Outside the gates of Heijiang City No.
3 High School, the Stardust Fast Food Restaurant.
Tang Xiaolu and I sat facing each other, sometimes gazing out the window at the endless stream of cars and the numb-faced pedestrians hurrying past, sometimes looking down at the time on our phones.
“Your combo meals are ready.”
A moment later, a waiter set two portions of fast food on the table before us and left with a professional smile.
“Thank you.”
Tang Xiaolu stood up and slid my meal over to me.
“Huang Yao… classmate, right?”
After sitting back down, Tang Xiaolu seemed to let out a soft sigh.
“You just made a contract with Qiu Bi, didn’t you…”
“Is Qiu Bi that little creature that looks like a rabbit?”
Still not quite used to being in a girl’s body, I sat with my legs together in a shy, pigeon-toed posture, my face feeling a little hot.
“My name before wasn’t actually Huang Yao…”
My old name was very masculine—at least it definitely didn’t sound like a girl’s name.
Not just the name, either.
After I ran out of that strange “Witch Barrier” with Tang Xiaolu, I realized that everything related to my gender in the real world had changed.
The clothes I was wearing had become a girl’s school uniform.
All my social media account information had been modified to female.
Even the few photos I’d taken of myself back when I was a boy had all turned into the appearance of this current girl’s body.
“The power of the contract affected all your causality in this world, including your name.”
Tang Xiaolu said quietly.
“Barring any surprises, I’m probably the only one who still remembers who you used to be.”
“Then…”
I asked uneasily, “Is this kind of change really scary?”
“If you don’t mind your body becoming a girl… then it probably isn’t.”
Tang Xiaolu stared at my face.
“It’s strange. According to what Qiu Bi says, only girls are supposed to be qualified to become Magical Girls. Why were you able to make a contract with it?”
“Umm…”
I felt even more awkward.
“Has there never been a case of a boy becoming a Magical Girl in history?”
“No. Qiu Bi only approaches girls with strong emotions and causal potential. Usually those girls are between 12 and 14 years old. You don’t meet its stated requirements in either age or gender.”
Seeming unable to read anything from my face, Tang Xiaolu looked away.
“Unless… somewhere we can’t see, there’s another Magical Girl entangled with your causality.”
“Huh?”
I was a little lost.
“Then how do I find that… girl who’s causally entangled with me?”
“I don’t know.”
Tang Xiaolu seemed a bit tired.
She took out a white crystal gem and placed it on the table.
“Why you were able to become a Magical Girl is something you’ll have to find the answer to on your own. I can’t help with that. The only thing I can do is tell you the truth about Magical Girls and treat you as a real girl.”
“Thank you…”
“Don’t thank me yet. Becoming a Magical Girl isn’t necessarily a good thing for you.”
Tang Xiaolu gestured at the white crystal on the table.
“Let me give you a brief introduction to Magical Girls. You should have something similar too, right?”
“Yeah.”
I took out my black crystal from my pocket.
“Is this it?”
This crystal had floated out of my body shortly after I made my wish in front of the little rabbit Qiu Bi in the Barrier not long ago.
It was wrapped in a shiny outer shell, with a beautiful gem inside.
Tang Xiaolu didn’t confirm or deny.
“What do you think this thing is?”
“If I had to guess… maybe something like a Magical Girl’s Magic Crystal?”
“No.”
Tang Xiaolu’s pretty big eyes reflected a blurry outline on the white crystal.
“It’s ‘us’.”
“Us?”
“It’s called a ‘Soul Gem.’ As the name implies, it contains our soul and consciousness.”
When she said these words, Tang Xiaolu’s tone was a little sorrowful.
“You can think of it as our new brain. As long as the Soul Gem is intact and still stores Magic Power, no matter how badly our bodies are damaged—whether our heart is pierced, our head bitten off, or our entire body blown to pieces—we won’t die.”
“In simple terms, we’re no longer human after making the contract. There’s no difference between us and a ‘zombie.'”
I felt my head suddenly go blank with a buzzing sound.
I recalled Tang Xiaolu, who had been broken apart by a train not long ago, her entire body covered in wounds down to the bone.
Back when she led me out of the Barrier… her body had indeed fully recovered.
“Also, don’t ask me where Qiu Bi went. Its only mission on Earth is to make contracts with as many girls as possible, collecting the energy released when our hearts as Magical Girls transform from Hope into Despair, to save the universe from the Heat Death Crisis.”
Seeing that I wasn’t speaking, Tang Xiaolu added, “After making a contract with you, it’s probably already on its way to prey on the next girl.”
“Energy released when Hope turns into Despair?”
I felt more and more confused.
“Will we, as Magical Girls, become more and more Despairing?”
“Yeah. We humans are all products of desire. Since Hope exists, there must be Despair and destruction opposed to it.”
“I… I don’t understand.”
“This world is very cruel. Whether a child or an adult, to survive in this world without pain, you have to find some obsession or support. For adults, that obsession might be cigarettes, alcohol, women, power, money…”
Tang Xiaolu explained in a calm tone.
“For children, their obsessions are often more naive—like wanting to be the girlfriend of the handsome guy in the next class, wanting to own a high-end computer, wanting to get first place in exams, and so on. When Qiu Bi senses these obsessions, it appears and tempts those girls to speak their wishes and become Magical Girls.”
“But aren’t those wishes already fulfilled by the power of Magic?”
I placed my own “Soul Gem” next to Tang Xiaolu’s gem, staring at the black and white pair, curious.
“Since their wishes come true and they become powerful Magical Girls, why would they fall into Despair?”
“Because most wishes only reveal after they’re fulfilled that they aren’t as wonderful as the girls imagined.”
Tang Xiaolu sighed softly.
“Take the earlier example… wanting to be the girlfriend of the handsome guy in the next class. After that wish is granted, the girl who made it discovers that the handsome guy is good for nothing except being handsome. He has low emotional intelligence, loves to curse, is sarcastic, and attacks others. After being together for a while, all the girl feels is pressure. On top of that, she’s burdened with causality as a Magical Girl, has to fight Witches every day, isn’t understood by those around her, and slowly falls into Despair.”
“Then…”
I thought about it.
“Do we have to fight those things from earlier just because we’re Magical Girls?”
Outside the fast food restaurant, the setting sun dipped below the horizon.
In the twilight, the shadows of the students in the store stretched long across the floor.
“Magical Girls aren’t human. Living, transforming, or repairing our bodies all consume the energy in our ‘Soul Gem.’ Once the energy runs out, we… fall into Despair as well.”
Staring at the red glow on the horizon in silence for a long time, Tang Xiaolu finally continued.
“Huang Yao, that thing in the Barrier earlier—what do you think it was?”
“A Witch?”
I blurted out.
“You and Qiu Bi both called her that earlier.”
“Yeah, a Witch.”
Tang Xiaolu gave a self-deprecating smile.
“Do you know where Witches come from?”
“No.”
“A Witch is a Magical Girl who has fallen into Despair. She spreads her own Despair everywhere and devours humans.”
Tang Xiaolu extended her small, fair hand and flicked the “Soul Gem” on the table.
“When a Witch is defeated, she drops a ‘Grief Seed.’ You can use that to replenish the Magic Power in your Soul Gem.”
The Soul Gem rolled a few times on the table, making a gurgling sound.
“All this knowledge was told to me by a senior Magical Girl. She had beautiful long black hair, just like you.”
“Once a Magical Girl falls into Despair or exhausts her Magic Power, her Soul Gem hatches a ‘Witch.’ Then that Witch is defeated and absorbed by a new Magical Girl, starting the cycle all over again.”
“So… can you tell me simply what wish you made with Qiu Bi just now?”
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