Pound on the Gates of Heaven! Akyu Quest Concluded!

[Fightest]

>Meditate.

Also, analyze (Or Introspect, if we've the time and freedom of thought, since that seemed to be a way to better realize and appreciate one's abilities based off of previous Introspection) our growth since the beginning of this mess, recalling how we started and our current abilities that we DO know about? (Not looking for a list of Skills/Stances/Moves, we could just reference the first post for that.  I'm talking about a more general sense.)

>Let's not go so far as meditating in the middle of all this, rather, just consider a moment. As well, contemplate how our many allies have helped us through all this, in a more absrtract fashion, to see if there's anything other than face value that can be see there.

> You let your Qi flow freely and center yourself.
> You can feel yourself close to a realisation, a truth unimaginable beyond a locked door just outside your reach in a lightless room. You can sense the door's presence, an unnatural sensation in your mind, a foreign intrusion that has concealed the truth from you and, no doubt, many others.
> You feel a strange taste on your lips as you push against this barrier, a taste that you can only describe, as though in a fevered dream and in the ramblings of a madman, as violet.
> Even though you have begun to comprehend the nature of the alien thing in your mind, you cannot yet fight it, for it lies in the deepest reaches, the very core of your being that makes you what you are. Only by surpassing your very self can you break free of shackles you never even knew existed.

> You turn away from the barrier and look in a different direction. You do not know what it is you are looking for, but you know that it is there, there where the Qi flows and replenishes is an existence whose age carries the weight of a mountain and whose capacity for power can contain the entire world's rivers.
> You feel yourself in this existence, polished to near-perfection and, as the Qi flows, more and more perfect still, slowly, slowly - this existence has no doubt been nourished and reinforced by your Qi ever since you began fighting.
> Yet the last touches are the still the hardest - only a perfectly-centred stream of Qi can polish the existence to completion. Only by achieving the impossible can you awaken this power.

> You recall, when you touched Youmu deeply, deeper than any mortal could to heal her, you felt a similar existence, still quiet and dormant.

> You recall a similar, but subtly different sensation in Meiling's heart.

> Anything else?

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we recall any other similiar but different sensations, like Meiling's, in anyone else we're been connected to, such as Utsuho or the Komeiji sisters?

[Jq1790]

Other players:  Do you think we could use Meiling's Tower to channel our Qi into that 'perfectly-centered stream' we'd need to fully refine the existence that we've managed to percieve?

If agreed:
>Take up Meiling's Tower stance, focusing our Qi as we have when using it those times before, and gather it at that point we feel inside ourselves, that existence that we are so close to fully unlocking.

[Hello Purvis]

It's worth a go.

[Fightest]

>Do we recall any other similiar but different sensations, like Meiling's, in anyone else we're been connected to, such as Utsuho or the Komeiji sisters?

> Neither Utsuho nor Koishi and Satori have given you similar feelings - you could not have mistaken them for anything else.
> The intensity that you have felt from Yuugi during your "duel" might have been an echo from this power as well.

>Take up Meiling's Tower stance, focusing our Qi as we have when using it those times before, and gather it at that point we feel inside ourselves, that existence that we are so close to fully unlocking.

> The power gathers to you as an avalanche tumbles downhill, but you know, know intuitively that this is yet not enough, for you have faced many a struggle that has resonated with your Qi that then touched the existence at your centre. The one resonance that the existence has not yet felt is the very cracking of impossibility.

[Jq1790]

I'm not sure if this will work, but...what do you think about taking out the compass?  There is a barrier, a boundary inside of us, which is impossible for us to reach as we are.

Editing since I decided "Why not?":
>Take out the compass, see if it points somewhere meaningful despite our current location(Or lack thereof).

[Fightest]

>Take out the compass, see if it points somewhere meaningful despite our current location(Or lack thereof).

> The compass shudders and spins wildly.
> The figure in gold lets out a laugh.
> "For someone that can travel the entire span of the land in one footstride, she is certainly easy to find. Show yourself, Yukari, and introduce yourself to our guest."
> "Projecting interface."The air parts behind you with the low hum of the same kind of portal that Shikieki moved through, but, instead of anyone walking through, the portal's outline wavers and settles into a humanoid shape - a long-haired woman in an elaborate dress, and wielding a parasol. You remember seeing her during the Judge lineup, but losing track of her in the mayhem.
> "Executing command." The figure does not so much speak as the air around her vibrates to sound like spoken words. "I AM. Supreme management of Ark-type stabilized wildspace designation Gensokyo. I AM. Central archive of accumulated knowledge. I AM. Only functioning power source for the Sublime Barrier."

[Jq1790]

>Ask Yukari:  "Is your power running out?  Is that why the Sublime Barrier is fading?  Also, what do you know of the abilities of the Hieda clan, of which I am the sole remaining member?  There is a power within me that I can sense, I can almost reach, which could very well be the only thing that can save the barrier from its ongoing erosion.  However, I believe I may require your assistance to unlock it."

[Fightest]

>Ask Yukari:  "Is your power running out?  Is that why the Sublime Barrier is fading?  Also, what do you know of the abilities of the Hieda clan, of which I am the sole remaining member?  There is a power within me that I can sense, I can almost reach, which could very well be the only thing that can save the barrier from its ongoing erosion.  However, I believe I may require your assistance to unlock it."

> "Sublime Barrier projected failure within three years. I AM. Operations will cease, along with the collapse of stabilized wildspace."
> The girl in gold bids her to continue with a wave of her hand.
> "Hieda bloodline possesses perfect ancestral memory. Status: sealed. Celestial essence detected within current surviving member. Status: dormant. I AM. Incapable of removing the seal without permanent damage to Hieda ancestral memory. Damage can be mitigated through use of personal Celestial essence."
> "It was all a series of poor decisions after poor decisions when we created this land, but we were desperate, and still are," says the girl in gold, shaking her head slowly.

[Mr_Bob]

>"So you mean to tell me my perfect ancestoral memory has some sort of celestrial essence to it, but due to it being sealed, my Eidetic Memory has been tricked?"

[Fightest]

>"So you mean to tell me my perfect ancestoral memory has some sort of celestrial essence to it, but due to it being sealed, my Eidetic Memory has been tricked?"

> The girl in gold shakes her head.
> "You've got it backwards. Your memory - and your ancestral recall as well - have been sealed regardless of whether you are special or not. Everyone in Gensokyo is under this effect. It's just that you are one of the few that can survive it being unsealed once your essence is awakened, and you're the only one for whom it holds an additional meaning with the ancestral recall."

[Jq1790]

>Now that we know WHAT is inside of us, this Celestial essence, does that give us any better capacity to harness it?  Perhaps the golden armored woman before us can give us some sort of idea of the nature of a Celestial's essence?

[Fightest]

>Now that we know WHAT is inside of us, this Celestial essence, does that give us any better capacity to harness it?  Perhaps the golden armored woman before us can give us some sort of idea of the nature of a Celestial's essence?

> "Celestial essence: fuel and engine to accomplish near-divine feats of ability. Designed and seeded in select individuals in the First War, where it demonstrated unparalleled success. Variation over time has led to multiple distinct types of Celestial essence existing. Two individuals currently possess awakened Celestial essences, both of the Golden Flame variety - Byakuren of the Hijiri and Reimu of the Hakurei."

[Jq1790]

This action is assuming we still have the item in question, of course.  I don't recall us leaving it with Marisa, but I may have overlooked it.
>Take out the Hakurei Orb Reimu lent us.  "Can we perhaps use this as some sort of aid to awaken our own Celestial essence?"

[Fightest]

This action is assuming we still have the item in question, of course.  I don't recall us leaving it with Marisa, but I may have overlooked it.
>Take out the Hakurei Orb Reimu lent us.  "Can we perhaps use this as some sort of aid to awaken our own Celestial essence?"

> The girl in gold and the being she called Yukari look at each other, almost perplexed.
> "I am afraid that the Orb is just a decoration. An exquisitely-crafted one, yes, but there's no power in it. The Hakurei would perpetuate the illusion that it grants them their powers in combat, but Reimu quite quickly got bored of the charade. Fortunately, nobody thought to wonder."

[Jq1790]

>"Very well then."  Put the Orb away.  Ask Yukari, "What can you tell me about the different types of Celestial essence?"

[Fightest]

>"Very well then."  Put the Orb away.  Ask Yukari, "What can you tell me about the different types of Celestial essence?"

> "Black Void and Crimson Light-type essence effects poorly-documented due to uncooperative nature of their wielders. Motivations and actions often run contrary to logical projections. Black Void essence formed from close proximity to the impurity located in the Oblivion Well. Crimson Light essence shows strong traces of demonic power."

[Mr_Bob]

>"Oblivion Well?"
>"Have we encountered the Black Void power before?"

[Fightest]

>"Oblivion Well?"
>"Have we encountered the Black Void power before?"

> "You know it as Higan and the Netherworld," says the girl in gold.
> "No wielders of awakened Black Void-type essence known."

[Jq1790]

>"What about the Golden Flame variety of Celestial Essence?  You didn't describe it, though you mention it earlier."

[Fightest]

>"What about the Golden Flame variety of Celestial Essence?  You didn't describe it, though you mention it earlier."

> "Original type of Celestial Essence. Designates its wielder as one above laws and considerations that govern mortals. Formed by the gods during the First War and seeded in select individuals."

[Jq1790]

>"Do you have any information about how those with active Celestial essences activated their essences?  I have a sense of how to go about it, but perhaps you can help me put the final piece into the puzzle, so that I may then utilize this essence to assist you in breaking down the internal barrier keeping my full potential sealed."

[Fightest]

>"Do you have any information about how those with active Celestial essences activated their essences?  I have a sense of how to go about it, but perhaps you can help me put the final piece into the puzzle, so that I may then utilize this essence to assist you in breaking down the internal barrier keeping my full potential sealed."

> The girl in gold nods.
> "Every time someone awakened to their essence, it was in accompaniment to the completion of a task that is, by all mortal laws and standards, impossible."

[Jq1790]

>"Ending this contest has been deemed as impossible, due to the lack of a victory condition beyond the implied one of being the last one able to fight.  However, the one who wins this contest is awarded the Hourai Elixir.  Therefore, would it not be true that if one were to obtain the Elixir that sits there,"  point to the Elixir on the pedestal, "the tournament would end anyway,?"

[Fightest]

>"Ending this contest has been deemed as impossible, due to the lack of a victory condition beyond the implied one of being the last one able to fight.  However, the one who wins this contest is awarded the Hourai Elixir.  Therefore, would it not be true that if one were to obtain the Elixir that sits there,"  point to the Elixir on the pedestal, "the tournament would end anyway,?"

> The girl in gold nods again.
> "You choose a direct route. Good, it shows strength of character. You must understand that, should you wish to do this, I will summon an opponent for you, a guardian of the trophy, one certainly worthy of making the task impossible."

[Hanzo K.]

>"Everyone I've met with up until this moment is counting on me to end the fighting, I can't afford to turn back now."

[Mr_Bob]

>Breathe deep and easily.  Approach the pedestal.

[Fightest]

> The girl in gold speaks solemnly.
> "Guardian of the Hakurei. The time has come for you to play your part."
> The woman with the parasol makes a gesture, and the air before you warps at her command.
> The portal quickly disappears. In its place sits the Hakurei shrine maiden, dressed in red-and-white hakama, her upper torso tightly-wrapped in sarashi but otherwise bare. Her hands are similarly-wrapped, leaving only the tips of her fingers exposed.
> She opens her eyes and stands.
> "You have come far, Hieda. No matter what happens now, remember - the suffering and hardships you have faced were overcome by you alone. It was your will that brought you here. There is no greater achievement to be proud of."
> She narrows her eyes.
> "Now. I do not care how you do it, with word or with fist, through force or trickery, but do what you must. Defeat me."

[Jq1790]

What do you all think of taking a peaceful route through here?  If our goal was to resolve this peacefully, perhaps we can get the Elixir without directly defeating the shrine maiden?

[mad]

A peaceful solution could be us defeating her in a debate or some other non-violent task.

It would fit with our dedication to non-violence.