Deep in the volcano.
After passing through the "lava projection" formed by illusion, it remained utterly ordinary—just a massive crimson pool with surging heat, occasionally splashing boiling lava that struck stone walls with hissing sounds, melting more debris.
But anyone with eyes could see something was wrong—what volcano center had a pristine white marble altar with surrounding steps!
Hibiscus followed the spatial fluctuations to confirm the altar's location.
She glanced at the calculation paper in her hand. "I'll activate the teleportation technique shortly. I'm responsible for specific positioning—you just need to coordinate with my magic power connection."
Everyone nodded and descended to the stone platform together, slowly walking along these steps that were occasionally washed by lava. With a little attention there was no problem, except Jin Ruochu needed to sway left and right, duck down or jump up, forced to play dodgeball with the splashing lava.
Her companions were used to such sights.
After experiencing combat coordination, everyone understood how their magic mechanisms worked together. For example, in relatively safe environments, Manjusaka would actively make herself unlucky, equivalent to accumulating fortune for later use. Being affected by lava to this degree counted as accumulation—afterward there would be good luck, including for those she wished to protect. Consider it praying for smooth teleportation ahead.
Nan Zhiyi curiously stomped hard on the floor tiles, making tap-tap sounds. The sharp high heels of her magical girl Regalia left no trace.
"From what I understand, very few materials can remain intact after soaking in a lava pool for thousands or tens of thousands of years."
"This thing could probably serve as a nuclear war bunker," Jin Yulu said with interest. "The pre-era had many miraculous things. The biggest calling card was ancient relics—one altar isn't surprising."
"Cough cough!"
Hibiscus suddenly coughed violently, drawing everyone's attention. She waved her hand and wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. "It's knowledge poison—nothing serious. Continue forward."
She had just tried to get specific intelligence about Hermit Island from netizens but suffered backlash.
Until reaching the destination, she probably couldn't get too much advance spoilers.
From another angle, the legendary "non-existent Island 24.5" did indeed contain massive magical resources. According to the original storyline, even when the Salvation Church was destroyed, they hadn't finished excavating it all—enough archaeological grave-robbing to last several lifetimes.
Those deeper secrets were beyond Hibiscus's current reach. For now, she positioned it merely as a stronghold where magical girls could operate freely.
Clatter!
Suddenly stones slid down beside their feet, causing a disturbance. However, when the girls looked around, there was nothing—the vast crater contained only boiling and gurgling bubbles.
Jin Yulu remained vigilant, murmuring: "I keep feeling like something's watching us..."
Sands of Time—relative flow deceleration!
Hibiscus didn't care whether enemies were confirmed—she started with a full-field strong control technique, the best approach for possible ambush situations was to strike first. She set the range close to the stone walls, and sure enough, rainbow colors appeared in the upper left corner, revealing 10 lizard-shaped Disaster Beasts.
"Enemy spotted!"
As soon as she spoke, she released the deceleration—after all, high-consumption time magic should be avoided when possible. Who knew what dangers awaited after teleportation?
Jin Yulu lightning-fast drew her waist pistol, spinning the cylinder for rapid fire—6 shots precisely hitting three pairs of eyes.
Bullets did minimal damage to Disaster Beasts, but hitting the eyes was about 80% effective. This was experience learned from countermeasure units, now combined with magical girls' superhuman dynamic vision to accomplish marksmanship that humans could only look up to.
6 bullets, one gunshot.
Three fire salamander Disaster Beasts fell in response, then Nan Zhiyi condensed magic blades to finish them off. The corpses fell into lava, their muscle spasms showing signs of struggle.
These monsters belonged to specific terrain-type Disaster Beasts, dwelling year-round in certain extremely harsh environments. Their home field advantage was obvious—same principle as the Red Rhino before, the type of disgusting enemy human armies didn't want to face. Once a subjugation war began, they would inevitably suffer massive losses. However, facing magical girls, these 10 creatures lost three members in one encounter, further arousing the beasts' ferocity.
The fire salamanders hissed and flicked their tongues, which carried flames roaring forth.
Low-level magical girls lacked defensive measures, so they had to scatter separately to avoid being focus-fired.
Jin Ruochu kept her presence low throughout, hiding and afraid her accumulated bad luck would implicate teammates. But unexpectedly, after the fire salamanders' barrage, they climbed the stone walls toward her overhead. "I hate dealing with bug-like guys."
"Same here."
At the critical moment, Hibiscus threw throwing knives from her waist, precisely hitting Disaster Beast hearts and eliminating two more. Through her demonstration, companions understood the weak points and began engaging individually.
Unless it was mid-to-late stage powerful and mysterious special Disaster Beasts, she already knew the intelligence on these small fry by heart—not just heart locations, but even basic anatomical structure. If other magical girls faced fire salamander ambushes, they'd probably find it troublesome, but the galactic battleship lineup feared nothing.
Soon all Disaster Beasts were eliminated—threats below Vanguard type couldn't endanger a magical girl expedition team with Triple Awakening.
Splash!
They threw the corpses into lava for complete destruction, filling the air with the smell of roasted meat.
Jin Yulu sighed. "We moved too slowly. This encounter was poorly handled, especially me—I didn't detect enemies earlier to report to the instructor. This group really isn't mature yet."
Everyone was already numb to Team Leader Jin's routine pressure monster remarks, turning instead to continue toward the stone altar.
Suddenly the lava pool bubbled as magic power converged toward the center, making the altar emit cracking sounds. The smooth white surface revealed golden patterns—like totems, like text, mysterious and profound. Viewing them made one's head spin, clearly containing considerable knowledge poison concentration.
Nan Zhiyi nodded to herself: "Disaster Beasts are one of the activation keys. No wonder it's one-time use—after all, they can only be killed once, and the altar might be unstable."
"Did we book a one-way ticket?" Jin Ruochu asked uneasily.
"Don't worry at all."
Hibiscus placed her hand on the altar surface, transmitting magic power. Simultaneously, her hourglass ornament glowed, amplifying mental power—sure enough, there were clues.
"Actually, Professor Brunhilde's calculations were extremely accurate, just missing one step. Hermit Island is 50 kilometers in the 3 o'clock direction, but the macroscopic spatial coordinates aren't quite right, which is why we need the pre-era teleportation array entrance." The white-haired girl looked around—everyone stood on the altar. "I'll send you over first. The user teleports last. Once we find relics there, we can freely enter and exit. So, are you ready?"
The girls nodded together.
"Begin!"
There were no extra special effects—Nan Zhiyi, Jin Ruochu, and Jin Yulu disappeared in the blink of an eye. Then came the user's turn. Roughly sensing, they should have gone toward Hermit Island.
However, spatial coordinate disruption told Hibiscus one thing: her teleportation target had shifted!
"Damn it!"
For some reason, Hibiscus found her body emanating jade light, carrying her rapidly toward different spatial coordinates.
At the critical moment, the girl forced herself to stay alert and calm, fully recording and calculating the original destination's Hermit Island coordinates, memorizing the only anchor point—otherwise she'd definitely be lost in unfathomable spatial currents with nine deaths and one survival.
Hibiscus held her breath, unable to focus on anything else. Eyes tightly closed, she concentrated fully, supplying all magic power to her Regalia for enhanced defense.
Soon gravity gradually returned, and her feet felt solid ground.
She carefully opened her eyes to find herself standing on verdant "ground" covered with patterns, moss, and even mushrooms as tall as a person... No, it was some kind of super-large tree. Looking around, she was merely positioned on a small branch. Thicker ancient tree trunks crisscrossed, accompanied by waves of floral fragrance. This exaggerated size was practically the legendary World Tree—an adult human was merely an ant.
The ancient trees grew toward sunlight, all stretching branches and leaves skyward. Only then did Hibiscus notice something: they had a transparent quality, not absorbing all sunlight.
Otherwise the surroundings should be pitch black.
Thanks to brilliant sunlight, she shaded her eyes and gazed upward, vaguely seeing building clusters in the canopy layer!
Unlike any architectural style in human history, but definitely built by intelligent beings—this represented civilization.
Hibiscus's expression changed dramatically. She immediately restrained her magic power and hid, simultaneously concealing herself in some bushes. Her relatively petite size made her disappear completely once hidden, finally feeling somewhat reassured. After all, who knew what stance unknown intelligent beings in unknown space held? Many Disaster Beasts also possessed certain intelligence, but the results of contact with humans were plain to see.
"I must be careful."
The white-haired girl whispered to remind herself—the more dangerous, the more she needed to stay calm.
She peeked out again, magic-enhanced eyes comparable to telescopes. Looking carefully, she found the building proportions were wrong—only equivalent to doghouses or chicken coops.
Besides this, there were indeed "human figure" traces through the leaves, but often with pointed ears, long wings, feminine appearances... Could they be fairies? Setting aside fairy legends spread across Planet Gaia, netizens often mentioned them too.
Could the ground beneath actually be the legendary fairyland? She had somehow space-jumped here.
Hibiscus felt the pulling sensation from Hermit Island's spatial coordinates still existed. It seemed the teleportation array had error correction functions—after a while, she would still go to the destination. Taking this opportunity, she shouldn't miss intelligence gathering.
Take photos and upload.
The system's built-in photography function excellently demonstrated "pictures are proof," clearly presenting this magnificent vista, along with the OP's question:
"Netizens, urgent emergency—where am I now?"
Sure enough, as soon as the dynamic update appeared, many familiar nicknames and comments in distinctive language styles emerged. This scene actually gave Hibiscus comfort—at least she wasn't alone.
【In northern Myanmar, hopeless, next】
【Family, reached the world's highest city, Jade Court】
【Be serious, Hyacinth should indeed be urgent. Did you accidentally enter fairyland when teleporting to Hermit Island?】
【That's right. Planet Gaia has legends of humans being summoned to fairyland, and the Magical Girl of Light series has related plots. Absolutely correct. Our only puzzle is: Magical Girl Hyacinth should be the most rejected person by fairy species. According to the original storyline, the Time Priestess and Fairy King were in opposition—neither paid attention to the other, even having brief clashes across different dimensional worlds】
【Wrong. More precisely, only those with "fairyland affinity" can enter the World Tree realm, otherwise they'd probably be forever barred】
【The Time Priestess tried everything but couldn't successfully invade fairy homeland, yet the new worldline enters directly】
【Don't say it, really don't say it. So-called affinity talent is essentially good-hearted people with huge influence on fate—standard protagonist equipment. For example, Jin Ruochu will be summoned sooner or later】
【So Hyacinth being able to enter is ridiculous】
【Guide: This way please】
【Back to business, since the OP is confirmed as an affinity talent holder, you can use more advanced technique powers in the future】
Hibiscus perked up at this topic—after all, techniques had many inconveniences. The complete knowledge mastered by fairies was still more useful, and she'd need to supplement this aspect sooner or later.
Moreover, when fairies descended to the world, she could use affinity talent to strengthen communication with them, perfectly adapting to the new version. Then she'd simply try connecting fairies with magical girls one-on-one, using this to consolidate influence on both sides... There were too many expandable areas, opening up many possibilities.
As for the reason, she didn't care—just go with the flow. Seriously speaking, time magic having no reason to not involve fate wasn't strange.
In the original storyline, fairyland rejected the Time Priestess for actually only one reason:
You seem a bit too extreme.
Moreover, the Salvation Church coveted the World Tree's natural magic power, hoping to use it to transform all humanity and create a magical girl society. But the World Tree was fairies' survival homeland—the contradiction was irreconcilable. The reason it didn't evolve into total war was because Manjusaka stepped forward to block the front.
Hibiscus believed the new worldline's contradictions hadn't reached that point. With so many people helping her, there was no reason to walk an irreversible path—there would be plenty of opportunities later.
"Thank you all for the answers. I basically understand the situation."
"The spatial pull from Hermit Island is getting stronger. I'll probably return soon—this time will definitely go smoothly."
【The OP's simulated worldline lets me see another possible plot direction for the Magical Girl of Light series. This time actually opened the fairyland branch—it's like I'm playing a game】
【These photos definitely have lots of special effects added. Well done, wonder where the footage was shot and composited】
【Wallpaper +1】
【Following this thread for nothing else—just often get to see good pictures】
【Right, almost forgot. In fairyland there's no knowledge poison, because in the Magical Girl of Light worldview they master wisdom—embodiments of past, present and future. So here you can read Hermit Island intelligence without being affected... even things that would be hard to read standing on the island】
【Quick quick quick, any materials?】
【Coming coming, spatial relic mechanisms, island native Disaster Beasts, island traps...】
Hibiscus didn't expect netizens to be more anxious than herself. She immediately commanded the system to filter only effective information. Sure enough, lines of text flashed before her eyes. Simultaneously, the pulling sensation around her broke through the threshold. Though urgent, she still tried to memorize part of it—every word was precious and definitely useful. The island strategy battle she'd been worrying about should go more smoothly now. "Anyway, thank you all..."
Whoosh!
The silver-haired girl disappeared from her original location. The frequent spatial fluctuations finally drew fairy attention—girls with dragonfly wings and pointed ears flew warily to the bushes.
But they found nothing.
The fairies clearly sensed the bushes where Hibiscus disappeared contained auras not belonging to this world, but somehow they vanished in an instant—both strange and familiar, full of mystery. Such an odd phenomenon made the girls' eyes shine as they discussed excitedly:
"Could Disaster Beasts have broken up from the tree roots?"
"Her Majesty's power is incomparable—those ugly things can't invade Jade Court."
"There's a scent of blue hyacinth—simply exquisite."
"How do you smell color?"
"It's a color representing tranquility and harmony. The girl who visited Jade Court must possess kindness, tolerance, inner strength, and helpfulness—the human world has long awaited such talent."
This fairy's speculation gained unanimous agreement. Though without evidence, they always trusted intuition—anyone liked by fairies couldn't be bad.
Mentioning this made them even more excited, discussions growing livelier. For fairies, they hated Disaster Beasts born from energy impurities and loved human girls who could produce pure emotional magic power. After many years, perhaps the barrier between World Tree and human world was weakening enough to support descent. Wonder how much had changed after a whole era? They couldn't wait to see how old friends were doing.
"Silence."
A squad of armored fairies flew over in formation. Seeing this, the girls parted to make way, all looking like curious babies.
Actually alarming Guardian Knights showed this "uninvited guest incident" wasn't simple. Their appearance meant the royal palace's attitude was unclear, still harboring doubt. Indeed, normally the two worlds' barriers were very solid, and various connection channels were polluted by Disaster Beasts—someone might have used extraordinary means to invade.
However, with Guardian Knights present, fairies weren't worried, not even deliberately staying away from the scene.
The elite responsible for protecting Jade Court were the tribe's most combat-capable, mastering no fewer than a hundred spells, even glimpsing magical mysteries—dealing with enemies was no problem.
The only flaw was they had difficulty leaving World Tree range.
The lead knight examined the area briefly before announcing: "I sense somewhat panicked emotions and abnormal spatial fluctuations. The other party should have accidentally entered fairyland, but the World Tree not rejecting them already represents affinity. She had no malice—perhaps we can be friends. Additionally, I discovered another aura from our guest..."
"The miracle of magic."
This statement shocked everyone, since magic was something even fairies could hardly touch—a gift belonging exclusively to pure-hearted human girls, or rather, talent.
Fairy Queen Lilith had already prophesied a magical girl era was coming, but it should start from October 1990 in human world calendar at the earliest. Could they have appeared early? No, if Her Majesty's divination went wrong, it proved fate lines were disturbed—chain reactions would be immeasurable.
"The visitor to World Tree realm might be this era's first magical girl."
If it were other Guardian Knight captains, perhaps no one would believe, but the speaker was Julius with personal guard title—one of the entire tribe's top figures, representing Her Majesty's authority to some degree, definitely not making rash judgments.
The girls couldn't help whispering speculation:
"Prophecy errors probably represent flaws in some link. Could these magical girls control their own fate?"
"Good news—if they awaken early, there can be fewer sacrifices and the future will be smoother."
"Soft, fragrant magical girls—I can't help wanting to hug and cuddle them."
"Captain Julius, why not petition Her Majesty?"
The golden-armored fairy shook her head. "Lady Lilith is sleeping to accumulate power, preparing to open passages between World Tree realm and human realm afterward. She probably can't spare time for now."
Such a pity.
The girls looked disappointed—after all, they hadn't seen Lady Lilith for a long time. That beautiful, gentle, powerful, and wise Majesty would definitely guide the tribe toward the right direction.
But thinking again, they really should be careful. Previously, some fairies were polluted or left due to ideological differences, causing World Tree realm to suffer the pain of division. War affected many settlements—even now they were busy repairing. Even if communication with the human world was established, it didn't mean they could provide full support immediately, because domestic affairs weren't sorted out yet. That side would have to help out first.
Julius fell into thought, crouching to carefully observe the tree trunk—there were slight traces:
A girl, about 180 cm tall, long hair... at least Triple Awakening stage. Completing such achievement at this time could be called naturally gifted, stronger than the "Calamity Witch prototype" Her Majesty once prophesied in the same period. The current uninvited guest could be called the first among magical girls.
Besides this, there was no effective information—after all, using magic made it hard to leave traces. The other party was obviously very cautious and had observed fairyland.
Strange—how did she seem to understand Jade Court intelligence?
Otherwise ordinary people wouldn't realize to hide first and wouldn't trigger alarm barriers—it was practically perfect infiltration.
Julius sighed: "This atmosphere of showing some understanding when encountering anything that seems strange to others is similar to Her Majesty... a hyacinth-scented girl? Very interesting."
"Captain, why don't we think from another angle?" a subordinate suggested. "Detect spatial fluctuations to see where the original target was?"
"Let's do that."
Under intense fairy onlooking, Guardian Knights carefully investigated spatial fluctuations. More and more people gathered around—watching excitement was one of Jade Court's universal traditions that must be savored. Even they felt somewhat perverted, continuously tracking and investigating a girl was weird. But this had nothing to do with the emotional magic power fragrance from her body—it was definitely to protect everyone's homeland.
Moments later, a scout declared: "It's one-time directional teleportation to Hermit Island."
Complete silence. Even fairies hadn't expected a pre-era magical talent training holy site to return to the world—human history was indeed full of cyclical surprises.
Hermit Island already had some permanently stationed magical miracle effects—extremely dangerous. Triple Awakening would probably mean no return.
Julius murmured: "But that place has been abandoned too long and occupied by Disaster Beasts, even evolving special species with magical abilities. This girl going alone would definitely be more doomed than fortunate... No, even with companions couldn't change total annihilation."
"So surviving would count as blessed?" the scout replied.
"What do you mean?"
"In fairy history, there are cases of affinity holders going through hardships to become blessed ones, even mobilizing World Tree power. Perhaps the person Her Majesty mentioned who could overturn the status quo has appeared. Though I don't quite believe it either, everything is too coincidental. I just hope this guest doesn't lose too badly on Hermit Island."
Julius declared decisively: "Guests are visitors—we must do something."