*
It had been long since she returned to the labyrinth. Roughly 6 months had passed, though it was actually a week less. Preparations were underway as it would soon hit 1.5 years since The Great Disaster. Festivals abound, there would be a jolly atmosphere celebrating one's own survival. For staying alive and making it up until this far, and for the foreseeable future as well.
A life festival, held every 6 months. In the first 6 months after The Great Disaster, there was not enough resources to spare for such a festivity. And what was supposed to be the 2nd life festival that took place a year after went by quietly. Most of the magical girls were too busy with inter-faction circumstances such as the various conflicts between magical girls.
This time it was different. Himei announced that she was participating with the ArcMaidens, and that she would grant it the status as an official holiday. It was the first official holiday, the Sanctuary's Life Festival. 'Thank you for living this far, I hope to continue being in your care from now on.', was the message that Himei wanted everyone to know. For now, Kaori and Myuu returned to the Southern region of the Sanctuary. Including the centre and the general 8 directions, there were 9 cities and their respective labyrinths which resided underground.
Labyrinths were easy to manage, a B grade could easily create a large clearing underground and production type magical girls can create support beams and construct. Add to that an entire team of magical girls, it took about 2 days for each labyrinth to be built, using magic to build an underground city is easy and magical girls don't need much food or water. The only difficulty was laying an electric grid.
It wasn't much of a secret to say that the magical girls get access to some modern privileges like technology and electricity compared to the primitive cities located somewhere above the labyrinths on the surface. In turn, most people would reply that it was a trade. They get to experience some sense of modern civilisation, in exchange their minds are stabilised and they essentially lay their lives on the line for the faction, since most of them were soldiers.
One convenient factor was that the number of magical girls roughly number 10-20K, and their technology was created by other magical girls attempting to imitate Pre-disaster modern technology. Compared to 600+ K human population, it's far easier to distribute and... Himei wants the humans to walk on their own and rebuild from scratch. Dependency on magical girls will hurt in the long term. They might end up like the Haradell Union and start brewing tensions between the human population and the magical girl population...
"... I'm done paying my respects. Did you wait long?" (Myuu)
"No... Let's bring her back. I'm didn't get this power just to be wishy washy with it, so I'll bring her back from the dead." (Kaori)
"Think about it, about why it's widely known that magical girls cannot rewind time. Fighting Hikari whom was going to end humanity might be excused, but if you use it any more than necessary, wouldn't you be accumulating Chronos' wrath?" (Myuu)
"... Before that, I'm a magical girl first and foremost. [Idealism of a magical maiden's transient heroism: panta rhei], I might need you to use your skill to stabilise her mind. I don't know if reviving a human from the dead would break their mind or not. " (Kaori)
A mass of skinless flesh gathers in the space in front of them, coiling and forging into tissues that make up organs and muscles and shaping the body. The formation of the bones stretch and taut the muscles and give them balance. Then her clothes immediately materialise and it was as if she had never died in that accident that day... That was Kaori's promise to her anyway. To save her mother as long as she didn't pursue revenge on the Rising Knight Order for raiding their labyrinth.
Frey was punished as is, Himei had sent her somewhere else and she hasn't returned in months. No one but Himei knows where she is. She might have even wiped her own memories of Frey's whereabouts, since Kaede didn't manage to get that information after fusing with Himei.
"Haa~ You do such reckless things... My heart would have skipped another beat if I wasn't used to it. If you're fine with it...-" (Myuu)
She turns her face away for a short moment, but Kaori could tell that she was hiding a grimace and a tightened fists. She relaxes the tension in her body and returns with a mellow smile.
"...Then I'm fine with it too! Let's stop talking about dreary things. So we're celebrating the Sanctuary Life Festival in both the South city and Central...?" (Myuu)
Kaori keeps her thoughts to herself. An urge to speak about it explodes in her chest, barely contained behind her skin. Sweat drips down her neck, but going through excessive emotional turmoil had also hardened her resilience. She projects a smile, not unlike Myuu's.
" Hahah... It might be kind of busy right? Well, I'll teleport all of us there! Barius, Gerald and Paridia are also recuperating there anyway. And your mum... Hasn't gotten up. She's napping right after revival. We might have to check up on Gerald and Paridia's condition. " (Kaori)
She lays her palms on her waist with a slightly hearty laugh, not a single trace of thought nor concern lay in her expression of unadulterated joy. Her shoulders bobbed up and down before she spoke properly.
" Hmmm... Then I'll leave everything to you then. Maybe it's better if mum takes a nap, I don't want her to overstrain herself, and... Dying might then feel like a distant dream if she wakes up from deep slumber. There will be less chance of her losing her sanity from the disconnect between her mind and reality. " (Myuu)
For a few seconds, silence eclipsed the 2 as Kaori pondered over the situation. They decided to move to the living room while thinking. Myuu didn't know what provoked Kaori's mind so, but she sluggishly admired the surroundings. They had gotten a larger apartment, packed with 2 stories, a few bedrooms and guest bedrooms and a restroom on the second floor, a living room, kitchen and toilet on the first floor, and a balcony next to the living room.
This was the type of room that Barius lived in with Kenzi, Garion and the family members that they had. Since they had roughly 3 families, even if a family or 2 were solely consisting of the orphaned magical girls, it was easily accepted when they were given that apartment. But having gone through everything, Kaori got slightly more selfish and wanted to live more lavishly. It wasn't too much for Himei or Kanou to grant, they just had to deal with some unsatisfied neighbours...
Kaori slammed her right fist down on her left palm with a little plop.
"Ah! How about we do a cover story! Perhaps a coma would work? It's the most natural sounding one, right? " (Kaori)
It was a plan to help reduce her mother's chance of going insane, how could Myuu not feel happy about that?
"... Thanks, I'll go with that... Also, thanks for saving us. I don't mean to underestimate you, but reviving the dead seemed impossible even for you at that time. Even if you vaguely promised me those few times.
Also, I suspect that you dealt with Zedicia? " (Myuu)
She spoke with a healthy flush to her face. A nostalgic smile was adorned on her like a blooming flower, Kaori couldn't help but froze for a moment. She tried to recover as quickly as possible but she couldn't tear her eyes off of Myuu's exuberance. She wonders if she recovered fast enough before Myuu noticed. After all, Myuu was A grade and she was now 2 grades above her. Kaori might have been able to feign her composure.
What was the best way to fix the situation... How about a change in topic? Change in topic... Change in topic... Topic... Wait, she mentioned something about Zedicia! Zedicia...?!
" Ah?! I forgot to revive her. She was pretty annoying, but she served as my training partner to prepare me for the fight against Hikari. " (Kaori)
"... Seriously? What the hell... Normally you would try to kill her right? As revenge for killing me and Paridia...
Ah... Wait, so that's why you said you want to revive her. She's already dead. Is there an actual reason why you still need her alive? " (Myuu)
Myuu was perplexed but also quick to understand. Her composure must be second to none, was what Kaori felt... Well, comparing herself to Myuu, obviously she would lose to Myuu. Despite the 2 high twintails, Myuu had an undeniably mature air to herself. As if she had boundless experience and most importantly, a reassuring calmness at all times.
She shouldn't think too hard about it. Myuu was simply better in this front. So for now, Kaori would obediently explain.
"... She's secretly under Himei's orders to regulate the underworld, and any inter-faction underworld that might try to settle on Sanctuary turf. Her methods were inhumane but also generally beneficial to the Sanctuary. But since I crushed those benefits into paste, and Himei should be on board with me now... The situation should change for the better.
And... How cool would it be for The Sanctuary to have not 1, not 2, but 3 God magical girls!! Isn't that amazing?! " (Kaori)
Once more, Myuu felt like she was grimacing too much lately. Since she was no longer taken by surprise by Kaori's antics, anytime Kaori does something baffling, her surprise is automatically converted into some shame and disappointment. But it was the good kind of disappointment that she would never forsake.
It's like a custom, a daily rite of passage for Kaori to gush over magical girls... Well, she won't deny that having more God magical girls than other factions sounds cool. Also makes the Sanctuary sound like a safe haven. But... Comparing it like that might hurt Kaori.
"Maybe this way, we can loan a God magical girl to other factions... Of course, I'll be selling a security service. This way, maybe they can make up for the absurdity that they've committed on each other." (Kaori)
As if reading her mind, Kaori happily explained what might make the situation seem a little better. A tinge of optimism in a sea of despair that is the post-Disaster circumstance of the world. In a twisted way, she was celebrating the purpose of the Sanctuary Life Festival. To hold a sliver of hope despite all that has passed.
When considering whether to revive a person from the dead, despite how she uses her final skill on a whim, her thoughts always trudge back to this mountain of doubts held deep in her heart. Is it right? Is this allowed? How much more am I allowed? Is it better this way? Do they want this? Does their family want this? Is this disrespecting the dead?
Essentially, Kaori was playing favourites. She could revive her close friends without hesitation, but when it came to anyone else... She didn't know what to do. So she abstained. Isn't this unfair to those that she didn't revive? And when does it stop? If she continuously revives someone, who gets to decide what was the end of their lifespan? No one gets to decide when someone dies... Except for Kaori. If she saw a stranger collapse from a heart attack, she wouldn't know if she should revive them or not.
She's no longer playing god, since she's now a god... An infinite source of energy and output, limitless stamina and boundless potential to do anything. These are the typical characteristics that make a magical girl a 'god magical girl'.
When her talk with Myuu was over, she went straight to her bedroom to tumble over the sheets. She was a little conscious of her perspiration, but the depths of her mind provoked her to dive into the abyss of deep thought. Will she be facing such awful decisions from now on? Just what qualified a person to be revived by her?
As a person that takes a stance of inherent virtue, to do what is right as a magical girl... Is it right to bring someone back from the dead? Or is it right to leave them dead as it was the natural order of things... This natural order wasn't something she wanted to violate, simply because it would be 'unnatural' to do so. The reason she could so easily revive her comrades, was because she wouldn't mind shouldering the crime of violating the natural order, since she promised to save them and that they were just that much important to her. Important enough to offend Chronos...
Through Himei's knowledge she learned, Chronos was a magical girl similar to HuoLi. One that was born with a role, but instead of preventing the end of the world, hers is to reinforce time. It wasn't something as fickle or romantic as a soul being predestined to fulfill this role, just like HuoLi, she just happened to awaken into this role. But did that really matter? If she was born into the role by sheer chance, she might as well have existed for that role specifically. Or the role might have been born at the same time as her, though it would be strange if the role didn't exist before humanity did.
"Haa~ how do I decide..." (Kaoril