***(?)
Every now and then, I see the same dream. A distant fire, a farther calamity. The sky is drowned out by sorrowful voices, I pledged my heart to a broken will.
Just who was it that I served? Not a single detail was retained, only an empty sensation in my breast.
I am a magical girl, I worked hard and became the strongest. The government recruited me, an absolute being beyond human comprehension ruled at the top. Ultimately... They did not influence the material world. Absolutely nothing, a person with godlike powers, a god magical girl... Hasn't done anything since I learnt about them.
They were a symbol of power, an icon of sovereignty. But the world of people was ruled by humans, and magical girls were only there to maintain that peace they've built up. Residential zone series A, a ward of 100 zones set up to house 300-600 million citizens of the world. We learnt that in the previous era there was this thing called countries, but in the past 11000+ years there has only been one government taking charge of the entire world. I was picked to be the sentinel of series A, a being that practically ruled a sizable portion of earth, only subordinate to the Sovereign God magical girl and her direct subordinates.
I answered to nobody else, but nobody else answered to me either. Ruler only in name, I do not engage with the tax payer's accumulated wealth. I do not interact with people other than strangers, I do not issue any commands. Policies, urban development, housing, all of the day to day affairs are managed solely by normal humans. I had the power to change things, to adjust rules on a whim... But why mess with a system that isn't broken? Why mess with the lives of the masses?
It was this idyllic peace that I cherished the most in life, the common serenity that allows me to forget those dreams and the ensuing hollow feelings. Maybe I was born to protect the common people, the average citizen.
An anomaly was born. Traces have been progressively growing stronger, the average strength of these monsters were incomprehensible growing larger. Magical girls over the 26 wards were facing higher and higher levels of danger at an increasing frequency. My fellow sentinels have also voiced complains lately, of Trace 'Event's occurring more frequently, of Traces becoming more troublesome to take care off.
They were worried. If the Traces grew too strong, fatal encounters would increase. Rather than sending those innocent magical girls to their deaths, they would rather take over the duty for multiple residential zones. The proximity of these 'Event's to schools was also inexplicable.
Deaths... They show up too frequently in my dreams. Would a magical girl really have these psychological problems? Should I be seeing a medical practitioner for this? Burning orange ember as far as the eye could see, spreading like a sweeping wave. Cries of grief at the edge of death where survivors persist. An overwhelming fear and a weak burning anger.
"I don't have the power to fight this disaster on my own. Come with me, I need your humble power." (?)
She(?) spoke to her for the first time, yet her words resonated like a revelation dropped onto her. Was she always this gullible? It was like a small spark ignited the largest explosion in her heart, unyielding passion combusted in her chest and pushed her body forward. Before she noticed, her hand shook with the stranger's, agreeing to accompany them on their journey.
Everything after that was a blur to Taneda. A cherished time of regret, what should not have ever happened, a world foreign to Taneda.
"These are not my memories, I can only see the beginning and the ending." (Taneda)
At the end, a certain garden was left bloodied. It couldn't be helped, it was the result of a war. No single person could stop the will of the masses that demand blood. Trapped in a coffin of her own making, she faced her death not knowing if her dignity was ever intact.
"I can never go back to that time... The happenings of the previous era..." (Taneda)
She was born less than a century before Lastia, Arin and Sariel was. Naturally these memories didn't belong to Taneda, but to who she used to be.
" I want to protect those whom I loved, but they're no longer around in this era." (Taneda)
In this current life, she was an orphan who received government aid. There was no one here for her to protect either, other than the magical girls. Seeing those young girls fight to change their fate always managed to rejuvenate her resolve.
***
That's why... That's why she has a duty. An unbreakable oath to defend the world humans and magical girls. If those worlds collide, she would have to deal with the conflict. Often times, she had to punish the magical girls for revealing themselves and the existence of magic to the public... In this era it was no longer the time of disaster, but the proliferation of peace.
Built on countless corpses, it was a time period she had to preserve in her own protection.
"That's why I can't let you go. Causing public chaos is one thing, a minor crime persay.
Existing as an anomaly with outside knowledge on the other hand..., you are an imminent threat to this era." (Taneda)
Sensing the implication in her words, Arin turned around and smiled at her. Even if Taneda was on the ground, and it restrained the moment their eyes met, she wouldn't ever let such a threat go free. Her hooded cloak flies freely into the air as she climbs to her feet. She grasps at her heart and gives a heartfelt tug with her soul
" {Fated ones' evanescent dream}!!!"(Taneda)
A white mist materialises into reality, partially wrapping around her body and a new sword that appeared in her right palm. Under her cloak, her light metallic armour shines brilliantly under the false moon, and gleams brighter under the effects of the white mist. Her cloak was mainly there to conceal the reflections of her armour because it was too bright and conspicuous.
A quick vertical slice tears the apart between her legs, her sword blocked it in time and prevented her body from getting hurt at all. A new blade... Gun-blade fusion lay in Arin's palm.
"... Your magic... Matched my strength?" (Arin)