Chapter 155 : The World of Stars and Humans (3)

[This can’t be… th-this.]

[This is the reality of what you called fate. It seems to determine everything, but it’s surprisingly fragile.]

[Fate is not something that changes!!]

[No, it changes.]

The demons that devoured countless souls were stopped by the magical girls’ counterattack through regression.

I approached the Magical Girl of [Stars]… Nyx, faster than anyone without giving her a chance to use a miracle.

The perfect ending she tried to reach through regression.

The Magical Girl of [Stars] whose every move was blocked.

Nyx, who opened a dimension connected to the throne of nothingness using fragments of the three goddesses as a last struggle, was just sitting on the ground. She, who was only allowed to exist from a predetermined future, was slowly losing her divinity.

Though I poured the unreasonable miracles we had experienced so far onto those representing the will of stars, somehow I didn’t feel very satisfied.

‘Now you’ll finally listen.’

The will of stars, having lost all its minions, was writhing and suffering in countless repeated regressions. The flow of stars was also distorted due to the numerous miracles used by me and Nyx. That’s why it tried to recover its wounds by endlessly absorbing chaos from the opened gate of destruction.

‘The connection is too strong to close the gate.’

To shout “We won!” and end it… too many things maintaining the foundation of this world have been broken.

I looked up at the gate of destruction connected to the throne of nothingness.

The dimension that was this star’s predetermined future, which Nyx had crossed over.

The gate of chaos.

It was still spewing massive chaotic energy without closing, even though we had changed fate with our hands. If we’re not careful, a second Nyx or chaotic beings might be born, turning this world into endless chaos once again.

[I… I can only exist in chaos.]

[Then go back to the era of destruction.]

[…]

[Can’t you go?]

[…]

[Whatever you’ve done, I’ve blocked it all, and whatever you’re thinking of doing, I can block it all. So just disappear from this world without caring.]

[Having received memories from this dimension, I’ve become a foreign substance and can’t return.]

[Yes, that’s why you tried to turn this star into chaos.]

[…W-Why don’t you seal me right away?]

[Did I seal you when you regressed?]

Nyx quietly nodded.

With even the last miracle of regression blocked, she was despairing over what would happen to her from now on.

‘Haah… these fake gods are all timid and petty.’

Just like me.

Probably because they are beings originating from human hearts.

Because they are beings born from receiving human hearts as the largest fragments that fell from the star, they only have distorted and biased emotions they watched according to the era they lived in.

Nyx, born in the era when humans were extinct, is the most biased towards the star’s recovery among them.

I answered Nyx’s words.

[Then it was probably because I wasn’t confident I could block everything of yours.]

[Now…]

[I’m not afraid of the will of stars or you at all. You fake gods.]

[…]

[Do you want the star’s wounds to heal?]

[…Yes.]

The sin created by the first humans.

As the flow of this star twisted, the history of modern humans as we know it began, and fake divinities influenced by human hearts changed according to the times within it, eventually becoming chaos trying to end everything and return.

The wound that could originally be sealed through human extinction was shaking and refusing to be sealed due to the opened gate of destruction and endlessly consumed miracles. It was clear that the longer the gate connected to a future that shouldn’t exist continued, the worse influence it would have on this world.

Is this how someone feels when they have to take away spoons in front of a possessed person?

[…]

In fact, one method existed.

A way to completely end the era of stars and gods, seal the star’s wounds, and end the appearance of demons.

To block the wound with the power of a massive world, allowing the connection with the gate of destruction to be cut off. And then wait until the flow of stars stabilizes and recovers.

The problem is… only I can do it.

The three goddesses have long been suppressed by Nyx and sealed as star fragments.

Nyx is a god biased towards chaos, so she might accidentally make the gate of destruction go out of control.

And it will probably require an eternal time that can’t be measured by human years, I guarantee.

I can’t go home if I try to sort out this chaos.

I can’t leave this star.

[…]

I still can’t forget the sight of mother beyond the gate I saw in my first meeting with Nyx.

Yuki, who had completely landed the ark on the moon, approached me as I was pondering this.

The other magical girls were finishing preparations to seal the throne of nothingness where all gates were closed, as planned.

“Hikari.”

[Yuki.]

“That… person.”

[Yeah.]

The Magical Girl of [Stars].

A goddess born in the time of destruction you returned from.

“…I see. You who received our memories and were born.”

[…]

Memories of destruction. Fragments of magical girls Erebos salvaged from chaos.

Somehow, recalling those, a way to use this troublemaker without sealing her came to mind.

[Nyx, do you want to return to this star’s flow?]

[It’s impossible. I can’t exist without complete chaos. Just like the three goddesses at the boundary of dimensions…]

[Give me the memories of magical girls that form the basis of your personality.]

[What?]

[Then you’ll return to being a pure glass star. I’ll send you back in that state.]

[…]

The loss of personality is no different from losing existence entirely from a human perspective, but from the star’s perspective, it’s just a change of state. I proposed to her to return her existence and go back to her original dimension as an inanimate object.

[B-But the will of stars…]

[I’ll heal it.]

Ah, I said it.

At the same time, I unconsciously confirmed that my resolve was already set.

The gate Nyx showed me seeming like the only remaining method was probably because my vision had narrowed due to despair, in retrospect.

‘I can find a way. We can move towards a better future.’

We will definitely become happy.

Didn’t we decide to believe so?

I will find a way to return to mother while healing the star’s wounds for this world.

[…Alright.]

Perhaps accepting the sincerity felt from my words, Nyx slowly returned to chaotic starlight and gave up on the help the will of stars had requested. Golden energy flowed out of her body and into my hands, and within it were engraved memories experienced by thousands of magical girls who lived in the destroyed world.

Memories of girls dragged into this world by Erebos.

Perhaps the true protagonists of <Magical Girl HAZARD>.

I preciously embraced their memories. Within them, the flame of eternal return that Yuki had abandoned was also alive and breathing.

‘I’ll put you at ease. Wait.’

Though releasing them into the world would only bring confusion because there are girls living in the current era, I will definitely find a perfect ending so that they too can be rewarded someday.

Because I decided so.

Because I promised to restore what was unfairly taken from god more perfectly than anyone.

Clink

[So this is Nyx.]

“A glass star of chaos.”

As I and Yuki muttered, Nyx’s essence was a glass star created by the intertwining of starlight left behind by countless magical girls and chaos.

A chaotic color as if all kinds of paint were poured in.

The color possessed by a divinity that tried to open the era of stars at the boundary of stars and humans was as alien as that thought.

[Nyx, go back.]

I picked it up and threw it towards the gate of destruction that was still open.

Whoosh

Like garbage returning to a trash can.

Nyx returned to her original dimension in an utterly futile way.

The will of stars, which had been eavesdropping on our conversation, was endlessly shaking in the depths of the moon, watching all this.

Now it’s time to fix this broken world and end the era of stars.

[…]

“…”

Yuki and I looked into the gate of destruction silently for a while.

For Yuki, the familiar sky of destruction she had once seen.

For me, the last thing I have to do from now on.

We were accepting the final moment with different thoughts.

“Now… it’s over.”

[Yeah.]

“Are you going back?”

[No.]

“What?!”

Yuki looked at me, startled.

In those shaking eyes, numerous resolutions were shaking together.

My hero

My idol

My magical girl

The real magical girl

[…]

I looked at Yuki’s surprised face for a moment, as it was also incomparably noble.

Probably because I won’t see it for a long time.

[I can’t go back right away. I have to fix this star from now on.]

“Fix… it?”

[Yeah, to completely close the gate of destruction and seal the throne of nothingness, someone has to seal it in the flow of stars until the wound heals.]

“Th-That’s… like.”

Being sealed.

But Yuki seemed to swallow those words, feeling like she really wouldn’t see me forever if she uttered them.

She seemed to feel guilty at the thought that only I would be bound on the tomorrow that seemed like it would be the most brilliant and perfect.

[Yuki, you promised me, right?]

“Pro…mise.”

[Until I return to my original world and come back, you’d become an excellent magical girl who can endure…]

“…That we’d definitely meet again.”

As soon as we said those words, we hugged each other again like back then.

Softness

Warmth

Coziness

Memories

Faith

Dreams

What should we call that sensation that seems to be made only of the kindest things in this world?

With this feeling, I felt like I could accomplish the impossible task of sealing the star’s wounds, returning to mother, and coming back to Yuki again.

Yuki looked at me with tears in her eyes in my arms.

The cover of <Magical Girl HAZARD> Volume 5.

My favorite novel.

It resembled that cover, but those eyes were looking at me, not emptiness or destruction.

The protagonist of the story I loved most was looking at me.

Tears

Red ribbon

Short hair swaying.

A warm scent.

A scent resembling acacia.

The scent from a corner of rabbit pajamas.

Two hands held in an old small room.

Warm

Flame

She whispered something in my ear.

[…Yeah.]

I could only nod to those words, because to answer that whisper, I had to solve all the difficult tasks and be in a completely free state.

[Hope] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Flow of All Things

Finally, to change this world, I dyed my whole body in white light.

Time

Space

Fate

Dreams

To return them all to you.

To regain my perfect ending.

The barren lunar surface was filling with white flashes.

Seeing that sight and sensing something, the companions all rushed over with urgent faces.

“Leader?!”

“Hikari-chan!!”

“Hikari-san!!”

I engraved greetings on their glass stars so they could hear anytime.

-Ichika, being able to save you at the laboratory that day is my great pride.

-Hana, thank you for becoming my friend. Because of you, my weak self could change.

-Sumire, thank you for always believing in my words and following me, I’ll remember the strength of a noble magical girl.

-Hecate, I hope you’ll live for your own happiness now, not orders. You can do it now.

To Chen Lihua, to Li Meilin, to Laura, to Kang Dorim, to Park Saebyeok, to Himari, to Chloe, to Haruko, to Li Na, to Ella, to Hong Nayeon, to Alisa, to Cho Yeonseo, to Iris…

As I left farewell messages to countless magical girls.

I felt responses to my words from all over the star turning blue after defeating demons. Numerous colored starlights were responding beyond fate threads.

Finally, I looked up at this star. Though clearly far away, magical girls from all over the star showed their presence through sparkles by holding up glass stars.

With the remnants of the era of destruction – memories of destruction and fragments of three goddesses – in my arms.

I entered the star’s wound.

As 10 Galateas followed into the golden will deep in the moon.

One by one

One by one

One by one

They created a white barrier.

And curled up on it, waiting for the day I would leave someday as I fell asleep.

Thus, under the seal blocked by all Galateas.

In the deepest part of the moon.

I faced the will of stars.

“Let’s end it, the era of stars.”