My kin, my soul— everything was sinking into the void.
Beneath an endless storm of darkness, within the ruins of a chaotic city, a black-haired girl, battered and covered in wounds, laughed madly.
She disregarded the torrent of attacks from the mountain-like monster behind her,reaching desperately for that single, elusive strand of hope.
"Wake up! Please, wake up! You are the final dawn! The prophesied savior who will end the Demon God!"
Deep within her memories, the image of a nameless girl had quietly taken root. That warmth, that smile...
From a gap in the blizzard,a white-haired girl, bound by chains and scarred, high upon a celestial tree, slowly raised her hand.
Her pale blue eyes, emerging from etched lines, were more dazzling than anything.
"Come! You are the embodiment of hope and light! Free me!
Darkness has already fallen, this world is in peril! We cannot simply allow it to crumble!"
...
The continent, located in the far north, endured particularly long winters.
Winters here were nothing like the beautiful scenes imagined by those living in the warm south.
Heavy snow, bitter winds, and frozen earth destroyed everything in their path,mercilessly sealing the land, eager to reduce it to complete desolation.
Standing atop a high mountain and looking into the distance, most of the view was shrouded in thick, white mist.
Only the soft sunlight on the jagged, wolf-tooth-like peaks in the distance offered any warmth.
Enzawa Kaoru trudged carefully down the mountainside, a heavy bundle of firewood on her back, making her way toward the village below.
From a distance, her small figure was almost swallowed by the messy pile of branches she carried.
Dusk was falling, and the light within the forest grew increasingly dim.
The air grew colder. Kaoru's shoulders shook continuously. Taking a deep breath of the frigid air, she glanced up at the gloomy sky and quickened her pace.
She knew well the dangers of the forest at night.
After sunset, mountain beasts would emerge, searching for prey to fill their bellies.
For someone like her, with no combat skills to speak of, it would be absolutely perilous.
Though cold and exhausted, a sweet excitement bubbled within Kaoru's heart.
She knew today was her 16th birthday.
Her brother would surely have prepared a special gift for her.
...
Kaoru's home was in a remote, backward little mountain village in the far north.
The village chief was an eccentric old man who loved strange tales and was obsessed with spirits.
Following his whims, he had named this secluded village after the characteristics of the local enshrined deity—
Goutou Village.
Surrounded by mountains and plagued by year-round low temperatures and snow, the land was unsuitable for farming.
The villagers could only cut the abundant cedar trees in the snowy mountains and sell the lumber as their main source of income.
Nearly every household in Goutou Village had its own small woodland, and Kaoru's family was no exception.
Every day, from early morning, Kaoru and her brother had to get up and chop firewood.
The mountain paths were not for the average traveler—they were steep and slippery.
The two had to tread carefully on treacherous, frozen gravel, using tree trunks and rock walls for support.
If they were unlucky enough to be caught in a heavy snowstorm on their way home, they would have to camp in the deep mountains, enduring the cold while protecting their heavy, precious load.
Like the other villagers, they endured this incredibly harsh daily grind to survive.
Most of the village's youth had left for the cities; only those with no other choice remained, laboring in hardship every day.
Kaoru was a lovely and graceful girl.
The villagers often said she resembled a young lady from a big city, utterly out of place in their impoverished little village.
She had long, pale blue hair, skin as smooth and white as polished jade, and a beautiful bearing that gave her the aura of a princess.
Kaoru had never had the chance to attend a proper school.
She could only learn fragmented knowledge from an old man in the town who had returned to enjoy his retirement after studying elsewhere.
Few commoners in this 20th-century countryside had access to formal education.
Kaoru considered herself fortunate to learn even this much.
The old man had five grandchildren. The eldest among them was Lipton.
Lipton worked part-time in the county town at the foot of the mountains.
Whenever he had the chance, he would visit the big city and always returned to look after the old man.
Every time Lipton came home, he would bring back rare and modern items from the town and tell Kaoru all about them.
It was from him that Kaoru learned of the many wonders of the city: amusement parks, talk shows, cafes...
Kaoru would often lose herself in fantasies about these strange and magical places. She was filled with longing, desperately wishing she could go to the city and see these fantastical places for herself.
But it was just a dream; their circumstances offered no opportunity for her to descend the mountain and enter the bustling metropolis.
As night fell, small, cold snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.
Smiling, Kaoru rounded the snow-covered path and arrived at her family's small cabin.
The roof of the wooden house was swallowed by snow, making the interior appear especially old and worn.
This cabin had been built when Kaoru was five years old, and with the passage of time, it had become old and dilapidated.
But Kaoru didn't mind the shabby little log house in the slightest— it was her warmest refuge.
Though the structure was aging, her heart wasn't. In her eyes, the cabin was as vibrant and bright as the day it was built.
Carefully, Kaoru pushed open the wooden door.
A wave of warmth, accompanied by the gentle flicker of candlelight, washed over her.
"You're back?"
Her brother, hearing the door, immediately set aside his newspaper and smiled at her.
He carried the distinctive scent of the countryside.
Kaoru bowed her head slightly, a little shy, and nodded vigorously.
"Yes, Brother."
Kaoru's brother, Enzawa Moto, was the pillar of their small family.
Kaoru's mother had fallen ill when Kaoru was very young, said to be cursed by a local witch, and had eventually passed away.
Their father had died not long after, having slipped and fallen from the mountain while gathering wild vegetables.
Since then, Kaoru had lived alone with her brother.
Their parents' deaths had cast an indelible shadow over the household.
Kaoru set down the firewood from her back and sat on a small bench propped up by planks and short sticks.
She stretched her slender legs, her face a picture of weary anticipation.
Enzawa Moto stood up from his chair, rummaged behind the battered door, and said in a teasing tone.
"Alright!
Your gift has been ready for a while! I went down to the county town before dawn this morning to buy it.
It's a memento of your first time gathering firewood alone, and your birthday present, all in one."
After a moment of searching, he finally pulled a crude box from the cupboard and laughed happily.
"Found it! No peeking!"
Kaoru's face flushed red with pleasure. She let out a happy "Mm!" and shook her head, her expression full of expectation as she gazed at her brother.
What could it be? Kaoru wondered. It wouldn't be like those fake antiques from the street vendors, would it?
She began to giggle uncontrollably, a sweet and moving sound.
Soon, Moto came back into the main room, a mysterious look on his face.
Kaoru stood up and took the box from his hands, examining it.
"What is it, Brother?"
"You'll know if you open it."
Kaoru hurriedly opened the box. Inside was a stack of booklets.
Stunned by the sight of the rare items before her, Kaoru immediately picked one up.
The cover featured an exquisitely drawn, beautiful manga image.
"They're comic books from overseas! I heard they're all the rage in town now, so I bought them for your birthday present.
They're just picture books,but they were quite expensive. But if you like them, the money means nothing!"
Kaoru clutched the books in her hands, delighting in them as if they were rare treasures.
Seeing his sister so satisfied with the gift, Moto felt immense joy; the money spent seemed utterly insignificant.
The paper of the comics was rough, and the dialogue was largely untranslated, mostly in a foreign language.
Yet, Kaoru found them fascinating.
It was a story about a girl from the future who becomes a brave Magic Girl to defeat the Demon King and save the world.
At the end of the comic, the girl lost her life to protect what was precious to her.
Kaoru was deeply captivated and moved.
The girls' dazzling battles were so brilliant, their friendship so deep and resolute.
From that moment, the term "Magic Girl" was deeply engraved in her mind, never to fade.
Moto soon brought out their meal, placing it on the old pinewood table.
Watching Kaoru desperately trying to decipher the poorly translated dialogue, he felt a silent wave of self-reproach and helplessness.
If our family weren't so poor, Moto thought, I could have sent Kaoru to a proper school in town.
Seeing his sister love stories and knowledge so much, yet being unable to satisfy even this small intellectual desire of hers, pained him immensely.
"Kaoru, let's eat. Dinner is baked potatoes again.
Once I sell the lumber and earn some money, I'll definitely buy you some delicious food."
Kaoru set the book down, her heart warm.
Though their home was poor and they had to save every penny, seeing how much her brother loved her made Kaoru feel happier than if she lived in a palace.
By the time they finished dinner, it was already late at night.
The blizzard outside grew fiercer, howling like a terrifying beast.
Moto fetched an old wooden box to block the gaps in the walls, preventing the outdoor gale from whipping through the room.
"Honestly, this storm is so wild. I hope the house doesn't collapse!"
Kaoru walked to a corner, looking up uneasily at the creaking wooden roof.
Moto approached and ruffled his sister's hair.
"Don't worry, little sister. This house was built by... by our parents.
It definitely won't be blown down by a little storm like this."
Kaoru turned her head, looking at her brother's face with her large, moist eyes.
She waved a hand, mustering her courage.
Moto chuckled softly, told his sister to get to bed, and then went out.
Kaoru extinguished the lantern in the main room and went to her own small room.
It was exceptionally narrow, containing only an old wooden bed and a small wooden table.
On the table sat a flickering candle and a small stack of her belongings.
With the images from the comic still fresh in her mind, Kaoru lay down on her thin, cotton-padded bed.
She stared up at the barren ceiling, listening to the chaotic noise of the heavy snow outside her walls.
It would be amazing if I could be a powerful Magic Girl like the one in the comic! she thought.
Fighting monsters in the city... how cool would that be!
She imagined the adorable Magic Girl moving through the brightly lit urban streets, slaying demons, saving the world's core—the Fate Stone—and finally, gravely wounded, dying in the arms of her beloved. How tragic and noble!
Just as Kaoru was lost in her infinite reverie, a sharp pain shot through her chest.
She clutched her chest in agony, writhing on the bed as a strange, buzzing noise filled her head.
Soon, the pain became clearer, more protruding, as if a wicked rose bush were blooming inside her chest, desperately trying to burst out through her skin.
"Ugh... It hurts... Am I dying?"
But before long, the pain vanished as if it had never been.
Kaoru hurriedly sat up, pulled her clothes aside, and looked at her smooth, youthful chest.
Finding nothing, she adjusted her clothes and fell back onto the bed with a thud.
The bed let out a pitiful creak, nearly buckling under the force of her fall.
That was really scary... It must have just been a physical thing...
"Honestly, you scared me," Kaoru muttered under her breath, puffing out her little cheeks as if someone had offended her.
She blew out the candle beside her and closed her eyes.
Before she drifted into sleep, her mind was still filled with scenes from the comic.
Soon, she fell asleep, feeling as though she were being sucked into a bottomless pit.
Her whole body felt weightless, drifting, heading somewhere...…