On the elevated bridge late at night, the shadows of speeding cars whizzed by.
Behind the steering wheel, Lin Yun's brows were tightly furrowed. Even with him going at full throttle, sprinting at top speed, it had taken him nearly 20 minutes to get near the Wetland Park from home. And for him right now, every second that passed was torment.
However, during this anxious journey, he had managed to pick up some long-neglected knowledge from the jumble of thoughts in his mind and had clarified a few things.
Why exactly had he become a Magical Girl?
This was a question that he had once firmly etched in his heart, a question that he had raised again after 19 years. Looking out of the car, under the dim yellow streetlights, some equally distant memories began to surface. And those dated back even further, to 22 years ago.
In fact, he was somewhat surprised that he could still faintly recall it—it was an evening after school had let out.
"Can I go fight?"
On the street bathed in the setting sun, the young Lin Yun asked the Fairy, that resembled a rabbit, this question.
The Fairy, calling itself the "Seeder," told him:
"How could you, you're a boy! Only girls can possess the talent to become a Magical Girl, and that too is one in a million!"
"Why can't a boy do it?"
"I've already said, Magical—Girl—it's in the name, girl! That's why only girls can be Magical Girls!"
"Then I won't be a Magical Girl, a Magical Boy, a Magical Big Brother, a Magical Superman, anything's fine—I also want the power of magic!"
The youth's voice was full of determination as he shouted these words, and not far away, between the buildings, a fierce battle was taking place.
His childhood friend—An Ya, who was also a Magical Girl, was battling the ferocious Remnant Beasts.
Only, unlike the several battles he had seen before, this time the Remnant Beasts were not only massive in size, but there were also two of them, and An Ya, facing multiple high-strength enemies, clearly showed signs of being overwhelmed.
She was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.
Watching An Ya struggle under the Remnant Beasts, having been hit by their attacks several times, her situation was precarious. Lin Yun couldn't help but raise his voice again, shouting at the rabbit-like Fairy, "Can't you see? An Ya is in danger! Isn't she the Magical Girl you chose?"
"Ugh... I really am troubled," said the Fairy with a rueful expression, "I am very worried about An Ya, true, but magic is a power that only girls can have; there's no other option but to become a Magical Girl, and all those things you're talking about simply don't exist."
"Magical Boy, Magical Big Brother, Magical Superman or anything like that—if it were possible, I'd want to help you, but it's not; I can only grant the power of a Magical Girl…"
"Let me try!"
"Huh?"
"Let me try, to see if I can become a Magical Girl!"
"Have you gone mad? I told you, it has to be a girl!"
"Just let me try!"
"How are we supposed to 'just try' something like this?"
"Tell me how to become a Magical Girl—I'll do it!"
"...You really do know how to scare someone."
Facing the young man's resolute and persistent attitude, and with the distant An Ya indeed in crisis, the Fairy had no choice but to relent, "Fine, let it be on your head then, you said to try it."
It extended its paw to the fluff around its waist and, after some rummaging, pulled out a round, crystal-clear gemstone from between the hairs.
The size of the gemstone was a quarter the size of its body, and the sight of it suddenly being pulled out looked very odd, but neither the person nor the Fairy facing each other were in any mood to care about such trifles.
"This thing is called the Seed of Heart, the seed of power for a Magical Girl," the Fairy said gravely.
"Hold it, press it to your chest, feel its presence, connect with your heart—if it reacts, then you have the talent to become a Magical Girl; if not, then you have no hope at all."
"Seed of Heart..."
Looking at the gemstone in the Fairy's claw, the young man murmured the name of the object.
He knew full well that what he was saying was unreasonable. Since the other party had said that only girls could become Magical Girls, there must be some reason for it.
But now, he had no choice, because the situation was so urgent that if he, as an ordinary person, wanted to save An Ya, he should take a shot at even the most impossible task.
Taking the gemstone-like object, Lin Yun immediately clenched it in his hand and pressed it against his heart.
Connect with your heart.
That was the key point he remembered, and without any delay, he devoted himself completely to it.
He closed his eyes and gradually shut out everything else. While not far away, the rabbit-like Fairy watched with a worried face as Lin Yun held the Seed of Heart in his hand.
A few breaths passed and the Seed of Heart showed no change.
As the one-minute mark approached, the Seed of Heart still showed no reaction.
Just as the fairy rabbit's heartbeat was gradually calming down, convinced that it could confirm failure, a change occurred.
At first, it was a very faint light that leaked out from between Lin Yun's fingers, like scattered sparks, resembling fireflies. Then it turned into trailing, clear light, transforming into streaks of pure luminescence.
What rose from the young man's gradually unfolding hands was a pure white sphere of light emitting a sacred glow. It revolved with the gem-like Seed of Heart, aloft, and eventually merged.
In an instant, the light burst forth.
White light radiated from the surface of the Seed of Heart, forming a halo that enveloped Lin Yun.
The light, though not overwhelmingly bright, shone like the moon in the sky, not dazzling, yet bright enough to illuminate the night.
"Is this really... you... you actually succeeded? You're really a boy?"
Faced with an unprecedented fact, the fairy rabbit beside him was shocked and even began to speak without thinking, "Could it be you just look more like a boy, so you're fooling around with me?"
However, the boy within the light paid no attention to its nonsense, but looked up with a resolute gaze towards the fairy before him, his eyes blazing with determination.
"What should I do next?"
—What should I do next?
That question seemed to travel through time and space.
Because it was the same question that Lin Yun needed to consider right now.
Beneath the night sky, in the silent and empty wetland park parking lot, he casually threw his car into a spot and ran toward the depths of the woods along a path.
Actually, what to do, the answer was already there. His feelings at this moment were so similar to those of that twilight 22 years ago.
Perhaps many things had changed, but many others had remained; at least this sentiment of "must save the important person" was exactly the same.
With such emotions, could his Heart Flower still connect with him?
He raised his hand, harboring a tinge of doubt.
—The gemstone flower in his hand was already shining with a deep blue light.
"...Sigh, really, there's no helping it with you, kid, but right now we can only treat the dead horse as if it's alive," the fairy mumbled.
In a daze, he seemed to return to that day beneath the setting sun.
After expressing shock briefly, the fairy rabbit quickly adjusted its attitude and began to instruct him with precision:
"First, having established the link with the Seed of Heart, you should be able to feel the magic power, that is, the energy that serves as the bond between you and the Seed of Heart."
"Now, what you need to do, is to activate it using a simple Flow of Magical Power."
The young man nodded, closed his eyes again, and while sensing, he summed up in his mind:
The first step is to grasp the Magic Power.
"Divert your Flow of Magical Power and connect your limbs and forehead to the Seed of Heart, then adjust them to balance each other."
The second step, divert the Magic Power, then balance it.
"Then it's about constructing the standard Magic Runes, ah, if you don't know... Look over here, I'll show you."
The third step is to construct the standard Magic Runes.
"Lastly, think of a Transformation Spell as the initial switch. Though rarely used, don't make it too weird; something cute is better, otherwise, if the kingdom reviews it, you'll be ordered to change it."
The fourth step, settle on the Transformation Spell.
With the steps complete, it was now time to transform.
The memory of the young boy and the middle-aged man at this moment seemed to overlap, coexisting simultaneously here.
But, this was ultimately but a phantom.
The boy, filled with passion and hope, shouting the newly made embarrassing spell, set off toward the aerial battlefield to save the girl he cared about, armed with his new power.
The middle-aged man, whose fiery spirit had long since cooled, still stood here, alone.
His pace slightly faltered, he shook his head, dispelling the stray thoughts from his mind and resumed his brisk walk forward.
The light flourished, and a brilliant blue Magic Power burst out from his hands in an instant, sweeping around like a turbulent flow, lifting the hem of his clothes and his hair.
With no extra movements or sounds, he raised his hand and pressed the Heart Flower to his chest. Then, he coldly uttered two words:
"Transform, body."