Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

The ripples were disturbed by another ripple.

This arrow struck neither the murky power nor the murky demon.

The purple arrow shot straight into the sky, like a dazzling firework.

Amidst the exploding purple light, patterns emerged that were even more beautiful than the fleeting brilliance of fireworks.

It was a matrix, at least a complex array of circles and squares, beneath which, beneath purple lines, were inscribed this message upon the sky. It was reminiscent of integrated circuits on a CPU, where the circles and squares were individual electronic components. The purple lines, devoid of any curves, connected them with magic, replacing electrical current, through straight segments and sharp angles.

The Ashes witnessed the "rules" firsthand for the second time.

If the Flame Demon brought power from another world, making it incomprehensible, and the Ash Flame utilized time in this world, remaining obscure and difficult to understand, then the Ribbon Flame's bow and arrows provide a direct glimpse into the nature of rules, even though these "rules" at first glance appear to be merely absolute commands to "eliminate monsters."

However, it can also be evolved into an extended command called "remove heterogeneous elements".

The purple hue pressed down. It pressed down amidst the ripples that shook spacetime.

Like raindrops continuously dripping onto a rippling lake, layers of waves concealed the spreading ripples. This is the domain of the Circular World; only those who conform to its rules can move freely here. The turbidity was washed away by the torrential purple, its momentum undiminished, pouring down upon the murky demon.

Ashflame hovered on the edge of the purple aura. She could manipulate the world's rules to disrupt it, yet she couldn't escape the fact that she belonged to the category of "alien." At this moment, she withdrew, only to see the demon beneath the purple light become like a crow in a downpour. Its already scattered wings had been soaked to the bone, and when the rain subsided, the feathered skirt that covered its body was a disheveled mess.

However, she still withstood this wave of attacks.

"Is that so? Even if the powers originate from the same source, 'love' is still selfish. That's why no Homura Akemi is willing to give up Madoka. Your obsession with Madoka is not the same as my obsession with Madoka. Once that power I can connect with returns to your hands, it will still completely reject me. In the end, we Homura Akemi are all selfish demons without any bottom line! Hahahaha!"

Her disheveled appearance erased the devil's alluring elegance, and she shouted at the ribbon flames as if she were insane.

Maniacal laughter echoed across the purple-washed sky. Ignoring the commotion, Ribbon Flame drew her bow again, while the demon suddenly lunged at the two witches locked in a stalemate.

"Oh no! Stop her!"

The cry that followed from Ashflame was even more urgent than when she confronted the demon. It seemed the Flame Demon's current actions were even more dangerous than when she was at her most frenzied. At this moment, the cursed braided witch was not only entangled in the Witch of the Other Shore's cloak and sand, but also embraced a fleshy monster on her back, their blood-red mists and curses mutually corroding each other.

The demon lunged at the braided witch who was being embraced. Her straight trajectory pointed directly at the spot where the shield had once been struck by the weaving sword but had not been severed.

The golden-white blade was the first to respond to Ashflame's cry, inadvertently blocking the demon and slashing its arm. Strictly speaking, the demon itself grasped the blade. However, it didn't matter; this slight obstruction allowed the purple arrow and the deep purple heartfire bullet to accurately strike the demon's back.

Her chest was almost blown open by the explosion.

With a flick of her wrist, the blade was inadvertently pulled from the demon's grasp. The blade traced a wide arc, more like a smash than a slash. Zhi swung again, striking the demon's chest once more from the other side. This time, her charge towards the demonic beast Yan was abruptly halted, and she was instantly surrounded by two ashes and a magical girl.

Sheathing her sword, she gathered her strength for a sword draw; biting her bow, she drew the string, ready to fire. Barrett locked onto the cornered demon, Ashflame's heart filled with complex emotions. She truly couldn't believe that the demon, so arrogant upon his first return to the Ring World, had fallen to such a state. But was this pathetic demon truly the whole picture?

"Hahahaha," a shrill laugh gave her the answer, "This is truly an interesting world, far more interesting than those timelines without the Ashes interfering!" The demon spread her fingers, concealing her crazed expression. Through her fingers, she scanned the three people surrounding her. Her eyes were filled with amusement, and her hands, which had been covering her face, slowly, slowly opened—

She lowered her hand and pulled down the red ribbon tied to her forehead.

The expression reappeared before the three of them, but this time it was that of an excited audience member who had just watched a great show.

She spoke excitedly, as if she were giving a review of a film.

"Congratulations on winning this round. You are also the only team among countless Akemi Homura to defeat me. Come on, the curses scattered in various worlds are far more than just this one, and how many of the others can you take back? Or if you want to visit me directly, please bring this one that you have taken to my Silver Garden."

"Of course, I'll get to that courtyard sooner or later and rescue Yuan!"

"Hehe, I'm looking forward to it."

Finally, the invitation was given, and the red ribbon was thrown into the ribbon flame.

In the next instant, blades, demonic arrows, and fireballs struck the demon.

The murky colors were completely erased from this world.

The shadow of the devil, along with her invitation, was etched into the hearts of the two Homura Akemis present.

What did she mean by what she just said?

With the demon gone and Ribbon Flame having retrieved the red ribbon, she finally had the chance to ask Ash Flame this question.

"The trouble isn't over yet. Let's deal with this so-called 'Beast Flame' first."

The war between the sixty-eight gods and demons, a war of destiny, will continue in every world.

"Have you guys sorted things out? Then Sha Zi and I can finally let go of the rest!"

"Lily, wait a minute! Zhi, quickly rescue everyone from the Ashes!"

"Roger that, Captain!"

With the most dangerous demons perhaps banished, the atmosphere on the battlefield eased slightly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except for Ashflame, who still seemed tense. Even Zhi showed a long-lost, hearty smile. While teasing Ashflame's orders, she transformed into golden-white fire threads and rushed straight towards the trapped Ash.

"Speed! Even though I'm a witch, this curse is way too extraordinary! Look, even the mist over there isn't saying a word!"

"Hmm? I'm fine, I just think it's better if I don't interrupt in this kind of atmosphere."

"Then help me out a bit! By the way, you were just watching the show and didn't contribute at all, right?"

"Yes, yes, I'll give it a little more effort then~"

Little Flame was indeed nearing her limit. She was probably the only Ash Flame who, like Ash Flame, dared not underestimate this witch. Throughout the battle, she had been fighting against the curse of the demonic beast Flame, unable to make any other movements. She clearly sensed that the density of this blackness far surpassed that of one or two witches; it was as if countless witches' despair had been piled up.

No matter how much she betrayed her past self through "immorality," she felt that she was becoming inescapably haunted by this curse.

Fortunately, the sand increased its output, causing the flesh monster to swell to roughly the size of the Witch of This Shore, and it tightly embraced the witch. Little Flame's black braids, which she could barely control, were trapped and began to corrode as they writhed. Meanwhile, the golden-white fire lines formed by the Weaving Displacement swiftly swept past the trapped ashes, severing the braids and rescuing her subordinates one by one.

Ashflame wasn't idle either; she put away the Barrett but began weaving a barrier around the witch.

"Let me help!"

Seeing that the Golden and White Fireline's rescue efforts were still too slow, and with Ashflame seemingly determined not to answer her questions until the witch was dealt with, Ribbonflame had no choice but to take on the rescue task. She first slung her bow and arrows over her shoulder, then hurriedly tied the red ribbon back into her black hair. Next, she bit the bowstring with her teeth, drew the bow, and shot an arrow into the sky.

A matrix of "rules" emerged, and purple rain fell.

At least she carefully controlled the creation of the "rules" and did not include the ashes in the category of "heterogeneous" substances that would be excluded.

Beneath the purple hue, ashes were entangled in braids, bound to the witch's roots like flower buds.

The purple rain that fell was hail, knocking the flower buds off one by one.

The Ashes were finally free. Without a moment to relax, they immediately retreated from the area covered by the braid, led by several veteran Survey Corps soldiers. Meanwhile, Mami, supporting Kyoko, along with three other characters relegated to the background, stumbled and caught up with the Ashes' main force.

With that, the clearing was complete, leaving only Ash, the strongest magical girl, and a mist facing the witch.

"You intend to seal her away?"

The one-armed Ribbon Flame observed the barrier woven by Ash Flame and asked for a solution.

"That's right, she might be the key to overthrowing the demon."

"What exactly is she?"

"You'll find out soon enough—Lily, Sand! Let go!"

"Understood!" ×2

At Ashflame's command, purple sand and red blood mist detached from the massive body formed of braids. In an instant, blackness surged, and the braids began to riot. Even if the nature of their power wasn't as unfathomable as the murky colors of a demon, these things, which undeniably cursed the human spirit, were still enough to turn the city center upside down.

However, this time the riot did not last long.

A deep purple flame barrier, woven around her long ago, replaced the Witch of This Shore and the flesh monster in binding her movements.

"Wow! This kind of curse is really too exaggerated."

However, it seems unlikely that the witch, whom Homura and Sako had barely managed to control, could be sealed away so directly.

"Me, wearing the ribbon! Aim at the shield's location, let's go together!"

"Tch, he really knows how to order people around!"

With a swift draw of the longbow, purple magic drew back the deep purple flames, transforming the two figures into arrows that struck the witch's core directly. But then, a bizarre scene unfolded. Instead of directly damaging the shield with its slashed edge, the two women seemed to be sucked into something, vanishing before the shield itself.

Only a few people remained outside the barrier, looking at each other in bewilderment.

————————————————————————————————————————

Where am I?

This is a wilderness, devoid of sand and soil, the ground beneath your feet woven from some kind of fine, long threads.

The sky was an endless expanse of darkness, punctuated by specks of white light. The light was unlike stars, and even the darkness resembled the sky. In the dim light, on the desolate landscape woven from threads of light, black, needle-like objects were stuck in the ground, adding yet another layer of monotony to the already bleak landscape.

"We are inside your shield."

Ashflame seemed unperturbed by the current situation.

"A shield!?"

"Yes, the shield. By the way, you've never investigated why your shield can store items, have you?"

"...I knew it was connected to a space, but I never imagined that we could get in ourselves."

"There's more to it than you think. Watch out! The ground here is covered in cursed braids!"

The moment Ashflame's warning reached Ribbonflame's ears, the wilderness they trod upon vibrated. The threads billowed, braids tangling together, finally revealing their true nature to Ribbonflame. Like those outside the shield, the braids were soaked in a black curse, requiring them to resist its corrosive influence simply by standing there.

"Run! Let's check what's most dangerous!"

Even without Ashflame saying anything, Ribbonflame wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die.

And so, two figures in deep purple raced across the curse-stricken wilderness.

"Could the core of that witch be inside the shield? Impossible! I don't remember ever putting something so dangerous inside!"

"This wasn't something you planted, nor could you plant it. You can probably sense it just by looking at it; these curses are the result of the despair of countless witches combined. So, where do you think all those countless witches could have come from?"

"That question is completely invalid, because there are no witches in the world anymore—ah!"

"It seems you've figured it out. Since there are no witches left in the world, they must have been gathered in one place before they disappeared. After gathering, they were either destroyed or... sealed away. Now it seems that Madoka chose to bear the curse instead of destroying it. And somehow, a part of it leaked into the shield you used, who witnessed that process."

"No wonder you kept asking me about the shield, and seemed even more anxious after the demon was banished. You're worried about these curses. Indeed, if these things were to leak out, the harm would be far greater than that of the demon. After all, that guy didn't fully manifest himself, and even just a tiny bit of these curses leaked out, yet they've already corrupted the magical beasts into all sorts of strange things!"

As they raced, the wilderness trembled violently, and the braids seemed to entangle, trying to trap the two intruders.

They were like brave surfers in a tsunami, riding the waves of their churning braids towards the edge of the wilderness.

"Yes, curses are dangerous. But if not just this one curse is reproduced, but all the burdens that Madoka carries are gathered together, then the curses of all the witches in the universe will be even more dangerous."

"What are you trying to confuse me about now? Can you just explain it clearly all at once?"

"Even now, do you still consider yourself the only Homura Akemi?"

"...If you admit that you are not Homura Akemi, then I might be able to believe it."

"No, I mean, Homura Akemi, who 'witnessed Madoka creating a new world,' do you think you're the only one?"

What's the difference?