Infinite Journey: Dark Souls

PS1: Thank you to reader [Yuan Shen Xin Zui - Houmura] for the reward and monthly ticket~ Even Xiao Yan personally came to reward me, what are the other readers waiting for? Let's bombard me with recommendation tickets! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

The Seven Fates: Encounters

The sun rose as usual on the horizon, and the magical girls once again fulfilled their duties, being the first to enjoy the warm sunshine after a night of hard work.

Their battle attire was removed in the morning sun, and they gazed at the city bathed in sunlight, anticipating the arrival of a beautiful day.

That's how it should be.

But Yan always felt that something was wrong, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Something was probably off from the very first day she transferred to the school. After introducing herself and revealing her identity as a magical girl, she suddenly sensed a murderous aura, but it vanished as quickly as she had imagined.

Her intuition was right; even a month later, she could still remember that terrifyingly intense killing intent.

However, in the past month, she not only didn't feel that murderous aura again, but she also didn't have many nightmares. She lived a peaceful and happy life, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Wait, it's been a month already?

This is what she should care about most. It seems that this number has troubled her for a long time, but now it has passed by unnoticed.

Looking around at her companions, as usual, Sayaka and Kyoko were playing around, Mami was holding Bebe and smiling beside them, and Madoka returned a gentle smile the moment she looked over.

"What's wrong, Xiaoyan?"

"Ah...it's nothing."

Yan also forced a smile, walked over to Xiaoyuan's side, and watched the sunrise with her... but her eyes became lost again.

Even disregarding everything else, the battle with Nightmare just now gave her a strong sense of unease. She always felt that their battles weren't just about that.

But now she couldn't ask the question that was on her mind, because her comrades, who had just won the battle, were planning to go to Mami's house before class to enjoy cake and black tea. However, even if that wasn't the case, just looking at Madoka's smiling face, she couldn't bring herself to ask her the question in front of her.

The still pond reflected the figures of a group of people, and the entire city seemed like an illusory reflection in the water.

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"Are all the props ready?"

"Props are ready!"

"Have you memorized all your lines?"

"No problem!"

"Very good, Comrade Zhi, now it's time to see your performance!"

Let's go!

The pleasant tea party ended quickly. The magical girls, who had been working hard all night, only rested briefly at the tea party before returning home to prepare their school supplies, take their lunch boxes, and meet again at the school gate to head to the classroom together.

But now a small incident has occurred.

A short-haired girl, also wearing the Mitakihara Junior High School uniform and carrying a piece of bread in her mouth, suddenly hurriedly passed through the group of people who were chatting and laughing, as if she had something urgent to attend to.

They might have just passed each other by, but by sheer coincidence, the slice of bread the girl was holding in her mouth broke as she ran, seemingly because she was running too fast. One half of it drifted down and landed right at her feet.

The magical girls, whose dynamic vision far surpasses that of ordinary people, couldn't bear to close their eyes at this moment.

"Ughhhhhh!"

Sure enough, amidst a cry of pain, the short-haired girl stepped on a piece of bread covered in jam and slipped and fell in front of them.

Her handbag was tossed high into the air, and Xiao Yuan, who was directly below it, caught it just in time.

"Haha! This guy seems even more reckless than Kyoko!"

"Huh? I'm not as unlucky as her, and I never waste food! I always finish my bread before I rush off to do anything else!"

Zhi lay sprawled on the ground, stealing glances at the expressions of the five men.

Blue and Red started their usual playful antics. Xiaoyuan stared blankly at the handbag in her hand, while Mami and Homura were both sizing her up.

She quickly pretended to be in a lot of pain from the fall, rolling on the ground—and it really hurt. She had just activated her magic eye and found the opening she would make when she stepped on the bread, and she had actually run into that opening. So now she was just being herself!

Of course, the position where the handbag lands is also calculated.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Mami was the first to lower her guard. She noticed that the short-haired girl, who should have been cheerful and handsome, had a red bump on her forehead, indicating that she had indeed fallen and hurt herself. So, she picked up Beibei, walked to her side, and offered her a hand.

"This student is running with something in their mouth, which is very dangerous. I hope you will remember this lesson and not be so reckless next time."

"Huh?... Ah! I understand, thank you~"

Zhi then pulled Mami's hand and stood up. She glanced at Beibei in her arms, rubbing her swollen forehead, and gave a bright, silly smile.

Just as Xiaoyan said, she is a well-mannered young lady.

Zhi mentally gave Mami her assessment, but didn't notice that Mami raised an eyebrow when Zhi's gaze fell on Beibei.

Next, Xiao Yuan, who was carrying her handbag, also came up.

Today, Xiaoyuan still used a red hairband to tie her pink hair into two ponytails. She smiled and handed over her handbag, while also offering a caring reminder.

"This fall must have hurt a lot. It's great that you weren't injured!"

Compared to Mami's polite admonition, Madoka's face wore a more sincere smile. She was genuinely worried for this impulsive girl, and her smile became even gentler after seeing that Ori was alright and had stood up.

No wonder she's the person Homura cares about the most. That heartwarming smile is almost making me succumb... Wait, wait, this isn't the time to think about that. Ori, have you forgotten Homura's iron fist?

Zhi was stunned for a moment by the smile, then immediately felt two piercing gazes focused on her, which made her react instantly. She reached out her hand, ready to take the next step.

"Haha, it doesn't hurt that much anymore. Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm used to all the bumps and bruises... Thank you for catching my bag."

As she casually made her remarks, she nonchalantly took the handbag. Because she held the bag by the sides with both hands, a lunchbox was squeezed out of the bag, which was not properly zipped up.

With a crash, the bento box, which appeared to have been bought from a convenience store, spilled all over the floor.

"..."

"Ughhhh! My lunch!"

The weaver cried out again and immediately crouched down, trying to salvage the prop used for the performance.

Then, after stuffing the dusty food back into the lunchbox, she looked at the inedible lunch with tears streaming down her face.

"that……"

Even Xiaoyuan couldn't keep up the smile this time; they had never seen anyone so unlucky.

"...If you don't mind, would you like to have lunch with us?"

However, no matter what, the bento box was revealed when she took the bag from her hands, and the kind-hearted Madoka still felt a little bad about it, so she made a suggestion to the bento.

"Sobbing...is it really okay?"

Zhi, secretly delighted, maintained a sorrowful expression on the surface, asked a question with humility, and then planned to take advantage of the situation as soon as Xiaoyuan agreed.

"when……"

"Hey, you spilled the bento yourself, didn't you? And even if the bento is gone, you can buy bread for lunch."

A strangely familiar voice, but one that now terrified Zhi, suddenly broke through. Yan, who hadn't spoken until now, was staring coldly at her. Even though Yan still had her braided hair and glasses, which made her look a bit dowdy, her temperament, which was exactly the same as Xiao Yan's, made people feel that she might pull out a gun and shoot at the slightest provocation.

"Xiao Yan? Why are you like this..."

"Haha... It's okay, it's okay. It was definitely my fault. Like this student said, I'll just buy some bread for lunch. Thank you all for your help!"

As expected, the mother wolf protecting her cubs is the most terrifying. Although this analogy is not quite right, the Flame in front of us does indeed create this level of pressure on Zhi. Zhi, who was already extremely vulnerable in front of Flame, immediately retreated when faced with the cold gaze that could exert 100% effect without the support of her companions.

"Alright, Xiaoyuan, class is about to start, let's hurry up and go."

After watching Zhi disappear into the crowd, Yan immediately put on a smile, and without saying a word, grabbed Xiaoyuan's hand and ran towards the school gate, who was a little confused about the situation.

"Huh? Wait for us!"

"Mami-senpai, let's hurry, class is about to start."

The red and blue duo, who had been playfully fighting, chased after them, leaving Mami alone, still lost in thought.

"She can see...Bebe?"

A magical white creature, resembling both a cat and a rabbit, watched all of this with its red eyes.

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Meanwhile, Zhi, who had barely completed the task, was once again met with a cold gaze.

"I'm saying, Xiaoyuan invited you, why didn't you have the nerve to accept? You know, joining their lunch party is the key to our plan."

"Shaking... I can't help it, it's because the other little fire is just too intimidating." QAQ

Zhi trembled under Xiaoyan's pressure, but thankfully, with the support of her companion's aura, she was still able to withstand it.

"So, that guy puts more pressure on you than me? -- Fine, I'll forgive you since you did a pretty good job acting."

The oppressive feeling vanished instantly, leaving Zhi momentarily stunned.

"……real?"

Then she asked a pitiful question.

"Hey, am I that scary? Come on, I just didn't take that guy's reaction into account, so I didn't blame you in the first place."

Xiaoyan suddenly found it somewhat amusing, yet she couldn't quite laugh. Even though Zhi had worked so hard to carry out the plan, she was still somewhat apprehensive because of her own slight dissatisfaction. She suddenly realized that their relationship had never been equal; she had always been demanding, while Zhi had always been giving.

Is this the attitude one should have towards a partner who shares life and death?

PS: Yunxi: The content in 【】 is research on Madoka Magica, and all information comes from the Madoka Magica Baidu Tieba forum.

PS1: Wait, this chapter doesn't seem to have [ ], just ignore the PS above~

Destiny Eight Intervals

Philosophers often say that people live in their own world, but this so-called world is just a protective line drawn by fragile people for their own minds.

Beyond the protective line lies another person's world, and there will always be friction, overlap, and fusion between worlds. Whenever these situations occur, other people become the background in one's own inner world, or an encounter occurs, allowing worlds to completely merge.

Regardless, people will continue to live their lives outside the world they've created for themselves, and the scenery we see is real.

But what Yan sees now is not like that. She realizes that the world she is in is always an insignificant background, and the passersby are always insignificant passersby. They will not experience a complete life outside of her sight, but only fill the blanks in her vision when she looks over.

It's class time now. The teacher, whose face is obscured, is waving a pointer and explaining the problems on the blackboard. The students, whose faces are also obscured, are diligently taking notes... That's right, only the students whose faces are obscured are paying close attention in class.