"You. Yes, you. Can you hear me?"
W-where am I? What is this strange place? It's all barren and… empty. What are those beautiful colours?
Is this… space?
"Child of man, you can hear me… right?"
A strange, hollow, but unmistakably female voice called me from far away. I don't know how to explain it. I've never heard such voice, yet it felt… so familiar. As if I had forgotten someone important to my life.
"Please answer me, O Bearer of Hope."
Wait, what?
Not knowing where I should look, I simply answered the voice with a loud shout.
"I hear you. Would you mind telling me where am I? And more importantly, who are you?"
The answer was immediate.
"I'm relieved. If you can hear this, then perhaps I should tell you something important before I go."
Something important? I voiced my thought in curiousity and concern. It seems that my body has begun to feel uncomfortable in this place and want to leave this place as soon a possible.
"Yes. But before that, let me answer your questions. First of all, this is the Dream World, where all dreams and hope formed, gathered, and eventually… shattered."
The last part was not that surprising, but still quite unpleasant regardless.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't make my guest feel uncomfortable."
To be fair, being here is already uncomfortable enough.
Wait, did she just said 'guest'?
"I'm the one who ruled over this realm and the one who had summoned you here in your sleep. My name is Yubelia, Master of Dreams and Hopes. O Bearer of Hope, may I ask for your name?"
Name? That was rather unexpected. I'd expect her to know of my name already, given how she was supposedly the one to summon me here. Or perhaps, she was desperate enough to pull me all the way here without knowing me thoroughly?
Then again, she had trusted me with her identity, so it would be rather impolite of me to not tell her.
So I told her my name.
I don't know why, but I can feel her smile even if I can't see her.
"That is a beautiful name. I… pity you."
Pitying me? What was that for?
"You are about to unwillingly play a game. You can not naturally win this unreasonable game. You will lose over and over again until your soul crumbles apart in despair."
Is that a threat? Or perhaps a warning? If it's something so 'unreasonable' and something I cannot win, then why bother summoning me?
"I know what you're thinking. You are afraid, that I can be sure of."
Was it really obvious?
"But perhaps, just perhaps, hope is not all lost." She said in a not-so-convincing voice.
"If there is one person who can turn the favor, it has to be you…"
I can sense her presence slowly began to fade away. That, however, is not my biggest concern.
"I'm sorry… I have to go… please… save humanity's hope… save me…"
I can barely comprehend her words as I once again pulled, this time away from the strange place…
"Then, for the sake of formality, let me begin with once upon a time…"
Prologue Complete
Reimu Hakurei's story
Chapter 1: Disillusion
Reimu's POV
And once more, I was awakened in my boring little house that is my shrine.
Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful place all the way round. Peaceful atmosphere and serene view overlooking Gensokyo has always been part of its attraction. And thanks to a certain brat, the shrine has been stronger than ever.
Ah, forgot to mention. It was the beginning of spring.
Lifting my body from the comfort of my futon, I took a quick glance outside before stretching my body. Obviously, my body hasn't adapted to the change of climate. And then there are the cherry blossoms, which haven't shown its charming pink petals. The snow was still pretty thick, but it seems like it has begun to melt.
That's good. We don't need overextended winter.
Goddammit Yuyuko.
Raising my body, I noticed someone playing just by the window. Her body was small. And when I said small, I mean really small. She was barely larger than my index finger with a larger-than-life personality. Don't know why, but she seemed enjoying her life in a small soup bowl. Admirable little creature, yes, but annoying in the long term.
"Kobito, stop rolling in the bowl. I swear if you ruin something in this house, I'll kick you to the other side of Netherworld."
"But Reimu-san, this is my bowl. I can do anything with it!"
That almost had me on the edge.
"You little prick of a freeloader…" I have to take a breather after that, otherwise I'd start throwing tantrum all over the place. "Oh well… do whatever you want with your bowl. Just don't disturb me."
Well, at least that'd make her happy.
"Thank you, Reimu-san!"
…See?
With that away from my mind, I guess I have something better to do. I looked at the broom that lies on the floor at the yard of my shrine. It was an old, but reliable broom that has kept the Hakurei Shrine from being too dirty for many years. It's the only thing, other than this shrine, that my parents has left me with.
It sucks not knowing your own parents.
My legs led me to the yard where the cherry blossoms hadn't begun to bloom in wonderful cloud of pink. It was a beautiful morning, and surprisingly peaceful despite Shinmyoumaru.
Speaking of her, she was supposedly the last of her kind. At least, I haven't seen a fellow Kobito like her around. She has been a rising star in local rafting race, so I guess her bowl is not for nothing. Then again, being a descendant of the legendary Issun-Boshi, or so she claimed, I should've expected that as part of her specialty. Although honestly, I have my fair share of doubt given her partner…
Ah well. I took the broom that has been resting peacefully on the floor and began my boring daily routine. Sweep… sweep… sweep… the sound of broom sweeping away dirt that emerged among the melting snow tickle my ears. It has been rare for me to enjoy the day like this. Youkai, ghosts, or basically anyone could cause commotion in this fantasy land and as the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, I have the obligation to maintain the balance of status quo, a status quo that I has been able to keep in balance until now.
It was thanks to a certain old Youkai and a game.
Danmaku has been the prominent way to solve problems in Gensokyo. It's a game about making the best patterns out of seemingly undodgeable bullet barrage. But despite that, no one is allowed to cheat in this game by creating a pattern that is truly impossible to dodge. It is one of the main rules of Danmaku battle. Anything else beyond that is nothing more than secondary addition.
That's how we solve things here.
Far above here, on the moon to be exact, the people are less pleasant. If I have to describe, they're a bunch of selfish cowards who would discriminate everyone for the sake of creating 'perfect life'. Their rules are strict and unbending, but what can I expect?
I'm not going to go there ever again.
After making sure that I have swept the area well, I decided to take a little rest. What could better at this moment in time than to enjoy a glass of hot tea? I quickly headed inside to make some tea for myself, although the kobito would probably want to have some as well.
"Sukuna, would you like some green tea?" I asked the one-inch youkai as I headed inside to take the ingredients.
"That's fine by me." She answered, as expected.
I guess even a child-like person like her would enjoy some calming drink in cold morning after all.
It took several minutes of preparing the ingredient and boiling them into fresh water from the river, but we finally have our tea ready. The heat was nice among the cold weather we have this morning. The one-inch youkai always have a hard time drinking from the glass that basically almost the same as her size, so she crafted a special straw for herself. Well, as long as she didn't steal anything from me…
"Ah, refreshing~" I stated gleefully after taking a sip of the hot green tea.
"Nothing feels better than a cup of hot tea in the morning~" Shinmyoumaru followed, seemingly delighted as well.
Honestly, under any other circumstances, I would've call it a perfect morning. In fact, it was too perfect for my liking. No Yukari or Marisa to disturb it, no strange youkai wandering around to make horrible situation, nothing to disturb it.
It's just strangely peaceful.
"Reimu, something is bothering you." The one-inch youkai remarked, not even in a questioning manner.
Damn. Why do older people see through me so easily?
"Well, I guess I can't hide it from you, eh?" I admitted shyly. "It's just that… the morning felt so silent."
"Silent… as in peacefully silent or eerily silent?" She asked, leaped onto the kotatsu.
"I think it's a little bit of both. And what does that have to do with anything, anyway?" I asked back.
"Nothing, really. Just wanting to ask." She sat back on the table, seemingly enjoying the warmth.
Ah well…
Now that I think about it, maybe I was just not used to this kind of situation. Gensokyo might be dangerous, but that what makes it Gensokyo that I know and love. A peaceful Gensokyo is no different than the outside world. Here, youkai reign supreme above human and occasionally even consume us as delicacy. Other lives through their fear. Some of the strongest are even capable of sustaining their existence just by existing.
It's a good thing those powerful youkai are not as fierce as the weaker one most of the time. In fact, they are wiser than they are violent.
Not saying those youkai had never made problem either.
Sipping the last of my tea, I stood from my place and headed outside. There is something that I have to confirm.
"Reimu, where are you going?" Shinmyoumaru wondered.
Stopping just before I leave the place, I turned my face toward her once more.
"The geyser hot spring, of course."
What I see was not exactly what I expected.
It was very quiet even if the hot spring was still necessarily as hot as when it first came out. Neither a single human nor youkai in sight, but perhaps they were just barely up and around. That thought, however, quickly wiped away when I saw Lily White wandering around as she played with another fairies I didn't even know who. For you not in the knowing, Lily White is the fairy that announced the coming of spring in Gensokyo. Having her around mean spring is indeed set it foot upon our land.
Perhaps I'd have my peaceful time soaking myself there, but then I realized that I didn't bring any sake.
Ah, stupid me.
"If only I take some visit to the human village…" I silently cursed.
Luckily, at time like this, an unlikely savior made her appearance. Normally, I'd despise Yukari's appearance in any situation. That was mostly because my mind can't comprehend what is this over-1000-years-old lady hid within her unbelievably clever mind.
Damn, I hate to admit it.
At least she brought herself a big bottle of sake this time. It was something she'd enjoy in time like this, especially since the weather was still really cold.
"Ah, good thing you come." I greeted the old youkai. She seemed happy with it.
I think I'll just let it at that without any suspicion. I don't want another headache.
"Perfect timing. I was also thinking of taking a dip. I thought of only sharing this with my shikigami," She pointed at her sake, "But I guess the more the merrier."
Actually, I'd rather have a lonely time, but I won't argue.
So we decided to take a dip at the hot spring together… well, alongside a certain nine-tailed fox-woman and a two-tailed cat-girl, the latter being literally childish. We enjoyed our time there, but I noticed something bothered Yukari. It feels like as if she just had a big trouble weighing her shoulder.
"Reimu," she suddenly called, "Do you feel something odd as of recent?"
Something odd? I'm not sure about that, so I just answer with what I feel proper.
"Not really. Spring came just in time, no youkai causing any incident, it felt like nothing unusual."
It seems like Yukari looked displeased with my answer.
"Not even a single thing?"
"Yes. I'm sure of it. Why would you ask that anyway?" I expressed my discomfort before I take another sip. There is something about her question that felt uncanny.
She is now clearly unhappy. Why, I don't know.
"Remember once again. Something about Gensokyo, about this world must've felt out of place for you." Yukari sounds like she was demanding. She even bit her lower lip!
And knowing Yukari, even if she was a master prankster, something must be seriously wrong if that old hag suddenly dropped her nonsensical façade.
So I turned my face away from her to think about today. What seemed wrong, what sounds wrong, anything I could think of… I tried to find it, but almost to no avail.
Keyword: almost. And Yukari quickly noticed this.
I got off from the hot spring and quickly took a bath. Eventhough I didn't see her, I somewhat know that Yukari was glaring at me.
"Just today, did you have a strange dream?"
I instantly stopped. It was just so straightforward, it surprised me.
"I think there was someone… she called my name, and asking for help…" I explained the best I can before I decided to wrap my towel. "If I recalled correctly, her name is Yubelia."
"So you have met her, after all."
I turned my head toward the gap youkai.
"This reality… it only retain its existence because of you. Once you reached the Abyss of Hyperspace, the true struggle will begin." Yukari suddenly uttered some cryptic word. "I'm sorry. That must be confusing."
"Well, I don't know how to react to that in the first place." I sighed to relieve myself a bit. "So anyway, it is safe to assume that we're not in Gensokyo anymore?"
"Indeed." She take another sip of her sake, which now I doubted if it even real or fake. "You're free to use brute force when you face your enemies."
"I kind of expected that." I responded to her statement, although there is something else I'm rather confused of, "by the way, why are you here, Yukari?"
"I've done my task." She answered right away, "Now is your turn, Reimu. This old hag has seen too much cruelty in this world to know hope."
It was barely an hour since I left the hot spring. There is so much to learn from my discussion with Yukari back then, and there is still something that I couldn't simply understand.
The Forest of Magic had never been this silent. It was still as weird as its name implies, but the surprising lack of youkai make it less noisy than what I want it to be. However, it is also confirmed this one question that has been nagging my head. This world is indeed not Gensokyo. But if this is Dream World, then where is Doremy Sweet? She wouldn't have let this happen, would she?
Then again, I know second to none about her.
I still have a lot of place to explore here. Perhaps I'll find my answer. Even if I won't find it anytime soon, I just have to not give up and keep looking for it.
It was then I sensed something, or rather, someone else. I tried to ignore it, but even then I can sense this person's malice intention.
Quickly, I drew several talismans from my sleeve and throw it right at a tree behind me. As the talisman exploded with the tree, I noticed someone jumped away from the top of that tree. I quickly followed by flying higher than the tree around and, sure enough, I can finally notice the person who had been hunting me.
She has a surprisingly pleasant-looking orange hair, but her clothing look like it came off of mixture of knights of the old age I saw once in an old storybook, at least with the breastplate, with a much more modern twist of dominantly white dress with some red lining here and there. Her gaze is the most frightening part of all, since her ominous yellow eyes looked directly at mine with immensely malevolent stare.
And she stood perfectly on top of one of the tree, something I didn't expect from a human, or at least she seemed like one.
"So this is one of the Bearer of Hope." Said the evil-looking stranger with a disgusted tone.
"What is it that you want from me!?" I asked her, in a hope of negotiating my way through this.
"You should've known already. I come to get rid of you." She confirmed the situation I feared the most. "You Bearer of Hope are a hindrance to my master's plan."
"Your master?" I muttered, but immediately spoken, "I don't know what it is about me that would endanger your master's plan, nor do I wished to be part of this mess."
Standing on a tree nearly as tall as the one she stood upon, I prepared my gohei and talismans. Several yin & yang orbs appeared around me as I brace myself for the upcoming battle.
"However, I do not intend to go down without any resistance. If you want to kill me, then come with all your might and fight me."
Chapter 1: Disillusion END
Next chapter: A Gentle Demon
Author's Note: Shout out to Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax for being the largest inspiration to this story. Also, shout out to Kamelot for creating some really amazing songs that I listened to accompany me as I wrote this chapter. And of course, shout out to Touhou Project for being an amazing game.
My intention with this story is to make a DBFC-style mega-crossover that actually satisfies me, although my writing skill is still too far from perfect. Of course, I will not only use the characters from light novels that were published under Dengeki Bunko as I made apparent in this chapter. Honestly, I'm rather excited to began this story as I finally had the chance to write some amazing characters (and some not-so-amazing ones, unfortunately) to meet and interact with each other. On the other hand, Yubelia and the main antagonist of this story are both OC since I do not know any character that could fulfill the role. I mean, I could simply use Yuuki Terumi from BlazBlue or Nyarlathotep from Persona series, but meh.
And no, I'm not accepting request for character appearance. I already have the plot set in stone and I don't feel like messing with it anymore.
Well, I guess that's all I can say. See ya next chapter!