Corpse March

Prologue

In the year 2023, an extraterrestrial object was detected entering Earth’s atmosphere before crash landing in [REDACTED], Japan. In the succeeding week, four adolescent teenage girls from the surrounding area were abducted. Stealth technology of unknown nature hindered  the Japanese government’s ability to locate the site of the crash. Search progress was halted for a year and half until locals reported being assisted by entities resembling adolescent females in fantastical sailor uniforms. After a brief search, contact was established between the Japanese government and these entities.

These entities have been confirmed to be the four missing adolescents. When questioned, subjects were forthcoming with the nature behind their existence. They claimed to be “normal girls” for most of their lives until they were kidnapped and taken into a building that resembled a school. Later analysis showed that the location of the ‘School’ was consistent with the location of the unidentified crashed object. Though initially appearing to be adolescent human females, these entities are capable of ‘transforming’ into another form wherein their physical capabilities are enhanced beyond what should be possible for any normal human. These entities are now referred to as “Magical Girls” due to their resemblance to the concept in popular culture. The crashed object was also later confirmed to resemble a modern Japanese high school complete with attached pool and gymnasium facilities. As such, this location has been dubbed the “Magical Academy”. 

Furthermore, these “Magical Girls” are noted to be capable of harnessing a mysterious phenomenon they refer to as “Magic”. Investigation into “Magic” reveals that it is the capability to manipulate the fabric of a ‘dimension’ far removed from the one humans exist on. The Magical Girls claim that this dimension is composed of the collective consciousness of  humanity. Supposedly, by fusing their ‘souls’ with objects on this plane, they are capable of manipulating or otherwise taking on specific concepts such as “Nuclear Fire”. The use of magic was demonstrated when one of the Magical Girls created a contained nuclear explosion that flattened several hundred acres of forest. Supposedly, it is possible for Magical Girls to create other Magical Girls, but the specifications behind this process is unknown. Whether there are more Magical Girls beyond the four is unknown.  

When questioned on where they received instruction on how to become magical girls, the researchers were introduced to the denizens of the Magical Academy. Though initially resembling and behaving like common high school teachers, precious little is known about these entities. Their physical capabilities, internal organs, and psychological profile seems nearly identical to that of humans. These entities appear to hold key insights into the nature of Magic but they refuse to share it with humans they have not ‘chosen’. They keep their origins closely guarded, but they claim that they were already within the confines of the Magical Academy at the time it crash landed onto Earth. How they survived the crash is unknown. How they survived the vacuum of space is unknown. How they survive without eating or drinking is unknown. 

Disregarding the complaints of the denizens, further research into the Magical Academy was conducted, revealing some insight into the nature of Magic. Firstly, a limited but still potent form of magic can be learned even without the denizens’ assistance. As demonstrated by one of the researchers on the advance research party, specific keywords spoken in specific ways are capable of eliciting effects similar to that of the magic demonstrated by the Magical Girls. The current theory is that unlike the fusion undergone by Magical Girls, this type of magic only ‘grazes’ the concepts, similar to the difference between two circles that intersect and two circles that only touch. While undeniably weaker and specific keywords can only create specific phenomena, it is still a significant breakthrough. To avoid further confusion, the magic wielded by Magical Girls will be referred to as “True Magic” while the lesser magic is referred to as “Magecraft”. Secondly, only females are capable of utilizing magic. There is no theory that explains this phenomenon. Thirdly, the potency of magic is highly dependent on age, greatly strengthening the younger the subject is. There is no theory that explains this phenomenon. 

The potential for both Magecraft and the Magical Girls to fall into the wrong hands prompted the Japanese government to bring the issue to the United Nations. However, the publicization and verification of the existence of magic only created a power scramble as nations around the world raced to seize control over a new, poorly understood weapon. There was a brief attempt by the four magical girls to quell the conflict but in the end resulted only in its escalation and the Magical Girls were forced to choose between entering the war themselves in order to defend the Magical Academy or remaining outside of the conflict, ceding the Magical Academy to humanity. Between the four magical girls, three chose pacifism, and the last was classified as an existential threat to the human race.

The resulting third world war and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. A fraction of the world’s standing military was wiped out in the initial conflict against other nations vying for magic while any progress into approaching the Magical Academy was halted by the militant Magical Girl. Several months into the onset of the war, a majority of the western hemisphere’s population centers were scoured of all life by the Magical Girl’s counterattack. All-in-all, this resulted in casualties of just under one billion people, with a majority being civilian noncombatants. Backed into a corner, the United Nations reached out to the three remaining magical girls and persuaded them to give up their neutrality and take action against the militant magical girl. In exchange, humanity agreed to give up their pursuit of magic and finally leave the Magical Academy in peace. They accepted and neutralized the final magical girl. 

In the following years, humanity did its best to rebuild itself while the Magical Academy fell silent. All attempts at contact were quickly halted by a representative Magical Girl or were ignored. Little by little, a paranoia began to settle over the minds of the remaining world leaders. Each one feared that the other was secretly plotting to reignite the war for magic, or worse, that the Magical Academy itself still harbored a grudge against humanity and planned to wipe them out while they were in the process of rebuilding. To ease their worries, a special group composed of the world’s leading researchers was assembled to conduct research into magic in secret. By relegating research to a third party, they ensured that research would not only be shared equally between nations, but also be more efficient than it has ever been. In this way, humanity managed to avoid a second collapse.

Using the neutralized Magical Girl as a foundation for new magical theories, humanity’s knowledge of magic multiplied exponentially. Most importantly, humanity began to grasp the idea of “Magitech'', the idea of fusing magic with technology as well as “Sorcery”, the partial fusion of one’s very being with a concept uniquely attuned to them, allowing even normal everyday humans to mimic the powers of a Magical Girl. However, there is yet an ingredient lacking, a “Missing Link” to the fusion process that prevents humans from reaching the level of a true Magical Girl. 

Eventually, the group tasked with research into magic grew bolder and bolder, sharing their knowledge with the world in an effort to expedite the rebuilding process and even further catapult humanity beyond its original state before the third world war. However, their efforts were halted by the infuriated Magical Academy, who inevitably caught wind of their  research. In a bid to permanently put a stop to their work, the Magical Girls, with the permission of the denizens of the Magical Academy, destroyed the Magical Academy and disappeared from the public eye. How they managed such a feat under the watchful eye of the entire world is unknown. 

For a significant amount of time, there was no news whatsoever into what became of the remnants of the Magical Academy, and humanity was left to sift through the rubble of the Magical Academy to learn what little left they can. The research group dedicated to the pursuit of magic slowly but surely began to grow more and more independent and eventually separate from their parent nations. Eventually, they adopted the moniker “Monarchs” to fully signify their independence and their devotion to their research. Even now, their dream to unlock the secrets of the Magical Academy and produce their own Magical Girls endures. 

Unfortunately, or perhaps in a ridiculous stroke of fortune, the remnants of the original Magical Academy have resurfaced. The perceived atrocities committed by the Monarchs in their quest for knowledge too much to simply abide by. Their reappearance has thoroughly shocked the globe, and perhaps even surprised the remnants themselves. In theory, this suggests the presence of a Neo Magical Academy. The whereabouts, goings on, and internal world of the Neo Magical Academy are known only to are known only to the people within it. But it is only a matter of time before such a fragile mystery is broken