Along with the voice, a memory resonated in Qianling’s mind.
Once upon a time, Qianling had not yet become the person known as Qianling.
On a certain spring afternoon, sunlight spilled between the buildings, yet it failed to reach the inside of her hospital room. She sat on her sickbed, gazing at the unreachable scenery outside the window, feeling irritable and envious for what felt like the thousandth time.
If she had to name the words she hated most, they would surely be “fate” and “helplessness,” especially when the doctor pretended her condition was nothing serious, and especially when things were exactly as they were now. Sunlight should have been something within reach, but under the imprisonment of IV drips and needles, she could only stare longingly while remaining in the shadows.
Out of sheer boredom, her attention shifted to what was directly in front of her. There stood an old-fashioned television set.
‘Right, I don’t think I’ve ever used this TV.’
She remembered the fact. She almost never had the habit of watching television, but on that day, she turned it on as a whim. That was the beginning of the phenomenon she hated most: “fate.”
Because at that moment, the television happened to be broadcasting the anime *Magical Girl Veru*.
At first, she just wanted to kill some time, but before she had even finished two episodes, her heart was unconsciously drawn to the destinies of the girls. Afterward, she used her phone to binge-watch all the previous episodes.
‘How incredible! Even after experiencing so much pain, Aimei can still pull herself together. Should I learn from her?’
Seeing the protagonist of the show constantly taking action was her initial impression.
‘I want that kind of courage to face reality, too…’
She had once thought such things. However, in the process of re-watching the anime repeatedly, a question gradually surfaced in her mind.
‘But… what happens after facing reality? What can be done? Doesn’t it mean that nothing has changed?’
Facing reality did not mean that a sad past would simply disappear, nor did it guarantee that good things would happen in the future. Just like the magical girl Kohaku, who always exited the stage in the third episode, nothing ever changed.
In this hospital room, her life would also reach its curtain call at a fixed point in time.
After realizing this, she found that she no longer liked the protagonist of the anime as much as she once had. Instead, she became particularly concerned about that first victim. From that moment on, she felt indignant about it all.
‘I don’t need to cherish memories or face things with strength after losing them! What I need is to grasp what I want in my hands from the very beginning. If it’s stolen, I’ll just snatch it back. Even if I’m accused of being greedy or unrealistic…’
‘Hadn’t I already decided to do this back then?’
‘I will save Yangmo here, and I will save the magical girls! I’ll do it with the most perfect **Happy End**!’
Qianling swore this in her heart, her obsession rekindled by this memory. To realize her obsession, what she needed was a power that could also set fate ablaze.
So…
With the figure of Number Two already within arm’s reach, she roared at the voice, “Give me that power!”
As if responding to her demand, a silver-white wind of magic surged around her, escalating into a violent, spiraling storm in a mere instant. Number Two’s lance was blocked by a wall composed of the storm. No matter how much strength it exerted, it could not push the tip of the lance forward even a fraction of an inch.
Qianling stood in the center of the storm. Unlike the conditions outside, the flow of magic here was strangely calm.
A silver, disc-shaped object floated quietly in front of her, as if waiting for her to take it.
“I won’t be polite then,” she said as she gripped the object tightly.
The moment she grasped it, the storm became unstable. In contrast, a torrent of magic began to sweep through her entire body, almost as if the power of the storm was being absorbed by her. Eventually, the unstable storm erupted completely, blowing Number Two and everything in the vicinity away.
In the center of the dissipating storm, only a brand-new Qianling remained. Every crack and blemish on her body had vanished, and even her maid outfit had been repaired by that magical wind.
She opened her palm and carefully examined the object she had just obtained. It was a silver pocket watch. A thorn pattern surrounded a central ruby on its casing, and other than the fact that the chain on the winding mechanism was broken, it looked no different from an ordinary pocket watch.
However, its strangeness became apparent the moment it was opened. Aside from the hour, minute, and second hands, there was an extra dial with a special pointer. It was shaped like a slithering snake, and there were only three scales corresponding to it.
Based on her reaction upon touching the watch and the magic permeating it, Qianling was almost certain of its true identity.
“A Heart Armament — no way…” she murmured, staring at the watch.
A weapon that transformed a magical girl’s feelings into unique magic — a “Heart Armament.” Qianling never would have dreamed that she would see the day she could use one.
But now that she had this information, everything up to this point made sense. The moments when Qianling heard the ticking of its hands were often the moments when her “feelings” were at their strongest.
‘I see… Were you waiting for me all this time? Waiting for me to take that most crucial step. But you’ve existed since the moment I arrived in this world… Where on earth did you come from?’
While she was still lost in doubt, Yangmo had already rushed to her side.
“Qianling… Your body is healed? Is this the method you were talking about?” she asked, hurriedly wiping away her tears.
To this, Qianling simply told her, “There’s no time to explain now, but with this, we’ll definitely win the next part.”
After saying this, she waved the pocket watch in her hand in front of Yangmo. Unexpectedly, Yangmo blurted out the answer immediately.
“Is it a Heart Armament?”
“Exactly.”
Qianling wasn’t surprised by this. She guessed that Yangmo had also sensed a familiar aura from the watch.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of appendages striking the ground.
After being blown away by the storm, Number Two had slammed heavily into the ground, creating a massive crater. It was currently trying to flip its body over from a belly-up position, but several of its appendages were stuck in the pit, leaving it unable to move.
Though Qianling had felt it was very oppressive just a moment ago, she could now only feel a sense of absurdity from it.
She and Yangmo shared a knowing look, and then they faced its direction together. Before the battle resumed, Yangmo confirmed with Qianling in a calm tone, “You said we would win this time, right?”
“Yes.”
“You aren’t allowed to lie to me again.”
Even without looking, Qianling knew that Yangmo must have a sorrowful expression on her face right now, and all of it was her own fault.
However, before apologizing, they had one last job to do, and that was to put an end to this damn fate — Number Two — once and for all.
They would do it with this newly acquired power.