Chapter 3

Paradise Lost and Found

Breathe! Homura took a deep breath as she leaned against the railing on the school roof. Eventually, she managed to get herself under control. Her pounding heart returned to normal.

Everything was fine. She couldn't detect any traces of the Law of Cycles. Madoka was safe, like she had been all year. It was just a dream. She had taken care of it.

Homura sighed, and pushed herself off the fence, only to realize that it had been warped into some sort of black, splotchy, bent, mess. With a thought, it was restored to it's normal appearance.

Everything was fine. Homura reassured herself. She could take care of things. She would make sure her Madoka stayed safe. That was the burden she had sworn to bear, the great quest she had undertaken. But only now was she beginning to see the enormity of the grand task before her, like a yawning chasm over which the bridge has collapsed. Madoka had asked her about the future, and now her thoughts were spiraling. She had never been good at thinking about the future. Never good at planning beyond the immediate quest at hand.

If she could keep Madoka here, time would pass. Madoka would graduate from high school, and could possibly go to college, begin a career, find a relationship, start a family, and eventually grow old, and die.

Homura would have to watch over her for decades, keeping her safe and separate from the Law of Cycles for the rest of her life. And that was if she even could grow old and die. Would she be immortal. Unaging? For all she had experienced, there was still so much Homura didn't know. Not for the first time, Homura wanted to be closer to Madoka. To enjoy the sweet sight of her pink haired maiden. To gaze upon her beautiful smile. To marvel at her joyous laughter, like sweet nightingales singing. To sink into her embrace, like a warm fire after a cold day. To hear her comforting words, like- Homura ruthlessly crushed that line of thought. She didn't deserve such things. Not after what she had to do. After the necessary sin she had to commit.

Instead, she could lead Madoka to the right options, the same as she had guided her back to her friends. Find her a good, safe, career. Find a fitting spouse who could keep her safe, while remaining close to her. A family to ensure she would want for nothing. A home where she would be safe and comfortable. Yes, she could do that.

Regardless, what would she be doing during this time? Though two hardly made for conclusive evidence, Madoka's episodes were fairly far apart meaning Homura's interventions would be far apart as well. Even later, once the proper place for her was found, once set in motion, the process would perpetuate itself. Elsewhere her familiars had the foul Wraiths under control, their infernal cruelty against mankind stymied by the endless armies of dolls. The weight of the karmic curses fell upon the loathsome Incubators, now living up to the ideals they once preached, fueling eternity with the endless fire of their own immortal essences, their very beings crushed beneath the gravity of their sins. Entropy had been solved. The universe would continue forever and ever more. Every being in the universe could rejoice at their salvation. No longer would they fear a demise that not even God could avert, for the Devil had come with the True Knowledge, and so taken the mantle of the Almighty.

But what of herself? What fate awaited this Devil? A depraved and hedonistic orgy of hellish vices? A grim and stoic rule of her dark kingdom? Homura looked back to the stairwell. There was no desire to return to class. No desire to immerse herself in the fetid stench of captive animals jockeying in a pathetic bid for status and attention driven by hormones and insecurity while the caretakers simply averted their eyes because they just wanted to get through their day and not lament about their wasted lives.

In all truth, she wondered why she even bothered with academia at all. She had lived that cycle out more times than she cared to count, and had learned more out on her own experience that she ever learned sitting in a classroom listening to a sad old crone whine about her pathetic love life. She was absolute. All the knowledge of creation was at her fingertips, the Akashic Record at her beck and call.

But society liked it's credentials, as misleading, arbitrary, and falsifiable as they could be. She might as well humor them, and play along with their games. Homura snapped her fingers and called out "Usotsuki, to me!"

Near instantly, one of her servants appeared before her. A vile creature cloaked in the flesh of a woman, only barely hiding the monstrosity within. A grinning, weeping, creature that even could give even the greatest of heroes pause. The Clara Doll giggled, as she always did, her servitude a mocking and sardonic farce in but appearance, within the only thought was absolute submission to her dark mistress.

With a quick command, Usotsuki's appearance was reshaped until she looked like a perfect replica of Homura. With that, the Liar headed back into the school, to take her place. There was no need to linger further, especially if it meant having to hear Hitomi's obnoxious and petulant whining about Kyosuke dumping her, even though that was months ago. Besides the only thing that mattered anyways was picking up her summer homework.

With that taken care of, Homura stepped forwards. The world sped past her in a blur, the sounds and sights passing too quickly to make more than the faintest of impressions. In but an instant, she was at her apartment.

Homura's residence was bare and spartan. She was the only resident in the building, even though the structure took up an entire block. All of the furniture had already come with the place, and she hadn't cared to alter it any. She had no possessions of her own left. No keepsakes to admire. No hobbies to while away her time. With the money she had received from disability she could have afforded to decorate the apartment, but it had never struck her interest to do so. The only things she bought were the necessities. Before she had become a magical girl, the apartment it had merely been a place to rest and recover from the days disappointments in preparation for the next. Afterwards, it had been used as a base of operations. A place to store weapons and information. A fortress and staging ground for her war against fate itself. It was never truly a home, a place where she could be herself, as much due to lack of time (ironically) as it was due to lacking a self. After her grand task had been completed, after her shining triumph over the universe itself, there was little use for such a place.

But now, her mission was complete. Her fair Madoka was where she belonged, safe and happy, unperturbed by the world of magic and despair. What next? Did she deserve a heroes rest? Was now to be her entry into the Elysian Fields, nay, to the Isles of the Blessed? Such consideration came upon her like the tide long low.

"I dunno, you just seem like you don't have much fun lately. It might do you some good to do something you enjoy."

The words from earlier came back to her. She shrugged and stepped into her bedroom, in front of the mirror.

Homura had never thought of herself as attractive. Small chest, no curves, pudgy face, stringy hair, scrawny, lanky, arms and legs. She had always been the odd girl out, wherever she went. No friends. Picked last for teams. Always hearing whispers and giggles behind her back. Receiving mocking texts and emails. Finding her school supplies vandalized or stolen. Enduring the teachers pitying expressions at her failures. She had long since given up on her looks or reputation. Even the outfit she had given herself upon her apotheosis had been manifested more out of the sheer thrill of the moment than any sort of desire for appearance.

But now, she pondered the matter. She had stopped keeping exact track of how many timelines she had lived through, how many campaigns she had launched, how many wars she had waged. But if she had to take a guess she would have been around her mid-to-late-twenties in subjective time. All that time fighting a ceaseless battle against time itself, the weight of weeks, months and years as nothing to this brave warrior. And now it was over. What next?

Well, it was summer break.

Homura looked over herself in the mirror. With a thought, she aged up her body to match her subjective age, making alterations as she did so. Fuller lips. Plumper chest. Curvier hips. Shapelier legs. The threads of her school uniform rearranged themselves, transforming into an elegant, strapless black dress, cut low to show off her new cleavage. Her shoes became high heeled sandals. She posed, twirled, and gave herself a brief and admittedly forced smile. Regardless, this was a form befitting of the new Goddess. They would truly look upon their savior with awe and reverence.

But why stop there? She looked around her bleak apartment, and then snapped her fingers. The building grew brighter as a fresh coat of paint was applied. The furniture transformed into much more stylish and comfortable forms, while tasteful abstract paintings decorated the walls. The lights were replaced with brighter and warmer fixtures.

She stopped and considered. It was nice but... Too small! She had liberated an unworthy universe from it's absolute demise. She was a savior. She deserved her own personal Elysium.

With another snap, the walls of the building opened up, her residence extending into the rest of the structure, transforming it to look more like a manor befitting a woman of such beauty and elegance as herself. Fancy rugs and carpets, elegant curtains, and strings of lights decorated the building. She created a media room with high-priced electronics. A dining hall with fancy silverware. A grand staircase was created leading to the upper floor, where she created a bedroom with an expansive 4 poster bed, and a balcony with a garden full of flowers.

Finished, Homura stepped outside to inspect her work. She was about to deem it good, when a car sped past her, with loud engines and loud music. And then another. And another. Then a police car in hot pursuit, sirens wailing. Ah yes, the obnoxious ravings of a city big enough to never sleep. Steeped eternally in it's own filth and decay like some rotting animal carcass. She sighed and waved her hands, and the entire structure was transported to the outskirts of the city, space folding together where it once was, and new space appearing to accommodate it at it's destination. With this, she added grounds, including more gardens, a garage full of luxury cars, and a fountain with statues in ballet poses.

Now, without any interruptions, she looked over her work. It was good. However, she pondered. It was a nice enough manor, but far too mundane. Definitely not a residence befitting of a Devil.

She snapped her fingers, and then she was floating far out over the ocean, no shoreline anywhere in sight. Before her was naught but the endless blue sea. Her wings emerged from her back. She spread out her hands and the world shook. The seas roiled and steamed and at her will parted all the way down to the deep deep floor. There, the seafloor cracked and split and the fiery lifeblood of the earth spilled forth. At Homura's direction, it surged upwards as it hardened, forming into a volcanic island that rose from the sea. Dark clouds gathered above. A forest of withered and ashen trees sprung up like weeds, surrounding the edge of the island in a deathly embrace, while inwards, the volcano began to expel lava, it's ghastly light illuminating the dark skies.

She clenched her fist, and the ground began to shake. From the side of the volcano, a massive black structure jutted out, the lava flows curling around it to form a blazing moat. The black structure twisted and flowed like water, transforming into a massive, sinister looking castle, while the storm brewing over the island crackled with lightning and thunder.

Within it's walls, rooms formed. Troop barracks, dungeons, war rooms and observation towers all came into being. Torture chambers and death traps filled the lower levels, mixed with vaults brimming with treasure piles of gold and gems. Mysterious and arcane devices came into being in the towers. Stained glass windows dotted the walls, showing depictions of the Devil and her familiars. She then called forth said familiars, populating both the island, and the palace. Liese and Lilia prowled and stalked about the forest while Lotte soldiers patrolled the castles boundaries.

Homura landed upon a balcony and stepped into the largest room in the palace. Towering stained glass windows filled the area with eerie and unnatural multicolored light. As she walked forwards, lines of Lotte soldiers knelt as she passed, headed towards a towering black throne on the other side of the room. Behind it, a massive clockwork structure dominated, gears turning while sand flowed between them.

Homura smirked as she sat upon the throne and slouched to one side. The Lotte soldiers rose, saluted, and banged the base of their spears on the ground while the palace's clock struck four. Lightning struck the highest tower, illuminating the island with a million volts of power and malice.

It was as they said. True, she had seen only the barest glimpse of Heaven, but indeed, it was better to rule in-

Something smacked Homura square in the face, broke apart, and splattered all over her. She stood up in a rage. "Who dares-" Some of whatever it was dripped into her mouth, and she recognized the taste of tomatoes.

Oh, right…

Homura's form reverted to her teenage self, her dress transforming back into her school uniform as the tomato was cleaned off of her. When her vision cleared, she saw herself standing before her, though it shimmered and became the Usotsuki the Liar from earlier. She giggled as she handed Homura the packet of summer homework, and gave a dramatic bow, as if on stage.

"Thanks." Homura sighed. She dismissed the creature, and it skipped off to do whatever the Dolls did in their spare time. The Lotte were dismissed as well, and joined the patrols throughout the castle.

Homura walked off to the side of the room, a doorway appearing, leading to a staircase spiraling up a tower. At the top, a bedroom formed, one very plain, a recreation of her original bedroom. She sat down at the desk and got to work.

~Dragonexx