Chapter 960: Night Talk

At night, Sayaka and Sakura Kyoko lay on the same bed, both finding it difficult to fall asleep for a time.

They did not know what Lingyun's Chain was made of; usually, it seemed intangible, but if the two of them tried to move a certain distance away from each other, the Chain would instantly solidify, pulling them back to each other's side.

"I wonder what this Chain of Teacher's is actually made of?" Sayaka raised her hand, gazing at the Chain on her wrist.

"Who knows? That teacher of yours is strange, and there's no telling how many things he's hiding!" Sakura Kyoko rested her hands behind her head. "And that girl by his side, too—she's just as strange."

Thinking of Tokisaki Kurumi, Sakura Kyoko also felt an indescribable pressure.

"But didn't I see you go to find her earlier? And you were talking to her about something so mysterious."

"That was for this!" Sakura Kyoko flipped her hand, and a bullet appeared in her palm.

"This is?" Looking at the bullet in Sakura Kyoko's hand, Sayaka was somewhat puzzled.

"There are some long stories I want to talk to you about, so I went and borrowed this thing from her!" Sakura Kyoko said, pressing the bullet against her forehead.

A faint light flashed, the bullet in Sakura Kyoko's hand vanished instantly, and the scenery around them began to distort. When the distortion faded, the two of them appeared inside a dilapidated cathedral.

Although she knew this place was likely an illusion created by that bullet, Sayaka still couldn't help but scramble up from the ground and look around at this unfamiliar place.

"Where is this?"

"This place used to be my father's church. He was a man who was too honest and too kind—a man who would shed tears while reading the newspaper every morning and feel genuinely distressed. My father said that to save a new era, one needs a new faith." When mentioning her father, a trace of nostalgia couldn't help but show in Sakura Kyoko's eyes.

Seeing Sakura Kyoko like this, a look of astonishment couldn't help but appear on Sayaka's face. After all, in her eyes, Sakura Kyoko was someone who acted recklessly; she hadn't expected her to show such an expression.

As Sakura Kyoko told her story, the scenery around the two began to change.

Sakura Kyoko's father was a Priest with great ambitions, so at times, he would instill things not found in the doctrine into his believers. However, such things were taboo; his believers vanished all at once, and he himself was kicked out by the headquarters.

After all, a person who did such things was viewed by others as a suspicious new religion. In a sense, religion can sometimes be extremely exclusionary; no matter how correct or self-evident his words were, he would still be rejected by others. This led to a serious consequence: their family couldn't even afford to eat.

The young Sakura Kyoko could not endure this; after all, her father was not wrong, and if someone were willing to listen carefully, they would inevitably discover his correctness. In the end, the appearance of Kyubey brought a glimmer of hope to Sakura Kyoko, and she made a wish, hoping that those people would listen carefully to what her father had to say.

After signing a Contract with Kyubey, people came to the church in an endless stream, and their numbers even grew. Sakura Kyoko became a Magical Girl, responsible for eliminating witches every night. It looked as if the two of them were saving the world, one in the light and one in the dark.

However, Sakura Kyoko becoming a Magical Girl was eventually discovered by her father. When he learned that the reason for his many believers was not his doctrine, but rather that they were drawn by Sakura Kyoko's power, he was utterly enraged.

Consumed by anger, he cursed Sakura Kyoko, his own daughter, as a witch who bewitched people's hearts. This situation made Sakura Kyoko feel incomparably ridiculous. She had been fighting witches in the shadows, never mentioning it to anyone even when she was severely wounded, yet this was the end she met.

Upon learning the truth, Sakura Kyoko's father completely broke down; he began to indulge in alcohol, and his mental state deteriorated. In the end, he chose to kill his entire family, then committed suicide himself. Since Sakura Kyoko was a Magical Girl, ordinary methods could not kill her, so she became the sole survivor. But she was left completely alone.

"How could it be like this!" Looking at Sakura Kyoko's back, Sayaka couldn't help but cry out in shock.

"My prayer destroyed my own family. Just because I made a wish without considering others, it resulted in everyone becoming unhappy. At that moment, I swore I would never use Magic for the sake of others again. This power is to be used entirely for myself." Sakura Kyoko turned around and looked at Sayaka. "Miracles aren't free. If you pray for hope, you will emit an equal amount of despair. Only by canceling them out to zero can the balance of the world be maintained."

"Why are you telling me this..." Sayaka lowered her head, making it impossible to see her expression.

"You and I, the starting point of our wishes was the same—not for ourselves, but for others. We are both Magical Girls, there are no others like us. I don't want you to walk the same path I did. You want what's best for others, but in the end, you push both yourself and them onto a path of destruction." Sakura Kyoko looked at Sayaka, as if seeing her former self.

"I seem to have misunderstood you in many ways, and I apologize to you for that. But I do not regret making a wish for the sake of others!" A trace of determination appeared on Sayaka's face. "So that this feeling of mine doesn't become a lie, I have decided not to regret it—from now on, I will never regret it!"

"Why are you..." A look of surprise couldn't help but appear on Sakura Kyoko's face.

"As for me, I don't feel that I paid too high a price. Because if this power is used correctly, no matter how beautiful a thing it is, it can be created!" Sayaka wore a fearless smile.

"Is that so?" Sakura Kyoko looked at Sayaka and sighed softly. She looked exactly like her former self—the kind who wouldn't turn back until hitting a brick wall. "Regardless, you are doing much better now than I ever was. Even if you step into the abyss, there will be someone who can pull you back!"

Sakura Kyoko was actually somewhat envious of Sayaka. After all, having spent this time together, she already knew clearly that neither Sayaka's friends nor Lingyun would let Sayaka walk a path of self-destruction. Just like how Lingyun used the Chain to connect them both right now—wasn't his underlying purpose to have her provide a preventative measure for Sayaka?

"What do you mean by that?" Sayaka suddenly looked in Sakura Kyoko's direction.

The environment around their bodies collapsed rapidly and eventually faded away, and the two returned to the room once more.

But Sakura Kyoko had no intention of answering Sayaka; she simply lay down on the bed and waved her hand at Sayaka, signaling that she was going to sleep.

Seeing Sakura Kyoko like this, Sayaka could only sigh, then lay down beside her.