until she stands a bit away, with only the empty landscape behind her. After that, she starts casting her own Spell and only gives the sign for Strength after she cast it four times. Sky could only barely scratch her after a single casting... you exchange uneasy looks with your friends over the thought.
(4 castings of Revitalise: +128000 Base Heal, +35114 Avatar of Nature, +54782 Avatar of Nature, + 53912 Avatar of Nature, +56876 Avatar of Nature = 328,684 Total Damage Healed
Spring's Dream Health: 46,200 + 328,684 Overheal = 374,884)
Once she gives the okay, Strength takes a deep breath and works her large metal fingers, then points them at Spring with a wide smirk. "So I heard Sky showed you who's boss a few days ago. Time to reassert my dominance, don't you think?
There are a few mechanical clicks coming from within the large hand while the other Magical Girl starts to look very unhappy with her decision to help out right about now. "Prepare Yourself! Bullet Hell!"
And from her fingers and knuckles and everywhere spews forth a stream of bullets, an endless hail that fills the air as it crushes into Spring like a wave.
(Bullet Hell: +51000 Base Damage, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +2003 dice = 180,503 Total Damage
Echo: 2, Echo triggers
Bullet Hell: +51000 Base Damage, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +5319 dice = 183,819 Total Damage
Echo: 2, Echo triggers
Bullet Hell: +51000 Base Damage, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +12750 Danmaku, +2449 dice = 180,949 Total Damage
Echo: 1, no Echo
545,271 Unified Damage, x3 Hail of Lead = 1,635,813 Total Damage
Spring's Dream: +
1,600,849 Total End Damage
Avatar of Nature (90%): 160,085 Total End Damage
160,085 Final End Damage
Spring's Dream Health: 374,884 - 160,085 = 214,799
Total Armour Destruction: Spring's dress is gone)
But the magic around her skin holds, not giving way and even shining through the curtain of steel Strength lays around her for several seconds. The noise is eardrum-shattering and the ground all around her gets torn apart.
When it ends and you can see Spring again, she is looking as if she spent the last few minutes in a storm; her hair is in disarray, her eyes are partly unfocussed and her dress is... basically gone. There are only a few scraps left covering her body.
In difference to last time, no one whistles now. You quickly cast your Soothing Moonlight to repair her dress before things get weird again. Aside from you however, nobody talks for a while as Strength pumps her fist a few times; she then nods and looks around as the other girls start clapping. You join after another moment.
(Spring's armour restored)
No matter how scary it was, Strength was also really impressive there. The ground around her is no longer visible with how many spent shells cover it, slowly fading out of sight... and the patch of grass Spring stood on is a scorched mess now.
After the applause dies down, Flower pushes herself closer and shily pulls at Strength's hoodie for a moment. "Um... can you tell us how you got so strong? I'm..."
There is a momentary pause; everyone understands why Flower is asking... and you are kind of curious about Strength's response, too. The older girl stands still with only her mechanical tail slowly wagging from left to right; then she raises one hand and gently pats Flower's head. "I got this way by focussing on what I do well and bringing it to mastery; sure, there's stuff I'm really bad at in comparison, but it worked out for me. So in general... take the things you do well and get good with them before you try to do new stuff."
"That's easy to say for a Legend", a new voice chimes in from the side. You can see Ana blink and turn quickly while doing the same with one head, the other's gaze staying on Strength... who started smirking and lifted Flower onto her shoulder.
The other person is someone you think you might have seen before, but you have no idea where. She wears some kind of robe in all black that looks really weird against her pale skin. You can tell her eyes are going over everyone within moments, too... and she is small, maybe even smaller than Bianca. Autumn is just behind her, wings folded and scythe in hand with a cocky smirk.
"Night!"
Your gaze flicks to Ana, who beams at the newcomer. She... Night... Nightmare Child raises one hand in greeting before turning her gaze back to Strength. The leader of Kibo is... looking happy as she walks over to high-five her. "Good to see you back. You're earlier than I expected."
"I figured that flying back for an hour would go faster than actually teleporting", is what Autumn responds with. You are not sure what to make of this exchange... though you were wondering where Autumn was all day. She brought the girls from Yggdrasil and was nowhere to be seen afterwards.
"In fact, this is perfect. Mind being our boss battle for today?"
"...I am tired... but very well."
Nightmare Child's gaze wanders over the gathered Magical Girls once, staying on Ana and Sky for a moment longer than on anyone else. You are not exactly sure what to make of this, is she not supposed to be incredibly strong?
"You win if I die, anyone who gets as much as a scratch or is immobilised by my Zombie Nightmares is out."
"Sounds good."
"Alright..."
You quickly take distance, together with everyone else. This is going way too fast, it was sparring just five minutes ago! Now you are supposed to fight one of the most powerful girls ever to her death?!
"War never changes, and neither does the world. I am Magical Girl Nightmare Child."
Her voice is cold and sounds almost hollow as this sickly, wrong light starts wrapping around her.
The moment you see her transformed state, it hits you. A feeling of dread more powerful than you ever felt before; it crawls under your skin and makes you feel small in comparison to the leviathan standing in front of you. Neither of your bodies dares moving for fear of drawing her attention and, ultimately, your end.
If she wanted to, she could squish you like a little ant.
"Horror of War."
She gently aligns her scythe with the ground while casting, light dancing around her fingers and making forms rise from the ground.
(Horror of War: dice scuttled, 500 summons)
Zombie Nightmares are rising from the ground everywhere, forming a dark horde behind the Magical Girl; they are all taller than her, yet she alone feels like a giant to you.
"Eva, Rico..."
You flinch when hands grasp your shoulders and only barely manage not to hit Ana with your scepters; the feeling of dread is still strong, but at least you can move again after she snapped you out of it.
(False Existence: Nightmare Child Health: 31,000 + 7,750 = 38,850)
And then she is moving, together with her nightmares. You quickly blast spells into the horde together with two dozen others, but they only take out a few where others quickly take their place.
Then they reach you and you no longer see where she is; you quickly rush forward and slam your scepter into a cluster of zombies, trying your best to thin them out.
(Sunlight Scepter: +63 Base Damage, +15 Disicipline, +5802 Veil of the Solar Goddess, +3072 dice = 8,952 Total Damage
7 Zombie Nightmares: +250 Base Resilience, no dice = 250 Total Damage Reduction
8,702 Total End Damage per piece
Zombie Nightmare Health: 1,000 - 8,702 = -7,702 per piece)
All of them turn to ash once your light pushes past them and you quickly blast a dozen more apart with two more swings. Sky is nowhere to be seen and Ana... Ana transforms the moment you look, her big form gobbling up three Nightmares at once and biting down.
(Sharpened Teeth: +7500 Base Damage, +1875 Bigger Creature, +5378 dice = 14,753 Total Damage
3 Zombie Nightmares: +250 Base Resilience, no dice = 250 Total Damage Reduction
They're dead, Jim)
The girls around you are doing pretty well, but a lot of others were already grabbed by several zombies and dragged off the field... now they sit there and do nothing... what are the Seasons doing there? They can't be out already, can they?
You have no time to think about that and are already looking for the next group to hit when a new wave rises from the ground. Then you see her about fifty metres away, Strength right next to her. Nightmare Child's scythe starts to glow in this terrifying light before she swings-
(Intercept!
End of the Line:
Essence of Pain: 33600 Base Damage, +42000 Godlike Strength +24064 Overwhelm, +500 Hostile Legend Effect, +2947 dice = 103,111 Total Damage
103,111 difference, Essence of Pain wins!
Essence of Pain: +103111 Intercept Damage, +128888 Godlike Strength, +103111 Punch-Through, +103111 Queen of the Mighty, +1089 dice = 439,310 Total Damage
Nightmare Child:
439,310 Total End Damage
False Existence (50%): 219,655 Total End Damage
The Insurmountable Gap triggers!
439,310 Final End Damage
No Early Grave:
439 Zombie Nightmares take 1,000 Final End Damage.
439 Zombie Nightmares Health: 1,000 - 1,000 = 0
1 Zombie Nightmare takes 310 Final End Damage.
Zombie Nightmare Health: 730 - 310 = 420
...
Sudden Death, Strength takes End of the Line's damage!
End of the Line: 32086 Total Damage
Transcendent Strength: +13600 Base Resilience, -6800 holyshitwhatthefuck, +500 Legendary Existence, +3931 dice = 11,231 Total Damage Reduction
20,755 Total End Damage
Last of the Trinity (50%): 10,378 Total End Damage
10,378 Final End Damage
Transcendent Strength Health: 138,600 - 10,378 = 128,222
Slaughter suppressed)
-but Strength catches the weapon and hammers it back into the other Magical Girl with her punch. It is at that moment that the scene seems to shudder; the green light rushes forward from Nightmare Child's weapon and tears into the surprised Strength while coronas of something sickly groan into existence for but a moment, connecting the terrifying Magical Girl with hundreds of her zombies... only for the latter to turn to dust, with Nightmare Child herself being unharmed after receiving such a punch.
The field around you is mostly empty of zombies now, almost all of them dying to whatever that was just now. Strength does not even notice the blood dripping from her side as she gapes at her opponent, who only gives her a calm look before pointing her scythe to the growing group of losers. "Tag. You're out."
(False Existence: Nightmare Child Health: 38,850 + 7,750 = 46,600)
No one moves, waiting for what happens next; you hold your breath for a moment before realising how silly you are; then you take up speed and aim your scepters at Nightmare Child; even though every part of you screams to run or hide or do something else than charging, you know this is the only chance you have.
""Scorching Sunlight!!""
Your magic explodes as it enhances the attack, rushing forward and towards the other girl right as she snaps around to face you... only to get hit right in the face with your sunlight.
(Scorching Sunlight: +10240 Base Damage, +148 dice =
Scorching Sunlight: +10240 Base Damage, +204 dice = 10,444 Total Damage
26,026 Unified Damage, x2 Absolute Connection = 52,052 Total Damage
Nightmare Child: +4650 Base Resilience, -2325 To The Face, +2325 Impossibly Fast, +1667 dice = 6,317 Total Damage Reduction
45,735 Total End Damage
False Existence (50%): 22,867 Total End Damage
22,867 Final End Damage
No Early Grave:
12 Zombie Nightmares take 1,000 Final End Damage
12 Zombie Nightmares Health: 1,000 - 1,000 = 0
1 Zombie Nightmare takes 420 Final End Damage
Zombie Nightmare Health: 420 - 420 = 0
10,447 Final End Damage
Nightmare Child Health: 46,600 - 10,447 = 36,153
Two Stacks of Burn applied, armour broken)
But even though she is fast and tries to bend out of the way, the beams hit her... and burn away her dress! Flames lick at the exposed skin despite the thin coat of magic still protecting it; even though those coronas flickered into existence again and dusted a handful more zombies, your attack went through!
You have no time to watch Strength leave; she turned fully and has her eyes on you -no, you're too close! You quickly try to turn, but-
"Absolute Decomposition."
You try to turn and fly away, but you are nowhere near fast enough to dodge the goop that sprays out of the orb in her fingers.
(Absolute Decomposition: +3000 Base Damage, +82 dice = 3,082 Total Damage
Primordial Moon: +700 Base Resilience, +24 dice = 724 Total Damage Reduction
2,358 Total End Damage
Primordial Moon Health: 98,781 - 2,358 = 96,423
Shred suppressed, Murder suppressed)
You feel it splash into your side and bite into it, your magic shuddering as something forces its way through; it does not hurt and you can see it only peeled off some skin a moment later, but you are out nonetheless. Whatever protected you, this was too much. Though it looked a lot like what Ana used yesterday -ah, dodging!
Another spray of goo misses your other body as you desperately leap to the side, while also turning towards the loser's corner. The third spray hits before you can even get your bearings and stop spinning.
(Absolute Decomposition: +3000 Base Resilience, +101 =
Primordial Sun: +105 Base Resilience, +11,604 Veil of the Solar Goddess, +149 dice, -10,308 Sudden Death = 1,550 Total Damage Reduction
1 Total End Damage
Primordial Sun Health: 2,100 - 1 = 2,099
Shred suppressed, Murder suppressed)
It bites through all of your magic despite your attempt to push it away with another surge of light. There is nothing you can do... but it does not hurt much this time, either; a little burning sensation on your cheek, but that is it.
When you look up, you can see Nightmare Child staring at you with a slight frown... so you give in to your instincts and lower your scepter. "You got me, I'm out."
Once you say that, the pressure finally weakens and you receive a curt nod before the terrifying girl turns around. "I see. Thank you for your honesty."
You quietly make your way over to the loser's corner.
. . .
Line Break Recognised
. . .
Line Break Recognised
. . .
In the end, Nightmare Child won without taking another hit. You dutifully healed her back up once the whole thing was over... and now she is standing at the side, talking with the Seasons (who actually did not join the whole thing). At least she detransformed and you can finally take deep breaths again.
Though... after this encounter, you sit at the side for quite a while to think. You already heard how awful one could feel when meeting Nightmare Child, but this was far worse than you would have ever expected. The fact you actually managed to hurt her seems like a miracle in retrospect.
Strength also notices that most girls look pretty beat after this; you saw that some actually took the time to fight the remaining zombies as training. You see her shake her head before she wanders up to the other high-ranked Magical Girls. "Can't really call it a nice workout with how fast you kicked me out, but you won fair and square. Come on, pick your prize."
You watch the exchange with slight confusion over what she means... and why her tail is wagging again, though she seems to try keeping it still. Autumn facepalms, Summer and Winter just shake their heads while walking off... and Spring giggles a little.
Nightmare Child though, she holds Strength's gaze for a few seconds before grinning. "I find myself with an extended vacation. If I'm allowed to pick, I would like you to let me stay here for the time being."
You can see Strength deflating for some reason; her tail even droops a little before she catches herself and grins back. "You know you could have just asked for that one; are you sure you want nothing else from me?"
There is... something different there; maybe it is how Strength speaks or how she leans slightly closer to the other girl... or maybe it is just your imagination, but this looks different from the normal banter. A few other girls are watching the exchange, too... but you do not really know any of them.
On the other hand, Sky is right next to you at the moment and she is a few years older. "Sky? What is Strength doing there?"
She wipes some ichor out of her hair in response, fiddling with the goopy stuff for a moment and turning pink; you can see it easily with how pale she is. "Um... well, I would think that Strength is flirting there... I had no idea..."
Flirting... that was... what you do with someone you want to go out with, right? So Strength and Night are... something, a couple maybe? But then again, Strength's attempts do not seem to work out at all with how the responses are.
In the end, the banter ends with Nightmare Child wandering off -after promising Ana to talk to her later- and everyone else sitting or standing around. Strength seems a little crestfallen now, but she perks up quickly and looks around. Then she looks up at the setting sun and sighs. "Ugh, time sure flies. We've got to do this again sometime soon... but for now, class dismissed. Have a nice evening, girls!"
You join the cheering just because; then you realise that you have a free evening. Of course you will have dinner first, but after that...
What will you do? Choose two:
[] Ana mentioned the sewers before; now is a great time to take a look
[] Maybe now is a good time to thank Chi for her hard work?
[] You did not really get to do any exercises, so you will do them now
[] Talk to Strength; something bothers her and maybe you can help
[] Just find a nice spot to lie down and enjoy today's last sunlight; you need to think
[] Double Down
(This option has you default to the other chosen option with both bodies; if it is not chosen, you will have one body present for each choice)
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+10xp A Dear Friend
+2xp Just Watch the Rain
+6xp Reunited With Old Friends
+5xp Met Magical Girl Broken Might
+5xp Training With Everyone
+2xp Stand Atop The Weaklings
+6xp Spring's Assistant
+15xp Strength Reigns Supreme
+200xp Met Magical Girl Nightmare Child
+5xp Killed 20 Zombie Nightmares
+50xp Landed a Hit on The Second Most Powerful Magical Girl
+2xp 'Survived' a Fight With Nightmare Child
EXP gained: 308 + 308 = 716
Total EXP: 848
=====
(Unlocked Level 4 Character Sheet: Magical Girl World Eater)
(Unlocked Level 0 Character Sheet: Magical Girl Broken Might)
(Unlocked Level 1 Character Sheet: Magical Girl Budding Flower)
(Unlocked Level 0 Character Sheet: Magical Girl Nightmare Child)
(New Shop Item Unlocked: Sun)
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