Close your eyes. All you can see is despair. An abyss of infinite hopelessness threatening to engulf everything it caught seeing. The only way to avoid it is to have some faith in yourself. Hope simply cannot persist without beliefs.

And so, the Zero put aside all of her worries. Courage, will, and determination. That was what she needed to ensure herself everything will be alright this time. Focus, don't panic. There will be no explosions. Her familiar will be arriving soon, and no one would dare to mock her lacks of talent anymore.

"...My beautiful and sacred familiar..."

As she progressed through the final steps of the ritual, Louise's heart felt heavy at the thought of being unable to do anything right. Thinking about should this fails, there won't be another chance left. What will she do by then? Shut herself in her room until everyone forgot she exists?

No, that's not right. She couldn't go home after staining her family's name and reputation. Better find somewhere hidden and stay there for the rest of her life. Not wanting to be found. However, her pride won't allow such things to happen.

Think positive. The universe works in a strange way. Thanks, Brimir for this last chance to prove herself worthy of being called a mage. Her heart might be feeling down, but her mind feels the opposite. She can do this.

When she was younger, she used to play with her mother's manticore and thought how cool it is to have something like that to be her familiar. But now, she doesn't have the luxury to choose. She wouldn't mind even if her summoning resulted in the appearance of something as simple as a housecat.

An explosion shook the ground she was standing on and she was left wide-eyed. Why? Why hasn't it worked? Louise closed her eyes with an air of resignation. She waved around the wooden stick in her hand. Everyone around laughed. Louise scowled at them, but the laughter did not stop.

When the dust cleared up, everything changed.

An exact identical copy of one Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière appeared in the place where a familiar would come into being after a successful conjuration.

"Who are you?"

The doppelganger opened her golden eyes to find the original Louise asking her that question. Looking around, she found herself staring at people dressed as magicians surrounding her and the girl. The laughter stopped, it is as if the world has been silenced by the arrival of this unknown being taking the form of the Zero.

"I am thou... Thou art I... I have come to take your place in the world."

That was unexpected. Louise couldn't help but feel terrified at the being who donned her visage. Everything about it seemed to be so... wrong. Out of this world. Oh, Brimir. What has she gotten into? The last thing she saw before the being forced a kiss on her, was the manic, delight-filled face of a child who has received a new toy.

A searing pain burst through Louise's body, and she knows no more. The panicked screams of her friends and teachers alike fall on deaf ears as her entire body crumbled into specks of dust. Leaving no evidence of her existence behind.