Prologue

Gensokyo, the Land of Illusion and Dreams, an originally desolate, haunted region of Japan ages ago. The Youkai that lived there began to terrorize the surrounding lands, and thus powerful, heroic humans were sent to exorcise and exterminate them. The off and on battle between humans and Youkai continued on until 1884 A.D., when Gensokyo was sealed off from this increasingly scientific and skeptical world with the creation of the Hakurei Border. There has been little contact between those societies ever since. Today, the only known gateway between Gensokyo and this world is the Hakurei Shrine, which stands in isolation along the border on distant mountains of the far east.

Gensokyo is populated mainly by Youkai, but a decent human and rabbit population lives there as well. Some of its inhabitants went there to hide, to escape, to find shelter when no one and nowhere else would accept them. Many of them just like the natural darkness.

This story you're about to experience is a story about the intertwining fates of the residents of Gensokyo with the highest God of Creation, Dragon. Based from Perfect Memento, it is believed that he lived anywhere and he looks like a serpent with hands and horns. He was also said to be last seen during the Creation of the Great Hakurei Barrier. Both humans and Youkai alike worship him because of his capability to create and destroy anything.

. . .

Introduction : The Request

"Say, Ryuji..." a girl's voice broke the silence of the calm afternoon.

"What is it, Marisa?" the blond teenager replied, folding both hands behind his head as he lay down and uninterestedly gaze up at the ceiling of the Hakurei Shrine; taking a moment before averting his sight to the blond-haired Witch sitting beside him with her Witch hat upon her lap.

"You said you lived a pretty harsh life before moving to Gensokyo, ze? Why don't cha tell us 'bout it? It's not like we're goin' to judge ya or somthin'," Marisa replied, a grin already decorating her pink lips as she looked at the Shrine Maiden, "Don't cha want to hear it too, Reimu?"

"I would be lying if I tell you two I'm not interested," the Shrine Maiden replied before sipping her tea from the cup that she held with both hands, "But I'm not going to push it."

"I'll count that as a 'Yes' then," Marisa replied with a sweat drop, before letting the previous grin decorate her lips again as she peered at the boy who's practically laying upon the wooden floor of the Hakurei Shrine, "Come on, spit it out."

"If you insist."

The image of an almost abandoned hallway filled with several bodies - all of it wet with fishy red liquid - start resurfacing inside the boy's mind - almost as clear as if the heartbreaking event happened just yesterday. Closing those dark eyes of his, the boy speaks:

"Blood. There was blood."

. . .

Falling Apart World

That day, minutes ago, the dark-haired girl was standing on the corner of the hallway; trying to shrink herself in fear as the blond-haired boy in front of him stand limp, panting and closing one of his eyes as a trickle of blood flowing down beside it.

The bullies in front of them laughed at the sight, one of them raising the stuntgun on his hand; causing the small device to buzz and let out a spark of electricity from it. "You sure have some guts," he said, "But you're outnumbered. If you're being cooperative from the start, it doesn't have to end like this."

"Doesn't make any difference to me," the blond teenager replied, pushing himself to stand straight hardly - the hit on his head from the wooden block starting to make him feel dizzy - "I bet you would treat her all the same."

"Judging from your condition, you managed to sound tough," the leader of the bullies said, unexpectedly moving forward from his previous spot which's hidden behind his henchmen, "But I don't think that would be long. Get him, boys! But don't touch the girl. She's mine."

Instinctively moving forward after hearing that, the blond teenager almost instantly got cast aside - there were dozen of them, but he stood alone; defending the girl behind him from the bullies that were hoping to have a chance to "Meet and Greet" her like she's some sort of artist. But no - he's well aware of what they're after.

The boy now lying down at the cold ground; the surge of electricity that ran down through his body just a moment ago swallowed his last energy - sending him into his knees before letting one of his cheeks kiss the ground in an almost dramatical manner. All he could do was watching helplessly from his spot - imagining what the bullies going to do to the girl as they're only a step away from her now shivering body.

All hope's lost. That's what he thought. Not until a single voice call from the depths of his mind - leaving him barely conscious before everything within sight blend into the familiar darkness.

. . .

Inverted World

The boy opened his eyes, practically widening it in surprise as he found himself floating in mid-air. It took seconds before he finally managed to regain his composure; leaving him somehow standing; still in mid-air, but a calm and composed expression reigning over his face.

"So this is the first time we see each other, ei?" a single voice caused the blond teenager to turn around to find another teenager with striking resemblance to himself (only with dark hair and black, slit pupils) standing a few feet away from him; also in mid-air, "Welcome to the Inverted World."

"Who are you?"

"I am what you, humans, called 'Natural Instinct'," the other teenager replied, showing an eerie grin that caused the blond teenager to shudder in uneasiness, "But nevertheless, you could consider me as something that could be called... 'Inner Conscience'. In a way, of course."

("Humans...?") - the blond teenager thought, "What do you want?"

"Well, consider this as an offer. A kind gift. The Take-It-Or-Leave-It kind of offer," the other teenager grinned, "Say, the girl that's standing behind 'cha. You fought so hard for her before you ended here. What's she for you? Why'd you gave your best shot just to help her?"

"You wouldn't understand, she-"

"Understand you? Care about you?" the other teenager replied with a snort, as if trying to hold back his laughter from bursting out, "What made you so sure about that? You barely know her. It's only been three weeks since the first time you talked to each other."

The blond teenager turned away. ("He's right. I barely know her.") - he thought as hesitation attempting to reign over his mind, ("But I can't just-").

"But~" the other teenager said almost too suddenly, leaving the blond teenager in the verge of almost jumping back in surprise, "If you think that I'm going to complain about it, you're damn... pretty damn wrong. Instead, I'll be kind so I'll just get straight to the point. That girl what talked about? What do you want to do about her? What do YOU want?"

"... I want to help her."

"Beg yer pardon?"

"I want to protect her," the blond teenager repeated, louder than before, "I want the strength to protect her. To be strong, that no one would dare to hurt her."

"Strength, ei?" the other teenager replied as he extend one hand to gaze down at his fingernails in a teasing way, "You sure about what you just said? YOU want STRENGTH to protect that girl from those lots?"

"... I could repeat that if you want."

"No need to!" the other teenager raised the previous hand with the palm facing the blond teenager; a clear indirect sign that only has one meaning: "NO".

"Your wish is my command," the other teenager said after a moment of silence, simply grinning before clapping his hands in a taunting manner, "And speaking of which, I think you got someone to visit, ei? You better hurry up if you don't want someone end up swallowing her."

Just after hearing that, the blond teenager could feel his body getting lighter and lighter - it took seconds for him to realize that his body was turning transparent and it's as if his feet already merging with thin air; leaving disembodied torso complete with head and arms floating in mid-air.

"Let me ask you, one last thing," the blond teenager said, earning him the other teenager's attention, "Is this for real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"

The other teenager grunted, clearly failing on his attempt to hold back his laughter, "Of course this is happening inside your head, you idiot. But why the hell should that mean this isn't real?"

. . .

The Dragon Awakened

The boy opened his eyes hesitantly. The scene in front of him was still the same, it didn't change even the slightest bit as if someone already frozen the time and waited until he was back to consciousness to put the scene back to life.

He didn't understand what's going on, but his head was numb. Something was stinging the insides of his head, so painful that it pushed his brain back into the right place - rendering him back to his conscious a bit too fast for his liking. But there was also something else. Something that's also stinging the insides of his head. Like a stimulant that pushed himself to stand straight despite his body was already worn out from the earlier fight.

He couldn't understand it at first. But the moment he understand it, it was already too late.

It was rage. Blind rage.

The moment he snapped back into his consciousness, he was looking into the same, but stained red hallway. Red liquid all over the face, as if someone tried to paint the walls with that but end up spilling it all over the place. The smell of the red liquid stung his nose in the most unlikely manner. And then he realized. It was BLOOD.

He was on his knees. He didn't understand why. He raised both of his hands, but he couldn't see it. His eyes were looking at what appears to be a pair of talons - dark red and stained with fresh blood. Unable to believe what he's seeing, the boy shifted his attention into something else - almost instinctively sighing in relief at the sight of the girl who's cowering at the same spot at the end of the hallway. Some of her limbs were stained with the very same red liquid that stained his supposed-to-be hands, but she didn't seem to mind it.

Crawling his way to the spot where the girl's cowering, the blond teenager was about to raise a hand before a single scream from the girl refrained him from moving even further, "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER!"

That very moment, unwanted memories started piercing his mind. The memory of him stabbing, ripping, whatever possible to turn a person into minced meat - it's all flowing into his mind. Tears unconsciously forming at the edge of his eyes, flowing down silently through his blood stained cheek as he looked to the side - his older brother was there, at the other side of the hallway, panting and widening his eyes in shock.

His words leaving his now dry throat. He didn't know what to do. And everything seem to darken once again...

. . .

"Strength, ei? I don't think that's the kind of wise decision that one would make. But what can I say? It's the moral of the story for all of you, duckies. Yeah, you. YOU. The one who's looking at the monitor with dumb expression on your face. Haha, don't be mad. I didn't mean it. But you understand, do you? Be careful for what you wish for, because it might turn worse than you expected."