"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13
"AAAHAHAHAUHUUHUHUHUUUAHAHAHHAHHAAAAAHAAHA! GUUUUHUHUAHAHAHAHAAA!"
On top of a building, Estér watched Mitakihara's last moments. With her unhinged laughter cutting through the sound of the stormy winds, Walpurgisnatch was flying over the city, having survived the explosives prepared by Homura without a scratch.
The magical girl who had failed once again was still trying to pursue her target, while confronted by a myriad of magical girl shades, familiars of the legendary witch, who laughed and mocked of her futile efforts.
"Yaaaww..." Estér yawned. She had seen it so many times, the only thing that interested her was which timeline Homura would go next. "The sand in her wristwatch must be about to run out."
Homura managed to close the distance, but Walpurgisnatch noticed her and threw an entire building at her. She readied the shield on her forearm to stop time, but all the purple sand had drained into the lower compartment. "No..."
"Bingo," Estér said as she saw the magical girl being hit by the building and her body flying into another destroyed building. The woman stretched her body to wake up and be ready for action. "Congratulations, Homura-chan, your Madoka is going to die together with her family, the best ending you've ever gotten for her. She won't even suffer much! Even I'm jealous now." After the sarcasm, she waited for the magic the girl would use to jump to another timeline.
However, that did not happen.
"Hmm? She hasn't given up yet? She's getting more and more stubborn..." Estér waited a little longer, before new worries bothered her. "Maybe she's too injured to use her wristwatch, or trapped under the rubble." She took a step forward. "Walpurgisnatch is already going to destroy the city and Homura-chan is too close. I can't risk losing everything now."
However, she felt a sudden surge of magic, a new source, followed by a column of pink light coming from the building where Homura had fallen. "That... Madoka? How?"
The glow gradually lost strength, but then a pink beam rose up into the clouds, to where an intricate design of connected circles and magical lines of the same color was forming.
"I don't know how, I don't care how, that girl is too stupid." Shaking her head, Estér smiled. "Even with all your warnings, Homura-chan, even with what happened to her friend from school, Madoka still thinks she can 'save the day' without paying the same price."
When the beam reached the design, a hole in the stormy clouds formed and expanded rapidly, revealing the tranquil azure sky.
"And Walpurgisnatch will be defeated again by a mere blow from our future destroyer," Estér said and sighed, "Homura-chan... It's time to go. You don't want to hear her screams."
From the design in the sky, countless arrows of pink energy shot out in all directions.
Which made Estér frown. "That's new."
All that magic attracted Walpurgisnatch's attention, but the great witch began to disintegrate.
No arrows hit her, what's going on? Estér was no longer smiling.
Walpurgisnatch was only now a humongous cog, her real body, in front of a new column of pink light that had appeared.
"It's all right. It's all right now. You don't have to hate anyone anymore. You don't have to curse anyone anymore. I'll go back before you take that form and I'll bear the burden for you." Madoka's voice echoed through the air like thunder.
What did she do? What did she mean by that? Estér felt her heart pounding, and she hated it. "Stupid girl! That big show of kindness of yours will cost you your world!"
An explosion of light engulfed Walpurgisnatch and everything else.
"Ah!" Estér shielded herself with magic in the face of that sudden power. She did not feel a shockwave, but her feet were no longer touching the ground. "Wha- gak?!" The air escaped from her lungs uncontrollably, she could no longer breathe. Is the atmosphere gone? I have to save Homura! Making use of every repertoire of magic her vast library of souls could offer, Estér located Homura and teleported her closer to her, then she created a large enough invisible force field and an appropriate atmosphere.
The light then faded and Estér saw the planet Earth, the prominent blue circle with strokes of white and green floating in a clear dark sky, which contrasted on the horizon with a gray, lifeless expanse. "Are we on the... Moon?"
The tall white-haired woman was floating, as was Homura, who was unconscious and badly injured, but the intact soul gem was proof that she was still alive.
"Her gem isn't in a good state, better heal her." Homura was enveloped in the light of Estér's magic. When the light dissipated, the girl had no injuries, even her clothes had been restored and there were no more blood marks.
With another spell, the lunar soil was brought to a comfortable temperature. Estér gently left Homura on the ground and walked away. Even though it should not be possible for the girl to sense her presence, it was better not to take any risks.
Soon Homura awoke and stood up, feeling very confused.
Meanwhile, Estér was analyzing the situation. Why were we transported here? What did Madoka do?
[You're here too.]
[Qu'ube?] The woman looked around, but saw no creature anywhere.
[So you must also be a time traveler. That's why you'll witness it too.]
[Witness?] Estér did not like being found out. [What did Madoka wish for? Tell me exactly, word by word!]
[Sure.] Kyuubey replied through telepathy, [These were her words: 'I wish to erase all witches before they are born. All the witches in all the universes, both past and future, with my own hands! I don't care what I become. All those who fought against the witches, who believed in hope as magical girls, I don't want to see them cry. I want them to be smiling all the way. If there is any rule or law that prevents this, I will destroy it. I will rewrite it. That's my prayer. That's my wish. Now! Make my wish come true, Incubator!']
"This wish... So many sentences..." Estér frowned, talking to herself. "H-How?! Of course, she has the power, but how? That naive child, even when she had some information, she always wished to save someone, or the city, or even the world. She always lacked the ambition to wish for something on that scale."
A large dark comet appeared, heading towards the Earth, its tail covering the stars.
[What's that?] Estér asked Kyuubey.
[As I'm explaining to Homura Akemi, this is the soul gem that Madoka's prayer created. It's that big because of all the despair she has to endure with the immense wish she made. If she was able to create enough hope for an entire universe, then she will also end up bringing enough despair to destroy it.]
[Don't be ridiculous!] No longer blinking, Estér watched the comet reach the planet.
The bolide of darkness then blossomed and began to take shape. A pair of gigantic arms embraced the planet, while a macabre face appeared from the 'body'. Half of the face had a mask, with the image of the Earth and the Moon as its eye and mouth respectively. The titanic witch of despair finished enveloping the entire planet, making it almost impossible to distinguish the celestial body from the infinite abyss that surrounded it.
"No..." Homura covered her face and began to cry.
"If her wish affects the past and the future... then..." While Estér fell to her knees, finding it hard to believe what her eyes were showing. "I... I'm responsible... I..." She gritted her teeth. "I should have killed Homura and Madoka from the very start! But I got carried away by my ambitions again! AAAAHHH!" The woman rested her hands on the lunar soil, her panting breaths revealing the desperation boiling inside her chest. "Leona... I'm sorry, I couldn't be a goddess even for you, I could only be human, throwing away everything we've built together for a chance, a miracle for you to be happy with me." Tears moistened the gray dust, while menacing black sparks shot out from the corrupted gem in the tiara. "I wanted to prove otherwise to Qu'ube, but... Humanity is too small for the universe."
"Don't worry, it's all right."
"That voice..." Estér raised her head and saw a new light in the sky, like a star that was being born.
That star was Madoka, in a dress of pure white, with a skirt that blended in with the galactic background and her pink locks of hair going off in all directions, to all infinities.
"My wish is to erase all witches. If that really comes true, then even I will have no reason to despair!"
Completely perplexed, Estér witnessed Madoka conjure up a bow and prepare an arrow with an enormous aura. "H-Has she really become? A... A..."
When the arrow was fired, a truly cosmic bombardment formed, hitting the witch that enveloped the planet. It was the cause against its own effect, the annihilation of causality.
The energy released by that moment blinded Estér.
And then she opened her eyes.
She felt like she was floating in a sea of colors. "What?" But what surprised her most was when she heard her own voice. It was different, weak and soft, a voice she had abandoned a long time ago. "Huh? Where? I..."
Then she looked at her body, now naked. It was as if she were made of light, partially translucent. It was a little hard to make it out amidst all the colors, but she was sure it was smaller. Her pair of breasts were almost nonexistent and her hands and feet could be mistaken for those of a child.
"It's me. My old self..." Estér realized she was not feeling anything on her forehead. She touched with her hand and found neither her tiara nor her gem. "I don't hear them anymore..." She had never felt so light, as if her sins had been absolved. There was only one conclusion to all this peace. "Did I... die?"
[This is impossible for you, Eisheth Zenunim.]
[Qu'ube.] So unexpected was it to hear the voice of that despicable alien that Estér tolerated it daring use of that name. [What now?]
[The universe is being rewritten according to Madoka Kaname's prayer. By violating causality, she will cease to exist. She will become a concept, a natural law, incapable of interacting with anyone.]
[You love to conjecture, don't you? I'd rather bet that you're wrong] Estér smiled. [And I should win.]
Kyuubey did not reply.
And time passed. "I can't feel him." Estér looked at her body and the colors around her, without finding anything to guide her. "I feel like I'm going to another plane of existence... Maybe he's not entirely wrong."
Then she sensed a familiar magic.
"Homu... ra-chan?" Estér looked in the direction of her sensation. She strained her eyes, as it was too far away and difficult to make out with all those colored lights, but she was able to confirm it.
Homura was also naked, in a translucent body, being hugged by another girl... Was it Madoka?
"That..." She was at a loss for words. In all the odyssey that Homura had gone through in the timelines, Estér had not expected such an ending. "Well, it wasn't what I planned, but shouldn't I be happy? Humanity is safer without my presence, and there won't be any more witches," watching the two girls floating in embrace, she continued to ponder, "if there's one thing I can regret, it's not being able to say goodbye to Leona from this last timeline." She closed her eyes. "With the universe being rewritten and no witches, Qu'ube won't be able to bring in the magical girl system. Leona won't be able to make her wish for freedom or, if history changes drastically, she won't even be born. How can I judge that?" She took a deep breath and shook her head. "What am I thinking? I don't have any power now."
She reopened her eyes and continued to watch the two girls. She experimented and discovered that she could make her body move through that mystical ocean with mere willpower, but she avoided getting any closer to the other two. "Should I interrupt what they're doing and say hello? Hmm..." After a brief consideration, Estér concluded. "I was part of it too, wasn't I? But they won't even recognize me. With my original body, they'll think I'm a teenager like them, and not a woman with thousands of years of baggage." She nodded and started to move. "Yes, I need to see what Madoka has become."
Suddenly, Estér felt something grab one of her shins and pull her back. She turned around. "Huh? Who?"
"Hihihihi!" It was a girl, but not a translucent body, more like a silhouette, a shade of a single color. In the case of that mysterious girl, it was red.
"Hahahahaha!" "Kukukuku!" "HeheheheEEEHH!" "Uhuhuuuhuhu!"
She was not alone. It was a crowd of shades of girls, each one in a different color, laughing.
"Who are... Oh..." Estér furrowed her brows as she recognized some voices. "You're the souls I absorbed, aren't you? What are you doing here? You're free of me, go enjoy your afterlife and leave me alone."
The sea of colors had a sudden movement, like a passing wave.
"What's that?" Estér looked towards where Madoka and Homura were.
The two hugging girls were gradually moving away.
"No..." Estér immediately tried to follow them, but a shade grabbed her arm. "Let me go!" Against her protest, more shades clung to her body, which was gradually losing its translucence. "Release me!"
"Hihihihi!" "Hahahahaha!" "Kukukuku!" "HeheheheEEEHH!" "Uhuhuuuhuhu!"
Madoka and Homura became more distant.
"No! NO!" Estér felt all the weight returning. "I can't go back!" She stretched out her arm towards the only remnant of hope she still had. "He... Help! Help! HELP! HERE! I'M HERE!"
However, the sea of colors faded. The only colors came from the shades, which continued their cacophony of laughter.
Her outstretched arm was seized and brought down by those whom the goddess had subjugated. Her sight vilified by sacrificed hands, her mouth gagged by her victims, from a list that was destined to grow for all eternity. Before that, drawing from her human core, Estér emptied her lungs in a scream.
"MAAAAADDDOOOOOOOKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The origin of the world
And Madoka woke up, dressed in her green pyjamas, the strands of her long pink hair spread out on the bed.
Morning light came through the curtains in her room. There was the sound of birds, the weather forecast said it would be a sunny day.
How much time had passed? Certainly just one night, but in the Law of Cycles, an endless amount of time would fit within that period.
Madoka sighed, resting her hand on her heavy chest. Although her body made of magic could not tire, her spirit was wavering. Pacifying witches, guiding thousands and thousands of girls, trying to resolve their conflicts, both internal and external... It was a lot of work and never was enough.
In those brief moments when she was alone, with time to reflect, there was always a feeling that she had left someone behind. Like a far-off cry of despair that she does not know when or where she heard it.
"Has Homura woken up already?" Having to distract herself from these worries, Madoka turned over in bed to pick up her smartphone, but to her surprise, it was now off. "Huh?" The device remained in the same state after a few attempts to turn it on. "Is the battery dead?"
She left the bed to get the charger, but could not find it in the place she always left it before going to sleep. "Is it still in the school bag?" In more of a hurry, she searched through the bag, even taking out everything inside, but found nothing. "Where? Did I lose it?"
She looked at the daylight on the curtain, realizing. "The alarm didn't go off, am I not late?" She widened her eyes. "Oh no! Homura could have called me and I didn't answer! She'll be rushing over here for sure!"
Madoka patted her cheek lightly and hurried out of her room. In the hallway, she bumped into her father, Tomohisa Kaname, who was opening the glass door to enter the house's inner garden.
He stopped when he noticed his daughter approaching. "Madoka? Good morning, why the hurry?"
"Aren't I late?" She asked.
He frowned and adjusted his glasses. Smiling, he replied, "I'd say you woke up a little earlier than usual. Was there a problem with the alarm clock?"
Madoka lowered her gaze at her father's insight. "My smartphone has died and I can't find the charger. Have you seen it?"
"Hmmm..." Tomohisa scratched his chin as he thought. "No, but maybe your mother picked it up."
"Mom?" Madoka looked at him again, surprised.
"Yes, you know how she keeps losing her charger, don't you? Last time, she had mistakenly put it in a colleague's handbag while they were in a bar." With a bashful smile, Tomohisa scratched the back of his head. "She was a bit drunk yesterday. She might have taken your charger and forgotten to return it."
"Ah..." Madoka nodded. "Then I'll ask her when she wakes up."
"HHHeeeeeeerrrrggg... WWhhhoooonnnn?"
"Huh?!" Madoka turned around when she heard the grunt behind her.
It was her mother, Junko Kaname, also still in her pajamas. Slumped over, her eyes half-open, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth, she looked like a zombie. "GGooodddd... Mooornnniiinggg..."
Behind her leg, the little Tatsuya Kaname was pushing her. "Look! I woke her, by myself!"
"Ah... yes..." Madoka smiled. "Good morning!"
Junko put her hands on her ears. "Youuu don't haveee to talk... so looouuud... I'm awaaake." She grimaced as she tried to open her eyes more. "You... Were you talking about me?"
"Do you happen to have my charger?" Madoka got straight to the point, being aware that Homura could be arriving at any moment.
"No, I have mine." Junko frowned. "Did you lose it?"
Tomohisa asked, "Didn't you leave it in your school bag?"
"I've already looked there," Madoka replied, now more worried.
"It could have fallen under the bed," he suggested, "did you look there?"
Madoka widened her eyes, realizing. "No, actually I didn't."
"Hmmm." Tomohisa nodded. "If you can't find it there, I'll lend you mine. I don't know if it's the same model, but we'll see." He then turned his attention to his 'zombified' wife. "And you'll need more than strong coffee, I'll prepare a detox juice."
Junko was not very happy to hear that. "Just give me something that tastes good."
Tatsuya ran to his father's leg. "I want juice too!"
Tomohisa patted his head. "Of course, I'll prepare one for you."
Seeing them distracted, Madoka quietly backed away and returned to her room. After closing the door, she quickly lay down to see what was under the bed. It was rather dark, but visible enough and the charger was not such a small object, but she could not find it there. Disappointed, she got up, wondering if there was an option other than her father's proposal. Maybe there's a way to use magic to find it.
Then she heard something other than her thoughts. A very low wail, impossible to discern, but it was clear that it did not belong to only one person, but to a crowd. Then came the screams and cries, all muffled but not hiding their strength, like waves on a distant beach.
A sudden, close, presence.
Madoka's body reacted to the pressure. She turned at once and saw a tall shadow in the corner of her room, under the veil of gloom.
The eyes of the dark silhouette glowed pink and it began to approach. Under the light coming through the curtain, a woman with foreign features, with strong musculature, her feminine forms sculpted to perfection. A pair of strips of fabric, one blue and one white, were the only things covering her most intimate parts, while the rest she wore was jewelry. Her brown skin glowed with a flawless softness and her very long white hair was straight and without a single strand out of place. Adorning her head was a tiara, and in it was a very dark, corrupted soul gem, contrasting with everything else.
With imposing grace in every step, the woman stood in front of Madoka, further emphasizing the great difference in height between the two.
The girl with pink hair and wearing pajamas was astounded.
While the woman smiled, saying in Japanese, "Good morning, Madoka Kaname."
Madoka blinked a few times, before smiling too. "You... You finally came."
Taken by surprise, the woman stopped smiling. "Do you know me?"
"Ah, maybe you don't believe me," Madoka replied, lowering her gaze, "I remember you, when I was a witch. You defeating me, saving the world, many, many times."
The woman remained silent.
Madoka continued, "I wanted to thank you so much, but I never found you. I could only hope, pray that you wouldn't die, that this day would finally come." She exchanged glances with her honored visitor again. "And you know my name. You must know more than that about me. What's your name?"
The woman nodded. "You can call me Estér."
Madoka stepped back and sat on the bed, placing her hand next to her, guiding. "Come on, we have some time to talk."
"Yes, we do." Estér politely accepted the invitation and sat down beside the girl, with the bed making a lot of noise, protesting at the weight of the tall, strong woman.
Just by her attitude and tone of voice, Madoka knew that the woman was being cautious, there was tension in the air. "If you had come to kill me, you would have come before. You must have your doubts about what I am now, or maybe you've heard about the Law of Cycles."
Estér glanced at her while raising her eyebrows. "I've heard rumors that you've become a goddess. 'Goddess of magical girls', 'the savior'."
"That's what some believe." The girl in pajamas sighed. "But when I made my wish, I told the Incubator that I wouldn't care what they called me. That's still true, it doesn't matter, as long as I can stop the magical girls from getting lost in despair."
"But you keep up this farce, don't you?" Estér smiled again. "Because... What would the magical girls you're helping think if they knew the truth?"
Madoka remained silent, her hands restlessly clutching each other.
"It's gotten pretty big, hasn't it?" Estér continued, "You deceive them, and you will continue to deceive them for all eternity, if possible. Or many will die, perhaps even you."
Madoka lowered her head and closed her eyes, trying to find better words, but failing. "I'm sorry..." Then she felt a pat on the back.
"You shouldn't apologize, because that's what we call FAITH, them believing in you is all that matters," Estér said, "now, you must accept your position, take the consequences of what you've done, your wish. Be a goddess, until the very end."
"Estér..." Madoka looked at the woman and gave her a shy smile. "You're a very mature person. You must have many years as a magical girl."
Estér shrugged. "A self-respecting woman doesn't reveal her age."
"You've saved so many lives." Madoka nodded, as if agreeing with herself. "You have a good heart, you're a real hero."
Now serious, Estér shook her head. "You're getting ahead of yourself."
"No, I'm not." Madoka's eyes turned golden. "I can hear their screams in your gem."
Estér turned her face away.
"You did bad things, and they haunt you to this day," Madoka said, "that's why you talked about the consequences of my actions. You've learned from yours and you're no longer the person you once were."
"Yes." Estér sighed. "That's what it's about."
"You've carried this burden for long enough." Madoka began to reach for the corrupted gem in the woman's tiara. "No more lamentations. I'll set you all free."
Estér left the bed, getting up quickly. She walked to the other side of the room and turned to the girl.
Madoka's eyes turned pink again. "Estér?"
"No, it won't happen the way you want." Estér shook her head, with a faint smile, a smile of resignation. "When you think you're in control, that's when you lose everything."
The bedroom door opened suddenly and violently. The first to enter was her father, followed by her mother and little brother.
"Huh?!" Madoka was stunned by the unexpected entrance. A shiver ran down her spine as she noticed that there was something very wrong with them. Their bodies were shaking, as if they were making a great effort to free themselves from something invisible. Their mouths were closed, but their eyes were watery and snot was running down their nostrils, as if they were crying copiously.
Unconcerned, Estér gestured with her hand.
Immediately, Tomohisa, Junko and Tatsuya lined up and knelt in front of Madoka. The family stood between the girl on the bed and the woman standing on the other side of the room.
Wide-eyed, Madoka raised her voice, "What're you DOING?"
"I'm controlling their bodies." Estér raised her index finger, as well as her eyebrows. "But you should know that they are seeing and hearing everything."
Madoka realized this was true when she exchanged glances with her family.
Junko, with her veins bulging from the effort, only managed a slight shake of her head.
"They also feel pain, of course."
Madoka exchanged glances with Estér again, shaking her head and frowning. "Why?"
"I've asked this question many times. I hardly ever got an answer, and even then I had to deal with what was happening in front of me." The tall white-haired woman put her hands on her waist. "Right, let's do the following: you tell me who in your family, and which bone, and then I'll break it. If you take too long, I'll decide."
"I-Is this a test?" Madoka put her hands together in front of her restless breathing. "You want to prove something. About... About consequences?"
"No," Estér said coolly.
Immediately afterwards, Junko and Tatsuya's heads turned to look at their father, Tomohisa. The right hand was extended and then the middle finger was bent upwards, beyond the possible limit. The skin tore, revealing the fractured bone and blood poured out, dripping onto the floor.
Tomohisa did not scream, he could not scream. However, the look of pain was unmistakable, his eyes closed tightly, the muscles in his neck tensed.
Junko and Tatsuya could only shed more tears.
"Stop." Madoka shook her head and gestured. "Estér, wait. Wait!"
"This is not a game. I'll torture your family to death, in front of you, and I'll see it through to the end." Estér then sighed. "But I think you're right. I got soft-hearted and started with your father instead of your brother."
The little child's left arm was lifted by an invisible force. Tatsuya's eyes widened.
Tomohisa and Junko's heads were turned so that they could witness what would happen to their son.
"Let's make up for it." Estér raised her eyebrows. "How about I twist his whole arm?"
Junko's eyes widened too, and her whole body shivered.
"Oh? Your mother's heart is beating even faster, I think she's going to have a stroke," Estér said, "Madoka, don't forget, you can say who and which bone, I'll respect your request. That way, you'll be able to let your brother be the last to die."
Madoka lowered her head, alternating between looking at the floor of the room and glancing at Estér.
"Huh?" The white-haired woman narrowed her gaze and smiled. "Hmmm... I know that face. It's the face of someone who's stopped pretending to be stupid and is considering the real options."
Madoka did not glance up anymore, gulping.
"To stop me, there's a much simpler option than any other." Estér pointed to her soul gem. "Hit it here with your divine arrow and it's all over."
The girl in pyjamas shut her eyes tightly and pressed her lips together.
"Aahhh... But you can't, can you? You hear them." Estér cracked a bigger smile. "Destroying my gem would kill all the magical girls inside it."
Madoka kept silent, still, as if resigned.
While Estér continued with her provocations. "How many souls are there? Ten thousand? Thirty thousand? Maybe fifty thousand? How many would you allow your family to suffer to death for, OOOHH 'great goddess of magical girls'? Answer quickly or I'll go-" Until she felt something on the soles of her feet. "What?"
Black veins formed on her feet, which were now stepping on a supernaturally distorted shadow.
It was Madoka's shadow. The girl left the bed and stood up. She reopened her eyes, now golden.
The mesh of black veins moved quickly up her legs, reaching Estér's torso. "Ghhh!" Desperate, she looked at the girl again.
"I still don't understand why you did it," Madoka said with some conviction, "but I won't let you go on to find out."
Tomohisa and Junko, frowning, looked at their daughter.
With a sadder countenance, Madoka said to them, "I'm sorry for letting this happen. I... I'll fix it, make it be forgotten."
The black veins spread across her chest and arms, and were about to reach her neck. Estér raised her head in a vain attempt to avoid what was certain to happen. "No! N-NO! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"
Madoka turned her attention back to the woman.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Estér's head was completely taken over by the black veins. "Aaaahh..." Then she looked at Madoka, with a smile. "What did you think of my performance? Huhuhu..."
Blinking her eyes, Madoka still seemed to be absorbing what was happening.
Estér sniffed her nose, releasing a large amount of viscous black liquid, like tar, into the palm of her hand. "Eww... This 'salvation' of yours is disgusting. I was wise to always avoid contaminating myself with it when I confronted your witch."
Madoka's golden eyes widened and she was gaping.
"Huh? Are you surprised?" As black tears flowed from her eyes, Estér explained, "It's very simple. A very, very dear soul that I have in my possession wished for ultimate freedom. Nothing can control me."
Madoka muttered, "Ishtar..."
Estér stopped smiling.
"Ah... Ah..." The golden light in the girl's irises faded. "Y... Y-You... You are the goddess Ishtar!"
"The goddess of fertility and war, provider of life and death," Ishtar spoke, sounding more like an announcement, "the goddess of passions, of ambitions. The epitome of human faith in its own nature..." She looked at the black veins on her body. "How did you extract that information? I'm sure you didn't manage to defile my soul."
"You exist." Madoka looked down, her legs shaking with shock. "You're real..."
"Has something leaked from my gem into the brain of this body?" After pondering this, Ishtar returned her attention to the girl and her subjugated family. "Reading your mind, it seems you've gotten nothing more than that." The goddess's expression hardened. "However, that wasn't for you to know."
Madoka heard a sudden crack. "Huh?" And she saw the three members of her family fall face-first to the floor, motionless. Seeing the unnatural position of their heads, she quickly concluded that the sound she had heard was their necks being broken. Shuddering, she consulted the other goddess, hoping she was wrong.
"Let's accelerate." Ishtar held out her arm, pointing her open palm at the girl in her pajamas.
Madoka felt a strong invisible push and then the impact of her back with the window, destroying it. "HHYYYAAAAHHHH!" The next thing she knew, she found herself flying at high speed over the city of Mitakihara, without control, or rather without her control. In a flash of light, she changed into her magical girl uniform and formed a pair of pink energy wings to stabilize herself and get a better look at her destination.
It was one of the most modern skyscrapers in downtown, a colossus of steel and glass.
Madoka was already so close that she could see her own reflection in the large windows of the building. She only had time to protect her face with her arms before she smashed through the thick glass. The noise was tremendous, followed by many startled screams. Before she could process where she was, she felt a hand grip her neck tightly, making her stop flying. "Gnnnkhh!"
It was Ishtar, who was already there. Her pink eyes were shining, contrasting with the black goo coming out of the orifices in her face.
"Gnnn..." As soon as she grabbed the tall, strong woman's arm, Madoka was thrown. She crashed violently into some desks, knocking over computers and monitors. The screams she had heard, which had previously been of fright, became of despair.
The place was a large office and the employees had just arrived for work. Now, many were looking for the nearest exit while others were trying to make calls with their smartphones.
Ishtar extended her hand towards those people. "No."
All the devices broke down and the doors closed by themselves, suddenly and violently.
Madoka slowly rose to her knees. Her magical girl uniform was ruined and bloody, and there was a large piece of glass embedded in her abdomen. She then exchanged glances with the other goddess.
Ishtar gave a slight smile, raising her eyebrows and nodding.
Madoka understood that she was offering some time as a courtesy. She then pulled the piece of glass out with ease, without any pain, but causing more blood to pour out, dripping down her tutu and forming a large puddle around her.
Ishtar wheezed and spat, hitting the floor with a viscous black liquid.
The puddle around Madoka quickly darkened, also becoming tar. As if it were alive, the spit on the ground began to crawl, coalescing with the puddle.
Madoka's eyes took on golden hues and the black puddle absorbed into her body. Smaller shards of glass that were still piercing the girl's body were pushed out as the wounds closed, and even her uniform was repaired. In the end, it was as if nothing had happened to her.
"Fascinating." Ishtar crossed her arms. "So, young goddess, do you still think you can stop me with a small talk?
Madoka had sensed that something bad was about to happen, but nothing had prepared her for this. "Ishtar..."
The white-haired woman maintained her imposing posture.
The girl glanced at the office workers. Some were still trying in vain to open the doors, while others were hiding under their desks. "Do you see me as a threat, being a goddess? I didn't mean to..."
Ishtar rolled her eyes and extended her arm towards the employees.
A well-dressed office lady was lifted into the air and pulled by an invisible force towards the black-veined goddess. "AAAHHH! KKKYYYAAAAHHH!"
"No!" Madoka exclaimed.
"No?" Ishtar frowned. "No what? She only exists because of me."
"AAAHHH! HEEELLL-" The employee continued to scream in desperation, but her voice was gone. Then she saw her clothes being torn all at once, just as her neat hairdo had been undone.
Madoka watched as the now naked employee slowly rotated in the air like a piece of meat to be roasted.
"I know your wish, Madokami, I know why you make such a wish." Ishtar also looked at the naked woman with a slight smile of satisfaction as she watched her cry and scream, without being able to utter a sound. "Qu'ube told you that it was thanks to the wishes of the magical girls that humanity reached this level of civilization. Otherwise they'd still be a bunch of cowardly animals living in caves."
"Yes." Madoka put her hands together, as if in prayer. "Now, please, let her go. You don't need her to prove anything."
Ishtar ignored her and continued speaking, "What he didn't tell you is that this wasn't the planned outcome, because the wishes of magical girls can bring advances to humanity as well as its destruction. The whole system existed to cull us, to keep us weak, to keep us from being more than cattle." She made a circular gesture with her index finger.
The naked employee followed suit, spinning, turning her upside down.
While Madoka raised her eyebrows, processing that revelation.
"It's thanks to my finger at the tip of that scale that humanity has been able to prosper. You, young goddess..." Ishtar then looked at the other people in the office, announcing, "You all in this room only exist because of my actions. You owe your lives in this modern comfort to me!" She patted her own chest, smiling, "You could even call me mother, but I'd rather you didn't. I don't carry that kind of love within me."
From spinning so much, the employee could not take it anymore and ended up vomiting and urinating.
Witnessing this, Madoka grimaced. "Please, Ishtar..."
"But there's a problem," the ancient goddess turned her attention to the kneeling girl, "however much humanity has prospered, the risk of extinction is still real and imminent. All it takes is one very bad wish, from a girl with a lot of potential... Like you." Ishtar's face, marbled with black veins, twitched with tension. "But you're different, your potential could grow, without limits. Your wish could solve everything..." Her eyes widened. "But what happened? You didn't just waste it, you used it to maintain the magical girl system!"
"I..." Madoka remembered that day, with Mitakihara on the verge of destruction at the shelter's windows, her stance towards her mother. "I did it because it was all so unfair! The girls' hopes being consumed and distorted."
"Do you still think the witches were the only problem?" Ishtar shook her head and exasperated, "A goddess can't afford to be so FOOL!"
But the courage in Madoka's voice persisted, even in the face of the overwhelming presence: "You fear for the future of humanity, I understand now, but I've been in the future. My wish made it possible."
Ishtar finally stayed silent.
"Humanity will discover that alien civilizations exist. Incubator will reveal himself and be our intermediator." Madoka nodded. "There will be no extinction, but a new age."
Ishtar made a sudden gesture with her hand and the employee stopped spinning. The naked woman was completely dirty, but still alive and conscious.
Madoka heaved a sigh of relief.
In a calmer tone, Ishtar then said, "What did I tell you about this feeling of being in control?"
Madoka did not say anything, she just blinked.
"Qu'ube as an intermediator? Contact with other aliens? Yeah?" Ishtar frowned. "Their technology allowed me to be created, as well as you, as well as the witches, and even the natural laws of the universe to be rewritten." The ancient goddess almost laughed, as if she could not believe it. "Y-You haven't learned anything. You... Do you seriously believe that this future can't be 'distorted' too?"
The girl did not hesitate to reply, "I'll fight to make it happen."
"With what? You only have the hope of what you've seen, but faith has no part in it," Ishtar scoffed, saying, "and, at the moment, I have no faith in you, young goddess of the new age."
The naked employee felt a force pull her abdomen. "aaaAA-" A force so tremendous that, from her groin to her chest, her body split like an egg, and her flesh, guts and blood spilled out onto the office floor, forming a grotesque pile.
Not a single employee there exclaimed or shouted, not even the women, for fear of being the next one.
Madoka stared at the pile of meat in mournful silence.
"You didn't even blink. You've truly reached divinity." Ishtar threw away the remains of the employee that were still floating. "I killed your family. The Madoka I knew would be in tears, in complete shock."
"I always wonder if I made the best wish..." Madoka looked at the other goddess, saying almost in a whisper, "I'm sorry."
"I'm not here to listen to that. I'm here to make you feel what it's like to be a goddess." Black tears ran down Ishtar's face. "But that would never work with your family, no, you're in all timelines."
"What?" Madoka felt a tightening in her chest. Something in the woman's tone made it clear that something worse was coming.
"How many of their funerals have you seen? There are infinite of them, aren't there? Endless lives of your relatives for you to witness, and most of them must be longer and happier than the one you've witnessed today." Ishtar shook one of her hands. "That's why I came prepared."
Seeing the woman open her hand, Madoka's eyes widened and she shuddered. It was a grief seed, with metallic details that resembled an hourglass.
"Oh, you know, don't you?" Ishtar reached for one of her tears coming down near her mouth with her tongue, which was also marbled with black veins. "As a result of having made a wish to travel through time, there is no other Homura Akemi as a magical girl in the timelines apart from this one."
Madoka gritted her teeth and began to gasp intensely.
"Yes, that's the only 'Homura-chan'. The only one who had only you as her reason for living, in an endless, if not sickening, devotion. I've had a few zealots like her, I really know what I'm talking about." Ishtar nodded, narrowing her gaze and speaking in a more mocking tone, "You know she's unique, because you've seen what happens to her when she's not a magical girl. How many times have you seen her jump off that bridge?"
Madoka's skin took on a cadaverous pallor and was covered in black veins. She shook her head and gestured desperately with both hands. "D-Don't do that!"
"I will do it, and then she will never be able to join you in the Law of Cycles again." Ishtar flashed a smile, but her face contorted with restrained anger. "When that seed is destroyed, she will be gone forever, AND NOT EVEN I CAN REVERT THAT!"
Madoka prostrated herself before Ishtar. "I'll do anything!"
However, the imposing goddess promptly replied, "Your wish had that power, not you!"
Madoka began to crawl, leaving a black gooey trail on the floor. "Please!" She aimed for the other goddess' foot, but Ishtar stepped back. Then, in a fit of frustration, Madoka punched the floor. "It's my fault, it's all my fault!"
Ishtar raised her eyebrows.
And Madoka continued, "If you know Homura-chan, then you know she doesn't deserve this." With her face glued to the floor, "I made the wish! You can do whatever you want to me."
"Anything?"
"Yes! Yes!" Madoka pressed her forehead even harder against the floor. "I beg you for all your experience and wisdom. Spare her life and apply all your due justice to me!"
"Raise your head."
Hesitating, the girl obeyed the ancient goddess and, to her complete surprise, saw the grief seed on the floor, balancing on its thin, long pin.
"Take it, young goddess," Ishtar said, "stand up more."
Unsure of anything else, Madoka slowly picked up the seed. She then sat down on the floor and exchanged glances with the ancient goddess.
Ishtar's countenance was calm, no longer the gaze of a judge.
It even seemed as if the tension in the air had gone, so much so that some employees who were hiding dared to raise their heads to see what was going on.
"I've heard what I wanted to hear, I'm satisfied." Ishtar giggled. "Huhu, I'm even feeling like a senpai now."
Madoka certainly did not share this joy, but she lowered her head and sighed, hugging the seed tightly. She had understood what she could lose.
"But understanding isn't the same as feeling it," Ishtar said with shining eyes, "I've placed a spell that will invert the matter of that seed."
Madoka immediately raised her head, frowning.
"In case you didn't understand, Homura-chan's seed is going to become pure antimatter right now!" Ishtar bared her teeth in a big smile, before instantly disappearing.
Losing sight of her, Madoka turned her head and looked in all directions. She could not feel her presence, not even the part of herself that was in that woman's body. "Wha..." Then a glow came from below.
It was the grief seed. The glow intensified, becoming blinding.
But Madoka did not close her eyes at that instant, quite the opposite. "No! No! NAAA-"
On that morning, another sun was born in the middle of Mitakihara's downtown. Those who were consumed by the immense sphere of light and heat vaporized instantly.
And those would be the most fortunate ones.
／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼
Moments before.
The elevator door opened, revealing that it was empty. Mami and Nagisa saw their reflections in the mirror installed inside, each wearing the uniform of their respective schools.
The two entered and the blonde pressed the button to go down to the first floor. "Today is my first day at the tea club."
"You've already said this twice before we left home," Nagisa said, as she watched the elevator door close and it began to descend, "but... You don't seem very happy."
"I am, but I'm also very nervous," Mami explained, "Sasa-san told me that there's... hmmm... A lot of competition between the clubs in Shirome. The tea club members must be very demanding, not only in the quality of the tea, but also in etiquette."
Nagisa sighed and shook her head, not approving of what she had heard. "I already told you that you should go back to Mitakihara's school."
"No, it's okay." Mami corrected her posture and puffed out her chest. "This is a great opportunity to make new friends. With Sasa-san now studying in Kazamino, I'm very isolated."
"What about Mikuni-san?" Nagisa questioned.
"Mikuni-san..." Mami lowered her gaze. "There is her, but..."
Nagisa's smartphone vibrated.
"Oh?" Mami glanced at her. "Is that him?"
The girl with long white hair picked up the device from her school bag. "Yeah, it must be-"
The lights went out and the elevator stopped.
No emergency lights came on and the two were left in complete darkness. "What's ha-"
A loud crash, followed by the rumble of the collapse, drowned out any screams they might have made.
／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼
Kirika clapped her hands and jumped with joy. "Big love will be so happy to know that you ate all the breakfast she had prepared."
Yuma was sitting on her large bed in her room in the old Mikuni's mansion. On her lap was a tray with an empty bowl, which had previously been filled with miso soup.
The little girl did not share the same energy as Kirika, "Papa, will Mama be back soon?"
"Yes!" the girl with the citrine-colored eyes replied with complete certainty, "big love can't stay away from us for long, can she?"
Yuma was crestfallen.
"Awww, my little love, don't be like that..." Kirika sat down next to her and kissed her on the head. Her lips felt the pieces of jade that were encrusted in the girl's scalp. She then stroked the tufts of green hair. Under all that jade, Yuma's skin was becoming more and more visible, but moments of sadness like that could jeopardize all the progress. "I miss her too, but we're grown up, aren't we? She'll be proud that we look after our home, won't she?"
Yuma nodded timidly.
"She will be." Kirika gave her another kiss and picked up the tray. "You can rest a bit longer while I prepare a nice bath. Okay?"
Yuma nodded again and looked at her. "Thanks, papa."
"That's nothing compared to seeing you get better." With a broad smile, Kirika left the room. Walking with the tray down the long corridor of the mansion, she muttered to herself, "Big love, we're going to make it..."
Suddenly, a flash of light filled the room, like thunder, but unlike thunder, the light faded much more slowly.
So prepared was she for that, in the time it took her to freak out, Kirika summoned a violet aura, which spread throughout the mansion. Leaving the tray and bowl behind, which began to fall slowly, she ran back to Yuma's room.
The little girl was still in bed, looking frightened at the window that had burst open. Everything was going slowly, shards of glass were flying and tongues of flame were consuming the furniture and the mattress.
Kirika's eyes widened.
Noticing her presence, Yuma turned and asked, "Papa, w-what?"
"COME!" Kirika picked her up and carried her in her arms, as cracks snaked through the walls and the ceiling began to collapse. She ran with the girl down the corridor, the floor already uneven and collapsing. "We have to get to the basement!"
Arriving in the main hall of the mansion, she jumped down to reach the lower floor and headed for the corridor that gave access to the basement. However, that part of the mansion had already collapsed almost completely. "No way!" Kirika then returned to the hall, looking for an alternative.
There was not one. However slowly the walls and ceiling were falling, they carried the same force as they would if they were falling at normal speed.
Yuma saw Kirika's desperate countenance, looking from side to side. "Papa..."
Big love, I won't fail you.
Determined, Kirika put Yuma down and lay on top of her.
"Papa?!"
"Don't look, little love." Kirika smiled. "Close your eyes."
But Yuma disobeyed, seeing that behind Kirika the ceiling was getting closer.
Then, darkness.
／人 ◕‿‿◕ 人＼
At a bus stop, Sasa was waiting for the vehicle that would take her to school. Wearing a classic uniform of a white shirt and blue skirt, also with a red bow, she was grumbling, "Ahhh... I can't believe it. I became a magical girl to get out of this loser life and look where I am now."
She looked at the magical ring on her left hand. "How does this goddess know if I'm going to school or not? Did she send someone to spy on me?" She also patted her ear, as there was an annoying buzzing. "Maybe that Homura, she gives me the creeps."
The buzzing subsided and she sighed, then she continued talking to herself, "But I don't think she knows about my magic. She never mentioned anything about me brainwashing my parents into treating me well, hmmm..." Sasa's pondering became more lively, "I could do that with the teachers, get them to give me the answers of the tests, even a good grade without me having to do anything!" She stretched her body. "Then I could just hang around school, it wouldn't be so bad... Huh?"
She noticed the other students at the bus stop. They stared at her in amazement.
"W-What?" Gritting her teeth, Sasa extended her left hand with the ring towards them. "Forget everything you've heard from me!"
The students were stunned, without blinking.
"And forget everything you studied for today too!" Sasa walked away from them, grumpy. "Bunch of pipsqueaks."
At that moment, the sky flashed as if there was distant thunder, but the sky was clear and the glow dissipated very slowly.
"What's that?" Sasa noticed that the other people in the street stopped to look at the strange phenomenon. Could it be magic? She decided to leave the bus stop and go to the top of a building to see where it was coming from.
Kazamino did not have many tall buildings, so it would not be difficult to see as far as the horizon. After confirming that no one was looking, Sasa put magic into her legs and took a giant leap.
As soon as she landed on top of the building, she could see the source of the glow: a fireball rising into the sky, followed by a column of smoke, forming a mushroom of destruction. Sasa's eyes widened at the realization. "Wait, that's not like... like..." She could also hear the commotion of those in the windows of the buildings witnessing it.
She continued to gaze at that mushroom getting taller and taller. "That direction... That's in Mitakihara!" Flabbergasted, Sasa could not believe in her eyes.
Minutes later, she saw a kind of 'wind wave', blowing out the windows of the buildings in its path and coming towards her. "Oh shi-" She heard the sound of the explosion as the wave hit her violently, knocking her almost off the building. As Sasa stood up, she heard the sound of alarms going off and the desperate cries of people in the streets.
"Why? Did that goddess know this would happen?" Sasa put both hands to her head. "We're eating cake together the other day, with Mami-san." She lowered her gaze with a look of concern. "Mami-san..." But then she shook her head. "No! What am I thinking? It's better this way. It's better that the goddess dies, it's better that everyone dies."
The image of Mami and Nagisa came into her mind, and her heart responded with a squeeze. "No." Her eyes watering, Sasa hugged her chest to try to contain the feeling. "Stop it, Sasa! Don't be a fool! They deserve it."
When she started to hear sirens from ambulances and the fire department, another idea popped into her head. "What if the goddess is still alive?" She continued to conjecture, "she could be waiting for me to come and help. She might even punish me if I don't do anything." And she arrived at a more profitable possibility. "She might NOT be expecting for my help, and owe me one. I can demand a REWARD!"
Sasa let herself be enveloped in light, changing from her school uniform into her magical caramel-colored one, reminiscent of a court jester. In her hands, she conjured up her trusty metal wand with curved tip.
"This seems stupid, but it also seems like a unique opportunity for me to shine!" She rubbed her eyes, drying her tears, before striking a gaudy pose. "Tadah! Mami-san, be jealous, because Sasa-chan is on her way to save the day!"
Then, jumping from one top of the building to another, she made her way to Mitakihara.
Next chapter: A last miracle