When Larkspur stepped through the doors of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, just as she had seen before, there was not the slightest bit of light around her. Everything in the darkness was silent.
Unlike ordinary darkness caused by a lack of light, in the Bureau's deep and secluded interior, even a Magical Girl's eyesight could not make out anything clearly. She could only vaguely distinguish the outlines of objects.
That only further proved that something was wrong with the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.
Larkspur stood where she was and cast a detection spell glowing with magic into the hall before her. Only after confirming that no ambush was hidden in the darkness did she layer several barriers over herself and formally step inside.
As she walked forward, her footsteps echoed through the empty hall.
Click, click. Click, click.
As she proceeded onward, some sort of sound came from the darkness.
Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle.
The faint, chaotic noises never ceased.
It made Larkspur stop in the middle of the empty hall, looking around with some confusion.
Why did all of this feel so familiar to her?
She continued forward. The crisp clack of her heels against the floor scattered the surrounding noise, and after a brief silence, it was replaced by a kind of whispering.
There were men and women among them, old and young alike. Their sole commonality was that they were all laughing.
The laughter stirred Larkspur's memories, finally reminding her of the source of that familiarity—it was the dream she had experienced before.
The hall in darkness, the laughter from an unknown source—this scene was exactly the same as her dream.
Yet after realizing this, Larkspur's brow furrowed even more deeply.
She did not understand what connection there could possibly be.
There was no doubt that what she