Magical Girls, when you hear that word. You often attribute it to a young girl with a belief so pure, a will so strong, a heart so kind.
This is why we had Sailor Moon—it taught us to value friendship, that goodness always prevails!
However, that truly isn't the case.
See a magical girl?
It wasn't meant to be a symbol.
Pffft..it was just a glamorous title to be a pawn.
That is what I, Lya, Dictate after all.
When I first stumbled upon Earth, it was striving even before my intervention.
It made it hard for a #^%$^$@ like me to integrate myself with them.
So I needed to find a way.
A way for me to be needed.
For me to be seen as a God.
So I meddled with my nemesis, those..pesky void creatures, and taunted them—dropping my scent on Earth.
Seeing the chaos unfold as I flew in space and saw people getting eaten,
people crying "please! I have a daughter!"
Ahh..the screams at those times. I remember them clearly—it made me want to last that era forever.
But alas, in order to become revered, one must give in order to take.
So I gave humanity a chance just when they were on the brink of death.
Approached a random girl I found. Until eventually, the people had the magical girls they knew.
I do admit, it was fun at first. Watching these girls fight for survival, to see them grow and become attached with one another.
But it was just..fun.
It wasn't the same level as seeing families torn apart.
Not the same level as a guttural scream.
Not the same as death throes.
So when the youmas decreased, and threats loomed no longer—
Once the high and mighty magical girls got the taste of fame, admiration..
I cut them off. I fired them.
Isn't it fun?
To tend to your garden, then snip the most pretty rose?
They say God picks the most beautiful flowers.
I myself think that way.
Seeing Stella Comet's distraught face when she was put down was thrilling.
Nova Eclipse simply accepted it—we had a transactional relationship to begin with. But it was quite amusing how she accepted my contract so easily. After all, I could have not given her a condition that shaves off her lifespan, but I guess she just wants to die so bad lol
Luna Star felt confused at first but also accepted that things changed.
While Aurora Sparkle—she cried for nights, I've heard. But I didn't care. The world no longer needed them. No, I no longer needed them.
The world now knows that I grant them power. The current president bows down to me.
Who should I ever fear?
So I began searching for new magical girls—not a symbol of hope like last time. Purely a cosmetic. A brand.
I initially wanted to ask the old magical girls, but I already threw them away—ah. But I kept hearing a girl's name from Stella Commet and Nova Eclipse.
Shizuka, was it?
Right.
I heard she had good qualities.
So I tracked her down.
Saw her, and she didn't look bad. Quite the looker.
Excellent grades, top of her class and school, been on the news for some awards from competitions, kind, upheld the values the old magical girls had.
But that was it.
She was not what I was looking for.
Hard to corrupt. Too good for her own good.
So even if I heard her wishes, her begs for mercy to become a magical girl, I wouldn't.
Because I love hearing her cries the most.
But eventually, she stopped begging.
I don't know what happened, but I could no longer hear her voice.
I waited for days, weeks—but those sweet cries didn't return.
. . .
. .
.
Eventually, I found myself at a fansign event.
As if time was merciless. Even to me.
"Chie, Airi, we're almost done here."
I floated toward the two girls. The line that had been long since morning now had little over five people.
Just in time, as I had scheduled.
"Yes Lya!" x2
The two girls responded in unison.
Recently, these two had been acting strange. So I scheduled them separate events from the others so they could focus.
I smiled in satisfaction as I watched them.
But—
Suddenly it felt cold. Even with my power, I felt chills. Something I could not describe.
Even Chie began looking around nervously.
Luckily, the people at this stadium hadn't noticed it yet.
But to me and Chie—both sensitive to energies—we could practically feel alarms blaring everywhere, not knowing where the danger was coming from.
Then, the ground began to rumble.
"Guards! Evacuate the citizens!"
Immediately I flew over to the security guards.
Chie and Airi helped evacuate the fans out of the building, and when we got out, everyone halted.
Some opened their mouths.
Some had their legs give out.
A black pillar erupting, tearing through the sky.
It felt nothing but ominous. The sky darkened as if an eclipse was about to occur.
I was out of words.
"Lya, what is… that?"
When I looked at Airi, my mouth opened and closed. Unable to respond.
"I don't know," I said with certainty.
But even so, this felt familiar. Too familiar that it's scary.
「It couldn't be possible… right?」
I could only doubt in my mind.