(???)
This was the inside of the Earth Crystal.
It was an ocean formed from converging radiance.
The emotions of living beings were like rivers that constantly converged, ultimately pouring into this ocean in the deepest reaches of the planet's core-the Earth Crystal.
Here, bodies did not exist. Consciousness looked like a bubble of radiance.
I knew who I was, and I was not unique. In this ocean, there were countless bubbles with self-awareness just like mine...
A bubble of consciousness drifted over to me.
Though we all looked the same, I still knew who she was.
"Has she left?" I asked.
"Phew, I finally managed to talk her into leaving~ Miluno has disconnected from 'me.'"
"Don't go acting like this is a nuisance. It's your fault in the first place. You clearly agreed to erase my existence, so why do so many people still remember me?"
Faced with my complaints, this bubble of consciousness answered with easy confidence.
"Removing someone's existence from the past timeline is far more difficult than you imagine. We did make everyone forget you, but for those who were close to you, you occupied an enormous place in their hearts.
"Even if we erased your traces, shadows of equal size would remain. They pieced those shadows together, gradually outlined your shape, recalled their feelings for you, and finally confirmed your existence...
"But they couldn't remember you. The less they could remember, the more they wanted to know about you. So she tried every possible means, even using our Simulacrum Personality to find her way here."
So many people valued me. That was something I had only experienced after becoming a magical girl.
If I were still that chubby, shy, slightly withdrawn boy, probably no one would have noticed anything wrong even if I disappeared...
Except