*
White, white and more white, nothing but an endless space. Just as I finished checking myself out and wondered when I would return back to normal, the surroundings abruptly shifted as if the world was in a page that had turned in an instant. If emptiness was a place, this would be it. The space wasn't white in colour because there was light, there was no light at all. The white was simply something my brain was conjuring, otherwise it couldn't interpret this place. Something beyond human comprehension, that was what I think this place is.
The soft but heavy ticking of a clock resounds in the distance giving both a sense of hope and dread, a slight improvement in my body eye coordination allowed me to actually move my limbs in this desolate dimension.
"tick-tock tick-tock" It cackled and sweeps over in the distance, something was coming closer, I was walking closer. An unnatural impulse to reach the source of that ticking, my legs move by themselves. Perhaps this was the only way to get back? My body wouldn't listen anyway, and standing still wouldn't get me anywhere. This was something I have to explore, perhaps something fearsome hid in the darkness to alter my perception this way, so it wasn't necessarily harmless.
A squirming motion, with myself in my newly acquired magical girl form, my sense had been heightened beyond human limits and a squirming motion was what I detected. I haven't done any test since I was immediately brought here right after I checked out my sweet new costume. Perhaps I should have been more careful and tested my capabilities first, instead of gushing over myself. Hehe~, being a magical girl was like a dream. There was no way I wouldn't try to appreciate the costume first. I even receive a cool looking cloak that splits into sharp pieces of cloth and a feathery collar above the cloak to warm my neck.
Ah, I went off the main topic. The squirming motion, if I was to say. It was similar to the tentacles of the weird monster species that attacked me twice. I couldn't see it, but based on the air vibrations and sense of danger, a particularly large bus-size tentacle was exploring around as well. That was when it hit me. As if alarms went blaring off in my head, I trusted my judgement to my body and forced my legs off the ground. It was shoddy work, but with an enhanced body I managed to gain quite some distance in the air. It was in mid-air that I saw a large black pillar shot forward at an indiscernable speed. Had I been there, even with an enhanced body I would have been shot quite a far distance back.
Reaching another space on the ground after the jump, my cloak and hair fluttered in the air as my body shook massively. It wasn't used to such vigorous movements yet, below my knees my legs were shaking particularly hard from the landing. Turning my body around, it had been too late to take action. Most likely, the tentacle was able to learn. It learned that I had some grasp over my instincts and decided to conceal itself before ambushing. How did it conceal itself? I could only say that it was by magic. Since it appeared right out of nothingness, a large mass gushed forth at an unmanageable pace, its Agility far out shining the dullness of the surroundings. It was the only thing contained in my vision. A gigantic black mass of death, so fast, so blurry.
And then it vanished. Without a sound. There was no point to concealing itself again, unless it wanted to toy with me. Surely it didn't. The whole ordeal could have been ended right there, but now it was gone. I had closed my eyes in fear, and when the impact didn't reach, I opened them again only to see white. Instead of a clock, now a bell was wringing. "Dong~ dong~ dong~ dong~" It echoed in the distance. It felt closer than the clicking of the clock was, and a strange sense of security washed over me.
Silhouettes of blocks and triangles fill the distance. In the ever expanding white space, the sky transitioned to grey as a darker shade of grey shape up what looks to be a city. Unless they were particularly small in size, buildings had all been turned over, crushed, skewered, toppled and annihilated in the real war. It was disappointing. That now the picture of a normal city was considered strange. I continue to walk closer, depth started to appear and clearer architecture could be observed. Some of these buildings looked to be century old buildings from the victorian era and others, seem to be old asian shrines, temples and other small wooden buildings.
A unique contrast between the towering concrete and the unyielding planks of the old, there shouldn't be any such cities existing even before the Great disaster. The sky returned to a milky white before tentacles sprung forth from the empty space, there looked to be at least 50 of them inching closer at an unbelievable speed. Even with my enhanced capabilities from becoming a magical girl, I still couldn't follow their movements. In a blink, they had reached touching distance. The clock strikes, sounding its own bell of judgement.
No matter how much one gets used to battle, no one can get used to death. The very act of dying was something unfathomable to the human mind, we live each and everyday as if the next was impossible to be the last. We have hope. And death was the opposite of hope, it was something that consumed and ravaged to the very soul. It was repulsive to our very core as a living being, it was something we are able to notice when the time comes. And this was the time for me, I don't understand why. But I have no other cards left to play, I had nothing in the first place. I guess, I was a failure to the very end huh?
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.
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.
.
.
Nothing, once again. Was I made a fool out of? What kind of sick god would do this?... I cannot make sense of this... I'm scared... What is happening...
My legs gave out, movement is impossible. Death would be faster than this tormenting experience. I have nothing to return to anyway.
Before long, more and more tentacles had congregated in the sky, a mass of writhing black mass blocked it out like an omen of doom. Even the ground wasn't safe as the footing around me shattered and more of those tentacles sprung forth. Looking closely, they had drill like carvings at the tip. Ah that must have been why I was able to dodge. The spinning and blurring of their figures, I mistook that as them moving too fast when in actual fact the fast movement was their rotation and not their mobility. Even then they move fast as hell and near death experiences only pile up like a sick joke.
No more... Just what is the point...
'Move. ' A mysterious voice resounded in my heart. It was far too muffled and audibly chaotic, as if a microphone was dumped into a dish washer and somehow survived with a recording without spoiling.
'Please... Move. There's only one path anyway... Leave it to me.' Again the voice echoed into my mind. Ah, it only sounded strange because it was my own voice. However the tone of it... No the pitch was different. There was an odd phenomenon, hearing your own voice from another source instead of your own throat sounded different. I thought it was that but with my magical girl voice, it was higher in pitch but I had familiarised myself with it before I was sent here.
I thought someone or myself was playing my voice in my mind, but even then they should still sound similar. In the end, the tone and pitch of this voice was completely different. Even though it was muffled, there was resolute will behind it. It was hopeful and seemed all knowing, it asked me to entrust my life to it. Would anyone really do what a shady voice tells them? For this one exception I would. Strangely enough, I just couldn't feel suspicious about it. It was warm, gentle and soothing. "move" it said, is that being observing me right now? Is it seeing my pathetic crying face right now?...
Guess I have no choice. Wiping away my tears with my wrist and palm, I entrust my life to this mysterious being. If this being was my attacker, I would simply have a new meaning to my life. An actual goal. I fell for it. After all, who would turn down salvation?
More than ever before, I put all my strength into my legs. Strangely enough they felt light as if something was lifting them up aside from my own strength. I renew my resolve. If I have a chance of living and escaping from this nightmarish situation... I will fight. Because if I live, I'll be able to find the meaning in my life eventually. Everyone has their own goals and dreams, I'll find my own eventually.
"Alright, whoever you are. Guide me. I seem to have no other path as you have said. Therefore guide me, whether this path holds destruction or salvation, I can only place my trust in you and pray. However, I'll see it to the very end."
Meeting this person. Maybe it's impossible, all the more reason to find a way. All the more reason to find them. And judge them for myself.
Looking at the sky, light had started leaking through mass of darkness that covered the sky. As I've observed from before, this dimension didn't have actual light. The white walls and sky were just a interpretation. As evidence, I couldn't form a shadow even when I cupped my hands together over my eyes. Closing my eyelids also brought whiteness and nothing else into view. This was a strange desolate place. That was why light that could penetrate through the gaps between the tentacles was an abhorrent phenomenon.
In an instant, a shower of light rained over the city. When viewed from a distance, there was a concentrate pillar of light and the whole city was caught up in it. The tentacle turned into ash as if they were update, but I could feel it. A transparent barrier was placed around me, yet I could feel the light from the inside. It was hot. It killed the monsters by temperature, pure and unadulterated power, not some imaginary weakness. Behind the black mass was an eye ball. There was no other way to describe it. The way the surface glistens with moisture, the enormous iris staring down. It was as if God had descended to check on the world.
It didn't feel as warm or soothing as the voice, but there was no fear either. My power was simply far too little, my feeble body could not comprehend its obviously anomalous amount of strength. I could only stare on in reverence at such a powerful being.
The buildings started floating slowly, gradually reaching the eye before a different white light swept like a wave through the dimension. Like a chaotic flood, it swallowed me in an instant. Opening my eyes again, I was back where I last stood. From here, middle to high school girls in all sorts of different costumes have surrounded my vicinity in a parameter. There were around 5 of them. They were magical girls. After achieving this form, I could sense it, magic. Large dense reserves of magic and an array of expressions that show their composure and experience.
Looking around, I observe their facial expressions. If a fight were to break out, I would first need information. I could possibly guess their powers and use it to run. No matter how you look at it, they simple have more magic in reserve and more experience at fighting. All I have is the experience from dodging the tentacles in that weird dimension, fighting that supposedly weak monster with nt bare fist. A fight with a person was simply too out of reach. Anyway, they were doing the very same thing. Their irises fixed planted my body, observing my every action.
... I suppose surrendering would be my only choice. They have an established formation to surround me. Even in the distance behind them, I could see another line of magical girls securing the perimeter. Preventing my escape.