Thirty-five years old.
Hong Siyu had spent the past two years in a daze.
——“What’s up with you today?”
One night at a restaurant, the man sitting across from her looked at her strangely and asked, “You’re rambling. Did you have a drink before coming?”
Rambling, huh... makes sense.
She smiled bitterly to herself.
Because whenever she tried to tell him the truth, every vocal organ in her body would shut down, unable to produce a single sound.
Her body no longer felt like her own. Her mind flickered between clarity and fog. Even when she was lucid, her every move felt like it was controlled—like a machine with hidden restrictions, constantly hindered.
She couldn’t speak forbidden truths. She’d instinctively forget any prohibited thoughts. Most of the ti, she didn’t even know what she was doing.
Was she still human? She honestly didn’t know anymore.
But she had to keep existing like this. She had to hold on. Because there was still so much she needed to tell the man in front of her.
So she forced a smile, picked up her wine glass, and offered it across the table.
“The Kingdom released a new Magical Girl Flower Card ranking list last month—two new rookies made the cut.”
What she really wanted to say was: Margaret made it. She’s a Flower Card now. Are you really okay giving up your magical power for good?
“What’s the point of talking about this now?” the man replied, clearly uninterested.
“Is it aningless to care about your juniors?”
What she actually ant was: Look at a little closer. Can’t you tell sothing’s off?
“It has nothing to do with anymore. Why would I care?”
He was still dodging.
“You can’t lie to soone who knows you. You really think you’re out of this? Co on, you were—”
You were honored as a Lifeti Magical Girl. You still have the power to return.
Hong Siyu lowered her eyes and thought quietly.
There was so much she wanted to tell him, but she couldn’t. So much she needed to ask of him, but couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Over the past two years, she’d hinted countless tis, taken roundabout approaches, but his stance was always clear: he didn’t want anything more to do with magical girl business.
He never gave a reason, but she could see it in his expression—it wasn’t just emotion. He had deeper reasons.
And maybe, from her position, from her identity, there was nothing she could say that would truly move him. To him, she was just a forr school acquaintance, a teammate he’d worked with for half a year. Her words held no weight.
But they were out of ti.
Black Cinders Dawn was moving faster and hitting more cities in Donghua Province. If things kept going like this, there would be no more chances.
Which ant... only one option remained.
She closed her eyes and quietly said “I’m sorry” in her heart.
Maybe it was underhanded. But if this could bring back the Magical Girl she rembered, she was willing to sink a little lower.
——“The rookie Magical Girl from Fangting City? We’ve got a line to her now. So? Doesn’t that concern you?”
...
...
Black Cinders Dawn was planning to keep hunting Magical Girls in Fangting City—to snuff out the new one too, the one with the alias White Rose, before she could even bloom.
Hong Siyu had known about this for a while.
But she couldn’t tell Lin Yun, not even subtly hint at it, because it was impossible to go against Mors's will. Lower-tier Ravagers couldn't disobey higher-tier ones. That was the iron law.
Still, she never intended to directly tell Lin Yun anything.
She just kept waiting, lost in her stupor, until one day Black Cinders Dawn set a plan in motion: disguise an attack as a typical Ravager incident that night, and strike at the girl known as White Rose.
Hong Siyu snapped out of her fog for a brief mont of clarity.
Magical Girl White Rose—Lin Yun’s daughter, Lin Xiaolu.
This was the chance she’d been waiting for.
She couldn’t speak of what she knew, but that didn’t an there were no other ways. Mors thought she was fully under control, but she had found a thod to slip past that control.
That afternoon, she had a contact set up a brand-new SIM card. With it, she sneaked into a darkroom at the Counterasure Bureau. Inside a device, she found a purple cage.
A cage made of violet-black Magical Barriers and rune spells. Inside it was a frail little dog, clearly on its last legs. It should’ve had wings on its back, but all the feathers were gone—only bare flesh remained.
It was a fairy—the Seeder of Fangting City. Or rather, it was supposed to be. Its na was Nini.
Two years ago, Mors had assassinated Fangting City’s new Magical Girl and captured Nini, locking it up here.
Its feathers were valuable magical materials, so Mors had plucked them. Its magic, rare even in the Material World, was being drained. Two years had left this once-lively Seeder on the brink of death.
It lay limp in the cage, dull eyes reflecting the woman walking in, but without any reaction.
“You’re a Seeder, right?”
Hong Siyu said this with no further explanation, holding out the phone near the little dog-like fairy.
“That ans you should still be able to sense the Ravagers and Magical Girls in this city.”
Nini stared at her silently from inside the cage.
It could tell that this woman was a Ravager too, just wearing human skin. It had no reason to respond.
Hong Siyu didn’t mind the lack of cooperation. She nudged the phone closer.
“I’m not asking for anything. Just sense what you can, and when the ti’s right, pass the info to the person on the other end of the line.”
Still no response. Nini wasn’t going to obey an enemy.
They stared at each other for a mont. Then Hong Siyu rummaged in her pocket and pulled out so cookies and candy, sliding them through the bars.
“…What exactly are you trying to do?” Nini finally spoke, still wary.
“Ravagers can’t disobey higher orders. There are things I simply can’t do myself.”
Hong Siyu explained, “But my superior didn’t ban from eting a Seeder. Didn’t say I couldn’t... pass a little sothing along.”
“…Are you betraying your superior?”
Nini’s eyes shifted slightly. “Or is this just so act for my benefit?”
“Whatever it is, neither of us has any other options.”
Hong Siyu clenched the phone, voice low. “Keep going like this and within a year you’ll be drained dry and turned into that woman’s test subject. Might as well gamble on this call. It’s just one call—I’m not asking you to betray anyone.”
“Who’s on the other end?”
“An Inspector,” she whispered.
Nini froze, then seed to realize sothing, swallowing hard.
“What do you want to tell him?”
“Just tell him…”
Hong Siyu bit her lip, then slowly spoke two words: “Be careful.”
...
...
Everything after that didn’t need repeating.
Hong Siyu had done all she could. She had succeeded. The Magical Girl from her mories had returned. The mont she saw Veronica again, she knew her mission was complete.
As for Black Cinders Dawn’s plans, she had no way to stop them anymore.
Ever since she walked into the Bureau Director’s office at the Fangting City Counterasure Bureau, she had been a Ravager. She couldn’t disobey orders. Every little subversive act had already pushed the limits.
She chose to spend the Moon Festival night seeing the man she cared about one last ti. Then, she left, quietly waiting in the Ravager-infested shadows for her final transformation.
What she didn’t expect... was to see him again in her final monts.
She saw a Magical Girl in a dark blue dress stride into the Counterasure Bureau. Her expression was grim. Her steps, resolute. Charging in without hesitation.
Was this a dying illusion? Or fate’s final gift to soone as cursed as her?
Hong Siyu didn’t know. But it didn’t stop her from stepping out from the crowd of Ravagers and landing silently behind the Magical Girl, making one last request:
——Do it.
Then, her consciousness fell into darkness.
She was never a qualified Magical Girl. Hong Siyu had always known that.
Because from the very beginning, compared to the other children, her heart had been selfish. Weak.
While most girls beca Magical Girls full of courage and determination, fighting for the future of all, she had only sought her own happiness. She pursued the light of her companions, pushed forward trying to keep up. But when that light faded from her sight, when she lost her way, her journey ended.
Her resolve could only take her so far. That radiant light was never ant to stay with her forever.
Without light, without a future, she could go no further.
So maybe... this was the end.
Hong Siyu thought quietly, letting the darkness drown her.
An unqualified Magical Girl—ssing things up even after retirent. Maybe all of this was simply her punishnt.
If a soul still existed after death, what should she say to Aya when they t again?
Would Aya be disappointed in her?
But... was she still considered human anymore? She had turned into sothing like a Ravager—could soone like her really end up in the sa place as Magical Girls after death?
Hong Siyu felt her thoughts becoming more and more disjointed.
A thick darkness clung to her consciousness, dragging her downward into an endless abyss. Her groggy awareness froze as her mind slowed to a halt. Her final shred of clarity flickered like a candle in the wind, struggling to shine one last ti.
Sowhere in the void above, far, far away, she sensed a brilliant blue light beginning to blaze even brighter.
That was Veronica’s magic—the magic of a Magical Girl. And without a doubt, the mont it erupted, it would end her life.
“——”
But then, it felt like… soone was calling out to her.
Was it her? Her senior?
Hong Siyu thought, if she still had a body at this point, she might’ve genuinely smiled.
Even if she were to die as a Ravager, at least she hadn’t committed any atrocities. At least she was dying by the hand of the one she loved. That had to be the best ending she could ask for.
——“Hong Siyu!”
The voice was growing clearer—this ti, it rang out sharp and distinct in her ears.
That clarity brought her a brief flicker of awareness again.
Why could she still hear it?
She couldn’t help but wonder.
Was dying really this slow and painful? Even with all external senses cut off, was she still dood to hallucinations and delusions?
Enough. She didn’t want to keep going like this. She just wanted it to be over already.
She grumbled inwardly, half-resigned. But then, she felt a hand grasp hers.
A hand she wasn’t supposed to have anymore now held hers tightly—tangibly, undeniably.
Who was it?
She tried to open her eyes, but so unseen force held her still, gluing her in place.
——“Hong Siyu!”
The voice called again—this ti, even closer.
And as it echoed in her consciousness, that once-distant, dazzling blue light finally arrived—right in front of her.
She felt herself rising.
Lifted from the depths of darkness, pulled upward by an overwhelming force, rising toward a sky she thought she'd never reach again.
——“Hong Siyu!”
She heard it loud and clear—right by her ear.
And just like that, Hong Siyu’s eyes snapped open.
Sight, hearing, touch, taste—every sense that should’ve been long cut off surged back with vivid clarity. The world was real again, sharp and unmistakable.
She saw a familiar building, a familiar hall, familiar moonlight.
She was back in Fangting City’s Counterasure Bureau—the place where she had worked, not of her own will, for the past two years. Now it was reduced to ruins. Broken walls, cracked floors, shattered glass. She lay among the debris, bathed in the glow of a bright full moon overhead.
Her hand—was being tightly held by another.
Bathed in glowing blue magic, the petite girl before her was soaked in blood and gri of unknown origin. Her jewel-bright hair was dusted with ash. She looked utterly battered.
Blue light shimred in her eyes and at her fingertips. The Heartstone nestled beneath her neck pulsed with searing light. Even her hair sparkled with overflowing magic.
She looked like an angel fallen to earth, smiling strangely down at Hong Siyu.
Hong Siyu had never seen Veronica smile like that before.
“It’s okay now.”
Her voice was cool but gentle, and for so reason, even though she was smiling, tears shimred in the corners of her eyes. “Because a Magical Girl is here now.”
In her hand, she held a pair of small tailoring scissors.
Blue magic threads were wound around the scissors, their surface covered in intricate patterns—patterns that pulsed with the rhythm of magic.
No... they weren’t patterns.
Hong Siyu realized.
Those were cracks.
Instinctively, she raised her own hand. But what she saw wasn’t the grotesque limb of a Ravager—it was her own, pale from blood loss but unmistakably human.
She looked to the side. A massive moth-like Ravager lay beside her, chest split open, its insides hollow.
It looked like sothing had been dug out of it.
She couldn’t help but imagine what that ant.
“Senior,” she asked, unable to hold back, “what did you do?”
“I just did the normal thing—killed a Ravager,” Veronica said softly, setting the scissors down and gently pressing Hong Siyu’s hand back down. “Isn’t that what you asked to do?”
The answer left Hong Siyu stunned.
She stared at Veronica for a long mont, wanting to say, You’re joking even now? But when she opened her mouth, all that ca out was a sob, and then the tears flowed.
At first, silent tears slid down her cheeks. Then ca sniffles. And soon, she was choking back sobs, until she finally broke down, crying out loud:
“It was so scary, Senior! So dark, so painful, so terrifying—I was really, really scared!”
“Mm, I know.”
“I didn’t actually want to die, but I thought there was no hope left. I just didn’t want to leave you with too much guilt. I thought if I made it easier for you to finish things... But I really didn’t want to die!”
“Mm, I know.”
“I didn’t want to beco a Ravager either. I didn’t want to eat people, hurt people, hurt those kids… I thought if it ca to that, it’d be better for you to kill first...”
Like a child, Hong Siyu sobbed and poured her heart out. She kept crying until her tears dried up, her voice hoarse. Eventually, she fell quiet, voice soft and shaky as she mumbled:
“Senior... I love you.”
“Mm, I know.”
“Not as a friend—I an romantically.”
“Mm, I know that too.”
“Did you know I’ve actually had a crush on you since the second year of middle school?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“But you know, I’m thirty-five now. I’m not that pretty young girl anymore. I’ve gotten old, I turned into that disgusting monster… There’s no way you’d still like , right?”
She sniffled and forced a twisted smile. “I’m only confessing now because the mood fits. It’s the kind of confession that just causes trouble. Just ignore it, okay? Don’t respond.”
“...Hong Siyu.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to keep pretending to be Aya. You’re not her,” Veronica said gently.
Hong Siyu froze, staring at her face in silence for a mont.
“So you noticed after all,” she whispered, closing her eyes weakly. “And here I thought you were just that dense.”
“Hong Siyu.”
“What now?”
“Thank you—for helping realize sothing.” Veronica let go of her hand.
“What is it? Did you finally realize you can find a new start?”
“No.”
“Right, I an, soone like , this old—”
“No,” Veronica’s soft voice cut her off.
Sothing clicked in Hong Siyu’s mind. She opened her eyes again and looked carefully at Veronica. At every detail. Sohow, sothing about the Magical Girl in front of her felt… different.
“Senior…”
She was breathing shakily. Her voice trembled. “What did you do?”
Veronica didn’t answer. She quietly put away her scissors and stood.
And then, Hong Siyu saw what was behind her.
Countless threads of blue magic extended from Veronica’s back, connecting to the Ravagers on the ceiling. The glowing threads ford a vast, intricate web. Magic surged through them in waves, forming a glowing sea, or perhaps wings—spreading wide behind her.
The ends of those wings were tied to what were once human Ravagers. And now, those once-agitated monsters had gone still and peaceful, as if fallen into a beautiful dream, slumbering in total silence.
It was a spectacle so radiant and surreal that Hong Siyu couldn’t find words for it.
And yet... a deep sorrow blood within her.
Because she knew—this wasn’t sothing the Veronica she knew should be able to do.
“Don’t worry,” Veronica said calmly, as if reading her thoughts. “I haven’t used that move yet.”
“I’ve just... co to terms with things.”
“I used to think, maybe selfishly, maybe arrogantly, that I was the hero who saved everything. And heroes in stories—after they save the world, they get to retire. They get to live a quiet life with the one they love.”
“But this world isn’t a story. And I’m not a hero. I’m just a regular person who was lucky enough to be given power. And it just so happened that I saved a few people along the way.”
“I failed as a husband. Failed as a father. I couldn’t protect the woman I loved. My wife. And if things kept going the way they were… I wouldn’t be able to protect my daughter either. And if that happened, everything I’d done would’ve been aningless.”
“So at the very least, as long as I can still fight, I’ll be a proper Magical Girl.”
She looked at Hong Siyu with a smile that was bright as ever. “Magical Girls are supposed to bring hope. Bring miracles. Bring salvation. As long as a Magical Girl is here, darkness, despair, and suffering should be banished—wiped away.”
“Let be that kind of existence. As long as I can fight, I’ll make sure no evil can hide wherever my eyes can see. I’ll bring hope to all of you.”
“So… I’m sorry. I don’t dislike you, but I can’t let go of my past. I’ve chosen my future. And that probably ans... I can’t be yours.”
Hong Siyu knew—Veronica had made a choice.
Not just an emotional one regarding her, but sothing far more significant. A decision that would bring profound consequences. A decision that, once made, couldn’t be undone.
“Don’t do this.”
She tried weakly to speak, to rise and stop her, but only then realized she didn’t have the strength. She was too weak now. She couldn’t even stand.
“Get so rest. Sleep for a while.”
Veronica’s voice was soft as she spoke. The threads behind her stirred, lifting currents into the autumn night like a kingfisher spreading its wings.
In the ruined remains of the Counterasure Bureau, only the bare steel fras remained—like the bones of a great cage. But this cage no longer had a lock. Veronica unfurled her wings within it, lifted her gaze to the sky, and cried out—ready to fly once more.
——“When you wake up, it’ll be morning.”
User Comments
0 comments from readers