~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore

Absolution of the Requiem

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an unmatched sock: Yes, Jozero is foreign to Gensokyo. As for Japan...well, she's not from our world, but she is from Earth. She might be from an alternate Japan, but...who knows? She is definitely not from Gensokyo, though. More of her backstory will be explained eventually. College isn't letting me have much time to work on this, unfortunately. But, I refuse to abandon this!

Stifled Voices: I assumed she's a westerner (brownies schmrownies). Silly me. P.s. What if she came from an alternate universe, and ended up in this one?

an unmatched sock: Jeez, I haven't had much time for this. But, like I said, I refuse to abandon the story. Chapter 10 Unending Death   "And just what do you have to say for yourself?"   "Uh, I'm a victim of circumstance, ze?"   "Wrong answer, Marisa. Come on, I'm taking you to the Lady."   With that, the gate guard hoisted the witch, bound by magic handcuffs, over her shoulder. The two, followed by a purple librarian looking all but smug, proceeded down scarlet-colored carpeting to the veranda, where their mistress was enjoying the outside air. It was cloudy, so all the better.   "Come on, Patchy~...I was gonna ask this time!"   "You used that excuse the past four times you were caught. I've kept track. No more 'favors', no mercy. This is a matter Remilia needs to have a say in."   "Patch, don't you think you're being a bit harsh on her? Obviously, you must have something she wants, if she keeps coming back..." she says, smirking slightly.   The librarian turned away, not looking Meiling in the eyes. "Whatever she wants, it's most likely my books. And I refuse what you're insinuating. So there."   "I dunno about that..."   "Hey hey, don't I get a say in this?! I just wanted the books, ze!"   "Silence, you two. We're nearly there," Patchouli interrupted. Within a few meters, Meiling used her free hand to open the veranda, and both of them gasped in surprise.   "What? China, flip me around!"   The guard shook herself out of her shock and glared at Marisa over her shoulder. "Say my name right, and maybe," she said, tightening her grip around the girl's waist.   "Ack! Alright, Meiling! Meiling! There! Now let me see!"   The guard bent Marisa over to her other shoulder, still cuffed, to see their mistress, her maid, the shrine maiden, and oddly enough an angel chatting over tea. "Huh? Reimu, what're you doing here?"   "Hmm? Oh, hello Marisa. Jozero invited me to hear out her life's story, since I was curious about it back at the party, while she had her scheduled meeting with Remilia." She glanced at her two companions. "I'd ask what you're doing here too, if it weren't painfully obvious."   "Remilia, we're sorry to bother you, but this is the fifth time we've actually caught Marisa. She requires disciplining...and her house needs to be raided to find my books," Patchouli stated flatly.   The scarlet devil gazed sidelong at them, before shutting her eyes and nodding. "Sakuya," she said, snapping her fingers twice. With a slight bow, the maid vanished, and returned with a few extra chairs from the other tables. "Won't you three join us? Sakuya, we'll need more tea."   Patchouli's jaw hung slack as Meiling strode forward, planting Marisa in one chair and seating herself in another. "But...but Remilia...didn't you just hear what I-"   "I did, but I want you to have a seat. Oh, I should introduce you to our guest. This is Jozero Kubomitenshi, the one who attacked us the other day. She's now fulfilling her debt to me, and I decided to have her share her story with me after Reimu showed up."   The angel smiled meekly and waved. "She is correct. I just finished telling them my life up to the moment I died. You showed up at...practically a perfect time, if you care to listen," the woman said, casually reaching for her tea.   Her arms hanging limply, the librarian rolled her eyes at her friend's strange whimsy, and took the remaining seat while Sakuya poured more tea.   "Aww, I missed out on your life before you died? I bet you were a real swinger, eh, ze?"   The angel's smile dropped as she turned to the witch. "No."   "Calm down, it was just a joke...jeez."   "Brief synopsis," Reimu began, "she doesn't know her family, the only person who cared for her died when she was young, she was bullied, found out she was 'special' in some way with glowing marks around her eyes, and seen as a freak. Her boyfriend in...what'd you call it? High school? Anyway, he was murdered for just being near her. She couldn't find a job or any more education, wound up at the wrong place at the wrong time, got her eye cut out, and was shot to death."   "Damn. Here's some advice; when they shoot, you move. 'S what I do, and it works every time."   "Didn't work out so well during the Imperishable Night," Reimu retorted.   "That's because you cheat. Somehow. And you had Yukari with you. The odds were stacked against me from the start."   Remilia raised an eyebrow. "Is this the great youkai exterminator Marisa Kirisame making excuses in the presence of youkai for why she lost? Patchy, I think you grabbed the wrong girl."   "H-Hey! Shut up! The night had gone on for like ten hours before they showed up! Humans get tired..."   "More excuses?!" the vampire mistress said, feigning surprise. "Goodness, if this is Marisa, she must be gravely ill! Better get a blood sample, make sure she's alright~."   "Okay, now you're just being creepy. So what happened after she failed to dodge?"   The angel set her teacup down and took a deep breath. "I was just getting to that. Now, what happened next...there was darkness, then bright light...then things started to turn grey. I could feel myself opening my eyes...well, eye, but I didn't realize it quite yet...and feeling grass and the stalks of flowers all around me..."   The woman sat straight upwards, slowly rising to her feet. All around her were beautiful flowers, all of them red, with green beneath them. Above her, a grey sky with few clouds rested dismally, the sun seemingly fixated in one point. In the distance in front of her were trees, endless fields of these flowers to either of her sides. Where...am I? She could find no landmarks she could remember...she could barely remember anything, actually. Who am I? Vague images drifted in and out of her mind, but nothing stayed as a concrete memory. She stood transfixed, a pillar of white above a sea of red, before she felt a hand tug at her shoulder.   "Hey, who're yo- oh Enma..." she said, recoiling slightly out of surprise as the woman turned around. She cleared her throat, adjusting the wicked-looking scythe over her shoulder. "So, uh...who're you?"   Before responding, she took in the entire visage before her. The girl was slightly shorter than she was, wearing a dark blue dress with a white undershirt. At her...belt? It was a peculiar sort of belt, under her chest instead of at her waist...and the chest seemed to be a focal point all its own. Clearing the thought from her head, she focused on the belt again. There was a gold coin with a hole in it, tied around the belt with a string. Her red hair had two ponytails tied with red beads, and pinkish-red eyes. "Your eyes...they are...different," she said, her voice feeling distant and not her own.   "Erm...I could say the same about you, except...well, you might wanna look for yourself. C'mon, I'll take you to the river."   "...River?" she muttered, following the strange girl with the scythe. "If I may ask...judging by that scythe...are you some sort of reaper?"   "Mm, you could say that. Specifically, I am a shinigami. I ferry people across the Sanzu River. I'm not terribly surprised you don't recognize me for what I am...black cowls were so last millenium. I for one was happy when the dress code changed."   "Shinigami? Sanzu River? I am unfamiliar with these."   At this, she stopped, the woman stopping afterwards. She slowly turned, looking confused and a bit skeptical. "...how don't you know of them? Aren't you from Gensokyo?" The woman just shook her head, and the girl's eyes went wide. "Hoo boy...I know that sometimes they get a bit mixed up, but it's been years since an outsider's managed to get under Lady Shiki's jurisdiction...anyway, shall we keep going?"   Within minutes, the two stopped at a river, the opposite bank not even in view. The girl waved her scythe over the surface of the water, which stood still and flat, even while the rest of the water was moved by the very slight breeze. The woman walked to the river and gazed in, and froze. She could almost remember what she looked like right before...something happened...but it wasn't like this. Below her was a tall, elegant woman, with long white hair that ended in red. A white robe parted slightly, showing the smallest bit of cleavage, which she knew did not exist prior. But the most shocking was the white bandage over her left eye, as if it were injured. Experimentally, she poked at it, and felt no resistance, even though she knew her eyelids were open on that eye. It was gone.   The memory flooded back, of her last stand...the gunshots...the knife. Oh god, the knife. The feeling of her eye being wrenched out, her vision darkening...she felt overwhelmed, and she dropped to her knees on the riverbank. "I...I'm dead...aren't I?"   "'Fraid so. At least you didn't have to wait until you heard it from the Yama. It's always better when they realize they're dead by themselves..."   "But...why do I only have one eye? I'd think in the afterlife I would have two...why only one?"   "I...wish I could tell you. Sorry," she replied, compassion in her eyes.   The woman took a deep breath, and stood again. "Well, you are the guidance of souls...so lead me to wherever you may."   "Eh, yeah...thing is, even in death, not everything is free. Passage across the Sanzu requires a little...toll, if you will. You do have money on you, right?" she said.   The woman thought, before looking at the robe she was wearing. It was plain white, parted slightly in the middle, and felt a bit short on her, only going to right below her knees. She noticed two pockets on either side, and fished in them for whatever might be inside. She heard the unmistakable rattle of coins, before drawing them from her pocket. She opened her hand to see two worn, rusted coins. On each was a face she recognized, but she couldn't place who they were. Silently, she handed them to the shinigami, who eyed them cautiously. "I do not know why they are like that."   "I...honestly don't either...rusted coins are rare. Well, toll payment is toll payment. Just a little down the bank is the ferry. C'mon, I'll take you over. And let me be the first to say, welcome to Higan."   The two proceeded down to the bank, to a short dock with a wooden boat on it. It looked like maybe four adults and the shinigami could fit on the boat, and that probably exceeded the weight limit...if that even existed here. The two boarded, and the girl used her scythe to shove off of the platform, then used it to paddle out a short ways before letting the current take them. "By the way, my name is Komachi Onozuka, shinigami of Shikieiki Yamaxanadu of Higan, in charge of judging the dead of Gensokyo. Do you happen to remember your name?"   The woman, currently sitting at the bow facing backwards, shook her head.   "Oh, well, that's a shame...but don't worry, not everyone remembers the name they were given. So, don't feel too bad about i-"   "I was never given a name."   "...What do you mean? Everyone has a name."   "Yes. But I had to find mine. I was called Zero, for I was nothing. In the eyes of my peers, my elders, and all others, I was called nothing. So, I took the name Zero." Komachi had no response for this, despite trying to search for one. "Yet, being dead...I suppose I am less than nothing anymore. I do not know how I should feel about that."   "Right...so, the coins you gave me...these must have been special people. One's an old woman, the other's a young man..."   "Yes. Both of them were already dead. I recall the old woman...she was my caretaker at the orphanage I lived at. I never knew my parents. She died when I was young. To this day I don't know how. The other...we were in a relationship during schooling. He was the only one who didn't avoid or ignore me, despite how my physical form stopped aging. It lasted for weeks, I believe, before he was found, dead. Murdered. I dislike thinking about it."   "Wow. That kinda explains the rust...deceased loved ones usually are rusted. But, cheer up, I have a good feeling about where you'll end up," she said, the same comforting lie she always told her passengers. In truth she really didn't know.   "I appreciate it, but this is merely business for you. Once I'm on the other side, I'll just be another soul you will most likely never see again. The only reason you're truly talking to me right now is because you are bored. You'd probably rather be sleeping on the riverbank than be here right now."   "Heh, well, I can't exactly deny it...can't confirm it, either, since I don't want to be lectured about laziness...again..."   Seeing no reaction, Komachi dipped her scythe into the river again, changing the distance of the river to be in sight. "Ah, look, we approach shore. Make sure all robes, souls, smuggled food, and loose ends are secured to your person or tied up before disembarking~."   Silently, Zero climbed out of the boat onto shore. "I see a path outlined by those red flowers, and what looks like a lamppost ahead. Should I follow it?" Komachi nodded, and pushed the boat off of the bank, waving goodbye. Choosing to ignore her, Zero approached the lamppost, and out of the fog behind it a door appeared. She opened it into a well-lit, official-looking room, where what looked like a young girl with green hair and an unusual hat sat at a desk, a set of scales on the right, and a book before her. "I presume you are the one known as Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, as the ferrywoman told me?"   The Yama nodded, her hands folded on the book. "You are correct. This is where you shall be judged, and your afterlife will be chosen. Please, step to the center of the room," she said, as she rose from her chair, grabbing a stick with characters unknown to Zero inscribed upon it. She heeded the Yama's instruction, who stood now in front of the desk, holding the stick before her, the top point obscuring her mouth. The Yama closed her eyes, and a black and white orb appeared from Zero's chest, which split into two objects; a small, white feather, and a larger, black stone. "These are your deeds in life. Evil deeds shall weigh the rock, good shall weigh the feather. Your judgment depends on which object outweighs the other." Zero nodded, her face remaining stoic.   The scales slowly rose from the table, coming to rest in between the two. The Yama's eyes closed before grabbing the feather and placing it upon one scale. She then grabbed the smooth stone and placed it upon the other scale. At first, nothing happened, until the Yama raised the rod over her, bowing her head. Slowly, the scales shifted, but nothing was tipped in the balance. Slowly, the scales shifted toward the feather, and Zero looked on in hope. They rocked back and forth, until a soft click was heard. The feather was lower than the stone on the scales.   The Yama opened her eyes, ready to congratulate her, but as she did, she gasped and visibly tensed.  The feather was half black, and part of the stone was bleached white. The colors were balanced on each side, but the feather was without a doubt heavier. As they both swirled with color, a small red spot appeared on each that grew outward, eventually encompassing the entirety of both objects, leaving them blood-red. "What...what is this..." was all she could find to say.   "What? What's the matter?" Zero inquired, worried.   "I...I've never...seen this happen before...w-well, my word was for the feather to outweigh the stone, which it did...by that rule, your judgment is signified that you are sentenced for heaven...but something's not right..."   "...Did you say...Heaven?"   "I did, yes. Hold on..." She went back to her chair, and opened the book, propping it up so only she could see inside of it. She could see pages flipping back and forth, but the Yama simply set it down and sighed. "Well, a judgment is final, so...be off to Heaven, then." As she spoke this, the entire room faded into a clear sky, no trace of the room remaining.   Zero looked about, marvelling at the clouds below her feet, the palace before her, and angels playing about on shining wings. A quick check confirmed that she, too, had wings. She smiled and tested them, floating off of the clouds beneath her, admiring each glossy white feather. She soared over to what looked like a clothing shop, and picked out a slim robe with short sleeves that reached down below her feet. It even came with detachable long sleeves for chillier weather. Although the mirror revealed to her that, even in heaven, she still had only one eye, she didn't care anymore. Her afterlife was to be carefree, no one to tell her that she is worth nothing, a zero.   She left the store and flew to a plaza filled with all sorts of different angels. Here she was sure to find a friend. She landed, and proceeded toward a small group that had white hair, much like hers.   As she approached, she couldn't help but begin to feel...heavy. She didn't understand it, but it didn't stop her. That is, until she felt like something was holding onto her legs. When she tried to move, but couldn't, others began noticing. A few came up to her and tried to help, but suddenly the sky grew darker. The angels scattered in a panic, leaving her crying out for help from anyone. Another white-haired angel ran up to her and tried to help pull her out of the cloud she was slowly sinking in. Once it reached her waist, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, and a streak of warmth running down her face. The angel trying to help her froze, her eyes wide. Her grip slackened, even as Zero tried to get her to snap out of her sudden trance.   With little resistance anymore, she slipped through the clouds into the inky blackness below, the hole she fell through rapidly closing. She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her back as she heard a loud crash, seeing pieces of her wings float above her as she fell. Through the pain, she brought one wing forward. It looked more geometric, made of floating, featherless shards. Three hexagons, six blood-red ovals, and a strange, curved gem-like shape as their base on each side. Her halo still floated above her head, but it didn't feel like it meant anything to her anymore. It didn't feel like anything of hers mattered anymore. Her chance at ultimate happiness was, once again, dashed, by forces that willed her misfortune.   She had been cast out of heaven.   Blood-red tears still falling, she resigned herself to whatever fate decided next. She reawoke to the pale face and terror-stricken eyes of the Yama, witnessing the blood-eyed angel materialize out of thin air. She seemed to be at a loss for words. "...I was...revoked?" was all she could muster.   "...I'm afraid so, Yama...I do not blame you for this...it would be foolish to do so...I wish it weren't like this. But I have been sent back." She turned to the door. "I will be leaving. I do not expect to see you again."   "But...judgments are final...why was it overturned..."   She didn't answer as she stalked out of the door, slowly making her way back to the riverbank, her eye still weeping. She stopped on the bank and waited. Soon enough, a boat came into the horizon, carrying the shinigami and what looked like two souls. Komachi's calm face was rapidly replaced by worry as they neared the bank, seeing the woman she just ferried across returned, with a halo and strange wings. The souls disembarked, and the angel climbed aboard the vessel. Wordlessly, Komachi pushed off, the other side of the river already in sight.   "...The hell happened? I just ferried you across..."   "Heaven decided it didn't want me. I was rejected by the one place said to accept anyone," she replied, continuously staring off of the bow, towards the opposite shore. "I am truly nothing, if the afterlife won't even keep me. Nothing reborn into nothing. Zero is dead and gone. My new name shall be in the language you speak, and I somehow know. Japanese. From now on...I shall be called Jozero Kubomitenshi. For nothing compounded with nothing is still nothing."   "Jozero...but what will you do once we get back? I can't just send you back to the world of the living..."   "You won't need to. I can handle that."   Within minutes, the two returned to the original riverbank, where another soul stood waiting, grasping several shining coins. Without a word, Jozero approached the soul, apparently of a man, and took the coins from his hand. She squeezed them, and dropped them at his feet, pitch black, somehow altered. The soul quickly tried to retrieve the coins while Jozero strolled back to where she first arrived, in the field of red. Her memories of life flooded back to her, every gruesome detail, as she returned. Her mind fixated on that restaurant where she breathed her last. Channeling the power she could feel flowing through her, she slowly faded into a white spirit, which drifted into the ground.   The bartender was busy mopping the ground where the leader of that gang was knocked senseless into the table, spilling everything. He'd have to close tomorrow to make sure he could get rid of that cadaver. He hated when that group stalked their prey into his bar. It was always such a messy cleanup. They could never do it clean and simple. "Well, at least they pay me handsomely to keep quiet, heh heh."   As he pushed shards of broken glass into a small pile, he suddenly had to raise an arm to shield his eyes as a bright light illuminated the room. The glow died down, and he lowered his arm to see a white, wispy apparition with a halo and strange wings floating there. It appeared humanoid in shape, with a head, body, and arms, but it instead had a white, ghostly tail for legs. Its single eye focused on him, narrowing slightly. He let out a scream, and tried to run, but the figure flew over to him before he could escape.   "Did we really have to off her?"   "Yeah, you know how it is. You really had that much of a thing for her?"   "Well, yeah...she was adorable..."   "So are plenty of animals that would kill you without batting an eye."   "Whatever. I'm not going to keep a dead body. I'm surprised sis didn't try to get any of her bullets out of her, though."   "Tch. You saw how much blood she had. Those shots are ruined."   "Still, don't you think it rude that some people just left before cleanup? The poor barkeep..."   "We pay him to do this. The back room is only ours to hide out at while he does it."   "I still say you guys should have let me keep her..."   "Girl, your hormones are crazy. I know you're young, but sooner or later someone will find you and they won't be someone we're aiming fo-"   "Shh, shh! ...Listen..."   ...   "I don't hear anything..."   "Exactly."   Any conversation was cut off as a scream cut through the air, even through the door, which was quickly silenced and replaced with a strange wheezing noise. The four girls ran back into the main bar room to see a spectral figure holding the bartender by the neck, looking like it was wrenching something out of his chest. With a sickening crunch, his eyes rolled back into his head, and the figure retracted its hand before turning slowly to face the four.   "Wh-what is that thing?!"   "Geoffrey?! Holy shit, he's dead!"   It turned, full attention on the four, as its body condensed into a more human shape, seeming to hold physical parameters now instead of being vague and smoky. "You...where is the fifth...your leader?"   "A-At home..." came the reply, of the young blonde.   "I remember...the knife...with the crystal on it..." the figure said, its eye narrowing menacingly.   "No way...that can't be that girl..." said the tall brunette, glancing at the body in the corner, exactly how she was when she died.   Without warning, the spectre flew forward, knocking three of them aside, and reached for the tall one. Grasping her by the neck, she reached her other hand through her chest. She was feeling around for...something. At last, she had found it: the woman's own soul, with it she could patch a new form for her and release the rest. After a lengthy and painful extraction, she dropped the lifeless woman to the ground.   The crack of gunfire and the feeling of dull thuds on her still-forming body drew her attention to the girl with the black ponytail. She silently drifted over, looking like she was dressed in a strange robe, before batting both firearms out of her hands. Her soul was taken from range, an even more painful experience. It was because of her that she had lost her strength to continue fighting for her survival, so she deserved to suffer. She watched as the other woman escaped, leaving the blonde cowering on the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. Silently, she floated over to her, using the black-haired girl to give her clothing detail. However, she instead lifted the girl in her arms.   The blonde slowly turned, snivelling, too frightened to try and fight back. "Do not fret, little one...you were my only advocate. You do not deserve suffering as the others do."   "A-are you g-going to...to..."   "Trust in me...it will not be painful." With that, she drew her ghostly fingers over the girl's eyes, closing them for the last time. Her body immediately stopped shivering and relaxed before going limp in her arms. She used this one to create flesh, so she almost looked alive. Now she needed one last thing to fully anchor herself here...and to complete her revenge. She calmly strode out of the door, closing it behind her, and proceeded down the road to where the memories of the other girls stated their leader was at.   She had just finished squirming her way into a nightgown, having already washed the makeup off of her face. "Another freak taken down, daughter still thinks your the best, husband coming home tonight~...today's been such a good day. Well, I better get ready for when he gets ho-" Her monologue was cut short as she heard a noise from the hallway. "Oh you're kidding me...it's too late for a six-year old to be up...what could she want?" She walked out of her room, grabbing a pistol from her desk just in case it wasn't her daughter. Seeing nothing, she continued to her daughter's room.   The only lights in the room were from a nightlight in the corner of the room...and from a glowing circlet over the head of a woman she'd never seen before. She held her daughter by the hand, and looked like she was about to go elsewhere. "Mommy, the angel said it's time for me to go," the girl said, sounding half asleep.   "No, sweetie, don't say such a thing. As for you, bitch, I don't know who you think you are, but nobody sneaks into my house and touches my daughter without my say-so! Hands where I can see them!"   Silence.   "I said, hands in the air! Now!"   Still silence.   "I'm warning you, if you don't let go of my daughter right now, so help me God, I will drop you right here and now!"   "You don't recognize me."   "Of course I don't! I can hardly see your face! And take off that stupid novelty halo!"   "Novelty? Did you not hear your daughter?"   "You're a freak, not an angel! That's it, you have until the count of three or else I'll shoot! One...Two...Thr-"   The light suddenly intensified from the halo, cutting her off from actually firing. As the glow settled, she could finally see the intruder, a shock of fear running down her spine. "I used to be nothing, Zero. Your destruction of my old form has left me new, yet empty. I am now Jozero."   "Yeah, you're a zero alright!" she yelled as she pulled the trigger. Yet, not a single bullet made a mark on her.   "You took my life for your own reasons. Now, I shall take what's rightfully mine. Your life...your daughter's...and your husband will be all alone. One such as you does not deserve life nor love. Where there is happiness, there is mourning. Your passing shall forever be a reminder to him of that."   Nervously, she looked down to her daughter, before dropping the gun. Jozero almost smiled maliciously, but instead brought an arm up as the woman charged at her, shrieking. Her punch missed, and Jozero batted her away with her free arm. She let go of the girl, and effortlessly drifted toward the woman, who jumped back up to continue the fight. Before she could reach her, Jozero grasped her by the neck and slammed her into the wall behind her. "I have experienced the pain of being cast out of Heaven itself. I wish no more than hell upon you. It would be merciful," she muttered, before lifting her other hand, turning incorporeal and becoming pure white.   She made sure she went slow, the light dimming around them. The little girl curled up in the corner, watching her mother perish before her eyes to this strange angel. The process was long and painful, and finally ended with the woman's skin grey and her eyes glazed over. She slumped over as Jozero released her. Without a thought, the girl rushed to her mother, hugging her and trying to wake her up.   Jozero, solidifying the new soul to patch her form, watched the girl with a mix of sadness and dark pride. "If you weren't guilty by association, I might have mercy on you. However...it will be quick." Silently, she placed a hand on the back of the girl's head, and her sobbing slowly stopped, cuddling her mother. At last, she completed her form, feeling solid and almost alive again. She couldn't replace the hollowness in her heart, but she had gotten her revenge...for what?   What was the point? All it did was revive her. She took innocent lives for practically no reason. They took one life, and she took seven, leaving their loved ones to mourn. She felt a strange satisfaction in this, but also still felt hollow. As she wandered back to the bar, her mind buzzed with these thoughts. She reentered the bar, hardly lit by the few lights that were on earlier that day. She grabbed her body, extracting the knife from her former chest. As she wrenched it out, she could feel a slight pain in her heart, and felt a tear form in her eye. She plucked the crystal off of the knife, attaching it to a string to be a necklace. It would serve as a trophy, as would the blade, which she concealed.   After taking a deep breath, she gingerly lifted her old body in her arms, its only eye gazing emptily past her dead form. She could feel her tears pooling, and she wandered out of the restaurant, her wings folded behind her. There was a park she would always visit before, and one spot with a ring of beautiful white flowers. She didn't fear being seen out on the streets, even carrying a body that looked suspiciously like she did.   She shortly reached the very same garden of flowers, as silent as when she used to lay there to clear her head. Now, it would serve as a final resting place for her former life. Using abilities she didn't even know she had, she dug out a small hole, and laid her body there. She took two sticks and tied them in the shape of a cross, placing it right behind where her head lies. She dropped to her knees and wept.   "...Years passed, and I eventually discovered my power over Dark Matter. Late at night, I awoke to an eye staring back at me. After a momentary panic, I found that the orb responded to me. After much experimentation, I found out what Dark Matter could do, and created the three elite versions of Dark Matter...Possession, Illusion, and Transmutation...or, as they have called themselves," she explained, looking out at the three young-looking youkai wandering by, one with a black spirit-like tail, another looking like a fairy with a turquoise dress, "Shihai, Sakkaku, and Kasei."   "Damn. Your life sucks...I really have no other comment besides that," commented Reimu, the first to speak.   "Cast out of heaven...I was not aware it was possible. I almost feel bad," Remilia remarked. "But I probably won't get to know such a thing."   "Ehh...Yeah..."   "Marisa?" Reimu turned to see the witch using what looked like a magic hairpin to pick her cuffs. With a soft click, the cuffs vanished.   "Hah! See ya later, Patchy! Thank you for the tea, Remi." With that, she jumped to her feet and sprinted down the hall, moving back to the library to grab her broom.   "Get back here, you witch!!" Patchouli yelled, charging after her, not making it very far before she doubled over, wheezing. Meiling sighed and began jogging down the hall after Marisa, leaving the librarian to catch her breath.   "Hmm...well, Jozero, that just leaves one question. How did you wind up in Gensokyo in the first place?" Reimu asked, starting to get up.   Jozero paused in the midst of pushing her chair in, as she was already standing. "You will find out tomorrow. Remembering these things is rather taxing to me. I have repayed my debt to Remilia, so I am adjourning to the Citadel. I hope to see you tomorrow, Reimu."   The angel lifted off of the ground, flying around the veranda, back towards the sea and the hills where the palace sat, her three servants trailing behind her. "Hopefully you won't show up unprepared," she muttered to no one in particular. "She is not known for mercy at the hands of those who would stop her. And I owe her too much to refuse her will...Please be prepared, Reimu Hakurei." Short, but it continues from where Chapter 5 left off. I have no idea when I will be able and willing to start writing again, but I keep the same promise: I will not abandon this story!

an unmatched sock: Chapter 11 Girl of the Unlimited Void    Reimu gazed at the horizon, the sun slowly shrinking to the west. "Well, the invitation said to 'wait until sunset', so here I am. This is the correct night...I hope she didn't forget." As she pondered aloud, the sun continued to fall until only a sliver remained. As it too set, she turned to face the palace once more. As she watched, starting at the highest point travelling down, torches were lit, illuminating the castle. If anything, it seemed to be a convenience, since the walls were dark anyway. However, with the torches there, someone flying around without being able to see would be able to tell the difference between the torches and empty air, and could avoid hitting it. "So, is the door going to automatically open, or what?"    The air started to get chilled, and Reimu was beginning to get frustrated waiting. As the last ray of daylight faded, she felt something odd emanate from the palace itself. Before her eyes, each flame shifted from the comforting, familiar orange to a sickly, unnerving bright green. "Okay...that's unusual. It's probably a trick being played by a fairy or one of her Dark Matter things. I'm just wondering what's taking so long to let me in-"    As if she spoke some secret phrase, the main door slowly creaked open for her. She cautiously stepped in, surprised to see the exact opposite of what happened the first time she arrived. This time, the main hall was filled with fairy maids performing a wide variety of different tasks, every door was open, and the noise was stifling. Reimu wandered in, taking in the sight of so many busy fairies, even having to dodge a few as they darted about, until a familiar face blocked her path. "Oh, hey, it's you. From before," she said, addressing the red-haired, red-eyed fairy she met when she first entered the palace.    "No! Nonononono! You, Red-white, leave! Now! We don't have time for your antics! We are beyond busy!" she spurted, trying her hardest to push Reimu back towards the door. "No time for visitors! Go home!"    "What does that mean?"    "It's not important, just go!" she yelled, tugging at Reimu's shirt collar to try and pull her back out of the door. It looked like she was straining herself, almost.    "Calm down, calm down. Who're you to give me orders anyway?"    "The chief fairy maid, duh! Now I don't have time to deal with you..."    "Chief maid, eh?" Reimu mused, ignoring the fairy's diatribe. "Huh. Sakuya would have a fit if she found out fairies were operating practically by themselves..." She noted a group of them carrying a bag that looked to be near overflowing with garbage, one below it to keep it from ripping, and three above simply to hoist it. "...let alone efficiently."    "...so if you wouldn't mind just leaving before I have to go report this to the mistress and waste time, that would be great." she finished, still trying to move the shrine maiden.    "Oh, speaking of which, I actually have an invitation that says I can be here." She yanked out the envelope for emphasis. "I don't think you want to anger your superiors by not allowing me in, do you~?"    The fairy paused, floating up to Reimu's eye level. By now, a small crowd of maids began assembling around the two, none daring to move. "I-Invitation? Let me see tha-"    Reimu snapped the envelope shut, pulling it out of the fairy's reach, shaking her finger. "Ah-ah-ah, no touching the invitation. Just let me through and everything will be fine."    The chief maid's face began turning red as she grit her teeth. "No! We were given explicit orders to not let a single person in here tonight! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" she screamed, causing Reimu to take a step back. "Now get out!" she finished, pointing a finger at the door and panting.    The shrine maiden turned to the door, then back to the maid. Crossing her arms, she said simply "No."    Yelling in fury, the maid took to the air and threw a large cloud of danmaku, larger than Reimu would have thought remotely possible, even for a clearly high-ranking fairy. "Everyone! New orders! End this girl!! Defense protocol Epsilon-7 X!" she shouted, and all of the fairies quickly finished whatever task they were doing and began shutting doors and taking positions down the hallway.    "Well, missy, you picked the wrong day to mess with me! I've beaten your fairies before, and I'll do it again!" Reimu taunted, drawing her gohei and summoning two yin-yang familiars.    With another shriek, the maid charged, a large gust of wind following her, pushing Reimu back slightly, and she began shooting columns of tiny white bullets. Reimu effortlessly weaved between them, retaliating with homing amulets, a determined grin upon her face. The wind stopped, and the fairy maid stopped her charge. She made a swirl-like motion with her hands, and the wind began flying in the opposite direction, focused on her. Reimu floated lazily to the left as a small bullet managed to clip her hair, and she realized the bullets from before were now flying in from behind her. The gusts stopped, and the fairy was bracing to rush forward again, but Reimu stopped her in her tracks with a few well-thrown pink talismans.    The maid dropped to the ground, twitching slightly, as Reimu shook her head. "Don't you people do anything except for flanking attacks?" she asked idly, not expecting an answer. Without another word, she proceeded further, at a faster rate than before.    Entire formations of fairy maids were flying between the columns in the hall, making themselves easy targets when they tried to attack. However, Reimu soon discovered that each new fairy was tougher than the last, even though they all shot the same pattern of danmaku, five simple streams of ordinary bullets aimed at random angles. She soon found herself almost in a crossfire, so she retreated, keeping the bullets close, but not uncomfortably. As the last maid flew off, two larger maids dropped from the ceiling, unleashing vortexes of multicolored kunai bullets. A third flew from behind a column and assisted by creating rings of energy spheres, rotating in alternate directions. She would have had no problem with the kunai, even if they were fast, but the new fairy made the danmaku much harder to predict. "Spirit sign 'Fantasy Seal -Spread-'!" Reimu declared, now irritated. Large, multicolored orbs sprang from her person, the largest luckily falling over the fairies. As the spheres detonated, they took the fairies with them.    "Damn, I'm going to need to ration these...this is usually the point where I don't have much time to recharge these myself." she muttered, looking at the now powered-down card in her hand before pocketing it again. She proceeded onward, felling fairies before they even had time to fire their danmaku. "This is just too easy...weird. Oh hey, this is where I fought Jozero..." She looked around at the clean hall, recognizing a shred of a sleeve against the wall. She gazed at the columns, and noticed not a single one looked scratched. "That's strange...I wouldn't think they'd be completely repaired, especially since she tore out a chunk of one to throw at me. Yet they look as if they haven't been touched...but then why wasn't the sleeve picked up?" She walked over to it, and recognized it as her own sleeve, not Jozero's. It looked beyond repair, nearly split right down the middle in several places, and the rest was simply tatters. "That explains why this didn't vanish when she came back. But not why it's still here..."    She grabbed the sleeve, sure she could use it for something, before proceeding further. As she kept walking, it occurred to her that the wall that was previously here was gone now, as was the deathly chill in the air. She looked to the walls where there was a break in the columns, and saw lines on the doors faintly glow green for a short time before dimming again. She floated closer, and could see the hinges on the sides nearest the wall, and further inspection revealed a hand-shaped depression in the center of the door. She put her hand to it, but it was obviously meant for someone else's. Shrugging, she went back to the center of the hall and kept walking.    As she walked, she suddenly became aware of footsteps echoing down the hall. She stopped, and soon after she did, the other noise stopped as well. Something's not right... She tried to take another step forward, but as she did, a sword fell directly in front of her foot, blocking her path. She drew her gohei and looked around, finally seeing Tearfang descend in front of her. She landed softly, and with a motion willed the sword out of existence. "Ah, Tearfang. Hasn't anyone told you not to randomly attack guests?"    "You are no guest here tonight, Hakurei. I demand you leave this instant. That threshold was one you should not have passed." Although she was already in a fighting stance, Reimu could notice her breathing harder than usual, as if she had to run to get there to stop her. "You have one chance. Turn and leave, or this will be unfortunate."    "You people sure know how to roll out the welcome wagon. But sure, why the hell not," she said, summoning another two familiars to aid her. "I still owe you something for not only actually hitting me in the Ingress, but for cutting the party early. You need to relax more."    "Rest is for the weak," she retorted, a shadow falling on her face as she drew her sleeve-blades. "If you won't leave, I'll cut you down and shovel your remains out of the window for the mushroom youkai!"    "Fat chance!" she challenged, before Tearfang charged her, blade poised to strike. Reimu easily sidestepped it, and smashed one of her familiars into Tearfang, pushing her back into a column. She sprang up the column, readying multiple illusionary swords, and charged again. This time, each blade ground against Reimu's familiars, and she tried to punch Reimu, without her sleeve-blades. The shrine maiden caught the punch, and the other, and the two remained deadlocked, staring daggers at each other. Reimu broke her glare first, replacing it with a confident smile. "Dream sign 'Duplex Barrier'!"    Tearfang's eyes widened as two interlocking, bright red square barriers emanated from Reimu, trapping her inside and shattering her swords. Besides the shock of her illusions being destroyed, now she was being bathed in pure barrier danmaku. The barrier didn't last long, but Tearfang was thrown across the hall as a result. She rose back into the air, creating a spellcard, and plunging the hall into her illusionary world again. "Curse 'Cycle of Death'!"    She thrust her hand forward, and a wall of sword bullets appeared and began falling towards Reimu. The gaps in the danmaku were obvious, but Tearfang threw another, different wave at her. As she began weaving through the second wave, she saw the first wave appear behind her again and proceed at a quicker rate than the first time. Oh great, it's one of those spells that keeps going until the danmaku runs out of power... Deciding to go on the defensive, Reimu brought all of her yin-yangs closer to herself, and only made miniscule movements, a skill she developed that helps for these types of spells where sudden action is not needed.    The walls never became a thick cloud, and the spell broke easily. Tearfang snarled, drawing another spellcard and three illusion swords. "Nightmare 'Death's Delusion'!" She waved one of her arms, raising her other upward, as the three swords took position around Reimu. She brought her arm down, and the three swords flew on a direct course toward Reimu, who refused to budge. This looks just like that other card she used. I bet I won't feel a thi- Her thoughts were cut short by a sharp pain in her abdomen. She looked down to see the three swords lodged within her, and her vision began thinning. Wh- what?! No! This is against the rules of danmaku... Eventually, her vision faded to black, and she began to feel light-headed. It..It can't end like this...wait, how can I even keep focusing on my own thoughts like this if I'm dying...?    Cautiously, she opened one eye, and only saw an illusional slash running through her. She breathed a sigh of relief, still feeling her arms trembling; it truly felt like she was about to die. The three trails moved out of her and began rotating at incredible speeds around her, releasing random barrages of bullets, as Tearfang's swords began shooting other sword bullets into the mix.    Effectively trapped, Reimu relied on her intuition to tell her when to move, and focused entirely on ending this card. The bullets were forming thick clouds around her, and she was finding space very limited. Seeing a sword puncture through a wall of bullets near where she just was, she threw two larger amulets, hoping they could end the card. As she heard them make contact, the slashing trails and all bullets instantly vanished, and Reimu got to see Tearfang's three swords explode, just like back in the Ingress. However, unlike last time, Tearfang only clutched her stomach momentarily, before getting back up and glaring angrily at her. "Why won't you just leave already?!" she yelled, drawing one last spell. "Legendary Sword 'Divine Protection'!"    As the card faded, a sphere of bright blue energy formed around her. Two copies of Tearfang flew from it, taking positions closer to Reimu. Wordlessly, they both created a blue sphere, which quickly began shooting bullets of the same color at a very rapid rate. She had no idea which copy was correct, so she divided her focus between the two. They remained stationary, but Reimu had to keep moving to avoid the incessant flood of danmaku, constantly looking between the two for which bullets have the possibility of striking her. The periodic flashes the copies gave off didn't help, either. Ducking between two bullets trying to converge on her, another flash was given off as she looked directly at the Tearfang on her left. Blinking a few times to regain her vision, she didn't see one stray bullet soar into her abdomen, knocking her back a few meters. Ignoring the stinging sensation, she readied four amulets in each hand, throwing them at either copy.    They struck directly, but the bullets were still flowing strong. Soon enough, however, Reimu could hear the spell weakening, and the bullets began turning red and flying even faster. Narrowly flipping over a small cluster of bullets, the card broke, and the two Tearfangs were thrust back into one body. Without skipping a beat, the sword girl flew towards the shrine maiden, her fist clenched and a blade drawn, screaming in a murderous fury. Unlike the first time, Reimu readied herself. I really hate to do this...but if there is one thing I know that can stop anything, and this really does need to stop... As she neared her quarry, Reimu ducked slightly to the side, more in line with the front of Tearfang's body. She batted Tearfang's arm away, and brought her leg upwards, striking directly into the sword girl's groin.    Feeling a mixture of satisfaction and pity, she watched Tearfang's expression change dramatically as she plummeted to the ground, curled up in pain. She slowly rose to her elbows, her arms trembling, before turning herself to look with a tear-strewn, malicious gaze at the shrine maiden. "How...cruel..." was all she could muster before turning into a ball of white light and flying further ahead.    "Huh. Good to know that it works. But still, it does make me feel bad that I had to resort to that... no one likes getting kicked down there." Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Reimu shivered the feeling away and focused on proceeding down the much larger hall. Fairies had more time to get to advantageous positions, but that meant they also were exposed for longer. Dark Matter also began peppering the air, acting more like sentries than malevolent creatures.    As she proceeded, she began to see a bright green light emanating from up ahead. The columns of fairies intensified, until the last ones fell. For a short distance, none challenged her, and she soon arrived at the end of the hall. Landing, she couldn't help but give an appreciative whistle, standing a good thirty meters from the bottom stair in a series of steps leading up to a jet-black throne. At what would have been the height of what she guessed the top of her shrine would be floated a bright green gem, slowly rotating in a slight indentation in the wall, several other crystals floating about in similar sconces. The similarity of these crystals' colors to the flames of the torches was both uncanny and eerie. The wall around the throne was decorated with strange symbols and figures, most of which looked to be in battle. But what was probably the most unnerving detail of all was that the main throne, black as obsidian...was empty. "Really? No, I mean...really?! All of this build-up, and no-one's even here to meet me?"    As if on cue, a white ball of light emerged from above, changing into the form of an absolutely livid Tearfang once again. "Shrine maiden, I tell you once more; leave this place now, you are not welcome!"    "Aww, here for another beating? C'mon, I'm two for two, so maybe third time's the charm~!"    "First of all, that last battle ended dishonorably. What you did was very close to cheating. I could have easily tried that on you when we first met. I could have tried it on you back there. And yet you were the first to strike. You should be ashamed to call yourself anything close to a fighter."    "I don't fight youkai for sport, I beat them up for sport. I just wanted to go further, but you really don't like giving up until you can't move."    "Second," she continued, ignoring her adversary. "It truly is important that you leave. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. I'm trying to drive you away for your own protection."    Reimu's challenging smirk slowly dropped as her eyes narrowed. "For my own protection? From what?"    "I...I can't tell you. Just trust me, you need to leave immedia-"    "Tearfang, what is going on?"    The sudden intrusion of a third voice startled Reimu, but not nearly as badly as Tearfang, who froze in place, her face turning from an almost pleading anger to fear. For a while, no one said anything. "Well? I'm waiting, Tearfang." The voice came from behind Tearfang, and to the left, close to a door. Near it was a young woman, from the silhouette Reimu could see through the darkness. "...That is an order, Tearfang."    Shuddering back into reality, Tearfang looked once more at the shrine maiden, uttering a "Leave now...please!" before marching to the silhouette. Unable to hear their conversation, Reimu took note of as much as possible of the girl. From her neck down, she looked like a cylinder with a dome on top, interrupted by one arm poking out, holding a mug of something steaming. Her hair looked medium-length, flowing around her shoulders. Wavy. A pair of green, seemingly glowing eyes were set annoyed in the figure's face. The figure sighed and shook her head, then spoke something to Tearfang, motioning her head back towards the throne. Although Tearfang at first resisted, a stern glare set the sword girl to the left side of the throne, where she stood at attention, arms behind her back. She gave one final pleading glance to the shrine maiden as the figure slowly approached the throne, setting the mug down on its arm.    "I must apologize for Tearfang's behavior. She was acting out of orders." She turned to look disapprovingly of the silver-haired girl, who shrank away slightly. "Isn't that right?"    "Y-yes, Mistress..."    "Mistress? You mean this isn't Jozero's castle?"    The woman chuckled, bringing one arm up from her shroud to her mouth. "Oh heavens no. This palace is mine. Allow me to introduce myself. I am known as Constance Adumbrate, or among my people as the Grand Shadow Princess, daughter of the Emperor of a similar title. And this is my home away from home, Citadel Adumbrate. Excuse me for a second while I make myself a bit more comfortable..." She flared her shroud, which turned out to be a large cape, outward, revealing her true appearance as she sat nonchalantly on the throne behind her. The cape's inside was the same bright green as the crytals, the flames...and the girl's odd, detailless eyes, even. She was dressed in a manner that could be called casually regal, a lighter grey than the pure shadow that seemed to cling to her face and exposed limbs. A devilish smile on her lips, she crossed her legs and leaned on the same arm of the throne as her drink. "You know, I had a much more...dramatic introduction planned, but because Tearfang did not follow my commands, it was all for naught as I was retrieving myself some coffee when you arrived. Oh well, not everything goes as planned, I suppose."    "Wait, you're royalty? Great...as if we need any more princesses around here..."    "Oh? Other princesses...you mean the vampire who acts as spoiled as one and the one from the Moon? Well, it could be worse, I suppose. After all, there could be more. However, I doubt any of their abilities compare to mine," she said, bringing the mug up to take a drink from it without actually moving her arms.    "Also, what are you? Some sort of talking silhouette?"    Unamused, Constance set down her drink, and snapped her fingers. Slowly, the shadowy skin on her body began shifting to a paler color, changing to an almost perfect flesh color. Her eyes even gained normal details instead of being a solid color. However, two bands encompassing her wrists and most of her forearms, not to mention most of her legs and feet, remained pitch-black. "Better? And to answer your question, I am what other species call a Shadowed. Powerful creatures of darkness who inhabit a far-off world in a parallel dimension to the one outside of this pocket dimension Gensokyo sits in. Would you believe most people I tell that to don't normally believe me the first time? Some people even had the gall to roll their eyes at me."    "Yes, it is better. As for what you are, well...Gensokyo has some weird youkai, but if what you say is true, you might take the cake. Then again, Jozero's story might compare in interest level...speaking of which, where is she?"    "Jozero? She's probably resting in her room. Why, may I ask?"    "Sleeping? Tch...she was the one who invited me to come here in the first place."    "She is the one who let you intrude? Hmm...but why tonight, she knows what's going to happen..." The princess closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing. "Oh, Zerotsu...what am I going to do with you..."    "Yeah, I am curious, what is this big mystery eve- Zerotsu?"    "Yes, Zerotsu. The first time she signed her name, I saw it written as a zero and a two, so I figured her name was Zerotsu. She's been correcting me ever since. It's adorable, really."    "Right...so what is supposed to be happening tonight? It's a New Moon, so any magical stuff is going to be hampered."    "Did I not tell you? My race is composed of shadows. As such, we draw power from them. This night is supposed to be a moonless, starless midnight, and that hour approaches fast. I shall be at my strongest, and none shall be able to stand against me!"    Reimu took a step forward, her hand adjusting its grip on her gohei. "'None shall stand against you'? I personally don't like the sound of that. It sounds like you're up to something."    Constance turned her gaze downward, shifting her position to appear more imposing, her grin widening, revealing many stark white fang-like teeth. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? My palace being a base of operations, the door to here being sealed, Jozero failing in her mission to create strife in Gensokyo, the palace's floating out to sea...how do you think my cohorts managed to get here to Gensokyo anyway, let alone an entire chunk of what you call the 'outside world's' ocean?" Reimu's face lit up as she began connecting the dots. "Yes, Reimu. The one responsible for Gensokyo's new slice of sea, the wave of depression, and almost subjecting the land to a perfect storm...is none other than I. And that was merely the beginning! Tonight, what I have been waiting for will finally occur...at the peak of my power, I will rend a hole to the Ingress right through the weakened dimensional fabric of Gensokyo - you didn't think all of these breaking-into's and breaking-out of's that the past few incidents have been wouldn't be detrimental to Gensokyo, did you? - and I shall conquer this land in my name!"    "Okay, you're going a bit far, there. Normally people who want to start incidents have small reasons for it that blow out of proportion. Yours, however, are almost frighteningly in proportion. Everything's too carefully planned out. The last incident with this sort of drastic outcome was from that insane birdbrain in the Hell of Blazing Fires. I almost wish I was sorry, but I have to take you down now. Unless you just want to give up and leave, save yourself the trouble."    The Shadowed girl could only laugh as she rose from her throne, lifting slightly into the air, her cape fluttering behind her. "I sense a challenge from you, shrine maiden. I already know of your formidable strength with dealing with youkai. However, I am no youkai...in fact, I go so far as to eliminate them for their generalization I suppose I technically fall under."    "Eliminate? Oh!" She snapped her fingers, a moment of realization cutting through the tension. "That's right, there was supposedly a youkai hunter who lived around here. That's not..."    "Me? It is, indeed. I tried human once. I didn't like it. I accidentally killed a youkai masquerading as a human and didn't realize it until after the first bite. However, one bite got me hooked. The best part is, each youkai has a unique flavor. No two I've tried have tasted the same, even prepared the exact same ways. If you'd like, I could perhaps share a recipe or two, between fellow hunters."    "Okay, no. I find youkai annoying as much as the next guy, but you can't just go around killing them!"    "And why not? It's not like I pick off important ones. I just go after the ones who infest pathways and general nuisances. Some humans have even hired me to take out a youkai or two. Not personally, but a note to the Youkai Hunter can be a sigh of relief for them later. I'm doing a service to Gensokyo and its human population. Publicity is key to a political victory. Youkai will fall under my sway in time, but the humans who will pass down legends before the elder youkai pass on are what I will live on through."    "The balance between youkai and human is very...precarious, I guess. So now I have to beat you for threatening Gensokyo's natural order in multiple ways. I'd rather not have to, but it's getting rapidly to the point where I must!"    Constance shook her head, her smile still present. "If you so insist. I don't intend to go easy...but I have already devoted so much of my power into this scheme already. I should still have enough to eliminate you, though, and have plenty to spare. Now..." She extended her hands to her sides, and orbs of darkness enveloped them. From the shadows in her left hand, a long, silvery blade formed, and from her right, four glowing orbs in a pyramid shape, the three below being red, yellow, and blue, while the top one is green, took shape, connected by small beams of light matching the color of at least one orb. The three that made the base orbited her wrist, while the green one floated over her hand, which looked like it was holding it delicately. The sword looked far too large for her to hold with one hand, yet she seemed to hold it effortlessly. "Tearfang, if you would..."    "Yes, Lady Constance." was her only reply, as she jumped into the air, forming into a ball of light again, before flying into the blade itself, making it glow a sickly, dull metallic color.    "I should give a brief explanation before we begin. This," she said, hoisting the sword, "is Tearfang's true form, the sword which is her namesake. From this cursed blade, the youkai sword spirit was born upon my first entrance into Gensokyo. She has been my servant since, even more than just as a sword. These," she pushed her right hand outward, "are the physical manifestations I can give to some of my powers. I call them my Loci. The red is the Locus Inferno, the yellow Locus Dynamo, the blue Locus Brumal, and the green one is the Locus Aeterna. Ah, but you don't really know what powers I possess, do you?"    "It doesn't matter what powers you have, I'll beat the shadow right out of you! No one threatens Gensokyo on my watch!"    A shadow falling over the left side of her face, Constance gave a convincing evil laugh and floated further upward. "Then let this be the duel that shall decide the fate of the world you hold so near and dear!" Without even waiting for Reimu to lift off of the ground, she swung her blade and blasted the ground where she stood with multicolored danmaku of all shapes and forms. Reimu leapt to her side as the powerful surge of danmaku impacted with the ground. She brought her sword back to swing again as Reimu let her needles fly from her familiars. This time, she dove to the right at a blinding pace, and swung three times in succession, forcing Reimu to make large movements to avoid the torrent of bullets.    Readjusting her aim to the princess's new position, the girl vanished from sight again, only for her to be on the opposite side of the hall, repeating the pattern. "How the hell do you move so fast?!"    "Easy. Light travels at an immensely fast pace, but when the lights go out, shadows rush to fill that gap. Thus, the speed of darkness is faster than the speed of light. Utilizing that, depending on how bright a room is, I can travel so fast I would be literally everywhere. Which is partially why I keep my Citadel so dark. Answer your question?"    "Uh...yeah, I guess."    "Good." With that, she swung her blade again, but this time she held her right hand forward as well, sending waves of fire from the Locus Inferno to accompany the original danmaku.    "I'm sure you also have a damn good explanation for why you can shoot fire, but I could care less right now!" Reimu shouted as she rolled around incoming danmaku waves.    "Indeed I do. Without light, there is cold. With light, there is heat. So, using an extension of the power of shadow manipulation, I can make temperatures rise and fall. Fall down into freezing depths, rise into blistering heights. A quick enough rise can even create electricity," she added, shooting a large fork of lightning from the end of her blade.    Squeezing between two large bullets, Reimu had to quickly turn herself so the lightning wouldn't hit her. As she regained her focus, she rapidly backpedalled to stay out of the way of the next wave of bullets, only to back into a column. Forced onto it, she could only afford to make small movements while on the pillar to avoid being struck. As the cloud vanished, she could see Constance barrelling up to her, her fist reared back and an evil smile plastered on her face. Hardly thinking rationally, Reimu rolled to the side of the pillar and used her motion to gain leverage and float behind her foe. As she looked, the pillar had nearly caved in where Constance's fist made contact, cracks spreading all the way to the floor. That punch would have left me a smear...I guess that makes close combat not an option, since I don't like being paste...    Still smiling, Constance brushed rubble from her shoulders before having to list to the side to avoid Reimu's incoming fire. She drew her blade from a small rift in the Ingress, then swung, releasing another wave of danmaku. Halfway in its trajectory, however, Constance waved her hand, and the bullets vanished, leaving a confused shrine maiden still firing at her. "This is dull. It's a good thing I decided to brush up on Gensokyo's history, or else I wouldn't have made any spellcards for myself, and then I would definitely be in a pickle. Well, what better time to test them than right now..." She snapped her fingers within her Loci, and they generated a black spellcard with what looked like an orange eye in the center of it. "Ingress 'Multidimensional Assault'!"    With a wave of her hand and a piercing, rending sound, six rifts opened around her, forming a pitch-black cube in reality. Reimu raised an eyebrow at her foe's spontaneous retreat, before the noise returned louder this time, forcing her to cover her ears. When the noise stopped, she opened her eyes and looked around, seeing a similar cube of reality around her, the Ingress beyond it. Ahead of her, in a much smaller cube, was Constance, floating lazily. "Before you ask, the Ingress is indeed mine, I simply let Jozero borrow a bit of my power to open these rifts. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely sure how I managed to do a successful lending of my abilities without being present...but I suppose that isn't important now, especially since these spellcards don't last very long at all, in accordance to the rules..." Constance turned to the side, holding one palm out. A large wave of silvery bullets slowly expanded out of it, before vanishing into the side of her cube as she turned to another side to repeat the process.    Reimu tilted her head curiously, unsure where the danmaku was going. Slowly, a wall of bullets passed right before her, missing their mark, but effectively reminding Reimu she was in a fight, not a show. She gave a quick thank-you to the gods of luck before throwing homing amulets at her foe. However, they didn't teleport like Constance's bullets did, and instead flew on a straight course through the inky mists. The shrine maiden was quickly feeling overwhelmed as bullet waves were intersecting from every face of the cube. She tried to fly out of the cube, but only wound up feeling disoriented as she reappeared on the opposite side of the field, quickly having to duck back to avoid her adversary's relentless attack. She barely made it out of being split into four pieces by interlacing bullets when she could finally hear the spellcard weaken, the dull thuds echoing through the cube. She chucked four large amulets, confident they would end the card faster.    Constance fired another wave directly upwards, turning her attention back to Reimu so she could see how much she was struggling. Her smile dimmed as the four amulets closed in. As they neared, however, she swung her sword wide, cutting through all four amulets, and leaving a distraught Reimu staring as the spell continued and her attack detonated harmlessly. "It'll take more than that to beat me-" Snap. "Oh. Well, what do you know, you managed to do it."    Panting, Reimu regained her equilibrium as the rest of reality faded in. "Well, what did you expect?"    The princess, reclining in midair, brought a hand to her chin. "I can't say I expected anything, this is my first actual battle where my opponent wasn't knocked out immediately. You do show...promise," she said, floating over to the shrine maiden, her gohei raised. "Come now, why so alarmed? All I have is a proposition for you."    Deepening her scowl, Reimu kept her eyes on the floating girl before her. "I'm just going to go ahead and say no, your proposition is probably garbage anyway. I don't make deals with villains."    "Oh, come now, don't be like that...although I do admit I do fit in with quite a few villainous stereotypes. Although that's mostly for show right now. This, however, is an offer you simply cannot refuse. Someone of your power and status...Defender of Gensokyo...should surely be on the winning team, no? Well, why not be a part of the winning team?" Constance floated closer, maneuvering to be upright, her hands behind her back. "Join me, Reimu. For too long you've been ignored. The defender of the land should not be impoverished, constantly pestered by those you could live without."    "I-I'm not impoverished! Donations have been kinda slow, lately, though..."    Constance's honeyed smile dropped slightly. "Yes, your oh-so-overflowing donations, that normally come rolling in like a blizzard in winter. If you ally with me, you won't ever have to worry about money again. You could live as luxuriously as you wanted. You have the world, fame, and recognition to gain, and nothing to lose...you simply must pledge your allegiance to the Empire...to me." She stuck one hand forward, leering down at her. "Just say yes..."    Reimu could feel her worries melting away with Constance's words. No responsibility, just luxury. Gensokyo would recognize her for her status and for solving incidents. She would be in league with someone who seemed insanely powerful. And yet, her intuition was tugging her back into reality. This girl was, without a doubt, insanely powerful, and probably just plain insane. Who's to say she wouldn't turn her back when the time presented itself? She is the daughter of darkness personified, how could one like that be trusted? Her conflict of interest only deepened as she felt herself reach out her own hand, Constance's pearly fangs glistening as she did so. Then, one thought changed the entire situation: She wants Gensokyo, not you.    Shaking her head, her willpower returned, and she gave a determined "No!" and threw a few red and white amulets at the Shadowed before her. She merely batted them away and backed up, giving themselves distance between them. "You're a liar, only out for your own benefit! I hardly know you, and you're asking me to give you my undivided trust? You don't want me on your side, you just want no opposition to your taking over Gensokyo! I bet not even Yukari would ally herself with you, even for a sweetened deal in her favor!"    Constance's smile quickly soured upon Reimu calling her bluff. "You know not what you say, Reimu. And oh, is there much you don't know. Your ignorance will be your own downfall, little girl." Holding her Loci out to her side, the very air around her seemed to shimmer, and her cape began fluttering violently behind her. "When this is over, you can't say I never tried to end this peacefully. This battle will be a work of art, us two the duelling painters intent on our image being the most prevalent! Now, unleash the darkness of your heart, and try to compare with unlimited power!!!" She held her right hand upward, the four Loci swirling around her wrist. From them, spirals of danmaku fanned outward, creating a brilliant multicolored display that quickly encompassed the entire hall.    Keeping her homing amulets set, Reimu drops another orb and kicks it into a column, making it bounce around at high speed. While her amulets struck home, Constance was sufficiently distracted with keeping track of the orb for Reimu to close in. She noticed that when the princess wasn't focusing, the danmaku had a static pattern, which enabled her to get close without her really noticing. Finally getting into a rhythm, Reimu began influencing the orb herself, until it went on a straight path towards her foe. She took the bait, cutting off the danmaku to bat the orb away with her sword. Before she could resume firing, Reimu teleported the short distance between them and landed a strong diving kick into the princess's chest, relishing the look of surprise on her face as she was flung towards the ground, the force of which causing small cracks in the stone.    Much to Reimu's chagrin, though not surprise, Constance rose from the ground. "I'm surprised I fell for a mediocre trick like that. Remind me to ask you how you can teleport short distances like that la-" She was cut off as the orb she swatted away early returned with a vengeance into the back of her skull.    Smirking, Reimu willed the spare orb out of existence. "Whether or not you think it's mediocre, it still works. I gotta pull all the stops out on this one."    Rubbing her head, Constance flew upwards, looking considerably less happy. "Luck appears to be on your side for now. But luck is expendable. Skill is permanent. Just how long will yours last?" She drew another spell, and black mists began coalescing in the hall. "Cosmos 'Nebula Umbra'!"    From the card, a wall of black fog poured out, masking the entire arena in darkness. Slowly, Reimu could see small white, glowing orbs spreading out, like tiny stars. As one passed close by, the heat tipped her off that these were, indeed, danmaku. Static, taking into account how they were slowing to a crawl. Turning her attention back to where Constance was, Reimu carefully jumped to her left as Constance darted forward, creating an explosion of danmaku where the shrine maiden was previously. Glad she picked a relatively clear area, she twisted around the dense clusters of star-like bullets , barely dodging the princess as she once again dove straight at her before disappearing into the fog.    Hearing the explosion of danmaku in a slightly shorter frame of time, Reimu looked at her familiars, still shooting homing amulets. Despite not being able to see her, the amulets were still hitting their mark, and she could keep track of where her foe was as she weaved her way through clusters of stars. Without a sound, Reimu ducked under another charge, and its rebound. It felt too easy. Taking hold of eight larger amulets, she flung them into the air, and they began sailing into the fog with the rest of the amulets.    Reimu listened intently, at first hearing another impact. She didn't know how fast, or in what direction, Constance was moving, but eventually they would catch up. She couldn't help but smile as she heard Constance give a surprised cry and the card immediately end.    The fog immediately cleared, but a large cloud of smoke remained a short distance from Reimu. She could hear coughing as the cloud subsided, and the image of Constance wheezing into her arm and waving the smoke away with the other made Reimu much happier. "Okay, okay, time-out," Constance called. "What I know is that your danmaku rules say that all danmaku has to be avoidable, right?" Reimu nodded. "Okay. So, how is it fair that you can use amulets that can HOME IN on your target, no matter how much danmaku is in the air, or how deplorable visibility is?"    The miko looked between her familiars. "Um...that's a good question. Nobody's really called me out on it, though, so I don't care."    "Yeah, um, no. I'm not alright with this. One of the people who helped make these damn rules, and she is the one who gets the loophole?" Constance crossed her arms. "Seriously? That's low-brow politicking right there. If anything, I'd have expected your witch friend to be the one to break a 'No Undodgeable Danmaku' rule before you."    "Oh, like you're one to talk. You're a princess, you're clearly evil, and you would so have tried that if I didn't do it first!"    "There's a difference between bullets that lock on to your position, and bullets that actively follow you around. The latter is all sorts of unfair. It's not that hard of a concept to grasp."    "You're the one boasting about 'unlimited power', so why don't you just use some of that then? That sounds completely fair in any fight."    "Don't get your panties in a bunch, it's a hyperbole. I'm trying to put on a good show, and you're busy cheating and throwing me off-character!"    "How am I the one throwing off your little charade?! You're the one who called the timeout, you could have just ignored it and kept fighting!"    "I expected a fair fight, not homing bullcrap! Have you seen me once, ONE TIME, use methods like that up to now? No. Yet you resort to it almost right away. Even if you manage to win, I'd be surprised if you have a reputation left. At least I have a code of honor."    "I use homing amulets quite a bit, thank you very much. Like I said, no one has complained until now, so don't go saying I'm-"    "Whatever, we're supposed to be fighting. Now, give me a moment, I need to gather my composure..."    "Don't you just cut me off like that!" Constance didn't respond, she simply turned her back to Reimu and brought a hand to her temples. "Hey! Turn around!"    Expressing disgust, Constance turned back to face her. "Fine. You want to just go back to the fighting? FINE! Have it your way!" she yelled, taking off into the air again and throwing pitch-black knives at all angles, most of them bouncing across the room, dissipating as they strike something the second time. "I was having fun with this, but you've gone and ruined it!"    Jeez, what a big baby, Reimu thought as she tried to get back into the air while dodging the bouncing knives. "I didn't ruin anything, you're the one trying to start trouble here," she replied, resetting her orbs to needles and letting fly.    "Do you even know how much work and planning I've put into this entire fight? Years of studying, rehearsing, preparing, all going down the drain like so much filthy water! This is the first time I've tried to follow a different system of fighting than I'm used to, and after painstaking editing to how I fight, how my powers are used, and how I can keep the battle fair, the native of the world I arrive at is the one to break the rules! What sort of example are you setting?" She continued to tirade, not once stopping her barrage of knives.    "One where peace is enforced, and that the Hakurei line is still strong!" she shouted, declaring a spell to dissipate the bullets, sending bright, multicolored orbs at Constance. "My ancestors have kept the peace in Gensokyo long before you showed up, and we'll continue to do the same long after we're gone!"    Constance drew her blade, slashing away the danmaku flying directly at her. "We shall see about that. Shadow sign 'Bind in Darkness'!"    Upon declaring her card, her skin changed color to a pitch black, her eyes becoming detailless until they were but bright green spots, her teeth the only other visible point on her body. If it weren't for the inside of her cape being the same color as her eyes, she would seem to lose all depth. "Let me teach you something else about me, Reimu. Mainly, about this cape. It is a separate article of clothing, but science has allowed it to be comprised of compounds close enough to our skin so we can use it as an extension of ourselves. Observe..." After a short period of focusing, her cape began twisting itself into two bat-like wings, the webbing retaining the green, while the rest stayed black. With a flap, she propelled herself into the air, before turning them back to a cape. "However, that's not what I need for this card. I can also do this..." The cape split into four segments, twisting into long, conical shapes, before pointing over her and at Reimu. "This card allows me to coat these tendrils in danmaku. Getting caught will be, assuredly, painful...and it doesn't stop there..."    Already wary, Reimu floated backwards slightly as Constance snapped her fingers. From the ground and around every visible surface, pitch-black tendrils began writhing and reaching upwards, just like the four on Constance's back. "Neat trick, but I don't see how good of a card this is. It seems very...simple."    "Then let's change that, shall we?" she asked, before slowly drifting towards the shrine maiden, radiating shadowy bullets as the tendrils reached toward her adversary, her malevolent smirk unchanging.    Raising an eyebrow, Reimu simply backed away, letting her own danmaku fly, bouncing off of Constance harmlessly due to the spell shield from the card. She glanced behind her to see the yawning expanse of the corridor, danmaku tendrils wreathing every surface. So, if I just avoid getting too close to a column, I should be fine. Looking back, however, Constance was right in her face, the tendrils at her back starting to try and wrap around her.    Reimu dropped swiftly, confident not to be caught, but the lower two tendrils managed to catch her arms before she could completely escape, and the other two wrapped around her body, pinning her arms in place, before lifting her upside down in front of her foe. "Too slow," Constance breathed, before the shrine maiden could feel the danmaku infusing the tendrils begin to sting. She grit her teeth, trying her best not to scream in pain. A glancing blow is one thing, but constant application was a completely different pain. After what felt like an eternity, she felt the tendrils lift her again, before throwing her to the ground. "This is why you do not take your eyes off of your opponent, as you already demonstrated with your yin-yang orb earlier."    Her entire body throbbing, Reimu slowly rose to her feet and back into the air. Despite the pain she had felt, her clothes only had minor scorch marks on them. Not even dignifying Constance with a response, she summoned her familiars again, and began raining needles upon her foe.    However, instead of dodging, she merely crossed her arms. "Lesson two: always pay attention to your environment, as well." As she said this, Reimu could feel her intuition roaring at her to fly upward, and she noticed that the danmaku tendrils that used to coat the ground were sprouting up again, and they'd be within her reach in seconds. She could never make it in time, unless...    "Dream sign 'Duplex Barrier'!" she called, as two interlocking barriers began carving through her enemy's attack like a scythe through weeds. With the tendrils down for now, she rose back into the air and threw four talismans as hard as she could.    The princess knew she was losing her grip on this card and her movement was still limited, but the shield should be able to absorb any blow right now anyhow, so she wasn't too worried. Until, as the first one struck, she heard the sound of her spell breaking. She hardly had time to reel back in shock as the remaining talismans slammed into her with impressive force, throwing her against one column only to bounce off of it, then the ground, before hitting another column and dropping to the floor.    Despite being through space travel and hurtling through the Ingress at blinding speeds, the blow still left Constance's head spinning. As she cleared it, she looked up to see Reimu diving towards her with an energy-infused kick, which hit home before she could do anything to resist it. Now having to gather her bearings again, she could hardly make out through the ringing in her ears "And stay down, if you know what's good for you," before she heard footsteps walking away from her.    Holding back the urge to spit on the girl, Reimu simply turned and began stalking away, one arm braced across her midsection. Before she even took three steps, a void opened before her, and Constance stepped out, oddly enough looking none the worse for wear, although she did look considerably more human than the last card, only small patches being covered in shadow, like before. "Did I say you could leave?"    "No, but I'm going anyway. We're done here, and you're beaten." She pushed Constance out of the way, and kept walking.    "Then you are admitting defeat. I am not out of spell cards, and this duel is not over. Not that it matters to me if you are a coward." This made Reimu stop in her tracks before slowly turning to her adversary. "You heard me."    "I am not a coward."    "You're certainly acting like one. Leaving now is admitting defeat, and time is running out for you. If you leave, you'll be handing Gensokyo to me."    Silently, Reimu turned to fully face Constance. She threw a few amulets into the air, specifically around the princess, and began muttering under her breath, her one hand positioned as if in prayer. Seemingly finished, she held her gohei straight out and said "Evil-Sealing Circle." The amulets began connecting with thin, bright lines, until each was connected to form a shell around Constance.    "This...this is no spell card."    "You are royalty, right? Well, you're royally pissing me off. I'm no coward, and I will end you right now if I need to. Do not goad me into a fight that I know you can't possibly win." She lowered her gohei slightly, and the amulets closed in with it, hardly being held back from collapsing in on itself.    "Hmm. It appears I have underestimated you, Reimu." With that, she drew Tearfang and her loci, before using the Ingress to teleport outside of the circle, as Reimu tried collapsing it on her, leaving a massive cloud of smoke. "Are you sure you would not rather simply join me instead of wasting both of our time fighting?"    "Why? Are you scared of a human, Your Overconfidentness?"    "A pity, that you cannot simply see things in a much simpler fashion. Everyone would benefit. This is your last opportunity."    "I'll never give Gensokyo to a freak like you willingly!"    Shifting her loci so the red one floated above the others, the smoke finally finished dissipating. "Then you will hand it to me as your bones break and you feel your very life draining from your miserable body!" She raised her hand, and great columns of fire began shooting from her red orb, occasionally punctuated by a wave of silvery bullets from her blade.    Reimu immediately went on the defensive again, maneuvering between the pillars of flame and around the tertiary attacks. As she flew, she could feel the temperature in the room rising, until she could feel the sweat running down her face and making the rest of her feel uncomfortable. She kept up her onslaught, as Constance didn't seem to be moving much, if at all. She could see the red Locus growing, though, and made sure she was ready for anything.    The attack suddenly cut off, but the temperature was still stifling. "Locus Inferno 'Supernova'!" she declared, a card becoming briefly visible in the Locus. As it faded out, the orb moved in front of Constance's chest, as the other three began orbiting her torso. Letting her sword drift next to her, she held out both hands, focusing on the locus, which glowed brighter than the other three. From the orb, a sheet of flame coiled out and wrapped around her, becoming a large ball of flame that expanded rapidly, turning from white to red, before slowly shrinking and scattering fire in all directions.    Reimu carefully sidestepped the initial burst, before a more patterned rotation of fire began emanating from the miniature sun before her, Constance somehow visible in its core the entire time. The fire, in the meantime, seemed odd to her. It felt like it had the intensity of the Yatagarasu in Hell she fought recently, but with far less mayhem, almost like the precision of the human phoenix from the Imperishable Night incident. This is a deadly combo...if she just wanted to win from the beginning, why didn't she try this? It's too damn hot...and it feels like it's only getting warmer...    As she watched, she confirmed her suspicion that the sun was indeed growing as more fire was being thrown from it, the exact opposite of what one would expect. Soon the intensity of the blazes peaked, and the sun stopped growing. Reimu had a good idea of the pattern by now: three trails of fire in a circle rotating counterclockwise, three running clockwise, alternating columns that could easily pin her in a small space if she wasn't careful, and sporadic fireballs that flew with no rhyme or reason. However, they didn't seem to radiate heat any more than she could feel from the room, which was making her start to feel ill, as if she had been sitting in the sun on a very hot day. Yet, if she lost focus, she would wind up fried.    Whenever she could, Reimu would steal a glance at Constance in the star, seeing her Locus Inferno glowing brighter and brighter as the sun's surface began to shake in a manner akin to boiling. And yet, through the haze entering her mind, she was sure she could hear the spell weakening. She just had to last a little longer...Wait, why's it getting chillier in here...and is the sun shrinking now?!    Before her eyes, the fireballs ceased, maintaining a tight orbit around the star, which decreased in size, before Constance spread her arms wide, and the fire rushed out, quickly expanding far beyond the star's former diameter. Noting that the star wasn't stopping, Reimu turned and dashed away from the exploding star. So this is what she meant by supernova! She could feel the heat catching up to her, even though she was pushing herself to go as fast as possible. Taking a chance to look behind her, it looked like the sun had consumed the entire hall behind her, and was still devouring the space she was trying to quickly leave behind. Wracking her brain, she couldn't think of a single spellcard she owned that could save her from the encroaching wall of fire.    The heat had once again reached stifling levels, and Reimu could feel herself becoming fatigued and slowing ever so gradually. She could hardly feel her legs, and the heat only kept rising. Gotta keep going...gotta keep moving...can't let fire...catch me... she thought, hardly able to even focus on her thoughts and keep her eyes open at the same time. At long last, the heat stopped rising, and Reimu could feel the cold air begin to cool her limbs down. Soon enough her thoughts were clear again, and she checked to see if she was still in one piece. The soles of her shoes looked like they melted off, and her socks felt singed, but nothing seemed missing, much to her gratitude.    "Ah ah ah, no time for resting now. We're nowhere near finished," she heard from in front of her as her intuition tuned her in to move out of the way. As she did, she opened her eyes, not even realizing she had them closed, and saw the end of a bolt of lightning fly past her. Half expecting to see the storm spirit, she turned to see the princess again, this time with the golden Locus above the other three, her Locus Inferno looking noticeably smaller than the other three now. The blade was still floating by her side, and she seemed to be directing multiple forks of lightning with her free hand as she spawned more with this Locus. Unlike the fire columns, the lightning was far more erratic, curving and moving much faster.    "Please...five minutes, that last card...was rough," Reimu managed between gasps of air and maneuvering past lightning bolts.    "You give no chance to avoid danmaku, and I give no chance for you to rest. I think this is perfectly fair."    "You're still on that? Grow up, it's in the past now! I haven't used a single homing amulet against you since."    "Is that you trying to prove a point to me, or did you realize I was right?"    "That's not the point! At least have better control of the temperature of your danmaku if you're going to throw another attack at me right away!"    "Like you just said, that's not the point of the attack. It is meant to fatigue so lightning seems like a much more impossible obstacle, especially given its speed. Although, I have found a much more...creative...use for it," she said, cutting off the barrage and growing the yellow orb like the red one before it. However, this time she held Tearfang in her free hand, and held the locus out, towards Reimu. From behind her, what must have been hundreds of lightning bolts flew into Tearfang, guided through Constance's form and into her hand holding the card. "Locus Dynamo 'Gamma Spark'!"

an unmatched sock:    Spark?! As she watched, she could definitely see a glowing orb appearing in her foe's hand, slowly growing. She looked back and forth, trying to find somewhere to hide, only to see desolation from the previous card. Most of the columns near the center of the miniature supernova were melted away, the damage lessening the closer to her the card got, reminding her of the hell raven's lack of self-control. Her eyes lit up as she remembered from that very incident a trick Yukari had taught her before she went down against her will to the Underground. She grabbed a familiar and waited.    Constance swung her sword, changing her posture so she held the sword to the side as the lightning stopped, the Locus Dynamo almost too bright to look at, while the other three began whirling faster around it. With a triumphant cry, Constance let loose its power, and Reimu shattered her familiar, sacrificing it to float out of reality temporarily, something that would ordinarily take either drastic measures or a lot of concentration and preparation time to do. She darted to the left as a beam that makes Marisa's Master Spark look puny cut through the air. Even only anchored to reality, she could still feel the heat radiating from the beam. As she exited it, she could see walls of danmaku flying out between the beam and a cone of lasers. Moving past it were faster walls of smaller danmaku, with a thinner laser cone surrounding that. Outside of this cone, there was nothing. Knowing she didn't have much time left until she phased back into reality, she positioned herself directly behind Constance, dropping a new yin-yang orb. She couldn't replace her familiar just yet, but she still had other tricks.    The beam finally stopped, and smoke could be seen from Constance's hand. "Heh, too easy. Twisting electricity and compacting it into a beam of gamma rays...and that was unfocused, too, not to mention lowered to danmaku standards. I'm not surprised that she was obliterated, though."    Feeling herself snap back into the material, she reared back and kicked the orb with all of her might while shouting "Surprise!" Constance turned, her hand still smoking and her eyes widening as the orb slammed into her chest, sending her plummeting to the ground yet again with a sickening crunch, leaving thin cracks in the ground around the impact.    "You slimy little...how did you avoid that?!" Constance cried, tearing herself from the ground, pure malice plastered across her face.    "Trade secret. I'll just say a good acquaintance taught me how to do that. What's with you ripping off someone else's card, anyway?"    "I observed your witch friend and the flower youkai who made the spell first. The witch's was weak, and it didn't feel like the youkai's was at full potential. So, I decided to try and make my own using my own power source. For a first official test, I'd call it a success." She finally stood up, and brushed herself off. Still, she didn't look like the battle was taking a toll on her. "Also, are you going to keep throwing me into things? You're putting an awful lot of force behind your attacks. It's irritating."    "Really? I'll just have to keep it up, then."    "Oh, by the way. Another rule of combat; don't get too caught up in the banter." She raised her arm again, and Reimu saw the same white light in her hands and dashed to the side as another Spark ripped the very air behind her. The second cone fanned out and trapped her, with waves of danmaku between them. Being in the physical plane for this blast, she could feel the heat from the beam, but it didn't feel as bad as before. "I must be used to it, then," she reasoned as she carefully maneuvered in the small gaps between the relentless, large, oval-shaped bullets between the beams.    She saw her chance as the spark began to drop, as Constance was trying to ready another. She threw two large amulets wide to her right and left before using her knowledge of boundaries to teleport directly over Constance's head. She brought a handful of needles down, which she batted away with her bare hand before cutting two amulets while the others struck home. "You're making me cross by not just standing still and letting me hit you. Your attacks are growing weaker, and I haven't even started!" Constance boasted, trying to cut at Reimu, who backed out of the way and threw a blue border in front of her. "Now you're trying a defensive approach? This will be too easy."    As Constance started to drift forward, her blade held high to cut at the border while her Locus charged for another attack, Reimu couldn't help but start grinning. "So, Miss High, Dark, and Mighty, didn't you notice something different yet?" She paused, waiting for Constance's attention to be focused on her. "Remember what my amulets normally do when they strike?"    The princess thought for a second before her eyes went wide, and the shrine maiden commanded the amulets, still stuck to her back, to detonate. The force of the explosion knocked Constance into the barrier, which began shocking her with spiritual power, which she didn't seem to have resistance to. Letting out a horrid shriek, the border did not let her go until it expended its power and faded away, leaving Constance staggered, but still airborne, her flesh turned mostly to shadow and trying to mend itself. The disguise was now patchwork at best, parts of her legs and arms staying pitch-black, as well as half of her face, the shadowy half not even showing a pupil in its eye. Looking down, Reimu saw what Constance was ignoring, despite it being her spell: the Locus was still charging power for another Spark, but Constance wasn't releasing it, making it wobble around, dangerously unstable. Meanwhile, Constance tried to dash at Reimu once again. "Clever, but that won't stop me! I will not rest until you are begging for mer-"    Another explosion shook the palace, along with the sound of a breaking spellcard. The initial shockwave knocked Reimu back a few feet, but ultimately didn't come into contact with her. Lightning crackled in the leftover cloud, and Constance had her Loci shift so the blue one was at the top. Without missing a beat, Constance held it high and shouted "Locus Brumal 'Comet Borealis'!"    Instantly, the temperature plummeted to near freezing, the sudden temperature change shattering many windows in the hall, stained glass showering outside and revealing the night to them. Reimu could feel the change immediately, folding her arms as her teeth chattered. Her foe, however, looked unchanged as ice began freezing to her, forming a massive spiked shell, at least as large as the star she had formed earlier. The ball of ice then moved, seemingly on its own, leaving bright multicolored bullets in its wake. After a short time, these bullets moved from their frozen state to try and rain down onto the shivering maiden.    Reimu threw a few needles at the makeshift comet, seeming to not do anything but stick to it, which then froze to the comet. She crossed her arms, teleporting out of the ice chunk's way before it smashed into her. She watched it collide high on a column attached only to the ceiling, flying through it as if it were nothing, causing the rest of the pillar to collapse into rubble. She decided that she needed concussive force in order to do anything, and switched to her pink talismans before ducking through the aurora-like wave of bullets coming at her.    The talismans, although not creating more ice like her needles did, seemed to be largely ineffective unless they were focused on one spot. Yet, she was finding her maneuverability weakened from the cold, her joints still aching from the temperature shift. The comet whizzed past her again, close enough that Reimu could see part of one of her needles sticking out of it and could have grabbed it. Yeah, if I wanted my arm ripped from its socket, she thought bitterly. Continuing her assault, making sure the comet passed as close as possible so she could focus on chipping it away in one spot, she was finding room to maneuver decreasing as the aurora enclosed around her.    The comet, suffering from deep gouges from Reimu's attacks, did not slow at all. If anything, it only became faster. Taking a gamble, Reimu threw a wall of large talismans, like when she knocked Constance back earlier. They all struck the comet, shards of ice flying off, revealing Constance in its slightly hollow core. Drawing another group of talismans, she tried to line herself up with the shattered portion, and let fly as the comet was about to make impact. Three of the four struck Constance, doing no visible damage, while one created another hole in it on the other side. Instead of flying away, though, Reimu tucked her arms in as close to her body as possible, and dove into the hole in the comet, passing right past Constance and exiting the other side completely unscathed. She didn't even get to see her reaction to this maneuver.    Not even giving herself enough time to pat herself on the back, Reimu immediately spun around and threw everything she could that wasn't a spell or her yin-yang orb at the comet, which had already turned and was returning. Despite the furious spin the comet had now, plenty of her attacks were finding their mark in the icy shell. She flew around the comet, only to collide back-first into a bullet in the aurora trail. The sudden burning sensation distracting her from both the cold and the battle, she looked back up to see the comet racing towards her.    Unable to correctly re-coordinate herself, the comet - luckily a flat portion of it, not a spike of ice - slammed into her, sticking her to its surface before flinging her into the rubble of a column. The world feeling like it was spinning around her, she could hardly register her familiars still firing at her foe, signalling her position. Opening her eyes and focusing through the blur, she could see a blue sphere about to become quite well acquainted with her body.    "Shit."    The only thing her brain could piece together before the comet made direct impact, shattering along with the card, her familiars dropping to the ground, motionless. Constance landed shortly after, having thrown the comet at the shrine maiden. "I told you, human. I really didn't want to have to go this far, but at least now it's over." Watching the familiars turn grey and slowly become transparent as they faded out of existence, Constance couldn't help but smile in victory. Somewhere beneath the pile of ice and stone was the self-proclaimed defender of Gensokyo, and her only true opposition. She turned away, grasping Tearfang out of the air, before feeling something stirring behind her.    "No...Impossible!"    She wheeled around to see her supposedly vanquished foe using her danmaku to clear the debris off of her, her outfit severely damaged, yet not to the point of being too revealing. Her knuckles gripped around her gohei were white from the intensity of her grasp, and Constance, for what might be the first time, could feel fear welling in her heart. "It can't be...no ordinary human should be able to survive such an impact! Your familiars even ceased to exist! You should be dead!"    "Well guess what, bitch. I'm not. And now I'm not going to hold back. You brought this on yourself, just so you know."    Recomposing herself, Constance adjusted her grip on her sword and took a deep breath. "No holding back. I won't object to this." With that, she held her Loci up to her chest, condensing them into a tight orbit around the green Locus. "Locus Aeterna 'Controller's Birthright'." She then squeezed her hand shut, the Loci shattering in her hand, the mist left over being rapidly drawn into her. A sphere of darkness enveloped all of her except for her eyes, before settling back into a humanoid shape again, the flesh-like color fading in once more until she looked like how she did before the battle began. Unlike then, however, hate and malice are the only emotions visible in her eyes. Her cape fluttering behind her from the sheer power radiating from her, she twirled her sword in her hand before assuming a battle-ready position. "You want a memorable fight? I will not disappoint you. If you are hoping for a fight you can win, then I am sorry, but you will be disappointed. But don't worry, the disappointment will be short-lived. Now, do me a favor and just lay down and die, Hakurei."    Reimu did not respond, but for simply holding her gohei out to her side, the charms fanning forward from it as amulets began forming between them. "Hakurei Technique 'Omni-Sealing Blade'!" she called out, as the charms finished making the shape of a large sword, the charms and seals finishing the blade's substance. She gripped her newfound sword in her hands, getting a feel for it.    Eyes wide, Constance's stance drooped. "How long has she been able to...this girl is far beyond ordinary. It is a shame I must eviscerate you!" she yelled, getting over her initial shock and charging forward, blade at the ready. Reimu responded in kind, and the blades of curses and seals collided, blasting back light, loose rubble. Only as the shockwave began to settle down did Constance notice the shrine maiden's sleeves were gone. She broke the contact, before trying to swing upward to knock the sword out of Reimu's hands, but Reimu managed to stop her attack from making any progress. Other similar attacks had similar results, and Reimu wasn't reacting in any way other than gritting her teeth and fighting on. "You...are skilled with the blade?!"    "No, I'm not. I've rarely tried using a sword, but my intuition and experience from my bloodline give me an unbeatable advantage," she cried, retaliating every single blow and even dealing a few herself.    The two kept performing this deadly dance, a new shockwave arising every time the swords collided, until a sharp cracking sound could be heard. It only worsened as the fight went on, Constance somehow unable to touch Reimu while sustaining several blows herself. "Why...can't...I...hit you?! This blade is supposed to have infallible accura-..."    Mistress...please stop...painful... Finally looking at the sword, they could both see cracks running the blade's length, the seals overpowering the curses within Tearfang, breaking it apart. Seeing an opportunity, Reimu tried jabbing her sword, only for Constance to parry it aside, causing an audible shout of pain from the sword itself. Constance jumped back and threw the sword, clanging on the ground beside a downed pillar. Shortly after, Tearfang's spirit form materialized from the blade before collapsing to the ground unconscious, the cracks in the blade mirrored on her body.    Reimu turned to see a furious Constance bearing down upon her. "Look at what you've done, you human filth! Tearfang was just a servant, she didn't deserve you sealing her curses and hurting her!" Ducking out of the way, Reimu could hear the crunch of stone beneath Constance's fist. She tried bringing her sword down on her, but Constance slapped it out of her hand faster than she could react. She watched her gohei spin across the hall, the seals falling out of it since it was not in her hands anymore.    The fight was now on the ground, Constance flitting about at insane speeds, practically forsaking ranged attacks barring an occasional burst of fire, lightning, or trying to freeze Reimu in place. The shrine maiden was now entirely on the defensive, hardly able to dodge, let alone block any of the incoming attacks. She drew some needles, placing them between her fingers like claws, and tried to retaliate.    The Shadowed had no problems dodging her blows, and seemed to be biding her time for Reimu to get tired of trying to hit her, or so she assumed. Every punch was to her body, and each time she turned out of the way in the blink of an eye just as it was about to land. After the third one, Constance brought her elbow down on Reimu's arm, and a sharp pain shot up to her shoulder. She had no doubt her bone was at best fractured, if not broken, but all she could feel was adrenaline as she kept trying to strike. Yet, after more failed attempts, Constance struck her in the back, sending her skidding forward on her stomach. As she came to rest, a purple piece of paper slid into her narrowed field of view. She picked it up and looked at it; it was the card Yukari gave her! She had completely forgotten about it. Rising to her feet, she turned to see Constance briskly walking towards her. Once she was right next to her, about to strike once again, Reimu jumped forward and wheeled around, trying to throw a handful of needles, only for them to stop in midair...and her arm to stop moving. She couldn't move any part of her body except for her face and hands, apparently, and she strained against her invisible shackles.    "Fool. I control shadows, and a human body is but a shell for them. You are entirely under my control." She lowered her arm, and Reimu felt her knees begin to buckle beneath her until she collapsed, unable to stay on her feet. Despite trying to mentally yank at her body, she couldn't move anything except for her hands, which she was thankful for. As she snapped back to attention to see where Constance was, she felt a finger below her chin, lifting it to look into the eyes of the Grand Shadow Princess. "Any last words before I end this permanently?" she asked, wreathing her other hand in fire.    "Actually, yes." Reimu flipped the spellcard from where she had it pinched, hidden behind her palm. "Boundary 'Balance of Motion and Stillness'!" she declared, before suddenly Constance was being blown back by seemingly nothing. It looked like high winds were whipping around Constance, while it was eerily silent around her. She rose back to her feet while holding the card up, barely able to keep it stable enough to work.    She was running out of options, and definitely out of time. How long have I been here, anyway? Checking to see that Constance was struggling to make headway, Reimu chanced a look out of one of the shattered windows. The sky was a very, very dark blue, but not completely dark, which indicated the incoming dawn. She wasn't entirely sure how she could have been occupied by a danmaku battle all night, but the evidence was clear. Looking back at Constance, it looked like she was trying to anchor herself down. Good, that gives me a bit of time...so fighting her hand-to-hand won't work, she's just too fast. Danmaku is out of the question, she's not particularly fond of it, especially now that Tearfang's partially broken...how am I supposed to beat her? I can hardly move, this spell is taking up too much energy, but I need to do something! She doesn't seem to be able to be tired, but she has to be...maybe if I can hurt her enough in a short amount of time, it might do something. But how?    While still racking her brain trying to think of solutions, she noticed Constance holding up what looked like a shield made of her Loci, blocking the wind that was pushing her back. She eventually managed to make it to the small circle of silence around Reimu, where she dropped the shield. "The end," was all she said, rearing back a fist wreathed in white-hot flames. Reimu tried breaking the card, and felt it snap and the paper she had in her hand fade away, but it was too late to try to dodge. She looked up, ready to accept her fate due to her inability to act.    No. This is not the end.    As the blow should have landed, her punch met nothing but empty air, despite Reimu still standing before her. The shrine maiden could feel something in her mind click, a defense mechanism she's only rarely had to use. The air began filling with amulets, and colored orbs began bouncing around the cloud made of them. Her mind was in a fog, but a single name stood out, and she felt herself speak without her consciously telling herself to: "Fantasy Nature."    Bewilderment on her face, Constance tried using her elemental prowess on the opaque form in front of her, managing to only break a few amulets, releasing more colored orbs. As one, they all began swirling around Reimu, who held her arms to her sides, glowing brightly as the rising sun began to shine into the palace, directly onto the shrine maiden. All of the amulets turned to her enemy, and began launching rapidly at her. Constance could feel the amulets' relentless sting, and threw her Loci before her to be a shield once again, pouring her power into it to outlast this attack. She could feel herself being pushed back, but other than the shield, she was helpless.    To make matters worse for her, the colored orbs began streaming into her Loci, and she could feel the shield weakening. Pumping more and more energy into the shield, she took a difficult step forward, then another. She could feel sweat dripping down her face, her cape threatening to tear away from her neck, and her human disguise flickering. Whoever survived this attack would be the winner, and she knew she would win. The shield will hold. She is invincible...    Right?    As if to answer her question, she looked up to see Reimu charging her Yin-Yang orb, seeing it glow bright red, before she reared back and kicked it.    The orb ground against the shield for mere seconds before it shattered like glass, continuing in its trajectory. Constance held her hands forward, her clawed fingers creating showers of sparks as the orb spun against them. Whatever it was made of, it felt like it was searing her hands as the sparks flew and it spun faster and faster. She could feel her feet also grinding against the ground as she was pushed back rapidly. Then, from some fluke of fate or miscalculation, the orb spun under her hands and crashed into her stomach, lifting her from the ground and slamming her into the wall, creating a crater in her shape in the wall. As the orb finally stopped and bounced off to return to its master, Constance looked up. The glow of the shrine maiden was so far away, and the orb pushed her all the way back this far. She was now in the wall beside her throne, a point that had seemed so far away during the battle.    She knew she had to hurry and pry herself from the wall if she hoped to get back to Reimu before she got away. She managed to get one arm free before she looked up to see an avalanche of amulets and four intertwining streams of colorful orbs aiming for her.    The impact was soundless. Reimu was drifting forward, still emitting the power of the Hakurei line, and the light was focused onto one point in the wall. No shrieks of agony, no cries of victory, no retaliations. The projectiles were the only motion in the entire hall. The shrine maiden could feel her last-ditch effort slowing, and gradually lowered her arms. The streams of bullets decreased until hardly anything was being shot, and Reimu could feel the chilled breeze of reality returning, and her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. The light finally faded, and Reimu's eyes half-shut, and she could feel woozy from using Fantasy Nature.    The shifting of rubble came next, as the princess was slowly pushing herself out of the wall. She landed on her feet, her dress and cape in tatters. Reimu didn't look too well off either; in addition to her sleeves being removed previously, now her top was also gone, leaving only bandages wrapped across her chest. Her skirt was damaged, but still intact. She would be glad later that she had spare outfits, but for now, she was simply relishing the victory, while mentally trying to prepare herself for whatever Constance was going to do next.    The princess finally managed to pry herself from her wall, and landed on her feet, her face somewhere between pained and livid. Reimu tried to make a more imposing stance, but she felt as though she could hardly stand. However, she noted that Constance's face was quickly changing to laughing, her human disguise still visible without any shadow to be seen. As she was laughing, she fell forward, not even catching herself. "That...was the most fun I have had in a long, long time," she said, turning herself so she could look at Reimu from the floor.    "Fun? You...you call that fun? You were trying to kill me!"    "Well, we needed some sort of stakes, didn't we? Gensokyo on the line was perfect. I thought for sure when the comet struck you the second time you were finished."    "The comet was, in the end, danmaku. It hurt, yes...a lot...but I survived. Even I was surprised. I'm pretty sure...that I have quite a few injuries, thanks to you."    "Yeah, well, I was trying to win. I just don't get it, though. I am invincible. I feel pain, but I should not have been able to be defeated so...easily. How did you manage to do it?"    "Gensokyo is a land of beliefs. You believed you were invincible; I believed I would win. Clearly my belief was stronger. And I would suggest you not do this again. Ever. Especially not soon. I need to rest...badly..."    "Don't worry, I need to as well. I kinda can't get up off of the ground right now, actually. The most I can do with my body is retain consciousness and speak. I can hardly feel anything from the neck down."    "Lady Constance? Are you alright?"    The two turned - as best they could - to the third voice, of Jozero coming from a door she was softly latching closed. "Ah, Zerotsu. I need to have a word with you, please."    "Of course, my lady. And please don't call me by that name..."    "Why exactly did you invite the Hakurei maiden here?"    "Did you know I was going to have to fight this lunatic? It does feel strangely like a setup."    The angel sighed. "Yes, my inviting you here now was on purpose. I knew you were powerful, and Constance looks for powerful challengers. If I did not, Gensokyo would have been beset. Did you tell her the plan, Constance?" She turned to the window, at the light starting to stream in. "Oh, look; the sun is rising."    Now it was Constance's turn to sigh. "I believe I did, but to reiterate: This night...or rather, last night...on the night of a new moon, when my dark powers were at their greatest, I was going to open a great rift to the Ingress in the sky. From there, the section of my father's armada of ships that I took could then fire upon the surface, or the mere threat of them would result in Gensokyo's surrender. I was originally going to wait until the rift was opened to ask for the land's surrender, and then suddenly you show up, unbeknownst to me..." She turned to look at Tearfang, still unconscious by the broken pillar.    "Our being here," Jozero continued, "was a large, elaborate ruse by Constance to take over Gensokyo. Bringing the ocean, my sowing despair, the perfect storm Izumi created, and even my defeat and our return to the hills were factors evaluated. I...suppose I have...grown fond...of being here in Gensokyo. Enough that I didn't want it to be conquered so...unjustly. So I staged your arrival here to stop Constance from achieving her goal. And for that," she turned to her leader. "I wholeheartedly apologize for this treason. If Reimu failed, I would have had no reason to believe Gensokyo would be worth anything. So now, I would advise we simply integrate."    "What?!" Reimu sputtered, nearly coughing as the aches from the fight were starting to set in.    "Oh, yeah. After tonight, there's no way I'd be able to move any of us out of here. You're going to be stuck with us for quite a while~," Constance confirmed. "Now, if you would please get out of my palace, I think both of us deserve a bit of respite after last night. And I want to go have a little chat with Yukari...that was certainly one of her spells you used right there."    "You know Yukari?"    "Yes. We met a while ago, and due to...circumstances...she owes my family what we call a Hundred Favors. We can ask from her whatever we want, and she has to comply or else we are allowed to simply kill her. That's how I got her to guard that one rift to the Ingress. The Favors only work for me or blood relatives, though. It's complicated. Yukari and I are a much more even match than we are."    "So you're saying I'm stronger?" Reimu asked, a slight smirk appearing despite her injuries.    "Not by a longshot. I'd chalk this up to luck, but whatever. Just...please leave."    "Yeah...hopefully next time we see each other it won't...you know..."    "Suck?"    "Yeah. Well, bye..." With that, Reimu lifted off of the ground, floating back to the entrance as the sun continued to rise.    "Jozero?"    "Yes, Constance?"    "Have your pseudo-daughters take Tearfang to her chambers. You can assist me to mine."    "Of course." She clapped her hands, and her three elite Dark Matters appeared before them. "Take Tearfang up to her room. Carefully, please." The three nodded, and Jozero turned to the princess, still lying on the ground. Draping one of her arms over her shoulders, she rose off of the ground and carried her to the door beside the throne.    "Oh, and Zerotsu?"    "Hmm?"    "Once I can move my limbs again, I'm going to kick your ass for bringing her here without permission."    "Understood. It's good to see you're not taking your defeat too hard."    "Who are you kidding? I'm livid right now. I'm just in too much pain to focus on that. Gensokyo is safe, and I wouldn't dare attack Reimu again until she's ready. Plus, I feel as though I need to go and fix her injuries. Her arm is definitely broken in multiple places, burns, a few broken ribs, slight internal bleeding...I haven't faced that much of a challenge since I would spar with my family...these people are extraordinarily powerful."    Jozero sighed as she opened the ornate doors to the opulent bedroom that belonged to her master. "Good to see some things don't change with you. At least your heart is in the right place."    "If I can't win by force, I'll just have to make myself so well-liked that I'll practically rule Gensokyo anyway. It will be much less - Just set me on my bed, and I'll be fine - violent, for sure. Publicity can be stronger than the sword."    "Is there anything I could get for you while you're incapacitated?"    "No, I'll be fine. But still...who knows, maybe we could be friends...the shrine maiden and I, that is. I'll stop over at her shrine in a few hours, when I can move again. She'll probably still be asleep, but whatever. You can go now, Jozero."    "Yes, Constance." She bowed and left, closing the door behind her.    Constance took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her hands. "Well, Reimu...you did it. I don't know how. Frankly I don't care. But you did it. As convoluted as I thought my plan was...you still managed to turn it on its head and beat me to the punch. I'd applaud, if I could. Gensokyo is safe, all thanks to you. As usual, I suppose. I do wonder how this would have played out if one of your friends was solving the incident instead of you...oh well. That's something we'll never know, I guess. I know I'll long outlive you and many generations after you...but hopefully your comparatively short life will be as fulfilling as you can make it. Heh...listen to me, talking to myself. Well, good night, Reimu Hakurei."    Pit...pat...pit...pat...    In a small, homely shrine in the woods, a girl in tattered clothes wobbles inside, lights turning off and the blinds closing in a bedroom. A new outfit can be dealt with tomorrow.    Belief is the nature of fantasy. In Gensokyo, the line between fantasy and reality is blurred enough that a small belief could have lasting repercussions. It could condemn a civilization to attack, or save the world. But for now, Reimu believes that a well-deserved rest is the most important thing in the world right now. And with this, the main story is over!! (Sorry that it took a couple of days for the second half, the approximately three people who read it. I forgot there's a character limit and to check after it was posted. Oops!) Thank you to all who read and supported me, despite my taking long breaks between chapters. It's no novel, like some others have written (Dolphin Rider Koishi, Gensokyo My Beloved, to name a couple of prominent titles/personal favorites), but I think it tells enough of a story for an amateur writer. Updates will still happen, seeing as this is technically set between UFO and TD, and there's a bit of catching up to do between then and the present. Don't fret, though. I do have other things planned, a few shorts and even another adventure (although it will most likely be shorter than this one) and a spinoff of this one. As always, feedback is appreciated, so feel free. To the people in charge, I would request this not to be closed and filed away, as I will use this thread to write new things, such as the aforementioned shorts. I know you all probably read this phrase a lot, but I feel as though now that the Absolution of the Requiem has finally ended... See you next Phantasm!

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