A touch of brilliance adorned the sky; the sun could be seen slowly rising in the inky blackness. Perhaps due to the long-awaited battle, Time eventually drifted into a dream. The dream was still that familiar scene: a void space, pitch black, where he couldn't see his outstretched hand. He could feel his body moving. Was this a dream? Time had been questioning this for many years.
A faint speck of light, like the dawn's first ray, struck Time's face. He had no choice but to advance towards the light. Time could feel his steps growing heavier with each forward movement. He reached out and grasped the light. The dreamscape flickered, revealing the battlefield from three years ago.
He frantically used Time Magic: Reversal on the fallen Magical Girl. He had known all along that his Time Magic could not bring back lost lives; it could only reassemble a mangled corpse into a complete one. It looked alive, but in reality, it was just an empty shell.
This was the first time Time had felt so utterly powerless since becoming a Magical Girl. Time's heart crumbled little by little.
Domain Expansion: Reincarnation Realm of Spacetime Intertwined.
Li Yu unleashed her strongest domain, dragging the World-Destroying Calamity Beast into it. She decided to face this unkillable monster alone.
Swords clashed. Li Yu used everything she had learned, wielding Magical Armaments imbued with Space and Time Magic. She slashed at the Disaster Beast's body again and again. Space Magic allowed Li Yu to easily cut through the Disaster Beast's skin, and Time Magic kept the wounds perpetually at their most severe state. The Disaster Beast, however, wasn't just a punching bag for Li Yu. Every attack from the Disaster Beast landed squarely on Li Yu's body. Trading blows, attacking without defense—this was Li Yu's fighting style.
Time and again, she was killed, blown apart—literally blown apart—by the Disaster Beast. Yet, Li Yu couldn't die. Space Magic solidified her soul, and Time Magic rewound her body, reassembling her again and again.
To outsiders, the domain's expansion and dissipation seemed to happen in an instant. No one knew what transpired within. They only saw a blood-soaked figure standing in the center of the domain. It was Li Yu, her pure white gown stained crimson. The blood-red girl, holding two swords, knelt on the ground, her eyes vacant... "Why... why..."
"Why won't you accept..."
A hollow voice appeared in the dream.
"Ugh ah!!!!"
Time woke with a start from his dream, sitting up in bed, taking a deep breath. His clothes were soaked with cold sweat.
Time sneered, "As expected... it's still like this..."
He got up, seeing the sunlight stream through the curtains onto his desk. Time picked up a bottle of mineral water and drank it all, instantly feeling alive. It was already morning. Time changed his clothes, put on slippers, and prepared to make breakfast in the kitchen.
Two glasses of milk, two hand-held pancakes with egg and ham sausage—one for himself, one for his younger sister. It had been this way for three years.
His sister's door opened, and a tousle-haired girl in light blue pajamas emerged.
"Breakfast is ready, come eat."
"Mm."
Shi Yu changed her clothes, washed up, and finished breakfast, then prepared to change shoes and leave.
"Isn't today Saturday? Why do you still have class?" Time asked, watching his sister put on her shoes.
"The previous disaster caused classes to be suspended, so we have to make it up on the weekend." The girl finished putting on her shoes and left.
---
Shi Yu arrived at the Bureau and first went to the medical department to check on Chi Hong's condition.
"I'm fine, hehe," Chi Hong said, scratching her head and smiling at Shi Yu who had walked in. "The doctor said I'll be good as new in no time."
Shi Yu sat by the hospital bed, picked up an apple, and began to peel it. "Don't you think we're still too weak?"
"Are we? We held off a City-Hating Class Disaster Beast for so long. I don't think we're weak, do you?"
Seeing Chi Hong's carefree attitude, Shi Yu also smiled. She finished peeling the apple, sliced it, and placed the pieces on the cabinet beside the hospital bed.
"I'm going to train now. Get well soon." Shi Yu said, then turned to leave the room.
Chi Hong watched Shi Yu's departing back. No matter how carefree she was, she could still discern the unwilling emotion in the girl's retreating figure.
Shi Yu exited the room and walked towards the elevator. After entering the elevator, she encountered Director Bai.
"Sister Bai, is Senior coming today?" Shi Yu couldn't help but ask when she saw Director Bai.
"She'll be here today, but it's uncertain about the future."
"Is that so..."
Shi Yu entered the training room and, sure enough, saw a black and white figure.
"Senior?"
Li Yu turned and nodded slightly towards Shi Yu. "It's me. Come here, I have something I want to tell you."
Shi Yu approached and saw the Senior's captivating face. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she actually saw something of her workaholic brother in the Senior?
"Do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Li Yu pulled down her hood, obscuring her face. "Have you truly made your choice?"
Shi Yu nodded, her face resolute. "I remember. This is the choice I've made. I will walk this path because... I have someone I want to protect."
"Then I won't try to dissuade you anymore. I will be leaving after today, so train with me today."
Bai Baihe, slightly surprised, interrupted their conversation. "Xiao Shi Yu, please go to the training room first. Sister and Senior have something to discuss, okay?"
Although Shi Yu was a little puzzled, she still said, "Ah? Oh, okay. I'll go ahead then."
Bai Baihe turned to Li Yu. "You're not going to persuade her to give up?"
Li Yu watched her sister leave. "She's grown up. Since she's made her choice, there's no need for me to keep stopping her. I'll teach her everything I can." Li Yu said, taking out a notebook.
"This is my old training diary. Give it to her after I leave." Li Yu handed the notebook to Bai Baihe.
After speaking, Li Yu prepared to go to the training room.
"Oh, and please take good care of her for me."
"I will, rest assured."
---
Inside the training room.
Li Yu entered and saw her sister had already entered her transformed state: a red and white evening gown, predominantly white, with red streaks in her waterfall-like hair cascading down her back. "Cough cough."
"Senior, you're here," Shi Yu turned.
This was the first time Li Yu had so clearly seen her sister in her transformed state. Li Yu's first reaction was that her sister had truly grown up, no longer the little girl who used to follow behind her.
"Senior?" Shi Yu prompted, seeing the Senior in a daze.
"Ah, yes, I'm here." Li Yu snapped back to reality.
Li Yu collected her thoughts and asked, "Do you know what a Magical Girl's magic comes from?"
Shi Yu pondered for a moment. "The Magic Heart?"
"Yes, but not entirely."
"The Magic Heart merely awakened your magic, but your true magic comes from within your heart." A Magical Girl's magic is awakened by the Magic Heart, but her power stems from her own conviction. This is an idealistic power; when you have a goal, something you wish to protect, this power will be infinitely amplified.
"Try to circulate magic throughout your entire body. The circulation and consumption of magic will keep your body young and make your magic stronger. This is also the main reason why Magical Girls have a longer lifespan than ordinary people."
"In our time, there were no mentors. Every Magical Girl carved out her own path. The method I chose was to break before building. Each time my magic was depleted, my magic source grew larger. Of course, this isn't suitable for most Magical Girls."
"So, I want you to feel the limits of your own magic. Only by feeling your limits can you unleash greater power."
"Circulating magic throughout your body is also a way to resist pollution erosion in battle. I believe Director Bai has already told you what happens if you're eroded by pollution, right?"
Shi Yu listened to Senior's guidance, slowly falling into thought. Before, she had only released magic and used spells, never considering circulating magic within herself. As for pollution erosion, she had heard Director Bai mention it when she first became a Magical Girl: if the erosion reached a certain point and her spirit couldn't bear it, she would fall into becoming a Witch.
Li Yu took her sister's hand. "This path is extremely difficult, not just the superficial glamour. You already know the consequences, yet you resolutely embark on this path. I understand that you need to define yourself, define your inner self. Is this path truly what you want to walk? Is becoming a Magical Girl truly your dream? I heard from your spirit that your potential is immense, but that doesn't mean you won't encounter danger. So, have you truly thought it through?"
"Senior, I understand everything you've said. Becoming a Magical Girl is my own choice. I have people I want to protect and must protect."
"I understand. Then go ahead and do it with confidence. If the sky falls, we old Seniors will hold it up for you."
Time passed quickly; the day was soon over. Li Yu left early in the afternoon, and Shi Yu also received the notebook from Sister Bai.
"Xiao Shi Yu, this was left for you by that Senior. It contains various systems related to Magical Girls, and your Mirror Magic is also recorded within. This is her gift to you."
Shi Yu took the notebook. The leather cover looked very old, but there were no signs of damage, indicating that the Senior had preserved the notebook very well.
Who exactly was Senior? This question took root in Shi Yu's heart. Why was Senior so good to her? Why did she feel a sense of familiarity from Senior?
"Sister Bai, can you tell me about Senior? I don't know why, but I really want to know more about Senior..."
A surprised expression appeared on Bai Baihe's face, but it vanished in an instant, returning to calm.
This little girl is so clever, she sensed something so quickly? It just goes to show they're sisters.
"Do you really want to know? Her story might be quite a blow to you, you know?"
"I do."
---
(PS: Adding a setting. Disaster Beast classifications are: Mad Demon, Destruction, City-Hating, Forbidden Object, Natural Disaster, World-Destroying. Magical Girl ranks are: Candlelight, Starlight, Bright Moon, Eternal Sun, Heavenly Firmament.)