The days slowly passed by as Alex and Sugar talked to pass the time. Other girls, who joined in every so often on their various discussions. It would have been a warm-hearted scene if it wasn’t for the cages and chains keeping them locked in place.

They slept, ate, and talked until finally the day their captors were waiting for approached. The first to notice the change was Sugar. She knocked on Alex’s cage to wake her up, “Hey Alex, the ritual is going to happen today. Prepare yourself.”

Rubbing her eyes, Alex put her glasses on with a yawn, “What do you mean? How do you know it’s time?”

“Watch what I do, then close your eyes and listen.”

Alex was confused but decided to listen to her anyway. She glanced at what Sugar was doing, then followed suit. Alex sat cross-legged, put her head down, and placed her hands together. She questioned why they needed to do this, but did it anyway, knowing that Sugar wouldn’t pull her leg.

It took a few minutes of sitting and listening for Alex to hear a faint screeching sound. She focused on the noise and could vaguely hear people's voices, chanting something that pulled on her soul.

Alex couldn’t make out the words but the indistinct sound made her want to bust out of the cage that kept her locked up just so she could join them in singing. The chant entranced Alex so much that she almost didn’t hear Sugar talking to her.

“Do you get it now? They are preparing the ritual. Soon they’ll take us to the platform. I’d say it won't be longer than a few minutes. I suggest you build up your resolve or you’re going to die down here.”

Alex didn’t brush off Sugar’s warning. After all their talks she’d learned of the true horrors of awakening as a magical girl. As Sugar predicted, the doors to the dimly lit room they were in soon opened up for two magical girls dressed in military-style black outfits.

Alex stared at one of the magical girls, recognizing her right away as one of the girls that had kidnapped and molested her.

Asita, sporting a sleek-looking uniform, was expressionless as she and a childish-looking girl with rust-colored hair walked into the room.

The two transformed when they got to the middle of the room and used their powers to move the metal cages. Alex watched in awe as the two girls moved over a hundred cages through the doorway at the same time.

By now, the girls who had been sleeping were wide awake and confused and scared when they saw what was happening. Some cried some laughed, and others showed no emotion at all. Alex and Sugar floated side by side down the hallway, readying themselves for what was to come.

The faint singing grew louder as the girls grew closer to their destination, and the hallway they moved down was lit up with red lights, making the journey quite grim for the weak of mind.

It didn't take long for their transition to end. A large pair of iron doors came into sight, and when two magical girls came close the doors opened automatically, allowing blaring music to blast down the hallway.

The two girls didn't stop for a moment as they stepped out onto the middle of a large granite platform. Various patterns were etched into the stone, the sight of which filled Alex with yearning.

With a wave of their hands, the two magical girls set down the cages in rows on the circular platform.

Alex looked around in fascination and horror at the large crowd of magical girls sitting in the high stands surrounding them. They were all wearing clothing similar to the two magical girls that brought them here, with the exception of a small group sitting in the middle of the stands that wore fancier clothing trimmed with gold and purple embroidery. These people were obviously the leaders of this group.

The strange song hit its climax and the centermost magical girl raised her hand, quieting the area in an instant.

Alex studied her from afar and could see that the leader wore a military styled dress and had a black veil over her face, hiding her features.

The silence was unbearable for the girls in the cages, but they couldn't even speak out because Blackcard’s stern eyes swept over them, bringing along an unbearable pressure. A few of them almost went mad from the sweeping glance. Luckily for those below Blackcard didn’t intimidate them for long.

Blackcard moved her eyes away and placed her hands on the railing in front of her, leaning forward slightly as she opened her mouth to speak.

“Dear sisters, thank you for your hard work acquiring these lovely seedlings for the prosperity of the gang! I hope that your selected seed will make it through the trial and become our new sister. And to the little seedlings down below... I wish you the best of luck. Let’s begin!”

With a snap of her fingers, the cages fell away. Unfortunately for the girls, their chains were still attached to the fallen cages so they couldn’t run away.

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The sound of grinding metal came from above, causing the girls to look up in surprise. Far above the roof opened up, allowing sunlight to pour into the area.

Confusion struck the girls as harsh sunbeams fell upon them, making them cover their eyes. Only some of them, like Sugar, didn’t pay any attention to the sunlight. They sat cross-legged and readied themselves for what was to come.

The platform under them began to rise up, and the girls that were still standing all fell on their asses. Alex’s heart was pounding out of her chest, grateful that she’d mimicked Sugar and sat down.

This much excitement and fear almost choked her. Alex didn’t know if she could last until the ritual began.

The magical girls in the bleachers rose together with the seedlings, waiting to see a good show. Some were making bets on which ones would make it, and which ones would bite the dust.

The bewildered girls on the platform looked around with fear, wondering what this ‘ritual’ would be. Suddenly, one by one, all of the girls lit up with various colored flames. Then came a sudden pain, a stabbing feeling in their stomachs which caused the girls who weren't prepared for it to fall over in agony.

Alex and Sugar were no exception to this, despite preparing themselves beforehand. They lit up like candles, gray and yellow respectively, as pain wreaked through their bodies. Yet somehow they were able to remain sitting in the same positions, gritting their teeth to bear through the pain. They felt as if needles were slowly stabbing into their bodies as an unknown energy source started flowing within their veins.

Blackcard watched the girls howl in pain, as expressionless as always. She knew the eclipse ritual would last for four hours, and that the beginning and the end were the easiest parts. If these seedlings couldn’t even bear this pain and keep their will firm then during the rest of the ritual they would definitely die or go insane.

Some of the girls below had signed up for this, but others were kidnapped or bought on the black market. They had no choice but to sink or swim and grab at the chance in front of them. If they died here then that would be the end, but if they lived then they would become beings of untold power.

It didn’t take long before one of the girls yelled out, louder than the rest, and had a hand rip out of her back. another scratched at her chest as scales started to appear all over her body. Various mutations appeared on a dozen or so girls, all of whom were crying tears of blood as their bodies cracked and their muscles and bones shifted and contorted into strange new forms.

They screamed louder as their skin began to split and black blood squirted from their bodies.

Blackcard looked on and mumbled, “Mana rejection. Poor bastards. At least it’ll be over soon.”

The first to mutate now had arms all over her body. Every time she moved her skin ripped apart, showing her newly blackened muscles. She screamed for help, for someone, anyone, to stop the pain. Yet no one from the crowd helped her. Instead, they had smiles on their faces as they watched her struggle.

“It seems like number 44 is going to be the first to pop, hehe! Reminds me of my ritual. The girl next to me exploded, caking me in her guts!”

“Damn, I put my money on her making it through! Oh well, at least I get to see a show. Blow up, my girl! Pop like a balloon!”

Various laughs rang out from the crowd as number 44 stared up at them in terror. The sight of their laughter and joyful smiles tormented her. Alex was only a couple of rows away from the girl and could see her situation as clear as day. She could see the fear written on the girl’s face as she held her stomach with countless hands, screaming in terror and pain.

“It’s coming, someone save me! Save me!! I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna di—’

An arm exploded out of her mouth cutting off her words, she turned and stared Alex straight in the eye as she lurched forward, her body trembling oddly. Alex couldn’t look away from ‘number 44’ as her body rapidly inflated like a balloon.

Horrified, Alex could only stare, silently witnessing ‘number 44’s’ final moments as the girl exploded into a mass of gore and blood. Nothing remained intact, not even her skeleton. The girl’s parts splattered onto other nearby seedlings and some of the blood even landed on Alex.

Unknowingly, Alex started to scream and cry.

How could this happen? Why did this happen? Why did that girl have to die? Why are all those people laughing and smiling? We’re all human beings, how could they do this?!

Gritting her teeth, Alex roared at the crowd, “What the fuck is wrong with you all?!”

After the words left her mouth her eyes grew wide. This was the first time that she’d ever yelled with such fury, the first time she let her real thoughts out. Alex was bewildered for a moment, and the magical girls in the stands went silent for a second before shouting back at her.

“Heh, Number 129 has some spunk! Are we still taking bets? I’ll place five hundred green ghost crystals on her making it through!”

“I’ll bet she’ll explode at the climax! Such a fiery spirit won’t make it through ‘that’ part! Three hundred crystal toad eyes!”

Alex's mouth dropped open when she saw how the magical girls brushed her off and even started to bet on her. Were magical girls really so twisted that they didn’t even care about people's lives? Alex didn’t get a chance to think more on the subject before another one of the mutated girls exploded into a puddle of gore.

The crowd in the stands went crazy once more. Some were displeased, some were excited, and others just placed more bets. Alex didn’t know what to do. She clenched her fists and slowly lowered her head, silently bearing with the pain and fury rolling in within her chest.

Sugar, although pained, spoke plainly, “Nasty bunch, right Alex? That’s going to be our gang until the day we die. Congrats on drawing their attention though. You’ll get a nice cut of the profit with all the money they’ve bet on you.”

Alex bemoaned to Sugar, “How can they be so twisted?! They laugh at people dying right before their eyes like it’s some sport. It isn’t right, Sugar. I’d rather die than join them!”

Sugar replied with a shake of her head, “Don’t say that Alex. There’s a reason they act like that. When we make it through this I’ll tell you all about it in detail, but for now, focus on not dying!”

Sugar focused on absorbing the magical energy beating down upon her, ignoring Alex’s confused expression. Alex wanted to cry, scream, and curse at those standing above her, but she knew that her death wouldn’t mean anything to those magical girls.

She bottled up her emotions, holding everything inside like always, and focused on taking in the solar energy flowing onto her. Alex closed her eyes to the world, yet the sounds of girls screaming and exploding all around her rang in her ears, leaving behind a haunting echo.