Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Xiangzi didn't know what she wanted to say, so he could only wait and didn't take the initiative to start a conversation.

The bickering and commotion in the kitchen continued.

Xiaoyuan couldn't stay still and went outside to play with the cats wearing a gas mask. Hopefully, the cat masters won't be scared by an upside-down, masked, pink-haired weirdo.

Delete has probably gone to sleep.

Mu took out his guitar and practiced it aimlessly, just to add some background music to the quiet house.

The night was peaceful and comfortable.

Flame seemed to gradually become less tense in this relaxing environment. She opened her mouth and started a conversation.

"Why......"

"Why?" Xiangzi tilted his head.

"Why did you bring a Kyubey with you, and why did you try to stop me back then..." Homura clenched her fists, her voice trembling slightly, "You should have known it was them..."

Since learning the truth, Flame's feelings towards the Incubators have been nothing but hatred. She wants to kill them all on sight. Her killing intent is like the only outlet in an overflowing dam, and she couldn't hold back her urge to unleash it the moment she saw Kyubey.

She had been holding back her frustration for far too long.

But to everyone's surprise, Xiangzi stopped her and protected the Cupid.

This surprised Flame greatly, and she couldn't understand it.

However, as soon as the words were spoken, Yan regretted them.

I really know how to pick topics; I just happened to pick one that was so sharp and difficult to answer, one that would strain our relationship...

“This is quite complicated.” Xiangzi leaned against the wall, his shoulders relaxing. “This guy is a little different from other Qubes. He has his own name and submits Delete.”

"...It's different from the other Kyubey?"

“Yes, it has a mental illness—for the Incubators, a mental illness is having emotions,” Xiangzi explained. “Delete has been excluded from Qubi’s consciousness network and is now an independent being, so if you kill it, it will die.”

"what......"

“I know you might say, ‘It’s just a Kyubey, you can kill him and that’s fine,’ but given that he got sick because of me and that it’s a rare and valuable specimen… I suggest you don’t think that way.”

Xiangzi lowered his voice and leaned close to Yan's ear.

"...Just don't kill them."

The implication was that as long as you don't die, it's up to you.

Why does that sound even scarier?

A chill ran down Yan's spine, and even his killing intent towards Kyubey diminished considerably.

"So, is that the end of Delete? Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on it. This guy can't do anything bad now."

Since its biggest goal—making the lamp grant wishes—has already been achieved, and given that the facts cannot be changed, Xiangzi has no particular reason to kill it or do anything else immoral.

Delete is the best way to understand the Incubators. If we continue to learn more about them, perhaps one day in the future it will become the key for magical girls to take control of their own lives.

Delete: Achoo!

"Hmm..." Yan nodded, intending to let the inappropriate topic pass.

She wasn't really sure why she wanted to talk to Xiangzi; she just felt uneasy and uncomfortable.

From the very beginning of the third cycle, she felt very uncomfortable.

Yan lowered her head, burying her eyes and the rest of her body in her arms, leaving only her glasses visible. Beneath the glasses, her purple eyes gazed at Xiao Yuan, who was playing with the cats outside the door.

She will not forget her purpose.

Save Madoka.

To save everyone.

But what if you yourself are the source of destruction...?

The purple eyes looked cloudy and confused.

Even though Xiangzi tells her that if she thinks optimistically, the future can be changed, what about if she thinks pessimistically? Yan still can't help but think about it.

Constantly telling yourself not to think about something will only make you think about it more frequently.

Over the past few days, the "not optimistic possibility" has been lingering in Yan's mind, making her very scared, so scared that she trembles and is so scared that she is awakened by nightmares at night.

"For me, this is the third cycle. Before this, I had no idea that something like this would happen in Kamihama." Homura said, her eyes half-lowered. "When my senior told me that I was the Witch of This Shore, I almost couldn't hold on. If it weren't for her, perhaps I would have..."

"What am I to you?" Xiangzi, with the back of his head against the wall, turned his head to the side and interrupted Yan's words.

"...An idol?" Flame thought for a moment and said slowly, "I admire you very much. You are so dashing and powerful. Even when you encountered setbacks (the Soul Gem cracked), you did not show the slightest confusion or fear."

"Really? Thank you for your compliment."

This was the first time she had asked this question seriously. Although she had expected it, she still felt a little smug when she actually found out.

cough cough.

I'm not asking this question out of a sense of pride.

She had something else to say.

“I also know a senior, uh, my senior,” Xiangzi said. “In my heart, her image is similar to mine in yours.”

“I once made a big mistake—a very big mistake. She made an agreement with me, took part of the blame for me, and bought me time to correct myself. I am still very grateful to her.”

Xiangzi looked into Yan's eyes, as if he were seeing the same eyes he had seen when he looked into Kasumi Toyama's eyes.

"How about we make a promise?" Xiangzi said. "Promise me you won't become the witch of this shore. You will save the people you want to save, and you will keep striving for that goal."

As he spoke, Xiangzi glanced at Xiaoyuan, who was outside wearing a gas mask and playing with the cat, before turning his gaze back to Yan.

“You and I, the futures we face have countless similarities, so this condition is the same for me too. We promise each other, to supervise each other, and to work together to fulfill this promise.” Xiangzi looked at Yan expectantly. “Is that alright?”

Perhaps she and Yan share a similar future; they will both become witches who wreak havoc on the region, doing things they never wanted to do.

It was precisely because of this similarity that Xiangzi had always had a considerable fondness for Yan. The way she looked at Yan now was perhaps the same way Kasumi had looked at her back then.

"Stay true to yourself and don't fall into depravity." Xiangzi held up his little finger.

"Strive to find a future with hope." Yan hooked her little finger around Xiangzi's, and her eyes behind her glasses seemed much clearer.

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Shore of Oblivion: Chapter 538 On the Stage

In the stillness of the night, it is the same for both this shore and the other shore.

Xiangzi returned to the night he left the art museum; this was the fourth time.

The first time, her gem had just shattered, and she felt like she was dying from the pain all over her body; the second and third times had just passed, the night she returned from the future, and then another night after returning to the other side; well, now she has turned to the other side again, and this is the fourth time she has spent the same night.

At this point in time, Xiangzi has almost lost count of the number of versions of himself that exist simultaneously.

Now, wearing the protective suit that Maya had given her, she stealthily scaled the wall and entered the temple under the same moon she had seen for the fourth time.

The iron box that went missing during the day is now placed on the innermost altar in the temple. From the perspective of the other side, this iron box was handed to me during the day, and then I gave it to Cai, who then placed it on this altar.

Therefore, if your current time is relatively synchronized with it, you can browse it without being affected by anyone.

However, Cai also mentioned that she's a light sleeper, so she shouldn't make any sudden movements when turning the pages...

Xiangzi tiptoed into the offering hall and carefully took down the iron box that was placed in the center and surrounded by a pile of offerings.

Goodness, they've really been treated like a god.

Xiangzi hugged it, climbed over the wall again, and ran back to the large house where he was temporarily staying. He placed the iron box in front of his desk, then took off his protective suit and took a breath.

Although the protective suit can convert oxygen from this side, and the gas mask with a thick oxygen tank is much better in terms of mobility, it is still more stuffy than the gas mask. Wearing it for a long time is like being on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, causing some altitude sickness.

And it's easy to get covered in sweat, which is the most troublesome part.

Xiangzi pulled a set of pajamas out of his luggage and said to Mu, who had already taken a shower and was nestled in bed with her eyes wide open in a daze:

"Keep an eye on that metal box for me, I'm going to take a shower first."

Mu nodded, and Xiangzi finally felt relieved and went in to take a bath.

The moment the bathroom door closed, Mu jumped out of bed and opened the metal box containing the laptop.

The laptop key was on the table, and Mu opened it easily.

She opened the notebook and immediately saw the words on the title page.

Just then, she felt a weight on her shoulder. Mu looked up and saw Delete jump onto her shoulder as well.

"Haven't you seen it?" Delete asked.

Mu shook his head.

At this moment, the sound of splashing water came from the bathroom—given the limited water resources, Xiangzi didn't want to waste water by taking a shower, so wiping himself down and then taking a bath (in the hot water that had been soaked) became the best option.

But taking a bath also means that Xiangzi won't be out for a while.

Mu had more time to look through the notebook that contained a lot of important information.

She quickly flipped through a few pages, finally stopping at a page with a simple double-page spread drawing. The drawing depicted...

======================

An egg-shaped object, white and yellow in color, was placed in the very center of the empty room.

The egg is located in a mysterious base near the abandoned church in the suburbs of Kamahama, where Mami and Medea had spoken.

On the railway from Kamihama to Mitakihara, turn a corner onto an abandoned railway line. At the end of the railway is this abandoned base that once served as a secret military base.

This military base is now the stronghold of the eulogists, possessing the largest and most extensive passage to the other side.

This enormous egg-shaped object seemed to be alive, with yellow ribbons wrapped around its pure white shell, pulsating from time to time like blood vessels, accompanying the shrinking of the entire egg—or rather, the beating of a heart.

The magical girls responsible for guarding the monster often have to be replaced in less than a day, because anyone with a weak mentality cannot endure the situation in front of such a monster.

At that moment, a magical girl with yellow hair and wearing a military cap walked in.

"How is the Holy Maiden?" she asked.

"No, no... nothing has changed, Lady Gray," the magical girl on guard said weakly.

"No change?" The magical girl in the military cap grinned, looked up at the egg that was beating like a heart, and shouted, "Hey, that day is in two days, are you still planning to sleep?!"

"..."

The egg's pulsation seemed to pause for a moment, and then a sound that no human could make came from the egg.

Alina?

"ah--!"

The magical girl guarding the egg plopped down on the ground, her pupils trembling as she stared at the egg that had suddenly made a sound.

That language is no longer a human language.

What comes out of the egg is witch's language, which only witches can speak!

“Yes, it is me.” The magical girl named Alina took off her military cap and bowed deeply to the egg. “Your most loyal servant, Alina Grey.”

Why...why are you here...and where am I...?

“Your Holiness, you are now on your way back to June 1st, the day you set for the resurrection of the witch ‘Forgotten Shore’.”

Alina's grin almost reached her ears as she looked up at Mami with a beaming smile, not at all like a superior and subordinate.

She tilted her head back and shouted at the top of her lungs towards the enormous egg:

"It was the day you led us, led the world, toward the most perfect 'justice'."

"Your Holiness, how can you greet the most perfect justice in such an appearance?"

What do I look like now?

To answer Mami's question, Alina took a mirror from the Soul Gem and placed it in front of the egg.

====================

"what is this?"

The page laid out in front of Xiangzi was the one with the huge egg drawn on it.

Mu had already curled up in bed and fallen asleep. Based on trust, Xiangzi didn't notice that she had flipped through his notebook, and Delete, the only one who knew, didn't say anything either.

“Just turn the page and you’ll find out it’s the Flower Witch’s egg.” Delete wagged its tail beside Xiangzi. “Why are you asking me about something like this?”