Chapter 935: The Story of the Endless Cycle

Looking at the Soul Gem shining brilliantly in Lingyun's hand, a strange light could not help but flash through Akemi Homura's eyes.

Originally, she had thought that coming to find Lingyun was merely to find a comrade who could assist her in defeating Walpurgisnacht; she had not expected to receive such an unexpected harvest. Perhaps, she could...

After deep contemplation for a long while, Akemi Homura said softly, "Teacher, are you willing to listen to me tell a story?"

"A story?" Lingyun raised his eyebrows slightly. "Alright. I wonder what kind of story you want to tell me, Akemi Homura. It is about your story, isn't it? My intuition tells me that it is not a happy story."

Hearing Lingyun say this, Akemi Homura could not help but look at Lingyun with some surprise.

"Do not underestimate your teacher. I have seen it—the tangled and somewhat chaotic World Line wrapped around you! Moreover, I myself also possess a portion of Time Power!" Lingyun said with a smile.

"Teacher can actually see even such a thing?" A trace of astonishment appeared on Akemi Homura's face.

Lingyun nodded with a smile: "I do not know what kind of story student Akemi Homura is going to tell, but I am very interested in it."

Seeming to have finally found someone she could confide in, Akemi Homura poured out her entire past story all at once.

In the very first World Line, Akemi Homura was just an ordinary girl. She was frail and sickly, and her academic grades were extremely poor. Because of the burden of her illness, her parents had to exhaust their efforts to earn money, causing her to only be able to see her parents after a very long time.

After undergoing heart surgery, Akemi Homura transferred to Mitakihara Middle School. At this time, Akemi Homura was actually somewhat insecure; after arriving at the new school, the unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar classmates all made her feel unable to adapt.

And all of this changed after she once again accidentally wandered into a Witch Barrier. When her life was threatened, two Magical Girls saved Akemi Homura. These two were Tomoe Mami, and the other was Akemi Homura's best friend, Kaname Madoka.

After coming into contact with Magical Girls, Akemi Homura's life also underwent a huge change. She followed by their sides, facing terrifying witches together and fighting alongside them. However, happy times are always short-lived; all of this was completely shattered after Walpurgisnacht appeared.

In front of the powerful Walpurgisnacht, Akemi Homura felt for the first time what despair was. Tomoe Mami died in battle, and Kaname Madoka, in order to protect Akemi Homura, perished together with the witch.

It was at this moment that Akemi Homura became a Magical Girl by signing a Contract with Kyubey, and her wish was to meet Kaname Madoka again and protect her, rather than being protected by her. Under her wish, time began to reverse, returning to one month prior. This was also the beginning of Akemi Homura stepping onto an endless Cycle.

In the second World Line, Akemi Homura joined Tomoe Mami's team as a Magical Girl, and the three of them fought against Walpurgisnacht together. However, after defeating Walpurgisnacht, Akemi Homura witnessed Kaname Madoka turn into a witch before her eyes.

This scene made Akemi Homura almost lose control. It was at this time that she learned that everyone had been deceived by Kyubey. In order to salvage this situation, Akemi Homura turned the Time Hourglass again and arrived at the third World Line.

In this World Line, she attempted to tell others about Kyubey's conspiracy. However, no one knew why Kyubey would do this, and Akemi Homura could not produce any evidence. No one believed her words, and her actions even nearly led to the disintegration of the team.

Subsequently, Sayaka, who had already become a Magical Girl, turned into a witch before them. The other Magical Girls tried to awaken Sayaka's reason, but in the end, it ended in failure. If it were not for Akemi Homura decisively using a bomb to kill the mermaid witch that Sayaka had turned into, the few of them would have been wiped out by the mermaid witch.

This incident directly caused Tomoe Mami to have a mental breakdown. Unwilling to face the reality that she would become a witch in the future, Tomoe Mami directly shot and destroyed Sakura Kyoko's Soul Gem, and then used a Ribbon to bind Akemi Homura, who possessed time abilities. If it were not for Kaname Madoka's reaction being fast enough to directly shatter Tomoe Mami's Soul Gem, the bound Akemi Homura might also have died at the hands of Tomoe Mami.

In the end, Akemi Homura and Kaname Madoka fought Walpurgisnacht together. After experiencing a tragic battle, the two collapsed in a pile of ruins, their Soul Gems having reached their limits. Originally, Akemi Homura thought that if the two of them turned into witches like this, it would be fine, but she did not expect that Kaname Madoka would use a Grief Seed she had hidden to purify Akemi Homura's Soul Gem, and begged her to return to the past once more to save that foolish self who had been deceived by Kyubey.

Under Kaname Madoka's plea that she did not want to become a witch, Akemi Homura made the most painful decision of her life: she pulled the trigger and shattered Kaname Madoka's Soul Gem. After finishing all of this, Akemi Homura turned the Time Hourglass again.

After arriving at a new World Line, Akemi Homura used Magic to restore her body, threw away her glasses, undid her braids, and from then on stepped onto a completely different path.

However, fate always likes to tease people so much. No matter how hard Akemi Homura tried, she could not reverse Kaname Madoka's tragic fate. In the Cycle after Cycle, Akemi Homura gradually became numb. If it were not for Kaname Madoka being the coordinate, she would likely have been lost long ago.

After telling her entire story, Akemi Homura let out a long breath. Having experienced endless Cycles, with all matters known only to herself and having to be carried by herself alone, Akemi Homura also felt incomparably heavy. Now that there was finally someone she could confide in, after finishing her confession, Akemi Homura felt that her heart was much lighter.

"In fact, when I met Teacher, my heart was incomparably surprised, because I had never seen Teacher in the endless Cycles. Therefore, I tried to approach Teacher, wanting to break this endless Cycle. Perhaps, this time I can succeed and end this path that has no end." Akemi Homura lay on the table, a rare trace of fragility appearing on her face.

After listening to Akemi Homura's story, Lingyun's face was full of seriousness: "Student Akemi Homura, I have a few conjectures here; perhaps, you should prepare yourself mentally..."

Seeing Lingyun like this, Akemi Homura's heart could not help but skip a beat. She had never seen Lingyun show such an expression. Could it be that Lingyun had discovered some unimaginable thing from her story?