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Inside a dark and silent alley, from the moment they entered, both the path ahead and behind had been swallowed by deep darkness, with no visible exit.
This was a witch's barrier, a prison of despair beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Two girls walked slowly through the alley, their expressions complicated and solemn.
One was an ordinary schoolgirl in a school uniform.
The other was a girl dressed in a red Gothic-style battle outfit. In her right hand was a uniquely shaped spear covered with strange patterns. Its cold, gleaming blade made it clear that it was far more than a mere toy.
"Am I being selfish? Expecting others to fight while I do nothing myself?"
Kaname Madoka quietly asked Kyōko Sakura.
Perhaps she was questioning herself.
Perhaps she was seeking comfort.
Or perhaps she truly felt guilty for her own actions.
Kyōko glanced at her and sighed.
"Why do you want to become a magical girl?"
"Why..."
Kaname Madoka herself was confused.
At present, she genuinely could not find a reason to become a magical girl.
Seeing the hesitation in her heart, Kyōko's gaze turned stern.
"If you don't have a reason to become a magical girl, then why are you agonizing over it? Don't underestimate this job. Not just anyone can do it."
Those words were not arrogance.
They were the conclusion Kyōko had reached through years of fighting witches.
"But..."
Kyōko interrupted her hesitation.
"No buts."
"Someone who eats good food every day, is surrounded by a happy family, and lives a life without any real hardships suddenly deciding to become a magical girl on a whim..."
"I absolutely won't allow it."
"I'll be the first to smash that idea to pieces."
Her tone left no room for argument.
Precisely because Kyōko had experienced the destruction of her own family, she could speak with such certainty.
She had witnessed far too many tragedies.
Before her heart became numb, what she had wanted most was to change all of it.
Her gaze fixed solemnly on the deeper darkness ahead.
"Right now, deeper in this darkness, there's an idiot like that."
"Risking her life because she has no other choice."
"Only people who truly have no other option would do something like this."
"If someone who isn't in that situation just rushes in headfirst, that's not courage."
"That's simply reckless stupidity."
"I see..."
Rather than feeling hurt by Kyōko's harsh scolding, Kaname Madoka felt an indescribable warmth in her heart.
—Just as I thought, Kyōko is kind too, just like Homura.
Kaname Madoka looked gently at Kyōko's back.
How wonderful it would have been if none of this had happened.
They could have become friends.
They could have played together happily.
They could have sat in a room together eating freshly baked cookies.
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The Theater of Despair.
It was a twisted world beyond human imagination.
Everything within it was completely different from reality.
It resembled the world as seen through the eyes of a madman.
Everything was distorted.
Everything was collapsing.
Everything existed to embody the very concept of despair.
It was like the famous painting 'The Scream', expressing itself through a heavy orchestral performance, endlessly venting and spreading its profound darkness.
Faceless audience members had become puppets.
Controlled by glittering strings, they applauded this grand musical performance.
Upon the stage stood a gigantic, grotesque creature whose appearance defied description.
Wielding a gleaming long blade, it conducted the orchestra.
This was the Witch of Despair.
The source of all despair.
At the center of the stage stood a young man dressed in a white suit, slowly drawing his bow across a violin.
His eyes had long since lost all light.
They were no different from those of a corpse.
Not far from him stood a birdcage.
Inside the cage, a magnificently dressed puppet princess danced along with the music.
The stiff, tangled movements could hardly be called beautiful.
Grand music.
Human pleas.
Whispers of despair.
All intertwined together.
The delicate balance between them somehow made the music seem even more beautiful.
Upon entering the theater, Kyōko gave a disdainful smile.
"So we've been discovered."
"Then we'll stick to the original plan."
"I'm counting on you, Kaname Madoka."
She stepped forward.
The gleaming spear in her hand pointed directly at the witch.
Her small figure stood against all the distortion and collapse of this world.
"Shout Sayaka's name as loud as you can!"
The curtain rose on the battle.
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The blue figure and the red figure intertwined.
It was as though they were telling the story of their shared fate.
The spiral of despair took shape, only to transform into blood flowing from Kyōko Sakura's body.
After enduring countless attacks, her body had become as battered as a worn-out doll.
Even Kyōko, who had long grown accustomed to battle, felt a level of exhaustion she had never experienced before.
—Not yet.
—I absolutely won't allow this tragedy to happen a second time!
"Sayaka... don't get too full of yourself."
Covered in wounds, Kyōko struggled to her feet and smiled.
Without turning around, she spoke to Homura Akemi, who had caught the unconscious Kaname Madoka behind her.
"I'm leaving Kaname Madoka to you."
"Sorry. I dragged her into something stupid."
"Ah..."
Holding Kaname Madoka in her arms, Homura took a step forward, wanting to say something yet unable to.
She had repeated this cycle of despair countless times.
Because of that, she understood the kindness of the strong-willed girl before her.
Even after deciding to sever all attachments and move forward alone, she still could not help wanting to save a comrade who had once fought beside her across countless worlds.
"Crack—!"
The curtain of spear blades swept upward, separating their worlds.
Kyōko glanced back and smiled with relief.
"You're the type who doesn't believe in carrying dead weight, right?"
"Good."
"Then that's settled."
"I'll handle Sayaka."
"I only wanted to protect the one thing I wanted to protect until the very end."
"Why is that...?"
"I never used to think that way."
Kyōko pulled the ribbon from her hair and laughed at herself.
Those weak words sounded just like Kaname Madoka's earlier self-questioning.
The fates of Sayaka Miki and Kyōko Sakura overlapped.
Kyōko simply did not want to witness another tragedy.
Or perhaps she saw her own reflection in Sayaka and did not want her to repeat the same mistakes.
Even Kyōko herself did not understand when she had begun caring so much about Sayaka Miki.
She was clearly someone who wasted food.
Clearly a stubborn little girl who only knew how to throw tantrums.
Kyōko did not understand.
Yet even without understanding anything, she knew one thing.
Standing here at this moment was the greatest wish in her heart.
Kyōko clasped her Soul Gem between both hands.
Kneeling on the ground, she looked like a nun praying to an omnipotent god.
"Go."
The world of despair seemed to sense the intrusion of a mysterious power.
A terrifying shriek echoed through the air.
All music abruptly ceased.
At the same time, the barrier itself began to collapse, attempting to bury the source of the threat.
Homura's eyes trembled.
Then she decisively leapt away with Kaname Madoka in her arms, disappearing into the edge of darkness.
The body of the praying Kyōko burst into crimson-purple flames.
The deepest wish within her Soul Gem had been answered.
She was burning her own soul.
Using a method completely opposite to that of a witch, she released that astonishing power.
The spear that had always accompanied her fell into the abyss as the world collapsed.
Without magical power sustaining it, it shattered and vanished.
"Sayaka."
"Don't become too spoiled just because others are kind to you."
"If you're lonely in the abyss of despair..."
"Then I'll come keep you company."
"Sayaka."
*Crack.*
A silent sound echoed.
The moment the red-haired girl kissed her Soul Gem, the flawless jewel embedded upon it shattered and disappeared.
In an instant, a torrent of energy erupted.
It surpassed magical girls.
It surpassed witches.
The flood of power engulfed the collapsing witch's barrier entirely.
It was no longer destruction born of despair.
Rather, it overwhelmed everything through pure physical force and through the very laws governing existence.
A long time passed...
A very long time passed...
Within the final ray of light before darkness reclaimed the world, a broken body could be seen falling from the void.
Like shattered porcelain, it was covered in countless cracks.
The light in Kyōko Sakura's eyes gradually faded.
Yet they were filled with tears.
And with a happiness and satisfaction that anyone could recognize at a glance.
The changes in that expression were impossible to describe.
Too complicated.
Too profound.
Too difficult to understand.
It shifted from the joy of possessing the happiness of an entire world...
To dimness...
Then to the lifeless stillness of porcelain...
Before finally drifting away with the wind.
The girl smiled.
A very forced smile.
Then, like her eyes, it gradually softened into relief.
Into a smile of happiness.
"That's good."
"Good night, Sayaka."
With that final whisper, filled with all the tenderness she possessed, the girl's broken body shattered completely and disappeared from the world of darkness.