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It was inevitable, I suppose. Even if we didn't know it. And I suppose it was also inevitable that we didn't see it coming. After all, almost nobody knew the truth. And now that I know it, I understand why it has been kept from people. Knowing what I now know... it changes you. You cannot learn this truth and walk away unchanged. And it's not a pleasant thing to know, either. But... it had to be learned. Because there was a danger, a threat to all of us. There was one, only one, who say this danger coming, but even she did not realize the truth behind it. Even so, we owe her much, as the rest of us had no idea the danger was coming.

The young magician youkai Liri focused, feeling the essence of the staff she held in her hands, and commanded it to change. She added to it the essence of flame, and felt the heat radiating from it. She touched it to the ground, to a patch of grass. The grass caught fire, and she pulled her staff away and again commanded its essence to change. She removed fire and added water. She pressed it against the burning grass, extinguishing the flames.

We were all simply going about our lives, unaware of the coming danger. Sure, there had always been periodic incidents, and some, such as the endless winter, had been potentially very dangerous. But others-the flying ship, for example-were harmless, and even the dangerous ones were resolved before they could cause any real harm. So we became used to this, used to the idea that we didn't have to worry.

Keine Kamishirasawa looked out the window as she heard a familiar crash outside. I really wish she'd just land normally. But she was glad to hear it, because it meant that Tenshi Hinanawi had arrived. Theirs was, perhaps, an unlikely romance, but Keine didn't care. She opened the door of her house and greeted Tenshi with passion. Maybe there were people who disapproved of their relationship, and maybe not. Keine and Tenshi loved each other, and to them, that was all that mattered.

We all got used to things as they were. We weren't ready for what came; it caught us by surprise. All of us. The fairies, too childish in mind to worry even if they had realized they should.

"Too slow!" Cirno called out as she dodged around Daiyousei and flew off... only for Daiyousei to pop up in front of her and tag her before she could react. "Gah!"

"Tag! You're it!"

"Not for long!" Cirno lunged at Daiyousei, but her target wasn't there, having vanished and reappeared about twenty feet away. "Dammit!"

Daiyousei laughed. "You always forget I can do that."

"It doesn't matter. You're mine, Dai!"

"Then catch me if you can!" Dai flew off with Cirno in pursuit.

The youkai of the forests and the plains, of the woods and the meadows.

It used to be that youkai often ate humans. These days, there were strict rules about that. Not that it mattered to Akora. The eagle youkai didn't have any interest in eating people. Not that she necessarily wouldn't; she was, after all, a predator, and predators couldn't always be picky in regards to their prey. But a situation where such a thing was necessary had yet to arise; Gensokyo was filled with all kinds of wildlife, and the predators had more than enough prey. Akora's current target was a young deer separated from its herd, and she swooped down on it without warning, killing it quickly. It was a good kill; she would eat well today.

The magicians in the Forest of Magic.

Alice completed her latest set of runes and energized them. She felt the power flowing through them, through them and into the doll at their center, but once again, the doll was unchanged. She'd been trying to give Shanghai life for decades now without success, but this didn't lessen her resolve. She knew she'd succeed eventually. Maybe it would take decades more, maybe centuries, but someday, eventually, she would succeed.

The humans, the 'youkai hunters' who target those youkai less willing to follow the rules.

The man moved forward carefully, well aware he was being stalked. Eventually, the youkai attacked, and despite his quick reaction, it quickly caught and overpowered him. But he wasn't alone, and his companion was an expert at stealth. The youkai had never noticed her, and her arrow struck it in the neck. Which didn't really harm the youkai, but it did distract the youkai for an instant, and the man had known it was coming. And he took his dagger and plunged it into the youkai's chest. Then an enchanted arrow struck it and delivered a blast of energy, and then the man stabbed the youkai again, and then a third and a fourth time, and it fell to the ground.

"Good work, Elise," the man said to his companion.

"Not a problem. The two of us are more than enough to handle a weaker youkai like this."

"Indeed, but you still did well. All right, come on. Let's get back to the village."

We all just lived our lives as normal. We didn't recognize the coming danger, and even the one among us who did see it coming didn't understand its significance, what it truly meant. But she would learn, as would I and others. We would learn far more than we ever cared to, and we were not prepared for it. I don't think anyone could be prepared for such a truth.

The sensation came again, and Rumia put her hand up to the ribbon in her hair. She knew what it meant, that brief pulse of energy, the flash . She knew what would soon happen to her. She didn't want it, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. But it wasn't time quite yet, as she was reminded when her hand touched the ribbon and it pulsed again, giving her a clear message even without using words: Not yet. But soon.

Rumia knew it was coming. She only hoped that, once it was over, she would be able to return to who she was now.

Looking back, I can see the danger that had been ahead of us, see what was coming, but then, I now know the truth. Most do not, and they would not see what I see. Were they to look back on the past, they would think they knew what was coming, but they would be wrong. They would think they'd identified the enemy, but they would not have. To them, to those who think they know what threat we faced, to those who already think they know who the enemy was, I can say this:

You are wrong.

End Fantasy