Shoko Toyokawa is human.
Or rather, Shoko Toyokawa was human. For a brief, fleeting moment.
It was a dazzling, joyful time. After making a wish with Ace, gaining the power to fight demons, and teaming up with newfound allies, that short stretch was the only time Shoko truly lived as a human.
By all accounts, Shoko was raised as the heir to the Toyokawa family, the sole direct descendant of the current head.
But an heir needed to be sharp, talented, polite, and erudite.
Being human? Not so much.
From the start, the Toyokawa family had two paths for Shoko, born as their daughter. If she proved capable, she could take the reins of the family. If she turned out to be nothing more than a pretty vase, well, they'd just find a competent son-in-law to carry the load.
So, for Shoko the heir, cultivating an air of grace and charm was prioritized over practical skills that might actually matter.
She had to speak with poise, carry herself with courtesy, and appear at countless events to flaunt her beauty, demeanor, and talents.
She had to become a marionette, dancing gracefully on the stage.
A puppet called "the Toyokawa heir."
Luckily, Shoko did have the potential to take on the family's legacy, and her training in that regard never faltered. But until she fully matured into the role and took over the family's affairs, she remained a puppet—existing solely to dance on stage and charm the crowd.
Shoko didn't resent this life. But compared to it, her moments of freedom were priceless. The most precious of all were the times spent with Mutsu Wakaba, her lifelong companion since birth, and—during those fleeting summer visits—Hatsuka Misumi, the "wild child" from the island.
To Shoko, Mutsu was the "big sister" who shared every secret, understood her completely, and felt her pain. Hatsuka, on the other hand, was the one friend who let Shoko drop all pretenses and simply bask in joy and ease. In her days as a puppet, those moments with the two of them were the only times Shoko could truly relax.
That all came to an end the moment she met Ace.
"Do you have a wish you want to fulfill?" it asked. "I can make it happen. But in return, you'll need to take up arms and fight the demons plaguing this city."
For Shoko, who'd lived her life as a puppet, the answer was easy.
"I want… I want to experience a life like other humans, outside of the one I have now."
Yes, Shoko didn't dream of escaping her family's burden. All she wanted was to know what it felt like to live as a real human.
With that wish, Shoko received a pair of serpentine bracelets called "Hermes." Their powers, "Blackening" and "Whitening," could create an alternate dimension overlapping reality, allowing Shoko to slip out at night and move freely. Soon after came Mutsu, who made a similar wish, and then new friends.
Those were truly radiant days. Shoko and her teammates grew closer, learning to work as one, and she tried things she'd never dared before. For the first time, Shoko—born as the family's puppet—lived like a human, pretending to be one.
There was the gentle Sosei, the cool-headed but secretly caring Riki, and—most captivating to Shoko—the ever-passionate Tomo, who shouted her heart out.
Tomo's wand, "Parthenope," could turn its wielder's voice into devastating magical blasts. Since Tomo wasn't much for words, she'd empty her mind in battle, letting every thought in her heart pour out. To Shoko, it was like hearing a poem that echoed her own soul.
"Tomo, you've got some serious talent," Shoko said after a battle one day.
And because someone acknowledged her—acknowledged her heart—Tomo sought Shoko out one night and shyly shared a secret.
"I wanted… a friend who'd stay with me for life," she said. "That was my wish."
Tomo looked at Shoko, a timid smile on her face. "Now, I finally believe that wish came true."
How did Shoko respond? She can't recall.
Looking back, it was probably something naive and foolish like, "Yup, I'll be your friend forever, Tomo," or "It's a deal—I'm not going anywhere."
Even then, she should've realized Ace didn't truly grant their wishes. It only made them think their wishes had come true.
And because she didn't see through it, a chain of tragedies followed.
One day, the Toyokawa family abruptly decided to abandon Shoko as their heir. Looking back, Ace was likely pulling strings, but to Shoko at the time, it was a bolt from the blue. That same night, reeling and lost, Shoko faced a demon alone.
She dragged it into the Blackened world, stalling as best she could, but the blow from her family left her distracted. In front of Tomo, who rushed to her side, the demon tore Shoko's body apart.
But whether by chance or fate, even with her body shredded, Shoko didn't die. The Blackened world created by Hermes carried her into the demon realm. There, in its depths, she encountered a blood-red moon.
That day, Shoko Toyokawa, who'd only just become human, vanished. In her place rose the demon "Oblivionis." With her newfound power, she erased all memories of herself from the world and declared the start of her revenge.
As for Mutsu, her closest confidante who never hid anything from her, Shoko knew her wish well: "To become like everyone else." Just as Shoko suspected, Mutsu—whose wish was never truly granted—was the next to fall into the abyss, like Shoko and countless others before her. After losing Shoko, Mutsu broke down alone one quiet night.
To pull her back from the brink of death, Shoko appeared before her, granting her the power of "Mortis" and a new name, sealed with her own blood.
Puppets, in the end, could never become human. After a fleeting dream, ruin was inevitable.
And the next to fall would be the girl who dreamed of becoming a normal human—
Tomo Takamatsu.