***
"Then, should I call you by something else? You should also give me a new name. " (Kaori?)
She looks on with a faraway look, unsure if her choices are right. But were there any choices that were sure to be right? There's no telling of it in the end.
"... You don't mind that you're not the original?" (Myuu?)
She probed. Depending on the response, it was quite a sickening way to gauge a person's mental stability. To question the root of their problem, especially one as significant as an identity crisis. Her words were sharp and concise, like an old fountain pen that would pierce the paper it laid its tip on. My heart felt like it was crushed under its own pressure, realising what she asked when it was too late. She was a newly born ego after all, an accumulation of magical circuits that form a thinking module, a brain not unlike that of a natural spirit's.
"I feel like if I have you by my side, then that would be fine. We can both be new people...
Well, mark my words. I'm still totally going to beat the progenitor and save the originals. For whatever reason, I fought the progenitor in the real Kaori's stead. Whatever is going on with her, I'll get to the bottom of it and then we'll have a thorough talk with them afterwards! How bout it? " (Kaori?)
She had thought about her answer for quite a while now, her ambitions were lost in a dark maze. Her words fill even herself with uncertainty, she could convinced no one, not even herself. So her thoughts trailed off and she clung to what she presently had. Her feelings for Myuu, if she's not the real Kaori then she'll transfer these feelings to the Myuu in front of her who was also not real.
" That sounds wonderful... Well then, what shall our names be? " (Myuu?)
To bring a fresh start, one where they can proudly say it was the day of their birth, and the birth of their relationship. They can't see the future, for all they know the progenitor could be waiting for them outside of this space. This apparition of Myuu, born as a spirit from Myuu's final skill and the magic she held, had no body. If she left Myuu's corpse, she would inevitably dissipate into nothingness, that was how fragile her existence was. It was only by contact that this spirit could connect to this Kaori and transfer to her body.
" I think grail would be fitting for you, the problem is with me. There's nothing I know about the actual me, from what you've said, it seems Kaori's memories and soul has been put into my ego right? " (Kaori?)
" That's right. But in the end, an ego is like a blank template. Other than how your memories are fake, your soul is actually that of the real Kaori's. In other words, there isn't much difference. " (Grail-chan)
The real Myuu did not anticipate this possibility at all. She believed that Kaori would win to the very end and didn't expect to die. The progenitor blew off their heads and dispersed their magic, Myuu couldn't activate her final skill and survive. Kaori survived because her Stick automatically drew in magical particles into her well when she was dead, and activated Myuu's final skill which was planted in her spine for one final time. It took an exorbitant cost of magical particles, that was why Kaori didn't have enough to transform into a magical girl.
" Hmm? Then wouldn't it be fine if I abandoned my past self and become Kaori? " (Kaori?)
"... I have some... Reservations about that. And in the end, you'll have to confront your identity one day. They will come looking for you and then you may not be able to maintain your desired life afterwards. That's why I recommend you start anew with both identities as your traits. There's nothing wrong with have both your past life's and Kaori's friends, right? " (Grail)
"... Hahah...! That sounds really awkward... Then Kaede. Kaede is fine. " (Kaede)
Kaede also thought that it wouldn't be fitting to take someone else's name... Even if it was her name for a while now, scrutinising it even more closely showed her that the memories were like a photo album. They were taken in the third person instead of first person, forming a large disassociation between her own identity and Kaori. Now the gap in her heart was big enough that she could view it objectively and examine its insides.
'I... I want to meet you, Kaori. Then I want to talk to you... About everything. I wonder if I was going through something similar before... Something to warrant a desire to switch bodies with you, and forge up memories. Why did it happen?' (Kaede)
***(The Eye God)
Sat atop a divine throne beyond any space, she squints her eyes at as many locations as possible. Her usual carefree attitude had vanished, and all that was left was a far more reserved temperament. Her stature was no more than what her figure would suggest. She looked to be between 20 and 30, but her knowledge was far deeper than that.
Two large mounts sat atop of her hair, resembling the divine fox ears of folk lore. Her dress, in a flashy mix of deep black and dark carnage red embroidery over a gold base paled in comparison to the shine of her exposed shoulders. Her dress had multiple layers, like a thick coat over a thin coat over some soft fabric that made contact with her skin.
They were similar in shape and aesthetic to the shrine maiden coats worn by the ArcMaidens, after all her outfit was the original. Furthermore, her outfit wasn't a mere coat but a complete outfit with the cloth closed over her front like a multilayered robe. It was like a yukata, but it featured more modern imagery and intricate patterns that seemed like they came from another world. A curtain of ripples that overlap irregularly mix with... Bulging fleshy organic eyes. The irises twitch and shift around, as if looking for something that is not found in this world.
"... I'll be waiting for you, Kaede. The contract has become null... But my glimpse of the future showed more than enough. Your destiny collides with the progenitor's... And mine. " (Mameshin no himei)
She looks to her left, her fox ears perked up and her overflowing aura makes the room packed with magical particles denser than any Oblivion Magia. Just by exerting her own aura, she could shatter any S grade's Oblivion Magia and skill. They would find it hard just trying to move around. But this was due to the stark difference in their ability, an abysmal chasm of a gap in capability that makes the jump from A grade to S grape look like a playground's bridge.
"For the time being, I'll deal with you myself." (Himei)
A figure materialises in the corner that she had gazed upon, unaffected by her tumultuous aura. This wasn't any ordinary being.
"Do you have any right to be angry? You traitor." (Zedicia)
Despite a smile being present on her face, her eyes told a more honest story. She came to get revenge, for having her location revealed, and for having her trust broken. Her own aura bubbles out of the pores in her skin, forming a steady resistance the Himei's. In spite of having a mutual deal before, they are now enemies since one party broke off. As such... It would be inconvenient for 2 god magical girls to be around in the same faction.
"Do you believe thyself to be all powerful with access to the library? An Akashic Librarian?" (Himei)
She kept her composure in check, her mind had already begun formulating ways to kill the insect before her eyes. Though it wasn't really much of an insect, their strength is much closer than when Kaori's party was compared to the progenitor. Unlike them, Himei could actually observe Zedicia's standing and judge her like an equal. Such a being with her accumulated countless years of experience and knowledge is sizing up the progenitor.
"Nah, I just came to settle the score. Your little bugs razed my favourite base to the ground. Also, fellow Librarians shouldn't underestimate one another, lest you want to lose your reign." (Zedicia)
"You jest. " (Himei)
Their words betray their true feelings, under such a pretense their emotions boil with even more fury than Paridia's attacks.
***(Kaede)
"Grail-chan, what should we do now?" (Kaede)
The place where they were just at, the realm of white skies and giant lilies that they stood on, it was a phenomenon similar to being inside Kaede's mind. In actuality, she was sleeping in the desert the whole time, and touching Myuu's body had send the last bit of magic and Grail chan inside Kaede's body. Allowing her to transform into a magical girl and survive the harsh weather. She didn't have much magical particles in her well, so she couldn't exactly leap at high speeds. But she could finally stand and take her first footstep since the battle between the progenitor and Kaori's party.
"..." (Kaede)
Before Grail could even answer, Kaede casted her eyes upon Myuu and Paridia's headless bodies once more. Her thoughts had drawn a blank, an aching remorse swirls up in her stomach. Even if she knew she wasn't the real Kaori, she had been fighting by their side at least since they started the raid on this desert base. They believed her words and fought to their deaths, only for her to be saved by Myuu one last time.
Even if... Even if these feelings weren't for her to feel, what she felt in the present was still very much real to her. She can't easily disregard the situation by simply saying she's a total stranger, things don't work out so easily like that. Her melancholy clings to her heart like a leech, never letting go and never ever allowing her relief. Like chains that bind so tightly her skin is ripped off, they weigh on her heart, suffocating her.
And the light that peeks through all of this troublesome feelings, an anchor into the real world reveals itself. Grail wakes her up with a timely scream.
"KAEDE!!!!! There's nothing more you can do here...! Let's leave. You should know where the nearest city is, right?" (Grail)
It jolted her to reality, kept her grounded in the present. Now that Kaede was aware of her true self, she was steadily getting disassociated with her own body. When that time comes, no one would know what would happen. Perhaps she'd go insane and try to kill herself to rid herself of the unfitting mortal shell. That should be prevented at all cost.
"... Yeah, while Paridia did carpet bomb the desert into a sea of molten underground rocks and glass, she initially left a small trail of destruction. She casually used a large amount of magic to burn and leave a trail of glass in the sand.
The problem is getting to that trail. Since Paridia bombed everything indiscriminately, without using her Oblivion Magia to contain the damage, every direction looks the same now. " (Kaede)
" Ah... " (Grail)
A glimmer of hope blinks and fades, the shock causes Grail to get her thoughts stuck in her throat, releasing a raspy choke.
" Ohh...? Actually I have a solution. " (Kaede)
"...?" (Grail)
Gail's thoughts drew a blank. She wasn't aware if Kaori's body had any exploration skills in her memories or any magical items that could help them at the moment.
" I am currently in Kaori's body, right? " (Kaede)
" Yeah...? " (Grail)
"Then I just need to use her passive! It even tells me the exact composition of the surrounding materials! The weirdest part... Is that it's on low power right now, so the range is only 10 kilometres. But I feel like in maximum power, the range extends beyond 100 kilometres.
Just what was she doing that she needed to hone a passive to this extent? This is madness... " (Kaede)
" Don't you have her memories? Wouldn't the answer lie there? " (Grail)
Grail pondered loudly, she didn't mean to pry but her realisation hit too late. She hoped not to hit a sore spot as she grimaced for a moment before looking at Kaede's face.
"... They are forged from a third person perspective. Rather than from her point of view, these memories view Kaori from the world itself. Her smell, her warmth, her figure, her words, her smile... Everything is plastered inside my memories... Everything but her thoughts and feelings. Like watching a movie. But in this movie, the character is so weird it's hard to comprehend what they're thinking. " (Kaede)
A self depreciating smile adorns her adorable transformed face, an expression very unfitting of Kaori. She did cry a lot and screamed her heart out several times about her weakness, but she never showed such a face to anyone before. It fit into reality like unfitting puzzle pieces, at least that was the impression in Gail's mind, it was incomprehensible to both her heart and her mind.
"... I see. You will encounter it one day... Her true feelings. There may be a need to confront them if you don't agree with them. Just know that when that time comes, I'll be on your side. After all, my mission is to save 'Kaori'. " (Grail)
She didn't have a body, but Kaede could somehow tell that she was exuding a gentle smile. One that gazed into the far future and only hoped for the best. For things to resolve peacefully and go back to normal... Wouldn't that be convenient?