Disclaimer: I do not own Madoka Magica. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Prologue - That which cannot be changed
"There are many things in this world one cannot change."
The eerily eloquent voice rang loudly in her ears, but she was unable to listen. The ghostly echoes of those candidly spoken words hung in her head, but she was unable to even think about pushing them out.
"The passing of time, the end of a life, the dying of the universe… All these are inevitabilities which cannot be avoided."
She could feel the strength drain from her limbs, her body, and even from her own will. All the strength she had acquired – all the strength she had believed she possessed – were now mere fragments of a long lost dream, so distant that they would never be able to come to her aid.
"As someone who experienced it first-hand, I believe you should know this very well."
Almost like an afterthought, the brutal reality of those words was just casually mentioned like an insignificant detail. On some level, she knew that it was indeed insignificant on a larger scale, but the harsh truth of those words tore her heart to shreds.
"You cannot attain something without giving up something in exchange. If you have something you want, you need to let go of something of your own."
She willed for the words to stop. She prayed desperately for the voice to shut up, to stop mocking her, but most of all to stop being right; because no matter how much she wanted to deny it, she knew deep down that the unfeeling voice was the one speaking the truth. The one who saw this situation for what it was.
And above all, the only one who was not in denial about it all.
"You should know what you have to do in order to end this."
Unaware of or simply without concern about her plight, that irksome voice continued without a modicum of emotion, almost as though it was unable to. Like the very affliction that was 'emotion' was gone from the speaker's soul.
"It is but a straightforward choice."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She should have learned, all those countless worlds ago, that everything she acquired came at a price. She should have known, that the world would never work the way she wanted it to no matter who she was, what she became. She remembered far too late that dreams were attained at the cost of something dear. Something irreplaceable.
"You know what you need to do."
As she watched the world fall apart, Homura Akemi was once again reminded of that horrible truth.
"What will you choose?"
Cold and distant, that voice delivered her ultimatum.
"To kill Kaname Madoka to save this world, or to destroy this world to save her?"
I know this is just the prologue, but owing to technical issues I can't upload chapter 1 quite yet. Apologies for that.
This is my first Madoka fanfic, and it's an idea I've been wanting to explore for a while now. Hope you stay for the ride, though I don't expect you to gather much from just this prologue...
