I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

After resolving today's nightmare, the Five Colors Team will temporarily split up.

Black-haired Akane walked silently on her way home. Ever since she fought Nightmare, she had had a vague sense of familiarity and a strange feeling of unease.

It seems the world shouldn't be like this, and it seems these magical girls shouldn't be playing house with something as childish as nightmares.

It seems that their battles will be even bloodier and more brutal, with death and fear always present, and everyone worried that they might die at any moment.

It seems that her relationship with that little girl, Madoka Kaname, was not so shallow; it should have been more intense and deeper.

Why can't she remember?

"Hey! You're going home from here today?" The familiar and casual voice snapped her out of her strange thoughts.

Xiaoyanmei looked up and saw the figure of a red-haired girl with a lollipop in her mouth, squatting on the street lamp where the path used to be.

"Hmm. Kyoko, what are you doing here?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"Huh? You don't know? Because I'm from out of town, and my parents have both passed away, so even though I go to school during the day, at night I just find a hotel or simply make do in a park. This just happens to be the route I take to a park I frequent." The red-haired girl, with a lollipop in her mouth, spoke these slightly pitiful words nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Akane did not feel any sympathy, because she sensed something unusual about the words.

But what exactly was strange about it? She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"What's wrong? You look pale. Are you feeling sorry for me?" Sakura Kyoko squatted on the street lamp and said with a grin, "I didn't expect you to be so compassionate."

“No.” Akane Miyako shook her head slightly. “I’m just a little confused.”

“Strange?” Sakura Kyoko raised an eyebrow.

“As you know, I also transferred here; I’m not from this city.” Akane frowned. “But I’ve completely forgotten the name of my former city and some specific memories. Do you have any memories of the city you used to live in, Kyoko?”

Upon hearing this, Sakura Kyoko chuckled softly, "This kind of memory, of course... Hmm??? What's going on? I can't remember it at all??? The name of the city, the memories of the city..."

Her expression suddenly changed.

A few seconds later, she looked at Akane with an icy expression: "Do you have any clues?"

"Hmm, a little bit." Akane Miyabi nodded coldly. "Let's go take the tram first."

"Taking the tram??" Sakura Kyoko tilted her head in confusion.

“Let’s see if we can get out of this Mitakihara City.” Akane Mimi narrowed her eyes, vaguely recalling something. “If I’m not mistaken, we probably won’t be able to leave this city.”

"Um...."

Sakura Kyoko suddenly jumped down and stood next to Akatsuki Homura: "Let's go, let's go now."

.....

There aren't many trams in Mitakihara City, and the tram stations aren't crowded at this time of day.

I bought a ticket and boarded the tram.

My gaze wandered back and forth along the tram.

After an unknown amount of time, the tram slowly came to a stop.

Sakura Kyoko and Akatsuki Homura got off the train, their expressions growing increasingly grim.

Because what lies before them is not another city, but the same station where they boarded the tram.

In other words, they did not leave the city.

"Let's change the train route." Sakura Kyoko didn't want to give up.

Xiaoyan Mei also nodded slowly.

And then, just as she expected.

No matter which route they take to leave the city, their final stop will always be the station where they boarded the train, meaning that they are currently unable to leave Mitakihara City.

“This…” Sakura Kyoko’s brows furrowed even more: “Are we in a nightmare dream right now?”

“No.” Akane Miyabi shook her head. She looked at Sakura Kyoko with a flickering expression, unsure whether she should tell her what she had just remembered.

After a moment, she made a decision.

Chapter Three: Falsehood and Truth

"In other words, these nightmares don't exist in your memory." Sakura Kyoko looked at the black-haired transfer student magical girl in front of her: "The world we are in now is not a normal world, but a virtual barrier constructed by a monster called a witch, right?"

“Yes.” Akane nods slightly. “You’re right, but what I find strange is that there shouldn’t be any witches left in this world.”

"Hmm?? Then what's going on??" Sakura Kyoko narrowed her eyes, looking at her companion in front of her: "I think that rather than your contradictory statements, perhaps we are both trapped in a nightmare dream."

“Yes, I’m not entirely sure either.” Akane nods slightly. “So we need to find more ways to verify this, or rather, I need to recover more of my memories.”

"These will all take a little time, please wait a day or two."

“No problem.” Sakura Kyoko laughed. “I do want to know what situation we are in right now.”

Upon hearing this, Akane seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Don't tell Senpai and Madoka about this."

"Hmm??" Sakura Kyoko raised an eyebrow: 'You're worried...'

"No, it's just in case," Akane Mimi interjected.

"Alright then, whatever you say." Sakura Kyoko didn't seem to mind.

After the two parted, Xiaoyanmei returned home, lay on her soft bed, and carefully pondered and sorted out all the differences in her memories.

First, there's the senior student; her personality and behavior are normal. What about Sayaka Miki?

This cheerful blue-haired girl seems... well, there's something about her that's hard to describe, but I couldn't see anything unusual about her.

---Then there was Sakura Kyoko, who also showed no particular abnormalities.

Finally, there's Xiaoyuan. Her behavior is exactly the same as some of my memories. Although I don't know why, I can feel that she is truly...

----No, why is it true?

Xiaoyan's eyes widened.

She suddenly remembered.

---Even though Madoka transformed into the Law of Cycles to save all the tragedies in this world, why do I seem to not remember it?

---Also, Bebe, yes, the Snack Witch Bebe, is the witch "Charlotte" who killed Mami-senpai in her past experiences.

---These are all abnormal.

Xiaoyan's eyes lit up.

"Then let's go find Bebe and ask about the situation tomorrow." The black-haired magical girl closed her eyes.

As for why he didn't ask about the suddenly appearing Madoka Kaname, it's naturally because—life is already so painful, so what's wrong with dreaming in this witch's dream world?

......

"Xiaoyanmei, what do you mean?" Golden ribbons fluttered in the sky, and countless studded guns appeared in the air.

On her shoulder, the snack witch Charlotte was missing a part, clearly injured by gunfire.

The senior student with her hair in two braids held a ribbon hanging from the sky in one hand and a flintlock pistol in the other, aiming it at Akatsuki Yanmei.

"I just wanted to ask a question." Akane looked at the girl flying in the sky, slightly stunned, but still coldly replied, "Senpai, are you an accomplice of the witch? No wonder, otherwise how could someone who is already dead reappear?"

The inability to speak was inherited completely.

Even now, Akane Miyabi is still very good at provoking others' anger with a single sentence.

And then, as expected, a war broke out between magical girls.

.....

The ribbon is long and narrow.

The black-haired girl was tied up.

Xiaoyan looked at the yellow ribbon on her body with great surprise, and some very strange thoughts popped into her mind.

Why? How is that possible?

Similar thoughts are constantly emerging.

However, in any case, in this battle between magical girls...

She has failed.

A silver-white shotgun was pointed at her forehead.

Unless she is willing to safely reverse time, relying solely on her own ability to stop time is no longer enough to break free from these ribbon shackles.

"Is there anything else you'd like to say, Akatsuki Yanmei?"

The blonde senior looked stern: "You think you can kill my familiar just because of your own little idea?? Akane, why didn't you discuss it with me first?"

The black-haired girl frowned slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

To her, the senior in front of her was not someone she was willing to back down to.

---At worst, we can just change the time.

With this thought in mind, she was about to use her abilities when she suddenly felt a flash of blue light that completely severed the ribbon in front of her.

Don't miss out.

Xiaoyan silently turned the tray in her mind, instantly stopping time. When time started to turn again, Mami could no longer see her.

......

"Sayaka Miki, why did you save me?"

Xiaoyanmei looked at the blue-haired girl in front of her with a cold expression.

"I just didn't want you to die here." The blue-haired magical girl danced under the moon like an elf, her flying sword elegant and beautiful, without a trace of killing intent.

Although she found the magical girl's behavior a bit strange, Homura Akatsuki continued to ask, "Sayaka Miki, you must have heard my conversation with Mami just now. Do you think what I said is right?"

"It doesn't really matter." The blue-haired girl in the moonlight slightly raised her head, seemingly contemplating the beauty of the moonlight: "This city is a barrier, isn't it? I know that. We can't leave this city. But isn't it also good?"

"Within this barrier, we only need to fight nightmares. They pose almost no real danger to us, making them easy to deal with. There will be no death, no pain, and no sudden transformation into witches. What could be worse?"

"This world was created by someone for peace and love. The peaceful scene we see now is the scene she longed for."

Xiaoyan frowned and said uncertainly, "You mean this city, this barrier, is beautiful?"