Okay, here's the epilogue everyone. I've got some replies to your previous comments, but I'm going to throw them into a post after this one to keep this a bit cleaner.
So here it is, the final conclusion for Rise of the Evening Star. Please enjoy!
Epilogue ? A Glimmer of an Ancient Age
Hoshimi sat in the ?throne room,? quietly watching the goings-on around her. The room was honestly not very impressive ? it was better than the tent they had been using just a few weeks ago, but the only thing that set it apart as special was that it was the only room with actual walls in the area. There were no decorations on the walls, or carpets on the floor, and the throne itself was just simple wood. Still, the bare stone walls did a better job of cutting the wind than the canvas tents did, so she was content.
Patiently, she watched her father as he discussed the latest news with his aides. He had just returned a few minutes ago, and though she couldn?t make out what they were saying from this distance, it was clear that they were excited about something. She was dying to know what that was, but she knew better than to pry ? if it was something that they could tell her, her father would no doubt tell her when the time was right.
As if on cue, the group of aides around her father began to disperse, leaving the room with impatient steps. Despite having no idea what was happening, she couldn?t help but start to share in their excitement. Once they had finished dispersing, her father gave some orders to the final few that remained before walking over to her, a small smile on his face. She could tell that he was trying to keep himself controlled, trying to hold back his excitement ? something that made her even more curious.
?Good news?? Hoshimi said as he approached, and his smile instantly grew wider as she did.
?Great news,? he replied, kneeling down in front of her so that their eyes were level, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. ?Better news than we could have ever hoped.?
?Is the war over?? Hoshimi said tentatively. She knew she was hoping for too much, but even though she knew that, she couldn?t help but keep the wish alive.
?Not yet,? he said, expression unfaltering, ?but the tools we need to end it have fallen right into our lap.?
Hoshimi?s initial disappointment was immediately washed away. They had been at ?war,? struggling in a constant fight for their lives, ever since she was born. In desperation, her father had made an alliance with four nearby Houses, combining their military strength and effectively protecting them from the threat of extermination. But, being in an alliance of five just made them a target for larger predators. They had crushed those who caused problems for them before, but the fighting hadn?t stopped as larger factions began to attack them.
?We have reports that a dragon has fallen into our territory. A
dragon, Hoshimi! It?s old, sick, and wounded, but it still holds power beyond anything we could ever dream! We already have a plan in motion to put it out of its misery, and take its power for ourselves. With the power of a dragon, even split up across our five Houses, we?ll be invincible! We?ll finally be able to find the peace we?ve been searching for!?
Hoshimi finally gave herself up to excitement. She was sick of the fighting, sick of seeing people getting hurt, sick of hearing news that her friends had died. She didn?t know much about dragons, but if what her father was saying was true, they would have nothing to worry about. She would finally be able to relax, to be happy.
?When?? Hoshimi asked, unable to squeeze out any more.
?Time is of the essence,? her father replied, standing upright. ?We?ll be leaving in just a few hours.?
Hoshimi couldn?t bring herself to mention that he had misunderstood the question, so she just nodded. He was overflowing with excitement, in a way she had never seen before. And she was, too. For the first time, she had real hope that this war would come to an end.
?I have to go help with the preparations now,? he said over his shoulder as he walked from the room. ?Take care of things while I?m gone!? Hoshimi nodded fervently, watching as he walked out of the room. As soon as he was through the door, she could hear him begin calling out orders.
Alone, Hoshimi immediately knelt down in front of her chair, clasping her hands in front of her.
Please, dear Goddess, she prayed as hard as she could,
keep them safe, and give us this chance at peace!-------------
Hoshimi sat absent-mindedly, fondling the amethyst pendant around her neck. Even thinking about it made waves of nausea flow through her, but she crushed them again and again. It had been too long, she couldn?t afford to let it hold her down forever.
Sitting around the table with her were four others, the leaders of each of the Houses in their alliance. None of them seemed the least bit distraught, which gave birth to a small bitterness in Hoshimi. Each of them wore a necklace similar to hers, though the colours on each of them were different.
Hoshimi let herself sigh, attempting to expel the bitterness as well. She knew she shouldn?t hold it against them ? it wasn?t their fault. And in the end, they technically
did succeed, so she couldn?t really hold their high spirits against them either.
It wasn?t like they killed her father.
She couldn?t even hold it against the dragon that had killed him. It was just trying to defend itself, just trying to find rest. To find peace. She could understand that just by holding the pendant she now wore between her fingers, yet it seemed she was the only one in the room who understood the dragon?s feelings.
And so, she had nowhere to direct her grief. Her father had been killed, but it wasn?t like he had been betrayed. And even the one who killed him was just defending themself. What?s more, she was told that her father?s sacrifice had been instrumental in their victory. So all she could do was suffer through her grief.
But even then, with both her parents gone, it fell to her to lead the House. She didn?t have time to get caught up in her own emotions. Two weeks spent mourning was two weeks too many.
Hoshimi turned as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Sitting to her right was a woman whose name she didn?t know yet, and she could only really recognize her by the sapphire pendant around her neck. She squeezed gently on Hoshimi?s shoulder, a sad smile on her face. Hoshimi did her best to smile back. At least someone cared.
?I know that it feels like a time to celebrate, to enjoy our victory,? the man with the white pendant across the table from her said, ?but time is of the essence. We must take action sooner, rather than later, to ensure our people remain safe.?
?I agree,? said the woman with the blue pendant, ?but let us not forget that not all of us are celebrating right now.? The atmosphere in the room darkened considerably as everyone turned to Hoshimi, some more discreetly than others. While most of the expressions in the room held expressions of sadness and pity, there were also those unmistakably riddled with contempt. Hoshimi did her best to ignore those.
?As such,? the blue woman continued, ?I propose that our first course of action be dictated by her. She has paid the greatest cost to get us here today, I feel it is only fair to her that we give her some sort of recompense.?
?Are you insane?? the man with the ruby pendant practically shouted, ?she?s a child! A kid! She barely knows the difference between left and right!?
?I agree,? the man with the emerald pendant said, ?though I think your tone is reprehensible, I can?t justify putting the future of my people on the whims of a child, no matter how difficult this has been for her.?
The blue woman gave the two bitter looks, but said nothing. However, unlike the others, the man with the white pendant was quiet ? staring at Hoshimi, as if judging her, measuring her worth.
?Go on,? the woman in blue said, ?ignore what they said. Just tell them what you want.?
Hoshimi looked back and forth between the four seated at the table with her, nervously gripping the hem of her dress. She knew, deep down, they were right. She was just a child. What did she know? How could she make decisions for so many people? But even so, there was something she definitely wanted. Something she wanted more than anything else, especially now that she had lost the last of her family.
Forcing her hands to relax, she raised her eyes, meeting the man with the white pendant?s gaze with a firm expression of her own. With a shaky voice, belying both her nervousness and her earnestness, she spoke. ?I just want peace.?
The room was quiet. Even the man with the red pendant, who was so eager to mock and ridicule her at every opportunity was silent. Hoshimi had little hope that these four, who had gone through such great lengths to procure the power of a dragon, would settle down for peace just because she asked for it. But if she was to answer honestly, that?s all she wanted.
Finally, after minutes of awkward silence, the man with the white pendant sighed. ?Alright.?
Four sets of incredulous eyes snapped to him. ?I know what you are going to say,? he said again, raising a hand to stave off the imminent barrage of objections, ?but the girl is right. We did not obtain this power to become murderers, we did it to protect our people. As such, peace is the obvious solution.?
He turned to look Hoshimi in the eye. ?However, even you must know that peace does not come for free.? Hoshimi nodded solemnly. She had suffered through war for years. Peace was like a dream, a utopia for her. She knew that it would come at a price, a price she had been paying since she was born. A price her family had been paying for longer than she could know.
?Unfortunately, we cannot obtain peace by laying down our arms. We must rise up, and tear down those who would threaten us. That is the only path to peace.? The angry expressions in the room turned to grins, while the blue woman?s turned suspicious. Hoshimi herself wasn?t sure what to think. She didn?t like the idea of taking peace by waging war, but there didn?t seem to be any other way.
?Tomorrow, we march. We crush those who would threaten our people, and when none of them remain, we shall truly have the peace that you desire.? Once again, the man with the white pendant turned to Hoshimi. ?Is that acceptable, little one??
Hoshimi gripped her pendant hard, feeling its sharp edges bite into her hand. She didn?t like it, but?there was no other way. After taking a deep breath, she nodded forcefully.
The discussion immediately turned to the logistics of the coming battles, of which Hoshimi had no interest in. She had people she trusted to deal with the messy details for her, until she had a chance to learn how being a leader worked.
All she could do now was pray that the Goddess would keep them safe in the coming conflict.
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Hoshimi watched with tired eyes as her opponent, finally, collapsed. Though she desperately wanted to believe that it was over, she knew from experience that this was only the beginning.
Stepping sluggishly over to her fallen opponent, she could tell just by looking ? as if seeing the attacks she had used against him wasn?t enough ? that life had fled from his body. Yet there was no feeling of triumph, no thrill of victory in her heart ? only bitterness at another friend dead.
Unceremoniously, she tore the diamond-white pendant from his neck and placed it around her own, matching perfectly with the four she already wore. She would need to do something about that ? wearing five identical pendants looked kind of silly. Maybe she could rework the five jewels into a single-piece necklace? Such mundane thoughts were the only things she could bear to have occupy her mind. She didn?t want to think about what had just happened. Or what was about to happen.
But, of course, her mind turned there anyways.
Originally, the alliance Hoshimi?s House had been a part of ? quickly renamed to the Dragon Soul Alliance, however lacking in taste that was, after slaying the dragon and stealing its power ? had functioned superbly. They had crushed their oppressors with little effort, thanks to the power of the dragon they held, but their immense power drew even greater envy. Greater and greater armies declared war on them, and working together, they managed to fend them off. But greed wasn?t limited to outsiders.
Only a decade after her father had died, Hoshimi, who was the bearer of the Amethyst Pendant and the title of the Evening Star, and the bearer of the Sapphire Pendant, bearer of the title of the Tide Star, were split off from the alliance?s main army in order to defend against a surprise attack. It had, as she found out later, been a trap ? it wasn?t a surprise attack at all, but a plan instigated by the other members of the alliance.
Outnumbered ten to one, they expected a resounding defeat, but by some miracle the two of them had managed to lead their army to a very close victory. The cost, of course, had been tremendous, each side losing more than four fifths of their army. And one of those casualties had been the Tide Star herself.
Acceding to her dying wish, Hoshimi took the Sapphire pendant, adding its power to her own. And once she had returned to the alliance with it, she was immediately branded a traitor. Of course, with the power of Insight granted her by the Sapphire pendant, she knew it was just another part of their plan ? an attempt to seize the power she held for themselves.
One by one, the other members of the ?alliance? brought their armies against her, and one by one they fell, not realizing how outclassed they truly were. And now, only fifty years since the death of her father and the slaying of the dragon, Hoshimi was the last remaining leader of the ?Dragon Soul Alliance.?
Hoshimi hated the suffering that the power of the dragon had brought upon her, and especially her people, but she refused to lose to it. Fighting that bitterness, she adopted the people of those she defeated ? though others saw her actions as mere conquest, to her, it was an obligation. She had robbed those people of their leaders, of their protection, so it was her responsibility to protect them.
Hoshimi looked up at the blood-red sky. Even now, neighbouring enemies who had been watching their internal power struggle would likely be bearing down on them, attempting to crush them in their time of weakness. With a deep breath, she began walking back to her army.
The power of the dragon, divided five ways to maintain balance, was now united in her. There was no time for her to rest, even in the wake of this victory. If she didn?t protect her people, who would? If she didn?t fight for peace, who would?
Once again, fighting the crushing sense of futility she had grown so accustomed to, she murmured a prayer under her breath to the Goddess. A prayer that, someday, the fighting would stop, and she would find rest.
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Hoshimi looked out over what had once been a battlefield, now scarred and scorched from the battle that had taken place there. Once again, with her at the head of the army, she had been victorious.
Centuries ago, she had struggled against tears at her father?s death and accepted a fifth of the power of the dragon. Looking back, she couldn?t say she had any regrets. Not of that time, her first step on this journey of seemingly eternal conflict, nor of any of the choices she made since then. Each choice she made brought her infinitesimally closer to her goal, inches closer to earning the peace that she and her people ? as well as her long-deceased family ? had dreamed of.
And now, looking out over the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the world, she could finally say that her goal was within sight.
Every opponent Hoshimi and her armies defeated gave birth to greater enemies. As the Houses around her territory declared war, she crushed their leaders and adopted their people. Soon, her House had grown to the size of a small nation, to which larger nations immediately set their sights on. And so she and her people were dragged into even greater wars. But with the power of the dragon in her hands, and the power of her people united behind her, they came out victorious time and time again.
Yet no matter how many battles they won, no matter how many nations they conquered, war was always on the horizon. But today, at long last, Hoshimi could finally put that behind her.
With her victory today, Makai had been united. There were no more Houses, no more factions, no more nations. They were all one people, and they were all under her.
But, even with all of Makai united under one ruler, her people were still not safe. As if to spite her and her centuries-long wish, peace was still ever so slightly out of her grasp.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Hoshimi turned. Climbing the rise to stand beside her, one of her Captains surveyed the battlefield briefly before speaking.
?I have a report from the capital,? she said in a quiet voice. Hoshimi could tell just by looking at her what it was about, but she nodded for her to continue anyways.
?More riots. More terrorism. The Goddess? followers continue to attack wantonly and destroy large portions of the city. A number of smaller towns around the capital have been completely abandoned, burned to the ground by more of the same. Loss of life in the last few weeks alone is totalling in the hundreds.?
Hoshimi sighed inwardly. Nothing had changed, then.
For hundreds of years, Hoshimi had prayed desperately to the Goddess. For respite, for intervention, for some semblance of peace in this war-torn world that she had created. She, of course, had been granted no such thing ? from the moment Hoshimi had been born, her life had been an uninterrupted stream of war and conflict. It didn?t take long before Hoshimi began to feel the same as the others ? that the Goddess had created Makai for fun, and had no intention of helping any of those who lived there. That she simply enjoyed watching the conflict play out in front of her.
But she couldn?t argue that the power of the dragon that had fallen into her hands was a miracle. She had been forced to assume that was the Goddess? answer to her prayer. That if she wanted peace, she was to achieve it herself, with this God-given power. And so she struggled ever harder, to achieve the peace that she and her people wanted so badly.
Then, a number of years ago, emissaries from the Goddess herself began appearing across Makai. Hoshimi had at first rejoiced, finally shown proof that the Goddess cared about her and her people ? until she heard why they had appeared.
The emissaries publicly denounced Hoshimi. They spread propaganda of her as a blood-thirsty monster, who destroyed lives and crushed peoples out of some sick sense of entertainment, for no reason other than to sate her lust for power. They urged the people of Makai to rise up and overthrow her as the tyrant she was.
Hoshimi had been heart-broken. But she knew what it meant to be a leader, and knew she could not afford to be beaten by words. As the Goddess continued to sow dissent against her, she could do nothing but continue the war. As the last two of the great nations united against her to bring her down and conquer her people, she could do nothing but rise up against them. She would not let her people be oppressed and give them over to suffering because of some nay-sayers, even if they were sent by the Goddess herself.
Luckily, success on the warfront was met with trust at home. The vast majority of the people supported Hoshimi regardless of the Goddess? emissaries, and so they remained strongly united under her. Unfortunately, the minority who did support the Goddess, despite centuries of divine neglect, became more and more vocal, more and more extreme, as time passed. Urged on by the emissaries, it was only a few years before they turned to riots and terrorism to spread their message.
Though there remained no nation that could wage war against them, her people were still not safe. They still did not have peace. As long as those emissaries continued to incite her people to acts of terrorism, peace would never be theirs. And so, Hoshimi was forced to push down the overwhelming sense of bitterness inside her and keep struggling towards peace.
?Send word to the army,? Hoshimi told the captain, standing silently beside her. ?Half are to stay and ensure a smooth transition here, and to see to the needs of the people. The other half will march with me. They have three days to prepare.?
The captain blinked in confusion. ?March? Where to??
Hoshimi turned, meeting the captain?s gaze. With a steady gaze and a resolute expression, she spoke again. ?To the last battle.?
The captain stood confused for a moment, but soon realization dawned on her face. With a sharp salute, she quickly turned and made her way back to the encampment below.
Peace would not be theirs as long as the emissaries continued to incite her people against her. The emissaries wouldn?t stop until their Goddess stopped sending them. And so, the best way to deal with the problem, was to tear down the Goddess herself.
Sitting silently in the crystal palace Pandemonium for centuries, she came out from her solitude only to sow dissent and create unrest. In order to protect her people, in order to finally find peace, Hoshimi would bring down the Goddess herself.
Makai would know peace, no matter what the cost.
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Hoshimi?s consciousness returned slowly. Honestly, she was slightly impressed that it was returning at all. She had felt the seal slam into place, and could tell that her ability to transfer magical energy ? and her consciousness ? to her current body was rapidly fading.
Staring up at the purplish-blue haze blocking her view of the sky, Hoshimi didn?t even try to sit up. Ever since that moment when the Goddess Shinki appeared, memories had been flooding back. Even when she blacked out, she dreamt of the past. And despite her predicament, she couldn?t help but smile to herself.
She had failed. Again. She had failed to free Makai of the Goddess? tyranny, and now she had failed to free herself from the Goddess? prison. She still felt decidedly bitter about the first one, but she couldn?t help but find the second failure ironically humorous.
She had been a hero, carrying the hopes and dreams of all Makai into battle. She had risked her life so that, at long last, she could find the peace that her and her father had so desperately wanted. And she had failed, being sealed away for who even knew how many years. Now that her memories had returned, she finally had the chance to realize, recognize, and mourn over her loss.
But the second failure, she couldn?t bring herself to be bitter about. She wasn?t pleased that she had lost, but when looking at it from a wider perspective, it was the expected outcome. She had quite clearly been the villain, after all. If she had won here, it would have just created another tragic hero story like her own.
Out of the corner of her vision, she could just barely see the tower she had made. Despite the fact she was rapidly disappearing, it was still standing strong, waiting for its second chance. Hoshimi sighed. It would have been nice to leave it as a memorial to herself, as some sort of proof that she was still alive, but she doubted the residents of Gensokyo would let it stay. After all, thousands upon thousands of souls were still trapped in that crystal ? there was no doubt they would be liberated almost immediately after Hoshimi vanished, if not before.
Without a word, Shinki landed on the ground beside her. Their gazes met, and Hoshimi was forced once again to admit her loss.
?You know,? Hoshimi managed to say quietly, ?I had thought for sure this time I was going to win. I had thought for sure I could beat you.?
?Even with only a fraction of the dragon?? Shinki replied. Her terrifying aura had vanished, surprising Hoshimi. She had never known it was something she could turn off.
?Ha. I only need a fraction to beat you. Especially out here.? Hoshimi tried her best to smile as she spoke. She didn?t know why ? there was nothing but bad blood between the two of them. Even so, if she was going to be sent back into the hell that was her prison, she wanted to end her brief spurt of almost freedom on a good note.
Shinki nodded thoughtfully. ?Yes, you?re probably right. If it was just the two of us, I?m sure you?d eventually come out on top.?
?But of course,? Hoshimi almost whispered, ?you?re never alone. Even back then, you had hundreds??
A moment of silence passed between the two of them. They had been enemies for as long as they had been alive, after all. Holding a simple conversation was no easy task.
Hoshimi closed her eyes, breaking the silence with a quiet voice. ??how is Makai??
Another long moment of silence passed before Shinki replied. ?Makai is at peace. There has been no large scale wars since the ones you took part in, and no pockets of rebellion for the past couple thousand years. All of Makai, as it was united by you, now lives peacefully under my direct rule.?
Hoshimi gave a long sigh. The bitterness that had plagued her entire life in Makai, and that had been reborn with the return of her memories, was finally loosening its grip. After all she had done, the centuries she had suffered to win her people peace, she had ultimately failed to bring down the Goddess. But even so, her people had found peace. Even though her mortal enemy now ruled the kingdom she had created, it didn?t matter.
Even if she had failed in her last battle against the Goddess?she had succeeded. She had, at long last, won peace.
As relief washed over her, she could feel the world around her starting to go dark. Her time was running out. It was a shame ? after all that, she had hoped she would have at least had the chance to apologize to those in Gensokyo of the trouble she had caused them. Or to see Makai, now that it was peaceful. She couldn?t say she regretted what she had done ? but she could at least say
something, to show she did understand how much pain she had put them through.
Looking up, she saw once again out of the corner of her eye the massive black tower. No doubt, they would soon find a way to take it apart, and liberate the souls trapped inside. Even so, it was the least she could do?
Struggling to move at all, she reached out with her mind and pulled on an invisible thread within the tower. The invisible kill-switch, just in case, for whatever reason, the tower needed to be destroyed. She couldn?t think of a good reason to include it when she had built the tower, but now she was glad she did. Even if she couldn?t say anything to them, she could at least clean up this one last mess before she left.
Almost instantly, the tower began to tremble. Starting from the top, the crystal dissolved, and the thousands of souls trapped within it began to flow out. The tiny, almost insignificant looking souls whirred around the top of the tower, as if confused, before they slowly began to drift away, all in the same direction.
With that, there would be nothing left to prove Hoshimi had ever been here. She couldn?t help but feel a little depressed at that fact. Struggling hard to remain conscious, she gathered what little strength she had left, and forced it into the ground behind her.
A single spire of violet-black crystal, only a foot thick at the base, erupted into the air, reaching only ten feet before it stopped. Hoshimi laughed derisively at herself ? she had tried to make it as tall as the previous tower, but this seemed to be the best she could manage. Regardless, at least now there was a symbol of her passing. She didn?t know how she felt, setting up a grave marker for herself when she technically wasn?t going to be dead, but knowing it was there created a small sense of satisfaction in her. Likewise, she knew the people of Gensokyo would have no reason to leave it there after she disappeared, but the act of trying was enough to relax her, at least a little bit.
As the darkness finally closed in around her, as she felt her body start to dissipate and vanish, she saw the shrine maiden approach out of the corner of her eye. Maybe she was being greedy, but seeing her standing there, there was one last thing she wanted to do before it was over.
She could no longer see, but even so, she turned her face to where she remembered the shrine maiden was standing.
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Reimu and Eirin approached slowly, on foot. Hoshimi was lying on her back, unmoving, while the person who called herself Shinki was standing by her side, looking down. They had been talking briefly, but had since stopped.
Reimu and Eirin paused as suddenly, the tower of black crystal begun to tremble. Reimu?s heart immediately dropped. Couldn?t this just be over? Couldn?t Hoshimi just admit that she had lost already?
As if to answer Reimu?s wish, the tower began to dissolve from the top. Small white wisps began to pour out of the top of the tower, floating around in a crazed whirlwind of white before gradually flowing off into the distance like a river of snow.
?Spirits of the dead?? Eirin murmured beside her, triggering an ?a-ha? moment in Reimu. This
had all started when the spirits of the dead went missing. And she had seen Hoshimi building the spirits into the tower before. She wasn?t sure why the tower had suddenly started falling apart, but she wasn?t going to complain. It was Komachi?s problem now.
As the last of the tower dissolved, and Reimu and Eirin finally approached within speaking distance, a single spire of black and purple crystal punched out of the ground behind Hoshimi, rising ten feet into the air. Reimu didn?t even bother to be upset this time. If Hoshimi was still planning something, Reimu was too exhausted to do anything about it anyways.
Reimu?s attention was then drawn to Hoshimi herself. Though one of her arms was missing, it seemed the rest of her was trying to catch up ? starting from the tips of her remaining limbs, her body began dissolving into a black mist, which then dissipated into the air. And yet despite the fact she was disappearing, the look on Hoshimi?s face wasn?t pained, or sorrowful.
It was relieved. At peace.
While Reimu decided it was best to hold her peace, Hoshimi suddenly turned to look at her. As their eyes locked, Reimu could tell that Hoshimi could no longer see anything, but even so she definitely knew Reimu was there.
Her relaxed, peaceful expression quickly turned into her usual sinister, dangerous looking smile. It had lost a lot of its pressure, what with her dissolving as she did it, but it still put Reimu on guard.
?Well done, little shrine maiden,? she said, her voice barely a whisper. ?You win.?
With that, the last of her body, as if it had been waiting for her to say those words, dissolved as one into a thick cloud of black fog, rising into the air and vanishing without a trace.
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Only a day or so after the conclusion of the incident, Marisa sat comfortably drinking her tea. It wasn?t often she was an actual guest at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so she made sure to enjoy the experience while it lasted.
Which was surprisingly difficult to do, considering her company. Beside her was Reimu, also calmly and quietly sipping tea. To her other side was Sanae, who was pointedly ignoring her tea while she listened to the conversation going on in front of her.
Besides the three of them, there were also Yukari, Kanako, Eirin, someone named Shinki who Marisa wasn?t familiar with, Alice, and at the head of the table, trying her best to still look important, Remilia. Flandre sat beside Remilia, and Reisen, Nitori, Patchouli, and Suwako sat scattered around the less important seats at the table, while Sakuya and a veritable army of fairy maids served everyone.
Currently, silence pervaded the room. Shinki had just finished explaining where Hoshimi had come from ? that she was originally a resident of Makai, who had been sealed away, and managed to leak a bit of her power into Gensokyo ? and what her true goal had been ? to break open the seal and set herself free. The news was dwarfed slightly upon the revelation that Hoshimi had once ruled over the vast majority of Makai, and that Shinki herself ? who, incidentally, was the Goddess who created the place ? had to seal her away herself over six thousand years ago.
And though questions abounded in her head, Marisa was content to sit idly by and wait for others to ask them.
?So,? Eirin cleared her throat to break the silence before speaking, ?why exactly was Hoshimi sealed in the first place??
Shinki turned to Eirin with a passive expression, as she had worn for the entire conversation. ?She had become a symbol of war, conquest, and rebellion. She had to be put down for the people of Makai to know peace, and I didn?t have the raw power to kill her. As you saw from fighting her, keeping her prisoner wasn?t an option, so I was forced to seal her in an extradimensional bubble.?
?That?s?quite the fate,? Eirin said under her breath.
?If you?re the creator of Makai,? Kanako followed up quickly, ?how could she have been strong enough that you couldn?t kill her??
?Her power came from outside of Makai,? Shinki said, ?as best as I can tell from a dragon.?
Gasps resounded around the table.
??we aren?t going to get attacked by said dragon for beating her, are we?? Marisa asked hesitantly.
?No,? Shinki replied, turning to Marisa. Though her expression was flat and passive, there was no sense of coldness to it. ?She obtained her power by killing the dragon. Well, she didn?t kill it. A number of youkai led an army against a fallen dragon when she was young, and she ended up being granted a fifth of the power they extracted from it. Eventually, she did collect the other four fifths, and that was what gave her the strength to conquer most of Makai.?
Marisa gave an impressed whistle. Technically, did that mean they had just beaten a dragon? Well, if you ignore the fact that ?they? were mostly Shinki, Flandre, and Yukari. She really needed to get the details on how that fight went down.
?As she was in Gensokyo, she couldn?t get her full power out of the prison?s seal, so only one of those five powers was able to manifest. Of course, she chose the most useful one of the five, but if she had been freed the situation would have been much worse.?
?So, that?s what a fifth of a dragon?s power looks like?? Kanako murmured to herself. Marisa couldn?t help but think she was plotting something.
?The power of the dragon was divided into five distinct abilities,? Shinki continued. ?The one that she used against you was termed by her as the power of ?Absolute Authority.? Effectively, reality itself would reshape itself to her whims.?
?That?sounds a little unfair,? Reimu muttered under her breath.
?Unfair indeed,? Shinki replied, her tone slightly bemused. ?Luckily, she was not an actual dragon, so the power had its limits. It was exceedingly difficult for her to manipulate beings with free will, meaning she had to focus all of her power on a single individual to pull it off. Manipulating inanimate objects was much easier for her, hence her prolific use of crystals and stone.?
?That also explains why our attacks were completely ineffective against her,? Yukari mused. ?I guess it also explains why the little vampire could hurt her when we couldn?t.?
?Indeed,? Shinki replied, ?even though we may have been able to keep things under control ourselves, that young vampire was truly the key to our victory.?
?How?? Remilia asked, managing to both sound inquisitive and incredibly proud at the same time.
?Simple, really,? Shinki replied. ?Her ability to destroy things without any visible action was what did it. If Hoshimi couldn?t see the attack coming, she had no way of defending against it. Of course, she could regenerate horrifyingly quickly, since the body she was using was constructed entirely of magical energy, but constant pressure from little Flandre was able to pin her down enough that she was constantly on the run. On top of Miss Eirin?s seal, and my subordinates? work in repairing the seal on Hoshimi?s prison, Flandre?s work in keeping her constantly injured and on the run is what made the mission a success.?
?So, Lady Shinki?? Alice spoke up, ?what made you change your mind and decide to help us?? She spoke in a quiet voice, as if she was afraid of getting scolded.
Shinki grimaced. ?I apologize. I had originally thought that Hoshimi had broken completely free of her prison, and was forced to lie to you to attempt to mislead her, hoping she would take what I said at face value and not prepare for my intervention. Of course, if I had known that she only had one of the dragon?s powers, I would have told you immediately.?
?How would lying to Alice be of any help in deceiving Hoshimi?? Yukari asked. ?Can she normally read minds too??
?Much more terrifying,? Shinki said somewhat dryly. ?One of the dragon?s powers is what Hoshimi called ?Absolute Insight.? It allowed her to see a person?s entire past, all events that lead them to where they are now, just by looking at them. Fortunately, she didn?t have that particular ability this time.?
Marisa?s eyes went wide. If she recalled correctly, the Yama had an ability like that, though she used a special mirror to do it, and it was supposed to be a rather taxing process. If Hoshimi could normally do that just by looking at people...
?Naturally, if she had that ability, she would have seen that Alice came to me for help the instant she laid eyes on her, and it would be next to impossible for me to provide any help. It was a long shot, but if she believed that I wasn?t planning on helping, that opened an admittedly small opportunity for me to do something unexpected.?
A brief silence followed, broken by Flandre?s quiet voice.
?So?all she really wanted was to get out of her cage.?
The members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion present turned to her with distraught faces ? well, except for Patchouli, whose face was as expressionless as ever ? while Shinki turned to her with a significantly gentler expression.
?That?s right,? she said quietly.
Flandre squirmed uncomfortably, her face flashing through a series of emotions from sadness, to anger, to confusion. Eventually, she spoke up again. ?Will she ever get to come out??
Shinki adopted a far-away gaze. ?Hoshimi is a dangerous person. She is completely ruthless, and will stop at nothing ? even a world-engulfing, centuries-long war ? to get what she wants. Even just being able to slightly influence Gensokyo, you saw what she did.?
Shinki paused, returning Flandre?s gaze. ?It may be my fault that she turned out this way. I am willing to accept that responsibility. And someday, we may be able to let her free. But as she is now, I fear it would be far too dangerous to do so.?
Flandre nodded quietly, staring into her cup of tea that had remained untouched since it arrived at the table.
A calm quiet settled over the table as the group ran out of questions to ask Shinki. After a few minutes of silence, everyone quietly tending to their tea, Shinki finally stood up.
?As the Goddess and Ruler of Makai, and as the one who sealed Hoshimi away, it is my fault that I didn?t notice the seal cracking, and that she was able to come to Gensokyo.? Shinki, facing everyone at the table, bowed deeply. ?My sincerest apologies for causing the people of Gensokyo such grief. I have no excuse for my failure in this matter, and you can rest assured it will never happen again.?
Marisa could see stunned looks on the faces of the older youkai at the table. She took it as a matter of course that she would apologize, but she could tell the idea of someone who claimed to be a creator god of an entire world apologizing was something beyond their farthest expectations.
Rising from her bow, Shinki met each of their gazes in turn as she spoke. ?I would offer you any recompense you require, but as you may be aware, there is a lot of cleaning up to do on both of our ends. And so I must bid you farewell, that I might begin such procedures.?
Reimu stood from her seat, drawing all eyes to her. ?As the current Hakurei Shrine maiden, I think I outrank all others here as far as being the representative of Gensokyo,? she said without the slightest regard for the raised eyebrows and smirks around the table. ?So as the representative of Gensokyo, I will say this.? Reimu met Shinki?s gaze with a steely gaze of her own.
?Apology accepted. I look forward to you doing better next time.?
Marisa could tell most of those around the table were struggling to contain some sort of laughter or snide remark ? she sure was. Shinki herself, with a wry smile on her face, bowed lightly with a quiet ?thank you? before turning away.
With that, Shinki walked away from her seat at the table, walking through the open door onto the small balcony outside the dining room they had been seated in. Without a word, like an eye opening, space split apart behind her, opening a gate into a black and red mist of some sort. She gave a short bow one last time before turning to Alice.
?Come visit us again sometime,? she said with a wink, and seeing Alice?s quick nod in response, she turned and walked into the opening behind her. With a dull sound, the opening closed, and she was gone.
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Reimu flopped her head down on the table with a massive sigh. It was finally over, and she was finally home. And all of the annoying youkai had finally left.
Though truth be told it wasn?t really over. There was tons of cleaning up that was left to be done, and she suspected that she?d have to deal with a large amount of it. But as every time she thought about it before, she contented herself by knowing there was always someone worse off.
The vast majority of those who had participated in the fight against Hoshimi had come out severely injured. Most were going to be making regular visits to Eirin for the next little while, both to ensure they remained healthy and to test the effects of what Hoshimi had done to each of them. No one had any injuries that were permanent, let alone fatal, so Reimu felt little guilt at priding herself for being one of the few without serious injuries.
Marisa had not been so lucky, though admittedly her injuries were all self-inflicted. But soon enough she would be good as new?after a few visits to Eirin and a few weeks of rest.
Yuyuko had made a full recovery, meaning she was back to her regular, ditzy self. Reimu only saw her briefly before her and Youmu went back to Hakugyokurou. They were worried about her for a while shortly after she woke up, as she had apparently taken the whole situation rather badly, but after an hour or two she had managed to collect herself and her usual personality shone through.
Ran had been much better off. Some few hours after Hoshimi had been defeated, she woke up complaining of a massive headache, but otherwise she didn?t seem to have any injuries, physically or mentally.
Beyond those who had been hurt?they had managed to drag Kaguya and Mokou out of their self-made prison after a day or so. Mokou had flown off without a word, and Kaguya returned to Eientei as if nothing had happened. She assured everyone everything was okay, but Reimu supposed they?d have to wait and see what Mokou decided to do before they would know for sure.
Shortly after the battle ended, they had liberated Suwako from her post of prison guard, and after a few very tense moments, opened the seal on Utsuho. She had been less than pleased about the whole ordeal, but acted surprisingly honourable about the fact that she had been defeated. It didn?t seem to help her spirit, though. She was ?escorted? back to the Underground, but decided to go on what she called a ?journey of self-discovery? before returning to the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Reimu doubted it would last long, but she still had them deliver word to the Palace that Utsuho was safe and sound, and that she would be home whenever she worked up the courage to apologize.
The last one they had to worry about was Tenshi. According to the story from Remilia, she had been brutally wounded, to the point her life was in danger. She was told that Tenshi had managed to successfully retreat to Heaven, but it would likely be anywhere from weeks to months before she was heard from again. That being said, the small keystone dropped on the front deck of the Shrine was proof enough that she was still alive, so Reimu wasn?t overly concerned about her situation.
Reimu flopped back on to the floor, a small smile sneaking its way onto her face. The number of souls released from Hoshimi?s tower was astronomical. As soon as Komachi had come to, and realized what was happening, she had immediately tried to injure herself horribly, but unfortunately for her, the Yama was there and ready to stop her. And put her straight to work. At least she wasn?t alone ? a veritable army of Shinigami were at the Sanzu River, ferrying souls across as fast as possible. Even with so many of them, it would likely take another month at least to return the flow of souls to a normal level.
Reimu?s smile quickly waned. Now that the tower was gone, the only things Hoshimi had left behind were a massive trench gouged out of the earth ? which was now in the process of being studied and repaired by the Kappa, thanks to its bizarre, anti-magic properties ? and a single, thin ten foot spire of black and violet crystal over the spot where she had vanished. She had been told that Hoshimi wasn?t dead, but instead was just sealed away in some other dimension. Reimu wasn?t sure if that sat any better with her. She had no reason to like Hoshimi at all, but killing and eternal imprisonment weren?t really the Gensokyo way. She had wanted Hoshimi gone as much as anyone, but knowing her fate, Reimu couldn?t help but feel a little depressed.
Reimu sighed deeply, at last being able to do so out of relaxation instead of stress. Whether she liked the ending or not, the incident was over. Gensokyo, and everyone in it, was safe. It might take a while before things were back to normal, but that was okay. Now that their ten-day deadline had passed without incident?
?they had all the time in the world.
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Marisa sat uncomfortably in her favourite chair.
The chair was not designed for people with broken arms, and she was having a hard time coming to terms with that. Shaking her head, she repositioned herself once again, propping her injured arm up on one of the arm rests, and the book she was trying to read on her lap.
It was a real pain having her arm so badly injured. If there was one thing she regretted about the past two weeks, it was definitely regretting messing up on copying Byakuren?s spell.
On the way back from one of her usual trips to Eientei, Marisa had decided to stop by the Myouren Temple and see how they were faring. The ship they had sent to Makai had since returned, and refugee youkai were returning to their homes in droves. Similarly, those who had been evacuated to Old Hell had started returning to the surface as well ? Gensokyo was slowly regaining a sense of normalcy. Well, as normal as Gensokyo ever was.
Marisa shook her head violently. Spending all of her recent days either travelling back and forth between her house and Eientei, or sitting around the house reading books, she was letting her mind wander an awful lot. Which was problematic, since being confined to her house for most of the day every day was giving her the perfect excuse to study and study hard, and she wanted to make the best of it.
Her latest flash of inspiration had been from Patchouli?s explanation of Hoshimi?s ability. Though they had found out Patchouli?s prediction was slightly off, it turned out the real answer was closer to Patchouli?s explanation than any of them had expected.
The mind affects the body, and the body affects the world?the purpose of magic was to compensate for the lack of ability within the physical body, bringing it closer to the infinite productivity of the mind. But Hoshimi had gone a step beyond. She had taken out the intermediary, so that her mind could affect the world directly, without the body being necessary.
It was truly an astonishing ability, but more than that, it was
proof. The concept was really one that transcended the very idea of magic itself, and Hoshimi was ? is? ? living proof that it was possible to reach it.
Now, Hoshimi did have the advantage of having the soul of a
dragon infused into her, but that was beside the point. What was relevant is that there was proof of a system that was beyond magic itself, and if it
could exist, then it was theoretically possible for a person to obtain it.
And if Marisa had anything to say about it, that person would be her.
It was a difficult path to pursue, however. She was a magician above all else, and that meant she was most adept at working with magic. If she were to try and discover ? or, as she suspected was more likely, create from scratch ? a system that was beyond magic, her knowledge of magic itself would likely be of little help to her.
For that reason, she had to go back. Back to the beginning, the very basic core concepts of magic itself. The mind affects the body, the body affects the world. Magic serves to close the gap between the infinite mind and the limited body. If she was going to imitate Hoshimi?s ability, she would need to go in the opposite direction ? finding a way to affect the world by eliminating the need for the body to take action.
In some senses, it was very similar to magic, but in principle it was the exact opposite. But even these exact opposites all started in the same place and ended up with the same result. Marisa closed the book she was holding and replaced it with another book that was on the table beside her. Incidentally, both of the books were borrowed from Patchouli. She had told Patchouli she was borrowing these ones though, so it was okay...she thought. Maybe.
Opening the new book, she began reading it for the third time that day. If she was going to build a new system from the ground up, she would need to know the basics like the back of her hand.
The mind affects the body, the body affects the world?
--------------------------------
Shinki stood alone, allowing the portal behind her to completely close.
It had been a long few days since the fight with Hoshimi had ended. For her, it had been a thing of minutes, not even an hour. Yet she knew for Gensokyo it was a weeks-long struggle. There was still a minor pang of guilt in her heart for the trouble she caused them, but there was little sense in dwelling on the past. Right now, she needed to focus on the present, and the future.
The space around her was completely black. There was no discernable ground, though she was standing on it, and there was nothing as far as the eye could see except for solid blackness. It was like she was standing in the middle of the void, like she was in the middle of the night sky that had been robbed of its stars.
Strangely enough, despite the fact there were no sources of light, and there was virtually nothing to see in the first place, there was a strange feeling of brightness. She was perfectly capable of seeing herself, and there was no feeling of her vision being obscured ? it wasn?t that the place was dark, there was just nothing there. It was a perfectly enclosed space, no light, no shadow.
Shinki had struggled considerably with her thoughts since the confrontation with Hoshimi. Though they had been enemies thousands of years before, her encounter with her a few days ago was only the second time they had met. And both of those times had been desperate fights to save an entire world full of people from Hoshimi?s wrath.
And that was what bothered her. Her conversation with Hoshimi before had made her doubt her judgment of her. She had always thought of her as a bloodthirsty tyrant, a murderer on the scale of nations. Who else would have such drive to conquer all of Makai? The fact that she had the power to back it up was, honestly, just coincidence. And that coincidence is what had made her dangerous.
She had no regrets about fighting or defeating Hoshimi, in either of the situations they had met. She needed to be defeated the first time so that Shinki could subjugate Makai to her own rule, so that she could break the endless cycles of war that had plagued it for centuries after its creation. If she hadn?t been stopped the second time, at the very least all of Gensokyo would have been destroyed, and who knew where the damage would stop?
Shinki waved a hand in front of her. A tiny, almost microscopic crack appeared in the air before her, even harder to notice due to the blackness it rested on. Slowly, a thin, black mist, strangely visible despite the black backdrop, started to seep out of the crack.
She had no concerns about whether sealing Hoshimi away had been the right choice, either. She was far too powerful ? even Shinki herself could barely hurt her, and even if she could, she was effectively immortal anyways. Sealing her away had been the only option, aside from letting her win.
But seeing Hoshimi?s face when she had heard Makai was at peace?that look of relief, of
release. It had shown Shinki that maybe, just maybe, she had misjudged Hoshimi. And if that was true, then she had definitely made one mistake. Leaving Hoshimi in solitude for these past six thousand years.
The mist seeping out of the crack slowly began to whirl around in a circle, until it finally coalesced into the shape of a single eye. A dull violet light began to glow in the center, so the eye outlined in black had a glowing purple iris. The eye searched around briefly, looking almost confused, before its gaze settled on Shinki.
Shinki and the disembodied eye continued to stare at each other for a long few moments. Shinki?s expressionless gaze, matched by the eye?s cold emotionlessness created a situation in which neither of the two could tell what the other was thinking in the slightest. Finally, after a long silence, Shinki spoke.
?I?ve been thinking, since our fight a few days ago,? she spoke slowly. The eye continued to watch her, motionless. ?I thought that, after six millennia of being alone, you might enjoy some company.?
The eye twitched slightly. Shinki couldn?t help but smile slightly at what she interpreted was a reaction of surprise. That being said, surprise could go in either direction. The two of them had been enemies for as long as Shinki had known Hoshimi existed ? it wouldn?t be surprising at all if Hoshimi was doing all she could to try and spit at her feet.
After another awkward silence, the eye??blinked.? It was somewhat bizarre to see, as the eye had no actual physical form, but after it did so, it continued to watch Shinki.
She had no idea what Hoshimi was thinking, as she sat trapped in her prison, looking out through a tiny crack to see her standing there. But she kept watching, and that was a good enough response for her. Creating a plain-looking chair behind her, Shinki sat down. The eye lowered itself in the air, keeping at Shinki?s eye-level.
?I know it must be a little frustrating, not being able to talk,? Shinki said, ?but I trust you can understand why that must be the case. Because of that, I?ll just have to guess what you?d like to talk?well, hear about.?
The eye watched her motionlessly. She really hoped Hoshimi would learn to express emotion through this medium sooner rather than later. She felt like she was talking to a magic rock.
Shinki waved her hand, and the air beside her twisted into a wide view of the landscape of Makai. The eye turned slightly, trying to discern what the picture was. As it recognized what it was looking at, it actually widened slightly, a gesture Shinki took to be a clear sign of surprise.
?I figured the best place to start would be to tell you how Makai has changed since you left.?
And credit roll.
This is definitely the ending credit theme for this story, shamelessly stolen from Fate/Stay night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjNnsD5VtY8Thanks for sticking with me until the end everyone. It's been a blast writing this, and there was little that was as satisfying as coming back to see all your comments. Even just watching the view count go up was exciting
Some random statistics:
-First draft of Chapter 1 was written September 2nd, 2012 (wow! No, I never posted the first draft of Chapter 1)
-Chapter 2, when I legitimately decided to take writing the story seriously, was written December 15th, 2012
-Thread created February 3rd, 2013
-Total Word Count:
191,971 words!
-Longest Chapter: Chapter 19 at 14,606 words
-Shortest Chapter: The Prologue, at 2255 words
-Average chapter length: 5999.09 words (SO CLOSE AAAAAAAGH)
I have some replies to your guys' comments for the next post. Stay tuned!