Epilogue- Want to Become Stronger (1)

Opening her eyes, she looked around.

Bai Mian found herself floating in an ocean of pure magic particles—dense, luminous, endless.

There was no smell. No temperature. No discomfort. She simply was, suspended in light.

She didn’t know how long she’d been here. Seconds? Centuries? Time had no meaning.

All life on this planet began in a primordial soup of organic matter. Now, Bai Mian felt as if she were submerged in that very soup—a deep, primal peace enveloping her.

No thoughts. No memories.

This was the origin and end of life—without process, without struggle.

Here, neither joy nor sorrow could exist.

Just close your eyes… let time pass… she thought.

But strangely, as she tried to surrender to nothingness, her mind grew unnaturally clear.

Scene after scene flashed before her—memories rushing by. Yet none held warmth or happiness.

One moment, she was a lonely student in wrinkled school uniform, cornered behind a classroom door, mocked by classmates.

The next, she stood in a midnight alley. Black-purple magic crackled around her right hand. Before her, a middle-aged man in a suit cowered on the ground, sobbing, begging for mercy.

Watching her own life from outside, Bai Mian first flinched—then felt bored. Why did I ever enjoy this? She couldn’t understand her past self.

To escape, she flipped through her memories faster. But it was all the same: pain, humiliation, revenge, cruelty—endless cycles of emptiness.

Had her short life truly left nothing worth remembering? No single moment of warmth, of love?

A crushing sadness welled up inside her.

“Today’s lunch is jam bread or meat floss sandwich. Bai Mian, which do you want?”

“Oh? Either’s fine with me.”

Suddenly, she snapped back.

She was on the rooftop of her beloved school building.

Under an endless blue sky, summer wind carried the scent of sunlight. Everything—the sky, her friend’s face—felt so tender, it made her want to cry.

“Huh? Bai Mian, what’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Seeing her friend suddenly tear up, You Xi panicked.

She reached out, gently placing a hand on Bai Mian’s forehead.

“Xiao Xi, I had a dream,” Bai Mian whispered, crying.

“I dreamed I became a monster. That I did terrible things—things that disappointed you.”

“At first, I just wanted revenge. To punish the adults who ignored my feelings. But then… I changed. I went too far. I can’t turn back. Now, I’m a lost cause. A monster. Not human anymore.”

“Pffft—HAHAHA!”

Her confession was met with laughter.

“No way. You could never be a bad person,” You Xi said firmly.

“It’s true,” Bai Mian shook her head. “This isn’t one of your manga plots. You’re overthinking it.”

“No. It’s real. You become a magical girl. And I become a monster. That’s reality.”

“Huh? So that’s the setup… Yeah, that is complicated. What should we do?”

You Xi set down her sandwiches, frowning in thought.

“There’s no solution. Since I write shonen manga, justice has to defeat evil in the end.” Bai Mian gave a bitter smile.

“If it really came to that… I hope you would be the one to end me.”

“Don’t say that!” You Xi snapped, rejecting it instantly.

“If that did happen—if you became a monster and I became a magical girl—I don’t know what I’d do.”

Here, You Xi hesitated. Because the truth was unbearable.

People who do bad things must be punished. That doesn’t change—even if you’re my best friend.

And did she have the right to forgive a monster on behalf of their victims? Of course not. The very idea was selfish, naive.

So perhaps… Bai Mian only had one path left: to die as atonement.

The thought left You Xi speechless.

“You creative types are so troublesome,” she finally sighed. “Why do you always imagine such extreme, unrealistic scenarios?”

She picked up the jam bread, unwrapped it, and took a bite—chewing slowly.

Then, as if the act of eating had completed her thoughts, she spoke again.

“Logically speaking… yeah. You’re probably beyond saving.”
“I’d have no choice but to stop you—even if you’re my best friend.”

“But… if it actually happened…” Her voice softened. “I know I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Bai Mian’s dark eyes brightened.

“You know… magical girls have miracle powers, right? If that’s true… couldn’t I just use that power to turn you back into a human?”

“That’s irresponsible. But… thank you, Xiao Xi.”

“Why not?” You Xi frowned.

“Because even if I became human again… the sins I committed wouldn’t disappear.”

“Ah… yeah, that’s true,” You Xi admitted. “Then there’s no way.”

“Yeah… no way.”

Bai Mian shook her head, offering a lonely smile.

Sunlight baked the rooftop railing. A breeze carried the scent of rust. From distant trees, cicadas sang endlessly.

Bai Mian had never liked summer rooftops—stifling air, noisy insects, the damp feeling under her clothes.

Yet even knowing this was an illusion, the thought that this might be her last moment as a human with You Xi made the scene unbearably precious.

To share this summer memory with her friend… she felt deeply grateful.

“…In that case, I’ll go to hell with you.”

After finishing her sandwich, You Xi said casually, as if stating the weather.

“If you hurt ten people, we’ll help a hundred. A thousand. Until others can forgive you… until you can forgive yourself.”

“But I don’t think good deeds erase bad ones.”

“It’s not math. Positive and negative don’t cancel out,” Bai Mian said bitterly.

“Yeah… I think the same. Maybe ‘atonement’ is meaningless anyway. Haha.” You Xi smiled sadly.

“But even so… I’ll try.”

She made a promise.

“Because I care. Because I can’t just walk away.”

When Bai Mian woke from the vision, she felt submerged in warm, sticky sludge.

Everything was slimy. The stench—rotting fish, blood, bile—made thinking impossible.

She forced her eyes open—then vomited violently.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Her vomit mixed with the octopus’s fluids, making the air even more unbearable.

…Is this hell?

At a glance, the world still looked like reality.

She remembered being taken outside the city by the silver-haired girl—Heilou—into some cave…

But the memory ended there.

How had she ended up inside the octopus? What had happened? What was going on now?

She had no answers.

She tried to push herself up—but her body had no strength. She could only crawl, elbows trembling against the filth.

“…Bai Mian? Is that you?!”

A frantic voice echoed from above.

She turned her head—and saw Raging Flame diving toward her.

“X-Xiao Xi?”

Recognition brought shock—then, as if recalling something, her expression calmed.

“So… you came to save me.”

A warm current surged through her—replaying the rooftop conversation.

Maybe… I’ll be saved after all?

But the ease of it felt wrong. Suspicious.

As if to confirm her fear, a single black feather drifted into view.

Light as air, it floated gently—

Then, as if avoiding the tainted ground, it dissolved into white light before touching the muck.

“Heilou… she’s here.”

“No! Don’t come!”

“Stay back, Xiao Xi!”

Bai Mian screamed, pouring every ounce of strength into the warning.

But it was too late.

A swirling black mist rose from below—rushing to intercept Raging Flame.

Even from afar, Bai Mian sensed its danger. Its malice.

This wasn’t something You Xi could handle.

The fragile hope shattered.

She could already see her friend torn apart.

And in that moment—utter despair swallowed her whole.