A fragile existence within a turmoil event. A trapped witch in a place, which no one could follow. Her whereabouts was unknown, nevertheless, capable of being recognized. She wandered through the grim and inexplicable woodland hunting for hints that could lead her towards her freedom. However, isolation is a warped feeling. Which, one could succumb to madness while experiencing it. Witnessing the darkest emotions residing her heart, she became hysteric. Her screams could not be heard, her friends would not come to avail. On verge of tears, she pleaded to be saved. Yet, none of her desires were granted. For they were forbidden and only her demise awaited. Her screams ceased when she had been broken. Consumed by the place she dared to explore, vanishing from the world.
The most prestigious magic school in Europe, Luna Nova Academy, was mortified by the recent news. The headmistress and the teachers did not expect such ordeal. How could they? A student mysteriously disappeared late at night, leaving no trace behind. Yet, they had a brief gasp of their situation. Many magic related schools had been struggling with the consumption of mana energy through the sorcery stone. However, in the last week, many eerie events were taken place. Students from different magic schools were reported missing. Headmistress Holbrooke thought on in how to proceed. They must keep it in secret. If the students knew about those terrible events... a pandemonium would arise. A meeting with the school's staff would be held, so they could organize their thoughts on that crisis.
On the other side of the door, a troublesome teenager carrying a pile of books overheard the entire conversation. Amazement was written in her expression, as she unwillingly dropped all the books onto the floor. A noise took the attention of the teachers. Panicking with her silly mistake, she ran towards her room and roommates. When one of the teachers, opened the door, she only found a pile of books scattered everywhere on the ground. Some pages were floating in the air until one of them flew and hit her on the face, which made her mad.
The dormitory's door was slammed by an intense kick. Startling the girls who had been having some sort of girls' talk. They seemed surprised and at the same time, annoyed as they noticed the young troublemaker sparkling eyes. Those glittering crimson eyes will always mean one thing: Trouble was yet to come. She spoke with utmost joy about the rumors circulating the school, which were earlier confirmed by the teachers themselves. It was noticeable how overwhelmed her friends were by the news. One of the girls, who used glasses and had an orange hair interrupted her friend from speaking. The others sighed in relief. She was talking about the same thing for almost thirty minutes!
"We got it already, Akko. You've been talking about the same thing for half an hour!"
"Yeah, Lotte's right. Sometimes you get too excited, y'know."
Her friends were not interested in any of her stories. It had been like this for quite a while, which could not make her anymore angry. They did not understand, or perhaps, she did not understand them. Akko left the room crashing the door shut. The girls were caught off guard and remained silent. Maybe they should find a way to calm her down before she breaks the door in two next time.
She wandered through the corridors all alone, bearing all the saltiness. After walking for quite a while, she came to the library. This place was never her cup of tea. However, this was the only place she could reorganize her thoughts. Surrounded by great bookshelves, which, each of them hold magical knowledge about all generations of witches who had lived. Her disquiet expression changed when she was enlightened with a brilliant idea. She could search for hints for the mysterious cases in the library.
Hurrying through the bookshelves, her goal was to find a number of useful studying materials. After an intense search, she filled one of the library's table with old newspapers and books. Some students were flabbergasted. Not because of the large sum of books and its old appearance, but because who was going to read that said books. A rare sight for those who attend Luna Nova. Akko paid them no heed and kept reading. Knowing the school staff would keep it secret, this was her only chance.
With the turn of each page, she felt her eyelids getting heavier. Reading was not her favorite activity, but she never felt that sleepy before. Everything was getting hazy and then everything turned white.
Her eyes opened into the nothingness. There was nothing that could be seen nor unseen. A hollow space with a unique entity—an intruder. She, all alone, aimlessly wandered through the blankness which seemed to have no end. Each step given was a torture for her. Everything she had learned at this point could not explain the space she was in. It was a lonely journey. However, in her path, she found a unique object. It was a broken porcelain mirror.
"There is a mirror here! Why would a mirror be in a place like this?"
She approached it while remembering one of the theoretical magic classes she had, which surprisingly, she did not fall asleep. Dreams are reflections of your mindscape, which could have consequences in your real-self. In the past, many witches used dreams to communicate with powerful spirits. Those spirits were too powerful to manifest themselves into reality. Because their true form only endangered the concept of time and space.
She remembered the lecture, but nothing could be seen in the mirror. Drowned in her thoughts, she wondered If she did not have talent after all. If she cannot become an astonishing witch, how will she meet Chariot and give her gratitude? Doubting oneself would lead to depression, bringing desperation and insanity. This cannot be permitted. The sound of a mirror cracking echoed through the whole space. A fissure was created from the mirror, separating the ground and the sky in two through a line.
"What is happening?"
The colorless ground quivered in the nothingness, taking her off-guard. A soothing voice echoed calling for the disheartened girl's name. She calmed down after listening to it. Somehow, she felt a kinship with that soft voice. It did not stop and continued calling her until she realized it came from within the mirror. She walked towards the mirror and stood in front of it. An antique damaged mirror. Staring at the mirror, she saw herself in different manners. Each fragment of the mirror reflected different states of her psyche.
"Is this truly you?"
A representation of her ordeals to achieve her dreams appeared before her eyes. Every effort she put her heart into and every failure made. The path of struggle who would eventually give her nothing more than her desires. This was how she was. But, she did not answer the question. Is this how she truly was or how she desired herself to be?
"Believing that perseverance will bring forth fortune. How childish of you, my dear. You aspire to become a great witch, don't you? Even though you do not possess the talent either blood to do so. However, I must give you credit. You have the spirit, or perhaps, you had it"
"T-that's not true! I have the resolve to become a great witch like Chariot!"
The voice was sharp but not sharper than the words that cut through her heart. She would become like Chariot one day, wouldn't she? She definitely will. Her body was paralyzed and everything she could do was listen to the soothing voice who became her worst nightmare. She wanted to ask for help, but it was meaningless. No one could help her and no one would.
"Still refusing to accept the truth, aren't you? You wished to be born with talent, to be admired... to be loved. This would bring you the ultimate happiness, a selfish wish that cannot be granted. From the beginning, you wanted to be a prodigy, didn't you? You strove for acceptance from others disregarding your own limits and identity. Rejecting your lineage and pushing yourself, while throwing others into your own problems. This is your essence, Atsuko Kagari. It saddens me how egotistical you are"
The only thing she could do was stare at the mirror with warped images of herself laughing at how ordinary she was. Shaking with pure horror gazing deeply into the warped reflections' eyes. Their gazes centered on her with a twisted smile on their faces.
"Despite your problems, you did meet wonderful people in your path, didn't you? They did not judge in the same manner as the others did. However, they made a fool out of you multiple times. Is not it an upsetting situation, my dear? Even your precious friends are not an exception from that rule. You are indeed neglected, by your peers and the whole academy. It is astonishing how you can fake ignorance towards the facts."
"Shut up! What do you know? This is just a nightmare, it is not real!"
A warmth laughter echoed throughout the place. As docile as the beginning, yet distressing. The reflections disappeared from the mirror, except one. Despite her white hair and blue eyes, she seemed to be a perfect copy of the young witch. She emerged from the mirror, dragging Atsuko to panic. She approached the witch and placed her hands delicately on her cheeks. They were face to face, staring deeply at each other's eyes.
"I know everything, my dear. This nightmare shall become your own reality, and we will start anew"
She giggled towards the horrified and paralyzed girl. Giving a soft smile with her lips, she freed the girl from her paralyzing torment with a kiss on her cheek. Falling on her knees, she desperately tried to keep a safe distance from that creature who she assumed to be nothing less than a monster in the shape of herself.
"Please, do not avert your eyes from the truth. After all, it is your destiny as—"
Silence filled the hollow space which now seemed on the verge of collapsing. The young witch could not understand anything that was happening, but she was greeted once more by her another self. She gazed into her eyes with a charming smile, giving her goodbyes.
"It seems we ran out of time, but we will soon meet again. It was a pleasure to meet a naïve version of myself"
"What are you... talking about?"
"You will know it soon enough, my dear"
Her words left an omen within the witch's heart. She shattered into pieces, as a mirror in front of the mesmerized young girl's eyes. That hollow space melted in dark colors and everything in her sight was tainted with black.
She awoke stunned by the events that took place. It was hard to breathe and she felt chills down her spine. She never had such a disconcerting nightmare. It was the first time and her heart was still beating fast. Akko tried to calm down and recollect what she had experienced. The students wandering around the library seemed worried about her behavior and condition. She was shaking and could not speak a word. A student yelled for help, but Akko could not hear anything. Except for the thumping coming from the inside of her aching head. Everything became blurred as she collapsed on the floor when one of the janitors came to her aid.
Dumbfounded screams could be heard from within the library. However, this was the last thing she heard. Her body became lighter as a feather and her consciousness drifted away from reality, drowning into the nothingness.
Her eyes opened and the first thing she saw was a shiny bulb on the ceiling. She stared at it for a while, trying to understand how she got there in the first place. The last time she got there was after the Luna Nova Cup. Since then, she never returned to the infirmary. But, the bed and the feathery pillow were soft as ever. Her senses were recovered, however, she could not move as she wished. The last thing she remembered was collapsing in the library. No... something more important happened there. Yes, she had a nightmare. Only imagining how it transpired made her shiver. She knew at heart that everything asserted by her reflection was the undeniable truth. She was blind towards her own aspirations.
This train of thought was broken by the noise of the infirmary door being slowly opened. She drew her attention towards the opened door. The person who entered the infirmary room was her instructor and teacher, Ursula.
"I'm sorry for entering without even knocking. But, I was so worried when they noticed me you passed out at the library. Now that you have awakened, are you feeling better, Akko?"
She didn't answer on the spot. Many things happened in such a short period of time and those things were excruciating. Who should she trust? Could she trust that woman? She put a smile on her face and nodded to her teacher.
"Pretty much! Thank you very much, Teacher Ursula!"
Putting on a mask, she burdened herself with a shameful act.
Author's Note:
Hello! I have never written a fanfiction before, so this is my first time. I've always wanted to write one regarding LWA, so I'm giving it a try. English is not my first language, but I will try my best. Thank you for reading!