Madoka. Silly, silly Madoka. The goddess of hope itself, the law of cycles in physical form. Did you betray her? Did you steal her, keep her, and use her power to reshape reality into a perfect world?
Perhaps. But it was all for her. And now, she's your--
You sense the man before you see him.
"Fufufu..." You find yourself chuckling as you look into the darkness all around you, "And who might you be, interloper? You are certainly no Magical Girl, nor are you--?"
"Homura Akemi..." The man interrupts, "...That's your name, right?"
He knows you? "How is it you know my name? I don't believe we've ever met, stranger."
"We haven't," The man agrees, finally stepping into view, "But I know who you are."
"Oh?" You don't bother to hide your disbelief.
"I know the pain that stings your heart." The man in white steps closer, "From losing everything you worked so hard to gain and keep. The agony that comes from living the same days over and over, begging the world to let you do something different..." He sighs, moving an ivory glove to his face, "...But the result refuses to change."
You silently scorn this intruder as he speaks.
"I know what led you down the path of a usurper." He stops, staring up at you with a fierce determination you've not felt since... "You can bend this world to your every whim, undo all of your mistakes, correct every injustice made against you...!" The man shakes his head, "...But through that, you lose the ability to live your own life. You just exist without anything or anyone."
"Do you think you know everything about me?" You ask, gritting your teeth as you sit upon your throne.
The man shakes his head, "Not everything, no. But..." His gaze returns to you, "...I know enough to speak from experience. I had that power, too. The power to "fix" things."
"What?" You lean forward.
"I tried to force the world to be a better place." He takes a breath, "I tried to fix everything. But it only ended up opening old wounds. I only brought heartache, like you."
"I did nothing of the--!"
"Is Madoka Kaname happy?" He loudly argues back, "Is she really, truly happy in that gilded cage? Or are you just forcing her to be happy?"
"You know nothing of what I--!!"
"I do!" The man shouts suddenly, managing to give you pause, "I know because I did the exact same thing! And you know what?" He takes a few breaths in an attempt to steady himself, "...I was wrong."
"Who do you think you are...?" You growl, your rage only growing, "...You come into my plane, disregard my choices, ignore my suffering--?"
"I'm not invalidating your life!" The man interrupts for what you should probably make the last time, "But what you're doing here is stealing everyone else's choices!"
"Why should that matter?!" You shout back.
"You made this entire world just for Madoka, right?!" A white glove points to the universe before you, "What about your other friends? Kyoko Sakura, Sayaka Miki, Mami Tomoe--?"
"What about them?!"
"Do they not get to live their own lives?!" His glasses sparkle in the odd light of your being, "What about the other people?! Are their lives not important enough to be lived?"
"Shut up about other people!!" You slam your fist into the armrest of your throne, "Who do you think you are to waltz in here and tell me how to use my power?!"
"That's the thing, Homura." The man retorts, "It isn't your power, is it? It's Madoka's."
"She would only destroy herself with it!" You argue, mere moments from leaping out of your throne to wring his neck out.
"And so you'd take everybody's free will? Their choice? Their lives?!"
You stand up, immediately drawing your bow and firing at the man. When the smoke clears--
He stands firm, completely untouched by your magic.
"Who...?" The question barely escapes your lips as a blue glow begins to surround the strange man before you.
The man breathes in, closing his eyes. "My name is Takuto Maruki." He says calmly, "And I won't sit back and watch someone else walk the path I did."