Stowaway
Kumin needed to sit down for a moment. Compared to Humans, Lunarians are supposed to have the higher advanced physiology, but these housewives were running circles around her. Just keeping up with the children, breakfast, and the laundry makes the Communication Technician incredibly tired. Sure Kumin said she'd help with the chores for letting her stay at their home, but they weren't going easy on her. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.
After escorting the rabbit to Watatsuki no Toyohime, the situation rapidly took a turn for the worst. Finally the army caught wind of the diversion and caught up with the escaping refugees. Trapped in the flow of a turbulent exodus, Kumin had no choice but to follow them all the way to Earth. Sure she'd always wanted to visit the planet, but not anyhow like this! Worse yet, she couldn't even leave a message for her husband! What in the world was she supposed to do now?
Upon arriving on Earth, she was hidden away with the rest of the rabbits. The tall redheaded one (Kumin loved the color, by the way) thought it would be best if her master never knew there was a Lunarian stowaway along with the rabbits. Mingling with the massive crowd, when the coast was clear Kumin was secretly escorted to a Human Village. There she was taken to a place where she could lay low until everything got sorted out. A kind family took her in, a husband and wife with six children. At first she was amazed. Earthlings bred like nothing she had ever seen! It was especially amazing as they have no maids, child enhancement services, or chemical stimulants and depressants to regulate their behaviors. They simply, "raised" them, almost like the genetically modified house plants that need to be watered! Every day! Kumin couldn't believe it!
The wonder and amazement wore off quickly. In time it just became a pain in the ass. The children who were old enough to work weren't that bad, but the slightly younger were rebellious, the adolescents were loud, and the babies never stopped peeing and pooping! Kumin fainted the first time she caught a whiff of a dirty diaper; bathed for two hours after a baby peed on her. Lunarian babies do nothing like that! Their extensive genetic modification weeded out such handicaps!
However, despite all this, the family was happy. Sure they fought a bit, but it's obvious how much they loved each other. For a moment Kumin was cynical, thinking "they don't know how well the Lunarians have it," but then she wondered if she was happy. Yes, she married the man that she loved, and not many do, but what else? Kumin wasn't allowed to have even one kid, let alone six. Yes the Lunarians are the most advanced civilization known to exist, but is it even worth it? Kumin would trade all the luxurious and pride of the moon just to have a fraction of these simple humans' happiness. She's only been here a few days, but she almost doesn't want to go back.
"Have you heard?" one of the housewives tells to the other. They're currently washing dirty laundry by the river. Kumin's wearing a mask over her face so she doesn't breathe in any germs lethal to weak Lunarian antibodies. "They say Cirno's in the village."
Kumin's entire career is basically Earthling gossip, so of course she perks up her ears and listens.
"Really?"
"Yeah. They say she came in with Kamishirasawa-sensei last night and is staying there."
"After everything she's done?"
"Yeah. Some people tried to get Fujiwara-san to chase her out, but it didn't work. Cirno's under sensei's protection."
"What ever is she doing? How could she keep that monster in this village?"
"It seemed she got kicked out by the vampire and didn't have anywhere else to go."
"So she brought her here? Cirno will be the death of her!"
"Should we do something?"
"Like what?"
"Maybe we should get the Hakurei to exterminate her."
"She'll probably charge us an outrageous amount. How about Hijiri Byakuren or Toyosatomimi no Miko?"
"Hijiri is a youkai lover and Toyosatomimi might be a bit of a stretch. If anything though, she's probably our only shot."
They continued to plot the downfall of whoever this Cirno is. It's kind of sad, but it isn't much different than what could normally be heard on the moon. The only difference is that Lunarians veil their threats even when behind closed doors, where humans feel comfortable enough to badmouth openly, still behind closed doors that is. Kumin can't help but find funny the things their two races have in common.
"Say, Kumin-chan, do you and your husband ever think about having children?"
These ladies already know she's a Lunarian, but for some strange reason they don't really care that much. It must be because there's already Kaguya Houraisan and Eirin Yagokoro, as well as a Moon Rabbit named Reisen. They're already used to seeing multiple races out in the open. Kumin thought her arrival might have caused more of a stir, but they accepted it openly enough. If this Cirno has their ire, she must have done something truly terrible.
"We've been trying, but it's so hard. Things are just different on the moon."
"If it's hard," one of the wives snort, "you only need to try again!"
The other laugh raunchily. Not getting it at first, Kumin fails to understand how submitting for an application could be funny. Then she realizes they're talking about intercourse, to which she blushes furiously. Sex isn't spoken of so openly. A taboo subject in public as well as private, it's almost never done outside of planned impregnation. Judging from all these housewives, it must happen a lot on Earth. Weren't they worried about germs and sexually transmitted diseases? They're thought eradicated on the moon, but every once in a while someone would catch one from a rabbit. This is thought to be one of the greatest humiliations a Lunarian could endure. Thus such things are never spoken openly and hidden at all possible costs. However, here on Earth, the Humans don't worry about such risk, or at least worry less. Maybe it's because they live such short lives that caution isn't always advised and they opt for dangerous thrills. What's better, longevity or enjoying life?
"Hey girls!" one of the older biddies with graying hair is hiking up her skirt and running towards the group. "They say Cirno's is heading to Hachiken's farm!"
This comes as worrisome news. Packing up the clothes as fast as they can, they place the laundry where they know it won't fly away/drift away in the river. After securing their bundles, they all start to rush along with the old lady. Kumin's own patron is doing the same, so the Lunarian house guest may as well follow.
Hachiken's farm wasn't far, or as to say, Kumin would have realized it was a farm if there were any crops. As she rushed through the field she immediately noticed the drop in temperature and the ground crunching underneath her feet. What is this? The Lunarian native was already surprised by the vast differences between night and day on the Earth, but there's also places where the temperature so drastically changes? From all that she knew from her job, she believed this couldn't be normal.
"Why is it so cold here?" she wasn't too embarrassed to ask.
"It was that Cirno's doing! She carried one of her pranks too far and she froze the ground! It's been three weeks and it still hasn't thawed! Hachiken got it the worst, but the others have been having a hard time raising up some new crops for the season! There's been a food shortage for almost a month!"
Humans raise food from the Earth. Lunarians manufacture them. On the moon there's never the worry of going hungry, but it's a different story on this savage planet. Every aspect of life can be a battle for survival from journeying through a forest, to the weather, to even eating, the odds are so stacked against the favor of humans that they themselves start to reflect that savage nature. Yet they still have something enviable that the Lunarians lack. Kumin believes the longer she stays here the clearer it will appear.
Suddenly a pillar of fire erupts into the air. Kumin yelps in fright, though the other women don't even drop their stride. Noticing this, one of the women slows down to explain,
"That must be Fujiwara-san. She's been trying to defrost the farmland, but her flames aren't enough."
So something like this was supposed to happen. Not that Kumin understood, but at least one thing was clear; these women have nerves of steel. Lord knows what they've must have seen in their lives to become like this.
Finally she can see the commotion. As they reach the top of a small hill, she can peer deep into the field. About 60-70 meters away a fire is raging horribly, but somehow localized and not spreading. It's bright and hard to look at, but with such intense flames Kumin can feel the heat even from this far away. Imagine how hot it must be at the center. Yet these women say they haven't seen this for the first time. Kumin can feel the ground becoming even harder and slipperier, so it must be frozen good. Are they saying even those kinds of flames can't defrost it?
Like a vehicle that's lost it's charge, in abrupt fashion the flames recede and die, revealing a person that, incredibly, had been at it's center. No, it's source. It's a tallish woman with long white hair and dirty looking clothes. Or maybe charred from all that heat. Either way it wasn't flattering and not particularly what a woman would choose to wear. Aside from that, she appears somewhat tired, no doubt from expending flames such as those. Disappointed with the outcome, she turns and faces some others who had been standing nearby. One of them-
Kumin couldn't believe it! Unless her eyes deceived it, it's that fair woman with blue hair. It couldn't be, could it? That was the woman who caused all that ruckus in the Lunar City so that the rabbits could escape. How could she be in Gensokyo? She certainly didn't come back with Kumin and the others, so that should have been impossible. That woman must have been capture or killed. Even in the most favorable scenario she could have gone into hiding, but to leave the moon shouldn't have been possible. Yet Kumin's gut instinct tells her that this woman and that are one in the same.
"That woman," Kumin says in spite of herself, almost knowing the answer before it's given, "the one with the blue hair, who is she?"
"That's Cirno," one woman spits out. "It's all her fault that this happened, so what the heck is she doing here?"
While all these women rushed here to see for themselves, they're all reluctant to go any closer. However, Kumin is drawn to the blue woman, breaking herself away from the pack and marching through the still frozen field. Actually, one of the wives rushes out and stops her.
"You can't! Going any further than this the ground is incredibly cold! You freeze and get frostbite if you go any closer!"
But Kumin has to meet with Cirno somehow! That wife is a lot stronger than she looks, and when Kumin tries to pull away the grip on her arm only becomes that much stronger. If the Lunarian could somehow convince them, maybe she could find a way around, but how long would that take?
"It's been like this for a while," Kumin overhears Fujiwara-san telling Cirno.
Her Miracle
"-no matter how much I try to heat it up, it doesn't melt at all. The only person I know who can make flames hotter than mine is that hell raven, and she probably won't be coming back up here again for a while."
Cirno bends down and touches it with her hands, the farmer trying to jump in and stop her, though he backs away when he realizes nothing happened, "And I did this?"
"Not you, but the other one. Actually, she was trying to stop that before-mentioned buzzard. She turned into a miniature sun and the Ancient was freezing her, but then she was attacked and her aim slipped, for a moment the beam spraying wildly across Gensokyo. It was a spell meant to kill a star, so it's not surprising the earth would be frozen rock solid like this."
Listening, Cirno doesn't feel the slightest bit relieved that Mokou was trying to spare her feelings, "Her and I are the same person. I have to correct her mistakes. It's my responsibility."
That subzero earth is touching naked skin, something which normally would be completely hazardous, but Cirno isn't effected in the slightest. Even with a body of flesh and blood, she's still closely tied to the element of ice. Because the difference between the body she has now and the one before should make such a thing impossible. There's still some mystical and unknown elements tied to her new self. Maybe if she can solve this problem with the frozen farmland she'll be a step closer to better understanding what she's become.
Growing silent, Cirno clearly begins to focus. The muscles in her arm tense as she's putting energy into her hand. Is she focusing on something magical or physical? It's hard to tell from an outsider's point of view, and more so because nothing else seems to be happening. Gritting her teeth, it's clear she's not satisfied by the result. Painful to watch, after a humiliating minute she sighs, immediately easing her tension. Removing her palm and taking a stand, she doesn't take her sight away from the frozen soil.
"This was actually one of the things I practiced rigorously when I was an Ice Fairy. Freezing things was easy, but thawing them took real effort. I practiced endlessly on frogs. I wasn't being mean to them, well, maybe I was a little, but I practiced on frogs because they have a high chance of surviving the defrosting process. Now I can't do a thing against the thing I tried hardest to achieve."
"What?" Farmer Hachiken protests. "Are you telling me you can't do anything? This is YOUR fault! The people in this village NEED the crops I grow! Do you know how many children and elderly have STARVED because of what you've done?"
Keine tries to calm him, but the words have already stabbed Cirno like daggers. Keine-sensei tried to warn the newly adult that circumstances were grim. Many people are in pain and suffering, and they won't take kindly by her showing her face around here. But Cirno had to at least try!
"Get off my property!" the farmer keeps yelling.
Cirno tries not to cry. Not only because of his words, but because she's so helpless. Why did her power have to change? In retrospect, she's become so much weaker since growing big. As an Ice Fairy she could control the chill and use her ice in an infinite number of ways. Now she can only make swords. Why? Why did this random attribute suddenly take precedence over everything? She might have been the only person who could have done something about her own handiwork, but now her presence is only making matters worse! Why did things have to change?
Now she is crying. Great. As a warm tear rolls down her check, she tries to rub it with her arm, but the salty water drips too fast. Falling from her face, it freezes before it hits the ground. Upon the end of it's decent, it shatters like a glass snowflake.
"Wait a second."
Bending down, Cirno takes a second look. Mokou follows her lead.
"Did you see something?" the immortal asks.
It wasn't that her tear shattered upon coming into contact with the ground, it shattered before then.
"I can't believe I didn't notice it before. The ground's temperature is a negative degree."
"It's frozen. Isn't that obvious?"
"No. Not just freezing, beyond freezing. Negative Kelvin." Mokou obviously doesn't understand. "Heat and cold are merely measures of thermal motion. Zero Kelvin is where all motion stops, the coldest possible temperature. To go beyond that should be impossible, but I've been able to do it even when I was an Ice Fairy."
"Wait," Keine couldn't let that slide, "are you being serious? Not only something impossible but you've always been able to do this?"
Cirno somewhat frowns, "To a degree. When energy reaches that theoretical impossibility it actually looses stability. It's actually the exact opposite of nuclear fission but produces a similar effect. An explosion, just on a much smaller scale. Actually, it has to potential to be just as large, but the -K temperature is only temporary and whatever is frozen rapidly thaws. However, this ground is sustaining this temperature, and not only that, it's stable. Think of a fire, or even a star, but in reverse. It's a cold source."
Mokou stopped following awhile ago, but the teacher is intrigued, "Then are you saying it's growing?"
Shaking her head, "No. It's making it colder, but it's not growing. At most it will cool the surroundings down to Absolute Zero, but not any colder. If it were growing, it'd engulf the whole world."
"That's a scary thought."
"Cirno," Mokou steps in, "I don't think I'd ever take you for the science type, but it seems you understand this more than anyone else, and that's probably because of your old power. So, do you know how to fix this?"
Returning to a stand, "I don't know. Yet. But when I was an Ice Fairy, I could make an unstable -K. Now, however, I can completely repeat this phenomenon." Cirno's grin widens, one part mischievous and one part devilish. "I think I get it now. Mokou, your flames couldn't touch my ice. You thought that if you add your heat to my cold then you could make it warmer. If you think about it in math terms, you're trying to add a positive to a negative. But once it goes beyond the realm of K, it isn't addition and subtraction, it's multiplication and division!"
One could imagine the question mark over Mokou's head, though Keine seems to get it.
"No matter what number you use, a negative times a positive is always a negative. What you need is another negative! This cold is it's own element now, so you can't beat it by making it hotter, you have to make it less cold!"
Two swords form in Cirno's hands (the normal ones without any gold). What could she possibly be doing with those, everyone wonders. Every strand of hair on her body is standing on end, and they know she's planing something big. They should be bracing themselves.
Cirno slams the two blades together, birthing a sudden torrent of power. All those unable to handle it tumble and are knocked away, with only Keine and Mokou left standing. Whatever is now in Cirno's hands is blindingly white-no, it's the sparks of energy it's producing. Some incredible fusion is taking place and this reaction is it's result. Even with magic, completely breaking the rules of physics and the universe is an incredibly difficult thing. This is what this is; a completely true and unique phenomenon! It's one of the laws governing this world being completely shattered!
An impossible cold is being generated by Cirno, so much so that Mokou has to light herself on fire just to stay warm. Keine and Farmer Hachiken make their way behind her and use the firefly as a shield.
"Make her stop!" the farmer screams. "She's only going to make it worse!"
"No!" Keine speaks triumphantly. "This is when we put our faith in her the most! Cirno's about to do the impossible!"
That or make it that much worse, but she didn't need to say that.
In Cirno's hands sparkles some invisible instrument, not an actual glitter of light but the forming and dissolving of snowflakes. So too does a flurry envelope her. If this woman were to question that she's not what she was before, this is proof against it. While she might not resemble a fairy, she is incarnation of ice itself!
Though they see nothing, it appears that she's taken whatever tool and reversed her handling. Looking at her, you can imagine a sword in those two hands of her's, pointed down like she's going to pierce the earth. In fact, she does.
As the invisible blade makes contact, immediately does the frozen earth continue to spread. Suddenly it feels as cold as a snowstorm, but in the place of snow is a glittering dust as the very moisture in the air is freezing into ice. A brilliant sparkling light-show is played all around them. Not just here on the farm, but the entire village. By using the -K Blade on the earth, the situation's worsened over a thousandfold. While spectacularly pretty, the danger to the humans is insurmountable.
"Cirno!" Mokou can't help but feel things have gotten suddenly worse.
"Don't worry!" firing back. "Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire! Well, this time we have to fight ice with ice! Just need to adjust it a little bit!"
Cirno's hair and eyes are shinning brilliantly, almost blindingly, as she's channeling an intense amount of magic. Thus too is the temperature rapidly dropping. This is starting to become a serious problem.
Even though Keine and Farmer Hachiken are standing behind the flaming immortal, even such a heat isn't enough. Keine, half youkai, should be able to fair this enough, the farmer is only human. Edging close to his ear, under her breath, she tells him, "Don't breathe or your longs will freeze."
From a challenging grin to now one with a bit of worry, it's clear this isn't going exactly how Cirno imagined. However, she knows where her problem lies. She's too excited. Using too much magic. This needs to be controlled, regulated. Cirno needs to calm and steady herself.
Gradually her glow dulls. From being a overly bright color, it fades to a highly and eventually her normal blue. As this happens so does the temperature warm. While it was spectacular sight, the diamond dust fades from view and completely disappears. A shame, if the human were not holding his breath, he'd be tasting the freshest oxygen imaginable. Taking in such a pure element would be comparable to a drug endued high, though others around the village might be experiencing this.
Cirno's wings dissolve from sight, and a weak flicker is all that can be seen from the sword. She has to maintain her magic while making it as light as possible; like trying to lift a heavy weight with using the minimal amount of strength then keeping it perfectly steady without the slightest budge when it's height is appropriate. This is no easy task, and now Cirno's hardest task is keeping her magic from failing altogether.
While it might have warmed slightly, it's still very cold, and perhaps no better than before Cirno started. If she's truly going to solve this problem, she has to do much better than this!
Now that she thinks about it, isn't this exactly how Meiling has been training with her? The youkai has an insurmountable amount of strength hidden deep within her. The problem is that it comes with rage. Through practice and discipline she's striving for harmony within her, and she can balance her rage with control and summon never before known strength. Thus too must Cirno find a kind of balance, one of gentleness and strength. Since Cirno's become an adult an intense amount of magic has been at her disposal. She's been like a bursting geyser. However, that's been the source of her problems. Somehow she's lost her gentleness. Drunk on power, she's been clumsily bulldozing through all of her problems and fights. She needs to calm herself, find her center, use Meiling, her friend, as an example.
Remembering a story Meiling shared just a few days before the rabbits invaded:
In the beginning Meiling always had a problem with her strength. By her nature, the youkai has strength comparable to an oni, and by channeling her rage she could be their equal or superior. However, she never hid away like the oni. Since before entering Remilia's employ, the martial artist had been living in the modern world. Such destructive power had isolated her from the humans. She was lucky enough that she looked like a human, but if she used just the wrong amount of force, she could rip someone's arm off just by shaking their hand. While practicing martial arts got her temper under control, she still had to deal with her natural strength.
Meiling told Cirno what she did was practice handling eggs. Simple in theory, an egg can actually be very fragile. Just using the slightest bit too much force could have them shatter. That was learning control. First she'd learn how to carefully pick them up, then hold them in her hands, then to throw and catch them. Much of Meiling's friendly and gentle personality stemmed from the countless hours practicing this, and would eventually become a subconscious barrier preventing her from unleashing her full potential. Not that was ever a bad thing, but the times themselves have become bad and she had to draw upon what she's once forgotten.
As for Cirno, she imagines the same thing; handling an egg. Taking it into her hands, cradling it, feeling's it's smooth and warm surface against her cheeks. Being calm, being gentle, to focus her magic to do something other than destroy. To shape, to mold, to create.
Cirno's hair dulls even further, fading from her blue into a white. This change is also reflected in the environment. Slightly is it warming, but the earth is taking the biggest change. Greatly is the ice receding, and the frozen ground becoming bearable for plant life once again.
"Cirno!" Keine recognizes the progress that's being made, cheering happily. "You're doing it! Just keep this up!"
She doesn't stop just there. Focusing greater, her hair losses even what little color remained. Becoming transparent, her hair is more like glass than invisible. Her efforts are greatly reflected in this. With no more strength than a single strand of thread, she's supporting the heavy weight that is her magic. The -K Blade has transformed into something it wasn't originally. Underneath their feet the soil has become soft.
Mokou dumps her flames and the other pair remove themselves from cover. Farmer Hachiken paces out hesitantly, slightly unbelieving what's been accomplished. Ecstatic, Keine stands next to her friend's side, proud of the student she's helped to raise. Mokou too naturally smiles a little, but she tries not to let it show out of embarrassment. Noticing this, the teacher teases her a little bit and takes her hand in her own. Like it or not, Mokou too had a part to play in this episode. Had she not strongly sided with Cirno this miracle would never had happened. Her encouragement wasn't much in quantity, but it was in substance and thoughtfulness. For the antisocial problem child, this immortal's lightened up considerably over the past couple of months, and in a part Cirno too was responsible, thought the three week old might never know that.
For the most part everything should have been done, but Cirno is still kneeling before the earth same as when she stabbed it with her invisible sword. With her head hung and hands before her, she almost looks like she's praying. Closed eyes and a gentle breath make it look all the more serene.
"Cirno," Keine removes her hand with her friend, "you've done an-"
Looking like she's shocked, she rapidly retreats. Mokou doesn't know what happened, but danger and alarm are clear on Keine's face. Before she can ask, the immortal takes a look to see if she can tell for herself.
"What-"
At first she noticed nothing, but then the area around Cirno's profile began to shift. It wasn't that space was being manipulated, but a natural illusion was being cast. Heat was rising from the ice manipulator's body, tremendous heat. As the element is her own, of course Mokou would overlook it and be the last to notice. The immediate temperature has actually become very hot.
That clear hair takes a saturation, quickly returning to white. From there, however, something never before imagined occurs. It turns from white to pink, and from there, red. Not only that, but her white dress smolders Smoke rising from her shoulders, the once shimmering invisible tool now ripples like an image off a water's surface. Instead of pure cold, it's now radiating a pure heat!
"Cir-" Keine tries to yell.
Wings sprout from Cirno's back, but not the icicles from before. Unmistakeable for anything else, and absolutely well known to the immortal, they're flames. Burning in mid air with seemingly nothing fueling it's source, are six wings of fire.
Opening her eyes, which too have become red, she pulls her sword out of the ground, stands tall, and thrusts it into the air.
"Haaaaah!" she yells, challenging the very heavens.
That invisible mirage leaps from her hands and soars into the skies. Something such as it couldn't be visible for very long, but at a high altitude it seems to explode, causing the very morning skies to change color somewhat. At that a wave surges over all of Gensokyo.
Ever since the start of everything a month and a half ago, Winter has been extended far beyond it's limits. Even this morning it's wasn't even remotely regular for what was nearly Summer. However, upon the detonation a wave of warm air blankets the entire land. Unlike what's immediately surrounding Cirno, it's gentle and warm, the touch of a mother or father. They feel it from deep in the fields to the basements of their mansions. Everyone in Gensokyo feels this sudden shift, only a few even daring to guess it's source. A feat accomplished by a few, never has anyone so directly done this. Cirno has overturned nature and forcibly shifted the season from Winter to Spring.
At this, Cirno's fire dies, her hair returning to clear. Rapidly the unbearable heat diminishes and those present realize what's happened. Still bundled because of the chilly conditions, Keine is forced to remove the extra articles of clothing that's required of Winter. Astonished, she again tries to confront her student.
"Cirno? You did this? Not only did you unfreeze the ground, but you changed the season best for harvesting crops?"
Cirno slightly wobbles. It seems she can't stead herself completely.
"I just did what I thought was right. I felt like I could do more than I did, so I pushed it as far as I could. I didn't think I'd be able to do that."
Her voice was pained and labored, and Keine should have immediately realized why. As Cirno turns to faces her friends, most horribly does it become apparent. Blood is dripping from her ears, mouth, nose, and eyes. She looks to Keine, eyes clouded and white, like she's blind.
"I guess I went a little too far," she laughs, a pink mist escaping under her breath.
Those unchained eyes of her's roll to the back of her head and her legs give out, crashing where she stood.
For those of you that didn't realize, that was indeed Achi Cirno at the end of the chapter. If you haven't heard of her before, do a google image search and you'll see some pretty cool artwork for her. This alternate Cirno is non-canon, but still popular in the fan community.
Next chapter will be the last of Act 10. Getting to this point has actually been incredibly difficult. The event I've depicted from this chapter and the next were the two I were most looking forward to since I started AotS. As I've been writing I've been changing my mind and taking the story in a slightly different than originally conceived direction. Thus too have these two individual chapters seemed like they'd never come. I wanted Act 10 to be maybe 5 or 6 chapters, but it somehow turned into 9. I hope I'm not getting diarrhea of the keyboard.
Well, despite my detours I've managed to get the story where I want it to be without ruining the seeds I've planted in previous chapters. A minor character introduced in the second chapter (Act 7 - A New Legend) will make a return and make a big (if not the biggest) impact on Cirno. I wanted to write her more into the story, but it simply wasn't allowed. Cirno has certainly undergone a lot of changes, and she herself struggles with her identity. In the next chapter there won't be many great big reveals, but a subtle shift that will come to drive her very way of understanding what really matters. I've probably spoiled it too much, so I'll cut myself off right there.
~Kyle Castorena
