*
"...!?" (Sariel)
She drew in a sharp breath, so forceful that her throat felt like it had been cut up. With one hand around her throat soothing an mental wound, she turned her gaze around to survey her surroundings.
"Back to Monday. Was it real? Or was it a dream? " (Sariel)
She had returned to reality. Or at least her memories did, her reflection likely no longer existed. Reflections with their own will, only Alice could conjure something that ridiculous. They... They naturally perished. For a brief moment worth a single instant in time, they existed and they thought. They saw the world, they saw hope. They lived for tomorrow like any other, and now that's all gone. Was it right? Could Alice be blameless for bringing life to this world and extinguishing it in the same breath? The 'her' in that world felt alive too.
It won't be long now. Before the next apocalypse. The Eternas will sync up their data, rather the moment Sariel couldn't kill her they had already established a connection. That meant that the moment reflection Eterna opened up her Oblivion Magia, she was already transferring data, and her own dissolution at the end was the remaining data. She was weaker than her real self because she was transferring her existence over to the real world the whole time. She had already recognised how the reflection world was ephemeral and would disappear instantly...
Texts were sent into the group chats, Alice was still managing the Magical girl union to the end. Creating that world to get a sliver of information ahead of time, perhaps that was all worth it to her. She'll have to confront her later. For now, nothing has changed what she has to do.
{Sorrows of a beloved maiden}!
She has to prepare for the hardest battle of her life. When they sync up, Eterna might even become stronger than usual, wielding both culture creator and culture destroyer. A bright morning sun, and she had decided to skip school, not in any particularly egregious manner. She idly layed on one of the school rooftops, it was an open view perched atop a skyscraper, looking over the the countless homes that range between 1-4 floors. The only exceptions were the other scrapers piercing the sky within school grounds, they were the other buildings housing classrooms for other levels or offices for teachers and other administrative staff.
Society in the era of abundance is deeply linked to education, the governors of a residential zone would similarly have their offices near the top of these classroom buildings. Usually the entire floor itself would be inaccessible without an access card for the lifts. They not only serve judiciary duties but they also manage the top brass of the school staff. If someone is coordinating Eterna's attacks on magical girls, it's highly likely they are one of the governors. But their hierarchy is structured to perfection, they can easily cut off an entire department of governors like a lizard's tail and sink the entire building in the ground with explosives.
Resistance is mostly futile. What's more, the military power conjured by Eterna... Is from the common citizen. The soldiers are normal people, the governors are also non-magical girls. The hands Eterna uses to strangle is deeply intertwined with the government and other such organs that maintain the functions of society. The whole debacle with artificial intelligence and efficiency has already passed, and it was determined that utilising human minds for rule served social functions beyond what concepts like efficiency can sufficiently capture.
"I understand. Maybe someone from another era would have the actual answer." (Sariel)
"The past has already been destroyed. Eterna is not only the representative of humanity in the present, as the sole survivor she is also the representative of the past. That's what her two facets represent, the resentment of destruction and the grandeur of tomorrow.
Us facing her, has always had these odds from the start. Like a normal human facing a hurricane. Nothing more nothing less. " (Alice)
" Even so, you never gave up. " (Sariel)
This time Alice didn't die, ending the world of the reflection. That one change cause the reflected Eterna to take action.
" Someone had to build the shelter. " (Alice)
"You don't believe in it though." (Sariel)
"I watched it get destroyed even when the odds were favorable." (Alice)
There was no hint of reproach. She couldn't expect someone else to achieve what she couldn't do herself. It was unrealistic... It was discouraging. Her morale seemed to leak out on its own.
"... I won't tell you what to think. Only what I'm about to do." (Sariel)
"... Is that so? Is it... Fighting?" (Alice)
"Spot on. Heh!" (Sariel)
A gentle smile crested her face, like the explosive blooming of fireworks. Her passion carried through, like a wave of lively energy. An expression that announced its determination. A resolve that wouldn't break even if the world were to end.
The sky turns black, a moonless fate enshrouds the planet. Even so, the stars are still out there.
Ward A: Taneda Vila
{Fated ones evanescent dream}
Ward B: Christine Irina
{Fleeting light won't stop for you}
Ward C: Heli Durand
{Snow washed heart faces tomorrow}
Ward D: Pandora Arete
{Upon falling fates}
Ward E: John Atlas
{Blazing unreality comes for all}
Ward F: Glenys Lilinoe
{Medium anima world animus}
Ward G: Oribashi Nagisa
{Blood glimpse under siege}
Ward H: Wang JianYi
{Hands that rule will never grasp}
Ward I: Seren Freesia
{Setting toll of judgement}
Ward J: Wu XiangLi
{Hesitation crisis}
Sentinels. They gather, pool their strength, and prepare the grand magic array to ensnare Eterna.
Ward K: Beatrice Houver
{Crystallised rapture}
Ward L: Eili Synch
{Fading sun illuminates the lands}
Ward M: Melia Dovy
{Buried stream records all sins}
Ward N: Mizuhashi Rumi
{Strike yell reverberation}
Ward O: Ulydine Renatali
{Meteoric dawn}
Ward P: Catherine Othello
{Ultraprecision array denouement}
Ward Q: Fortesia Britanny
{Idyllic unbridled viridescence}
Ward R: Luna Presphinia
{Distant lands bear unearthed beauty}
Ward S: Zhi YingQuan
{Thousand eye oracle}
Ward T: Giviera Violet
{Endowed truth seeks promised returns}
Maidens from all walks of life, aggregation of histories and culture that have existed for the past 11509 years.
Ward U: Alicia Verynout
{Against the looking glass}
Ward V: Lux Klikaissi
{World between twilight encroached horizons}
Ward W : Arca Neracross
{Death blooms in stasis}
They stand on the same stage and face the same end. A chorus resounds in their hearts, a nod to the fate of this world.