???: Now then, my pupil. Take in the splendor around you. Cast your gaze along the horizon, tracing every spire and every wall. Cross it with that of the passers-by. Look beyond their masks, beyond these walls and spires, beyond the horizon. Beyond the sun in the sky. What do you feel?

A kind and patient voice speaks to Niko as she is walking along an avenue paved in splendid marble. It is a bright and temperate day, and to her left, ships in various sizes are floating along a rippling canal, while to her right, a kaleidoscope of buildings line the road, some stark and functional, others baroque and eccentric, tastefully decorated with familiar motifs in gold leaf.

Niko: I… understand the harmony of this space, master. These buildings are inhabited by some of the most powerful people in the galaxy, and their domains mirror this grandiosity. Precious stones and metals from all over the known universe as a means of displaying their vast wealth and diplom—

???: But what do you feel, my pupil?

Niko turns her head to face her master, who is setting the pace for their walk despite having his eyes closed, luxuriating in the feeling of the sun on his scalp and his alabaster skin reflecting its light. She does not know the answer.

Niko: Then I… I do not know, master.

???: But I never asked you to know, my pupil. I asked you to tell me what you feel. You can “not know”. But you cannot “not feel”. Therefore, you cannot deflect this question. There must be something you feel. It is undeniable. It is inside all of us.

Niko: You keep saying that, master, but… How can I understand how to “feel” when I do not know what it is?

???: (the master chuckles) You sound like a Pale Warden. Always complaining about how they don’t understand. The truth is, young one, there is no such thing as “how” when you walk the Path.

Niko: Then how do I—No, I mean… (she struggles to find the proper word) I…

???: You want to hear the power within, my pupil? Then stop thinking about how to do it. Just do it. The misconception the Pale Wardens taught you is that the Path is against our nature, that one must act — as in, make an active, conscious effort — to walk it despite our being called in the opposite direction. But this couldn’t be any further from the truth. Wherever the Path leads us, it is where we are meant to be. To feel is our nature (the master chuckles again, heartily) … So, young one, if you want to know how, ask yourself. Not me.

Niko: Ask… myself…

Niko takes a deep breath and closes her eyes — and as she does, the sounds of playing children and boat cutting through the water tickling at her ears become more prominent, and the smell of freshly baked bread finds its way into her nostrils, and she opens her eyes again and she feels.

???: Now then… What do you feel?

Niko: I feel… I cannot describe it. I want to tell everyone about the glory of what we have achieved. I want this… this moment to last forever. I want to reward you for… for what you’ve told me. What you’ve made me…

???: … Feel?

Niko: Yes… That is what I feel, master.

???: Pride, joy and gratitude.

Niko: … Is that what I should call these feelings, master?

???: To make things easy for those who don’t understand, perhaps? (he turns his head, flashing Niko a kind smile) So that they too might one day walk the Path.

Niko: Where… Where does the Path lead? Will I get to feel this way forever?

???: Well… Not exactly, young one. By the time you have reached the end… You will have moved beyond such a desire. Beyond such a need. Beyond the very feet you need to walk the Path. Beyond. Magia.

Niko: Magia?

Shinju: Niko?

Cecilia: N i k o !

Anisa: N i k o ? M i s s  S e g a w a ?  H e l l o ?

Niko: (suddenly, she is facing Anisa’s piercing gaze again, with Shinju and Cecilia seemingly equally unable to contain their curiosity as they move up to her) H-Huh? What?

Anisa: … Did you say these are Kyubey’s memories?

Niko: I… I saw another memory. These… err, people… They… Something with “the Path” and, and… someone was asking me how I feel. I… I don’t get it… (panicked, she begins to look around) We… We need to get the heck out of here!

Cecilia: The… Path? What is the… ‘Path’?

Anisa: I… I don’t know… Kyubey mentioned it the last time I saw it.

Niko: He said “Magia”, too. That’s something I’ve heard before, right?

Shinju: Um… yes, that’s what those Bird girls said the Balancers are doing to get so strong… I think. 

Niko: Oh… and Chie, too, right? Well, this… “Master”, I called him, he said that “the Path leads beyond” or something… Or… Well, he said “beyond”, but he also said “Magia”, or rather… I think he said “Magia” but I heard “beyond”? Maybe “Magia” means “beyond” in their language?

Anisa: So then… the Path leads to Magia. I would assume that means “the Path” refers to existing as a Puella Magi?

Niko: But this was a dude, though! They don’t get to be Puella Magi, right?

Shinju: ‘Haku thinks they probably could, and they just don’t bother ‘cause they think boys aren’t as emotional or whatever. They don’t normally take girls as old as ‘Haku was either. 

Niko: Man… (she sighs) So even aliens can be sexist, huh?

Cecilia: The central point is, Kyubey’s goal seems to be intrinsically tied to Magia. It’s a state of being that a Puella can attain. Chiemi Takahata had attained it, as did Kotori Ito before she died. The Balancers seem to have an intimate knowledge of it, and how it functions. Is that… is Magia this “Path” they keep referring to?

Anisa: The destination of the path, seems like it.

Niko: Could it be that Kyubey… doesn’t want people to reach that destination, then? This… This “master” said something about how some of them did not want people to walk the Path. They were called the… White Wizards? Or… Wardens? The Pale Wardens?

Shinju: Yeah, I’d bet he wouldn’t. Besides his own pawns. If anyone else hit it, they’d probably never die or go Witch again, which is what he wants. 

Niko: Huh… Yeah, that makes sense! It’s almost, like, the opposite of going Witch, when you put it like that!

Cecilia: The opposite of a Witch… and the other side of the coin from Venefica in Puella, which taps into that power. But then… this magic of ours, was it never meant to lead us into becoming Witches in the first place?

Anisa: That’s always been Kyubey’s reasoning, right?

Niko: Ugh… Why are there so many words? This is like watching one of these anime for nerds…

Cecilia: In any case… Kyubey’s motive seems clear. …Clearer, at least. But what do we do with this information?

Niko: I don’t think we’re getting out of here until we figure that out…