So shades were the sort of... standard bad guys in your average magical girl series? Represented negative thoughts or emotions, had to be defeated by magic, that sort of thing. It was sort of what Hikari had expected, given magical girls existed in the first place. There had to be something for them to fight, and so shades were that thing. Hikari couldn't help but wonder if shades were the youkai of old myths... or if those were something separate entirely. Or if it was some combination of both? It was hard to say, given that magical girls were real... well, what else was true in that case?

As for Concepts and Archetypes, well... That explained a lot. So they were things that captured the minds of humanity? Real or imaginary? That did make sense as the source of power for magical girls... for now, any lingering irritation she had towards Tokiko was mostly buried.

"... If my Concept is a general idea of my powers..." Hikari looked thoughtful for a moment as she considered what she knew. Her outfit was all bright colors and fire, and she was certain that there was a firework fired from the back of her hammer. The front of the hammer had looked something like a bell... and if her concept was Fireworks, why would she have a hammer?

"... Could something like 'Festivals' be a concept?" Hikari asked.

"I suppose it could."

That wasn't Tokiko!

Eyes widening, realizing that someone else was there, Hikari immediately turned towards the source of the voice. She was greeted with a figure that was unmistakably a magical girl... and one who was somehow familiar.

[url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/intermediary/f/814cfb68-4ee9-4b17-8c19-d46d4fd8f51d/dcqxrov-9923bc76-fa7d-4b9e-98f9-81fdbae4a686.jpg/v1/fill/w_781,h_1023,q_70,strp/radiant_magical_empress_kagami_redesign_by_vitavitaar_dcqxrov-pre.jpg]She had dark purple hair, pale skin, and eyes that matched her hair. Her outfit, flowing robes, was purple as well. On her face was a sharp, almost predatory grin[/url].

"Greetings, inferior magical girls," she continued, "My my, how bold. On a stroll even though the Hex Night has already begun... well, it's not as if you had any chance of victory anyway."

[@Anza]