@rosecoloredmuses entered the witch’s labyrinth. — ★
The battle is over as the praying witch is over slower than she originally predicted. The sky, which resembles a stained glass window in bleak shades of gray, begins to shatter as Elsa Maria is defeated. The self-righteous witch lived in her lonely labyrinth, forever locked in prayer and darkness. The bright colors of the undisturbed afternoon day welcome her back to the real world. She ran through a mental checklist in her head over what else she needed to do today and tomorrow. She had enough time before Walpurgisnacht will arrive, but Homura knew that her ammunition was running dangerously low. Times like these are when she silently cursed Kyubey and definitely herself for not being given a magical weapon. Her shield was useful, but it had no offensive uses in the slightest. Madoka has always been destined to hold her beautiful bow with its blossoming pink rose and deadly pink arrows of light. Mami was expertly skilled in using her rifled muskets, but she also proved to be quite formidable with her ribbons. Sayaka may have the gift to heal faster than an ordinary magical girl, but her weapon of choice was an simple yet still deadly cutlass sword. Kyoko enjoyed fighting with her trusty spear, which was multi-jointed. But all she had was a shield. What was she going to do? Whack witches with her shield? She is ashamed that she had used to resort to a golf club in her earlier timelines. I should have been more specific with my wish. My magic may have allowed me to go back in time, but I need to get stronger. Walpurgisnacht is going to come again before I know it. I need to restock my supplies. I guess I will be spending the whole night until dawn doing that... She keeps her frustrated complaint to herself. She had too much on her plate. Sleep, studying, and anything else can wait. She had better things to do.
She suppresses a tired sigh as she picks up the grief seed from the ground. She stares down at the grief seed, taking the moment to contemplate. Her Soul Gem did look a little murky, but... She needed to also restock up on grief seeds. Her ammunition isn’t the only thing that she was running low on. She knew that she needed to keep a big stock of grief seeds in order to both help herself and more importantly anyone else in the city. She could just press the grief seed against the her purple Soul Gem and cleanse away the slowly rising darkness. But she needed to save up on grief seeds. I’ll hunt another witch and use that grief seed before I head off to cram school tomorrow. She settles the internal argument in ease as she swiftly stores the grief seed inside her shield. She knew her limits. She has witnessed the rise and the fall of so many people who contracted with the Incubator. She knew that a little bit of despair in her Soul Gem will not hurt as long as she keeps an eye on its state and her mission.
She dismisses her outfit and returns back to her uniform within a blink of an eye before she walks out of the alleyway. She wished that the grief seed could cleanse her exhaustion instead of cleaning her soul, but that was too much to ask apparently. Just like that, Homura Akemi returns back to repeating her normal routine of walking down the streets. She had to go back home to begin the tedious process of building homemade bombs. She is too lost in thoughts as she tries to debate on what to do first. She had two weeks until the arrival of Walpurgisnacht, but the strain of living too many loops makes her feel restless. The sun has already fallen behind the horizon when she comes to an abrupt stop. Someone has been following her, she notices. She knew that she did not see anyone in her fight with that witch... Was it after the fight then? She is not sure, but it did not matter to her. She can handle an ordinary person— But she felt something in the now evening air. Something dark. But her Soul Gem does not react to the strange disturbance that she felt. I don’t feel any witches or even familiars nearby. Perhaps I should ask Kyubey what must be going on. What am I feeling around me then? She ponders to herself as she raises her wrist to take a peek at the time. She is not sure where to find Kyubey at this hour. She does not realize that it was someone that gave off such energy, not something. In fact, the atmosphere came straight from the person that has been tailing her.
❝ Do you need something? ❞ She spins around to finally acknowledge the person that she almost forgot about. She was not sure what she was expecting to see honestly, but she certainly did not expect someone around her age. Much to her surprise, the possible stalker was surprisingly young. He was not that bad-looking either, but his appearance was not what caught her attention. It was his clothes that she noticed in an instance. Her cool composure, however, slips up a little for a couple of seconds when she notices that the brown-haired male was not wearing a uniform or any everyday clothes. She couldn’t help but gawk at his outfit. She thought most guys would stick to hoodies, but she has severely underestimate the opposite sex. He was actually dressed quite strange-looking with what looks like armor on his shoulders. He was dressed in dark colors, but he appeared to like the color red. The most noticeable thing about his odd attire was the red diamond brooch resting near his chest. She, for a split moment, thought it looked eerily like a soul gem with the way it gleams. But she dismisses her irrational thinking. She would have noticed if this person was someone like her. He was not a walking corpse that was eventually destined to hatch into a monstrous witch.
❝ I don’t know why you seem to be following me... But do you intend on introducing yourself at least? ❞ She recovers from her initial shock at his wardrobe. She hoped for him to leave her alone as soon as possible. She did acknowledge the amusing coincidence that they shared something in common. She had no clue that diamonds were suddenly quite popular. Do I really have some kind of cosplaying stalker on my hands? I don’t have time for this. Her assumption was not too farfetched, but she could also presume that maybe this person had some unique taste in fashion. It looked strange, but it did have a sophisticated appeal.
