Miracles, Stars, and When They Shine

“It’s very simple ♪ All you need is a heart that never gives up, and a belief in miracles.

And little Alice, you already possess both of these~”

Hearing Edenia say this, Alice still didn’t quite understand what she meant.

What did those two things have to do with escaping this place?

Even if she believed a miracle would come, and even if she refused to give up on escaping, mere belief couldn’t get her out of this space.

In response, Edenia closed her eyes, and her body began to radiate a light of pink and gold interwoven.

Very soon, that light enveloped everyone trapped here.

Then, one by one, they ceased falling.

A smooth barrier of pink and gold appeared beneath them all, holding them in the air.

As her feet touched something solid, Alice’s feeling of endless falling vanished.

She stood firmly on the barrier, while everyone else remained unconscious, lying quietly without moving.

“The Pit of Naraku—” Edenia lifted her gaze toward the sky.

“It is a punishment that gives sinners endless falling, a method used to chastise the most wicked criminals.”

Her tone was no longer playfully coy, but solemn and serious.

And yet, her voice still carried a sweetness that comforted the heart.

“The Pit of Naraku?”

Alice repeated the phrase in puzzlement, staring at Edenia who had suddenly changed demeanor.

“That’s right ♪ This place exists to punish sinners, and the Worm of Naraku is simply the vessel tasked with finding those who are guilty~”

Edenia turned her gaze back to Alice, her voice once again returning to that familiar softness.

“So you’re saying… we’re all sinners?”

Even after hearing the explanation, Alice still couldn’t understand and asked in confusion.

Edenia shook her head.

She reached out, taking Alice’s hand in her own, and spoke with gentle warmth.

“No, little Alice. Neither you nor anyone here has ever been a sinner.

So there is no need for judgment—whether by anyone or by any other being.

Everyone is free.

Everyone has their own choices.

To cry, to laugh, to feel joy, to feel sadness, to believe in faint hopes, to trust in the coming of miracles, to build love through love itself.

Lives so lovely, so kind, and so lovable—the very fact that they exist is already an endlessly prolonged miracle.

So how could such wonderful people possibly be sinners?”

As Alice listened, she couldn’t help but feel as if Edenia were like an elder boasting to others about how excellent her children were.

Every word was full of praise and affection.

“Little Eden…”

Alice opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came.

Suddenly, she felt that the dreamlike girl before her was giving her a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before.

It was something she didn’t even have words for—something her voice could not express.

It froze her where she stood, leaving her speechless.

“Don’t worry ♪ My little Alice.

Just as I said before—I am your pink lady, always smiling as I guard you by your side.

Your faith and determination successfully summoned me here.

That means the time to fight back has come.

I will lend you my strength.

Together, let us gather everyone’s power and create an all-powerful miracle.

Let us overturn the fate of being called sinners and escape from here~”

Edenia smiled as she spoke.

From her body, streams of pink light flowed outward into the unconscious people nearby.

Those lying quietly began to stir, showing signs of waking.

Alice, stunned, opened her mouth in shock.

But before she could even react to Edenia’s vast magic, a golden arrow suddenly descended from the sky, piercing the ground between her and Edenia.

At once, iridescent currents burst outward from around the arrow.

The winds spun so wildly that Alice couldn’t keep her eyes open.

A few seconds later, the turbulence stilled.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw a sword embedded in the ground.

Its blade was made of golden light.

Its hilt was deep blue, carved with patterns of stars.

And on either side of the hilt were two crystalline flowers of pink and violet.

From the sword before her, Alice could feel a power beyond compare.

Instinctively, she reached out her hand toward the hilt and grasped it.

In that instant, her vision shifted.

Suddenly she was standing within a vast cosmos.

Countless planets orbited around her, and the whole universe glittered with light.

“Now then ♪ Let’s begin our miracle~”

Edenia’s voice echoed throughout the cosmos.

As her voice resounded, the planets surrounding Alice began to shrink and line up, arranging themselves before her.

The sound of forging metal rang out, and the planets started to shine with white light.

That light fused together, forming a long beam of radiance.

The beam’s shape slowly transformed, taking on the form of a sword before her eyes.

So awestruck was Alice by this spectacle that she completely forgot she could even move.

Her body acted on its own, instinctively raising her delicate, slender hand to grasp the radiant sword formed from planets.

The light began to fade.

And without realizing it, she had already drawn the sword that had once been embedded in the ground.

The scene of the cosmos dissolved, and Alice’s vision returned to where it had begun.

“What… was that just now?”

Still dazed, Alice turned to Edenia and asked.

Edenia only smiled faintly.

She extended a finger and pressed it against Alice’s chest, saying playfully,

“My little Alice ♪ Recall carefully.

You already know the truth about it now, don’t you~?”

As she said this, a new memory—one Alice had never had before—flashed in her mind.

“The Holy Sword of the Stars… the Miracle Bearer…?”

Yes.

This sword was called the Holy Sword of the Stars.

It was a cosmic blade forged by an unknown existence, made from compressed planets infused with the energy of nebulae.

It only appeared to those who truly brought forth the descent of a miracle.

And its condition of use was the approval of a certain being.

At this moment, Alice already met both conditions.

“The power of miracles is infinite.

And when miracle bearers gather together, no obstacle will be too great to overcome.

Look, little Alice ♪

Your miracles have already arrived~”

Edenia extended her hand toward the space behind Alice.

There, one by one, the once-unconscious people were rising to their feet.

And in that instant, the starry sky above them grew even more brilliant.