Keine Quest (Part 4): Broken History

[DracoOmega]

>"Selective hearing and selective vision..."
>Shake head.
>"I would feel very bad for you, were you truly Kanako. But you are not. Your unwillingness to even begin to doubt your own righteousness is sickening. It makes me wish I were a shrine maiden, so I could exorcise you. But, I'll just have to use other avenues to humiliate you into self reflection and expose you to all the monster that you are."

>"It is not about righteousness," Kanako says. "It is about necessity. But I will waste no more breath on you. I warn you though, if you harm a single soul here on your crusade against me, I will respond tenfold. Their safety means far more than my good image."

[Hello Purvis]

>"So you'll hurt me and nine unrelated people? That would be par for the course of a warlord, wouldn't it? And it's not even about necessity. Utsuho wasn't a good little follower, and you torture her to get your jollies. Simple as that. Your whole world is nothing more us and them, anything bad is clearly the work of them, who are vile and evil and hateful and must be stomped until they kneel. And, coincidentially, because They are perfectly evil you must be the opposite, and thus never ever have to question or doubt anything you've done. What a neat little delusion you live in."

[DracoOmega]

>"So you'll hurt me and nine unrelated people? That would be par for the course of a warlord, wouldn't it? And it's not even about necessity. Utsuho wasn't a good little follower, and you torture her to get your jollies. Simple as that. Your whole world is nothing more us and them, anything bad is clearly the work of them, who are vile and evil and hateful and must be stomped until they kneel. And, coincidentially, because They are perfectly evil you must be the opposite, and thus never ever have to question or doubt anything you've done. What a neat little delusion you live in."

>"And you accuse me of selective understanding," Kanako says. "I will harm no one who is not involved. I use force only as a tool of the utmost necessity. But I think we have talked far too long already."
>The rest of the trip passes in silence again and you eventually reach the outside. Kanako turns to you once more.
>"Do what you feel you must," she says. "And so will I." And with that, she takes to the air and returns in the direction of the shrine.

[Hello Purvis]

>Return to Mokou and Ran.
>"Well, Mokou, Orin was wrong in what she said about Kanako. But only in that she didn't say "very" enough at the front of all her blunt statements. I intend to bring it to an end."

[DracoOmega]

>Return to Mokou and Ran.
>"Well, Mokou, Orin was wrong in what she said about Kanako. But only in that she didn't say "very" enough at the front of all her blunt statements. I intend to bring it to an end."

>You return to the shrine, lagging notably behind Kanako; presumably airspeed is part of the whole wind god package.
>You find Mokou slumped against a torii by the outskirts of the temple, looking idle. Ran is nowhere to be seen at the moment.
>"Huh," Mokou says. "Is it that bad? And, uh, what're you planning to do?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"We're going over her head. In particular, we're going to the Sanzu River. If she wishes to act like she is justice, then we shall show her justice."

[DracoOmega]

>"We're going over her head. In particular, we're going to the Sanzu River. If she wishes to act like she is justice, then we shall show her justice."

>"You're... what?!" Mokou's eyes bulge. "You can't be serious."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It is as simple as that. If she wishes to entrap people, then torture them via isolation for her own sick desires, I see no reason not to let it be known to the Enma, do you?"
>"I suppose the other plan is we break in there, break her out, and you pretend she's Kaguya with worse hair. But, that would just feed into her self righteousness. No. I want her torn down in a way she cannot refute. Legally."

[DracoOmega]

>"It is as simple as that. If she wishes to entrap people, then torture them via isolation for her own sick desires, I see no reason not to let it be known to the Enma, do you?"
>"I suppose the other plan is we break in there, break her out, and you pretend she's Kaguya with worse hair. But, that would just feed into her self righteousness. No. I want her torn down in a way she cannot refute. Legally."

>"That's..." Mokou fumbles. "Has anyone ever even tried that? Do you'll even be able to speak to her? Without, uh, the whole being dead thing?"
>Mokou frowns. "I dunno... The vibe I got off her when you walked out. I don't know I'd want to have to fight her."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I don't want to fight her, either. It would merely feed her whole self righteous, "I am perfectly good never mind the torture" mindset. As satisfying as it would be to slap her, it would only make her worse. And, I don't know if anyone has done this. But it's certainly the best route. Should a god act up, report her to the Celestial Bureaucracy.  Hopefully, the fact that Utsuho is being put into passive torment as we speak will help move things along."
>Recall route to the Sanzu River.

[DracoOmega]

>"I don't want to fight her, either. It would merely feed her whole self righteous, "I am perfectly good never mind the torture" mindset. As satisfying as it would be to slap her, it would only make her worse. And, I don't know if anyone has done this. But it's certainly the best route. Should a god act up, report her to the Celestial Bureaucracy.  Hopefully, the fact that Utsuho is being put into passive torment as we speak will help move things along."
>Recall route to the Sanzu River.

>"She really torturing that girl?" Mokou says, frowning. "She didn't seem the type."
>The Sanzu River can be found along the southern edge of Gensokyo, some ways to the east of the Garden of the Sun

[Hello Purvis]

>"By isolating her from everyone and everything. Did Ran tell you about what happened to her in that rift? Imagine that, in a glass tube. To be honest, I am amazed Utsuho hasn't given in to hallucinations fully by the point. I know she's fairly close to developing other serious problems."
>Start out that way.
>"This said, if the Enma doesn't help, I fully intend to solve this via invasion."

[DracoOmega]

>"By isolating her from everyone and everything. Did Ran tell you about what happened to her in that rift? Imagine that, in a glass tube. To be honest, I am amazed Utsuho hasn't given in to hallucinations fully by the point. I know she's fairly close to developing other serious problems."
>Start out that way.
>"This said, if the Enma doesn't help, I fully intend to solve this via invasion."

>"A glass tube!? Who the hell's idea was that? And, uh, what kinds of other problems?"
>You take off and head towards the Sanzu River. "We just leaving Ran here?" Mokou asks, following along with you.
>"You're...." Mokou sighs. "I don't even know what you are. I already feel like I can barely keep up. I think you might be biting off more than you can chew this time, though."

[Hello Purvis]

>I thought Ran was there too. Go get her before we leave. And make sure she heard all the rest of it.
>"She's a monster, Mokou. She's lied to these people about what she's done, she's torturing Utsuho. She's even deceiving her own priestess about it. I refuse to stand by and let this happen. I am not going to have the people my counterpart worked so hard to protect be used by this monster. If I am biting off more than I can chew, then I'll just have to cut it and take small bites until it's done...alright that didn't make much sense but neither did the metaphor. I know in my heart the Enma will rule against her, and I cannot imagine she can ignore this kind of situation."

[DracoOmega]

>I thought Ran was there too. Go get her before we leave. And make sure she heard all the rest of it.
>"She's a monster, Mokou. She's lied to these people about what she's done, she's torturing Utsuho. She's even deceiving her own priestess about it. I refuse to stand by and let this happen. I am not going to have the people my counterpart worked so hard to protect be used by this monster. If I am biting off more than I can chew, then I'll just have to cut it and take small bites until it's done...alright that didn't make much sense but neither did the metaphor. I know in my heart the Enma will rule against her, and I cannot imagine she can ignore this kind of situation."

>You curse your lack of attentiveness, and go to fetch Ran. But then you realize that you still can't see her around.
>"I still don't get it," Mokou says. "What's she torturing her for? She just pissed off at what she tried to do?"

>"She went to have a look around the kappa village," Mokou offers, noting your searching. "Wanted to have a look at some of the projects Sanae was talking to her about."

[Blitzer]

>"Your unwillingness to even begin to doubt your own righteousness is sickening."

>That's rather hypocritical. Don't say it.
>It's probably a bad idea to rant on Kanako any more during this point. Based on what we said, it's too late to negotiate with Kanako, so we're just going to have to beat the crap out of her.

[Kasu]

>That's rather hypocritical. Don't say it.
>It's probably a bad idea to rant on Kanako any more during this point. Based on what we said, it's too late to negotiate with Kanako, so we're just going to have to beat the crap out of her.

I think you're kind of late.

> Head for the Kappa village.

[DracoOmega]

>That's rather hypocritical. Don't say it.
>It's probably a bad idea to rant on Kanako any more during this point. Based on what we said, it's too late to negotiate with Kanako, so we're just going to have to beat the crap out of her.

>Unfortunately, you lack the power to devour your own remarks. Would be a handy thing to have, sometimes...
>She certainly has not proven receptive to your past tactics, and trying to trash her would give a certain kind of satisfaction, but there may still be other options...

I think you're kind of late.

> Head for the Kappa village.

>You fly down to the kappa village, Mokou following along. After a brief aerial scan of the area, you find Ran conversing with a kappa near the thin gridwork tower you noted earlier.

[Hello Purvis]

>Beat the crap out of her? No no. We're gonna headbutt her in the righteousness.
>Descend near Ran.
>"I only have vague ideas why, Mokou. I think it's probably because Utsuho didn't do what she wanted and Kanako takes it as a personal affront, although she might not even admit it to herself."

[DracoOmega]

>Beat the crap out of her? No no. We're gonna headbutt her in the righteousness.
>Descend near Ran.
>"I only have vague ideas why, Mokou. I think it's probably because Utsuho didn't do what she wanted and Kanako takes it as a personal affront, although she might not even admit it to herself."

>Less tactile, but even more satisfying
>You land near Ran.
>Mokou frowns. "Might not admit- I guess she's not gonna come right out and say that, anyway."

>Ran looks over at you as you land. "You were gone rather longer than we expected," she says. "How did it go?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Horrendously, Ran. I'll tell you more on the way to our next stop, once your done here."

[DracoOmega]

>"Horrendously, Ran. I'll tell you more on the way to our next stop, once your done here."

>Ran frowns. "I'm very sorry to hear that. And I can leave now, if you wish." She turns to the kappa and bows her head. "Thank you for you assistance," she says.
>"No prob," the kappa replies, with a tip of her head. "You got any more questions, you know where to find me. Always nice to find someone new interested in this stuff." With that, she turns and walks off.
>"So," Ran says. "Where is this next stop of ours?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Make out way out of town, so we cannot be easily overheard. For the time being, we don't need to be overheard and have people misconstrue the story from just hearing bits.
>"Do you know anything about Utsuho, Ran?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Make out way out of town, so we cannot be easily overheard. For the time being, we don't need to be overheard and have people misconstrue the story from just hearing bits.
>"Do you know anything about Utsuho, Ran?"

>You head out of town, staying quiet until you're satisfied that you can't be overheard.
>Ran shakes her head. "The name doesn't mean anything to me, I'm afraid."

[Hello Purvis]

>Toward the Sanzu River!
>"Utsuho is a hell raven, who used to tend to Blazing Hell underground. About a year ago, give or take, Kanako approached her, and bestowed upon her the power of fusion. I am not entirely sure how the process worked, but it involved taking the power of Yatagarasu. Kanako intended for her to use that power to provide the energy that the mountain runs upon. Unfortunately, the power was too much for Utsuho. Kanako claims she kept watch over Utsuho, and saw no warning signs. But frankly, she is either lying about not seeing them or lying about watching over her. In the end, Utsuho decided the only thing her power was good for was igniting fires, and decided to ignite the surface world."
>Shake head. "In my time, she was stopped by Reimu before she could leave the underground. Here, she was stopped by Sanae and Kanako when she came to the surface. In my time, she got over it rather quickly. In this time, Kanako captured her and shoved her under the mountain. She's down there now, stuck in a glass tube, completely isolated from the world and mostly deprived of anything. I was able to talk with her, and really, it was astounding she hadn't gone on to remove the line between fantasy and reality as you had, Ran."

[DracoOmega]

>Toward the Sanzu River!
>"Utsuho is a hell raven, who used to tend to Blazing Hell underground. About a year ago, give or take, Kanako approached her, and bestowed upon her the power of fusion. I am not entirely sure how the process worked, but it involved taking the power of Yatagarasu. Kanako intended for her to use that power to provide the energy that the mountain runs upon. Unfortunately, the power was too much for Utsuho. Kanako claims she kept watch over Utsuho, and saw no warning signs. But frankly, she is either lying about not seeing them or lying about watching over her. In the end, Utsuho decided the only thing her power was good for was igniting fires, and decided to ignite the surface world."
>Shake head. "In my time, she was stopped by Reimu before she could leave the underground. Here, she was stopped by Sanae and Kanako when she came to the surface. In my time, she got over it rather quickly. In this time, Kanako captured her and shoved her under the mountain. She's down there now, stuck in a glass tube, completely isolated from the world and mostly deprived of anything. I was able to talk with her, and really, it was astounding she hadn't gone on to remove the line between fantasy and reality as you had, Ran."

>You continue forward towards the Sanzu River, filling Ran in as you go.
>Ran looks away rather sheepishly. "Well, to be fair... I had thought it was literally impossible for anyone else to be there. I wasn't usually dreaming up things that didn't exist.... I think. Although I can sympathize with her isolation. At least I still had my home. And no one forced it upon me in that way. But still, they seem like good people. Surely there's a reason for this."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Kanako claims there is no way to trust her. The problem is, she doesn't make anything more than a token effort to even do anything to treat Utsuho like a person, rather than a corpse that just happens to move. There is no attempt to rehabilitate her, speak with her, or offer her any kind of basic dignity. Then Kanako has the nerve to tell me Utsuho is just fine right to my face. However guilty Utsuho has been, nothing justifies that. So, we're going to see the Yama."

[DracoOmega]

>"Kanako claims there is no way to trust her. The problem is, she doesn't make anything more than a token effort to even do anything to treat Utsuho like a person, rather than a corpse that just happens to move. There is no attempt to rehabilitate her, speak with her, or offer her any kind of basic dignity. Then Kanako has the nerve to tell me Utsuho is just fine right to my face. However guilty Utsuho has been, nothing justifies that. So, we're going to see the Yama."

>"The... Yama?" Ran says. "That is... you realize that gods are outside her jurisdiction, correct? They do not belong to the same cycle of life and death that mortals do. They do not cross the Sanzu."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I am not so sure about that, Ran. Yatagarasu died, and ended up in Blazing Hell. This suggests someone judged him. If the Yama cannot help us, she may be able to show us to who can."

[DracoOmega]

>"I am not so sure about that, Ran. Yatagarasu died, and ended up in Blazing Hell. This suggests someone judged him. If the Yama cannot help us, she may be able to show us to who can."

>"Perhaps..." Ran says. "What are you hoping the Yama will do? She rarely intervenes directly in the affairs of the mortal world."