Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Chuhua... what exactly do you want to say...?" Xiangzi lowered his head, his face flushed.

"The Xiao Xiang I know is not the kind of person who will admit defeat."

Chu Hua said.

"When the Soul Gem shattered, Xiao Xiang did not admit defeat; when he returned to being an ordinary person, Xiao Xiang did not admit defeat; when facing enemies from the other side, Xiao Xiang did not admit defeat; when he was deceived by Medien in the dream and driven to a dead end, Xiao Xiang did not admit defeat... The Xiao Xiang I know has never admitted defeat."

The way she put her arm around Xiangzi's shoulder unconsciously turned into the way she hugged him.

Xiangzi's hair was messy and wet, and the hair tie she used to tie it up had fallen off. Chuhua grabbed a handful of hair and braided it into a plait.

“When Xiao Xiang rescued me from the deep sea, I had a feeling that Xiao Xiang was my god, an omnipotent being.”

Chu Hua tied Xiangzi's hair into a slightly rustic but very cute braid.

"...I think that as long as it's Xiao Xiang, he can do anything."

"Chu Hua... is what you said true?" Xiangzi nestled in Chu Hua's arms, his broken eyes gradually becoming lost. "Even though... no matter what I do, I always... get unexpected setbacks. No matter how hard I try, things just keep getting worse..."

“But without Xiao Xiang, we wouldn’t have made it this far, would we?” Chu Hua said. “Without Xiao Xiang, we wouldn’t even have had the chance to reincarnate. We might have already become witches and been killed by other magical girls.”

"Xiao Xiang, you're different from what you think. You're very strong, stronger than anyone else. Anything you set your mind to, you can definitely do. In my eyes, you're just so dazzling."

"..." Xiangzi opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to refute, but found himself unable to speak.

She gently pushed Chu Hua away and wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth.

"—Senior, catch!"

Xiangzi looked up and saw something flying towards him at high speed. The Walkman had been thrown at him very roughly; if he hadn't caught it properly, it would have smashed to pieces on the ground. Xiangzi hurriedly caught the tape, fumbling with it between his left and right hands two or three times before finally managing to hold it firmly in his hand and letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Phew...that was close." She steadied her Walkman and wiped away a bead of cold sweat. "What if it had really broken?"

"You were the one who swatted it away just now, twice." Yan narrowed her eyes, looking at her with displeasure. "Listen to yourself, I'm angry, senior."

“…I’m sorry,” Xiangzi said softly.

“I don’t need your apology. This is a message you left for yourself,” Flame said. “I don’t know what my future senior wants to say, but it’s definitely something important. You have to listen carefully and without missing a single detail.”

Xiangzi nodded, untied the headphone cord from his Walkman, and put it on.

She took out the cassette tape, checked it, put it back in upside down, and then pressed the play button.

There was a lot of background noise, as if it had been recorded in a crowded place. As the tape played, the noise gradually subsided and eventually became completely quiet.

Then, the first note rang out.

Xiangzi closed her eyes, savoring the piece. Although the recording environment wasn't exactly quiet, the performer's skill was enough to make this minor flaw go unnoticed. She recognized the piece; she could even tell who was playing it. She was intimately familiar with this playing style. Of course, it was her own playing; there was no way she wouldn't recognize it.

But I'm not very familiar with it either.

Can't tell.

I feel that there have been many changes.

It felt like myself, but also mixed with a feeling that... I couldn't express in my current state. It was like undergoing a complete transformation, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, like the sun after the rain, like a magnificent church rebuilt after a fire.

Is this...my future self?

So dazzling.

But if she truly has this mindset, why would she place her hopes on the past and on her present self? If she regrets it, then why is she able to become so dazzling?

Xiangzi listened to the piece of music quietly.

"This is... Chopin's 'Grande Polonaise'. A pianist who had been displaced during wartime played this piece after he recovered from the ravages of war and started a new life. I think everyone has experienced similar experiences, so this piece is dedicated to you. It represents a piece of rebirth, and I hope you like it."

The performer said the following to the audience.

Then, the tape ends abruptly on the front.

However, there is also the opposite. Xiangzi already has experience. He always likes to leave himself such messages. Last time it was a declaration to deceive the world. What will it be this time?

She skillfully took out the cassette tape, flipped it over, put it back, and pressed play again.

—"Hello, my past self."

—"This is a message from Toyokawa Shoko thirty-two years in the future."

"I'll rewind to the very beginning before playing it. If you can hear this far, you should have already heard the other side of the performance by now, unless it's a rewind."

"..."

"I know you are in a lot of pain right now. Your head has been bloated by more than seven thousand reincarnations, and you have lost your light. You must be feeling desperate and miserable right now. Even breathing hurts. But this pain has become our motivation."

"You like this Grande Polonaise so much because of that bastard dad who always watched that movie, right? The Pianist. You memorized this piece because of that movie when you were very young, and you've been practicing it ever since."

"This piece was played in the central square of the shelter. The audience members around me were people who had struggled to survive the war and disaster. Many of them had not even experienced the era we live in. Like this piece of music, like the pianist in the movie, they survived strongly, endured the darkest time, and ushered in 'rebirth'."

"I give it to you as a gift from my future self to my past self, hoping that you, like this piece of music, can become a phoenix rising from the ashes."

"The fact that you can see this message now is the result of everyone's joint efforts."

"This motivation has probably been conveyed to you in various ways."

Click.

Xiangzi pressed pause.

My future self has a calm and steady voice, like a vast lake reflecting the azure sky.

Xiangzi stared at the cassette tape that had stopped spinning and gradually fell into deep thought.

Ever since Chu Hua punched her, she'd been feeling lost. Lost in why she'd become so fragile, so easily broken. She'd been through so much already, so why hadn't she grown at all?

When she cries, what is she crying for?

Was it for the sacrifice of the lamp, or for himself? For his own incompetence, for the result he received after persisting for so long?

She was still the same selfish and ruthless Toyokawa Shoko.

But... no matter how selfish she is, Chu Hua is right. Even for her own sake, she shouldn't admit defeat at this time.

If a new world is created at the cost of sacrificing the lamp, then has this endless cycle, this Möbius strip, that I started myself, truly been broken?

She looked up at the moon peeking out from behind the clouds.

The one who tied the knot must untie it.

This is a story she started herself, and it should be ended by her.

She had truly received the burning emotion contained in the Grand Polonaise.

Click.

The recording continues playing.

"Now, let's get to the real topic."

"I'll tell you how to salvage everything you just missed."

"Sure enough, now we're getting to the main point." Xiangzi swallowed and continued listening.

"It will take some time for the lamp to find the first me and replace her as the new core. She doesn't know where 'I' am in the anti-universe, but I do, and you do too."

—"As long as we enter the anti-universe, we can find 'me' before the lamp finds 'me'."

—"Then, kill her, replace her, and become the new core."

"What?" Xiangzi's eyes widened.

Kill your first self, then replace it and become the new core? Then... how is this different from before?

"Don't panic, there's more to it than that."

"If it's just about becoming a new core, there will definitely be no qualitative change."

"The real key is the next step. In the process of becoming the new core, someone will come to help you. As for the subsequent steps, once you enter the anti-universe and inherit my memories, you will understand everything."

Is someone coming to help me?

Who?

Xiangzi frowned.

"Her name is Del, and you probably don't know her now. But if I tell you her other name, you'll understand."

—"Delete".

"This name may make you doubt her, or even question her motives, but please believe me, she is here to help you. With determination, she left our time forever and went to the past to help you."

"This task requires the two of you to complete."

"No, this was something everyone did together."

"If in the end you really do manage to create a completely new world, then it must be the result of everyone's collective efforts."

"Just as everyone has always been willing to believe in me, I also believe in you, my past self—you can do it. I wish you good luck in battle, the 7,777th me."

"Finally, although it may be a little cruel, I have one more thing to say to you, the one that our bastard father always says."

——"It's Bett To Burn Out Than To Fade Away."

"...Rather than lingering on in misery, it's better to burn brightly." Xiangzi said that sentence to the cassette tape almost simultaneously.

—"Remembered by Toyokawa Shoko on June 30, 2057."

The rustling sound lasted for a short while, then stopped with a click. Xiangzi took off his headphones and shook his hair, which was tied into two thick braids.

"call!"

"How's it going, Xiaoxiang?"

"What did the future senior say?" Flame asked impatiently.

"It's nothing." Xiangzi stuffed his Walkman into his pocket. "Next, I'm going to the Anti-Universe to retrieve the lamp. If anyone comes looking for you later, you need to cooperate with their actions."

Xiangzi tilted his head and blinked.

“She seems to be called… Del?” Xiangzi said. “I need her support after entering the anti-universe.”

"Who is this person?" Miao Meng raised an eyebrow. "How can he help so readily? Is he trustworthy?"

“You must know her.” Xiangzi winked mysteriously. “I won’t say more, you’ll understand when you see her.”

She stretched and loosened her muscles, looking completely different from her previous dejected self.

"Wait for my good news later."

"Xiao Xiang," Chu Hua tugged at her sleeve, "You'll come back, won't you?"

"..."

Xiangzi was silent for a while, then smiled and said.

"Will do."

=============================

Delete left the rooftop with doubts.

It pondered what "self-blame" and "guilt" meant, as well as the message left by Meow Dream before it left: "Don't keep her waiting too long."

Are these things that can only be thought of by those who have emotions?

So, that feeling of something stuck in its chest, is it...?

Just as it was thinking that, a figure blocked its way.

It was a figure with its back to the moonlight, appearing blurry and indistinct. It carried a long, narrow object on its back, and one could vaguely make out that it had long, curly white hair. It was very short, and its red eyes gleamed faintly in the darkness.

She's a magical girl, but...

"I've finally waited for you," the magical girl said.

"Who are you?" Delete asked warily. "An unknown magical girl, what do you want?"

I felt there was something strange about her, as if she knew me very well, knew where I would be, and even what I was thinking right now.

"I have something I want to talk to you about." The other person stepped out of the shadows, into a place where the moonlight could shine. "My past self."

==========================

"Next stop, Ikebukuro."

When Xiangzi came to his senses, the tram's announcement sounded beside him. Sunlight streamed into the carriage from the window, warming him to the point of feeling a little hot.

Her head was a little dizzy, and after she came to her senses, it seemed like a lot of things had appeared in her head... things like Del, Norlin, Helheim, the underwater city, the refuge, MKII, MK, and so on.