The Hakurei Shrine Maiden slept silently under a calm night sky, as the wind blew softly outside.
She was a light sleeper, but she didn't hear it arrive until it was right at the door of her bedroom. It bashed through the paper-thin door, causing her to wake suddenly, and jump back.
Whatever that thing was, it smelled awful. Reimu blinked, rubbed her eyes, and focused on the intruder.
A dark mass lurched forward through the wall to her bedroom.
She cast a sealing spell at the being, hoping to stop its progress.
"R...eimu..". it said, in a strangely familiar voice. "Help m-glurgg"...
Reflexively, she shot at the creature with a much stronger blast of pure magic energy. It moaned, and then swung at her with a dripping appendage.
"What the hell?! What kind of demon are you?!"
She hit the creature with another magic blast, but the wound seemed to fill back in with the same mass. There was something different about this demon. It wasn't filled with the usual demonic essence, or even a desire to corrupt the balance. Every bit of its aura seemed to be made of incomprehensible madness.
Reimu shot one more spell at the creature, and then decided to run.
It was a moonless night, with very few clouds visible. Judging by the stars, it was about 1:00 AM. If there was anyone awake in Gensokyo right now, it would probably be the Scarlets. Even so, Reimu decided it would be best to seek out her most reliable helper, who she had been frienemies with for almost as long as she had been keeping the shrine.
She knocked quietly on Marisa's front door, but there was no answer. Quickly, Reimu glanced behind her to see if the creature had followed her. There was no trace of it.
Reimu used a spell to unlock the door to Marisa's cabin, then quietly stepped in, closing and locking the door behind her.
The floor creaked as she walked in. Her imagination got the better of her, and she checked behind her once more. Marisa's broom was propped up against the wall to her left, and a single wooded door stood ajar on her right. She slipped into Marisa's living room, checking behind her again. Still, nothing.
There was a small window on the east wall. Reimu ducked out of its sight, still dreading the creature she had seen. There was something genuinely wrong with it. Its smell, its magic aura, and its physical appearance were all nauseating even to recall. Whatever it was, she knew that its mere existence was a gravely ill omen.
Marisa's bedroom was upstairs, around a hallway behind the living room. With every step she took, she felt as though the creaking noise she made was connected to her entire body, and that, from only hearing the sound, the creature might be able to reach her in an instant. However, everything was still outside, as the veil of moonless night hung softly in the leaves of the forest.
Marisa was asleep, snoring softly. Reimu gently shook her shoulder.
"Marisa," whispered Reimu, anxiously. "wake up!"
Marisa mumbled something, and then rolled over.
Reimu shook her harder.
"Agh! Who's there?" said Marisa, sitting up. "Reimu? What the hell're'you doing here? It's the middle of the night!"
"Keep your voice down. There's something here... Something... not right" whispered Reimu.
"A youkai problem?"
"I don't think so. It's not like any youkai I've ever seen. It was just a mass of... ...something. It was asking for help, I think, but it attacked me. There's something very, very unnatural about its aura. I can't tell how strong it is, or what it wants, but its aura scared me like nothing I've seen before".
"Where is it?"
"It showed up behind my bedroom door. It broke through, and attacked me. Spells don't seem to work on it, it just gets right back up".
Marisa grabbed her Mini-Hakkero off of her bedside table, and stood up.
"Alright, take me to it!" she said.
Reimu was dressed in a white bathrobe. Marisa only wore shorts and a loose tanktop.
"Aren't you going to be cold in that?" asked Reimu.
"Oh... Right" said Marisa, quickly grabbing a shirt from her drawer and lazily putting it on. "There we go". Despite the strange circumstances, Marisa seemed upbeat as usual.
Marisa grabbed her broom from the entryway, and the two headed back to the Hakurei Shrine.
All was still in the trees below as they flew through the cold night air, to the shrine steps.
From above, no movement could be seen within. The front entrance to the shrine had been demolished, and the donation box upended.
Reimu picked up the box, and set it right-side up. She noticed a single sheet of paper caught on the edge, covered in a reddish brown slime.
"It's got that same damned smell" said Reimu, holding the piece of paper as far away from herself as possible.
"Wait, something's written on it".
Reimu carefully unfolded the paper, and read it aloud.
"To whoever finds this,
I have ventured out late, and I... something blurry... tragic news from outside.
The end of times looms on the horizon.
The light of day has turned on its children,
something blurry... and mutilating us into monstrosities,
such as what I have become.
As a strong youkai, I have been able to resist this evil
for long enough to write this message and travel to the
Hakurei Shrine at the edge of the barrier,
but I have increasing difficulty controlling this form.
In time, I will... ugh, there's something melted into the paper here...
an unslayable, mindless beast, determined to
drag you into the poisoned light.
Dear whoever, I beg of you.
Employ the help of Kaguya, Remilia,
whoever you think can do the job.
If you care for the people of Gensokyo,
make certain they never see the light of day,
and if you manage to find the means to, please,
spare me from this unnatural misery.
-Yukari Yakumo".
Reimu stopped reading. "I think I'm gonna throw up" she said, leaning against a board sticking up from the ground.
"If this is true, we've got to get everyone somewhere safe before day breaks" said Marisa.
"That, or we'll make sure the sun never rises. Come on, we're going straight to Eientei. If there's a chance of stopping this, she is our best shot..."
