*
The sun hung high above, due to the disaster all schooling became suspended while investigations were ongoing. To supplement this, lessons were held remotely in the comfort of people's home. This was very much in style of the same world government that purports that the even spacial distribution of families minimises casualties in the face of imminent disaster.
Given how much space there is on earth, it might be the best solution in the short term. If the disaster is long term, such as an apocalyptic scenario, then those homes just get converted into tombs. Right now, a massive tomb stands before them as the police guard encircles the wreckage of the fallen scraper. Sariel was a short distance away from what used to be the entrance, an entire floor that compressed and disintegrated beyond recognition.
She knelt on the spot, her legs having lost her strength as she stared forlornly in a desultory manner. Her thoughts were lost to the wind, and in that subconscious inhibition of the sense of touch, the coming gale still felt all the more frigid on her smooth glistening skin. She had ran so much without stopping or resting, saving as many as she could on the upper levels, until all of the people above a certain level got rescued in the end.
In this world, the existence of magical girls weren't a secret. Traces couldn't trigger any 'Event' since it wasn't Eterna's garden but a mere simulation. To get a few things into clear perspective, the Traces that invade this simulated world are real, the simulation persisting inside the Primordial Shadow's domain that manifested at the edge of the universe between worlds. One could liken this world as an ephemeral fruit between two branches on the world tree, the branches being individual worlds moving through time and carrying the fruit along.
Yggdrasil could try to emulate the garden's data preservation function and freeze the entire universe's operations, but she couldn't quite restore damage dealt by Traces in that frozen state. She is the core of the world that computes time itself, allowing the world to develop naturally. Like a scientist watching a colony grow in a petri dish, she can't make it ungrow into a previous state. In exchange, supportive infrastructure for magical girls were immense. Recognition for their deeds was public, almost in a manner akin to worship. Many have jobs as idols or entertainers on the side, living out their formative years as celebrities.
It's... Slightly more merciful compared to the suffocating air of Eterna's garden. Even though it is a result of the law of magic and not Eterna's fault.
Not just the local police force, but the police guard. A larger regimental force that operates within a lot more habitable zones, have come to investigate on the government's behest. They can't expect magical girls to be detectives as well, so everyone had their own role. Magica girls like Sariel and the two were allowed to linger even during the aftermath... They dare not approach Sariel who was evidently in the state of mourning.
They secretly prayed to the other two magical girls to help Sariel out, they were still in their transformed state, to justify their presence here.
"... Sariel, it's not your fault." (Arin)
"But it happened while we were there..." (Sariel)
She won't stop beating herself up over it. That's just the kind of person she was, the person Yggdrasil remembered.
"You did your best. Everyone above the 25th floor survived thanks to you." (Arin)
"You... Lastia, couldn't you have held the building in place any earlier!?" (Sariel)
She ignored Arin and calmly shrieked at Lastia. Looks like it was something that had been on her mind for awhile, and she saw the conversation with Arin as a hindrance. Years had stained her cheeks and a glower marked her face.
"... It's not an excuse, but... I needed to gather enough magic first, to support that much weight. You saw my fight with the terrorist, I'm barely above D grade." (Lastia)
There was no need for deception over the grading system, they used the default metrics here from the time of the origin era. Sariel understood, she was the only person who could rescue the people in danger as fast as she could. So if she did her best, no matter what the other two did they wouldn't be able to help past giving Sariel slightly more time. It was an argument with no reconciliation in sight. If this happened, if that happened, but never how do we go back and redo things?
Even for god magical girls, messing with time is a sin that attracts the ire of otherworldly forces. What can a normal magical girl hope to accomplish?
Arin walked up on Sariel who was still straddled on the floor, and hugged her head from the back. Her arms gently hung around Sariel's neck, transmitting warmth from her soft torso. Soft sobs escape Sariel's dried throat, unable to bear the consequences of reality. None of this was a cross for her to bear, she wasn't the terrorist, she wasn't a police. She was just a normal girl who ate lunch with her new friends on the rooftop.
"... It's my fault. If I wasn't useless, no one would have died." (Arin)
The sobbing stopped, and she looked up incredulously at Arin. What was this girl talking about? It was written all over her face, a sense of foreboding incongruity faintly tickled her heart, though she promptly dismissed it as stress and fatigue. She had to get it out now, before it's too late, before she makes a mistake.
"It's not your fault!!" (Sariel)
Lastia turned her indifferent gaze to the two, and the parties in question studied each other's bewildered face for a moment. Neither of them expected her voice to get this loud, and the sentiment sure filled Yggdrasil's heart with a hint of warmth. She wasn't particularly indifferent or detached, if possible she didn't want this simulated world of her's to be a mere memory. Something more everlasting, a place where what once could never be could finally attain form. A beautiful dream.
She smiles gently at Sariel, extending a hand to wipe her cheek.
"You finally turned around. If you have that much energy, then you should be fine enough to get home.
You need to rest, there are a lot more people to save in the future." (Arin)
"Mmm." (Sariel)
She nods obediently before accepting Yggdrasil's hand to pick herself up. Lastia watched the whole episode as if she were watching the news. Certainly, whatever was going on piqued her interest, however there was a definite air of detachment. From her perspective, Yggdrasil was acting out a drama with her own creation. She was curious what Yggdrasil was up to, and found that nothing significant came out of it. At least to the Primordial shadow, it was meaningless. On the way back, she spoke softly to Yggdrasil.
"... This is unhealthy. An envoy cannot emulate the real thing. The real thing has no conscious so it's undesirable for anyone to become them too." (Lastia)
"... I know." (Arin)
After all, it's just a...