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Specialis Libri
Chapter 1
"I am desire, lost within this darkness of this world."
I heard a voice from the darkness. It was a hollow voice, devoid of any emotion and tone.
"Do you seek power?"
It asked a question, but it was like a cry of a cicada that expects no answer.
Until now.
"Yes," I told the voice. I was in a dark place, and yet it was not cold. In fact, it was sweltering hot, as if I was bathing in flames. It was unbearable.
The voice stopped for a moment, as if in contemplation. The darkness became heavier, if it is indeed possible to measure the density of darkness. But nevertheless, the darkness felt heavier, as if a whole mountain is pressing around me.
"Whose voice is it that answered me?"
I felt the voice's indignity for my insolence in answering, but in it I also sensed amusement, and maybe a little curiosity.
"It is I, a seeker of your power, that answers your call."
The voice paused again. Even without my sight, I sensed a shifting of power; a sense of genuine amusement.
"Tell me your name."
"My name is--"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, I haven't been able to sleep well lately," said Marisa. She took a tea cup and took a liberal sip.
It was one of Marisa's afternoon visits at Alice's house.
"PHEH!!!" she spat out. "What is this stuff?"
"Coffee," said Alice. They were seated in an ornate dining room. The round table was covered by a lace table cover. On it were a pair of china plates to hold their cups. "I found some coffee beans in my basement, and I thought that it's a waste not to use them."
Marisa scowled. "Coffee beans don't age like tea leaves do. Or fine wine."
Alice shook her head. "Of course they do. Don't be silly." She sighed as she watched Marisa drain her cup while pinching her nose. "You could have some tea if you would just ask."
"I'm asking," said Marisa with a smirk. "That cup tasted like it died in your basement." Marisa made a sour face.
"Appreciating coffee is an acquired taste," said Alice. "And you don't gulp down coffee like last night's rice wine."
Alice snapped her fingers. From behind her, a small doll suddenly flew to a nearby counter. The counter was littered with a numerous glass jars, each delicately labeled with paper and ink. The doll took a jar labeled "Gan Lu" in Roman Characters.
A few minutes later, Shanghai handed Marisa a cup of tea.
"That's much better," said Marisa. She took another liberal sip from her teacup.
"So why are you bothering me this afternoon?" asked Alice. "I'm a busy person, you know."
Alice watched Marisa as she quickly drained the rest of the cup. "That's actually pretty disgusting," she added. "At least show some respect to the tea."
Marisa ignored Alice's scowls. "Hey, if it's you, I don't have to put up a good face, you know." Alice shrugged at her. "Anyway, there's been a huge ruckus near my end of the forest and it's been driving me nuts. There is this horrible noise that keeps me awake at night and I could hardly get a good night's sleep," said Marisa.
"What kind of noise?"
"It sounded like a woman screaming. It was very disturbing," said Marisa thoughtfully. "The first time I heard it, I went out to investigate but didn't find anyone. The next night, I heard it again around midnight, and also the night after."
"A scream, huh?" said Alice. She took a seat across Marisa and closed her eyes in contemplation. "It's strange, I always sleep well at night. Maybe a ghost is haunting you?"
Marisa sighed. "Alice, you sleep like an old lady in winter." Alice scowled at her. "Or maybe you were having pleasant dreams?" Marisa hiked a thumb at a small jar nearby. It was made out of colored glass, and the contents were hard to make out.
Alice scowled again. "Maybe it's because thieves are light on their heads and dislike being taken by surprise." Marisa started to say something, but Alice held up her hand. "You are going to bug me all night if I don't help you, so I'll come, whatever it is. But why me?"
"Well, I heard that you were doing an experiments on one of your dolls lately, and I thought that it might help, you know?"
"Is that so?"
Alice flicked her hand once more. Numerous dolls from the odd corners of the house suddenly sprang to life from their hiding places and began to assemble in front of Alice. As they assembled in a neat, orderly fashion, there was a sudden burst of movement within Marisa's person. From within Marisa's black vest and white shirt, a small doll burst out through the collar, unfastening some of the collar buttons in the process. The small doll took its place within the doll's ranks, it's blank face ignoring the pallid looks of Marisa and Alice.
"I am not going to ask why one of my dolls was inside your dress," said Alice conclusively.
"Good idea," said Marisa. "So, are we going or what?"
"Yes." Alice gazed outside. The sun was already setting. Teatime was over.
t.b.c
It means a URL is in this space:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q__zJG1mauQ)
Many thanks to Anunsew
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Hmm. Kinda interesting setup so far. I'll have to follow this.
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It involves Alice and multiple Alicedolls.
I will follow this.
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 2
Why did I take her offer? What could she possible offer me that can help me?
Everything, or nothing, that's what she told me. I could feel her chains clasped around me, weighing me down as I walked inside my home. I can feel her burning pulse radiating within me. I felt like a different person.
The deal was already done.
As far as I can remember, I was branded different from everyone. They could always do things better than I can. I was always behind or below them, looking at them from beyond the reaches of my tiny arms. They always comfort me with small words, telling me that I can do better someday.
But today, I'll be able to show them, to prove them who I am.
"You will always have something that the others will never have." Those where the words my mother always told me. Today, I can prove it to them.
I have power. She had given it to me.
The price was only a small thing to pay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisa yawned.
"Don't fall asleep," said Alice. "It's not even midnight yet."
They were both flying through the night sky as they patrolled the Forest of Magic from above. They surveyed the canopy of trees, looking for the origin of the weird night noises.
Marisa yawned again. "I told you that I didn't get much sleep lately." Marisa shrugged. "If I fall asleep on my broom, can you please catch me before I fall to the ground?"
"Fall and die already," said Alice. "You would do me a great favor for once."
"No way," said Marisa. "This place would probably miss me." Alice chuckled in reply.
"So, aren't you going to use your dolls?" asked Marisa. In reply, Alice took out a doll from her sleeves. "You know, I've always wondered how you can put those many dolls inside your clothes," said Marisa musingly.
"That's easy, I use a spell to shrink them," said Alice. "It's way easier than expanding space or making a magic pouch that can fit them."
Marisa shrugged. "Anyway, you were making experiments to make your dolls react to spiritual power, right?"
Alice was silent for a moment. "You know, it's really freaky when I hear about my experiments from you." She shook her head. "Where did you hear that from, anyway?"
"I didn't hear anything. I just read that from your notebooks."
Twitching her ears, Alice raised an eyebrow at Marisa. "Notebooks? When did you read my notebooks?"
"Oh, about a week ago. I borrowed them from your desk."
"You borrowed it..." repeated Alice. "You do know that you pushed back my research for about a week when I found out that my notes were missing?" Alice shrugged. "You should really do something about your light fingers."
"Oh details, details. Nobody cares about them anymore," said Marisa lightheartedly. "You'll grow old faster if you keep caring about small details."
"I care about details, especially if it means losing my stuff to you." Alice shook her head in frustration. "But why do I even bother talking about it with you?"
"Oh don't worry, I'll return them when we're finished here."
"Why did you take them in the first place, anyway?" Alice sighed as she alighted the doll carefully from her hands. The doll dropped like a rock for a few feet before suddenly springing into life as it became powered by Alice's magic. Alice and Marisa stopped midflight as they watched the doll float upwards become level with their altitude. It looked around in all directions, turning slowly like a lazy wind vane.
"So what does it do?"
"Didn't you read my notes? You should know what it does already," Alice said pointedly.
Marisa snorted. "Sure I read them, but it was like it was written in another language. They were full of stuff that I can't read so I stuffed them along with the others."
"Stuffed...." repeated Alice. "You're making me have second thoughts about helping you, you know." Alice shook her head in resignation. "And you shouldn't take things from other people, especially when you don't even need them."
"Don't be that way," consoled Marisa. "I'm going to return it, good as new." Marisa raised her right hand in promise.
"Somehow I doubt that," muttered Alice under her breath. "Well if you really want to know, that doll can detect spiritual powers of humans and nonhuman alike."
"Spiritual powers?" Marisa was puzzled. "You're starting to sound like Reimu."
"Perhaps," answered Alice. "But from a philosophical standpoint, magic is simply manipulating energies of nature. With that in mind, spiritual power is the power of life itself, as much as heat is the power of fire." Alice lifted two fingers from her right hand. "However, spiritual power differs from every being, as much as a fireplace differs from a candle. I have discovered a way to tell apart each being from their spiritual power."
"So how is that going to help us find the culprit?"
Sighing, Alice continued her explanation. "I can use my doll to detect every amount of spiritual power inside the forest. Since only a few humans stay in the forest at midnight, there is a high chance that what's making those night noises aren't human. I filter out humans from the results and narrow the remaining spiritual powers into plants, animals, youkai and ghosts. It's not easy, but I think I can manage to filter it down to your culprit."
The doll began to act strangely as Alice finished her speech. "I think I found something unusual..." The doll halted in its turning and began to shake with considerable force.
"Is it going to explode?" asked Marisa.
"I didn't stuff it with gunpowder," replied Alice.
They suddenly heard screech that ripped through the night.
"That's what we're looking for!" said Marisa. The doll suddenly faced towards the origin of the voice and flew off at top speed. "I'm gonna follow it, so hurry up Alice!" Marisa followed the doll, leaving Alice behind.
"Honestly, that girl..." Alice left her sentence unfinished. She shook her head and followed, but she soon lost sight of Marisa and the doll. Sighing, she slowed down and observed her surroundings thoroughly.
After a few minutes of slow flight, Alice found herself in the deeper part of the forest. On a whim, she disabled her flight spell and landed gently on the soft and muddy ground. "A little musty," Alice muttered.
"Who's there?" said a voice behind her.
Instinctively, Alice brought out a dozen dolls with a flick of her wrist. It formed a small ring around her, ready to protect her from any danger. She heard a squeak of fear and Alice turned around to find a young woman in ragged clothing.
"Who are you?" asked Alice.
t.b.c
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I love this Alice. Closest thing to canon!Alice I've seen in a long time, if not completely true to canon.
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 3
They did not want me. They hated me. They feared me.
"You broke the law of our realm, child," she said. Her words cut me like swords that she once used to fight my Mother's mighty enemy, to no avail. Something that I failed in, as well. "As it is decreed, I now use my power vested by Our Mother to exile you from the place you once called home."
As she spoke the words that decreed my doom, I heard a familiar voice within my head.
"Do you desire power? Power to overcome any law that stands in your path?" It was a sweet and charming voice, a voice that sounded good in my ears in contrast to the rough, heated voices of my mother's council. "Show them the power of your magic!" it told me.
I agreed to the voice. Without thinking, I stretched out my hand towards the woman speaking before, and uttered a single word that forever severed my ties to this world.
The entire chamber was suddenly in flames.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The woman tumbled backwards into the trees. Alice approached her, but the woman shrieked and backed away. Alice dropped her guard, and the dolls surrounding her relaxed from their defensive positions. Splitting the doll's ranks with a flick of her hand, the doll's stepped aside and opened up a way in front of Alice who timidly approached the ragged lady.
"Who are you?" repeated Alice. Alice quietly observed the woman as she waited for an answer. The woman was older than Alice by a few years. She wore a ragged robe which was torn in numerous places. However, upon closer inspection, Alice realized that they were not the common clothes of the human villagers of Gensokyo. Alice did not see her face, for the woman's hair was extremely long (and covered her face) and the night was dark and moonless.
"Me...?" said the young woman. "I..." Alice suddenly heard a tiny grating sound, like two wooden clappers rubbing together. Hiss....hiss...
"I...don't have a name..." said the woman at last. Alice was taken aback by the answer and remained silent for a few seconds as she thought of what to say. She was suddenly arrested by a low grumbling sound.
"...Er, are you hungry?" asked Alice. The woman nodded, and Alice took out a small biscuit which she was saving for a later snack. She handed it to the woman who took it gingerly from her palm. She sniffed at it a few times before graciously devouring it.
Hiss...hiss...
Alice heard the sound again. Alice looked through the corners of her eye (she didn't let her eyes leave the woman), but didn't find any possible source of the sound--except for the woman in front of her. Alice tensed a bit, and regarded the woman with suspicion. She watched the woman finish the biscuit who looked at her with piteous eyes, begging for another.
"I'm sorry, I don't have anymore," said Alice apologetically. Hiss...
The woman slowly stood up and approached Alice. "I'm...hungry..." she said in a slow voice. Hiss...
The grating sound became louder as the woman approached her. Alice tensed, and the dolls resumed their defensive position around her. She suddenly heard an awful screech which brought her to her knees. Closing her eyes in pain, she struggled to mutter a spell to block out the noise. As the screeches became louder, Alice saw that the woman's long hair became more animated and seemed to move of their own accord. They began a mesmerizing dance, bunching together to form two snakelike fibers.
The woman turned around, revealing a malicious mouth behind her head. It had rows of jagged teeth, and seemed to be the origin of the screeches. The woman slowly approached her as the mouth continued making the dreadful noise.
Alice shrank back at the atrocity. "You're not inclined to settle this with Spell Cards, aren't you?"
The snakelike hair coiled and prepared to strike.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few hours before Marisa visited Alice, another visit bothered another citizen of Gensokyo.
Reimu sipped her tea graciously as she watched the small birds hop along the greenery around her shrine. She sat on a zabuton beside the low wooden table placed at the center of her shrine's viewing room. Closing her eyes, she sighed in contentment for the peaceful afternoon. It was generally quiet that day (something that rarely occurs, if at all), and Reimu was insistent on taking advantage of it.
Feeling a little extravagant, Reimu had prepared a batch of Oolong, delicately handling the purple teapot with utmost care. Carefully brewing the small batch of Oolong (which she had been saving for a peaceful day, such as today) she prepared a cup of tea and basked in the moment of victory.
"It's been awhile since you last hosted a tea ceremony, wasn't it?" said a voice behind her.
Without bothering to look behind her, Reimu sighed. "Well, it's not like anyone ever visits the shrine to find inner peace. Mostly, they do just the opposite."
Yukari Yakumo took a seat across the table without bothering to greet her host. "So, won't the noble head of the household prepare some humble tea for a starving visitor?" she said, half-mockingly. Reimu shrugged her off.
"I only prepared enough for one cup," said Reimu. "But they say that Oolong tastes better after the third brew."
After a few minutes of preparation, Reimu handed Yukari a cup of tea on a tray, along with some sweets. "Hold the sweets," said Yukari.
"Why? Watching your weight lately?" asked Reimu silkily.
Yukari made an exaggerated gesture of embarrasment. "My, you got me. My shikigami told me that I was getting fat lately."
Silence broke out as they sipped their tea in peace. The birds outside began to chirp a harmonious song, something to break the monotony.
"So, what brings you here?" asked Reimu at last.
"A little errand," said Yukari. "Just a matter of a group of youkai running wildly about."
"It's hardly little as long as you're involved," sighed Reimu. "Anyway, you wouldn't be sipping afternoon tea with me if it wasn't serious."
"Well, seriousness can be a bit misleading. And the youkai I'm talking about are just acting really strange," Yukari took another sip of tea. "They seem to be more rabid and less inclined about using the rules. There have been attacks in the human village for the last two days, too."
"Did you bother talking to the youkai involved?"
"Oh, you know that I'm not a person of words. Not like you of course."
Reimu sighed. She knew where the conversation was heading. "So, you want me to check out these wild youkai?"
Yukari took another sip of tea. "If my host would be gracious enough to do so, then yes."
Reimu shrugged. "Well, a bunch of wild youkai wouldn't be much problem, wouldn't they?" Reimu stood up and stretched. "I should be getting off before it gets too late."
"Be careful out there. I heard that some of them really bites," said Yukari in an amused tone.
t.b.c
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Iiiiinteresting!
So ... a Gorgon/Medusa loli, then, huh?
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Either that or the female youkai that has a mouth on the back of it head (futaguchionna?). Or perhaps some other weird denizen of the night.
I also wonder how the bit in italics will tie in. I'm looking forward to it.
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Anyone else think of the Miyabi Dolls from Ragnarok Online?
From the front they look like a kimono'd young lady, but from behind you notice that they actually have something clinging to the back of their head, which is what really attacks you.
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Anyone else think of the Miyabi Dolls from Ragnarok Online?
From the front they look like a kimono'd young lady, but from behind you notice that they actually have something clinging to the back of their head, which is what really attacks you.
I've heard about them, can't specifically remember them though, which area were they in?
Back on topic, this story is pretty interesting, I'll eagerly await the next update :D
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I've heard about them, can't specifically remember them though, which area were they in?
Back on topic, this story is pretty interesting, I'll eagerly await the next update :D
I believe they are in the Amatsu Dungeon, I recognize the name, just can't remember the monster
On Topic:
Interesting story, nice way to start each chapter, looking forward to future updates.
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NSFW for Danbooru banner ads.
[nsfw]http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/429327/-_-acolyte-ancient_firelock-bad_id-black_hair-clos[/nsfw]
Look closely at the 'bow' in her hair.
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 4
When I came to, I only saw burning conflagration around me.
"You did that by yourself," said the familiar voice. It sounded proud and full of emotion.
I was terrified.
All I remember was that I was sitting on the chair of trial inside my mother's council chamber. I was angry, because they told me that I did a wrong thing. I knew it was wrong, and I knew what I did was to be punished.
But even so, I thought it was the only way that I would ever be accepted.
Now, it seemed like a faraway dream.
I was angry then, so angry that I listened to the voice. Now, I feel afraid of everything, knowing that I did even more evil and was about to be punished for it.
I heard screams and shouts, but they sounded so far away.
I began to run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Humans are almost always busy, even though they never seem to know why they are busy in the first place," Reimu muttered as she entered the human village. "This village doesn't seem busy at all."
Reimu looked curiously at the sparse streets and shuttered windows. "Well, isn't this a nice welcome." She walked along the streets, but the villagers gave her little notice, only glancing and giving a quick greeting before hurrying off to their business.
"It feels like somebody just died." said Reimu to herself. "Well, time to find someone who knows what's really happening."
Reimu was suddenly greeted by a familiar voice. "Oh, it's just you," said a woman with a familiar face. The woman approached Reimu with a purposeful stride. It was Keine, teacher who runs the school of the human village. However, she's not fully human, she's one of the few half-youkai that stays in the human village.
"This village really offers a nice welcome," said Reimu. "I should come here more often."
Keine shrugged. "Well, the village is a bit edgy since last night, so you won't get any cordial greetings today."
"I don't mind, just as long as I get a few donations, now and then," said Reimu with a smile.
"You do mind, then." said Keine mocking tone. "Come, I have tea at my place."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two of them walked as they talked.
"So, there were attacks just outside the village?" asked Reimu.
Keine nodded her head. "It's really frustrating. Since we can easily deter anyone who tries to attack the village itself, the number of attacks on the villagers is almost nil. However, some humans who live at the edge of the village are being bothered regularly."
"Bothered? That's a pretty gentle way of putting it," said Reimu, putting a finger on her chin for emphasis.
"Not really. Mostly, it's a matter of youkai banging up the doors at night, or someone stealing food. It's actually been a while since there was a case of a real attack near the village."
"Well, that means you're doing your job as an exterminator, right?" Reimu said with a smile. "So what happened last night?"
"Last night was a bit different. A villager saw two youkai fighting each other near the forest exit of the village." Keine suddenly hesitated.
"Fights between youkai isn't really that rare," said Reimu smartly. "So what happened?"
"One of the youkai ate the other," said Keine quietly. "And not just there. There had been numerous reports of some youkai eating their own kind, but last night was the first time we had seen it with our own eyes."
"Youkai eating?" Reimu repeated.
"Yes. In fact, we have some young youkai taking shelter inside the village. They are of the harmless sort, mostly they are just pranksters. But right now, they are really terrified and aren't in the mood to talk about the attacks. We are offering them shelter, since we can easily defend this place from almost any attack." Keine sighed. "But not all of the humans actually like the idea. Still, we're not heartless people, and we can give them shelter for a few days. We have some of the exterminators searching for the youkai eaters, but we didn't have much luck."
"So that's why the village is on the edge today," said Reimu brightly. "So where are you hiding them?"
"We're hiding them inside the abandoned warehouse once owned by the Kirisame family," said Keine. "Since no one in the village uses it, we decided to let them stay there for now. The others stay at the nun's shrine, or in the abandoned houses. In return, some of them help around the village, but they are mostly clumsy and have little knowledge of the common things."
Reimu was in deep thought for a few minutes. "Can you let me talk to them for a moment? I'm going to ask them about the youkai eaters."
"Sure. But I don't think you'll get anything from them. We've been asking them since last night, and they weren't very cooperative."
Reimu smiled. "Well, I've got the shrine maiden's luck with me, after all. I'm sure I can get something from them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I should have taken the tea first," said Reimu grimly.
The night was already deep over the Forest of Magic. Reimu flew over the landscape, in hopes of finding another clue.
From what she gathered from the youkai she interrogated inside the village, she heard that a group of powerful youkai was taking residence inside the Forest, and apparently eating the smaller youkai who happened to be nearby. After getting the information, Reimu declined Keine's offer of tea and immediately took off towards the Forest to investigate. However, the investigation was far from fruitful. It sunset was an eternity ago, and Reimu longed for supper.
"Well, isn't this grand?" said Reimu aloud. "I'm going to have a long talk with Yukari tomorrow."
Suddenly, Reimu heard a distant screech. "What is that horrible noise?" It suddenly stopped and Reimu looked around for the source. Reimu saw something that caught her attention.
Across the dark horizon, Reimu spotted a black thing running towards her at full speed. "What the--?"
It approached her with an amazing speed. Reimu prepared for an attack, sliding her arms inside her sleeves ever so slightly. From within her sleeves, a pack of Hakurei talismans slid down onto Reimu's palm.
The black thing began to slow down as it came nearer, coming to a full stop before Reimu. It was a doll clad in black clothes with long golden hair that sparkled despite the moonless night. It had a black ribbon embroidered with silver trimmings which was neatly propped at the back of its head.. It wore an elaborate black dress with white trimmings at the hem and sleeves.
"One of Alice's dolls?" Reimu asked herself. However, Reimu noticed a pair of silky wings that fluttered against the night wind. Reimu touched it, and the doll suddenly took it's place on Reimu's arms. Reimu brought it up to her face and looked at it with a curious stare. "It's the first time I've seen a doll like this befor--"
Reimu suddenly heard a distant shout, like a battlecry from a Sengoku general charging towards the enemy lines. Without any hesitation, Reimu threw a handful of talismans into the air where they formed an interconnecting lattice of shapes. A red haze appeared between the talismans which instantly solidified to form a red lattice barrier.
To which Marisa instantly crashed into (at full speed) without any warning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What did you do that for?" Marisa asked Reimu when she regained her composure after crashing into Reimu's Duplex Barrier. They were standing at a clearing inside the Forest. There weren't any night noises inside the forest, no chirping cricket or a singing night sparrow. Reimu noticed it. Marisa did not.
"I thought you were a hostile stranger," said Reimu. "You shouldn't shout and charge at people without warning. It's very rude."
"I was just following that doll," said Marisa, pointing at the doll in Reimu's arms.
"Well, it's not my business at any rate," Reimu shrugged. "But still, I wonder why you are out here in the middle of the forest at night?"
"I live here, you know." Marisa was puzzled. "I'm looking for a noisy thing inside the forest. It's been bugging me for nights."
"Well, you're making little sense," said Reimu. "Except for that awful noise earlier, the forest is awfully quiet."
"Hmm," said Marisa. "I'm trying to find the one who's making the horrible noise, but that doll seems to be broken." Marisa reached out a hand to Reimu, to which Reimu stared with a quizzical look. "I need the doll."
"Why?" asked Reimu.
"Like I said," said Marisa. "I was following it so I can find the culprit."
"I dare you to make less sense," taunted Reimu. "In any case, I should return it to Alice first. You probably 'borrowed' it again."
They were suddenly thrown off guard by another long screech. The doll on Reimu's arms began to shake violently.
From the horizon, they saw a bright ray of light shot up towards the sky. It lit up for a few moments before slowly fading out into the night.
"Isn't that Alice's?" asked Reimu. The doll on Reimu's arm broke free from Reimu and flew off towards the bright ray of light. "Hey! Come back here!"
"Well, as long as the doll leads me to screecher," said Marisa. "I'm going to give that screecher an incoming what-for, that's for sure." Marisa flew off in pursuit of the doll.
Reimu sighed. It's going to be a long night, she thought before following Marisa.
t.b.c
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Tracker Doll just wanted a hug, Reimu, why you gotta be so meeeeeeean to Marisa?
She probably wanted a hug too.
+1 Update of Plot Continuation
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 5
"Isn't this a fly in the ointment?" asked Alice to herself. She sensed a movement from her right and immediately shifted her weight as she pirouetted perfectly in the air. A barrage of black shapeless projectiles zoomed harmlessly past her. Flicking her wrists, the dolls surrounding her dodged through the swarm, passing unscathed through the attacks. "I wish it would stop doing that."
Alice panned the scenery below her as she floated above the treeline. "Thank goodness it can't fly," Alice muttered. With a few flicks from her wrists, the dolls shifted their positions forward, making a wall in front of her. With Alice's command, they stretched out their palms and shot out beams of light to the attacker below, promising wanton destruction to the receiver. As the beams made contact on the ground, a cloud smoke rose up, throwing various bits of debris upward.
"Is it dead already?" Alice heard another screech within the cloud, and another barrage of black bullets sped past her way, narrowly missing her. Some of her dolls weren't lucky and they were smashed into pieces as they were shot down.
"Ugh, I hate you already, and we've just met," Alice shouted to the rabid youkai below. She was answered by another barrage, and Alice weaved through the mindless, patternless attack while her dolls were being mercilessly shot down. Alice fired back using one of her remaining dolls to suppress the attacks. Shouting in pain, the youkai stopped attacking and glared at Alice with red, hungry eyes. It gave another screech, this one was filled with indignation.
It just won't die, Alice thought angrily. I'll have to retreat at this rate, at least, before I run out of dolls.
As the smoke began to clear, the youkai shot another barrage of black bullets from the huge gaping mouth at the back of its head. "If that isn't disgusting, then I don't know what it is," Alice told herself.
As she dodged through the bullets, the long serpentine hair of the youkai below suddenly shot out and extended as it reached out for Alice's feet. Quickly wrapping themselves onto one of Alice's ankles, it dragged her down to the forest floor.
Wasting no time, she quickly incanted a short spell to break the impact of the fall, and she fell on the forest floor without any harm. After hitting the ground, Alice was suddenly dragged across the forest floor, leaving broken branches and dried leaves on her wake. Letting out a cry of frustration, Alice took hold of a nearby tree root with one hand as she tried to kick off the forceful tug at her foot. She heard another screech, and Alice tried beckoning to her dolls, only to discover that her puppeteer lines were cut when she was dragged down. Alice grimaced at the unfortunate situation.
She heard another screech from beyond the foliage as the pulls on her feet became more persistent and intense.
I can't keep this up forever, thought Alice. What mess did I get myself into?
Alice glanced around in desperation and spotted a small dagger, one of the many hidden weapons from one of her dolls. It was lying on a bed of dry leaves a few feet from her, and Alice frantically tried to reach it with her free hand. However, a sudden tug at her feet caused her to lose her hold of the tree, and Alice was dragged across the forest shrubbery towards the youkai.
When the dragging stopped, Alice found herself face to face with the youkai who laughed maniacally with glee. It turned around to make Alice face the large mouth which was drooling with hunger.
"You're a big eater, huh," mocked Alice, but she even heard her voice shaking. She tasted blood, and noticed that one of her arms was bleeding. Fearful for her life, Alice tried to kick off the hair that bound her feet.
The youkai started to pulled her closer and closer. While she thought of a solution to her escape, Alice heard a familiar voice inside her head. It was a sweet and gentle voice, a voice that sounded so loving, and yet menacing.
Do you desire power?
Alice clenched her teeth and shouted at the top of her voice.
"NO!"
Boom.
Something from above crashed down on the youkai, and the impact lifted Alice up in the air. As her consciousness started to leave her, she could swear that she saw two floating figures above her, watching her fall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I am desire, lost within this darkness of this world."
I heard a voice from the darkness. It was a hollow voice, devoid of any emotion and tone.
"Do you seek power?"
It asked a question, but it was like a cry of a cicada that expects no answer. I answered it once before, and in consequence, my life was shattered as it spiralled down the depths of darkness.
Until now.
I did not answer.
The voice stopped for a moment, as if in contemplation. The darkness became heavier, if it is indeed possible to measure the density of darkness. But nevertheless, the darkness felt heavier, as if a whole mountain is pressing around me.
"Tell me your name."
I did not answer.
"Very well, you can defy me all you want. But know this, you cannot escape your fate."
The voice laughed.
"It's only a matter of time before you become mine, Alice."
There was a clatter of chains in the distance. The voice laughed again, and the chains rang with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice woke up and found herself lying on her own bed inside her room.
That dream again, huh,
She was still wearing her yesterday's clothes, and her forehead was drenched in sweat. Wiping it with her palm, she noticed a long bandage across her forearm.
How did I get here? And who treated my wounds?
Alice noticed that the sunlight was already shining through the curtains at her window.
I wonder what time it is. It must be pretty late in the morning.
She tried to leave the bed, but she was assaulted by a sharp pain from her right foot. Lifting her skirt, she saw that her right foot was bandaged neatly with a white cloth. Biting her lip, she tested her foot once more before trying to limp to a nearby chair.
After taking a seat on a stool, Alice heard a knock coming from the door. "Come in," said Alice. Who could that be?
Reimu opened the door, carrying a tray with tea and some pastries, to Alice's delight and surprise. "Are you already awake? I brought you some food, but it's way past breakfast, though. You could call it an early lunch if you like." Reimu set the tray on the desk beside the door. "I didn't know you weren't a light sleeper."
"What are you doing here, Reimu?" asked Alice.
"That's not a nice thing to say to someone who carried you back here," said Reimu in a mocking tone. "Then again, I'm pretty surprised at how things turned out last night."
Reimu handed Alice a cup of tea and some biscuits.
"Carried me?" asked Alice. "What happened last night?"
"I was investigating last night, looking for some certain youkai when I bumped into a doll, followed by Marisa," explained Reimu. "She told me that she was looking for the source of the horrible night noises in the forest using that doll. Then we saw one of your laser spells, and the doll flew off towards you." Reimu poured herself a cup of tea using one of the cups on the tray while she talked.
"We followed it until it crashed down on a youkai you were fighting with," finished Reimu. She took a sip from her cup. "You know, you have good taste for tea."
"I don't remember much from tonight. I think I suffered a slight concussion," sighed Alice.
"And a sprain," added Reimu. "It was hard convincing Marisa to let you ride her broom. Then again, I'm quite inclined to think that mostly what happened tonight was Marisa's fault."
"I thought you said that you carried me?"
Reimu shrugged. "Well, I did carry you back to this room." Reimu finished her cup and prepared to leave.
"Anyway, thanks," said Alice softly.
"Don't mention it," said Reimu in a carefree tone. "It's not often that I get troubled by things other than youkai hunting. Call Marisa if you need something, she's pillaging your pantry as we speak." Reimu left without another word.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke heard someone enter his shop. Glancing away from the parchment that he was writing on, he saw a gorgeously dressed woman in front of his counter. She was elegantly dressed and carried herself with utter authority, and yet she had that hint of demureness and delicateness that had enticed men over the years.
Clearly, the woman in front of him was not merely a woman, but a lady.
"What do you want Yakumo?" asked Rinnosuke. "I'm a busy person, you know."
Yukari smiled. "Well, after this, I think you're going to be as busy as you can be."
Rinnosuke sighed. "So what is this about?"
"It's about the Hakurei seal. It's weakening again."
t.b.c
Yakumo note # 1
The are two seals made by the First Barrier Maiden.
One of course was the Hakurei Barrier, the seal that seperated Gensokyo from the Outside World.
The second one was the Hakurei Seal, the seal that took the lives of the First Maiden and her helpers. It was used to seal away the worlds where non-humans live. Of course, the seal was partially weakened and repaired by the current shrine maiden...
-
Oh dear. Shit is starting to get real here ...
-
I hardly ever comment on stuff here, I'm not even completely sure how I ended up sitting here with this reply form, but this really is shaping up wonderfully. Canon Alice is love, especially when she doesn't cease to be Canon Alice the instant she gets near Marisa (and I adore their snarky interactions). I love the way you've sprung a new wrinkle about her on us without making it seem like a change for her. Keep it up!
-
Oh my. Such an interesting version of the Grimoire. And the barrier as well.
I am curious as to what Marisa and Reimu did with the youkai.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 6
"How did I get myself into this trouble?" sighed Rinnosuke. He walked slowly with little conviction, and although it was probably from the lack of the motivation that he walked with utter resignation, he did not forget to appreciate the morning sun that barely shines through the quiet red paths to Muenzuka.
"As usual, you live with no cares in your heart."
Rinnosuke sniffed a bit, and considered the possibility of having an allergy against Higanbana pollen. Dismissing the thought as utterly absurd, he sighed once more, this time with more emphasis than usual.
"But still, you live it with more caution, something that a mere human never does," she continued.
"Yes, my fair maiden. But I do it because I have great love for my life," Rinnosuke replied. "And I'm just half after all, maybe I'm just half as carefree as a human."
Rinnosuke shook his head. Certainly, this is not the time or place to remember and think about things long past gone. He shrugged off the pangs of nostalgia and returned to the matters at hand.
"Nothing to see here, I guess," mumbled Rinnosuke to himself. He dug inside his robes for a piece of parchment and a piece of what he called a "crow's writing stick". A relic from the outside world, the crow's writing stick was made of an unknown material encasing a thin, hard shaft with a metal at the end. The metal end sticks out of the outer casing, and excretes a black chemical akin to the graphite ink. Rinnosuke found it a convenient tool to carry around, being only the size of his palm, and less messier to have around than an ink bottle.
"A ballpen," mumbled Rinnosuke, "and it can't even be used for kemari. Hah, what a waste of a good name." Setting the parchment on the ground, he started to write his notes.
"What are you writing, Rinnosuke?" she entered the house without even knocking. Even if she is considered a heroine of Gensokyo, she is still the same old girl that Rinnosuke remembered and loved. And the same unladylike attitude, to boot.
"Just a few research notes, here and there," he replied. "Now what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be giving your blessings to the newlyweds?"
"It's a boring matter, to tell the truth," she said. Shrugging a little, she sighed with exasperation and lack of motivation. "It's not like they've been more lucky after I bless them. Sometimes I wish that the shrine's status would return to normal."
"But won't that mean that the donations would stop?"
"That's true," she sighed. "Then again, it's good that I don't have to forage for food now. Yukari is helping around too, so it's quite fun around the shrine."
"Even that youkai is helping?" said Rinnosuke. "The world seems to have gone crazy lately."
"Well, she's been a big help. If not for her, this place would have been--"
Rinnosuke sighed. Why did she have to die so young?
He shook off the last of his nostalgic thoughts as he finished writing his observations at Muenzuka. He folded the parchment and put in inside his robes for safekeeping.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night was definitely strange, Reimu mused as she sat inside Alice's living room. She poured herself another cup of tea and was sipping it contently. She smelled it's sweet aroma, and felt content, even though the promise of a clear morning was starting to become diluted by the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Reimu ignored it pointedly as she thought about last night's encounter.
The youkai last night, it was definitely trying to eat Alice. Alice was unusually lucky last night. Reimu sighed. She glanced at a nearby shelf where she put the black doll from last night. But crashing into a youkai like that is not a very convenient way to fight, little doll.
She glanced at a doll sitting serenely on a shelf, put there at Reimu's convenience when they brought Alice home last night. It's eloquent dress was torn, and some of it's joints were cracked. Still, the doll is almost equally lucky to make it one piece, after a crash like that.
What am I doing, talking to myself like this? Reimu sighed.
There was a crashing sound that came from below the floor. Now what is Marisa up to?
A cry for help rose from below. "Wait, I'm going to find Alice's cellar door." Reimu rose from her chair and walked around the house noncommittally and in no particular hurry.
Too bad the youkai got away, Reimu thought. I could have asked a few things here and there.
Proper youkai eat humans, so why are they eating other youkai? Maybe they got tired of fighting the exterminators from the human village?
Still, it's just trouble for me either way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice took a deep breath. She stretched out her hands in the air and closed her eyes. Instantly, her mind was filled with numerous symbols and spells, something normal for a magician. Reaching out with her mind she went past the symbols inside her mind and searched for the severed strings of her dolls.
There was not a few of them lying around lifelessly inside the house. The combat last night had severed her magical strings and it would take a while to fix them all.
Let it be then, thought Alice. Reaching out with her mind, she felt the magical threads respond to her entity, her Magical Signature (as she had called it). She felt the strings become drawn to her as they sought to reconnect themselves using Alice's spell.
A doll is a lifeless thing, a hollow vessel made of earthly substances. However, as a hollow vessel, they provided great capacity for magical power. For a magician, or a witch of sorts, they can be used as a buffer for spells, or even as a storage for power, like a dry cell battery.
For someone like Alice, the dolls themselves are her pride. To be able to make doll in the image of man, and use them deftly for a multitude of uses (from keeping the house clean as well as for battle or bombs), is not a small feat. To be able to control all of them at once is phenomenal.
As she started to reconnect herself to her dolls, she felt a strange response from one of her dolls.
The doll...hesitated. Inside her own mind, she felt a doll hesitate in a fraction of a second, less than the amount of time needed to blink your eyes. It was like an illusion of life, the same way that you look at a haunting painting at night and see it staring back at you. Even with the knowledge that it was lifeless, it feels no less haunting.
A doll is a lifeless thing.
Alice blinked out of confusion and the feeling vanished instantly, like a mesmeriser after breaking his spell. The doll reconnected without any problem along with the other dolls.
I must be tired, Alice thought. She sighed with a little more emphasis than usual. I have to get the dolls I left outside later. I don't think Marisa and Reimu bothered gathering them last night.
Suddenly, Alice's senses began to dull as a wave of unendurable sleepiness took over her. Alice wasn't inclined to fight it, and she yawned as she submitted to its promise of a fitful slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to discover that she was still sitting on the same chair. This alarmed her more than anything, as absurd and pointless it must be.
"You know, it's been troubling to call you lately," said a voice.
The place was dark, filled with black impermeable sheet of mist. It blurred what little view Alice had of herself, she barely can see past her nose inside the black mist.
Still, she wasn't troubled. She was annoyed, more than anything else.
"Avoiding me, I see," said the voice when Alice did not reply. The voice was melodic, as usual. Alice was getting tired of it. "You know that a deal is a deal."
"I know," answered Alice. "You didn't have to remind me."
"The medicine you usually take took me a little while to figure out. It was hard to talk to you in your dreams until recently."
"I would rather that you don't. I like my sleep after all." Alice was annoyed. She definitely didn't want to talk to her now. "My dreams lately were oddly nostalgic and disgusting at the same time."
The voice laughed. "You know, you don't have to hold back. Our deal still stands, after all. Just call my power and I'll be there."
"I don't need it. I haven't touched you for almost a week. I left you inside a drawer inside my room."
"I know," said the voice. "It's quite musty inside. I don't like closed spaces, after all. Books are meant to be put on shelves."
Alice remembered something. "I didn't expect you to hear you last night. It was you, wasn't it? Right when the youkai was restraining me?"
"Of course. I can't let my contractor die. As per terms of our agreement, I have a responsibility for your welfare."
Alice bit her lip. She didn't need to hear this now. She knew that she was outmatched by the youkai last night. She might have won if she used her full power, but she swore that she would never use it again.
After all, she promised her--
"Why did you call me?" asked Alice.
The voice was amused. "Last night was a close one. The next time your life becomes endangered, I will be forced to open myself, with or without your consent. And you know that the next time is the last time."
"I know that already," Alice replied. "Is this a notice?"
"More. This is a warning. As per terms of our deal, you will belong to me the next time you use me. You're lucky that someone saved you, else the contract would have been fulfilled." The voice laughed. "Even so, fate doesn't change easily. You will belong to me, as others had. Faust, Theophilus, Grandier, all of them belonged to me. You will be no different."
Alice gritted her teeth. "Is that all you have to say? If it is, I will have my leave."
"No, there is one thing more I have to say. That is, there is one way to break free of the contract. You can always pass it to another." The voice laughed again, more menacingly this time. "I bid you farewell, child. I think you will amuse me yet."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice opened her eyes. She heard the soft sounds of rain falling on grass, and she felt a hint of nostalgia, a strange feeling of deja vu.
It was like this, all those time ago when she found me.
It was almost evening, and she felt tired, as if something was drained out of her. Even so, she felt angry and bitter, to no one in particular, but still bitter nonetheless. Out of impulse, she stood up and walked towards the desk at the opposite side of the room. Digging out a key in her pocket, she jammed it onto a keyhole in her drawer and turned it with unspeakable frenzy.
As if a fury had descended on her, she pulled open the drawer and ripped its contents from its place. It was a black book, bound by a leather cover with a red book guard spreading over the book's four directions (the chilly north, the answering east, the calamity of south, and the covenant of the west) and then coming together, bound by the book's locking guard.
She stared at the book in her hand and spoke in quiet heated words, "I will not become a tool for your amusement, if my soul is damned forever, so be it, but mark my words that until the very last moment, I will not submit to you."
With those words she raised the book in her hand and threw it across the room with all of her strength, rebounding against a wall before falling to the floor. Alice felt her rage drain out of her and she settled down on the floor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain pelted heavily outside, filling the Forest of Magic a sense of damp dreariness that was almost unworldly.
Marisa was scanning the spoils of her victory. "Thanks for helping me out, Reimu." Marisa was seated across Reimu, with a layer of books spread across Marisa's side of the table.
Reimu ignored her as she continued sipping her tea. She had spent what's left of the morning and the better part of the afternoon digging out Marisa from Alice's archives. Marisa was exploring Alice's house when Marisa discovered, to her delight, that Alice had a room dedicated for storage of research and notes. However, to Marisa's dismay, there was a myriad of armed spells that was made to deter intruders, and the books tried to bury her alive.
"I need to find something with more substance. I haven't eaten anything since last night," said Reimu as she looked at her cup. She sighed. "I don't want to eat anything from Alice's house, though. They're all too sweet, even for me."
"Why Gretel, do you think that the witch will make you fat by eating too much sweets?" Marisa teased. "And then eat you just when you are plump enough? I wonder if shrine maiden's taste good?"
Reimu scowled at Marisa. "No, I told myself that I would cut myself on sweets. I already got told off by two people about it. One told me that I won't go to heaven if I eat too much sweets. The other told me that I was acting too much of a celestial when I indulge on them."
Marisa laughed. "Then which one are you, really? Looks like you'll be stuck at the river when you die."
"Aren't you hungry?" asked Reimu, ignoring Marisa's teasing. "You haven't eaten anything since morning, if I recall."
"Not really. I've found some dried fruits inside Alice's cellar, want some?"
"Whatever, as long as they are not sweet," said Reimu. Marisa rose from her seat and went to get something to pass their hunger.
I wonder if the youkai will come again tonight? It looked badly hurt when it escaped.
Well, it's not my fault if it was able to escape. Darkness is the paradise of youkai after all, and it easily hid its presence even with me giving pursuit.
Still, why do I feel these strange sense of dark foreboding?
Marisa came back with a platter of dried fruits. She was already munching on some dried apples and Reimu took one and nibbled on it.
They suddenly heard a clunking sound from the other side of the house.
"What was that?" asked Marisa.
"Beats me," replied Reimu. "Alice might have fallen off her bed or something. I think she went back to sleep after I gave her something to eat. She was in bad shape last night, after all." Reimu took another nibble.
"What's bothering you Reimu?" asked Marisa. "You seemed to be out of it since morning."
"Nothing really," Reimu replied. "I wonder if my shrine is fine. I left my shrine to her care, after all. She might have set fire to it or something."
"It would be bad if the shrine is burned down," said Marisa. "Where would I spend my hot summer days if it's gone?"
"Hey don't use it as a resort," said Reimu. "I might start charging you for it."
Marisa settled to her seat. "Don't worry about it Reimu," Marisa said nonchalantly. "I'm pretty sure the youkai would show up again."
Reimu raised an eyebrow. "You're pretty perceptive at times," said Reimu mockingly. "You could be a decent shrine maiden." Marisa shrugged.
"I like my clothes better, thanks. Anyway, I'm gonna pay a visit to Kourin's," said Marisa.
"Hmm?" Reimu looked at her curiously.
"I'm just going to ask around about the night noises, or about your youkai eater."
"It's raining outside," said Reimu. "It would be annoying if you come to my shrine for cold medicine."
"I don't get the colds," said Marisa. "I only get the flu."
"Sure, whatever. I'm just going to stay here until the night comes." Reimu leaned back on her chair contently.
"You're not going to come along?" asked Marisa.
"In this rain? No way. Also, something tells me that I should be here for a little while longer."
Marisa started stacking the books and put them neatly at the corner of the room. "I'll get them later, before Alice wakes up. Also, make sure to keep an eye on Alice."
"So you noticed it too?"
"Yeah, I kind of felt it. A strange premonition of bad things to come."
"I call it my shrine maiden's intuition. What do you call yours?"
"I call it pessimism," Marisa went for the door and dove into the rain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rain pelted softly upon the Mound for the Foreigners, Muenzuka as it was called locally. It was a dark and gloomy place--fitting for a graveyard for people without relatives.
Rinnosuke was crouching, examining the ground and writing down notes when something caught his eye.
There was a silhouette in the distance, and Rinnosuke blinked twice before he was sure that it wasn't an apparition. The silhouette was that of a young human, but the mist made it indistinguishable between a boy or a girl.
"This place looks wet," said a voice. It sounded like a young girl, high pitched with a hint of youthfulness. "It's like a what you call a hollow in your books."
"I agree with her, my lady," another voice answered. Rinnosuke blinked. He only saw one silhouette, but the voice was deeper, a woman's--definitely another person entirely. Knowing better, he hid himself behind a tree and listened into the conversation with more attention.
"But getting through the stupid barrier is hard work, and all," said another voice. A young girl, but definitely not the first. "I dislike this place already." She had a voice of authority, even if she was apparently young. But there was a lack of refinement, she possessed a sense of brattiness. "I think this place is musty, pretty much like our house, no?"
"We can't stay here long, the barrier is fighting against us. If we stay any longer, you might be endangered, my lady," said the second voice.
Rinnosuke heard a sigh. "I think you're right. I need something to make a more permanent hole in this barrier," said the third voice. "Come, let's go Emi, En."
There was the dying sound of footfalls and the silhouette vanished. It was a full minute until Rinnosuke found his breath once more.
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 2
For a multi-layered seal of this proportions, it's not surprising that it has numerous weak points that are exploited by many individuals.
One of them is at Muenzuka, where the spirits of the dead outsiders (who for their own ignorance, think that they are still alive even after being eaten by some random youkai), try to break through the barrier and go back to their homes outside.
_____ Note #1
__________________, _________________.
_____________? ____________?
1. Emi 笑
2. En 援
3. Kan 甘
4. Kou 慌
5. Shiku 死苦
6. Aiki 哀気
____________________________. _____________you, _______.
______________ Gensokyo.
-
You have a true talent for writing, you know that?
I know I'm the sterotypical 'praise everyone' guy in PSL, but, seriously. Marisa and Reimu's little exchange - even the last bit about 'shrine maidens intuition' vs 'pessimism' was genius material. Everything else is just as good.
-
So, now we have the names of all six bosses, huh? I wonder who the Extra Boss will be ...
Also, that bit at the beginning, plus the whole deal with Alice, made me fairly nervous as to where this is going. (Time paradoxes aside, of course.)
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 7
"It really looks great when it rains," the young girl whispered to herself. She hummed a soulful nameless tune in beat to the heavy downpour of the rain. It wasn't much of a tune, and it was mostly off-key and threw her pace off-beat.
"Oh, this won't do," she sighed. She gave up on her humming and started to focus solely on the task in front of her. It was a task that she often forgot, and even if she did remember, she often found an excuse to put it off for another day. However, she felt a little more diligent today, and she promised herself to finish this mountain of a task by nightfall.
Unfortunately, nightfall is only a few hours away and her house was only half clean. She had been sweeping, and lifting, and stacking, and pushing, and pulling since morning, but her house was a silent stubborn sanctuary that begged for vengeance for putting off cleaning day for over a month.
She heard a distinct meowing behind her. Turning around, she saw her pet cat sitting at a nearby chair and staring at her curiously. Putting away the broom on her hand (which was quite exhausted, in her opinion), she turned her attention to Sokrates.
"What's the matter, my dear philosopher?" She giggled. "Hey, I just made a rhyme!" She stretched out her arm towards the cat who obliged by climbing up to her shoulder, its favorite spot. It purred loudly to show its contentment.
"Oh well, I won't finish today, so I should tidy up what I can for now, and continue another day," she said wistfully. "I do hope that my house doesn't get angry about it, though." She was preparing to lift another box when something suddenly caught her attention.
There was a small wooden box at the floor, in the corner of what-should-be the living room (it was crowded by lots of stuff of what you would call junk that it was nearly impossible to tell), something that she could swear that she'd seen before...or maybe not. It was hidden behind the other stacks of boxes she had (which she had sorted into garbage, recyclable, biodegradeable, and things she would rather keep), and only goodness knows since when did it last saw the light of the day.
"Hmm, I'm pretty sure I shouldn't touch that box, but I'm not sure why." Approaching it for no other reason other than curiosity, she spotted a few letters at the box's lid. She repeated the letters out loud.
"C-3-H-5-N-3-O-9. What a weird name." The cat on her shoulder meowed loudly. It jumped down from her shoulder and vanished into the mess of her house. She tried calling out to it, but she thought it would be a futile endeavor. It is a cat, after all, given to trivial whims and such.
However, her attention was still focused on the curious wooden box. She pried open the lid (which was only loosely fitted to the box), and found cylinders wrapped in coloured papers of varying hues. Atop these cylinders was a folded paper which was quite brown with age. Unfolding it, she espied a few lines written in red ink.
Tack s? mycket.
A.Nobel
Below was a looping signature of the said name.
"A letter from someone called A. Nobel? I do remember the name, but I can't remember where I heard it from..."
Scratching her head, she sat down on the floor and began to think.
The rain started to pour even harder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Closed," repeated Marisa as she read the shop sign at Kourindou's door step. "I wonder where he is."
Could he had been attacked? His house is still near the boundaries of the village, but...
Then again, me and Alice weren't attacked until last night and we live in the Forest of Magic. Then again, my house does have wards against harmful youkai...
Too many 'then agains'. You're thinking too much again, Marisa. Where would Kourin go in a heavy rain like this?
The rain was still pouring down. Marisa was drenched in rain, but she ignored it.
Why do I feel anxious? I feel like something big is happening right in front of me, and I don't even know what it is.
She pulled down her black, pointed hat closer to her face to shield her eyes from the rain as she prepared for flight. Unlike Alice and Reimu, she preferred to use a broom during flight, something more comfortable and easy to get used to. She took off flawlessly, her grip on her broom was sure and firm. The rain pelted against her face as her speed picked up, and she used her free hand to adjust her hat in the rain.
I should at least check around the Forest for signs of trouble, at the very least.
Surely, I don't feel like myself today. I'm working way too hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was already starting to set (or should be, if not for the rain), when Alice went out of her room. To her surprise, her foot was feeling better, as if it wasn't hurt at all last night. Still, she walked a little carefully and was intent to avoid overworking her foot.
"You shouldn't walk around too much, yet."
Alice found Reimu drinking her umpteenth cup of the day inside the dining room. "You're still here?" Alice sighed. "Don't tell me you've been tasting all of my tea, all day?"
Reimu smiled. "Well, I really don't mind the tea. But mostly, it's because it would be bad for my reputation if I left an injured girl alone inside the woods. Then again, the tea--"
"I live here," snapped Alice. "You haven't eaten yet, I gather?" Reimu nodded a little bleakly, and Alice made a grim smile. "I didn't think shrine maidens eat tea leaves for lunch." Looking around, she continued, "Where's the witch?"
"She went to Kourin's a little while ago," answered Reimu. "She was going to ask about something important."
"Is that so," remarked Alice. "In this rain? She might catch a bad cold. Then again, her head is too thick for something trivial like that."
Reimu shrugged. "She doesn't get the colds. She only gets the flu."
"I didn't think I'd hear that from you," said Alice. "Anyway, I'm going to cook something, if you two haven't purged my pantry yet."
"Yes, a meal...would be nice," said Reimu with a smile. I haven't eaten anything for over a day...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He ignored the falling barrage of raindrops as they covered his spectacles, making his vision even foggier and mistier. He didn't stop to wipe them clean; as he knew the lay of the land relatively well, he dodged the ditches and jumped through broken pathways as he raced through the path towards the Forest.
It's going to be nightfall soon, and I didn't leave enough firewood in my shop.
Darn, this isn't the time for this! What did I just see in Muenzuka? Was it just my imagination? Or were the ghosts playing with me?
Or maybe Yakumo was actually telling the truth?
Since he started his frantic run from Muenzuka, Rinnosuke glanced behind him upon intervals to make sure that he wasn't followed. Human or youkai, whoever followed him now is suspect. What he held inside his robes now was the most important thing in Gensokyo.
He felt the parchment inside his robes stick to his skin as he became drenched in a mixture of rain and sweat. His breath came in rapid puffs, but he had no intention of stopping to take a rest.
When was the last time I ran this fast?
Yeah, I remember. The time of the second seal.
Rinnosuke felt it once more, after a what seemed to be a very long while, what it means to be trusted.
If we don't make it in time...
No, for the sake of what Hinaka died for, I will make it...this time, for sure...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are many layers that exist within the boundaries of Gensokyo. One is the land, where people and youkai live in relative peace. Others are the Skies, Waters, Makai, and Jigoku. They all exist within a coinciding harmony that maintain the balance of Gensokyo.
Youkai eat humans. Humans kill youkai in order to live. This was the order of Gensokyo.
However, Order itself is not permanent. It is as ephemeral as a flower that blooms in the middle of winter.
All because of a single shrine maiden, that all of these was possible.
Yukari floated in a layer that only exists without Gensokyo and yet still exists within it. It was the Barrier itself, the maintaining boundary that separates Gensokyo from the Outside World. Within it resides the Laws of Gensokyo, the maintaining Order that ensures that Gensokyo will not fall apart from its separation from the Laws of the Outside World.
There are many Laws that reside here, from the simple Law of Conservation, to the obtuse and vague laws such as [Cats like to eat Mice], or [Too much Wine can make you drunk]. Most of them sound frivolous, some of them doesn't even make sense. But all of them were put there for a purpose.
Most of these Laws are not apparent and obvious. In fact, most of the citizens of Gensokyo, whether youkai or human, are oblivious to them for most of their lives. Some of them are blatant, such as [Fire is hot] or even the recent Spell Card Law that enabled humans to fight squarely with youkai without the hazard of being eaten.
Yukari observed these laws (although she didn't always follow them), to make sure that not too many were broken (which was not altogether often) and disturb the balance of Gensokyo (which was too often, in Yukari's opinion). Most of the time though, Yukari uses her knowledge of these Laws for her own perusal. After all, the boundaries in which these Laws reside was created using her abilities.
For the past few days however she had sensed someone tampering with these laws. It was not from Gensokyo, Yukari gathered, because she had sensed someone...or rather some people, going inside and outside the barrier without the intent of going inside Gensokyo. They weren't like the humans from the Outside who got lost and wound up inside Gensokyo (which often happened). As a matter of fact, they weren't even human.
Or a youkai for that matter. That was something that disturbed Yukari greatly.
If this is a celestial's doing again...
No, a celestial wouldn't do something this underhanded.
So what are they?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emi yawned. "Are we done here yet?" She was instantly glared upon by the dark-haired En. Giving her a mowing stare with her golden eyes, En dismissed Emi's complaints as mere jest.
"You jest a lot, Emi," said En. She looked at her grey-haired companion who wore a checkered capelet over a blue shirt, paired with a checkered skirt which was cut slightly above her knees. Along with Emi's short grey hair, her head was adorned by a checkered jester's hat which branched into two ends which was, in turn, adorned by two yellow bells each. Like En, she also had golden eyes. "You sure like your Fortunato motley, though your hat is really wrong."
"It's my nature to jest," said Emi. She gave En a quick smile, something that came naturally to her.
In contrast to Emi's mockery of a court jester, En was dignified by an old-fashioned breastplate and shoulder guards, akin to the armor of the soldiers of the Sengoku. She wore a thick leather jerkin underneath her armor whose lower end was hidden by the metal scales of her hip guard which stretched down to her knees. Her thighs were bridled with leather guards which was punctuated by a metal knee guard. Her thick leather boots covered the rest of her legs. She carried a spear on her left hand which was covered by leather gauntlets that extended up to her shoulder. She was a head taller than the smaller Emi, who looked nothing more than a child trying to pass off as a youth. However, Emi was years older than En, but nothing in their appearance or character say so.
"You should really lighten up," Emi told her companion. "Our master told us to wait here, but she didn't tell you to be gloomy while doing it."
"It is a responsibility that our master had given us. Even Shiku and Aiki are taking their jobs seriously," countered En with a stern voice. They were standing guard upon the Boundary of Gensokyo. Behind them was the invisible barrier that prevents outsiders of little power to enter the plains and valleys of Gensokyo. However, this invisible barrier was mottled with a lines of fissures and small cracks, something that Emi and En were proud about.
"If not for us, our master wouldn't be able to make these Cracks," said Emi. "You should be at least happy about that."
En was suddenly alerted by a shift in the surroundings. Around them was dark, which was normal for the nothingness in between the Barrier and the Outside World. However, she felt a strange presence, as if someone was watching them.
"Silence, there is someone here," said En. She became more guarded and alert as she felt for the strange presence which vanished almost instantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Very perceptive of you, thought Yukari. But you won't see me just yet.
Yukari hid her presence as she watched the two girls stand guard over the damaged portion of the Hakurei Barrier. As she looked at the ugly lines of cracks, she felt a little insulted, and not a little enraged. Still, stealth is best for the moment as she endeavored to hear more of the conversation of the two girls.
At the very least, I at least know that they are working for someone. Master, huh? I wonder who could it be. This could get interesting.
Yukari hid inside a half-opened gap, a rip in the layers of Gensokyo that Yukari is known for exploiting. Inside, Yukari can hide herself, or even make another gap to another place. For now, Yukari used it to hide her presence, which is equivalent to hiding a candle in the dark.
Patience is the surest path to victory. I can be patient for a little while more.
Yukari continued spying on the two as the lowered their guard and started idle chatter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now what is the matter with you?" asked Marisa.
A fairy the size of a small girl grinned impishly at Marisa as it started to attack her with barrages of magical bullets that scattered in the rain. To her surprise, it suddenly faded out of her vision, and nearly hit her if not for her sense of danger that was sharpened by days of training and extermination. Gripping her broom tightly, she pulled up into the air as she tried to gain the upper hand.
I don't have time for a fairy, but if she wants to fight...
The fairy smiled maniacally at Marisa as it looked up to her before it vanished into perfect invisibility. Puzzled, Marisa was dumbfounded for a moment before a small shrill shout shocked her back to reality.
"She's right behind you!"
Without wasting any time, she pulled out her Hakkero--her most beloved treasure--from within her vest and incanted a single phrase while twisting around to face the materializing fairy behind her.
The last thing Marisa saw of the fairy was its face full of rage and surprise as Marisa fired off her self-proclaimed Annihilation of Love; Master Spark.
A rainbow colored beam of light painted the rainy sky as it cut through the dark colored clouds, only to reveal, in a fraction of a moment, a sun painted black against the darkening blue sky as it sunk behind the distant mountains. The clouds were immediately resilient and covered the atrocity, as if to hide something that should not be seen.
Marisa was puffing loudly, the mixture of adrenaline and bewilderment getting the best of her.
"What the heck..." she puffed. "What the heck is going on?"
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 3
One of Gensokyo's greatest disasters was the making of the Hakurei Seal. Many may get it confused with the Hakurei Barrier, but they are two separate things.
The Hakurei Seal was made in order to separate the world of the non-humans from Gensokyo. It was said that it was done in order to seal the power of the great underground dwellers.
However, this is only one of the reasons.
The reason why the first Barrier Maiden died was to protect both humans and youkai of above and below ground.
I am so sorry, Hinaka...
____u Note # 2
There is a ___________l in Gensokyo who is __________, though her name is mostly forgotten by but _______.
Her _____ is ____naka Ha__rei, the ______ Barrie_______en.
博麗 陽名花
A na__ t____ I alwa___ found __nnily fa__liar.
-
This is fantastic, do you know that? I'm loving the multi-layered story here, and the sense of mystery with the Notes (I'll admit, my first thought when I saw the Notes was "Hey that's like Kingdom Hearts!" :V). And someone finally writing canon!Alice is always wonderful. Keep it up, I'm very interested in this.
-
Hm... For every question answered another one pops up. I see Rinnousuke and Yukari will be playing along as well. I wonder if anyone else will be drawn in. *Continues to wait patiently for all to be revealed.*
-
I nominate Coin Spire for some kind of title of some sort, denoting possession of epic quantities of epic writing skill.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 8
Sunny Milk dropped gracefully from the sky, like a Cochin-China that tried to fly. Unconscious from the blast of Marisa's spell, she fell head first on the wet grassy floor.
"Well, she dropped out faster than I expected," said Star Sapphire. She flapped her insect like wings on her back as she flew towards the unconscious Sunny Milk.
"Is she alright?" asked Luna Child who followed behind. She was puffing with exhaustion despite the heavy rain.
Star Sapphire shrugged. "Well, more importantly, we have to think of a way to catch that flying thing's attention."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"HEY, HEY, WEIRD MAGICIAN!"
Marisa blinked once before she realized that the calls were directed to her. Looking down, she saw three figures, one of them was sprawled on the ground, unconscious. The other two were jumping around, making catcalls to catch her attention.
"HEY, HEY, WEIRD MAGICIAN!"
Chagrined from fatigue, the mixture of stress of today's happenings and being drenched to the toes because of the rain, she landed quite roughly beside the two, kicking up mud and grass as she dug her heels on the soft ground.
She heard the two scream as the two were covered in mud. "Hey, watch where you're landing!"
Marisa gave a sideways glance to the two girls. They were fairies (and as such, they resemble the form of a little girl, except for their silky, insect like wings), and they were familiar to Marisa. One of them, the one dressed in a white and blue dress which was a match to the blue ribbon on top of her long black hair, stared crossly at Marisa as she wiped off the mud from her face.
"It's not nice to throw mud at people's faces, you know," said Star Sapphire as she finished wiping her face. Her curly haired companion nodded in conjunction. Unlike Star Sapphire, Luna Child wore a white dress with black ribbons and trimmings. In place of a ribbon, Luna had a shortened version of a white mob cap, also with black ribbons and trims.
"It's not nice to call people weird, you know," countered Marisa. She glanced at the prostrate figure on the grass. "She's the one that attacked me, right?" Marisa approached the unconscious fairy and examined her injuries. This one wore a white dress with red ribbons and her yellow hair was tied into two neat pigtails by two red ribbons at the opposite sides of her head.
"Hey, what are you doing with her?" asked Luna Child.
"I'm checking if she's still alive," said Marisa in a frivolous tone. Luna Child was taken aback by Marisa's remark and fell silent.
A fairy was a tenacious creature, despite their seemingly fragile appearance. Only a real exorcism would really kill a fairy. But while a fairy would sometimes attack humans, they rarely have the same amount of power as a true youkai.
Marisa flipped the fairy over and laid her on her back. Sunny Milk was still unconscious from her fall, but was relatively unhurt aside from her bruises and scratches she got from Marisa's attack and subsequent impact on the ground. Not even a broken bone, I didn't know fairies were this tough.
"She's fine, I think," concluded Marisa. "So, what are you guys doing, attacking people in this rain?"
"We're not attacking people," said Luna Child, a little bit flustered.
Suddenly, there blew a very strong squall, and the trees around them bowed down in its wake. Marisa held on to her pointed hat to prevent it from being blown away. The two fairies were more unfortunate, as their diminutive size did not prevent them from being nearly blown away by the relentless wind. With her free hand, Marisa caught Luna Child by her dress collar before she was blown away and Star Sapphire held on to Luna Child's ankles as they resisted the blast of wind. The two fairies dangled against the wind like the shiny Buddhist priest which the humans in the village hang on their windows as a ward against (and sometimes; for) rain.
Marisa stood her ground for an eternity or so (in her perspective), when the wind started to die down. Dropping Luna and Star on the ground, Marisa looked at the darkening angry sky. The two sighed as the wind stopped.
"I guess, no more flying for tonight, huh? Just great," she muttered under her breath. The rain showed no signs of stopping as a thunder rumbled on from a distance. It's suicide to fly in this weather.
Just great.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice hummed a soulful nameless tune in beat to the heavy downpour of the rain. It wasn't much of a tune, and it was mostly off key and threw her pace offbeat. Still, it was a catchy tune, and Alice ignored its ephemeral nature, despite it going against her usual tastes in music.
She was making vegetable soup (along with rice), something that was relatively easy (and fast, even without magic) to make but still manages to give the needed nutritional figures. She poured all the needed ingredients on an iron pot above a crisp flame and started to stir it using a wooden spoon. She took a small taste, and was immediately satisfied with the result. "Perfect as usual."
"Cooking is merely the act of adding the precise amount of ingredients at the right time," she told herself. "The art is in the preciseness itself."
Alice nodded, agreeing with her insightful thinking. "Well, I guess this will do for tonight. I don't think Reimu expected a feast, anyway."
A few minutes later, Reimu was chowing down her bowl of soup with utter gusto. "Considering that you don't usually eat with a spoon, you eat very fast," Alice told her.
With her magical strings restored, Alice's dolls were busy getting the house in order for the night. Candles and oil lamps were placed at the right spots to deliver the right amount of light and to avoid her house being drowned by the darkness of the Forest. Alice watched them wistfully as her dolls floated around, doing what their implanted instructions told them to do.
"You know," said Reimu between spoonfuls, "Dolls aren't made for housework. They're made for playing by little girls. It's just not right to make them move by themselves like that, it's just way too unnatural." Reimu took a spoonful of rice and washed it down with the soup.
Alice shrugged her off. She wasn't a very popular person in Gensokyo, and most humans stay away from her house (not the least reason was the Forest of Magic where her house resides is home to numerous creatures that are hostile to humans). She had gained the notoriety of being 'the strange puppeteer at the forest' and as such, most humans regard her with fear.
"Dolls are good with magic," Alice told her. "I don't have anything to say after that."
"Suit yourself," said Reimu. "Thanks for the meal." Reimu handed her bowl of soup and rice to Alice who took it to her kitchen without another word.
"Dolls are for little girls that don't mind the world at all, as they play with their own games," sighed Reimu under her breath. "Since when did I become so meddlesome of other people's affairs? Yukari and Marisa must be rubbing off on me."
Thunder rumbled on, promising a very stormy night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke heard a loud grumbling sound nearby. He stopped in his tracks, thinking that it sounded too loud for thunder. Overhead, he saw a strange light in the sky, like a multicoloured pillar that rose to meet the heavens. Rinnosuke knew instantly what it was.
Marisa's spell? Who is she fighting with in this weather? Honestly, that girl doesn't have any sense of sematics. She would probably ride her broom into a beehive without thinking twice.
Suddenly, Rinnosuke was arrested by rustling sound from the foliage of bushes behind him. Glancing behind, he made out a limping silhouette, looking as if it was hurt. Rinnosuke stood rooted on the spot, unsure of what to do next. Indecisive between helping or continuing his marathon, he was saved from deciding when he heard a rough grating sound coming from the person.
"...hungry..." Rinnosuke heard the figure mutter in a woman's voice. The figure noticed Rinnosuke and started to approach him in a slow deliberate pace. Rinnosuke took a step back as he tried to distance himself from the creature.
The single seemed to hunch up, as if trying to draw a deep breath, and then let loose a cacophonous screech that tore the quiet rhythm of the storm. Rinnosuke was on his knees as he covered his ears from the noise.
What the heck is this? Damn, it, I have to run!
Trying to fight off the ringing pain from the screech, Rinnosuke staggered as he tried to stand. Gritting his teeth, he dug his heels on the muddy path as he started to run. The youkai was displeased as it saw its prey trying to get away and it let out another screech as it tried to grab Rinnosuke with it's long tentacle like hair. It shot out through the rainy night like an eagle for its meal.
Losing his footing in the mud, Rinnosuke slipped and fell face down on the mud. It covered his spectacles and face, and most of his clothes. Coughing off the dirt, he was aghast with horror when he felt the greasy hold of the youkai's hair around his body as it tried to drag him for its meal.
As the creature dragged him with glee, its screeching came in short excited bursts. Rinnosuke shuffled around its grasp as he tried to break its iron hold. He did not cry for help; in this heavy rain, no one would probably hear him. In frustration, he tried tearing through the tentacle like hair using his hands as he tried to break free.
Still it availed him no triumph as he got dragged closer and closer to the waiting youkai. It laughed with maniacal frenzy as Rinnosuke was dragged to his doom...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice dropped the wooden bowl. It clattered on the floor as it's remaining contents spilled on the floor. Immediately, a doll came inside the kitchen to pick it up and put it in the sink. Afterwards, it wiped the floor clean with a damp cloth before leaving Alice alone in her bewilderment.
She tried to catch her breath as she looked at the impossibility that threatened to override her sense of logic if she was not careful. Alice stared at her burned hand and stared at the blisters starting to form on her palm.
A few minutes ago, she came inside the kitchen to put away Reimu's bowl when she suddenly lost her balance when she tripped on some unknown object on the floor. She frantically took hold of a ledge for balance and avoided falling on the floor altogether. She briefly berated herself for being such a klutz when she noticed that in her carelessness, she grabbed hold of the heavy iron pot, still above the crisp burning flame. The contents were still boiling, hot enough to do more than just scald.
Looking at her blistered hand, Alice was dumbfounded, more than anything else, not by the alarming presence of pain; but rather by its appalling absence. Indeed, she did not feel any pain, not even the expected sharp sensitivity as she squeezed her injured hand with the other. In the corner of her eye, she felt the shadows lengthen as darkness seemed to engulf the room; the lamplight were dimmed--even with their numerous and strategic numbers, their light seemed to pale in the darkness.
There was a quiet whisper, like wind brushing through the curtains. It was close to her ears, but it sounded distant and faint.
Consider it a gift.
The whisper suddenly became a laugh and Alice turned around, only to see that she was alone inside the kitchen. The light coming from the lamps around her kitchen were flickering, even if there was no wind. The laughter suddenly vanished, and Alice found herself breathing heavily, like she had been running for miles. She pinched herself with her uninjured hand, trying to ascertain if she's awake or not.
She did not feel the hand that touched her cheek. She did not feel it close around the lump of skin that she grabbed. She did not feel the expected pain as she tightened her grip, trying to feel any hint of pain.
"I...don't feel anything," she told herself. "I don't feel anything."
It felt more of a conviction, more than anything else.
"What's happening to me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reimu heard a distant clatter coming from the kitchen. In the relative darkness caused by the night, her hearing was a little bit sharper than usual. Alice's house was bright enough not to bump into furniture, but Reimu still took care of her steps as she felt her way through Alice's house.
What was that, I wonder?
As she felt her way through the dim corridor outside Alice's living room, Reimu heard a bereaved cry coming from the kitchen. Immediately, Reimu ran towards the source of the cry and found herself in front of the kitchen door. She pushed open the green wooden door and saw Alice leaning on a kitchen counter with a knife in one hand and a glassy stare from her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything--
Logic, the sole sense of reason behind the brilliance of analysis. It feeds on the unwritten notes of memory which was taken from observation. Observation on the other hand feeds on the senses; sight, smell, hearing, taste, and sensation of the skin. It is a task that is performed continuously, day after day, behind the barrier of the conscious mind. We hear, see, smell, taste and feel a multitude of sensations every day, and we do it without thinking about it. It is only natural.
I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything--
But what happens when you these senses away? The body feels anxiety, as it tries to ascertain a logical reasoning behind its absence. However, logic cannot function without information from observations, and obviously, observation cannot gather information without the senses. Anxiety mounts and the mind becomes illogical as it is deprived its local sense of order, the source of security of all things sentient; mortal and immortal alike.
I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything, I don't feel anything--
Why can't I feel anything? It makes no sense, no sense, no sense--
She was alone in the kitchen, which made it all the worse. She felt as if her reason is leaving her, and she fell down, grovelling, as she tried to make sense of her situation. She shouted, but she only heard a muffled sound; she didn't feel the wind escape her lips, and it only troubled her more.
I don't feel any pain, no pain, no pain--
Why was she troubled? It's because I felt no pain. Why did she feel no pain? I don't care. So what should she do to comfort herself? I can't find no comfort, I can't feel anything. Nothing at all?
I lost my feeling of pain. If I can only find it--
Before she knew it, she felt her hand reach out to a nearby knife. Her vision seemed to close up as she saw her other hand (injured), on the surface of the kitchen counter. She raised her hand clenching the knife and brought it down with utter deliberation...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reimu wasted no time and tackled Alice down. As they fell down on the floor, Reimu grasped Alice's hand and wrenched the kitchen knife away from her hold. She threw it to the opposite corner of the room and shook Alice who was screamed horribly, as if she was possessed by some unseen apparition. Alice struggled, and Reimu took hold of Alice's arms as she flailed around, fighting her off.
"Alice!" Reimu shouted, but Alice's screams were louder and more frantic. Reimu shook her harder and Alice struggled even more.
A youkai possession? Darn it, if I could just hold her down long enough...
With a sleight of her arms, a talisman slid down from her sleeves to her free hand as she fought to keep Alice down on the floor. She placed on Alice's forehead and clasped her hands together in the form of rin. She held down Alice with her legs; literally sitting on her, as Alice struggled without abandon.
"On bai shi ra man ta ya so wa ka"
Reimu's voice seemed to quiver at first, and became stronger as she finished the chant. Her breathing became quick, in short bursts. Reimu formed the Great Diamond with her hands and chanted the next prayer.
"On isha na ya in ta ra ya so wa ka"
She changed the formation of her fingers once more and continued to pray. After each line of prayer, she changed the position of her hands; her voice became more composed and powerful, comparable to the song of angels that John heard in the Book of Revelations.
"On je te ra shi ita ra ji ba ra ta noo so wa ka"
"On ha ya bai shi ra man ta ya so wa ka"
"On noo ma ku san man da ba sa ra dan kan"
"On aga na ya in ma ya sowaka"
"On hi ro ta ki sha no ga ji ba tai sowaka"
"On chi ri chi i ba ro ta ya sowaka"
"On a ra ba sha noo sowaka"
As her prayer rose in tempo, Reimu became composed and seemed to be enveloped in white light. Reimu clasped her hands together and shouted at the top of her voice.
"Kami Gi [Ya Hou Ki Baku Jin]!!"
Instantly, they were surrounded by a nimbus of white light as an exorcism circle appeared on the floor and enclosed them both. Alice suddenly became wilt and bereft of energy as she was bathed in the white light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darn you, I won't die like this!"
Rinnosuke struggled helplessly as he faced the open mouth of the youkai. It drooled horribly, and even in the rain, Rinnosuke smelled the odor of decaying flesh from its breath.
Closing his eyes, and perhaps praying for a miracle, he called out for help at the top of his lungs.
Suddenly, he heard a distinct popping sound from the sky as bullets of energy rained down on them. Rinnosuke opened his eyes and saw them. They were red, heart shaped things that exploded around the youkai who screamed in pain as it loosened its hold on Rinnosuke.
Overhead, Rinnosuke saw a giant heart shaped mass of energy about to fall upon them. Scrambling to get out of the way, Rinnosuke fell down backwards as the heart fell on the youkai with an explosion of stars and more hearts.
"What the heck--," started Rinnosuke, in a mixture of bewilderment and surprise.
"Are you alright?" said a voice behind him. Turning his head around, she saw a yellow haired girl dressed in red clothes. She had one hand outstretched that gestured around as she told her spell what to do.
The youkai in front of Rinnosuke shouted in pain, but it was far from dead. Instead, it began to ran away; it formed to giant wings using it's long hair and flew off, leaving behind a dazed Rinnosuke.
"Are you all right?" repeated the girl. She approached him and helped him up on his feet after seeing that he wasn't hurt. Rinnosuke looked at the smiling girl who was also drenched in the rain. "You look tired," said the girl. "I'll offer you a rest at my home nearby, but unfortunately my house became angry and blew up." The girl smiled at him once more.
Rinnosuke stood dumbfounded in the rain for a full minute before he tried to speak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisa ran across the forest while carrying Sunny Milk on her back like a sack of potato. She was en route to her house with the two fairies fast behind her.
Come on, can't you give me a rest already?
Grimacing, she changed her direction and ran towards Alice's house. Behind her, Sapphire cried out.
"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING SUNNY?"
Marisa ignored them.
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 4
For some odd reason, youkai in Gensokyo had been acting strangely.
Of course, this had been happening for a while now. No one was actually paying attention until someone got hurt.
From what I have seen, something from the outside is blocking Gensokyo, as if someone is trying to pull Gensokyo back to the outside world...
K____ Note # 3
Let me tell you about myself.
I am definitely ______. That being said, what am I? ______ destroy, ______ conquer.
______ kill. ______ kill other ______.
______ destroy everything they worked for, and they don't even realize it.
Am I ______ or not?
Sei Notes # 1
Cochin-China is a chicken also known as the Chinese Shanghai.
Shiny Buddhist Priests? It's the Sunny, Sunny Man! Or the teru teru bozu.
Reimu's prayer? Shinto priests pray, Reimu is a miko so she prays.
Not too often though.
Divine Art [Demon Binding Circle of the Eight Directions] or more commonly known as the
Divine Art [Omnidirectional Demon Binding Circle] from THWiki.
But what do I know? I'm just a writer.
-
Hm... It seems Alice is becoming more doll-like. And not in a good way. Meanwhile the three fairies of light are here. That'll be an interesting addition to the party. And was that Elly who saved RInnousuke? Curiouser and curiouser.
-
This is getting soooooo good. I can't wait for the next one. There are so many mysteries going on at the same time.
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This is amazing. I'm looking forward to the next update~ ...And every one after that.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 9
There are many realms enveloped within the world that is called Gensokyo. Among all these realms, one stands apart; not only from its power and influence, but also because of the undying loyalty of its retainers. In this realm, where the nature of the place itself becomes unwittingly bizarre and inhuman, the people live in absolute prosperity under the guidance of their Mother.
This realm's borders are enclosed with the magical wards to hinder the entrance of weak mortals who would simply perish because of their weak souls that are unable to withstand the might of Makai. This harsh place is governed by the fortress of Pand?mnium, the center of this world.
However, harsh this place might be for humans, it is impossible to describe within human words the inhuman beauty of this place. If there is a limit--a boundary--where a thing can exist within the reality and within a dream, the majestic spires of Pand?monium is an excellent example. With its tall winding towers whose crystalline walls reflect the scarlet light of the lands into a thousand hues, and its thick foreboding walls designed perfectly to intimidate and demand respect from people, it is the prime example of the superiority of Makai above other realms.
Of course, this is but the opinion of the Makai dwellers.
However, more than the powerful demons of Makai, the one who controls everything in this realm is the Mother; the one and only creator of this realm and its citizens. With her power, she created the demons of Makai. With her magic, she had given birth to this land where magic reigns supreme more than anything else, thus giving her children more power as they stayed within her world.. However, despite her power, the Mother demands respect, not from tyranny, but from her wisdom that is equivalent to a god's. This gained her much love and praise from the powerful beings of Makai.
Indeed, for she is a god. The god of Makai. The Goddess of the Demons.
Demon Goddess.
Shinki.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yumekooooo~"
Yumeko bowed curtly as her mistress called her by her name. Her Mistress Shinki was resting her head on the desk as she was flanked by two towers of paperwork on each side.
"How long before I can take a break?" Shinki asked. Yumeko smiled curtly as she raised her head in reply.
"It would not be wise of me to answer, my Mistress. Whatever hour I answer, you would simply assert your authority and take your break anyway."
Shinki sighed expressively as she leaned back on her stone chair. "Ah~," she sniffed. "I wouldn't have created Makai if I knew that I'll be stuck inside a castle doing paperwork for days." She stretched her arms and gave a big yawn as she leaned back a little more so she could peer through the window behind her.
From her upside down view of the red sky, she could see the miasma that covered the sky hanging like a misty curtain as it wavered gently to and fro. This miasma, while harmful to humans and weak youkai, is the source of power and life of Makai dwellers.
"Mistress Shinki, your paperwork won't go away by dawdling," reminded Yumeko gently. She stood beside her Mistress as she supervised her work. The paperworks are mostly of little trouble, a few petitions of the dwellers of Makai to make life more comfortable. However, no matter how little they are individually, Shinki had managed to pile it up into towers of terrifying height before deciding to pay it sufficient attention.
The Mother of Makai sighed as she looked at Yumeko bleakly. "Can't I just make someone do the work for me?" Shinki told Yumeko. "I can just give them the authority to sign the papers so--"
Yumeko raised her eyebrow as she looked at her Mistress with cool eyes. "Mistress, that would not be a prime example of a wise Mother," said Yumeko. "After all, many citizens look up to you, and they would not want to see a procrastinating Mother who didn't use her office for nearly two months."
Shinki sighed audibly. So much for being the absolute ruler and Creator of Makai.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Shiku, this place is horrible."
Shiku nodded, but actually took little notice of her companion's words. She surveyed the barren land and felt its inert power as it flowed into her. It was a pleasant feeling, but Shiku did not have any feelings. Not of pleasure, nor even of pain.
She was created this way, by their master.
"Shiku, can't we go home yet?"
Shiku nodded again, still taking no notice of her companion's words. Shiku looked at the red sky, feeling a tinge of nostalgia. Looking down, she looked at the large fissure on the ground that she was commanded to guard.
"Shiku, you're not listening to me aren't you?"
Shiku nodded, and she deftly dodged as Kou tried to pull her down from her flight. Instead, she deftly landed beside her and knelt as she touched the edges of the giant crack.
"It's perfect as usual," said Shiku quietly. "It's almost a masterpiece, even by our master's standards."
They stood at the edge of a cliff at the very edge of the borders of Makai.
Kou coughed. "I hate this miasma, it's killing me." Shiku ignored her taller companion and stood up to peer inside the crack. It was hollow, filled with an impermeable black void.
Seeing that she was ignored, Kou pouted. "I swear, you're more annoying than that boorish En."
Shiku nodded. "Do not worry. I feel exactly the same." Shiku started to walk around the crack as she surveyed each jagged edge.
It was a full minute until Kou realized the full weight of Shiku's words. "Hey! You were insulting me just now weren't you?"
Kou watched Shiku she walked around the crack. Shiku wore a long red dress that dropped near her ankles which was mottled by black streaks that decorated her dress. It had long sleeves that were tied to her wrists with red ribbons which hid her small dollish hands. On her head was a black Victorian headdress which held her long golden hair that dropped freely past her shoulders and into her back. She looked like a small girl like Emi, except that her back was adorned with black branchlike wings with silk like films trailing behind that resembled golden glaring eyes. She walked barefooted revealing deceptively fragile feet.
On the other hand, Kou wore a yellow dress that was cut short above her knees. She had a long, draping violet cloth on her right shoulder that fell diagonally on her left thigh, covering her whole left leg like a curtain. Her sleeves were short, revealing pale arms and hands with long violet nails that she often put at her lips when in deep thought. Her long dark hair was tied in a neat bun behind her smug face. She had red lips that often curled into a sneer, a near permanent feature on her face.
They both had golden eyes that surveyed Makai with a little hint of curiosity.
"What does our master want with this place anyway? It's too dry and barren, and it also smells bad," complained Kou. "It's a pity we can't just make a Crack through this place. It would be a great improvement."
Shiku shook her head. "This Crack is enough. A little miasma should be seeping through by now, out into the other crack at Emi's end."
"What is so special with this miasma anyway? It makes my head hurt a lot." Kou put a hand on her forehead to exaggerate. "Not to mention that I hate the reddish color of the land."
"That's a rude thing to say," said a voice above them. "For visitors, you sure don't act like a bunch of tourists."
Shiku and Kou looked up to see a two flying figures above them.
One of the flying figures, a girl with yellow hair and a black hat, laughed. "They look fun to play with, aren't they Mai?" She had a bright, gay voice that seemed to cut through the quiet, barren atmosphere.
Mai did not answer, but instead landed in front of Shiku. Mai stared at the two quietly as her companion landed beside her. "They don't look like they are from around here, Yuki..." said Mai. Unlike Yuki, she spoke slowly, like someone who is still half-asleep. "They don't look like humans either..."
Kou received a cold glare from Mai as she seemed to take mental notes of them. She felt a little peeved and uneasy. Shiku, on the other hand, was perfectly calm and composed.
"So they're not from around here?" said Yuki. "Then we can show them around this place." She gave a sinister smile as she snapped her fingers in the air. A dozen balls of fire appeared behind her. At her signal, they launched towards Kou and Shiku at an incredible speed.
"Welcome to Makai, weak earth crawling youkai," she said gleefully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke heaved a sigh of relief when he closed the door of his house. He took out a small tinderbox and lighted a small candle which was placed on a small table beside the door. It lit up the room, which was also the front of his shop (of sorts). It had a lot of shelves by the walls that were filled with odd things that aren't practically useful to everyday villagers of Gensokyo. They are often junk that were thrown by the humans living Outside, but Rinnosuke finds them wonderful (and useful at times).
"My, this is a nice house you have," said the girl happily. "It's awfully crowded though."
The girl, Rinnosuke found out, lived in the Forest of Magic. However, she seemed aptly forgetful, and Rinnosuke had trouble getting much out of her other than the fact that her house blew up because of something.
She didn't even know why her house blew up. She couldn't even give him her name.
"Well, if it's worth remembering, I'll probably remember it," said the girl cheerfully.
Rinnosuke took a dry towel which hang conveniently nearby and threw it to the drenched girl. "Dry yourself with this," he told her. "I'm going to get something warm to drink."
Rinnosuke lit a nearby oil lamp with the candle. Taking the lamp on his hand, he went through the door behind the shop's counter. He went past his study and into his kitchen where he started to make a fire for tea.
"Taking home young girls isn't like you," said a feminine voice behind him. Rinnosuke looked behind him to see Yukari giving her a vague smile. "Although it's a bit masculine, if I'm allowed to say."
Shaking his head, Rinnosuke drew out a parchment from within his robes. "Here are my notes from Muenzuka," he told her. He gave her the package which Yukari secreted smugly within her sleeves.
"You look like a mess," she told him. "You've been swimming in the mud, if I'm not mistaken."
RInnosuke gave her a slight shrug. "I had a nasty run-in with a youkai on the way back." He noticed that Yukari looked a little troubled. "What, you've been concerned about my health?"
Yukari dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand. "Not at all, I've just been thinking a lot lately, that's all." Yukari started to leave, a gap suddenly opening in front of her. "Anyway, it would be wise of you to move into the human village for a while."
"Why? Someone has to take care of my shop, especially in this bad weather."
She shrugged. "It's not my life to lose, anyway." Yukari entered her gap and vanished into nothingness. The gap closed, leaving no trace of its presence behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The balls of fire exploded around Shiku. She heard Kou scream beside her, but she couldn't care less. Dust rose around her as the fireballs exploded, but she didn't move a muscle or even batted an eye.
When the dust subsided, she looked at Yuki's face that was a mixture of glee and surprise.
"Wow, she didn't even try to dodge," she laughed. "She's stupid, Mai!" Yuki broke into a fit of laughter. Mai didn't take any notice of her as she regarded Shiku with utter curiosity.
Kou struggled up to her feet, glaring at Yuki angrily. "What was that for?" she shouted crossly.
Yuki shook her head. "No reason," she said smugly. "If you're hurt by a simple magic like that, then you must be a really weak."
"What did you say?" retorted Kou. She raised a finger at Yuki. "I dare you to say that again!"
"I said weak, you little weak girl," Yuki answered with a sneer.
"Weak?" laughed Kou smugly. "Why aside from the fact that it was a dusty, your fireballs didn't hurt at all." Kou laughed mockingly as Yuki became angry.
Shiku ignored the hot exchange between Yuki and Kou. Instead, she focused her attention to Yuki's quiet companion. She regarded her with pale blue eyes, something Shiku didn't like.
"Yuki, we'd better leave," said Mai at last. "I don't think they want to play today." Yuki answered her with a pout.
"Can't I just play with them a little?" said Yuki. "We don't get as much as fun in Makai as we used to."
Without any warning, Shiku raised her left palm towards Yuki and whispered, "Pain of choking with a chicken bone." Yuki doubled over, clutching her throat as she coughed repeatedly. She was gasping for air while Mai was taken aback with shock.
Seeing her opponent incapacitated in pain, Shiku lowered her palm and Yuki suddenly stopped coughing. Giving her an angry glare, Yuki threw another fireball, this time hitting Shiku directly. Yuki sneered for a moment, but her expression changed into amazement when she saw Shiku still standing, unfazed by the attack.
"You...you're not..." stuttered Yuki. "What...are you?"
Shiku shook her head as she started to raise her hand once more.
"Come on!" urged Mai. She pulled Yuki up and started to fly away, with Yuki following suit. Shiku did not pursue them, but instead turned her attention back to the Crack behind her.
"Wasn't that a bit too much?" said Kou when the two were out of sight.. "I mean, they did attack us and all, but you didn't have to be serious about it."
"I wasn't serious," said Shiku. "More importantly, they saw the Crack. It would have been better if I eliminated them, but our master gave strict orders against it."
Kou sighed. "You're just too cold aren't you? Anyway, I don't think those two would be back for a while. You did a good job scaring them off."
"Scaring them off, huh?" said Shiku thoughtfully. "Wasn't that your job supposedly?"
Shrugging, Kou only replied, "Pain is the best kind of fear, I think. With you around, I don't need to use my powers."
Shiku took no more notice of her as she inspected the crack. It might be her imagination, but Shiku could swear that the Crack was growing steadily in size. "Well, everything goes according to our master's plan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisa sipped her cup of tea. She was still drenched, but the warm drink invigorated her.
"From what I've heard from the two, the one they call Sunny isn't the only one who started to act strange. Other fairies and youkai are becoming more ferocious, and they've been on the run for a few days now, chasing Sunny and dodging other youkai."
"So you decided to bring them here?" asked Reimu tentatively. She looked at the two fairies flying around the room as they let their curiosity get the best of them. They were peering around the room, poking around Alice's possessions like children in a toy shop. Sunny Milk was sitting unconsciously on a chair, sleeping soundly like a baby.
"Anyway, more importantly," Marisa said quietly. "You said something about Alice being possessed." Alice was unconscious in her room, and Reimu quickly related her story about Alice.
Reimu frowned. "I wouldn't say possessed, but I'd say that she's under some sort of spell," she answered. "Magic spells are not my forte, so you tell me about it."
Marisa sighed. "Well, when it comes to that, it's better to ask an expert about it." Reimu gave her a nasty expression. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I don't like talking to her too, but we have no choice."
A quiet groan arrested their attention as they saw Sunny Milk stirred and slowly became awake. She regarded Reimu and Marisa with curious eyes for a moment before her face became contorted with rage. She flew up into the ceiling and gave out a shriek and charged at Reimu like an arrow.
Reimu, taken aback by the attack, barely had time to block her when Star Sapphire put herself between her and Sunny. She held something purple in her hand which she deftly stuffed at the shrieking Sunny Milk's mouth.
Sunny Milk dropped like a stone on the floor, unconscious. Star Sapphire looked pleased with herself as she lifted the unconscious Sunny Milk onto a chair, the purple object still stuck on her mouth.
"What was that?" asked Reimu.
Star Sapphire answered her smugly. "It's called star apple by humans," she told Reimu. "It knocks Sunny Milk out, for some reason. If she wakes up, just put one in her mouth so she won't cause trouble."
"That's handy," said Marisa. "But where did you get that? I haven't seen that fruit before."
"I found one from an abandoned orchard somewhere in the forest," said Luna. "I told Sapphire about it, that's why she knows where she can find it."
"So you stole it from a farmer," said Marisa. Luna started to protest but Reimu cut her off.
"I should be going now," said Reimu. "I've been here all day, so it's your turn to keep an eye on Alice's house."
Marisa gave out a puff. "Well, I don't want to go out in the rain tonight anyway. But seriously, you're going to fly over the Scarlet's place in this rain at night? Can't you wait for tomorrow?"
Shrugging, Reimu told her, "Well, I don't think the Scarlet's place close down at night. And the rain on the skin is good from time to time."
"Suit yourself. I'm going to sleep before I catch a cold."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukari sighed as she stepped into the cave in the mountains near the Hakurei Shrine. The cave is supposedly the entrance to the realm of Makai (something that was confirmed by Reimu herself), and Yukari didn't relish the fact that she needed to go there.
She stepped over the moist, mossy rocks as she made her way inside the cave. She heard a dripping sound from somewhere, no doubt that it was rain water finding it's way through the cracks and crevices inside the mountain. She walked slowly and delicately, trying hard not to get her ornate dress dirty.
She was inside the cave for a good while when a huge gate stopped her on her tracks. It towered above her, it's height nearly the same as the roof of the vast grotto where it was located. At it's foot was the gate guard. She looked at the young girl who mirrored her looks with a bored stare.
"Hold it!" she told Yukari. "If you want to go to Makai, I won't let you. No one from this side of the gate is allowed to enter."
Yukari smiled.
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 5
Note # 5Makai.
There is a kind of mist that rises up from the realm of Makai that powers up magical powers. However, it is harmful to humans, that is why humans are forbidden to enter Makai.
However, if someone who uses magic is said to enter this realm, their powers are multiplied many times over.
In this way, even a human can gain great might.
Great enough to destroy the Hakurei Barrier.
I wonder if the the person in charge of Makai had seen strange things lately?
_i___ Note # 4
#4
My creations, they are my children.
No, they are closer than that. They are a part of me, and because of this, they will never betray me.
Let me tell you a little about Shiku.
Once, there was a bully who liked hurting small girls. The bully would put insects on their bags, or trip them as they walked in the school hallways. Sometimes, the bully would even steal their lunch, and make them cry.
One day, the bully came to me and told me to surrender my lunchbox. The lunch didn't matter to me, but the lunchbox...it was given to me by _____, and nothing can part me from it. However, the bully pried it apart from my hands, and laughed when I struggled uselessly to get it back.
In my anger, I told myself that I wanted someone who can hurt people as much as they hurt me.
And thus Shiku was born. Born from my desire to inflict pain, she herself is immune to pain. She can feel no pain, but maybe that itself is the greatest pain of all.
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Oh wow, this is good :D
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Oh wow, this is good :D
I like how your current avatar matches your reaction.
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enjoyed this chapter as much as the other ones (and more?) :)
and Shiku is scary~
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...Wow.
Just wow.
When I first looked at this all I thought was "oh lol textwall tl;dr" but for some reason this story actually sucked me in.
It's a /good/ fanfiction.
I never thought I would read something like this...
Also, you leave many, many possibilities for thinking - Alice's lack of pain with the last note, etc. etc. Sounds like you're some other Agatha Christie >_>
Keep up the good work! :D
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It's a /good/ fanfiction.
I never thought I would read something like this..
Just because a published author didn't write it doesn't mean it sucks. A lot of the writers here are actually very good with the written word - try reading some of the other stories. If you still have prejudice against fanfiction, look for the stories that have over two or three hundred pageviews - something that shows that people go to read it and keep track of it.
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 10
I was sick, sick in the mind, in the heart and in the body, when I woke up. I scarcely remembered what happened. All I remembered were fires, screams, and lots of running.
I was lying on green grass and they felt fresh on my skin. It was a nice feeling. Back at home, the ground was always dry and hard, very uncomfortable.
Home. I suddenly remembered, as tears welled up in my eyes, how everything had come to pass. I was too proud, too rash. Like a human, like my Mother's friends told me.
I sat up and saw that I was at the edge of a forest path. Behind me were bushes and trees that announced the border of the forest while the other side of the road was a downhill slope, and beyond I could see a glimmering river. The sky above was blue, cloudless and peaceful.
Was it always like this on the surface world?
I suddenly felt drowsy and tired, so I laid down on the soft grass and went back to sleep.
I found myself on a soft bed when I woke up. There was a yellow-haired girl who sat on a stool beside me. She was reading a book while humming a very horrible off-key tune. Noticing that I was awake, she closed her book and smiled.
"Did I wake you?" she asked. I shook my head, but I was at least thankful that she stopped her humming. It was a really horrible tune. It puzzled me how she can turn a simple hum into a cacophony of odd notes. I could even say she had talent.
Still, she was blissfully unaware of my thoughts. She smiled at me and drew open the curtain and flooded the room with sunlight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The night settled into a quiet sleep as the sounds of rain started to die down. Gensokyo had fallen into a fitful slumber, enshrouded in silence except for the movement of the leaves against the dying gusts of the frightful storm.
Youkai eating other youkai, fairies becoming wild, and also the trouble with Alice. They all must be connected somehow.
And what did Marisa say about the sun turning black? She said that she might be just tired, but she could swear that she saw a black sun setting when she shot a Spark at the clouds while fighting the fairy called Sunny Milk.
Reimu sighed as she sped through the night at a dizzying speed.
It's not often that I can fly without being attacked by some youkai. Tonight is especially peaceful, perhaps the most peaceful night flight I ever had. Not a trace of youkai can be seen from up here.
They're all hiding, no doubt. How ironic that I am the one so busy about this.
She looked around her, below and above as well, only to see dizzying silence. Not a hoot of nightbirds or the crying of the cicadas can be heard. It is as if a curtain had fallen upon Gensokyo.
Whatever it is, I'll solve it. I'm a shrine maiden, after all.
I'll find out what's going on. Definitely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was nearly around midnight when Reimu reached the metal gates of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It rested upon a lonely isle in the middle of the Misty Lake at the foot of the Youkai Mountain. As the name suggests, this place should be crawling with youkai, but Reimu passed through without encountering any opposition.
Reimu yawned. The toll of not getting enough sleep is catching up with her. Still, a job is a job, even for a carefree shrine maiden.
To her surprise, the gate opened up promptly to receive her. The Scarlet's gate guardian bowed to receive her.
"Oh, fancy meeting you here Reimu," she said. Her name was Hong Meiling. It was a weird name in Reimu's perspective, but she kept it to herself. Reimu knew that Meiling isn't human--but unlike most other youkai, she rarely attacks humans unless she is provoked while on the job. "It's been raining all day, so our mistress told me to wait for you until night when you will 'most assuredly come.' It would seem that she was right."
Reimu nodded musingly. "So Remilia was expecting me? But I didn't come for her tonight, though."
Meiling sighed. "Still, it's hard work waiting for you, since I had to stay in this rain. I should have gotten an umbrella, but there's not a ghost of an umbrella here in the mansion."
"Then what about your Remilia's parasol? She would probably lend it to you if you asked."
"But that would presumptuous of me. It would do no better than ask Mistress Remilia for her handkerchief to blow my nose with." Meiling sneezed. "Anyway, Sakuya can lead you to the mistress. She says it's urgent, and it would only take a moment of your time."
Meiling led her through the Scarlet's gate and brought her to the giant door of the mansion. Grabbing the knocker hanging upon it, she gave it three raps before it opened. A maid was waiting behind the door to receive them.
Sakuya Izayoi, head maid of the Scarlet Mansion, bowed as she received Reimu. "Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion," she told her, citing the Scarlet's title in Gensokyo. "It is quite a late hour that you come. Nevertheless, our hospitality will be fulfilling at any time of the day...or night." Unlike Meiling, Sakuya is a human--indeed the only human at the Scarlet Mansion. However, despite of this, her position as Remilia's most trusted aide (hence the title, Head Maid) puts her in a venerable position inside the mansion.
Meiling bowed and left them as she went back to her post at the gate.
Reimu smiled. "Why is everyone so formal tonight?" Turning serious, Reimu inquired about the recent youkai incidents.
Sakuya shook her head. "I'm afraid that this is the first time I've heard the news. I haven't been to the village for a while as I had to take care of my Mistress who hasn't been feeling well lately. I've been a bit late about recent happenings." Sakuya led Reimu through the corridors as they talked. "More importantly, what is your purpose in coming here in this late hour? Not that I'm prying of course," added Sakuya.
"I want to ask something from your librarian," said Reimu. "It concerns Alice. Something strange is happening to her."
"Alice? The puppeteer from the forest?"
Reimu nodded. "Recently, Alice had been acting strangely. Just a little while ago, I was at Alice's house when she started acting strangely that I had to restrain her."
"Tell me what happened," said Sakuya. Reimu nodded and quickly related the events from last night up to now.
"Alice was about to stab herself?" repeated Sakuya musingly. "It is a most curious matter, but I'm in no position to speculate."
Raising an eyebrow, Reimu looked at Sakuya questioningly. Instead of answering, Sakuya stopped walking and opened a big wooden door and invited Reimu to come in.
"Mistress Remilia, a visitor has arrived."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remilia was seated behind a desk. She was inside a windowless room, with only a few torches that were lit for the benefit of Reimu. There were few bookshelves by the walls, and a short table at the middle of the room. However, what caught Reimu's attention was the big grandfather clock beside Remilia. It was ticking quietly as it faithfully measured the passage of time.
Remilia seemed to be deep in thought as she dismissed Sakuya and invited Reimu to sit down on one of the cushioned chairs inside the room.
Pulling one of the chairs, Reimu sat comfortably as she looked around her. The room gave off a scarlet glow, by some trick of the torchlight. Reimu let her eyes feast upon the luxury of the room's carpeting and draperies before looking at Remilia.
Remilia was still seated on her chair, eyes closed, elbows on her desk, still immersed in quiet contemplation. Reimu endured a minute of silence until Remilia finally spoke in a tense voice.
"Reimu, it's rude of me to ask, but have you died recently?"
Taken aback by the question, Reimu was about to think of it as one of Remilia's ill jokes when she saw the serious expression in Remilia's face.
"No," said Reimu impishly. "As far as I can remember, I haven't died recently. I think I would probably notice if I died."
"Yes, I believe that," Remilia replied coolly. "Then it would only mean one thing."
"I don't...exactly follow, but do go on," said Reimu. "But an explanation would be nice, for a change."
Remilia blinked at Reimu, as if noticing her for the first time. "Oh, my apologies. I've been rude to a guest." She leaned on her chair and seemed to relax. "Anyway, I'm glad you didn't die."
"What's with the dying business?" asked Reimu in an annoyed tone. "I don't have any intention of dying anytime soon."
"No, please just ignore what I just said," replied Remilia. "Reimu, do you remember what my abilities are?"
"It's about reading and manipulating fate, right?" said Reimu. "That's what I do recall from what you've said once."
Nodding, Remilia continued, "Reimu, do you know the difference between Fate and Destiny?"
Reimu shrugged. "Why the sudden serious questions?" Sighing, Reimu answered, "No, if there is any difference at all. At any rate, it doesn't concern me too much."
Remilia giggled. "It's just how I expected you to answer," she told her. "Putting it simply, Fate is like a thread, and Destiny is like a tangled yarn. Fates are the small and big things that happen to a person daily that lead up eventually to the person's Destiny. Both of this are permanent...but changeable by a person's will and abilities.
"Every person has the power to change his and other people's fate and destiny. For example, if I told Meiling not to let anybody in, it would've changed the Fate of us meeting here like this. However, it would not have changed your Destiny of arriving at my mansion tonight."
Reimu laughed. "Yes, I would've probably broken through your gates in five minutes."
"Yes, that is true. Your Destiny of arriving here would not have been changed unless the mansion was suddenly destroyed," replied Remilia in a cool voice. "But that is not the point that I wished to make."
"Tell me then, as simple as possible," Reimu replied in a sheepish voice. "I am in a bit of a hurry."
"Someone had been messing with the thread of Fates. When I asked you if you died recently, it was because that I sincerely believed that someone altered your fate. Recently, I've been seeing so many unlikely Fates and Destinies that I've been confused on what is happening around me."
"Many unlikely Fates?"
"For example, right now, I see the fate of your funeral service being held right now. But that is an impossibility since you are not dead right now."
Reimu sighed. "Isn't it more likely that your ability is going out of control?"
Leaning forward, Remilia lifted her elbows from her desk as she looked at Reimu with her red scarlet eyes.
"If that is the truth, it would be a more terrifying possibility. However, I know for sure that my ability is still within my control. Rather, I believe someone is causing a great disturbance that transcends the physical level. Someone is messing with Fate.
"From what I've heard from your talks with Sakuya, something bad is also happening inside Gensokyo. I believe that they are somehow connected," finished Remilia.
"Well, that much is apparent," said Reimu. "It's probably done by a single group or individual."
"And there is another thing, you do know that my kind is easily influenced by the moon, correct?"
Reimu nodded. Remilia is sensitive to the moon, only beaten by a few other people inside Gensokyo.
"For a while now, I think a night ago or so, the moon had become absent in the skies."
"You know that it's a new moon, right?" said Reimu rather rudely.
"No," replied Remilia. "It feels like that the moon had vanished. It's like it's not there anymore. I cannot feel its presence, or its existence."
Reimu remembered Marisa's story.
...and the sun had turned black while it was setting on the far mountains....
"I see..."
Remilia sighed and looked at the grandfather clock. "Oh, I didn't mean to take up most of your time. I do believe that I heard you talking to Sakuya about visiting Patchouli."
"You heard us talking down the corridor?"
Remilia smiled. "I can hear a person's heartbeat from a mile away. Your voice is like a yell compared to that."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It would seem that the Cracks are now fully connected," Emi said wistfully. "I do hope that Kiyuu--"
En threw her an angry glare. "Do not speak her name, Emi. Although you are one of the eldest Creations, but you do not have the right to call our Master by her name."
Pouting, Emi turned away as she looked at the shimmering void in front of them. A few moments ago, they received word that Shiku had finished making a Crack at the opposite side. Now, the two Cracks are connected, thus furthering her Master's plans.
Whatever those plans are, thought Emi sadly. Lately, our Master hasn't been telling us anything at all.
Emi touched the shimmering void and found it to be quite resilient, like a curtain of sorts. Suddenly, thick red smoke began to emerge from it. "Whoa, the miasma is pouring through like steam," said Emi. "It wasn't like this before."
"It's all part of our Master's plan," said En confidently. "I think we can go back now. It's no use guarding this place anymore."
Emi shrugged. "Sure is," she told her companion. "Truth be told, I don't like this Miasma one bit. And soon, the world inside this barrier is gonna be full of it."
There was a fizzing sound as the world around them seemed to became dim and suddenly bright at irregular intervals.
"Huh, this place is Fluctuating," said Emi. "I guess this barrier is reaching its limit. It's bound to break with our Cracks all over it."
En nodded. "We leave now. Our master's plan have been successful so far."
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 6
...
...
...
---------
Kiyuu Note # (http://i45.tinypic.com/jz9s2s.png)5
My name is Kiyuu Eimi, spelled with four kanji, two on each name.
But who am I isn't important. What I wish to do will rock the very foundations of Heaven itself.
Sei Note # 2
From this point on, posts will have something hidden in them for fun.
Can you find one in this post?
-
Oh bees. :o
-
Oh bees. :o
Even Hibachi would flee, cause I can tell the Shit Will Hit The Fan.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 11
I've been staying with her ever since she found me. I've been forced to stay in bed for days. She told me that I had a fever, and I should get some rest. I told her I felt fine, but she insisted. I had no choice but to acquiesce.
It was a day after she found me that she told me her name. I was still lying in bed, with the afternoon rapidly diminishing to dusk.
From what I remember, she told me that her name was Ellen, and Fluffyhead was her middle name.
I couldn't help but laugh. I laughed until my I felt like my lungs were about to burst, until I felt tears in my eyes. Still, I laughed. I've never laughed like this, as far as I can remember. Not in Makai, not since I arrived here in the surface.
After getting my composure back, I saw Ellen handing me a cup of tea. I took a sip and found that it tasted excessively bitter, and I nearly coughed it out. It took me a great deal of resolve to swallow the vile concoction inside my mouth.
"Oh, so you don't like it?" she asked. "Too bad. I was sure it was going to turn all right this time."
I handed the cup back to her and asked quite rudely. "What is this?"
"Coffee," she said simply. "It's supposed to taste good, but I've had trouble getting the brew right."
Coughing the last of the vileness inside my mouth I told her, "At least make sure it's edible before giving it to other people." Ellen looked a little down after that.
I felt bad, doubly bad to be sure, for not only did I make her feel bad, but I also felt that I was a little impetuous and mean to someone who had done nothing but help me since she found me at the side of a byway road.
Feeling contrite, I tried to comfort her. "It didn't kill me at the very least. It's just that it's too bitter. Maybe you should try adding some milk and sugar, like what you do in strong tea."
Ellen looked brightly at those words. "Maybe you're right. I'll try doing that next time." As she turned to leave, she told me these words: "You're a kind girl, Alice. At the very least, I know that you have a human soul."
She left the room, leaving a big question inside my mind.
How did she know my name?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Marisa was already dozing off when Star Sapphire noticed that Luna was already gone from the room. A few minutes earlier, Sapphire's attention was mostly diverted to a platter of food and sweets that Marisa pilfered from Alice's cellar earlier. It was not until Sapphire's hunger for sweets were satiated that she noticed her companion's disappearance.
Marisa was snoring lightly while still sitting upright on a cushioned chair. She was fatigued, and rightfully so. Today was a very eventful day, with the threat of youkai attacks becoming more imminent, and the news of fairies becoming more and more violent. This were Marisa's thoughts before she slumped down to fitful slumber.
Sapphire naturally cared less about those things. Fairies are carefree creatures, but Sunny Milk turning wild caused her great alarm. If not for her discovery of Sunny Milk's weakness to star apples, she would have already left Sunny Milk behind. Or would she?
Fairies are weak creatures, compared to other youkai. Because of this weakness, fairies gather in groups, and rarely come out alone. Even if they do often fight with each other, fairies depend on other fairies for survival. It's a natural course of nature. A lone fairy is rare and almost unheard of, and a lone fairy rarely survives for any length of time.
"I'm thinking too much," Star Sapphire said aloud. "I wonder where Luna went off to?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While Star Sapphire was busily eating some sweets in the living room, Luna Child tiptoed quietly from the room as she sought to explore more of Alice's house. It was a small house, but for a fairy, it was a manor of mysteries. Fairies possess an unnatural dose of curiosity. In fact, it could be called unhealthy by the cautious and rash by the learned.
But a fairy is neither cautious nor learned for they have the temerity of a child and the equivalent intellect of a tree stump.
Scouting around, Luna found a curious looking door at the end of a corridor. It was well decorated, and embossed on it was the word "Alice". She looked around for anyone following her and silently tiptoed towards the door. She pushed it open, and nearly cried out when she heard the loud creaking of the door. She quickly used her ability, the ability to muffle sounds, to dim out all the noise around her. Immediately, the place was covered in a shroud of silence, thick enough that not even the sound of the trickling droplets of rain on the roof can be heard.
Feeling proud of herself, Luna Child went inside to explore Alice's bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sapphire was surprised when she couldn't hear her voice. She tried stomping on the floor, but she couldn't hear any sound. Even Marisa's light snores weren't audible.
Luna is up to something again, thought Sapphire. I'd better find her.
Using her ability, she tried sensing the things around her. Her ability enables her to sense moving objects from far away, making her a good scout for danger when the three of them play pranks on people.
It's also useful finding Luna Child whenever she decides to explore on her own.
Immediately, she sensed Luna Child somewhere inside the house, tiptoeing inside a room. She sensed the small insects and pests that lived under the floorboards and the walls. However, what attracted her attention was something else entirely. There was something...or someone else inside the house. It was relatively small, smaller than a fairy, but not by much. It was definitely bigger than an insect or a rat. It moved slowly, but Star Sapphire easily caught it within her senses.
Curious, she set out to find that 'thing' is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukari felt weak as she felt a wave of unease flow into her body. She felt herself stagger a little bit and her vision began to swim. She regained her footing by using her ever present parasol for balance.
Is it already too late? Yukari thought frantically.
"Hey, do you feel unwell?" said the gate guard. Yukari seemed to swoon, but she caught herself and tried to maintain her composure.
"I just feel a little bit under the weather," said Yukari passively. "More importantly, I have matters to discuss with your Mistress." Her voice was quivering, but she managed to maintain a smile on her face. She felt drowsy, but for her immense amount of will, she managed to hold her consciousness together.
"With Mistress Shinki?" she replied, albeit with a little suspicion. "I still have to confirm this with my superiors, so you'll have to wait."
Yukari grimaced. I won't make it at this rate.
I don't want to expend too much energy, but I need expeditiousness more than anything else right now.
She extended her right hand and released a strong blast of energy. The gate keeper barely had time to dodge before it hit the huge gate behind her. Before she could recover, Yukari flew threw the hole made by the explosion and entered the realm of Makai.
"What is going on there Sara?" said a voice in the gatekeeper's head. It was a mind link from one of Sara's superiors. Sara sighed, knowing that she failed her duty in letting someone from the surface get through to her. "We just read a huge energy signature in your area.
"Someone got through," Sara answered. "More importantly, there's a huge gaping hole at the gate."
"All right," the voice answered. "We're sending pursuing troops to accost the intruder immediately. Hold your position until you are further notified. Do not let anybody else through, copy?"
Sara let out another sigh. Easy for them to say, they're not the one guarding this damn gate against suicidal fiddlers.
"Acknowledged. Over and out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukari scowled as she saw Makai soldiers rush in from behind her. She flew rapidly, dodging the obtuse cliffs and overhanging scarlet stalactites. She had little time to appreciate the crystalline structures of Makai as she tried to shake off her pursuers.
"Halt, or we shall take offensive actions!" they called out to Yukari.
She took little heed of those words as she flew on even faster towards the heart of this great realm. Ahead of her, deceptively small because of the great distance, was the great crystal fortress of Shinki, the great Pand?monium.
If I could only make a gap to that castle itself, I wouldn't have so much trouble getting there in the first place!
But I'm more curious as to why I can't make a gap inside Makai, the same way I can't make a gap in Muenzuka.
I had Rinnosuke check out Muenzuka while I was investigating the Border between Gensokyo, Makai, and the Outside World. From what I infer from his report, the perpetrator is a group, and they did not come from Gensokyo.
Now I'll just have to know whether the perpetrator came from here, or the Outside World.
But more importantly, I have to get rid of the flies behind me.
Turning around, she let her momentum carry her backwards as she flew towards the castle while facing her pursuers. Grinning slightly, she swung her parasol sideways and watched as thin beams of light form from its tip. It flew rapidly towards her pursuers, zigzagging as it picked up speed in its flight.
Her pursuers tried to dodge, but the beams changed their trajectory as it followed them in their flight. They flew around in confusion as some of them got hit by Yukari's attack, while some tried to avoid it in vain. Satisfied with the confusion, Yukari left them in the middle of their chaos.
I don't have time to mess with small fry. I'm not like that silly shrine maiden after all.
Reimu, I do hope you're not wasting your time right now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And that is all?" said Patchouli in a nonchalant voice.
Reimu was nearly panting when she finished her story, and was speechless by the amount of calmness that Patchouli exhibited after hearing the story. "Yes, that is all," Reimu managed to reply.
Patchouli was sitting on a scarlet chair as she read a book quietly. She never raised her head once when she was hearing out Reimu, making Reimu feel a little bit ignored. However, after Reimu finished her story about Alice, Patchouli put down her book on a table beside her and called out to her aide.
Instantly, a redheaded assistant appeared beside Patchouli. She was dressed in black and white clothes and adorned with a pair of batlike wings at her back. Patchouli whispered a few words and her aide instantly departed, spreading her wings and taking off into the distant depths of Patchouli's extensive library.
"Please wait for a moment," said Patchouli. "And do answer some of my questions while you wait."
Reimu nodded, not particularly sure of what to do next.
"Shrine maiden, are you familiar with 'Demon Rituals'?" said Patchouli tentatively. "Despite what bias you may have, it would be helpful to know what you already know."
Tilting her head, Reimu tried to remember what she knew about demons. "Well, what I know about demons is that they eat human souls. Some humans make deals with them in order to become stronger, in exchange, their soul will belong to the demon when they die."
"I see," said Patchouli. "You do possess the common amount of knowledge about demons."
"Common?"
"Yes," Patchouli replied smartly. "For one thing, demons do not eat human souls. Rather, they use it as an auxiliary supply of energy to power their magic. And for the most part, you misunderstand the essence of a demon ritual."
"Kindly explain then," said Reimu with a frown. "And please do hurry."
"Tut-tut," scowled Patchouli. "It's unusual for you to be in so much of a hurry. Anyway, it is true that demon rituals are made in order for a human to become stronger. In so doing, the human's soul is not bargained--rather it is transformed into an equivalent of a demon. In so doing, the human transcends the fragile mortality of a human."
"So the human becomes a demon?"
"Yes and no. A human can never become a true demon, but he can gain the equivalent power. However, a mere human cannot fully contain the power of a demon within a mortal body, and thus the human's body becomes fragile and weak as it is strained by the demon power coursing through it. With a strong power and a weak body, the human balance is thus destroyed. However, this is averted by a kind of contract that is employed by the demons.
"For example, the human body cannot take the strain of pure demon power. However, if the demon power can be channeled little by little as needed, the human reduces the chance of his body breaking on its own power. This can be done through the use of a Contractor."
"Contractor?"
"A Contractor is a kind of demon who actively seeks humans desiring demonic help. Often, they are distraught humans who have lost all hope in the world and are easily ensnared by promises of quick wealth and power. Using this as a leverage point, the Contractor appears as a person of goodwill that wants to help. A ritual is done, and the Contract is signed. However, in exchange, the human's soul energy is channeled little by little as a power supply for demons as demons channel little of their power to the humans. Thus they both benefit, but only the human will suffer in the end as his soul becomes drained, and his body becomes an empty husk...assuming that he survives of course. The connection is done through the Contractor who is ever present in the life of the human who contracted."
Reimu pouted. "That is informational and all, but how does that concern Alice?"
Patchouli looked at her like a schoolmaster assessing as slow student. "You do realize that Alice was once a resident of the demon world, Makai? Alice is once a human, but she became a magician--a type of youkai--through her endeavors to learn magic. Isn't it a bit strange that a human once lived in the demon world, and yet retained her human soul? And before a human can become a youkai, a countless span of years must be achieved--and yet, we have Alice, very young for a youkai, and still has her human mannerisms.
"From this, I can only conclude one thing; Alice's strength comes, not simply from magic--but is rather amplified by something else entirely."
"I think you lost me," said Reimu lightly. "More importantly, what is the problem with Alice right now?"
Patchouli nodded. Behind Reimu, Patchouli's aide appeared from thin air with a popping sound. She carried a large leather book in her arms which she handed to Patchouli. "Thank you. You can leave for now," Patchouli told her. Her aide bowed slightly and disappeared with a pop.
"If I recall correctly, your familiar is a demon right?" asked Reimu.
"That is correct," said Patchouli. "Although our Contract is not of the same nature of the one I just explained. You see, I do not possess a human soul. My Contract with my familiar is an equivalent trade--my familiar aids me in my studies, and helps me with various things. In exchange, I grant her my magic and energy that she needs to survive. It is a complex contract, and so only a few humans actually do a Familiar Contract. It's use is far different from a Demon Ritual, and is irrelevant to Alice whatsoever."
Reimu just nodded. "What is that book for?"
"It is for reference. I once read about a Contractor who was known for her ruthlessness in acquiring human deals. She was once known for harvesting the souls of a village in a single day. In fact, it was because of her that humans became wary of witches and warlocks (who had little or barely had rituals with demons) and formed the Inquisition. The Inquisition had no idea what it was up against, and thus sought out blindly to find 'demon heretics', often catching innocent lives in their nets. Because of this, she was sealed inside a book so she can never make a contract again. If I recall, this was done around 500 years ago."
"A...book," repeated Reimu.
"After she was sealed, her name was erased from history through connivance and intrigues. The book itself was lost, it was said to have been hidden inside a secluded cave. Does the place sound familiar to you?"
"You don't mean that it was hidden in Makai itself?"
"If that is true, then this can only mean one thing: the one who sealed the ruthless Contractor must also be a demon, or someone with connection to demons. Regardless, that book now is supposed to be in Makai."
"A book in Makai--then that book would be--"
"If I recall, Alice once told you that her Grimoire contained secrets of the Ultimate Magic, correct? I will tell you this: that ruthless Contractor specialized in promising humans supernatural abilities, such as black magic, raising the dead...all those nonsense."
Patchouli opened the book and flipped through the pages very quickly. She gave an 'ah' of satisfaction when she found the page she sought for. She flipped the book over and showed Reimu an illustration.
"This apparently, was the image of the book where she was supposed to have been sealed. Of course, it seems dubious since no one who have seen the book is alive today--unless of course you are from Makai."
The illustration had the startling resemblance of Alice's grimoire. It was the book that Alice always carried--
"Wait a minute, when we found Alice the night when she was attacked, the book wasn't with her."
"Hmm?" said Patchouli. "That would be...strange. I've never seen Alice without her book before."
"Yes," Reimu replied. Why didn't I notice it earlier?
Reimu started to leave. "Thanks for the information. If you don't mind--" she tried to say but Patchouli waved her off.
"Wait for a moment while I get ready," Patchouli rose from her seat and took a single book from a nearby shelf. "I'm going with you."
"Why?" said Reimu.
Patchouli shrugged. "I do care about Alice's welfare, contrary to popular belief. Even more, I'm quite curious as to how Alice ended up in the state that you referred."
"You know--oh never mind," said Reimu with exasperation. "I fly fast. You better keep up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just outside Alice's house, a youkai sniffed the air. She smelled a familiar scent--the scent of the prey that escaped her a night before. She gave out a loud screech, but no sound came out from her mouth. She was confused for a moment, but gave it no further thought as she fumbled towards Alice's house and tried to gain entrance inside.
Lost within her hungry instincts, she tried in vain to break through a window. The windows were no good, as they were enhanced by magic and proved hard to break. The door was also useless--it was harder and made out of old wood. Still, her hunger overcame her sense as she tried to break down the door with her incessant noiseless pounds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sanctity of Sapphire's game of curiosity was broken when she sensed a humanoid figure outside the house. She quickly rushed to a nearby window and saw a slouched figure of a woman pounding at the door. Because of Luna's Silence, she heard no sounds--and if not for her Sensing, the youkai would have probably been undetected.
Game over for the youkai, at least, thought Sapphire as she immediately went back to the living room as she tried to wake up Marisa. Shouting was of no use of course--all sounds are muffled. She shook Marisa who was reluctant to wake from her sleep. To Sapphire's alarm, she saw that the wooden door was starting to break from the youkai's hungry efforts.
Star Sapphire shook Marisa harder.
t.b.c
Yakumo Note # 7
I would be lying if I told you that the Hakurei Barrier is not alive.
It was made at the cost of her soul. It would not break easily.
Even now, it's fighting against whomever who is trying to break it.
I will not give up.
Kiyuu Note # 6
This Barrier is quite a simple thing. It's pretty stupid--it only does two things; keep everybody inside, inside and everyone outside, outside.
However, simple as it is, I cannot break it. WHY?
WHY CAN'T I BREAK IT?
ANSWER ME!
Sei Note # 3
The thing hidden in this post is actually easy to find--but it's not really useful to the story at all.
If you can't find it, it's because you're not thinking about the game.
-
Oh.... My.
Well thats a lot of plot hitting at the same time. In addition to an excellent use of fairy and devil powers.
I'd claim to see spark related damage to Alice's house in the near future, but you've caught me with assumptions like that before....
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 12
A week had already passed before Ellen let me out of the bed.
I remember the sun shining that day. It was brighter, far brighter than how I imagined it in Makai.
Ellen's house is quite compact and small. It had separate rooms for kitchen and the dining room; but the dining room opened up into the living room which also doubled as Ellen's study room. I had been sleeping in the only bedroom in the house, and my guess was that she was sleeping in her living room for the whole week.
I would be fooling you, of course, if I told you that her house was well-kept. In fact, it was very cluttered with barely any room to walk through. There were scattered books and scrolls everywhere, and I could spot some odds and ends in the boxes at the far corners of the house. The chairs and tables were spared though, Ellen must had taken time clearing them of junk so they could be used for daily life.
I found Ellen sitting on a cushioned chair in the living room, reading a thick leather book. She did not notice me. I heard a meowing sound; it came from a cat that was sitting on top of a pile of books beside me. Upon seeing me, it leapep down from its pedestal and rubbed itself on my legs and began to purr.
Picking my way through the scraps and books on the floor, I approached Ellen who was deeply immersed in her book. When I approached her, she spoke these words:
"Desire is something granted not taken; if it is granted then one becomes lesser not greater--for in desiring we come to understand the meaning of Greed; in controlling it we come to know the meaning of Order."
Ellen lifted her head and stared at me with glassy eyes.
"Did she fulfill your wish? Are you happy now? Or do you feel empty, now that everything that you cherished is taken from you, ever to be out of your reach?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wake up, stupid human!
Sapphire shook Marisa harder, but despite of Star Sapphire's valiant efforts in waking up Marisa, the weary magician only answered with a slight stir. Luna Child tried to shout in frustration, only to be answered with total silence. Luna Child's shroud of silence still covered Alice's entire house.
To Sapphire's dismay, the door is already starting to break; not a few dents are visible from Sapphire's side--enticing the fairy to hurry up in waking up Marisa.
I've never seen a human sleep heavily like these before. Stupid Luna Child, why did she have to use her ability now? If I can only scream in her ear, I'd bet she'd be up in no time at all.
Sapphire tried a different approach; she took hold of Marisa's right arm and tried to pull her up. Using her flight as leverage, she tried to lift Marisa out of her chair to no avail. With Marisa's dead weight encumbering her, it was a futile attempt at best. However, she was rewarded with a quick yawn.
Really annoyed now, Sapphire released Marisa's arm and instead slapped her squarely across the cheeks. Marisa went wide awake and fell down on the chair in surprise. Scratching her head, Marisa looked at Star Sapphire and started to ask a question. However, her mouth froze in the middle of her first word when she discovered that she can't hear her voice. Without wasting anytime, Star pointed at the door--and made some inarticulate gestures that left Marisa puzzled.
Looking at the door, Marisa saw a limpid arm sticking through a hole where it broke through. It tried to reach out for the latch which took but a moment. Opening it, the youkai entered and saw the fairy and the magician.
Marisa, shaken awake by the sense of danger, started to cast a spell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This room is full of dolls.
Luna Child looked at a nearby shelf that was filled with ornately dressed dolls. They were elaborate and pretty, and Luna couldn't resist the urge to play with them. Taking a doll from the shelf, she took it on her arm as she explored the other parts of the room.
She noticed that someone was sleeping on the bed at the opposite side of the room. Luna recognized her--it was the doll maker that they once saw in the forest. She was sleeping fitfully, and her chest was heaving with deep breaths. She was perspiring profusely, like someone having a nightmare. Naturally unconcerned with such matters, Luna became disinterested with Alice immediately.
Turning to other matters of curiosity, she espied a book lying on the floor. It was open, it's pages turned face down on the floor.
A bo--, a b-book, is it? I'm not sure if it's called that though.
Curious, she approached the book and noticed that it was made of an unusual black material. It was the book that Alice often carried, Luna remembered. She reached out to take it.
Suddenly, someone--something jumped on top of her, pinning her down on the floor. Caught by surprise, Luna Child cried out, accidentally breaking the mantle of silence in Alice's house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke sighed. The sounds of rain had already stopped and the night was already deep, but Rinnosuke was deep in thought; sleep was far from his grasp.
"Are you thinking about something?" said the young girl. Rinnosuke nearly jumped in surprise.
The girl was smiling over his shoulder, a little bit drier but her clothes were still wet from being out in the rain for too long. He was too immersed in his own contemplation that he did not notice her enter the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, I was just distracted. The tea will be done soon." Rinnosuke gestured at the smoking teapot by the fire.
"Thank you. I'm sorry I had to impose on you like this," said the girl apologetically. "If I ever get my house repaired, I'll be sure to invite you over one day."
Assuming you don't forget, seeing that you already forgot your name, thought Rinnosuke saucily.
Noticing her wet clothes, Rinnosuke was suddenly concerned for her health. "Would you like to get a change of clothes? You might get sick if you keep wearing that wet dress."
The young girl's smile became brighter. "I don't get sick easily, and I like my clothes."
Rinnosuke only nodded, looking at the young girl curiously as she became interested in the various things lined up inside his kitchen. As a matter of fact, his kitchen only faintly resembles a true kitchen; it was cluttered with some of his 'collections', some of the stuff that had slipped past the Hakurei Border from the outside world. While his shop deals in selling Outside World things, he would often keep some for himself for studying and personal interests.
After a few moments, Rinnosuke was pouring them both a cup of a tea. He savored it's fragrant aroma before taking a hearty sip.
"The first secret of tea is to make enjoyable tea," said the young girl. Rinnosuke raised an eyebrow as he saw the young girl took a drink from her cup. "Enjoyable tea can only come with enjoyable company, don't you think?"
"Probably," said Rinnosuke, unsure of how to answer. "Do you live in the Forest? I've never seen you around here before."
The young girl put a finger on her lip. "Yes, I do live in the Forest. I don't go out much though since I sometimes forget where it is."
"No doubt," replied Rinnosuke dryly.
Suddenly, the young girl stood up, sniffing the air. "Hey, do you smell that?" Her tone became suddenly serious, a bright contrast from her usual singsong voice.
"Smell what?" asked Rinnosuke. "I don't smell anything weird."
The young girl frowned at him. "It doesn't smell 'weird', it smells like sulphur." She sniffed again. "I'm sure that it smells like sulphur."
Rinnosuke took some sniffs, but didn't smell anything remotely like sulphur. "Are you sure that you're smelling it?"
Instead on answering him, the young girl placed her cup on the table and went out. Concerned at the girl's sudden change of demeanor, Rinnosuke followed her. He found her outside of the shop, staring at the sky.
"What is the matter with--" Rinnosuke halted in mid-sentence. Looking at the direction past the Forest of Magic and towards the Road of Reconsideration, there was a light red mist hanging in the air. It trailed closely on the ground, like the thin morning fog.
"See," said the girl happily. "I told you that I smelled something." She dropped her serious tone and spoke like a child who got a new toy. "I think it's coming from over there." She pointed towards the direction of Muenzuka.
Rinnosuke gaped at the red fog. Don't tell me that this fog is involved with Yukari's work as well. In any case, I'm sure Marisa and Reimu will--
There was a zapping sound, like the static reactions of two charged metals. Then a multi-colored beam of light shot upwards towards the clearing clouds.
Marisa's Master Spark, and close by. Don't tell me that she's in a fight again--
Or maybe she's in danger? That's two Master Sparks in one night--
Rinnosuke snorted at the thought. Marisa in danger? Marisa can take care of herself.
But still--
"I wonder where that beam of light came from," said the young girl. "It looked like it came from pretty close by."
"I think it came from the doll maker's house, if I recall correctly," said Rinnosuke. Marisa often told him about the stories of a nearby doll maker.
"Well it's worth checking out," she said excitedly. Without another word, she ran off towards the Forest, humming a tune.
Unsure of what to do next, Rinnosuke ran off to follow her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wah!"
The influx of sounds that suddenly assaulted their ears were almost unbearable. It was like trying to listen to a detuned horn inside a tunnel. Marisa felt a little woozy, and Sapphire seemed to be incapacitated as she lay on the ground, dizzy. Even the youkai seemed to be temporarily confused. Shaking off the ringing sound in her ears and seizing the opportunity, Marisa took out her Hakkero and fired.
The house was rocked by the impact and explosion of energies that Marisa released. Directly hitting the youkai, it was launched through the doorway and into the forest clearing. The beam made a giant gaping hole at what was once the doorway, and Marisa immediately went through.
"Where is it?"
There was no sign of the youkai. She looked around her, but it was too dark, especially in this moonless night. Then she heard a shriek, and felt something wrap around her neck. It snapped tightly and tried to pull her up. Making a stifled shout, she grabbed hold of the hairy tendril and tried to pry it off, but its grip was too strong. To her horror, she felt her breathing being slowly cut off as its hold tightened even more.
There was movement behind Marisa as the youkai approached her from the darkness. The youkai's hair tightened even more, and Marisa could barely breath as the coil around her neck felt more and more like iron. Struggling in vain, she felt a little light-headed as the lack of air is starting to make her feel dizzy. She heard the youkai laugh madly in triumph.
Damn you, if I can only break free from this--
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!"
There was a frantic shout coming from the house, but Marisa was too disoriented too notice. She felt her consciousness slowly slip from her grasp...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Sapphire recovered, she noticed the large hole in the doorway.
"Where is it?" she heard Marisa cry out from outside. There was a shriek and she heard Marisa's stifled shouts. Sapphire flew through the broken doorway when she heard a shout coming from deep inside the house.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH~! IT'S GOT MY EYES~!"
Sapphire turned around to see Luna Child running with an elaborately dressed doll dangling behind her head. Its arms were wrapped around her face and covered her eyes. Luna ran around aimlessly, knocking over furniture as she waved her arms frantically.
"SOMEONE HELP~!"
Luna Child began running towards Sapphire's direction, to which Sapphire answered by silently stepping out of the way. Luna ran through the hole and unknowingly knocked the youkai over. The doll released its hold and Luna and grabbed the youkai's face. It shrieked as it tried to claw off the doll. Distracted, the youkai released her hold on Marisa. Marisa dropped on the ground, coughing.
Sapphire flew towards Marisa who was on her fours, still coughing as she tried to regain her breath. The youkai shrieks became more violent as the doll seemed to be intent on hanging onto its face. Luna Child was on the ground beside the youkai, scratching her head with confusion.
The youkai flailed around vigorously, and Luna Child screamed in fear as she edged away from the angry youkai. Marisa was still shaky but she regained her footing and her fighting spirit.
"Get out of the way, fairy!" Marisa shouted.
Luna scrambled to get out of the way as she flew to Sapphire's side. Marisa raised a hand forward and started to cast a spell.
Star Sign [Meteonic Shower]
A large number of five-pointed bullets appeared from Marisa's outstretched hand and launched themselves towards the youkai. They exploded upon impact, and the youkai screamed in pain.
Angrily, it tore off the doll from its face and threw it aside spitefully. It jumped aside, avoiding Marisa's barrage and started to attack. It's hair became animated as it split into two serpentine tendrils that charged like spears.
Marisa broke off from her spell and sidestepped just in time to avoid getting impaled. The two fairies flew upwards, but they were hampered by an attacking tendril. Marisa deftly dodged another attack and started to cast another spell, only to be interrupted by another thrusting attack. Blocking accurately with her Hakkero, Marisa stepped away to avoid being impaled by another incoming attack.
"Damn it, you scratched my Hakkero!" said Marisa angrily. "I just polished it last week!"
The two fairies screamed as they dodged frantically. "Just kill it already!" Luna yelled.
"Trying, but it's not very cooperative," Marisa yelled back.
Sapphire suddenly sensed two figures running toward their direction. They were apparently humans...human-sized at least. Looking westwards, she saw two running humans. Sapphire called out to them.
"Hey! You two! We need some help over here!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rinnosuke heard the calls and saw a fairy calling out to them. There were two of them flying just above the treeline. Before Rinnosuke could answer, one of them were suddenly pulled down from its flight. Calling out to his girl companion, he pointed towards the commotion. The young girl nodded.
In a few moments, Rinnosuke found themselves in a middle of a battle in front of Alice's house. A youkai was attacking Marisa with its long, animate hair, using it as an impaling spear or grasping hand depending on its attack. Marisa was too busy dodging that she did not have enough time to shoot back effectively. The youkai did not notice them.
Rinnosuke heard a quick chanting behind him and saw the young girl was enveloped with blue light. Her chanting became faster and faster as she did quick, flowing gestures with her hands. With a flick of her wrist she pointed a finger at the youkai.
Red and green balls of light appeared in front of her and launched themselves in a radial course towards the youkai. With another flick of her wrist, a multitude of little heart-shaped bullets and followed suit.
They hit the youkai, resulting in dozens of explosions, enveloping the youkai in debris and dust. However, the youkai answered with a scream of pain of fear as it realized that another enemy appeared.
Marisa took the opportunity to aim her Hakkero at the youkai. Giving it her full strength, she attacked the youkai with her all.
Magicannon [Final Spark]
A thin ray of light shot out through the youkai, piercing her through the abdomen. Slowly, the thin ray of light expanded as it consumed the youkai in its brilliance. The beam of light shot through the youkai and into the trees, consuming everything in its path. The Hakkero grew hot in her hand, and Marisa feared that it might burst into flames. Still, she held on, focusing her power like nothing else mattered.
The youkai shrieked horribly as it was consumed by the light. As the Final Spark enveloped her, her shrieks were drowned by the zapping sound of the spell as hot air fizzled around it.
When the Final Spark died down, nothing was left of the youkai but a smoldering crater of rocks and ashes. Marisa slumped down on the grass, still holding the smoking Hakkero in her hand.
t.b.c
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Here, we see Marisa Kirisame, practitioner of the 'Kill it with Fire' ideology, giving a very to-the-point demonstration of her school of thought.
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Ellen is my hero! Also, Hakurei Barrier ftw!
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 13
Ellen remembered nothing about what happened that day.
Well, that's not strange actually. I found out later that she forgets things...a lot. There was a time when I found her outside looking for something. When I asked her, she told me that she was looking for the door to get outside.
It turned out that she forgot that she was already outside.
Still, as loopy she may seem to be, she's a kind person.
One day, I saw Ellen doing 'Magic', or what we called it in Makai. She was waving her hands about, as if conducting music. She was outside, on top of a makeshift stage made out of wooden boxes, chairs and books. Sokrates, Ellen's pet cat, was watching her as she suddenly lifted her hands and brought them down forcefully.
I suddenly noticed the tiny little dolls on Ellen's feet. They suddenly began to float in the air as they twirled and swirled into a beautiful, graceful dance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alarm was raised inside the fortress of Pand?monium. Fumbling soldiers and loyal guards rallied across the walls, building a magical defense barrier to keep out the incoming intruder. A red globe encased the crystalline fortress, a shielding spell designed to repel any attack. It was recently devised by Makai's most brilliant minds, and today was its first field test.
"What in the name of Makai is going on?" asked Shinki. "It sounds like pandemonium outside." Yumeko winced at the pun but it took her but a moment to recover.
Yumeko began to explain. "An intruder had broken through the gates of the Overworld," said Yumeko coolly. "She had already broken past through the Border guards and is currently making her way here."
Shinki tilted her head a little pensively. "An intruder? It's been a while since someone visited Makai, you know."
"Mistress Shinki, please do not refer to invasions as 'visits'."
Shinki swiveled her chair and looked outside through the window behind her. "Well, it's a good change of pace, nonetheless." Shinki took a deep breath and rose from her chair. "That's it. I've decided to meet this intruder in person." Spreading her three pairs of wings on her back, she leaped into the air and took flight to join the ranks of her soldiers outside.
Yumeko was left alone inside the room, staring at the mountains of paperwork waiting to be done.
"She escaped again," she sighed. "I wonder when will this room be ever free of paperwork?" Shrugging in resignation, she took flight and followed her Mistress's whims.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, this certainly brings back memories," Reimu said aloud.
The Shrine Maiden and the Girl of Knowledge and Shadow flew through the skies of Gensokyo at a remarkable speed as they made their way towards the Forest of Magic. They were nearing the Hakurei Shrine grounds when they noticed that a carpet of red fog was spreading rapidly below them.
"What kind of memories, I wonder?" said Patchouli. "This is a different case, after all."
"Red fog, scarlet mist...why does it always have to be in the shade of my clothes? Even that celestial made it like that too," said Reimu thoughtfully. "Maybe it has something to do with my shrine's bad luck with offerings."
"Red is good for luck," Patchouli replied curtly. "I think it's coming from the direction of the Forest."
Sighing, Reimu only replied, "Well, at least it's in the same direction."
Patchouli suddenly noticed someone walking on a bare path below them. It appeared to be of a young girl about Reimu's age. She pointed it out to Reimu only nodded in reply.
Reimu landed next to the girl, followed by Patchouli. The girl was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt paired with a long scarlet skirt that seemed to shine amid the thin fog. Her hair was long and was tied in an odango covered by a red cloth and tied with a black ribbon. She carried herself with grace and style, a sense of refiness that beguiles her age. However, what stands up the most about her was her golden eyes that seemed possessed a unique glow.
As Reimu and Patchouli approached her, she smiled and bowed politely. "It's an honor to meet the famous Shrine Maiden of this side of the world," she said humbly.
Taken aback by the politeness, Reimu bowed in reply. "Er...thank you?"
The covered her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled slightly. "Still, I didn't expect you to come this way tonight. It would have been better...if you didn't see me tonight."
Reimu's vision began to darken. Reimu tried to focus, but all she saw was two golden orbs staring at her. She felt witless, but she tried hanging on to her senses. The girl spoke again, this time in mesmerizing tones, and it echoed within Reimu's ears like the beating of a drum.
"Go on your way, Shrine Maiden. Forget that you saw anyone tonight."
Without thinking about it, Reimu found herself repeating after her. "Go on my way. Forget that I saw anyone tonight..." she said in flat tones. "I hear and obey."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Isn't that enough already?" said Patchouli. She snapped her fingers, and Reimu blinked like someone waking from a dream. Reimu rubbed her eyes as the young girl laughed in genuine amusement.
"Ah, a youkai!" the girl said. "It's hard to tell humans apart from youkai, you know. I'm not from around here, you see."
"Who are you?" asked Patchouli. "And I don't think we met you by mere coincidence either."
"Me?" asked the young girl tentatively. "That is an interesting question by itself. Am I me? Or am I someone else? As for me, I have no me--because I am not 'am', if you understand."
Reimu shook her head. "Er...what happened?"
"Back with us already?" said Patchouli in a leisurely tone. "Please don't fall asleep when you have an enemy before you."
"I didn't fall asleep," replied Reimu crossly.
"Whatever," said Patchouli. "More importantly, this young girl is not normal."
The young girl only smiled and bowed. "My name is Aiki, and it's a pleasure meeting a youkai and a shrine maiden outside of picture books."
"Picture books?" said Patchouli, a little bewildered. "Then you're not from around here?"
"Like I said," said Aiki. "Please do listen to what I say a little bit more."
Reimu felt ignored, but she was content on listening. She was still a bit troubled by what happened earlier. It was like she was spellbound, or was she merely tricked? Nevertheless, Reimu knew that this young girl named Aiki is not human.
"Anyway, it's really late, and I have business to attend to," said Aiki cheerfully. "The miasma is getting thicker, and it's my turn to work hard." There was a cracking sound, and the ground below Aiki broke. However, it didn't break like rock and soil, but rather, it broke like glass. It made a hole of black darkness, a bottomless pit that certainly led to another world.
The ground fragmented into pieces as it fell into a black abyss. Aiki floated momentarily above it before she slipped into the hole, giving both Reimu and Patchouli a fleeting smile. Suddenly, the ground began to piece together, like a puzzle rearranging itself into solution. Before long, there was no trace that the girl had been there at all.
Patchouli nodded to herself as she stared at the ground where Aiki had been standing a minute ago.
"Hmm, very interesting indeed," mused Patchouli. "Very interesting."
"Er, mind you explain what is going on?" asked Reimu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukari was a little bit amused, and a little irritated by Makai's welcome. As the soldiers of Makai began to open fire at her, Yukari used her ability to divert the enemy's attacks.
The ability to manipulate all Borders. It may seem vague, but there lies Yukari's strength. Wincing slightly, Yukari visualized the Border of Space between her and the bullets. In her mind, she made a shape, an asymptotic curve.
All the bullets aimed at Yukari swerved ever so slightly as she approached. They avoided her, as the Border between Yukari and the the bullets were manipulated by Yukari in such a way that they will never reach her.*
Seeing that their attacks are rendered useless, the soldiers of Makai started doing their complex magic. Yukari sensed a magical prison, a spell that was designed to bind her to her spot. Grimacing, Yukari aimed her parasol at the spellcasters and fired. Thin lasers of energy spiraled out of her parasol's tip as it searched for prey.
Immediately, a Makai soldier formed a shield to protect her comrades. Yukari distorted the Borders once more, this time thinning the Border of Impenetrability**. Yukari's lasers passed harmlessly through the shield and hit the spellcasters directly. There was a shout of confusion, and Yukari sensed disarray within her enemies' ranks.
Wasting no time, Yukari fired another laser as she prepared to manipulate the Borders once more in order to pass through Pand?monium's protective barrier. However, her attention was immediately arrested by a clarion call below.
From within the depths of Pand?monium, a winged figure flew out of a crystalline spire. It rose towards the ceilings of Makai, gathering ominous clouds of darkness around it. It began to descend slowly as the clouds around her began to spread and grow in an alarming speed and intensity.
A ghastly voice boomed out. "Intruder! I applaud your intrepidity in invading my realm!"
Yukari shrugged. "Shinki, I have business with you," Yukari called out. "I apologize greatly for the damage I may have done, but I arrive with great urgency."
The clouds began to clear and the figure of a woman dressed in red robes began to descend towards Yukari.
"You're a polite one, but destroying the gates of Makai deserves a huge punishment--"
"Can it not wait later?" said Yukari crossly. "My business has something to do with a 'Contract' that you have made with a certain human that is named Hakurei Hinaka."
Shinki's demeanor began to darken when she heard the name of Hakurei. "What is business you speak of? Hurry, and I might forgive your tresspassing immediately."
"I don't care about being forgiven," said Yukari haughtily. "But I do care about my business being done speedily and subtly. It might be better to speak of it in less odious environment." Yukari pointed to Shinki's soldiers that are still ready to attack Yukari at any signal.
"Soldiers. at ease." Shinki dismissed her soldiers. Pand?monium's protective barrier vanished and Yukari landed on a nearby platform.
"Makai has such a warm welcome for tourists," Yukari muttered under her breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was bewitched?" said Reimu, disbelief colored on her face.
Patchouli and Reimu flew above the human village. The eaves of Forest of Magic is just beyond the horizon.
"Yes, I do believe that this Aiki person tried to bewitch you. She was telling you to forget that you met her. From her reaction, I also believe that her power only works on humans."
"And how did you know that?"
"Because she remarked 'It's hard to tell apart humans and youkai'. As you may know, it is hard to tell apart a human and a human-looking youkai by just looking at them. She may have mistaken me for a human, and intended to bewitch me afterwards. Had you met her alone, she would have certainly overpowered you."
"Well, it all went well, didn't it?" said Reimu. "But it seemed she knew something about the red fog."
"Yes, that is true. She remarked something about 'The miasma is getting thicker, and it's my turn to work hard'. It means that she isn't working alone. And there's something troubling me even more."
"More bad (http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi?m=search&sc=0&f=0&j=%E5%93%80&g=&e=&s=&rt=0&start=1&sid=1278759839_6144)news?" (http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi?m=search&sc=0&f=0&j=%E6%B0%97&g=&e=&s=&rt=0&start=1&sid=1278759839_6144)
"Correct. The way she escaped reminds me of a certain someone in Gensokyo who can do the same."
"You mean how she made a hole in the ground and simply disappeared?"
"The only other person who I know can do something of that sort--" Patchouli paused for a moment, hesitating.
"It's Yukari, isn't?" said Reimu. "Why are you hesitating?"
"Well, isn't it a bit odd that the old woman hasn't shown up yet? Times like these, she's often aught but nosy. There was this one time that she showed up inside my library without any invitation--"
"Yukari is pretty busy right now, I think," said Reimu confidently. "She's often skulking around scheming. I'm pretty sure she only dreams of scheming when she sleeps. But one thing I do know, Yukari loves Gensokyo more than everyone else."
Patchouli's tight lips curled into a slight smile. "I never imagined you'd be defending her from suspicion."
"You know," said Reimu smugly. "I never expected it either."
t.b.c
Yukari Note #8
The Hakurei Barrier and Seal was made in consent by the worlds that permeate the universe. It was the greatest, and biggest feat to be achieved by a human.
It was all done by the efforts of Hinaka Hakurei, the human who dared to make a pact with the Makai and Jigoku in order to achieve the preservation of peace.
Kiyuu Note # 7
Aiki is the second oldest of my Creations. Unlike Shiku, Aiki is full of emotions. In fact, she can easily manipulate her emotions to suit her tastes, and likewise, she can manipulate other people's emotions to her will.
As time grew on, Aiki easily became one of my most dependable Creation, as she can easily manipulate people with her charm.
Don't be mistaken, she is infinitely more dangerous than Shiku, for Aiki is my best friend.
Sei Note # 4
*An asymptote of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as they tend to infinity. Simply put, it would take an infinite time for the bullets to reach Yukari.
**Put the Law of Impenetrability into mind: it is the quality of matter whereby two bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time. By manipulating the Border of Impenetrability, the definition of Impenetrability can be distorted to suit Yukari's interests.
Oh yeah, if you notice something...different or out of place, don't click it.
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I like the little easter eggs we're getting with this story, regardless of the fact that I haven't actually found any yet.
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Nice, I found the hidden URL links in the story :)
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Er. Will there be solutions to these little "puzzles" at some point? ^^;
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 14
Balance. Gensokyo had always lived on balance. It is this very essence in which Gensokyo had maintained its existence, and will continue thus, until the end of time. However, balance is a fragile thing, easily tipped--easily destroyed.
"Oh well~" said Aiki cheerfully. "As long as I don't have to do anything overly much." Aiki was standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking a good part of Gensokyo. She scanned the whole area between her and the horizon, and saw that everything was ready.
By east from her direction was Muenzuka, and the red mist was steadily trickling over the entirety of Gensokyo. The wind was quite lively and aided the miasma's spread. It aided the discord that Aiki had already sown among the youkai.
"The miasma of Makai, a good fuel for energy, they say," Aiki mused wistfully. It was her bad habit of talking aloud that she was often sent to work alone by her master. "They say that it makes magic easier to do, even for a human.
"However, mix a little vehemence, a pinch of pride, and a teaspoonful of madness, and magic becomes the source of Chaos itself. For isn't magic the opposite of Order? Magic disobeys the Laws of Reality itself, after all."
Closing her eyes, Aiki inhaled deeply as she strove to pull up emotions from within her. Little by little, she felt the human-ish emotions within her; the desire to sow discord, to doubt, and to dominate. As she felt the hot sensations fill her body, she focused them onto her outstretched palm and opened her eyes.
On her palm was a violet ball of light. Aiki looked at the glowing ball and threw it into the air. It lurched upwards at an amazing speed. When it reached the apex of its flight, it stopped in midair and began to grow larger at a rapid rate.
When it was easily ten times its former size, Aiki clapped her hands together. The ball suddenly popped, turning into multitudes of violet dust. The wind carried the dust in its arms and spread it around Gensokyo, becoming invisible in the slowly thickening fog.
"Now, it's the humans' turn," Aiki said cheerfully. "I wonder what that shrine maiden is doing now?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Keine sighed.
"We won't last like this, Kamishirasawa," said a villager. "We're not complaining or anything, but we're all on the edge here."
The human villagers were seated around a wooden table inside Keine's home. They were a mixture of men and women, young and old--but all of them possessed the battle hardened faces of the human exterminators. They were the human village's defense force, assigned to seek out and exterminate any hostile youkai near the village.
"We know that the youkai we're only hiding friendly youkai," said a young woman. "But doesn't that mean we're putting ourselves and our children in danger as well? A rabid youkai will probably attack us if they smell the ones hiding inside the village."
Keine Kamishirasawa listened intently. After the last villager finished her testimony, Keine spoke. "I think it's dangerous for us to hide the youkai inside the village. As humans, we don't have any obligation to help youkai." Keine paused as she looked at the eyes of everyone present. "However, it would be inhuman to turn against those who wanted our help. I do not think the youkai will pose any threat to us, and if a youkai attack would occur, then we would do our duty as exterminators."
The council was adjourned. It was almost dawn, and they had been in council for almost six hours. There had been reports of activity near the Forest of Magic, and human sentries had spotted youkai activities around the perimeter of the village. The youkai hiding inside the human village continued to act friendly as much as possible, but the humans of the village are getting edgy and tense.
Bound in contemplation, Keine remained in her seat as the rest of the council prepared to leave and steal whatever rest they can get before the morning comes. Keine wasn't in the mood to rest, much still needs to be done before morning arrives. The sounds of shuffling steps died down, and Keine felt alone inside the cold room only warmed by the pale lamplight.
"We're bound to have escalated conflicts if you keep this up," said a woman's voice. Keine opened her eyes and saw someone still sitting in her place beside the council table. She was looking at Keine intently. "You're not going to do anything about it?"
"You're pretty hard on youkai, aren't you Kotohime?" Keine replied in a tired voice. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "At any rate, nothing of such has happened yet. I don't want to throw anyone out of the village if it means they'll only get killed."
"Soft as always," the woman replied. "And in any case, you have to understand that most humans in the village don't consider youkai as friends. There are many stories of exterminators eaten by youkai, or even young children spirited away into the Forest."
Keine shook her head. "I know," said Keine angrily. "I know that, but it doesn't mean all youkai are enemies."
Shrugging, Kotohime answered her. "Well, not all people share your sentiment. And despite everything you have done, many humans still doubt you for being only half-human. No offense intended, but I'm only saying what I hear."
Keine, the half-human. "So some people are still touchy about that? I don't mind being called half-human," said Keine. "But despite that, it's my human side that is saying that we should help the youkai--truth be told, if I were the Hakutaku discharging my duty, I would have exterminated all the youkai on the spot."
Kotohime smiled. "Well, at least you're more human than some humans." Kotohime yawned. "Anyway, what do you think about the red fog?"
"I have never seen anything like it before," said Keine. "It puts me at much unease. I was thinking of sending someone to investigate but..."
"You've seen the Shrine Maiden flying about earlier, correct?"
"Yes. I think it's best to let her handle the investigating. We have our hands full making sure that the village stays peaceful."
"Peaceful, eh?" repeated Kotohime. "I guess we could settle it at that--"
Suddenly, there was a repeated clanging of bells that tore through the night. They heard a shout and both Keine and Kotohime were on their feet. Rushing to the street outside, they heard the shout of alarm for a youkai attack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This is miasma from Makai itself," Patchouli said. Reimu and Patchouli were walking along the well-worn path of the Forest of Magic at Patchouli's insistence. She wanted to study the miasma(she told Reimu), and it would be easier done if they do it while walking instead of flying. Reimu acquiesced, they were nearing Alice's house anyway.
"So Makai is involved again?" said Reimu. "Maybe I should go and--"
"But there is something else," interrupted Patchouli. "There's a contaminant, a foreign substance I've never seen before."
"A what?"
"I'll explain when we get to Alice's house. I don't want to have to repeat my explanation for everyone."
Reimu entered the sideway path towards Alice's house and saw an aftermath of a battle. There were wood and debris everywhere, and there was a deep ridge that Reimu did not recall seeing before.
"It's the rat's work, no doubt about it," observed Patchouli, referring to Marisa. "But this destruction seems to be a little bit overkill, even for Kirisame."
They continued walking on the path, stepping over tree trunks and jumping over newly dug ditches.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice's head was throbbing when she woke up. She was breathing heavily, like someone who woke up from a nightmare.
"How did I get on my bed?" Alice recalled being inside the kitchen a moment ago, and then--nothing.
Did I black out? Maybe I'm still tired from last night, she thought. Shaking her head, she saw that her bedroom door was open. Slipping on her footwear, she took stepped outside her room and saw disarray.
Broken furniture, upturned chairs, scattered jars and boxes, everything was against Alice's sense of order. Shaking her head, her eyes suddenly rested on her doorway. To her horror, she saw that her doorway was blown apart by a strange force that she can only attribute to one person.
Clenching her teeth, she purposely stomped off in search of Marisa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"GAH~," cried Marisa in disgust. "I'm covered with dirt, darn it." Marisa's clothes were splattered with soil and mud from her fight with the youkai. She was still sitting on the damp grass, trying to get her breath back.
"You're more concerned about your clothes?" asked Rinnosuke. He coughed away, trying to look a little composed. He was still shaken by the sudden turn of events--after all, he was making tea just five minutes ago when he was suddenly led here by the young girl beside her.
The young girl helped Marisa up, getting mud on both of them in the process. The young girl didn't mind, but Marisa looked at her intently.
"I recall seeing you before," she said thoughtfully. "Although, I'm not exactly sure where."
Rinnosuke scowled. "Then do me a favor and tell me her name," he told Marisa. "Because she forgot her name by some odd circumstance."
Marisa frowned. "More importantly, what are you doing with a young girl like her?" asked Marisa. "Don't tell me she's your--"
Marisa was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Reimu and Patchouli. Reimu scanned the tableau of destruction in front of her and sighed.
"Well this is a lovely surprise," said Reimu. "Looks like you've been having fun, Marisa."
"Rats have their own fun ways to play," replied Patchouli quietly.
"Aww~ Reimu, why did you have to bring her?" Marisa moaned in frustration. "Hello Patchouli."
Patchouli shrugged. "A greeting doesn't work if you complain about it first," she replied. She noticed Rinnosuke and the young girl and looked at them in a very observant manner.
"I haven't seen you before," Patchouli said to the young girl.
Reimu noticed Rinnosuke. "What are you doing here, Rinnosuke?" asked Reimu. "It's very rare that I see you outside your shop."
Before Rinnosuke can speak, they heard an angry shout from inside the house.
"MARISAAAAAA!" The shout was full of indignation.
"And lo, the Mistress of the house arrives to offer us her humble hospitality," Patchouli said in a humble tone. She looked at the broken doorway when she suddenly noticed movement among the bushes.
Breaking out of the shrubbery, Star Sapphire said in a very cross voice, "This is why I don't like weird houses!" She was followed by Luna Child, both of them suffered minor scratches but they were unhurt.
"Huh, I thought you two got eaten already," said Marisa to the two fairies. Sapphire gave her a raspberry, but Marisa ignored her. She was too tired to play around.
Patchouli raised an eyebrow when she saw Sapphire. "Fairies? So you've taken to befriending fairies now, magician?"
"Marisa found them earlier," said Reimu. "She told me that one of their friends started acting strange. It was the one that attacked her earlier."
"Hmm," mused Patchouli. Alice suddenly burst out of the house, panting. She was suddenly thrown off when she saw a moderate amount of people on her lawn. "What a timely arrival for the person of honor," Patchouli continued.
"What are you all doing here?" sighed Alice. "And why is my front door blow to bits?" She took a good look at the Final Spark's destruction. "...and my lawn was harassed as well," Alice concluded.
"It's a long story," sighed Marisa. "I don't like long stories."
"Really?" asked Patchouli haughtily. "But you won't mind telling it, won't you?"
"I just want to get back to my tea already," Rinnosuke muttered under his breath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The alarm came from the Kirisame warehouse. Keine and Kotohime arrived in time to see three exterminators struggling against their opponent. However, their opponent wasn't a youkai, but another villager.
"What's going on here?" Kotohime demanded.
One of the exterminators answered her. "It's Gyo, ma'am. He's been acting weird since morning. He was absent from the council earlier, so I sent someone to investigate, and we found him trying to set the warehouse on fire."
The man named Gyo was holding a torch and a farmer's sickle, waving it dangerously towards them. He had the look of a madman--his eyes were bulging on its sockets as he looked at them in a frantic manner.
"Gyo, drop the torch, dammit," said one of the exterminators calmly. "We can talk this through--"
The man named Gyo did not reply. Instead he attacked one of the exterminators with his sickle, who wasn't able to dodge in time. The exterminator got a deep gash on the shoulder which bled profusely.
Another team of exterminators arrived in answer to the alarm earlier. They overpowered Gyo and deprived him of his weapon and torch. He was carried away by the other exterminators, kicking and screaming incoherently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behind the Kirisame warehouse, Aiki was whistling a happy tune. (http://i25.tinypic.com/1232iow.png)
t.b.c
Sei Note # 5
Of course you know about the different color of URLs. However, it doesn't work if the URL is in a space.
(http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi?m=search&sc=0&f=0&j=%E8%8B%A6&g=3&e=&s=8&rt=0&start=1&sid=1279191299_8401)
Also, do you know what does color=#383838 mean?
..Well, strictly speaking, certain keystrokes takes the fun away.
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Tab button is my fwiend. And Aiki's lookin good.
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I cheat and quote the post :(
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<Sei> "Aiki, turn off the game console right now!"
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The party has gathered... mostly. Now to beat people up until the cuprit is caught!
Then again that doesn't seem to be the best plan right this second. Especially with the anti human hax being tossed about.
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Specialis Libri (http://i26.tinypic.com/2ujiljs.png)
Chapter 15
"Waaah~ I'm so tired," said a Makai soldier as they patrolled the ceilings of the realm of Makai. They flew in threes, the standard formation of a Makai squad, and they covered the outskirts of Makai, searching up and down for the intruder.
"Hush," said their leader. "You should behave more like a soldier." She was the uptight sort of person, trained specifically to keep her members in line.
Suddenly, they received a mental message from Makai headquarters. The intruder is under control. Mistress Shinki's orders are to stand down and return to point Alpha.
We read and copy, HQ, they answered.
As they flew in a curve towards their destination, one of them noticed a peculiarity not far from their position. There seemed to be two strange people standing at the edge of the Outer Cliffs of Makai. She pointed it out to their leader who only replied with a nod.
HQ, we see something strange near our position. Are we clear for recon? The leader always cared for Makai Military Protocols.
You are clear for recon, squad, came the expected answer. Gesturing to her squad members, the leader flew downwards to meet the strangers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Someone's coming," observed Shiku. She looked towards the horizon and saw the distant figures of three flying Makai soldiers. "We might get company."
"Seriously?" asked Kou crossly. "I was thinking of getting a nap or something."
The Crack behind them shimmered and pulsated as it continued to suck Makai's miasma to supply Aiki with power. Shiku made a resolute gesture as she snapped her hands. Suddenly, a thin black line appeared in front of her, quickly spreading in a zigzag motion. It resembled a slowly cracking glass.
Shiku plunged her hand into the Crack she created, like someone pulling something from a cookie jar. As she did so, numerous multicolored fragments dropped into the ground, shattering into nothingness. Taking a deep breath, Shiku withdrew her hand from within, and pulled out a long halberd nearly twice her height. It's axe-blade was too big for a normal halberd, and far heavier, but Shiku carried it like a feather.
Kou scowled. "I don't want to get dirty with fighting you know."
Throwing her a sideway glance, Shiku replied, "If it comes to fighting, just leave it to me. I'll take care of them before they even get close enough to interfere with Master's plans."
Without another word, Shiku spread out her branchlike wings and took flight to meet the approaching soldiers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yakumo Yukari," said Shinki. "I knew I've seen you somewhere before."
They were seated inside Shinki's study. Yukari was fanning herself in a petulant manner while Shinki browsed through numerous books at the shelves on the walls. Yumeko was standing beside her mistress, ready to obey any command.
"When you mentioned something about Hakurei, I remembered a shrine maiden who once invaded Makai in the past, but I guess you weren't talking about that shrine maiden," said Shinki thoughtfully. "There was another Hakurei who I dealt with in the past, almost a century ago, I think."
Yukari nodded in reply, although Shinki's back was turned. "Oh here it is, 'Hakurei Hinaka's contract with Makai (including all Contractors, all to-be born Denizens of Makai, and its Creator, Shinki)'." Shinki pulled out a very thick book with leather covers from the shelves. Using her magic, she made it fly towards her desk and opened to a specified page by itself.
Shinki sat on her seat and examined the book carefully. "I still remember this Contract. This was about her [Lease of all the Available Power in Makai]. That girl was troublesome, to be sure, but the reward was worth it. If I recall, you were present during the signing of this Contract as well." Shinki threw a glance at Yukari who only smiled behind her fan.
"Yes, I was indeed present during the ritual. The Contract was to provide Hinaka Hakurei enough power to cast the Seal of Seperation."
Nodding, Shinki replied, "Yes, I do remember the story. It was about the power shortage of Gensokyo's barrier isn't it?"
"Yes, the Barrier threatened to break at that time. Hakurei Hinaka enlisted the help of Makai and Jigoku in order to provide power to the Barrier," Yukari explained for Shinki's sake. "It was supposed that the Barrier's First Casting was a bit flawed, causing the appearance of Jigoku and Makai inside it. It caused heavy strain on the Barrier whose only purpose at the time was to keep away humans from the Outside.
"In order to prevent the barrier from breaking, Hinaka devised a spell that would redirect most of Earth's chi towards Gensokyo to fuel the Barrier's stability. In doing so, Makai and Jigoku would be sealed off from the Outside world and will coexist within the boundaries of Gensokyo. Also, the Outside world would be deprived most of its Earth chi, thus preventing the birth of new youkai outside Gensokyo that once caused the unrest that happened before the Great Youkai Expansion."
"Hinaka gathered the numerous shamans and priests inside Gensokyo in order to cast the spell. I was elected as the Overseer of the Seal. Fueled by Makai and Jigoku's power, she created the Hakurei Seal whose aim is to strengthen the primary Barrier and close off the realm of the supernatural from the Outside for eternity but--"
Shinki closed her eyes, trying to remember what happened. "The spell was so huge, so powerful, that once the seal was finished, it consumed all the lives and souls of every mortal being who casted the spell, including the young shrine maiden."
Yukari nodded. "Although she wasn't really young at the time. She was old for a human when she casted the spell."
Breaking the solemn mood, Shinki raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? She looked like a young child growing into her adulthood," said a puzzled Shinki, but Yukari only smiled.
"Regardless of the past, I need to know something about the Seal," Yukari told her. "When Hinaka made the pact with Makai and Jigoku, three items where blessed in order to make the Contract concrete. If I remember correctly, Jigoku offered the 'Heart of an Inextinguishable Flame', Hinaka offered the 'Hakurei's Greatest Treasure', and Makai offered the 'Book of Ultimate Magic'. I want to see Makai's book."
Shinki leaned on her seat and swayed to and fro, deep in thought. "Not that I'm prying, but why do you want to see it?"
"I need to see the state of the Seal. I have my reasons to believe that someone is attempting to break the Seal, and I'm trying to prevent it as early as possible," Yukari said a little cautiously. She did not want to say anything else about the Youkai incidents, for she deemed it irrelevant and would consume more time explaining.
Sighing, Shinki rose from her seat. "Well, actually, the Book isn't in my care. It was in the care of the most brilliant person in Makai; she was in charge of making and inventing magical devices of Makai that is still used up until now. When I told her I needed something to hold Makai's agreement, she told me to use that Book and begged me to return it once I was finished with it."
"Most brilliant person?"
Shinki nodded. "Yes, she's very intelligent, and always finds new ways to use Magic that I don't even understand. Her name is Sariel."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was cold, dark and empty. The place was filled with a bottomless void that no light can fill.
"Emi, and En at your service, Master," said a voice. From within the darkness, a figure appeared, glowing with her own light. "The Crack is operating as you ordered but I heard that Shiku had been discovered."
From within the darkness a young girl stepped out. She looked a girl who recently entered her two-digit years. She wore a frilly red ribbon on her short hair barely past her shoulders, and a black dress elegantly blessed with purple frills. Like Emi and En, she had golden eyes; but her eyes were always distant, looking off to some unseen horizon.
"Good job, Emi," she told them. "Shiku can take care of herself, and Kou can stop anyone who can stop Shiku."
"More like Shiku is the only one who can keep up with Kou's mouth," said Emi with a snicker. "What's your next plan, Kiyuu?"
Kiyuu shrugged. "I told you to call me, 'Master'," she sighed. "Anyway, the stupid Barrier isn't breaking at all. There's something keeping it together despite the numerous Cracks I've made on it."
"Something like glue?" Emi suggested.
"Well, if worse comes to worse, I can always get Kan to study it. But she's very unreliable, you know," said Kiyuu halfheartedly.
Emi laughed. "You made her that way! You should have thought about her reliability when you made her."
Shrugging once more, Kiyuu clapped her hands. A little voice answered back, and a little girl appeared within the darkness like Kiyuu and Emi. "Yes, Master? You called for me?"
She was like a small child, in the likeness of Gensokyo's fairies. She had two butterfly wings behind her and a long frilly dress with an embroidered eyelid sewed on it's front.
"Kan, long time no see," greeted Emi. "I thought Kiyuu stuffed you inside a Crack and left you there forever."
Kiyuu frowned at her. "What do you mean? I always play with Kan when you're not around. And I told you to call me 'Master'," she told Emi. "Anyway, get Kan inside the Barrier and make her study it so I'd know how to break it."
Emi pouted. "Whaa~t? I'm on duty again? Why can't you just take care of her yourself?"
Kiyuu mouth curled into a scowl. "I told you already, call me 'Master'. And you know that I can't stay inside the Barrier for too long. There's something about the Barrier that's fighting my existence, and I'll die if I stay inside for more than a few minutes. I want it destroyed."
Sighing in resignation, Emi dismissed herself. Kan followed her, leaving Kiyuu inside the bottomless void that no light can fill.
"I always get what I want," Kiyuu told herself. "Right?"
Right?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Who are you?" asked the leader of the three soldiers. Shiku answered them in silence as she flapped her wings and fingered her halberd absentmindedly.
They flew high above the cliffs of Makai, overlooking the Outer Cliffs that faced towards the gates to the Overworld. Shiku looked at the three soldiers and only said, "Go away, or you'll be hurt."
"Who are you? What is your purpose in Makai?" the leader asked again. "If you don't answer, you'll get hurt."
Shiku only answered by spreading her wings which emitted a golden light, temporarily blinding her opponents. She flew forward and raised her halberd to strike.
t.b.c
Sei Note # 6
Better start reading on Rei'iden's prologue...
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So ... does it have any other foreshadowing?
More importantly, did it say that the last time I read it!? :wvhittinghimself:
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Sariel!! Yaay~
Oh, and are you going to draw the rest of the OCs?? That would be really cool :)
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Sariel! I see so of her in doujins and other fanworks, so this is a big treat :V I can't wait to see where this story will go next.
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_______ ___ Note # 1
About the Great Youkai Expansion Project:
Original observation, writing and compilation of: _______ ___
More than 500 years ago, there was once made a plan to make the Greatest Nation that would ever walk the corners of the world.
This plan was called The Youkai Expansion project.
In the decade when this plan was conceived, Gensokyo had become the stronghold of humans, not the outpost that it was once created in order to supress the youkai lair located within. Because of this stronghold, youkai lost interest in fighting humans who could easily exterminate them and started to fight amongst themselves. They started eating each other, a barbarous act that was easily condemned by the stronger, wiser youkai. Often the fights between youkai would cause many calamities, such as earthquakes, pestilence and other things that humans attributed to famine and disaster.
Among the youkai, a fallen _______ conceived the Youkai Expansion project. Her name is Yakumo Yukari.
She was a former ________, but fell to disgrace after challenging the _________. However, unlike other ________, she does not despise the earth-crawling youkai and decided to live among them, and become a youkai herself.
She had the ability to manipulate Borders, an ability that is very rare, even for ___________. However, it is a very ambigous ability, something that even I cannot understand. Suffice to say that it gives her the ability to create 'walls' in every levels of reality; physical, mental, ideal, and metaphysical. This walls have great potential for power, something that Yakumo realizes and exploits in varying manners.
In this case, Yakumo decided to exploit her ability by creating a border around Gensokyo; it redirected existing spiritual energy in the surrounding mountain side and give the youkai more power within Gensokyo. However, it drained the existing natural energy in the surroundings, thus the youkai that lived around Gensokyo felt the draining powers as well. Inconvenienced by this, the youkai who lived around Gensokyo migrated to Gensokyo itself, and it became a rally point of the youkai.
However, shortly after the creation of this Border, the youkai discovered that the humans also benefited from the creation of this Border. Immediately after the creation of this Border, there were many humans residing within or near Gensokyo who were born with spiritual powers, even from humans who had no apparent lineage. Because of this, the youkai became afraid and the youkai attacks on humans at the Gensokyo stronghold began to start in earnest.
It was not long before this that Yakumo stepped into the battlefield and told the youkai to stop attacking. Her reasons were not given (it was speculated that humans gaining powers were part of her plan after all), but the youkai stopped attacking, just as Yakumo told them.
What was she planning?
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 16
Contracts were once the lifeblood of the demons of Makai. Contracts provided souls, the source of power that is very essential to their existence. Contractors, the demons who offered contracts of power to the humans in exchange for their souls, were considered a past legacy of Makai.
There was once a Contractor who was known for offering contracts to multiple humans, and harvesting them all at once, even if it wasn't their time for payment yet. Her 'harvest' brought such large amount of souls that it filled Makai to near infinite amount of power.
However, there was an unseen side effect of using a huge amount of human souls in order to gain power; it was the Miasma of Makai. The miasma, the solid crystallization of souls that forms when a Contracted human soul is brought into Makai, is a great source of power; but it will weaken mortals if they are exposed to it in long periods. In concentrated amounts, it is sufficient to drive a demon to insanity, causing it to become destructive and lustful for power.
But that's not all. Anyone who are exposed to it developed a dependency to human souls, and felt the need to consume large amount of human souls.
The Contractor I spoke of earlier, because of her habit of bringing huge amount of souls to Makai in short periods, was often exposed to large amounts of Makai's miasma. Needless to say, she became mad and was driven out of Makai.
Exiled from Makai, she wandered in the human world, and harvested souls and kept them for herself, becoming more and more powerful as she ate her fill of souls. However, anyone growing in power are liable to be sought out by other powerful people for their own purposes...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice shook her head in exasperation. "Well, whatever your story's gonna be, you better tell it soon." A doll holding a small wicker lamp came out to brighten up the dark night.
(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/7321/kanm.png)
Marisa stretched and yawned, despite of the number of people around. "It's better to do it inside your house," she replied. "And I'm tired from fighting too."
"The rat speaks sense, Alice," said Patchouli curtly. "It would be great if we can sit inside your house and talk."
Alice suddenly noticed Patchouli. "What are you doing here? I don't remember inviting people over at this time of the night." Alice gazed at Reimu who was whispering something to Patchouli.
"I invited her over," Reimu told Alice. "She won't stay around long though."
"I'm here too," said Rinnosuke. "We heard a commotion and I got dragged along."
"The man from the shop is here too," said Alice. "Why are you all here?"
Marisa shrugged. "Beats me. Reimu's the one doing the inviting. Anyway, can't we go inside your house already? I'm going to catch a cold at this rate."
"I thought you only get the flu?" asked Reimu lightheartedly.
Alice sighed in resignation. "Well, whatever. It's already messed up inside, anyway--" She halted in midsentence when she noticed the girl beside Marisa.
"You're...Ellen, is that you?" asked Alice, her voice almost a whisper.
Rinnosuke brightened up. "So you know her? She helped me out from a youkai earlier, but she seemed to be very forgetful. She can't even tell me her name."
Alice approached the girl beside Marisa who only smiled back at her. "You're definitely Ellen," Alice concluded. "Anyway, you said something about a youkai earlier."
Nodding, Rinnosuke told her about his meeting with the youkai and being saved by the girl called Ellen.
"What were you doing in the rain?" asked Marisa. "You won't even come out of your shop in a bright sunny day."
Looking sadly at her doorpost, Alice invited them inside her house. "It's no use talking here outside. My house is messed up though, so I beg your pardon if you trip on something."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They sat inside Alice's living room, although most of them were actually standing. The room was thrashed, probably from Luna Child's wild fumbling earlier. Sunny Milk was still sleeping at some corner of the room, still with a star apple on her mouth.
Alice was surprised to see the sleeping fairy inside her living room. She did not notice her at once because it was dark, and not until Marisa tripped on her was her presence became known. Marisa related the fairy's story about the youkai attacks and their meeting, introducing the other two fairies as well.
"I kind of owe them some thanks though," said Marisa thoughtfully. "If the one with the blue dress didn't wake me up, I'd probably be inside the youkai's stomach by now."
Rinnosuke was sipping his cup of tea which Reimu prepared while they fixed the Alice's living room into some sort of order. Patchouli was silently scanning the room up and down, only putting an ear out to listen to Marisa's story.
After Marisa finished her story about defeating the youkai, Rinnosuke related his adventure about the youkai and his redemption.
"But what I am more curious about is why you were out in the first place," said Marisa curiously.
"I was...picking up some wild roots," Rinnosuke lied. I shouldn't tell them anything about Yakumo yet, since it seems that she didn't bother telling them at all.
"There are a lot of wild plant life inside the forest," Patchouli said at last. "I guess it was of utmost urgency that you had to go out in the rain for some roots." Reimu handed her a cup of tea which Patchouli sipped slowly.
Rinnosuke looked at her. "Yes, magician. It was of utmost importance."
There was a moment of awkward silence, and everyone was reluctant to talk.
"Anyway, you said you know the girl with Rinnosuke," Reimu said to break the silence. Alice nodded.
"She's Ellen. She took care of me once when I got into trouble some time ago. She lived around here, but I don't see her often. Ellen's a kind person, but she's really forgetful."
"Forgetful's an understatement," said Marisa. "How forgetful can you be to forget your name?"
Ellen was playing with the two fairies with some childish variation of tag. She seemed oblivious that she was the object of the conversation.
"She doesn't look very bright either," observed Reimu.
Alice shrugged. "She may look like that, but she's pretty good with magic." She glanced at Marisa who only nodded.
"She still looks a little odd, though," said Marisa.
"What I want to know is why the youkai are acting strangely," Patchouli chided in. "It's altogether odd and unprecedented. And there is this red mist, as well. I believe that the mist comes from Makai, although I'm not an expert in such matters."
Alice frowned. "I'm from Makai, you know." Patchouli shrugged.
"Regardless, the mist itself is not a problem. It's not particularly dangerous to humans, as long as we can trace the source of the mist at once," said Patchouli. "What I'm interested in is the contaminant that is floating along with it."
"Contaminant?" asked Alice. Everyone, except for Ellen and the two fairies were intently listening.
"I believe that Reimu, the rat, and you are acquainted with Makai, am I correct?" Patchouli asked Alice.
"Yes, I've been there before," nodded Reimu.
"I lived there for some time," replied Alice.
"It's a pretty musty place," said Marisa. "And stop calling me rat already."
Patchouli ignored Marisa. "Makai is the world of spiritual beings that men call 'demons'. They have magical powers, fueled by the miasma of Makai. The miasma itself is special, able to amplify magical powers and spells."
"I've read that from some books," said Rinnosuke. "Although I'm not altogether knowledgeable about it, Makai is a good place to train magic."
Nodding, Patchouli continued. "The miasma seeping out here in Gensokyo is thin, it is possibly being used by a magician of some sort." She reached out inside her violet robes and brought out a small pouch. "I took a sample of the miasma on the way here."
She opened the pouch and poured some violet powder on her palm. "This is the contaminant that I'm talking about. It's a spell of some sort, assuming a powder form to spread in the air easily. I assumed that this is what's causing the unrest with the youkai."
Marisa laughed bleakly as she edged away from Patchouli. "Hey, are you sure that it's safe to bring that stuff here?"
Patchouli frowned. "Foolish rat, of course I've done precautions to avoid any accidents. This powder has been already neutralized by my spell. I'm going to study it later."
"Can I have some of that?" asked Alice. Patchouli poured some of the powder to Alice's outstretched palm. Alice took a small empty vial from a nearby drawer and poured it inside. "I'm going to conduct some research about it too. I might have some books about this powder."
Reimu glanced at Patchouli who returned her glance with a wink. "Speaking of books, I came here actually to find a certain volume from your collection," Patchouli told Alice. She stood up and took Alice by the arm. Surprised by Patchouli's outgoing behavior, Alice was helplessly ushered out of her living room by Patchouli.
Marisa caught the silent exchange between Reimu and Patchouli. "What are you up to, Reimu? It's scary when Patchouli becomes surprisingly pushy like that."
Reimu put a finger on her mouth. "It's about what happened to Alice earlier. Patchouli told me that she wanted to get Alice's special book, but I gathered that Alice won't lend that book easily."
Lost in the exchange between Reimu and Marisa, Rinnosuke scratched his head. "What are you two talking about? This better not be another bother."
Quickly relating Reimu's exorcism of Alice, Rinnosuke was unconsciously hanging his mouth half open when Reimu finished.
"A possession?" asked Rinnosuke incredulously. "That girl is possessed?"
"Was possessed," Reimu corrected. "I exorcised it without much trouble. However, Patchouli told me that there was more to it, saying something about Contractors, and such."
"So you need Alice's grimoire?" asked Marisa. "She probably keeps it inside her bedroom drawer."
"How do you know?" asked Rinnosuke suspiciously.
Marisa shrugged and smiled mischievously. "I have my ways of finding stuff."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh, I really don't like this at all," said Kan. "Are you sure that we should be here?"
Emi stepped out of the black nothingness behind her and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the Crack behind her began to close, leaving no trace of it behind.
They were standing inside the Forest of Magic, looking around curiously. "I think it's dangerous here," said Kan nervously.
"Oh don't worry," assured Emi. "Nothing will probably eat you in here."
"E-e-eat?" Kan replied. She was teary-eyed and glanced around nervously at her surroundings.
They started walking around the Forest. Red miasma was already spreading through the trees. Emi shook her head.
"What are we looking for anyway?" asked Kan. "Master told me something about studying a barrier, but I don't know what she's talking about."
"I don't know, actually," replied Emi. "Our best bet would be to find Aiki first. She probably knows the place better than we do."
"We're gonna look for big sis?"
Before Emi could answer, the ground began to rumble violently. From behind them, trees began to shake as a bright ray of light shone through the branches. They turned around to look at the light.
"W-w-what is that?" asked Kan nervously. The light did not blind them, they can see well in the extremely dark and extremely bright places.
"I don't know, but it sounds big," replied Emi calmly. "Better wait for it to come, we probably won't be able to outrun it. I don't want to open another Crack so quickly."
Kan was shaking nervously and clutched Emi's arm tightly. Emi was looking at the source of the light that seem to approach closer and closer. The rumbling became more violent, and Emi could hear trees falling down.
"Huh, isn't that the sound of an engine?" Emi observed. She heard a rhythmical thumping sound like a train engine.
Suddenly, a huge vehicle broke through the trees before them. It was big and metallic, and from what Emi could make out, it was painted red.
"Is it just me, or does it look like a tank?" Emi asked aloud.
"A t-t-tank?" cried Kan, bursting into tears with fright.
The vehicle had a huge barrel jutting out from what should be its turret. Leaves and branches were stuck on its exterior, possible because of running the tank inside a forest.
There was a knocking sound from the inside, and a face came out from the top of the tank.
"Hey, what's the big idea, standing around like idiots in the middle of the forest?" called out a girl's voice crossly. "I'm gonna run you over if you don't get out of my way!"
Emi winced at the girl's call. "Isn't it a bit more awkward that you're driving a tank in the middle of a forest?" she asked the girl. "And like, why do you even have a tank in the first place?"
The girl jumped down from her tank and approached Emi. She was a young girl nearly as tall as Emi. "I can drive my tank wherever I want to, that's what. So, what do you want, stepping into my secret territory?"
"Secret territory?"
"Hey! I'm the one asking questions!" said the girl crossly. She frowned at Emi and pointed a finger at her. "I bet you're from that Shrine Maiden's army, out to fight me!"
"Er, I don't know what you're talking about exactly," said Emi awkwardly. "But I certainly don't know any shrine maiden."
The girl looked at Emi carefully before stepping away. "Anyway, you've been into my domain, and that's trespassing. I'm gonna have to hold you captive for a while."
Suddenly, a number of small, black spherical things came out of the tank behind the girl. The round flying things sprouted wings and started to surround Emi and Kan.
"E-e-eh~?" said Kan. "What are you going to do with us?"
The flying objects shot out a net from a small hole in their hull, entrapping the two. Kan screamed fearfully as they were lifted up by the flying things into the air. The girl went back inside her tank which geared into reverse as it backed up into the thicker part of the forest. The flying objects followed the tank, carrying Emi and Kan with them.
"What are we going to do?" asked Kan.
"Oh, we'll be fine," said Emi. "At the very least, we can let her carry us around instead of walking around aimlessly." Emi whistled a happy tune, ignoring Kan's teary-eyed face looking around in fear.
t.b.c
Kiyuu Note # 8
悲の完
The Requiem of Grief
哀気 (あいき)
Aiki
Species: Creation
Ability: Manipulation of emotions and ______
My second Creation ever since she left me. She was born from my desire to understand people. But I guess that was a mistake. I can never understand other people, and it's far easier to control them instead. People are so hard to understand, why can't I just tell them what to do for me? Good thing that most people are easily swayed by fragile emotions. As long as I can control these emotions, no human can touch me.
Aiki is very carefree, and I've never seen her in a serious mood.
Sei Note # 7
Sometimes a post (or an earlier post) has a huge difference between the Posted and the Edited date. I wonder what that means?
-
Hm... Perhaps a final revelation about the book is close. And Rika here is crazy awesome. I wonder how many tanks she has?
Anyway now to hunt through previous posts in my spare time to see what changed (if I can remember it that well....)
-
Ellen is behind everything. I just know it.
Also, moemoe Kan~
Regarding your note #7 - Maybe I'll catch something when I reread the entire thing. I like keeping up every time you post new stuff, but after you finish, I'm definitely going to reread the whole thing in one go. It's gonna be epic.
-
Yeah ... Rika is an awesome addition to things.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 17
Makai is comprised of limitless amount of dark corners in which its denizen lurk. With the land's maddening beauty, it's easy to be entranced, to be ensnared by its unworldly beauty. It promises many sights to be seen, many places to behold.
Aside from the crystalline fortress of Pand?monium, there is another place in Makai which is also considered a seat of power. It is the great Archive of Makai, a tall crystal tower located in the middle of a bottomless chasm of the Abyss. It is suspended in the air by deceptively thin filaments, whose strength are like the foundations of Makai itself.
Yukari and Shinki landed gracefully on a violet platform atop the tower. They faced a huge blue gate, decorated with twisting designs of magical symbols and insignia. However, Yukari felt a hint of power, the ornaments were not mere pleasantries; the gate was protected by a strong magical lock.
They were immediately attended by what Yukari assumed to be as servants. They suddenly appeared from thin air, as if coming out from a teleportation spell. Raising an eyebrow, Yukari noted that they were all uniformly dressed in blue robes. The servants formed a straight line and bowed in greeting.
"I wish to speak to Sariel, at once if she could," Shinki said to one of the servants. At her word, the giant gate began to open and the servants bid them to follow. They were led to a winding staircase that spiraled down into the darkness. Yukari attended it with some curiosity before stepping down upon it.
After a minute of walking, they arrived at the bottom--a corridor that led into a large viewing chamber.
The servants invited them to take a seat upon a soft couch inside the chamber and told them to wait patiently. Immediately, a servant brought a tray of hot tea for them to sip.
Looking around, Yukari saw that the room was ornately furnished. The room was quite large, with red drapes hanging on the blue walls and paneled windows. There were golden candle stands that were alight with an eerie blue flame, casting a pallid blue light inside the room. Yukari leaned tentatively on the couch, ignoring Shinki's delightful hums as she sipped some tea.
"Makai is quite extravagant, it seems," said Yukari lightheartedly.
Shinki nodded. "Yes it does. Though I don't care much for pleasantries like these. I just like some free time from work from time to time."
"So, the Goddess of Makai is busy with work?" Yukari replied sheepishly.
"More than you'll ever know." Shinki sighed. "It's just that, everyone depends on me that I don't have time for myself. I need to sign paperwork for requests, for development, review the economical work rates of Makai, and things I didn't imagine I'd be troubled with when I created Makai. I guess I'm just using you as an excuse to get out of Pand?monium."
Yukari laughed softly. "So the Creator of Makai is too busy with paperwork?"
Shinki shrugged. "Well, the only one who has the power to do it is me, so I can't complain. And I did create Makai, I have a responsibility for it. Call it duty, if you must."
Suddenly, one of the blue robed servants appeared before them and told them that Sariel will see them in her chambers. Instantly, Yukari felt a shift in space around them as a teleportation spell was casted.
They found themselves inside a gigantic circular chamber. The room was lighted by a floating ball of blue light that drifted uneasily above them and Yukari could see mile-high bookshelves, filled with tomes of magical spells and rituals around them. There were scattered books, scrolls and quills--in short, it was a messy room.
There was a flapping sound, and blue feathers fell around them. The servant beside them bowed and disappeared as a winged figure began to descend from the darkness of the ceiling. It had three pairs of bluish-white wings and dressed in blue robes. The figure had long blue hair that waved gracefully in flight.
The figure landed in front of them and bowed.
"My name is Sariel, the Keeper of the Magics of Makai. I personally welcome you to the Gates of Knowledge, the Archive of Makai."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice's room was a bit disheveled, but was in a relative state of neatness in comparison to the rest of her house.
"Well, it's a lot neater than your bed, I think," said Reimu sheepishly.
"I leave my bed quite neatly," Marisa told her. They were inside Alice's room, looking for Alice's Grimoire. "Hey, there's a lot of books here that I've never seen before."
Marisa was whistling as she fingered the books on the shelves beside Alice's desk. She subconsciously memorized the titles and was about to take one when Reimu coughed.
"You're getting distracted, Marisa. Remember what we're here for," Reimu reminded her. "We need to find the book first, so we can get some clue about what is happening to Alice." Reimu was rummaging through drawers, but only found clothing and everyday needs.
Marisa shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't trust Patchouli's judgment in general. I mean, I just don't believe Alice's Grimoire would be the book where a powerful demon was sealed. It's just too far-fetched."
Shaking her head, Reimu answered, "Well, we'll still need the book to find out if Patchouli was right, anyway."
"Anyway, what are you doing with Alice's clothes?" asked Marisa. "Intelligence says that the book was in her bedroom drawer."
Reimu immediately closed the drawer containing Alice's drawers and smiled slightly. "Just a little curious, is all."
Turning around, Marisa looked at Alice's study table and spotted a drawer with a keyhole. She pulled it, and was surprised to find it unlocked. However, it was empty.
"Hmm, it's not here," said Marisa. "Well, there goes my intelligence."
"Did she bring it with her?" asked Reimu.
"Not that I'm aware of. If I remember correctly, I haven't seen her holding the book since last night's attack."
"Where could it be, then?"
Suddenly, there was a rhythmical clanging sound of a bell. It was distant, but it echoed throughout the night. As if in answer, there was a choir of inhuman screams that tore the silence of the Forest.
"What was that?" asked Marisa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The human village was in chaos. Panicking humans ran around in fear as the authorities tried to restore some sort of order. A group of exterminators were trying to calm the panicked villagers to no avail. Kotohime and Keine arrived at the village square at the sound of the alarming bells.
"What the heck just happened?" Kotohime asked an exterminator.
The exterminator shook his head. "There was a group of people attacking our men indiscriminately. They set fire to some houses and we're currently evacuating them, but everyone is panicking."
"A group of people?" asked Keine incredulously.
"Yes, they are currently at the northern part of the village. They are armed, and our exterminators are trying to hold them off."
Without another word, Keine rushed off towards the North quarter of the village. Kotohime shook her head, and followed her.
The village alarms continued to ring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kotohime and Keine slowed down when they heard the sounds of fighting. Turning at the corner into of a well used road, they saw a group of people fighting. Exterminators were fighting against armed villagers who attacked with devilish frenzy.
"They're humans!" exclaimed Keine.
"I know," replied Kotohime in a troubled tone.
The attacking villagers were armed with kitchen knives, farming sickles and other common bladed objects. Their eyes glowed with ferocious frenzy, like a wounded wild animal.
"Miss Keine!" An exterminator caught up from behind them. "Another group of armed people appeared at the eastern quarter!"
"Are they villagers too?" asked Keine. The exterminator nodded.
"There are also some isolated villagers that have started to behave wildly too," continued the exterminator. "At this rate the village will--"
There was an explosion at the other end of the village. The dawn sky was beginning to become painted red with the sunrise.
It promised a troubling day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2016/koub.png)
~Paint the sky red with fire, paint the ground red with blood
Paint it red, paint it red, paint the town red
Paint it until the blood starts to flood,
Paint it until bodies become your bed,
And make sure that the crows are fed~
Aiki was standing atop a branch of an old tree by the Kirisame estate. She was singing a song, a skill that she is proud off. As she sang, her voice resonated with the Emotion pellets she scattered within the red mist earlier, amplifying the state of fear and chaos within Gensokyo.
"Well, some humans seem to be unaffected," Aiki observed quietly. She watched the scrambling exterminators who tried to detain the rebelling villagers. "No matter, as long as they keep each other company, my job is being done nicely."
"Well, time to move on to the third part of the plan," she said to herself. She jumped down from the tree and into a gaping Crack underneath. The Crack closed, leaving no trace of her behind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In front of Alice's house, a lone doll was lying quietly in the soft grass. It was the doll that hung onto Luna Child when she was too curious inside Alice's bedroom. It wore an elaborate black dress with white trimmings at the hem and sleeves.
Suddenly, it began to move. It turned its head this way first, and then that way. It moved stiffly, limited by the hard joints of it's body.
From somewhere within the bushes, there was a faint meowing sound. Out popped a creamy white cat from the bushes. It sat near the doll and sniffed it curiously. The doll turned it's head towards the cat who nearly jumped with fright.
The doll tried to stand, but it was hindered by a broken leg joint--it was probably broken from the force of its fall from the youkai attack earlier. It could only totter a bit before falling flatly once more upon the ground.
The cat watched the doll with it's ceaseless efforts. Finally gaining the courage to approach the unnatural object, the cat picked up the doll--biting it's dress and carrying it like a naughty kitten.
t.b.c
Kiyuu Note # 9
幸コントローラー
Controller of Happiness
笑 (えみ)
Emi
Species: Creation
Abilities: Manipulation of ________ and Desire
My third Creation ever since she left. Possibly the laziest of all my creations, she is the only one (along with Shiku and Aiki) who can make Cracks like mine.
She's very carefree and laidback, even more than my Aiki.
Although her power to manipulate people's desire is a dangerous ability (I made her that way so she can help Aiki), she's still unreliable.
And she never calls me Master. How many times should I tell her to call me Master?
-
Sariel ffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuu I'm so happy
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 18
"Makai is the source of many magic spells and rituals. Arguably, it is also thought to be the source of all magical knowledge of humans." Sariel led Yukari and Shinki through the vast interior of the archive. Along the walls were ebony bookshelves filled with countless tomes of magic. Yukari ignored them, but Shinki looked at the book names and ran her finger across them.
"Most of the books here are written by you, isn't it?" asked Shinki.
"Most, but not all. Some of them were written by my apprentices as well." They stopped in front of a nearby bookshelf. "Going on to more important matters, you were looking for a specific book, correct?"
"It's the book that was used in a Contract with a human named Hakurei Hinaka," said Shinki.
Sariel nodded. "Ah, that book. It was a powerful book, no doubt. In fact, it was the only book that I believed to be able to handle that much amount of power without being consumed by itself. Unfortunately, that book is no longer in my care."
"How so?" asked Yukari impatiently.
Snapping her fingers, a crystal rod appeared in Sariel's hand which she waved about in the air. From the rod's end, a thin mist appeared which gathered up in density until it became almost opaque. Sariel began to talk, and images formed inside the mist, like a window to another time's events.
"Some years ago, this archive was broken into by a certain individual that the Mistress knows very well. Somehow, she was able to get past the security barriers of this structure and came to most guarded vault of this archive. She was able to break the seals of the vault, and came to possess the Book of Ultimate Magic, the Makai's Grimoire."
Inside the mist above Sariel's rod, they saw a young girl break through the Archive, dodge through the magical security until she arrived at the innermost part of the archive.
"That girl looks familiar," said Yukari musingly. "I'm pretty sure she looks like the doll maker in the Forest."
Shinki's demeanor became more serious after Sariel's story. "So, the book that Alice took was the Makai's Grimoire? I knew it was a book, but I didn't know it was that book."
Shrugging, Sariel answered, "I believe that you assistant, Yumeko, was the one who conspired to keep certain details about the girl's theft secret. As far as I am concerned, the return of the book would be appreciated greatly."
"Anyway, it would seem that my time in Makai was wasted," sighed Yukari. "But it's a great help now that I know where to find it."
Shinki nodded, but her dark demeanor did not settle. "If it's that book...darn, maybe I was a little too laid back indeed."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the east, the sun began to rise. Aiki watched it from her spot atop the tree, and saw the fruits of her labors.
To cast unease among the citizens of this place. To turn them against each other and let their strength be thwarted by their own.
She watched the sun rise, and saw that all was good.
In the distant mountains, the sun continued to rise quietly to chase away the dawn. However, instead of the great fiery ball, the sun seemed to be stricken with a black color, like unlit coal. It continued to give off light, but it was greatly dimmed, as if it was ill with some grave disease.
To cut off this world from the astral plane, to be able to use it for our goals.
So far, so good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After hearing the great clamor around the Forest, Marisa and Reimu was alarmed by the shouts of little voices outside the room.
"There are enemies coming!"
Star Sapphire shouted like a klaxon, arresting the attention of everyone inside Alice's house. Without another word, Reimu and Marisa rushed outside, followed by the others.
The air felt heavy, and the thin fog from earlier seemed to be gathering in thickness. It wasn't enough to obscure vision, but it was more noticeable. Reimu and Marisa were looking around, anticipating danger.
There was movement from the trees, and Marisa took out her Hakkero in case of danger. Suddenly, a fairy popped out from the shrubbery and launched itself at them, teeth bared like a ferocious animal. Before Marisa can react, Reimu threw a talisman which flew straight into the fairy's face. Upon contact, the fairy screamed in pain and vanished with a pop.
However, as the fairy vanished, a dozen fairies came out of the trees, all of them gazing at them with a frenzied stare.
"Hmm, I wonder if they had breakfast yet," said Marisa. "They sure don't look happy."
"Come to think of it," said Reimu. "I haven't had any breakfast too."
From Alice's house, the others rushed out and saw the encircling rabid fairies.
"What's going on here?" demanded Alice. "Is this your doing, Marisa?"
Marisa sighed. "Why is it that I'm always the target for blame?"
"Given the history of a rat, a rat will always be a rat,' said Patchouli with sarcasm.
From within the Forest, more and more fairies came out and formed a tight circle around them.
"What's going on with them?" asked Luna. "They weren't like that a few days ago."
As they spoke, more and more fairies came out from the forest, but they did not attack.
"What are they waiting for?" said Marisa.
"Hmm, they seem to be waiting to gather enough numbers to ensure that we do not defeat or escape them. It would be wise to attack before they achieve such numbers," said Patchouli.
"That's troublesome," said Reimu as she threw a bundle of talismans in the air to exterminate the fairies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were inside a vast chamber inside Rika's hideout which also served as a hangar for her vehicle.
"Within the vast Forest of Magic, there is a small stone structure that was often ignored by the nearby denizens. It was irregularly shaped, and could easily pass of as a mere boulder by unwary eyes.
"However, this same boulder is also the entrance to Rika's Underground Fortress, home of the machine workshop of Rika!"
"Er...who are you talking to?" asked Kan.
Rika was standing atop her tank, hands at her hips as she said aloud her exposition. Behind her were Emi and Kan, imprisoned inside a wooden cage which was hung in midair. It was suspended by a wooden arm connected to the tank.
"You two, of course. Behold what genius can do!" said Rika proudly.
"It isn't much of a shop though," thought Emi aloud. "Since it looks like you're the only one using it."
Rika turned around and frowned at her two prisoners. "Well, it's because I'm the only one who is good enough to use it," she told them. "It's just that simple."
"Is that so?" said Emi with lack of enthusiasm. More importantly, I think she can be useful if I can just learn more about her. She seems to be a lot like some humans in Kiyuu's school, I think she can be very useful to us.
"Hey, when do you plan to release us from this cage?" asked Emi. "It's not altogether comfortable inside here."
Rika snapped her fingers and Emi's cage began to shake. The wooden arm holding their prison began to move in a clockwise motion and soon they were no longer above the tank, but hung around six feet above the ground.
"Hey, what the--" Emi started to say, but the wooden flooring of the cage suddenly retracted downwards and they fell towards the hard floor.
Kan immediately took flight with her small insect wings while Emi hit the floor with a loud thud. Landing gently beside Emi, Kan helped Emi to get back on her feet. Above them, Rika jumped down from her tank and landed beside them.
"Be glad that I freed you, but if you touch anything or do some funny business inside my base, then it's off to the dungeon with you," said Rika.
Emi rubbed her sore bottom, not really paying attention to Rika. "Well, I'm not really interested in your base but--"
Suddenly, there was a loud honking sound that came from the high ceilings. A metallic voice began to speak from some unseen speakers from the chamber.
(http://i35.tinypic.com/2uggjud.png)
"Mistress Rika, we have detected a huge number of intruders on our perimeter. They are suspected to be hostile, release of the "Type Ghost" soldiers is recommended."
"Mistress Rika?" snorted Emi. Wow, she's got some ego.
Rika ignored her and whistled loudly. At her signal, a small car began to approach them from the far end of the room. It looked like a typical car, except that it's wheels were made of wood rimmed with iron spikes, and it's body was made mostly out of wood.
Wasting no time, Rika hopped onto the vehicle and drove it towards her base interior, leaving her two former captives behind.
"What are we going to do?" asked Kan. "She told us not to touch anything, or we'll be thrown inside the dungeon."
"Well, I guess we should follow her," Emi told her. She stretched her arms and began to walk leisurely inside the dark hideout.
t.b.c
Kiyuu Note # 10
苦痛死 の瞳
Eye of Painful Death
死苦(しく)
Shiku
Species: Creation
Ability: To Control pain of Self and Others
My fourth Creation. She is the most quiet of all my creations, and the most reliable.
Her ability is to manipulate pain. As long as she can see a person, they are subject to her power. She channels pain through the senses, starting with the sense of sight and traveling towards the sense of touch.
Because of her ability, she is numb from pain. She cannot feel pain, and therefore, she does not feel any sympathy to my enemies.
-
Huh, so it was the Grimoire that Alice took. For a couple of passages I'd almost been convinced that it was a different book. And there's a fairy army just in time for fairy wars.
I'm still enjoying this immensely. Always a pleasure to see it updated.
-
I'm imagining all the faeries going 'rabble rabble! rabble rabble!'
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 19
"Well, I don't recall fairies being these annoying," said Marisa through short burst of breaths.
"I wonder if they're here for some tea?" asked Ellen in a sweet tone. "I didn't bring any tea with me, though."
"I like coffee better though," said Luna, striking the conversation. "It feels kind of more mature."
"But tea is sweeter, I think," Reimu countered. "Coffee is bitter and hard to put to taste."
"They say tea is a reflection of life," Patchouli added. "Coffee might be the reflection of tea, then."
Rinnosuke shook his head. "I don't want to sound depressing or anything, but these fairies don't look friendly enough for tea."
"They're many," said Star Sapphire. "I think all our former neighbors are here too."
The onslaught of attacks by the fairies were not life threatening, in singular terms; however, in multitudes they are like sand grains that threaten to bury you alive. As the fairies threw small energy projectiles toward Reimu and the others, Reimu chanted a prayer of purification around them.
[Dream Sign] Duplex Barrier
A scarlet globe surrounded Reimu which dispelled all the enemy's attacks against them.
"Come here!" Reimu told the others. "Just don't bunch up on me, though," she added.
As the globes of energy came closer, Marisa and the others jumped inside the globe for protection. The enemy's bullets dissipated as they came to contact to Reimu's barrier.
"You're getting better at making barriers, Reimu," noted Rinnosuke. "You're training hard?"
"Not really," said Reimu lightly. "It's not worth the trouble anyway."
Smiling, Marisa aimed her Hakkero and tried to focus once more. Gathering energy, she fired another Master Spark at the swarm of fairies around them. As Marisa finished her attack, she heard Patchouli shout the end of her incantation.
[Sun Sign] Royal Flare
Above them, a great fiery ball appeared and began to expand. Fairies were consumed to nothingness as the fireball gained size, and the onslaught was temporarily stopped.
"There's more of them coming," said Star Sapphire. "It's like they're endless!"
As if jinxed by Sapphire, more fairies appeared from the trees, waiting just out of range from Patchouli's spell.
"They are quite smart for fairies, very interesting," Patchouli noted. "I wonder if the contaminant is also giving them a higher class of intelligence?"
Alice raised her arms as numerous dolls emerged from within her sleeves. Flying in circles, they caught fire from Patchouli's spell, and Alice directed the burning dolls toward the pack of fairies. They exploded in a flurry of blasts, casting confusion in their enemy's ranks.
"Very impressive, using my spell to enhance your doll techniques," remarked Patchouli.
"You do put gunpowder on your dolls," observed Marisa. "I thought you were just joking about the gunpowder back then."
"Joke around later," said Alice as she called out a rank of dolls. Armed with short rapiers, they flew towards the confused enemies and attacked. Patchouli's spell started to die down, and she was already chanting her second spell.
"You know, I wish I could fight while holding this barrier up," said Reimu. "You three seem to be having a lot of fun."
With Marisa, Alice and Patchouli's combined efforts, the fairies started to scatter in retreat. As they retreated into the depths of the forest, Marisa audibly sighed in relief. "I was almost sure that they weren't going to stop."
"Well, they did stop though," said Alice. "But if these are just fairies, I don't want to meet a rabid youkai in these numbers."
"At any rate, your house is far from safe," Patchouli told her. She assessed the surrounding area and nodded to herself. "We need to find a place where we can rest and plan--I understand that most of us here haven't slept well since last night."
Marisa brightened up. "How about--"
"Not my library, Marisa," Patchouli sighed. "At the very least, we shouldn't stay here. Those fairies will probably come back."
"How about Kourin's house?" suggested Marisa. "Though I don't think we're gonna fit at all with his stuff though."
Rinnosuke coughed away Marisa's remark. "My house is near the Forest too, so I doubt it would make much difference to your house, Marisa."
"Rinnosuke's house is cleaner though," added Reimu. "Well, you can all stay in my shrine until we can think off something."
They all looked at Reimu, staring at her as if she said something unusual. "Er--why are you all looking at me like that?"
Marisa shook her head. "You don't usually invite people to your shrine," she told Reimu. "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"It's not like we have any other choice now," said Alice. "Reimu's shrine would be far safer at the moment."
Sighing, Marisa looked at the steadily brightening sky. The sun is still hiding in the mountains.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You really have no sense of subtlety, don't you?" Kou cried out to Shiku. Shiku ignored her, as usual, and continued to attack as she shrugged off the incoming wave of attacks.
From their first encounter with the Makai soldiers, numerous dispatches of reinforcements have arrived and been taken cared of by Shiku. However, with only two of them, they were soon surrounded by Makai's military and driven to a defensive stance.
Spells rained down on them, and Kou was busily dodging through the barrage of explosions. Shiku stood her ground however, as someone immune to pain. Raising her hands, the silky 'eyes' hanging on her wings began to glow with an eerie golden light.
"Watch out!" one of the Makai captains shouted. A golden shockwave emanated from Shiku, diffusing outwards, expanding as it raced towards the ranks off Makai soldiers. As the shockwave hit the soldiers in the frontmost lines, the soldiers dropped from the air, writhing in pain and agony.
However, almost immediately, medics at the back of the enemy lines were already doing a counterspell against Shiku's attacks, curing them almost immediately, even before they hit the stone floors of Makai.
"We're not getting anywhere are we?" asked Shiku to Kou.
"Oh, did you notice?" replied Kou as rudely as she could. She was flying loops in the air, dodging the elemental festival of attacks. "And it's not like we can fight them 'two on who-knows-how-many'."
Shiku nodded calmly. "Very true, but we have to hold them off until we are relieved by our Master."
"Or get killed first," muttered Kou glumly. She did a hovering pass towards the enemies, unleashing a yellow ball from her palm and throwing it to the enemies. However, it dissipated almost instantly when it hit. "Why aren't my attacks working?"
"Your attacks are based on the concept of Fear," said Shiku. "However, our enemies aren't afraid at all, so you are pretty useless."
"Rub it in, why don't you?" Kou replied through gritted teeth. "Can't you think of something to take them out all at once?"
A bolt of energy struck Shiku at the chest. The force dragged her down from the air and momentarily impaled her on the stone floor before the bolt dissipated. There was loud cheering from the ranks of Makai soldiers.
Kou flew down towards Shiku who lay still on the ground. "Hey! Don't tell me you're going to die on me!"
Coughing once, Shiku struggled clumsily to stand. "That was a miscalculation," said Shiku calmly through coughs of blood. Her clothes were drenched with blood, and her chest wound was deep. Her face were splattered with droplets of blood from the force of the attack, but Shiku breathed normally, as if she just woke up. Blinking twice, Shiku raised her hands and unleashed another wave of pain towards the enemies. "I'm fine as long as I don't get hit like that again," she told Kou.
"You're a real cockroach, aren't you?" sighed Kou. "Just don't die on me, it's going to be a real bother explaining it to Master if you do."
"Do not worry, I have no intention of dying here," said Shiku in the same calm voice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Makai captain was in shock. Her bolt never failed to miss its target, and never will, as she believed. It was a spell of her own device, made specifically to follow the beat of her enemy's heart.
It was a killing blow. She was supposed to be dead. And yet, the winged stranger who just survived a piercing blow to the heart just shrugged it off and continued to fight.
The cheering cries of the other Makai soldiers died down as they saw the resolute faces of their two enemies. The two of them can't win against the might of the Makai army--but it doesn't seem that the two intend to surrender.
"Captain, the winged one still lives after the attack," cried the captain's lieutenant. "What are your orders?"
The captain closed her eyes in thought. After a few moments, she called out her decision. "Request Sister Yumeko for help, we are unable to defeat the enemies by ourselves. We will just waste more of our people's energy if we call for more reinforcements."
"Understood, I am contacting Pand?monium as of the moment."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They flew above the treeline, flying slowly so as not to make Rinnosuke queasy. To their surprise, Ellen knows how to fly, so only Rinnosuke had to put up with Marisa's complaints about hitching him a ride on her broom.
"It's made for only one person, you know," Marisa told him. Rinnosuke sighed as she remembered the little girl that he once had to put up within the Kirisame household. "It wasn't meant for two people to ride in."
Reimu was flying beside them. "He doesn't look that heavy," Reimu assured her. "He's a bit thin and lightly built if you compare him to the farmers of the village."
"Well, you're not the one carrying him," Marisa muttered darkly.
Eyebrows twitching, Rinnosuke replied, "I know you're only doing a favor for me, but please don't talk about me like I'm some excess baggage."
Ellen flew in a zigzag motion in front of them, Luna and Star Sapphire flew around her with the same dizzying motion. "Playing around in a time like this?" said Alice. "Honestly, Ellen has the intelligence of a fairy."
Alice was carrying the still-sleeping Sunny Milk behind her, a star apple still wedged on her mouth to keep her asleep. "You still haven't told us anything about her though," Marisa told Alice.
"Really now?" said Alice smugly. "It's not that really much of a story, anyway."
Patchouli was listening in to the conversation. "Well, it's a bit of a ride towards the Shrine, so it's a good way to pass the time, is it not?"
Feeling for the eyes of curiosity on her, Alice sighed resignation. "I knew Ellen since way back before I was staying in the Forest. It was just after I left Makai." Left, huh. More like driven out.
Alice began her story, the events from long ago formed vivid pictures in her mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I am desire, lost within this darkness of this world."
I heard a voice from the darkness. It was a hollow voice, devoid of any emotion and tone.
"Do you seek power?"
It asked a question, but it was like a cry of a cicada that expects no answer.
Until now.
"Yes," I told the voice. I was in a dark place, and yet it was not cold. In fact, it was sweltering hot, as if I was bathing in flames. It was unbearable.
The voice stopped for a moment, as if in contemplation. The darkness became heavier, if it is indeed possible to measure the density of darkness. But nevertheless, the darkness felt heavier, as if a whole mountain is pressing around me.
"Whose voice is it that answered me?"
I felt the voice's indignity for my insolence in answering, but in it I also sensed amusement, and maybe a little curiosity.
"It is I, a seeker of your power, that answers your call."
The voice paused again. Even without my sight, I sensed a shifting of power; a sense of genuine amusement.
"Tell me your name."
"My name is Alice. I have come from Pand?monium. I heard you, once, when I was dreaming."
The voice laughed.
"You are a perceptive girl, Alice isn't? As you can see, I am a trapped being. I am a Contractor of no minuscule power. However, because of my power, I was driven away and eventually sealed inside the book that you hold in your hands.
"However, it makes me even more curious, how did you hear me? How did you get inside the vault where they keep my book?"
I giggled with childish delight. "It was easy. I maybe just human, but I can easily decrypt spells my Mother does. It's easy, just like a puzzle."
The voice paused. "You are a smart girl, Alice. Even at your age, you just dismantled ages of sealing magic, disarmed numerous traps and reached the most protected vault of this place. Very impressive."
I frowned, I was never the one for praises. "I like your praises, but there is something else that I need. I know that I'm smart, but I'm just human. I'm weak compared to other witches and magicians. I want you to make me the most powerful magician in Makai," I said excitedly. "Teach me the Ultimate Magic!"
Laughing, the voice answered. "I see that you dream big, child. However, in my current form, I am in no power to help you. I am a mere book--what are you doing?"
I started muttering a long string of incantation, and I can feel the words of power trailing inside the moldy vault. "I'm tampering with the seals in the book so you can use your powers. It's too complex though, so I can't set you free totally, but it should be enough so you can use your powers, even with your book body."
The voice trembled. Ripples of power passed through the room as Alice finished her incantations. "Yes, YES! The power, I can feel it," said the voice. "I feel the shackles weakening, you are indeed a very gifted child."
I felt energy, power, surround my body as the being inside the book became free--partly free. "I have to thank you, child. So in return, I want you to carry me away from this vault, as far as you could."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everything didn't turn out well though.
After gaining the power of the Grimoire (I think that's what they called it, from what I've read from Mother's home library), I set forth in search of the one who defeated my Mother in battle.
To my surprise, it was also the same girl who once had the temerity to enter Makai and wreak havoc without mercy. I challenged her to a fair duel, but I was still fresh; I had no control over the book's magic. I lost horribly.
Wounded in pride and spirit, I scrambled back towards my home, the Pand?monium. However, an entire squadron of Makai's Elite Corps were waiting for me at the fortress gates.
"We are here to take you in custody for breaking and stealing from the Makai Archive. Please come quietly, Miss Alice," said the captain.
They surrounded me, closing in as they brought out shackles and chains that they sought to bind me with. I did not struggle, I was too weak from my earlier fight, and collapsed afterwards.
When I woke up, I was seated inside the chamber my Mother used for meetings about Makai's state affairs. Mother wasn't there however, only Yumeko and the other major beings of Makai were there.
"You have been caught stealing from the Makai Archive," said Yumeko harshly. "It's a forbidden act to do, and a shameful deed to be done. Have you no human shame?"
I knew it was wrong, I knew it would come to this. But, still, I wanted to make them understand why.
"I wanted the power," I told them. "The one who attacked Makai, she's powerful right? She defeated me, you and Mother, along with the other people inside this room as well. I only wanted the power so I can avenge Makai."
"In doing so, you've unsealed a great evil inside the Archive. The book you are now holding is the most protected treasure of Makai," said one of the major beings present.
"But if it's the only way Makai can redeem itself from the shame of being single-handedly defeated by an outsider, then I'm prepared to do it!" said Alice. "You were all defeated, all of you! You all sat down afterwards, not helping Mother as she struggled in Pand?monium. If I was only more powerful, I could crush my Mother's enemy with a single finger!"
However, they only looked back with cold stone gazes. And then suddenly, I understood.
They did not want me. They hated me. They feared me.
"You broke the law of our realm, child," she said. Her words cut me like swords that she once used to fight my Mother's mighty enemy, to no avail. Something that I failed in, as well. "As it is decreed, I now use my power vested by Our Mother to exile you from the place you once called home."
As she spoke the words that decreed my doom, I heard a familiar voice within my head.
"Do you desire power? Power to overcome any law that stands in your path?" It was a sweet and charming voice, a voice that sounded good in my ears in contrast to the rough, heated voices of my mother's council. "Show them the power of your magic!" it told me.
I agreed to the voice. Without thinking, I stretched out my hand towards the woman speaking before, and uttered a single word that forever severed my ties to this world.
The entire chamber was suddenly in flames.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I came to, I only saw burning conflagration around me.
"You did that by yourself," said the familiar voice. It sounded proud and full of emotion.
I was terrified.
All I remember was that I was sitting on the chair of trial inside my mother's council chamber. I was angry, because they told me that I did a wrong thing. I knew it was wrong, and I knew what I did was to be punished.
But even so, I thought it was the only way that I would ever be accepted.
Now, it seemed like a faraway dream.
I was angry then, so angry that I listened to the voice. Now, I feel afraid of everything, knowing that I did even more evil and was about to be punished for it.
I heard screams and shouts, but they sounded so far away.
I began to run.
I flew out of a nearby window of the high spires of the Makai fortress. Outside, I saw the forces of Makai closing in to investigate the earlier explosion.
"Why are you afraid?" said the voice again. "I can give you power. I can give it to you instantly, to fight for yourself, and everything you believe in. Would you just let them take that power away from you?"
I hesitated. "I don't want this power--if Makai would become my enemy, then I,... I don't want this power!"
The voice laughed. "Fool. Do you think that they would let you go now? Even if you give me back, the stunt you pulled in the chamber earlier just warranted you a death sentence. You're a young, gifted girl, Alice. Would you waste your life away like this?
"Come, I offer you power, I offer you a path that only few mortals have trodden before. Will you accept?"
I was afraid. If I accepted her offer, I shall become the enemy of Makai--but I don't want to die either.
What should I do?
Is there a right answer?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why did I take her offer? What could she possible offer me that can help me?
Everything, or nothing, that's what she told me. I could feel her chains clasped around me, weighing me down as I walked inside my home. I can feel her burning pulse radiating within me. I felt like a different person.
The deal was already done.
As far as I can remember, I was branded different from everyone. They could always do things better than I can. I was always behind or below them, looking at them from beyond the reaches of my tiny arms. They always comfort me with small words, telling me that I can do better someday.
But today, I'll be able to show them, to prove them who I am.
"You will always have something that the others will never have." Those where the words my mother always told me. Today, I can prove it to them.
I have power. She had given it to me.
The price was only a small thing to pay.
"Miss Alice!" said the captain of the Corps. "Please surrender quietly, or we will be forced to take drastic measures!"
I ignored their woeful cries for peace. Stretching forth my hand, I felt the Grimoire's powers run through my fingers. I chanted a single word, and the ranks of Makai soldiers were blown away by an invisible force.
The power. It felt so good. With each swing of my arm, I can judge their lives if they are worthy of mercy. Every word I speak was Power itself, they can only squirm as they heard the words that ended their existence.
It feels so good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I smashed the Gates of Makai and ventured out into the Outside world. The world where the Strong and Mighty Enemy of my Mother lived.
However, after one step, I felt power draining out, as if it was being siphoned away.
"Your body still can't handle all of my powers, I see," said the voice. "It would be wise if you take...a...res--"
The voice trailed away inside my head. My mind went blank, as each step I took became more and more wobbly. By impulse, I casted a flight spell with my remaining power, taking me away from the Gates of the Home that I left forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was sick, sick in the mind, in the heart and in the body, when I woke up. I scarcely remembered what happened. All I remembered were fires, screams, and lots of running.
I was lying on green grass and they felt fresh on my skin. It was a nice feeling. Back at home, the ground was always dry and hard, very uncomfortable.
Home. I suddenly remembered, as tears welled up in my eyes, how everything had come to pass. I was too proud, too rash. Like a human, like my Mother's friends told me.
I sat up and saw that I was at the edge of a forest path. Behind me were bushes and trees that announced the border of the forest while the other side of the road was a downhill slope, and beyond I could see a glimmering river. The sky above was blue, cloudless and peaceful.
Was it always like this on the surface world?
I suddenly felt drowsy and tired, so I laid down on the soft grass and went back to sleep.
I found myself on a soft bed when I woke up. There was a yellow-haired girl who sat on a stool beside me. She was reading a book while humming a very horrible off-key tune. Noticing that I was awake, she closed her book and smiled.
"Did I wake you?" she asked. I shook my head, but I was at least thankful that she stopped her humming. It was a really horrible tune. It puzzled me how she can turn a simple hum into a cacophony of odd notes. I could even say she had talent.
Still, she was blissfully unaware of my thoughts. She smiled at me and drew open the curtain and flooded the room with sunlight.
My mind felt painfully clear, like a drunk coming out from his stupor.
"What happened?" I asked the girl.
"Now, that is a good question to ask," the girl said. "But that is something I can't answer, because I just found you on the grass on my way from the village."
"Grass?" But I was inside a cave. How could I have been--
"Anyway, you look weak and hungry, I brought some soup that you could sip if you can." Her smile dissipated any doubts I had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've been staying with her ever since she found me. I've been forced to stay in bed for days. She told me that I had a fever, and I should get some rest. I told her I felt fine, but she insisted. I had no choice but to acquiesce.
It was a day after she found me that she told me her name. I was still lying in bed, with the afternoon rapidly diminishing to dusk.
From what I remember, she told me that her name was Ellen, and Fluffyhead was her middle name.
I couldn't help but laugh. I laughed until my I felt like my lungs were about to burst, until I felt tears in my eyes. Still, I laughed. I've never laughed like this, as far as I can remember. Not in Makai, not since I arrived here in the surface.
After getting my composure back, I saw Ellen handing me a cup of tea. I took a sip and found that it tasted excessively bitter, and I nearly coughed it out. It took me a great deal of resolve to swallow the vile concoction inside my mouth.
"Oh, so you don't like it?" she asked. "Too bad. I was sure it was going to turn all right this time."
I handed the cup back to her and asked quite rudely. "What is this?"
"Coffee," she said simply. "It's supposed to taste good, but I've had trouble getting the brew right."
Coughing the last of the vileness inside my mouth I told her, "At least make sure it's edible before giving it to other people." Ellen looked a little down after that.
I felt bad, doubly bad to be sure, for not only did I make her feel bad, but I also felt that I was a little impetuous and mean to someone who had done nothing but help me since she found me at the side of a byway road.
Feeling contrite, I tried to comfort her. "It didn't kill me at the very least. It's just that it's too bitter. Maybe you should try adding some milk and sugar, like what you do in strong tea."
Ellen looked brightly at those words. "Maybe you're right. I'll try doing that next time." As she turned to leave, she told me these words: "You're a kind girl, Alice. At the very least, I know that you have a human soul."
She left the room, leaving a big question inside my mind.
How did she know my name?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A week had already passed before Ellen let me out of the bed.
I remember the sun shining that day. It was brighter, far brighter than how I imagined it in Makai.
Ellen's house is quite compact and small. It had separate rooms for kitchen and the dining room; but the dining room opened up into the living room which also doubled as Ellen's study room. I had been sleeping in the only bedroom in the house, and my guess was that she was sleeping in her living room for the whole week.
I would be fooling you, of course, if I told you that her house was well-kept. In fact, it was very cluttered with barely any room to walk through. There were scattered books and scrolls everywhere, and I could spot some odds and ends in the boxes at the far corners of the house. The chairs and tables were spared though, Ellen must had taken time clearing them of junk so they could be used for daily life.
I found Ellen sitting on a cushioned chair in the living room, reading a thick leather book. She did not notice me. I heard a meowing sound; it came from a cat that was sitting on top of a pile of books beside me. Upon seeing me, it leapep down from its pedestal and rubbed itself on my legs and began to purr.
Picking my way through the scraps and books on the floor, I approached Ellen who was deeply immersed in her book. When I approached her, she spoke these words:
"Desire is something granted not taken; if it is granted then one becomes lesser not greater--for in desiring we come to understand the meaning of Greed; in controlling it we come to know the meaning of Order."
Ellen lifted her head and stared at me with glassy eyes.
"Did she fulfill your wish? Are you happy now? Or do you feel empty, now that everything that you cherished is taken from you, ever to be out of your reach?"
That's when I noticed that she was holding Her book. "Where, where did you find that?"
"This?" said Ellen in a monotonous voice. "You were holding it when I found you. It was a good book that I once read long ago."
"Once...read?"
"I will tell you a story, Alice. Contracts were once the lifeblood of the demons of Makai. Contracts provided souls, the source of power that is very essential to their existence. Contractors, the demons who offered contracts of power to the humans in exchange for their souls, were considered a past legacy of Makai.
"There was once a Contractor who was known for offering contracts to multiple humans, and harvesting them all at once, even if it wasn't their time for payment yet. Her 'harvest' brought such large amount of souls that it filled Makai to near infinite amount of power.
"However, there was an unseen side effect of using a huge amount of human souls in order to gain power; it was the Miasma of Makai. The miasma, the solid crystallization of souls that forms when a Contracted human soul is brought into Makai, is a great source of power; but it will weaken mortals if they are exposed to it in long periods. In concentrated amounts, it is sufficient to drive a demon to insanity, causing it to become destructive and lustful for power.
"But that's not all. Anyone who are exposed to it developed a dependency to human souls, and felt the need to consume large amount of human souls.
"The Contractor I spoke of earlier, because of her habit of bringing huge amount of souls to Makai in short periods, was often exposed to large amounts of Makai's miasma. Needless to say, she became mad and was driven out of Makai.
"Exiled from Makai, she wandered in the human world, and harvested souls and kept them for herself, becoming more and more powerful as she ate her fill of souls. However, anyone growing in power are liable to be sought out by other powerful people for their own purposes. She was sought out by numerous people for her power, bringing Chaos and Havoc to the world of Man.
"Because of this, a sorceress named Aureus went in search for her. It was easy, for the Contractor is always present were huge amount of powers resided. Aureus found her and sealed her using a book that she wrote specifically for the purpose of sealing her. However, the price of the sealing was very high, it took much of Aureus powers to complete the spell. Because of this, after the sealing, Aureus became nearly poweless--and also, the repercussion of the spell caused her to forget most of her memories as a sorceress."
I was silent after Ellen finished her story. She would not speak to me at all after that day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ellen remembered nothing about what happened that day.
Well, that's not strange actually. I found out later that she forgets things...a lot. There was a time when I found her outside looking for something. When I asked her, she told me that she was looking for the door to get outside.
It turned out that she forgot that she was already outside.
Still, as loopy she may seem to be, she's a kind person.
One day, I saw Ellen doing 'Magic', or what we called it in Makai. She was waving her hands about, as if conducting music. She was outside, on top of a makeshift stage made out of wooden boxes, chairs and books. Sokrates, Ellen's pet cat, was watching her as she suddenly lifted her hands and brought them down forcefully.
I suddenly noticed the tiny little dolls on Ellen's feet. They suddenly began to float in the air as they twirled and swirled into a beautiful, graceful dance.
"How do you do that?" I asked her.
"It's pretty easy," said Ellen. "It just takes a little skill, and a lot of Love."
"Love?"
Ellen became more animated, flailing her arms about as she explained. "Love! It's the ultimate source of power of Magic. Without it, Magic is just a bunch of silly words that does nothing. It's the source of devotion that you put inside a spell, the longing and passion that drives the spell to it's fruition."
I raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Those are heavy words coming from someone like you," I told her.
"Well, you just saw the proof," she told me. "I can make doll dance all day if you want."
I sighed in resignation. "Well, can you at least teach me how to do it?'
Ellen squealed in delight. "Yay! I can teach you everything you want to know. First of all, you have to understand that magic has seven colors--"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Er, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Alice.
Marisa gave her a wincing glare. "Seriously now, I was taking you seriously until the thing about the dolls and love thing."
"Come on, Marisa," laughed Reimu. "You didn't think that Alice was actually serious in her story now, did you? If Alice was that strong, she wouldn't had lost to the youkai from the other night, right?"
"Now that you say it," said Marisa. "It does seem dubious."
"It was an interesting story," Patchouli chided in. "Although I think something warrants more of our attention."
Patchouli pointed towards the burning Human Village.
"Isn't it too early for a roast party? asked Marisa.
t.b.c
Sei Note # 7
There's nothing hidden in here.
For now.
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Still can't get enough of this. :3
@Coin Spire
Anyway, I'm gonna use Aiki's picture (http://i25.tinypic.com/1232iow.png) from this post (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,6066.msg382581.html#msg382581) if you don't mind. :D
EDIT: I need to practice BBCodes. :(
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Specialis Libri
Chapter 20
They heard a sizzle, and a crack, followed by series of explosions. It sounded faint and distant, but was near enough that it was distinctively loud.
"Hmm? Sounds like trouble," said Yukari in a light tone.
Sariel closed her eyes and brought her staff high above her head. She waved it around and whispered some words that Yukari could not make out.
The room seem to became brighter as magical light emerged from the tip of Sariel's staff. The light began to grow and within it, they saw another place, like a window.
"A spell to see something from far away?" asked Shinki. "You really don't come out much, don't you?"
Sariel nodded solemnly. "My job often takes me towards many sleepless days and nights." The images within the light began to solidify, and soon they can see faces of the Makai soldiers.
"Makai soldiers?" asked Yukari. "They seem to be in a fix."
The Makai soldiers were attacking two girls who stood unfazed by the attacks. One of the girls, bloody and wounded, doesn't seem to feel anything as she was hit by the impact of the shots and stood by as she waited for an opportunity to return fire. The other one however, seemed to dance through the shots, weaving in and out of the barrages like an eel.
"They seem to be of high caliber," Sariel observed. "They are giving the Makai army some sort of trouble."
Shinki frowned. "But they don't seem to be fighting back seriously at all. So far, my army seems to be the only one attacking."
While the two were watching the fight, Yukari's attention was diverted to the huge gaping hole behind the two girls. The hole was pitch black, and while it seemed to be deep, it's features were hard to make out in the midst of the series of magical attacks.
"What is that hole behind them?" asked Yukari pointing at the hole. Very peculiar indeed.
Sariel and Shinki looked at where Yukari was pointing. "They seemed to be protecting something," said Shinki. "It looks some sort of deep hole or something."
"A portal," said Sariel. "It is some sort of portal, no doubt. I have been studying portals myself, a while back. But how could something like that exist in Makai without our knowledge? A portal of that size would've taken weeks to prepare."
Shinki spread her wings and waved her hands. The windows of the Archive opened with Shinki's command. With a stern frown, Shinki took flight, exiting through one of the massive stained glass windows of the Archive and leaving Sariel and Yukari behind.
"Well, it does seem interesting enough to investigate," said Yukari after some thought.
Sariel nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tough as cockroaches, huh," Yumeko muttered. She gazed down at the bloody girl below. "You girl, you are very brave for coming here into Makai." The Makai army stood by according to Yumeko's orders. Immediately after arriving, Yumeko tipped the balance of the fight with her swords, driving Kou and Shiku to the ground.
Shiku ignored Yumeko's taunts. She closed her eyes in concentration, focusing on the task at hand. In front of her, a thin black line formed in the air, zigzagging along at odd angles, eventually forming a crack. She plunged her hand into it and pulled out her long halberd, brandishing it towards the enemies above her.
"Hey, don't tell me you're going serious now?" Kou said behind her. "You know our orders, Shiku."
Shiku didn't bat an eye. "Of course, I've never had the intention to kill from the beginning. However, it does seem that our lives might get cut short here." She gazed at the yellow haired girl of Makai above them.
"True, but it doesn't seem much of a loss," said Kou. "I don't mind taking a break after all this."
With a wave of Yumeko's hand, numerous swords materialized in the air in front of her. "I give you this chance to surrender now," Yumeko told the two. "If not, be prepared to receive the divine punishment of Makai."
Kou sighed. "What now? Master didn't tell us anything about something like this happening." She looked at the stern faces of the Makai soldiers above them. "If we die here, we'd have a lot of explaining to do."
Shiku ignored her, as usual. Instead she shouted to the yellow-haired girl above them, "You, can I hear your name?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My name?" echoed Yumeko. She looked at the inquisitive girl. A nameless wind blew, throwing the girl's hair around like a hapless curtain. She carried her halberd with utter certainty and resolve, her eyes not flinching from pain.
"My name?" repeated Yumeko. "You haven't earned the right to know my name, girl."
What are these two doing? Kou asked herself. Talking about names at these situation, everyone is nuts in this place.
"A shame then," said Shiku. For a moment, Kou thought Shiku's face softened into a pout, but it was gone almost instantly. Shiku spread her wings in flight and shot straight towards Yumeko. Lifting her halberd in a point in front of her, making her a speeding metal bullet.
Without wasting any time, Yumeko waved her hand. The floating swords in front of her turned towards Shiku and shot straight to intercept her. It impaled Shiku at multiple points of her body, piercing through as Shiku fell straight towards the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rika was barking orders around as her turrets and tanks formed a defensive line around the entrance of her fortress. Fairies closed in around them, hovering above as they let loose bombardments of their small magic.
"Tch," winced Rika. "They're just annoying! Open fire!"
Her tanks let loose barrages of projectiles, ranging from tiny magical balls, to missiles of metallic build that were over nine feet in length and five inches in thickness. The missiles raced towards the lines of rabid fairies, exploding into small balls of debris and shrapnel as they hit.
"Hahaha!" Rika laughed with pride. "That's what you get for trespassing on me!"
Behind Rika, another tank came out from the hidden hangar entrance she built to look like a huge boulder. It was armed with multiple barrels which spouted fireballs into the air, landing on top of the hapless fairies and bursting them into flames before they are exterminated.
"It's annoying since fairies just come back even after you take them down though," Rika sighed heavily. True to her word, the fallen fairies pop and vanish after being hit with Rika's numerous missiles, but in the distance, the fairies are already materializing from thin air, healing their injuries.
Soon, the place became filled with an acrid, burning smell. Rika stood upright, hands on her hips as she surveyed the battle safely from her turret. She was atop her Evil Eye Sigma which floated just below the treeline. Her floating vessel offered her a perfect spot to watch the battle and the mobility to move from one battle front to another.
So far, there were only fairies attacking her fort, for reasons she doesn't really care about.
"As long as they keep coming, I'll keep firing," Rika said to herself. From inside her hangar, Contained Spirits started to come out with their eerie moans.
Contained Spirits are Rika's brilliant idea of containing aimless ghosts, shrineless shinrei and other sorts of weakened spiritual beings into a special glass bottle where they can take the form of Rika's special soldiers. While they are ultimately mindless, they are easily ordered about by Rika--though their reliability is at best, barely.
The Contained Spirits hovered around Rika's fort, driving away the fairies with their cold touch and woeful moans. Even if the fairies fired on them, the spirits only dissipated and reformed. One of the fairies attacks passed through a spirit harmlessly, landing near Rika's spot.
Nearly jumping from fright, Rika pointed an accusatory finger at the spirit. "Hey, don't bring them here you idiot!"
Suddenly, the fairy fired another bullet, this one aimed directly at Rika. Before Rika could react, a huge flying figure hovered past Rika, blocking the attack.
"Aaaaaaaaa~"
The figure dropped on the ground and lay still, smoking from the tiny flames on her hair. Following up beside her was Emi who was waving at Rika, grinning widely.
"W-wh-y di-d you have to throw me?" said the pathetic figure on the ground.
Emi laughed. "At least you saved the mad scientist from a fairy," she told Kan proudly. "And you won't die from something like that, right?"
Kan sat up, putting out the tiny flames on her hair with her fingers. "It hurt you know," she said piteously.
Rika jumped down from her Evil Eye Sigma and pointed a finger at the two. "Hey, you two clowns, what are you doing out here?" she demanded.
"Well, you didn't expect us to stay in your musty hangar now, did you?" said Emi smugly. "And we did just save your life, after all."
The tank girl laughed. "Hah! My Evil Eye Sigma has an impenetrable armor, nothing can damage it!"
"But it can't protect you if you're on top of it right?" Emi chided. Rika paused mid laugh, then proceeded to stare knives down Emi's throat.
"Well, I suppose I should thank you for that," Rika said reluctantly. "Hmph." Turning her back on them, Rika ordered her tank to lower itself so Rika can ride on it's top again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emi helped Kan up on her feet. "I learned something when I got hit, though," said Kan softly. "These fairies are under big sister's influence."
Sighing, Emi scratched her head. "So this is Aiki's doing, eh?" she thought aloud. "I should have known."
"I don't think big sister knows we are here though. She just told these fairies to attack anyone they can see," Kan continued. "Also, I can let you have this, I guess." Kan held Emi's hand and closed her eyes.
Kan seemed to glow as she whispered a few words which Emi could not hear. However, ideas--knowledge suddenly entered her mind. Suddenly, she knew how to do--what?
Emi opened her palm, and almost instinctively, formed a small fireball--exactly the same one the fairy's used. "Your ability to analyze and copy things really do come in handy, you know," said Emi exasperatingly. "But this fireball is 'fairy-size', I think."
Kan visibly drooped. "Sorry if I can't be more of help."
(http://i38.tinypic.com/2nl91jd.png)
"Well, I do expect that you know where Aiki is right now, after getting hit like that?"
Kan nodded. "She's in a place called 'Kirisame estate' in the 'Human Village'."
"Kirisame estate, huh. Weird name," Emi thought aloud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yukari flew close behind Shinki, Sariel catching up behind them.
"Why are you following me?" asked Shinki. "I thought your business in Makai was done?"
Grinning slyly, Yukari puffed, "My, is that how you greet an old lady rushing to catch up with a youngster like you?"
Shinki ignored her, only saying, "This is a state affair of Makai, an outsider like you shouldn't get involved."
Yukari shrugged the cold shoulder off. "Maybe, but it's rather interesting to see what kind of people can put up that amount of fight against the Makai army, right?"
"Is it all right for you to leave your archive, Sariel?" asked Shinki.
"Of course, it does interest me what these intruders are here for as well."
"Is that so," said Shinki bluntly.
t.b.c
Sei Note # 8
神霊
Shinrei
Typically speaking, they are revered spirits that humans pray (and donate to, in a manner of speaking) in their shrine visits.
What Rika was using were Shrineless Shinrei, spirits that are doomed to vanish into the void because of the absence of Faith and believers.
Simply speaking, Rika was merciful enough to give them existence, instead of letting them vanish.
But where did Rika get them in the first place?
-
I saw that.
Neato :D
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 21
"Grr! I'm so annoyed!"
Mai looked at her companion who was angrily stirring her cauldron with a wooden spoon. Yuki hasn't stopped complaining ever since they arrived at her house. She was still flustered about their encounter with the two strange people they met outside of Pand?monium. After that, there was an emergency call, and all non-soldiers were ordered to take stay inside their homes.
"It's your fault for messing with strangers..." said Mai quietly. She was sitting on a wooden stool beside a window. She was quietly reading a book of spells that Yuki had written. "...just forget about them."
"The more you say that, the more it becomes hard to forget," said Yuki glumly. "Grr! I'm so annoyed!"
"We can't do anything about it, we were ordered to stay inside our homes because of the danger..."
"I know already," Yuki replied hotly. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I wonder what's with the commotion though. I heard that there's was a break in at the gates."
"...not the first time..." Mai replied lazily. "...remember?"
Yuki remembered the time when someone from outside the Makai gates attacked their world and defeated the Mother Shinki. "I wonder who is it this time though. Do you think it's the same one?"
"...not caring..." said Mai, digging deeper into the book.
Yuki stopped stirring her concoction and looked towards the window. Gazing lazily at the red terrain outside, Yuki nodded to herself. "I'm going outside to check it out, you coming?"
Before Mai could say 'no', Yuki pulled her off her chair and dragged her outside. Ignoring Mai's protests, Yuki flew towards the horizon in search of adventure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's something coming," said Sariel. She pointed at the two pinpricks on the horizon due west. "Hmm?"
Shinki and Yukari looked at where Sariel was pointing at and stopped in midflight. The pinpricks grew nearer and Yukari could discern them as two Makai dwellers. "Looks like it's from your people," said Yukari.
"Indeed they do," said Shinki. "But civilians are supposed to have been told to stay indoors because of the earlier incident."
"Earlier incident?" asked Yukari silkily. Shinki was talking about her break-in at the gates. "That's a light way of putting it, though."
"Indeed, the damage to the gate would probably take weeks to repair," Shinki sighed audibly. "Well, not much we can do about that, but I do wish that you won't do any sort of thing like that again, Yakumo."
"It was kind of amusing to watch the whole mess though," said Sariel thoughtfully. "It's rare to see that kind of entertainment in Makai this days."
As they talked the two figures were already near enough to make out their features. As Yukari had guessed they were Makai dwellers, immediately bowing when they saw Sariel and Shinki.
"My name is Yuki, her name is Mai," said Yuki.
Frowning, Shinki started to scold them. "What are you doing out here? Civilians have been told to keep themselves indoors, Yumeko had given the signal throughout Makai. It's dangerous to be out here, especially with the Makai military busy with the current situation."
Despite Shinki's scolding, Yuki only grinned. "Don't worry, Miss Shinki, we're not going to cause any trouble, we were just looking for some people--" Mai didn't waste any time hitting Yuki squarely on the top of the head with her fist.
"Hey! What did you do that for?" cried Yuki, rubbing her head.
"...Don't call the Mother, 'Miss'..." said Mai quietly.
Yukari laughed, amused at the exchange. "You do look like a 'Mother' when you look at it this way," she said. There was another exchange of explosions in the distance. "Well, I think it's better if you bring them along, they'll be better off under your watchful eye, 'Mother'."
They started to fly towards the crossfire of magic whose sounds grew steadily louder as they flew on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, you're still alive?" said Kou. She was standing beside the prostate figure of Shiku, hands up in the air as she strained to use her barrier. The Makai soldiers rained down on her, and Kou gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to her limits. A violet dome of energy enveloped them, protecting her and Shiku from the attacks.
"I'm still alive, fortunately," said Shiku calmly. She was impaled on the ground with Yumeko's swords. Shiku was trying to pull herself up but the swords trapped her down on the ground, plunging it deeper into her flesh. She did not feel any pain however, just a bit pinned. "My body has taken too much damage, I might not be able to hold open the Crack any longer."
Kou sighed loudly. "Well, at least they're focusing on me, and not on the Crack. They're too busy trying to kill us to worry about it." She felt the barrier recede with the onslaught of attacks from the Makai soldiers. "Anyway, what are we going to do now?"
"I'll collapse the Crack. This should give big sister enough energy to go through with the current plan," Shiku told her. "Even if we don't make it."
"Collapse the Crack?" Kou said. However, instead of answering, Shiku closed her eyes and did not move. As if on cue, the ground they stood upon began to shake violently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The soldiers were still firing nonstop when Yukari and the others arrived. Yumeko greeted them, bowing before Shinki politely before reporting the full situation.
"An intruder was reported by a Makai squad on patrol earlier. After we lost contact with them, we sent another squad to check the situation. When they reported that they were being attacked, we sent reinforcements at once."
"A hostile intruder," mused Sariel. "And have you gathered any information about them or their motives for entering and attacking Makai?" Yumeko shook her head.
"Unfortunately, they haven't been keen on explaining themselves properly," Yumeko glanced at the barrage of attacks that the Makai soldiers were releasing. "If we don't stop attacking, they'll retaliate. We didn't have any casualties yet because of our healing magic."
Yukari surveyed the land below. The two intruders were inside a violet dome that shielded from the attacks of the Makai soldiers. Behind the dome was a huge fissure on the ground. It was jet black, empty--it looked terribly familiar.
"Regardless of the intruders, have you found anything about that thing behind them?" asked Yukari. Yumeko shook her head again.
"We weren't able to close in enough to study it, they seem to have control of its surroundings and we can't approach it safely. If we get too close, a weird barrier seems to stop us," Yumeko replied. "I do think it's very important to them, and from what I can observe from here, it looks like a portal of some sort."
Sariel nodded. "I see, so you also arrived at the same hypothesis," she said. Yukari observed the fight, but her full attention was at the Crack. Putting a finger on her lip, she nodded to herself, as if she finished deciding on something.
Without any further word, Yukari approached the Crack. Before Shinki could stop her, they sensed a sudden shift in the air, like a weird morning draft. And then the cliff began to shake violently.
"An earthquake?" said Yumeko in surprise. "But we don't have earthquakes in Makai--"
"This is not a natural occurrence," said a troubled Sariel. "We have to neutralize the two intruders now." She flew down towards the two intruders, following Yukari's flight. Before Yumeko could react, Shinki followed the two.
"I'm going to check those two intruders out, you take in charge here Yumeko!" Shinki yelled at Yumeko as she flew down.
"Mistress Shinki!" Yumeko called out.
Suddenly, the cliff became enveloped with a purple cloud from an unseen source. Yukari and Sariel plunged into it, followed by Shinki.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oi, what are you doing Shiku?" demanded Kou. A purple cloud enveloped them and she could barely see her prostate companion behind her. "Huh?" The ground stopped shaking.
The attacks of the Makai soldiers stopped, and Kou sighed with relief. "They stopped attacking, good grief." Kou lowered her barrier and kneeled beside Shiku. Shiku's eyes were still closed, but she was whispering words that Kou cannot hear.
There was a screeching sound from behind them, and Kou covered her ears. Looking for the source, she saw that the Crack they were protecting were growing rapidly, covering the ground as it expanded, turning it into a deep abyss. The Crack branched out like tree roots, zipping through the ground in a jagged manner like a desert sidewinder. It covered the whole cliff, leaving only a patch of ground around Kou and Shiku.
"So what are you two doing?" said an enigmatic voice above them. An elegantly dressed lady landed next to them, followed by two winged beings. "You two have caused a lot of trouble in this place." The screeches began to grow louder. "And please stop that horrible noise."
"You know them Yakumo?" asked Shinki, ignoring the screeching sound. Yukari shook her head in reply.
"I'm just interested in their motive, that's all." That black thing behind them, it behaves just like my gaps, except it acts more like a living thing. Yukari observed the Crack as it grew even more.
"This is bad," said Sariel in a dark tone. "This is very bad, we shouldn't have approached too close to this place."
Yukari and Shinki glanced at Sariel who was looking up and down on their surroundings. "Whatever this thing is, it has been activate--"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yumeko gave the order to stop attacking. "We might hit Mistress Shinki and her companions," she told them. The captains nodded and passed the orders.
Suddenly, the purple cloud beneath them began to change. For a moment, it became solid--like a polished purple marble. It began to grow, slowly but accelerating. The Makai soldiers retreated as it grew faster and faster, covering the whole cliff.
From within the purple dome, there came a loud screeching sound and Yumeko covered her ears and gritted her teeth in pain. As suddenly as it came, the screech and the purple dome vanished--leaving nothing behind but an empty crater where the cliff once stood.
The whole cliff, including the intruders, Shinki, Yukari, Sariel, and the two intruders were gone without a trace.
Dismayed, Yumeko shouted at the top of her voice. "Mistress Shinki!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rika's fight was getting better, in her opinion of course. The fairies were falling like fireflies before a flamethrower, and they just keep coming for more.
"This is kind of like butchery, isn't?" said a voice beside her. Rika nearly jumped in fright, but Evil Eye Sigma jostled her slightly to remind her that she is flying nearly thirty feet in the air.
Emi was sitting beside her on top of Evil Eye Sigma. Rika did not notice her until she spoke. "When did you get up here?" she asked. "I didn't give you permission to sit on my Evil Eye Sigma."
"There's enough room for the two of us," said Emi carelessly. "More importantly, there's another bullet headed this way." True to her word, a bullet nearly hit them, but Evil Eye Sigma dodged it deftly with Rika's command.
"Not to worry, everything is under my control," grinned Rika. Almost naturally, Emi grinned back.
"Well, as long as you don't get us killed, I'm fine on top of Evil Eye Sigma," Emi put her arms behind her head and lay down.
"HEY! I didn't give you permission to stay on top of my Evil Eye Sigma!" Rika protested.
A voice called out to them. "Big sister Emi!" Kan flew up beside them. Emi glanced at her with disinterest.
"What do you want?" Emi asked her with a little bit of laziness.
"Er--, I think we shouldn't be here," said Kan quietly. "I have a bad feeling that tells me that we should get away as far as possible..."
"Why?" Emi sat up, now serious. Rika was listening in as well.
Kan pointed at the sky. The clouds were swirling around, as if disturbed from their slumber. Then from somewhere, they began to hear voices.
"I'm just interested in their motive, that's all." The voices were distorted, like someone talking through a tin can.
"This is bad, this is very bad. we shouldn't have approached too close to this place. Whatever this thing is, it has been activated."
Suddenly a purple cloud enveloped them, covering the whole surrounding in a thick purple dome.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aiki felt a strange burst of energy from the direction of the forest. So far everything has gone accordingly to plan. The humans inside the village were fighting against each other, and the appearance of the rabid fairies were casting more chaos by the second.
So far, she had gathered more than enough chaos to boost her Master's energies needed for her to enter Gensokyo.
Why does she feel so uneasy? I've always had good instincts, and it's telling me that something is going to go terribly wrong.
Aiki sighed, ignoring the clamoring shouts of the head of the household. So far, her presence had gone undetected inside the Kirisame household. It was a big estate, relatively speaking, and she could move around and pass of as a servant without arousing suspicion.
"I wonder what that shrine maiden is doing now?"
t.b.c
Sei Note # 9
Someone has been compromised.
Ever since a certain Chapter, someone has been acting strangely.
A dichromatic butterfly is feeding on the nectar of Dahlia...
-
I may just have missed it or something...
But what is a crack? Any explanations would be nice. >.<
-
I may just have missed it or something...
But what is a crack? Any explanations would be nice. >.<
To put it simply, if you remember how Akyuu explained Yukari's ability in Perfect Memento:
"The ability to manipulate boundaries is a terrifying ability capable of fundamentally undermining reality.
As you know, everything is built upon the existence of boundaries.
If there was no water surface, there could be no lake.
If there was no sky line, neither mountain nor sky could exist.
Were it not for the Great Barrier, even Gensokyo itself wouldn't exist.
If there were no boundaries, everything would probably exist as a single enormous object.
Thus, the ability to manipulate boundaries is an ability of logical creation and destruction.
It essentially creates a new being, or denies the existence of a being.
Among the abilities youkai are known to possess, this is one of the most dangerous, being comparable even to the power of gods.
She is also capable of going anywhere through a gap in space, whether it be her entire body or only a part of her.
It's said that this ability is not limited to physical space, but also applies to pictures, others' dreams, and even stories.
In addition, she is possessed of superhuman intellect, and is especially good at mathematics.
Furthermore, due to her long lifespan, she has a broad range of knowledge and experience.
A Crack is a part of a Border between two objects. For example, if you have a wall between two rooms, Yukari can manipulate the existence of the wall, either:
1) Yukari makes the wall vanish
2) She makes the wall even thicker
3) She replaces the wall entirely with another object...let's say, with Marisa's hat
4) She destroys the wall, the two rooms, and other things in the process
Each action would cause a different effect on how the two rooms work with Natural Physics. However, Yukari's border ability does not affect the Boundary itself, but it has enormous effects on the surroundings, apocalyptic annihilation notwithstanding.
A Crack however, is a part of a Border. The easiest way to explain it would be, it would be the Boundary of the Border itself. It manipulates how a Border behaves. A Crack is a part of the Border which had become blurred due to excessive manipulation of different other Borders.
For a Border to exist, it needs some sort of Threshold Resistance to change. A good example of this is how solid objects resist changing form. Yukari, technically speaking, puts a Bypass over this Resistance, therefore she is able to overlap two (or more) Borders of Contrasting Nature (Like what she did in the First Lunar Invasion:
It is said that she once invaded the moon by modifying the Boundary between Truth and Lie and plunging into the mirrored moon on the lake's surface.
However, a Crack breaks this Resistance, changing the laws on how the Border reacts to other things. For example, the Crack in Makai which was guarded by Kou and Shiku manipulated the Border of Here and There. This is the Border that manipulates distances, without it, everything would exist in the same place. The Border, after being damaged and Cracked (The state of a Border having a Crack), now acted as a gate between Makai and Gensokyo which acted as a bridge so the Miasma can go across.
Strong a Crack may sound, it is particularly limited to the Border that it Breaks. For example, A Crack in the Border of Heat and Cold cannot influence anything else other than Heat and Cold. Another thing, a Crack is technically a damage to the Border, hence there is also a breaking point before a Border totally collapses.
When a Border collapses, a temporary state of chaos results. Because of the Universe's resilient nature, it will not unfold the very fabric of everything's existence, rather, it would try to correct itself by trying to repair the Border to its normal form.
A good example of when a Border collapses is when a Time paradox occurs. For example, Yukari goes to the past and kills her past self, thereby causing a paradox (because she cannot go back to the past and kill herself in the future if her past self is killed). The act of Yukari killing her past self would cause a Crack in the Border of Past and Present. The Crack would be so great that the Border would instantly collapse, and the Self-repairing nature of the Universe to kick in.
So, if Yukari tries to kill herself, the Universe would try to repair it by:
1) Yukari cannot kill herself, or rather, the natural order of things would prevent her from doing so, like something would always hinder her like being accosted by the police (if you believe in the Deterministic Universe theory: In a deterministic system, every action, or cause, produces a reaction, or effect, and every reaction, in turn, becomes the cause of subsequent reactions. The totality of these cascading events can theoretically show exactly how the system will exist at any moment in time.)
or
2) The Universe would create another timeline, where Yukari was killed, divergent from the timeline where Yukari is still living.
or
3) The Universe will not let Yukari go back to the past.
In this way, the Border of Past and Present can be repaired or preserved.
A Border must not collapse, because it also destroys the Crack that caused the collapse.
However, if a Crack collapses, The Border goes into a state of instability, causing many unpredictable results as it tries to repair itself. Like when Shiku collapsed the Crack of the Border of Here and There, the space where the Crack existed was transferred into another place.
So in summary:
Border is the natural separation of one existence from another.
Crack is the unnatural tension and blurring of a Border that is being manipulated. If a Crack becomes uncontrolled, it breaks the Border where it resides and induces Chaos. If a Border breaks, the Universe will try to repair it to preserve its existence.
Er...sorry if it's too wordy, it's just that I can't explain it with simpler words. I have a bad vocabulary with English, and I'm using a 'very' old dictionary and thesaurus when I type. :(
-
Spire, I love you.
This is seriously the type of loving devotion I could only dream of putting towards my stories. Don't ever change.
-
As you may have noticed, the antagonists of this story: Aiki, Emi, Shiku, Kan, En, and Kou all exhibited strange affinities to Cracks.
In a short moment in one of the earlier chapters, a character named Kiyuu was introduced. While there are only few things known about her, I shall divulge and explain what is already provided.
Aiki and the others, with all of their strange abilities and what-not, are not natural occurences of Nature. From their profile, they are called 'Creations' by Kiyuu.
To explain, it is imperative that one must understand the nature of the Cracks.
Crack is the unnatural tension and blurring of a Border that is being manipulated.
If, for example, a Border between Fantasy and Reality has been blurred, it is possible to 'create' people from one's imagination. Someone with enough latent ability to blur the Border of Fantasy and Reality can easily create an artificial person...in this case, people.
My creations, they are my children.
No, they are closer than that. They are a part of me, and because of this, they will never betray me.
Let me tell you a little about Shiku.
Once, there was a bully who liked hurting small girls. The bully would put insects on their bags, or trip them as they walked in the school hallways. Sometimes, the bully would even steal their lunch, and make them cry.
One day, the bully came to me and told me to surrender my lunchbox. The lunch didn't matter to me, but the lunchbox...it was given to me by ___mu
, and nothing can part me from it. However, the bully pried it apart from my hands, and laughed when I struggled uselessly to get it back.
In my anger, I told myself that I wanted someone who can hurt people as much as they hurt me.
And thus Shiku was born. Born from my desire to inflict pain, she herself is immune to pain. She can feel no pain, but maybe that itself is the greatest pain of all.
It is implied then that Kiyuu is a human living Outside the Border who had the ability to 'Create' beings like Shiku.
Since Aiki and the others are born from Cracks of the Border of Fantasy and Reality, they are simply not human, nor could they die permanently.
Kou sighed. "What now? Master didn't tell us anything about something like this happening." She looked at the stern faces of the Makai soldiers above them. "If we die here, we'd have a lot of explaining to do."
Since Kou and Shiku were born from a Crack made by Kiyuu, simply dying means that they can be 're-created' by Kiyuu from that same Crack. It is understandable then why both Kou and Shiku take their deadly situation lightly, relatively speaking.
However, even if they were created by the same person and from the same source, they had differing abilities and personalities.
Aiki is the second oldest of my Creations. Unlike Shiku, Aiki is full of emotions. In fact, she can easily manipulate her emotions to suit her tastes, and likewise, she can manipulate other people's emotions to her will.
As time grew on, Aiki easily became one of my most dependable Creation, as she can easily manipulate people with her charm.
Don't be mistaken, she is infinitely more dangerous than Shiku, for Aiki is my best friend.
Each of Kiyuu's creation had their own strength and weaknesses, all dependent upon how Kiyuu thinks about them. Since Kiyuu created them using a Crack in the Border of Fantasy and Reality, their existence depended on how Kiyuu thinks about them in her Fantasy. Thus, if Kiyuu believes that Shiku could not be hurt, then it is impossible for Shiku to feel pain. If Emi is unreliable, then Emi IS unreliable.
Therefore, all of Kiyuu's Creations depended on Kiyuu believing in their existence.
However a person controlling the existence of multiple people is too much for the strength of a human mind.
This Barrier is quite a simple thing. It's pretty stupid--it only does two things; keep everybody inside, inside and everyone outside, outside.
However, simple as it is, I cannot break it. WHY?
WHY CAN'T I BREAK IT?
ANSWER ME!
If a human mind becomes accustomed to a reality it had created, one becomes unable to distinguish the reality she had created, and the True Reality where we all live. It then results to partial mental instability.
My second Creation ever since she left me.
Another wordy explanation...:/
...Resolving from memories, I do remember a certain individual in Gensokyo who says that she is a creation of a mentally unstable girl...
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 22
"What are you doing, Kamishirasawa?" asked Kotohime. Keine was standing beside her, eyes closed and muttering a few words under her breath.
"It's not working," muttered Keine. Sighing in resignation, she opened her eyes and surveyed the chaotic scenery. They were behind the lines of human exterminators surrounding the Kirisame estate. With the onslaught of the attacks of the bespelled villagers, they have regrouped the civilians and non-fighters inside the confines of the estate. They have barricaded the gates and established outposts to deter the attacks.
"What's not working?" asked Kotohime. Kotohime waved her hand and a wave of energy at an approaching wave of fairies. Sometime in the dawn, fairies started attacking the village in concert with the bespelled villagers. "Whatever you are planning, do spit it out."
"I was trying to hide the village," answered Keine. "But I can't manipulate the history properly. Probably because it's barely past new moon." She sighed again. "Anyway, it's better that we relieve the other exterminators so they can rest.
Kotohime scowled. "Someone is pulling the strings on this," she said. "It's too suspicious that some of the villagers suddenly became like this." Gesturing to the fighting on the other side of the barricades, Kotohime watched as an exterminator tried to knock out a rabid villager using a club. "And then there are the fairy attacks. Who could have pulled something like this off?"
Keine looked at the slowly brightening sky. "Who knows," was all that she said. The sun was shining brightly, a stark contrast to the chaotic situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reimu and the others landed gracefully (Oof!, says Rinnosuke) at the edge of the human village. Numerous buildings looked like they were broken into and ransacked. There was smoke in the deeper part of the village, a small fire no doubt.
"This has a 'Marisa was here' written all over it," observed Patchouli. "Though I doubt I can accuse the rat this time."
Marisa winced at her accuser. "Can you at least stop calling me rat already?"
"Yes, the rats would probably be offended," Alice supplied. "Regardless though, this looks like a youkai attack." Alice dropped the sleeping Sunny Milk on the ground, the star apple still on her mouth. Alice stretched casually to ease her back. "Fairies are quite heavier than I expected."
Rinnosuke looked around at the destruction and sighed. "I do wish I just stayed at my house and away from this mess." He glanced at a wide-eyed Ellen who was naturally curious at the village.
"Well, what would you pay to miss this fun?" asked Marisa cheerfully. "You should get out of your shop more and walk around the village from time to time."
Rinnosuke waved his hand. "I'd rather pass any walks like this." He sighed loudly and readjusted his glasses which was slowly sliding down his nose because of sweat. "I guess it can't be helped then."
Ellen was ecstatic upon landing. "This place looks like a lot of fun!" said Ellen happily. "Though it needs a little more grass, I think." Behind her was Star and Luna who was were also looking wide-eyed around them.
Luna looked around cautiously. "Are you sure that we're safe?"
"I feel the other fairies nearby," said Sapphire. "They're kind of...many."
"Kind of?" asked Reimu. "Well, fairies are fairies, so it doesn't matter how many they are."
The sun burst through the mountains at the east, casting its sunlight upon the village. However, Reimu's eyes widened at the sight of the sun itself.
"What's up with the sun?" said a startled Reimu. She pointed at the sun which was painted jet black in the distant eastern horizon. However, despite its blackish appearance, it still emitted sunlight and casted the morning light with an unusual gaiety, as if it was crazed.
Patchouli shielded her eyes. "Despite its black appearance, it is still bright for me." She grimaced. Not an outside person at heart, she does not like the sun one bit.
"Ha~" replied Alice, smirking. "You should get out of your bookshelves more often, knowledge of the books and knowledge of the world are two different things." Patchouli shrugged her off.
"We should go," said Rinnosuke. "I want this over with already." The others nodded in agreement.
"Hey, who's gonna carry this thing?" Alice hiked a thumb at the unconscious Sunny Milk. "I'm not going to lug her to kingdom come, people." However, everybody else were already walking ahead. Star and Luna gave her a sideways glance before flying off towards Reimu.
"So that's how it is," Alice winced. Looking at the sleeping fairy, Alice sighed and wordlessly lifted the fairy onto her back. Alice had little difficulty however, Sunny was almost weightless, she was really light.
Chuckling slightly at the little pun, Alice started into a brisk walk and followed the others.
The group started walking deeper inside the human village.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She ran. The others gave chase.
Aww~ I knew I should have stayed home today, she berated herself. She was running as fast as her feet can take her, away from the group of humans chasing her.
"Gyah! You're all so annoying!" Gazing behind at her pursuers, she brandished her Northwest rod and casted a spell card towards the rabid humans.
Defense Sign 「Pendulum Guard」
A hexagram formed around her feet as the spell card began to unravel. Behind her, five blue crystals appeared and started to spin around slowly, alternately gaining and losing distance from each other, alternately spinning clockwise and counterclockwise as they did so.
Her pursuers froze on the spot when the crystals appeared, apparently bewildered by the crystal's wild movements. Taking advantage of the distraction, the girl ran on while the crystals started spouting unnumbered bullets towards the humans.
Nazrin laughed as she looked behind at the humans as they tried to get away from her Pendulum crystals. "Serves your right!" She turned sharply on the next street corner that she saw, hoping to lose her pursuers amidst their confusion.
Before she could say anything else, she crashed into something, bouncing off before falling dizzy into the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reimu heard some shouting in the alleys ahead of them. Cocking her head in concentration, Reimu tried to discern the source of the noises. Seeing Reimu's concentration, they all stopped walking to wait for her.
Alice caught up with them. "You heard something?" asked Alice, warily gazing at the deserted houses around them.
"I think it's just around the corner," said Reimu. "It's getting a lot noisier."
Marisa sighed. "If it's another bunch of fairies, I'm going to take a hike," she told them. Feeling the piercing glares of Alice and Reimu, Marisa quickly added, "After beating them, of course."
"Not very brave, are you, Marisa?" asked Rinnosuke, narrowing her eyes at Marisa. "I thought you were more substantial than that."
Marisa replied with a shrug. "I just don't want to fight a fight that I'm not gaining anything from."
"Spoken like a true rat," added Patchouli with a shallow chuckle. "They must be proud of you."
Sighing, Marisa replied, "I told you to stop calling me rat already."
Suddenly, a black figure appeared from the street ahead, faster than any eye could follow. It turned sharply towards them.
Rinnosuke barely had time to speak before the black figure crashed into him, knocking both of them onto the ground.
"Pop goes the weasel, as they say," said Patchouli in a sly tone as she watched the collision. "Though I think it's more of a 'thud' than a 'pop'." Alice frowned at her obscure remark.
"You really need to take more evening walks, librarian," she told Patchouli.
Marisa helped Rinnosuke up while Reimu was examining the other person on the ground. It was a girl, a youkai no doubt, inferring from the mouse-like ears at the sides of her head. "You know, she looks utterly familiar, I just can't put my finger onto it." Reimu muttered.
Still a little bit dizzy, Rinnosuke took Marisa's hand so he could get on his feet. He scratched a sore bump on his head, slightly grimacing in pain. "What is that thing?"
Patchouli was beside Reimu, also examining the fallen mouse-girl. "She seems to be a distant relative of yours, Marisa." Marisa nearly choked on her remark.
"What are you talking about--" Marisa started, but she was taken aback by the fallen youkai's appearance. "She looks like a rat."
"Exactly," replied Patchouli smartly.
The girl started to stir awake. "Hey, who are you calling a rat?" The girl sat up, her tail twitching slightly as she gathered her wits. "If I have you know, I'm of a noble lineage, and a servant of Bishamonten--"
There was shouting in the distance as a group of humans began to approach them. "Oh look, villagers," remarked Marisa. "I wonder if they can tell us what's going on--" However, she was cut midsentence when a flying chisel nearly missed her cheek by the merest of inches. She felt her blood freeze when she heard its quivering thud when it hit a wooden pole just behind her. "This just isn't my day, isn't it?" she muttered nervously.
"Company!" said Ellen. "Are we going to have a street party?"
The villagers were fanning out, seeking to surround Reimu's group. They were only armed with makeshift weapons, tools that can be found inside the village proper. "Why are they attacking us?" asked Alice.
Patchouli noticed something. "Look at their eyes," she told the others. The villagers eyes were cloudy and yellowish, as if a mist had gathered inside it. "It's like they're under a spell of some sort. I've read of an enchantment--" Another flying object, this time a sickle, was hurling towards Patchouli, but Reimu deftly blocked it with her gohei. The sickle rebounded sharply, hurling upwards before dropping blade first onto the ground.
"That was unnecessary, I could have simply casted a wind spell to deter its trajectory--" Patchouli mumbled. Reimu shrugged her off.
"You're welcome."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Well, that went absolutely well," said Marisa with absolute sarcasm. They were running through the streets as fairies and villagers chased them along the streets of the human village. "Why aren't we fighting back?"
"Because!" said Reimu. "If I knock them out, and they remember me afterwards, I'm going to lose my benefactors!"
"Are they even giving donations at all?" asked Alice, puffing as she ran. "In any case, where is that mouse leading us?"
The mouse youkai was leading them through the streets, dodging carts, broken fences and overturned tables deftly. "I know of a safe place, just follow me," she told them. "Anyway, I didn't expect to meet you people here."
"Er...have we met before though?" asked Reimu lightly.
Ellen was squealing with delight behind them. "Are we playing tag? Who is 'it' then? Are we--" suddenly, Ellen's voice was dampened into a voiceless whisper. She still opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out,
"Thank you, fairy, she was beginning to get on my nerves," said Patchouli gratefully. Luna blushed slightly at Patchouli's approval.
"Er~ There's more of them ahead of us though..." said Sapphire nervously. Almost prophetically, numerous humans appeared in the street ahead of them.
"We're boxed in!" Rinnosuke grimaced. "What are you guys going to do?"
Before any of them can answer him, a yellow light blazed forth in front of them.
Light Sign 「Demon of Purification」
A voice boomed out. "Sinful humans controlled by the mist of Makai, bow down before the fury of Bishamonten!" The villagers who were caught in the light were thrown in the air and landed painfully upon the ground.
"Hey, don't kill my benefactors!" shouted Reimu at the voice. "Whoever you are, show yourself!"
As the light died, they saw the silhouette of a young girl who was older than mere centuries. She carried a small bejewelled object on her right hand and a spear with her left which she brandished towards Reimu.
"You are the scrawny human from before. I did not expect to meet you here," said the girl to Reimu.
The mouse youkai ran towards her. "Master Shou! There are wild humans and fairies everywhere!"
Shou sighed at the mouse youkai. "That's why I told you to stay at the temple, Nazrin. Still, this is really much worse that I thought."
"Hey, you just called me a scrawny human," said Reimu. "And haven't we met before?"
There was a shout behind them as the fairies and humans began to regroup themselves.
"Hurry up, shrine maiden and...her friends," said Shou. "We can't stay here, unless you want to fight a battle you won't win." Shou marched off ahead of them, with Nazrin following behind her. The others followed, except for Reimu who watched the reforming fairies behind them.
Sighing, Reimu shook her head in resignation, and ran off to follow the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hijiri temple was more peaceful than the human village, but there was tension in the air. However, the slightly noticeable red mist in the air was absent around it. Within its walls were humans and youkai alike who were lying in hiding from the mist. The temple was protected by Byakuren's most powerful prayers, and no unworldly impurity can penetrate its defences.
"Shou just arrived, Byakuren," said Minamitsu. "Nazrin is with her, along with...some others."
Byakuren was sitting inside her room, meditating and praying. "I see," she said after some thought. "We need all the help we can get, even if it is an uneasy one."
"Have you, by any chance--" asked Minamitsu. Byakuren nodded.
"I have discovered the enemy's whereabouts," Byakuren sighed. She got on her feet, gathering herself with regal grace. "Our enemy lies at the Kirisame estate."
t.b.c
Kiyuu[20:4e:6f:74:65] # 1[31:]
Aiki's Spell:
Crack "Multiple Alternation"
Yakumo Note # 8
The sun...which one is real...and which one is not?
Reimu saw the black sun, while Keine saw the yellow sun.
A dichromatic butterfly is feeding on the nectar of Dahlia...
Sei Note # 10
I swear! It's not a Honnoji reference! >.<
-
Alas, poor Ellen. Her commentary stifled. Well, at least Shou got a nice entrance.
And everything seems to be coming to a head. Probably.....
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 23
"So, anybody cares for an explanation?" asked Alice with exasperation. Alice, Reimu, Marisa and Patchouli were sitting around a low stove on the floor. On top of it was a smoking clay teapot.
"We are all that's left of the sane Gensokyo," said Shou. "Or at least, that is what I believe it to be." Shou opened the lid of the teapot and poured her guests some tea onto prepared bowls using a wooden ladle. She handed them the bowls quietly without another word.
Ellen and the fairies were staying in the room next to them, but they could hear noises as the fairies romped around in mischief. In the silence that had sunk inside the room, the noises from the other room seem to echo.
"You may already know, but most of Gensokyo had become like the humans in the village; under the spell of some sort of magician, the humans were attacking those who were not influenced by the spell," Shou said after a moment of silence. "Master Hijiri was able to detect the spell when it activated, and made a Zone of Purity around the temple. That way, we were able to make this a sanctuary that prevents the spell from influencing the people here. I was looking for others that escaped the influence of the spell, and bringing them here for safety."
"That's pretty neat," Marisa remarked. "But did you find out who was causing all this?"
Shou shook her head. "As we speak, my Master Hijiri is meditating, on what we should do next."
"Well, that's pretty simple, we just find out who is causing this and stop her from continuing the spell," replied Reimu.
"If it was that simple, I would've done it myself," Shou told her calmly. "However, apart from humans, youkai had also been wild."
"We know that already," Marisa chimed in. "It's been like that for days already."
"However, it would also seem that the youkai that had turned wild were working together with the humans under the spell." While the youkai may not be harmed by violent efforts, it would certainly be fatal to humans," Shou told them, the sides of her mouth twitching. Her face was calm, but Reimu and the others could sense the anger brimming just beneath her calm exterior. "Men, women, children, they are all under the influence of the spell, trying to kill each other without any remorse. Even if we could stop the spell, what will happen afterwards? Both the humans and youkai would be confused, and panic would surely ensue."
"That would be a problem, I suppose," remarked Alice. "But that kind of panic is certainly better than this."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fighting was becoming fiercer, but now they were on the streets. During the respite of the fairy and rabid human attacks, Keine and Kotohime directed their small band of humans to push the barricades outward, until they were well out of the Kirisame estate. They put up makeshift walls using overturned carts and tables around the walls of the estate and used them as cover from the attacks.
"Looks like we're somehow pulling this off," said Kotohime. "They're pulling back.more often now."
"I suppose so," Keine was breathing heavily from exhaustion. The combination of a sleepless night and the fatigue from directing the defense of the attacks were taking a toll on her body. Keine was shrugging it off, but her knees were already shaky.
"You should take a rest," Kotohime suggested.
"No, I think I can handle myself," Keine replied. Kotohime shook her head.
"You should know better than most, that a tired exterminator is a dead exterminator. You won't be fighting anything until you get some rest." When Keine started to protest, Kotohime replied, "I'm not stupid, of course I'll call you when we get another fierce attack. But there's nothing like that now. Get some rest."
Keine sighed and went back into the estate were the other relieved defenders were resting. On her way though, she met a young lady wearing a black long-sleeved shirt paired with a long scarlet skirt that seemed to shine amid the thin fog. Her hair was long and was tied in an odango covered by a red cloth] and tied with a black ribbon.
"Excuse me, but could I have a minute with you, Miss Kamishirasawa?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Master Byakuren, are you sure about this?" asked Minamitsu. "The Shrine maiden and the others are certainly powerful, but can they be trusted? I mean, if they are under the influence of the mist, then--"
"Minamitsu, you must not be fooled by the enemy. The mist itself is not our real enemy," replied Byakuren. "It's only an enemy's weapon usedagainst us but certaintly not the only weapon." Byakuren looked around the spacious room used for her meditations. "Do you not see the brilliance of her plan, Minamitsu? The enemy used a spell to turn people against each other, but not only that, she also used that to cast suspicion among the people who have escaped the influence of the spell."
"I kind of understand," replied Minamitsu with frustration. "But I'm still confused."
Byakuren stood up and started to leave the room, Minamitsu following her closely behind. "The enemy wants us to doubt each other, so that we cannot mount a steady resistance. Certainly the only thing to do for us to succeed is to do the opposite."
"Even so, are you sure that they can be trusted?" asked Minamitsu.
Byakuren answered without skipping a beat in her springy step across the temple halls. "Sure enough to do it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After a few minutes, Byakuren Hijiri and Minamitsu Murasa were sitting in the same room with Reimu and the others.
"So you think the enemy is at the Kirisame estate?" asked Marisa.
"Oh don't be shy, little princess," Reimu told her. "We all know that it's your house. Well, formely, at least."
"Why am I not surprised that Marisa is somehow involved in this?" said Alice.
Marisa scowled. "Hey, I haven't been around my folks for a long time, so I don't know anything about this."
Byakuren coughed to get their attention. "I do not think that the humans are directly involved in this, fortunately. I do believe that the origin of this spell is at the Kirisame estate, but it is more possible that the estate is only being used as a focus of the spell. And also, no human in their sane mind would think of something like this."
"However, fact remains that the estate is in the depths of the human village," stated Patchouli. "We cannot simply go charging inside the village, especially if we want to minimize casualties."
"Well, we could ask the people hiding here for help," suggested Alice. "We need all the people here to help us stop the rabid humans and youkai. Not to mention the numerous amount of fairies."
"I can take care of the fairies," replied Shou. "That's one problem down."
"The humans and youkai would still be a problem," said Minamitsu. "We can't hurt them, since they are all just under the spell."
Reimu shrugged. "Well, it won't hurt the youkai if we go hit their heads with something hard so they'll go unconsious right?"
Patchouli coughed. "I envy your simplicity, Red-white maiden." Reimu winced at her remark but Patchouli ignored her. "The problem would be the mist, can we be sure that everyone that will help will not become like the rabid humans?"
"How were you able to resist its influence in the first place?" asked Byakuren. "I do not understand its nature, but I do know that those who were not influenced by the mist stayed uninfluenced, even after spending some time outside of the temple. Nazrin and Shou are a prime example of that."
"I can't argue with that," replied Marisa. "And it's better than doing nothing."
Alice shrugged. "Well, that's the best thing I could think of, so I can't say anything else."
Nodding, Byakuren said, "I agree to Alice's plan. I shall ask those staying inside the temple for help. That also means all of you." Byakuren eyed each of them intensely.
Marisa yawned. "Well, it's kind of boring staying around here for long, so I'll go."
"I'd like to get some peace as soon as possible," said Alice. "And I won't certainly get any with fairies and youkai circling around the forest."
"This is a splendid chance for observing first-hand the full effects of the spell and the mist, I will not miss this chance for any reason," said Patchouli.
Reimu shrugged. "Well, if they're going, I'm going. It's bad for my reputation if a couple of magicians solves this case without the help of the local shrine, right?"
Sighing, Byakuren told them, "They're certainly not the best motives, but I guess I do need all the help I can get." She got up and started to leave the room. "I shall ask the others staying in the temple to join our cause. I shall send someone to call you when we gather our forces--no matter how small it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ellen sat, eyes closed. She ignored the fairies as they flew around the room playing tag on the ceiling. Sunny Milk was asleep at the corner of the room, arms spread out like an eagle.
"So it's almost time then?" she thought. "I could feel the seal weakening, I wonder how long I have left?" Luna Child's silence spell still hasn't worn off, but Ellen could still think.
"I have lived a long time, and Ellen doesn't remember all of it," Ellen thought. "But I, Ellen Fuwafuwaatama Aureus certainly does."
t.b.c
Yukari Note # 7
The Grimoire, or the Book of Ultimate Magic, is one of the items used to make the Hakurei Seal, the seal that strengthens the Hakurei Border. It is the main power supply of the border, channeled by the Hakurei maiden in each generation.
The book itself was written by a scholar of Makai, one of Sariel's most brilliant student in Makai.
Her name was Aureus, a mage whose power was said to surpass even Sariel's.
-
I love Ellen's full name.
-
It took me 4 days in my free time to catch up with the story. And it was worth every minute.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 24
After a long wait, they heard a knock at the door. Without waiting for a reply, the door slid open and Nazrin told them to follow her.
"Byakuren has finished talking to the other people inside the temple," Nazrin told them as they walked. "We had a few humans and some youkai who likes to join our attack at the village."
"Humans and youkai, huh?" muttered Marisa. "Well, as long as they don't get in my way, it doesn't really matter much."
Nazrin led them through the maze of corridors, until they exited out of a door leading to the wide area in front of the temple. The area was surrounded by high temple walls, and inside were rows of people lined neatly in ranks in front of Byakuren.
The 'people' were a mixture of humans and youkai, but unlike most youkai, the youkai looked humanish, just like Patchouli and Alice. However they counted less than twenty and they all looked a little shaken and tired.
"Well, so much for the army," said Reimu. "If I remember, the number of humans in the village numbered around a hundred or so, not counting the fairies and youkai."
"Wow, Reimu, I didn't know you could count," Marisa replied with mock surprise. Seeing Reimu's frown, Marisa added, "It's not like you to worry about numbers, anyway."
Turning serious, Reimu replied, "I'm not worried about numbers, I just don't feel like working together with this much people."
"Hey, we don't have time for chit-chat," Alice reminded them. Alice and Patchouli were already following Nazrin to the lines of youkai and humans. Tipping her hat slightly, Marisa followed them leaving Reimu behind.
If I could only do it before they reach the village--
Reimu felt a strong headache, and two golden orbs suddenly flashed within her mind. They looked familiar but--
"Hey Reimu, are you all right?" Marisa was kneeling beside her. Reimu realized that she was already kneeling on the ground, with a hand on her forehead.
Reimu took a deep breath and stood up, shaking off the bouts of dizziness. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You were crying for help a second ago--" said a puzzled Marisa.
"I'm fine," Reimu told her with a smile. She left a puzzled Marisa behind as she walked on while whistling a happy tune. ?Let?s go, they?re going to leave us behind.?
Byakuren called out to them. Shou approached them. ?We?re going to have a brief meeting inside the temple before we head out. Nothing like going with a plan in a middle of this mess.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was shining brightly, and the exterminators had a chance to rest. As the morning dragged on, there were fewer and fewer attacks upon the estate and Kotohime took the chance to order the strengthening of the barricades. She was in the middle of her orders when Keine told her something important.
"So you say that the one causing this chaos is at the Hijiri temple?" asked Kotohime. She raised an eyebrow as Keine nodded, begging Keine to explain herself.
?A few exterminators were performing a divination while we were resting. We all got the same signal from the Hijiri temple; the source of this disaster is definitely from the temple.?
Kotohime bit her lip. ?It doesn?t make any sense why Hijiri would be doing anything like this,? she told Keine. ?Are you really sure it?s her??
Shaking her head, ?I am as shocked as you are, but all the other exterminators got the same result in their divination spells,? said Keine. ?Well, the only thing I can think of right now is asking Byakuren what is going on.?
Nodding in reply, Kotohime started shouting orders to the active exterminators.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?Well, so far, so good.? Aiki sighed in exhaustion. ?It?s really hard to keep a low profile at this rate.?
After giving Keine and the other exterminators a simple ?suggestion?, the exterminators decided to do a divination spell in order to ascertain why the some of the villagers and youkai were going mad.
Using various techniques that were very much alike fortunetelling, the exterminators were able to say with certainty that the source lies at Byakuren?s temple. Aiki watched them from afar, pretending to help out in the distribution of food among the exhausted exterminators. The members of the Kirisame estate decided to offer food and beds to the exterminators in exchange for their defense all throughout the chaotic night.
?But it?s easy to fool humans, especially when they?re very much agitated,? sighed Aiki. ?This is no fun at all.? She fingered the small violet marble in her hand. Taking it up to eye-level, she looked at the hazy image of the Hijiri temple inside.
?They all should be tired and stressed by now,? Aiki chuckled. ?They?ve been up all night. I guess it?s time for me to move seriously.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?So this is all we?ve got?? asked Nazrin. She looked down from the temple roof. With her inhuman senses, she found it easy to balance herself atop the roof tiles. Ichirin Kumoi was sitting beside her, along with her companion, Unzan.
?Afraid so,? Ichirin told her. ?Don?t worry; I?m pretty sure Byakuren will pull us through.? They skipped the meeting, as they already knew what they had to do. Shou told them the details of the plan beforehand.
Nazrin gave Ichirin a sideways glance. ?I?m sure glad for your optimism; I guess I?m as dark as a sewer rat.? Unzan, Ichirin?s cloud-like companion nudged Nazrin, who replied by gently stroking Unzan above the brow. Unzan gave a comfortable sigh as Nazrin continued to pet him.
Giving Nazrin a slight shrug, Ichirin told her, ?I can?t say I?m not worried, but worrying won?t get us anywhere.?
Suddenly, a black figure landed next to them. Marisa slid down on the roof next to them, slightly dislodging the older tiles. ?Hey, Shou?s is going to kill you if you break one of those tiles,? Ichirin told her. ?What are you doing up here, human??
?Nothing much,? replied Marisa. ?I?m just killing time until we get to shoot stuff. I?m not really good with those stuffy rooms and people.?
?You?re a feisty one,? said Nazrin. ?I do hope everything goes according to plan.?
Ichirin laughed. ?Well the plan is pretty simple; we?ll all just fly together towards the Kirisame estate, and shoot enemies in the way, right??
Grinning, Marisa replied, ?That sounds pretty simple.? And then Marisa added in a half-whisper,?I do hope I can find time to get new stuff.?
?Get new stuff?? asked Ichirin, puzzled.
Marisa laughed it off. ?Don?t think about it too much, it?s a human thing.? Suddenly, they all heard a small squeak from behind them. A small field mouse was frantically trying to get atop the roof. Clambering atop the edge of the old tiles, Unzan flew below it and gave it a helping nudge.
?Hey, thanks a lot, Unzan,? said Nazrin. The mouse rushed towards Nazrin. Stretching out her hand to it, the mouse climbed on her palm, over her arms and onto her shoulders. It made a couple of squeaks before climbing down her. Nazrin nodded at the field mouse, as if to dismiss it. Without any further word, the mouse scampered away.
?What was that about?? asked Ichirin. ?A friend of yours??
?Kind of,? answered Nazrin. ?Anyway, we have to tell Byakuren some news.? Nazrin jumped down from the roof and landed neatly on the stone tiles below. Ichirin followed suit, and Unzan followed her.
?Hey, wait up,? said Marisa. Taking out her broom, she followed the two youkai towards Byakuren.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hmm?
?So, I think you know how everything would go,? she told her.
?An interesting plan, but I want to get some reassurance that I will be able to get out of this accursed seal.?
?Of course, breaking the seal is my top priority,? she answered back. ?But I want you to do that thing first. I need to stir that much chaos before I can do anything more.?
?I guess that is agreeable. I lose nothing by following, and I might gain freedom in the small chance that you succeed.?
?Don?t call it small,? she sighed. ?It?s a fair bet, and you know it.?
?But you know my problem. I cannot act as long as the contract holds. As long as it stands, I cannot take her over. The accursed witch practically rewrote the whole contract.?
?Which witch? The one who sealed you? There are a handful of witches in Gensokyo, you know.?
?Regardless, I cannot act as long as it holds. What can you do about it?
She smiled at her. ?Lots, my little devil. Lots.?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?Reimu?? Alice called out. ?What is that shrine maiden up to?? she muttered under her breath.
After the brief meeting with Byakuren and the other ?volunteers? to break towards the human village, Reimu told her to wait for her by the temple gates. All the other people in the temple were resting a little bit, youkai and human. They were grabbing all the rest they can before heading out.
?Over here,? said Reimu. She was sitting outside the gates. Her back was turned towards Alice, and she was busily looking at the sky. Alice frowned and walked slowly towards her.
?What do you want?? said Alice with a frown. ?You said it was something urgent, I hope you?ve got some explaining to do.?
?Well, it?s kind of urgent,? Reimu shrugged. ?I just want to ask how you feel lately.?
?How?I feel?? replied Alice. ?What are you up to, Reimu??
Reimu laughed. It was a cold and empty laugh, and Alice ran chills when she heard it. Nervous and worried, Alice ran towards Reimu, but her feet suddenly froze when she saw?
?Where?How did you get that?? asked Alice in a half-whisper.
On Reimu?s hands was the Grimoire.
t.b.c
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 25
?It kind of feels lonely here,? Rinnosuke told himself. He was alone inside a room reserved for his use, and Rinnosuke felt a little ill-treated. Shortly after arriving in the Hijiri Temple, a girl named Ichirin showed to a room reserved for his use. It was a small, bare room, furnished only with a low table and an airy window.
?No sharing of room between men and women while inside the temple,? Ichirin told him apologetically. Leaving him a tray of tea and snacks which Rinnosuke barely touched, he was left alone inside the room with his thoughts. After a long time of quiet meditation inside the room, Rinnosuke brought out a notebook secreted within his robes, along with the ?ballpen? he used before.
Deciding to kill time by writing, he started to write down his thoughts and observation about the present incident. However, he barely finished a paragraph before he was disturbed by a knock on his door. Rising from his notes, he opened the door and was greeted by a woman with long, wavy hair. She had a long, brown dress which she carried with regal elegance.
?Good morning,? the woman greeted. ?My name is Byakuren Hijiri, the keeper of this temple. May I come in??
It took a moment for Rinnosuke to recover from his surprise. Stepping aside, he politely let Byakuren inside the room. When they were both seated around the low table, Byakuren began to talk.
?I must apologize if your lodging were a bit poor,? she told him. ?The other rooms were occupied, and they?re all females.?
Rinnosuke felt a little embarrassed and said, ?I don?t mind, I guess there are some customs you have to follow even at times like this. My study at my house is a little bit cramped too, so I?m used to it.? Then Rinnosuke?s face became stern, and he frowned meticulously at the temple keeper. ?Anyway, you?re certainly not meeting me just for apologies, so while you may consider it rude, may I ask what brings you here??
Byakuren nodded in reply. ?You are a perceptive man,? she answered with a chuckle. ?As you already know, Gensokyo is already in chaos with the rabid youkai and humans attacking indiscriminately. With my abilities as the keeper of this temple, I was able to track down the source of this disaster.? Byakuren paused for a moment as Rinnosuke poured her a cup of tea. Handing it to Byakuren, Rinnosuke folded his arms as he waited for Byakuren to finish her speech.
?Unfortunately, even if I do know where the source of the mist doing this disaster is located, I do not have enough people to stop it,? Byakuren continued between the sips of her tea.
Understanding the direction of the conversation, Rinnosuke sank into deep thought before answering. ?I cannot fight. I?m not a youkai hunter, and I certainly won?t fight against the humans inside the village.?
?That is understandable,? answered Byakuren with a sigh. ?But it was an offer I make with all the people currently staying in the temple; including your companions.?
Rinnosuke?s lips curled into a smile. ?I assume they all agreed??
Byakuren can?t help but smile back. ?Yes they did,? she said with a laugh. ?Though I was hoping you?d join the cause as well,? she added a little wistfully.
Shrugging, Rinnosuke replied, ?I won?t be much help anyway. I?m just some reclusive man living just outside the village.? A little cautiously, Rinnosuke added, ?Can I ask about the source of the mist, if you don?t mind??
Putting down the cup of tea, Byakuren replied, ?I sensed the source coming from somewhere within the place called the Kirisame estate in the village.?
Rinnosuke?s eyes became wide with surprise, and Byakuren gave him a questioning look. ?It?s just that I knew the Kirisame family from way back,? he told her. ?I hope that they?re all right.?
Before any of them could speak another word, there was another knock on the door. Minamitsu opened the door and went to Byakuren. ?Byakuren, it?s time to plan about our assault on the village. Shou is already waiting for us.? Byakuren excused herself and left Rinnosuke alone with his thoughts once more.
Rinnosuke felt a little uneasy after Byakuren?s sudden visit. Unable to find the concentration to continue writing, he decided to take a stroll outside. Returning his notebook and pen within his robes, he stepped out of the room and started walking down the corridors of the temple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nazrin ran through the corridors as fast as she could. Her tail flailed behind her as she searched for her master?s room.
?Hey, wait up you little rat,? Ichirin called out. She flew behind the running youkai rat, with Unzan and Marisa following closely behind. They swerved left and right as they avoided the bystanders walking down the corridors who shrieked in surprise as they passed by.
?What?s the rush?? asked Marisa when Nazrin skidded to a stop in front of a huge door. Without knocking, Nazrin entered the room. Ichirin and Marisa exchanged puzzled looks before following her inside.
Byakuren, Minamitsu and Shou were sitting around a wooden table and in the middle of a serious conversation. They attention was suddenly diverted by the youkai rat who entered the room without any warning. Nazrin ran to Shou?s side and whispered a few words to her master?s ear. Ichirin and Marisa also approached them, and Byakuren offered them a seat and prepared them a cup of tea.
?Byakuren, we have a problem,? Shou said aloud and Minamitsu gave her a questioning glance. ?Nazrin tells me that a band of humans were approaching the temple.?
Taking a quiet sip from her cup Byakuren asked Nazrin, ?Are they armed??
Nazrin nodded. ?One of the field rats from the rice paddies spotted humans, more than twenty of them, armed and slowly making their way here. The rabid humans and youkai avoided them; I think they are exterminators.
?Exterminators?? repeated Marisa questioningly. ?What do they want from this temple??
?That?s not all,? continued Nazrin. ?They seem to be in some sort of trance, they all looked dazed and unconscious while they walked, unlike the others.?
?Trance?? Byakuren settled into deep thought, thinking of what to do next. ?Then I suppose we shouldn?t be planning an attack.? Turning a serious glance at the small group around the table, she then said in a stern voice, ?Ichirin, Minamitsu, ready the volunteers and tell them to get ready for a fight.?
?You think they?re trying to attack us?? asked Marisa. Byakuren nodded in reply.
?We should always prepare for the worst,? Byakuren told Marisa. ?Shou, Nazrin, and you??
?It?s Marisa, and don?t you forget it,? Marisa told Byakuren with an impish smile.
Shou couldn?t suppress a slight chuckle. ?I heard a lot of stories with that name,? she told Marisa. ?Most of them are quite interesting.?
?Anyway, you three are going to help me direct a defense that must withstand a storm unlike others I?ve faced before,? finished Byakuren.
Suddenly, an explosion tore through the morning calm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
?Very interesting indeed,? muttered Patchouli. She was walking around the temple walls, running her slender fingers across the structure. ?Spells within spells, a very complex thing indeed.?
She continued examining the walls with full interest, as if trying to find something elusive on it. ?Spells are enmeshed within, and serves as a suitable output against the mist,? she continued to mutter. Closing her eyes, she whispered a short incantation.
Suddenly, a golden magic circle appeared on the wall. It floated slightly away from the wall facing Patchouli. Stepping back, Patchouli began memorizing the ethereal image in front of her. After a few moments, she completely etched it inside her memory and dismissed the symbol with a wave of her hand.
?What are you doing, magician?? said a voice behind her. Turning around, Patchouli saw Rinnosuke walking with his arms folded inside his robe to ward off the morning chill.
?I am currently investigating the structure of these walls,? Patchouli answered curtly. Returning her attention back to her work, she placed both of her palms on the walls and whispered another incantation. A different magic circle appeared and Patchouli began to examine it as well. Just like the first one, it took only but a few moments for her to memorize the symbol before dismissing it with another hand wave.
Sensing the curiosity emanating from Rinnosuke, Patchouli began to explain, ?I?m trying to memorize the spells that the temple nun used to protect this place from the effects of the mist, as well as keep out the rabid humans and youkai from this place.? Patchouli placed her palms on the wall once more, and after whispering another incantation, another insignia appeared. Patchouli also memorized it within a few moments and dismissed it just like the first.
?I have memorized the spell, or at least, I think I can recreate this spell just in case the situation calls for it. With it, I can devise another spell that can utilize the effects of this temple barrier in order to cancel out the effects of the mist on the humans and youkai outside the temple,? Patchouli finished.
Wincing at the explanation, Rinnosuke replied, ?I really do not understand magic, but I guess it?s a good thing??
?A very good thing,? corrected Patchouli. ?If I am successful, I can reverse the effects of the mist and end this incident for good.?
Suddenly, an explosion tore through the morning calm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alice defended herself from the onslaught of attacks. With a single flick of her wrists, she manipulated a dozen dolls using her magic to block the barrage of talismans that came from the shrine maiden.
Some of the talismans almost hit her, but Alice?s inhuman dexterity took her safely away from danger. ?Reimu, what?s wrong with you?? shouted Alice over the attacks.
Reimu only answered with a gentle smile before throwing another barrage of talismans. Jumping towards the air, Reimu summoned her yin-yang orbs into battle. The dichromatic orbs began to shoot needle-like projectiles towards Alice below. The talismans flew towards Alice, dancing in the air as the faster flying needles overtook them on their way to Alice who deftly dodged the attacks with relative ease.
Alice glanced upwards and saw Reimu holding her gohei in her right hand and the Grimoire on the other hand. Seeing an opportunity, Alice returned fire using her magic dolls. The small, elegant dolls shot beams of light from their palms towards Reimu who only smiled back, as if thinking that the whole fight was a mere game. The lasers were deflected by an invisible barrier around Reimu, and they reflect off the barrier in an obtuse angle towards the distant horizon.
What is happening to her? Someone is certainly controlling her, thought Alice. But who and how are they doing it? Reimu is the last person I expected to be put under the spell of the mist.
And how in the world did she get my Book?
Reimu released another wave of needles and talismans. Sidestepping the attacks, Alice dodged with clear precision as the attacks missed her by mere inches. The projectiles embedded themselves on the ground with the force of Reimu?s attacks.
I should go back to the temple and ask for help, thought Alice. This is a futile battle, and I can?t win this. Spinning at her heels, Alice released a dozen of her dolls from her magical strings. They flew towards Reimu, and Alice did not waste any time.
[Demonic Control] "Return Inanimateness"
The dolls began firing bullets of energy towards Reimu, but the bullets dispersed as they hit Reimu?s barrier. Unfazed by the futility of the attacks, the dolls accelerated towards Reimu as they continued to fire bullets.
Wasting no time, Alice began to run towards the temple. She whispered a quick apology to her dolls as they sped towards Reimu without any doubt or uncertainty. Alice did not look back, not even to see the spectacular explosion of dolls and magic against the shrine maiden.
t.b.c
Sei Note # 11:
And now everything is going down, spiraling into a chaotic finale...
-
And now everything is going down, spiraling into a chaotic finale...
Indeed it is. Hm... I'm wondering how it will all tie up.
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 26
The explosion literally woke the whole temple. As alarmed faces started poking out of the doors and windows to find the source of the explosion, they saw Alice puffing as she ran towards the temple interior. A grey cloud of smoke was painted on the sky behind her, with some bits of debris falling slowly like leaves in the morning wind.
“Hey, what the heck happened?” Marisa asked Alice as she approached. Byakuren and her two followers came up to meet the running girl. Alice was panting heavily, and it took several seconds to get her breath back. However, as they waited for Alice’s reply, there was splitting sound that resounded throughout the venue, as if a lightning struck close by; but there was no apparent source, like it was an illusion heard inside their heads.
“Someone is breaking into the temple barrier!” Byakuren told them. Closing her eyes, she started to chant in a low, monotonous voice as the crackling noises became more frequent. The other denizens in the temple were coming out of the temple.
“Everyone, gather around me,” shouted Shou to the people and youkai inside the temple. With a bitter grimace, she directed the people to defensive positions around the temple as Byakuren continued her chants. As the people scurried around to their places, Alice sat down on the ground and sighed heavily.
“Hey, care about telling what happened?” repeated Marisa. Alice was still breathing heavily, but she seemed more composed than before. She looked at the sky; the grey cloud of her doll’s explosion was gone, but Reimu’s eerie smile was still etched in her memory.
“It’s Reimu, something’s controlling her,” Alice told Marisa. “She attacked me outside the temple gates.” Marisa gave her a skeptical look. “Look, I’m serious. I think what has gotten into the villagers has influenced Reimu as well,” Alice said frantically. “But I think the three of us can fight Reimu off.”
Marisa’s face hardened into a grimace. “Well, not if the whole village is behind her.” As if in reply, they vaguely heard a rhythmic noise in the distance. There was the unmistakable sound of feet striking the ground, a rhythmical march that sounded closer and closer by the second. “Reimu really has no concept of timing.”
“Quite a fix, I see,” said a voice behind them. Patchouli and Rinnosuke approached them in a slightly leisurely pace. “Even the shrine maiden has succumbed to this incident,” Patchouli continued. “At this rate, this temple will probably fall.”
“So even Reimu isn’t on our side anymore,” said Rinnosuke grimly. “I knew I should have stayed indoors at my house.”
“Nice inspiring words,” said Nazrin who overheard them. Ichirin and Shou were already casting spells to reinforce the temple’s defense, aided by the other youkai. The humans were readying their weapons, ranging from kitchen knives and makeshift clubs to purifying talismans. “It’s a good thing that most people here don’t really care for pessimism.”
There was another crackling sound and Byakuren went down on her knees, her face visibly in pain. However, she continued to chant in that same monotonous voice with steel-like will and concentration. “Now what do we do? I’m out of plans as of the moment,” Alice said.
Patchouli waved her off. “Do not worry; I have devised a spell that can turn the tables against the enemy,” seeing Marisa and Alice’s frowning expression, Patchouli added, “Rest assured that it does not involve roasting any of them alive.”
The crackling sound came in more regular intervals, like thunder rumbling in a drum beat. With each ripping sound that tore through the air, Byakuren would cry out in pain, and Shou would take over her chanting. They each took turns in continuing the barrier of the temple against the magical attack from the outside.
“Hey, there’s something flying above us!” one of the youkai pointed upwards. All of the looked up and saw Reimu flying lazily high above them. She raised one of her hands, as if to gather energy for an attack. Bringing it down, countless talismans appeared in the air around her; talismans covered with prayers of extermination and purification against the youkai inside the shrine. However, the talismans rebounded harmlessly on an invisible barrier around the temple, but Reimu’s barrage of attacks did not stop.
In retaliation, some of the youkai began to return fire at the shrine maiden, but she deftly dodged the bullets without breaking off from her attack.
Patchouli gazed briefly at the invisible barrier enveloping the whole temple. “I have invented a spell based on this temple’s barrier. It would reverse the flow of energy embedded within the mist, thus creating a negative energy signature against the mist. Using the temple as a focus, I can unleash a wave of energy that would create a negative resonance upon the mist, thus cancelling its effects on the people, and presumably, the shrine maiden.”
Wincing at the explanation, Marisa said, “So in short, you made a spell to fix all this?”
“Yes, that would sum it all up in a nutshell,” Patchouli told them.
“Then what are you waiting for?” asked Marisa. “It’s a good time as any to do it now.”
Patchouli nodded, and closed her eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aiki sighed.
“Well, this barrier is pretty resilient, even if it looks a little sketchy.” She raised her hand towards the Hijiri temple and clenched her fist. A great crashing sound tore through the air as invisible waves of energy rebounded against the barrier around the temple. Directing her thoughts towards the shrine maiden flying above the temple, she told the shrine maiden her instructions to attack.
“It’s getting hard to manipulate someone like her,” said Aiki. “She’s pretty stubborn for her looks.”
Aiki, whose specialty is manipulating people’s emotions, can use her ability to control the conscious thoughts of people. However, it was a touch-and-go thing, and it only works at certain times.
“Good thing that Shiku is maintaining the mist from Makai,” she chuckled to herself. “It really is helping me a lot. Not to mention it helps me keep the humans and youkai under my control in check.”
Using her ability, she spread her emotion manipulation powers through the seeping mist from Makai to control the conscious thoughts of the people in Gensokyo. She started little by little, patiently waiting as she went on for bigger kill. She began with the weak youkai and a small amount of fairies, turning on their aggression little by little. Youkai are pretty basic creatures, in Aiki’s point of view. They’re little better than most intelligent animals, since they mostly think of themselves, and their survival.
“Manipulating their hunger, and their fear of exterminators, the weaker youkai were easily overcome by my abilities and began destroying the balance of Gensokyo,” she sighed. “But I guess that wasn’t enough was it?”
Soon after the youkai began to attack indiscriminately, she moved on to the human village. Disguising herself as a household servant of a well-to-do family, she went about the village, spreading her influence through the mist.
“The good thing about this mist is that it can only be seen by those who pay close attention to it. It’s very hard to see, but once you see it, it’s very hard to miss. I wonder if it’s part of Makai’s magic?” Aiki mused.
When the villagers began attacking each other, Aiki seized control of the whole village, putting everyone in a dream that they were all being attacked by rabid villagers and youkai. Putting them under her spell they all went about the village as commanded, routing the very few that weren’t influenced by Aiki’s spell. Aiki tended to those people personally, no simple human can withstand her ability with the boosted power from Makai. However, some people have certain resistance to her abilities, and a considerable amount of villagers were unaffected by her powers. Those people (and youkai) needed to be close to Aiki for her powers to work.
“But it’s easier to do with people with utmost dedication to their job.” Aiki remembered exactly how she manipulated the man named Gyo to lure out some of the exterminators for her personal affairs, including the two ranking guardians of the village. Aiki was especially pleased that the women named Keine and Kotohime held some position in the village. “As long as people are distracted by more serious affairs, I can easily slip my spell inside their minds.”
After influencing Keine and Kotohime without anybody noticing, she let the two go about their affairs as if nothing has happened. Aiki’s ability works like a bomb; it can be planted inside a person for a long time, like in Reimu’s case, until Aiki decides to take control of the person’s mind using their emotions. She let Keine and Kotohime go around the village, directing the defense, while Aiki was actually directing the other ‘rabid’ villagers to pin the defenders to the Kirisame estate.
Aiki was lying there in wait, posing as a servant. However, she was already at work, implanting her spell on everybody in the estate, including the hiding youkai inside the Kirisame warehouse. After doing that, the whole village was perfectly under her control.
“But the problem was that some people escaped from the village,” Aiki said musingly. She easily sensed a barrier within the territory of the mist, and located it at the temple. Wasting no time, she manipulated the thoughts of the people under her control, making them believe that the source of this calamity was at the temple itself, and they had no inkling that they were being manipulated.
However, there was something she did not count upon, and that was stumbling accidentally on the Grimoire.
It was back when Reimu was searching Alice’s room with Marisa. Reimu, under Aiki’s influence, had found the book and held it; in doing so, Aiki became exposed to the entity sealed inside the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who are you?
Aiki did not answer back then of course. She wasn’t stupid, and she generally knows when it is best to leave things be.
I smell the stain of Makai upon you.
She must be referring to the mist, Aiki thought. Well, I’m pretty much drenched in it right now, but more importantly, she can sense me even if I’m not fully in control of the shrine maiden’s actions, yet.
Answer me, I really hate this silent treatment.
Aiki answered in thought through Reimu’s mind. Well, I generally don’t talk to books. I usually read them, but that’s another thing. But, I know some people who like reading books alou—
The voice inside the book audibly sighed, and Aiki stopped in mid-senten—er, thought. Without wasting anytime, she made Reimu hide the book within her robes, which was a tight fit within Reimu’s clothing. After Marisa and Reimu heard the screams from within the forest, Aiki continued to talk with the Grimoire through Reimu. Reimu acted normally in the outside, but Aiki was fully controlling her thoughts.
You’re not human, I can tell. But neither are you youkai, or a demon. What are you? asked the Grimoire.
Aiki chuckled in answer. That depends on how you make of me.
You are a shrewd being. You are manipulating someone to handle me, so that I cannot directly sense who you are.
More of an accident really, Aiki thought to herself, inaudible to the Grimoire.
Regardless though, why do you seek me? The book continued to inquire and Aiki sensed an opportunity.
Say, if you are a sealed being inside a book, correct? asked Aiki.
Yes, that is apparently obvious, the being inside the book answered dryly.
Anyway, it is then obvious that someone like you who was sealed inside a book is a being who was considered dangerous by the people who sealed you, right? Aiki pushed on.
Spit it out before you choke, said the book. I’m listening intently.
It is then possible that if I unseal you, you can create a massive amount of chaos in this place…or something like that, can’t you?
The entity inside the Grimoire did not answer at once. You seek chaos? An interesting being indeed. But as I can see from my view, all that is happening around this place is your doing. Why do you need more chaos?
That is easy to answer. That is because I need it, Aiki replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The barrier began to weaken little by little with Aiki and Reimu’s repeated attacks. However, Aiki could feel Reimu struggling within her grasp each second that passes.
“It’s hard to control a free-spirited person,” sighed Aiki. “It’s almost by luck that I was able to gain an opportunity to control her.”
Suddenly, the temple barrier began to withdraw, shimmer, and then it began to crack. It was an invisible thing, but Aiki sensed the crack like a stain on black cloth.
“Well, luck is still on my side,” Aiki chuckled.
t.b.c
Sei Note # 12
Aiki does talk a lot.
She talks too much anyway, she's really suited for a final boss...of sorts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many thanks to Anunsew who took over writing (and going through my draft) while I was unable to write.
I really need more peons like you.
-
Aiki kind of pisses me off. A lot.
And it's kind of weird, because she's a lot like Hazama
from BlazBlue, whom I adore. It's probably because she's not as hammy or doesn't make as much of an effort to be a troll.
No, Aiki just kind of pisses me off.
-
Aiki kind of pisses me off. A lot.
Just as planned. Mwahaha~
-
Rest assured that it does not involve roasting any of them alive.
Ah Patchouli. You think of everything.
And it's interesting to finally see how the plan fell into place. Of course it'll be more interesting when it all falls apart... >:D
-
Specialis Libri
Chapter 27
Yukari gracefully covered her cough with her fan. She was surrounded by a purple mist, a concentrated version of Makai's miasma. It's harmful to humans, and acts faster on inexperienced non-magicians. However, it amplified magic power to horrifying levels, and Yukari could felt very warm, like after drinking a lot of sake in one sitting.
"Yakumo, don't breathe too much of mist. It might make you feel a little funny," said a familiar voice.
"I don't think saying that now would do any good," said another voice. "Only Makai dwellers would be unaffected by this concentrated amount of mist."
Yukari felt a little giddy, but she tried to regain grasp hold of her thoughts. Looking around, she saw Sariel and Shinki staring at her with concern.
"She looks a little off," said Sariel. "I do believe she's intoxicated by the mist."
Yukari giggled. "A little bit, but I'm still fine. It's not like it's my first time drinking sake," she told them in a slightly slurred tone. "Let's switch topics for a bit, does Makai have refined sake by any chance?"
Shinki paused for a moment. "Er...right. We have to get out of the mist to get our bearings." While Makai dwellers aren't affected by the mist since they practically live with it almost all their lives, youkai like Yukari who aren't used to living with it are affected by its magic enhancing power—with the same effect like one of drunkenness.
Uttering a few words, a golden ball of light appeared on Sariel’s palm and the mist surrounding them began to dissipate. She flew upwards, followed by Shinki who pulled Yukari by the arm. They shout out from the dome of mist, stopped, then hovered just above it.
They were in the middle of a thick forest, above a large clearing. Shinki looked around and saw a black sun in the horizon. She threw a glance at Sariel, who looked equally puzzled.
“This isn’t Makai,” said Shinki. “Is this Gensokyo, then?”
Before Sariel could answer, Yukari stirred from Shinki’s grasp. Shinki released her from her hold, and Yukari floated back, clutching her temples with a hand.
“Er…my head feels like I’ve had a little too much liquor,” said Yukari. She opened up a gap behind her in which she took a seat on its edge, like a girl on a swing. It took a few silent moments for Yukari to compose herself.
“Looks like the effects of the concentrated mist are wearing off,” said Sariel. “You have great recuperative powers, Yakumo. Most youkai should be unconscious with the amount of Makai’s miasma you were just exposed to.”
“It comes with the age,” said Yakumo in a resigned tone. She looked around and saw the horizon’s sun. “Hmm, looks like we’re in Gensokyo—and a certain shrine maiden is having trouble doing her job.” A black sun, huh. Someone is messing with Gensokyo’s borders—who isn’t me.
Yukari’s face hardened and the two Makai dwellers noticed the change. “What is it, Yakumo?” Shinki asked her, but Yukari shrugged them off.
“It’s nothing. I still have something left to do, so I should be going now,” Yukari answered in a rush. She slid inside her gap, and vanished. Before Shinki could say anything, the gap closed, leaving them behind.
“Well, that’s not very polite,” said Sariel. “Leaving us to fend inside an alien world like that.” They suddenly realized that they weren’t alone in the skies. Sensing an aggressive aura, they saw fairies gathering in the distance in the horizon towards the west. “Very impolite indeed. A casual traveler would think that Gensokyo is a land of barbarians,” Sariel continued.
“Oh well, I guess this should do,” Shinki flicked her wrists, summoning a tremendous amount of magic which hurled themselves towards the fairies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, are you still alive down there?" Kou was crouching beside Shiku.
"I believe so, but my position is most uncomfortable," Shiku replied curtly. She was still lying on ground, near the edge of the black Crack that they were protecting. However, she was still impaled by Yumeko's swords, pinning her on the ground and rendering her unable to move.
"What did you do this time?" asked Kou. "I can barely see anything past my barrier."
The two of them were surrounded by a violet dome of energy created by Kou. Outside were purple clouds that enshrouded them like a very thick blanket of fog.
"I collapsed the Crack in Makai, thus temporarily combining this Crack with another Crack in Gensokyo. I gathered some of Makai's miasma in the process, and they are now being released in Gensokyo for big sister's perusal," replied Shiku without any hint of pain. "Now if you would kindly pull these swords from my body, we can report back to Master."
"So we failed, huh?" asked Kou. Standing up, she started to pull one of the swords impaling Shiku, ignoring the stains of blood they caused on her clothes.
"Yes, that is so. Master will not be pleased, but I hope that big sister would be able to do her part of the plan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emi coughed. “What the heck?” She looked around her, and she saw a purple mist covering everything that her eye can see. She suddenly noticed that she was on her knees, and not a little disoriented. She tried getting on her feet while she looked around for Kan.
“Hey, Kan! Where are you?” she shouted. She suddenly sensed danger, and she jumped backwards without thinking. A rabid fairy suddenly appeared in her field of vision, charging towards her. Emi took a deep breath, and threw a sucker punch at the approaching small youkai. The fairy careened off from the force of her punch, flying away into the purple mist. However, Emi felt her knuckles becoming sore, and she rubbed them, wincing in pain.
Well, this sucks a lot, Emi thought. She walked around inside the mist aimlessly, calling out for Kan. After a minute of fruitless efforts, she was rewarded by small cry in the distance.
“Help!”
Recognizing the voice immediately, Emi pointed a finger towards the direction of the voice. Black lines appeared on her finger, enveloping themselves on her hand. Emi opened her palm, and the black lines became more animate, zigzagging outwards as they lifted themselves into the air. They flew in a jagged pattern towards the direction the voice.
Emi closed her eyes. However, instead of seeing darkness, her vision was filled with different images. Her perspective became distorted, but Emi only smiled. She felt her body meld into the Cracks she had created from her hand, and she traveled along its jagged patterns, as they cut along the Dimensions of Space itself. Letting her mind wander across the different images that she saw, she spotted the one that she was looking for, and focused her will towards it.
She saw Kan surrounded by a dozen fairies, and Rika was unconscious behind her. The image was hazy, because of the mist, but Emi didn’t need her eyes to see while she is inside a Crack.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kan was struggling not to cry. There were times when her Master told her scary stories of monsters that like to eat people, but Kan never actually believed in them. However, now as she was surrounded by fairies that were just barely taller than her, she didn’t feel so confident about it.
The fairies were flying above her, circling around like buzzards before they strike for the kill. Kan remained motionless, too afraid to make any move. Everything happened too fast for her. A few moments ago, they were on top of Rika’s Evil Eye Sigma, and then suddenly, everything was covered with a purple mist. Suddenly, the Evil Eye Sigma took a series of hits, and they crashed on the ground. Rika was unconscious, and Emi was thrown off into the deeper part of the mist during the crash. Before Kan could do anything, she found herself surrounded by hostile fairies.
The rabid fairies looked at her with red eyes, and snarling at her with utmost frenzy. Kan took a step back and tripped on Rika’s outstretched figure on the ground. She landed squarely on her bottom and screamed for help. As if on cue, the fairies began to attack.
However, before Kan could flinch, a series of black jagged lines shot through the air, impaling the fairies one by one. The lines travelled in a cruel, zigzagging motion, chasing the fairies trying to attack Kan. The fairies that were impaled by the edge of the Crack disappeared with a burst of light, leaving no trace behind.
“Big sister!” cried Kan, sighing in relief.
The black lines began to thicken, now gathering together to form a large black rectangular window floating in mid-air. Emi stepped out from the Crack, and landed neatly before Kan. Snapping her fingers, the black window undulated into black lines which flew towards her hand where they disappeared.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I used my Crack seriously like that,” said Emi. She glanced at her teary-eyed companion and grinned. “Well you’re not hurt, aren’t you?”
Kan shook her head and pointed at the unconscious Rika. Emi snapped her fingers and the black lines appeared on her hands once more. “I think it’s best to hang out around her place for now.”
The black lines struck towards the ground where they spread out and covered the ground like a black, messy puddle. It spread across their feet, and the three of them began to sink, and eventually vanished into the floor.
t.b.c
Due to some events outside of Coin Spire's control, Coin Spire had requested me to update this fanfic in his stead. If you haven't noticed already, I filled in for a little bit in some of the earlier chapters.
As a personal friend of Coin Spire, I shall take this fanfic as a responsibility, and though writing isn't exactly my forte, I'll try my best in continuing this work...even if I can't update it regularly. XD
Despite me filling in as a writer, Coin Spire still provides feedback for each chapter I write. So strictly speaking, it's like he's still the one making the story, but making me do the hard work. That lazy cheater.