200K WORDS AND THEY CALLED ME CRAZY AHAHAHAHA

That's right, people, I'm still alive! It's okay, please stop crying! D:

Anyways, it's finally been decided; Boundless World of Danmaku will in fact receive a sequel! You hear that? You get to read even my of my terrible writing! Huzzah! Whoo!

No, but really, Boundless World of Illusion is already in the works. I hope you guys will read and enjoy it just as much (if not more!) as you did this one!

OC Update; I have currently received submissions for three deuteragonists for BWI.

Muse: No, screw you, I'm doing it. Yes, that makes two OCs based around you. Get at me! They're completely different characters, and they are going to rip each other's throats out by the time I call it quits! I think. I mean, come on! Why would you send me that link if you didn't want me to make him!? But yeah, all our hopes are riding on you, man. Please don't let us down! :(

Ziden115: Wow... really? Thanks, man. Then again, it was a dream-dimension fight (IE I never would have done this in reality), so I did cut myself some (IE a metric ass-ton) of my slack for that. Things start cooling off, though... May or may not have forgotten my meds when writing the first section of this chapter.

Seriously. I think I actually forgot them, but I'm too lazy to go rewrite it.

Hackery: Whew! Great to hear we've another member of the Boundless Universe on-board. Next story will be mainly penned by Muse, so he'll be taking the spotlight for most of it. It'll probably be something similar to what you've been seeing these last couple of chapters (Muse does love himself some deconstruction), so there you have it! Hopefully we won't get too grimdark in the process.

Mage-0f-Rage: I know, I leave enough plot threads hanging to knit a sweater out of them all. What happened to Makai? Did Okuu and Futo get out alive? Where'd Byakuren go? How is Myouren still alive? What's going on at the temple? Where are the Hunters while this all goes down? What did Mima and Marisa do after fighting Yuuka? What the hell are they going to do with a decapitated head of the Touhou equivalent of Satan? Why is Goukei working with Wildcard? Will Maribel be the next gap youkai in line now that both Yukari and Karin are all but crippled? The list goes on and on... well, at least I've got a somewhat coherent way to glue everything back together later.

Whew, long rant for an author's note. Well, on with the story, and remember; OC submissions are still open! Feel free to submit while you still can!

– TOUHOU –

[Lament of the Devil; Secret Messenger – Signs of Paradox]

Damion fell to his knees, staring at the gray clouds overhead. At his side, the Sword of Solace stood quietly, sky-blue light humming faintly around the blade. He turned his head to the sword, expressionless red eyes warping into something else.

Solace…?

Solace…!?

"AAARRRRGH!"

Pounding a fist against the ground, he growled. Damn her! Damn that Wildcard! Damn her and damn everything she made him do! Damn her…!

Sighing, he stood. Pulling the sword out of the ground with a disdainful grunt, he dragged it with him as he walked. At his feet, in a smouldering trench, were his two enemies. A ten-foot wide swath cut through the earth, the edges still smoking. Sprawled across the ground at the end of the end of it was that gunslinger… Darius.

Damion knelt down next to his motionless body, flicking his eyelid with a finger. No response.

He withdrew the hand slowly, no emotion in his crimson eyes. "I thought you were made of stronger mettle," he said to the gunslinger softly. "I honestly thought you were better than this." A look of anger came over his face. "You were supposed to do what I couldn't, damn you."

The dream world around them was beginning to crumble, the sky falling apart like an old jigsaw puzzle. Visible through the cracks was a much older dream dimension, a black sea at their feet, white mist rolling just over their heads. Damion watched as the ground gave way, depositing the three of them on the surface of the pitch-black sea.

The demon looked at the white longcoat he was still wearing. Memories long gone came back to him briefly, memories from a happier time. Reaching down to help up an old friend… yeah, he remembered that.

A glance at Darius. "I wonder if you…?" He shook his head. "No. You wouldn't have."

He thought back to his former life, wondering if Darius had ever encountered any similar situations. Each memory he dredged up, he tossed away just as quickly. No, the gunslinger had almost certainly never seen anything like them. Now that he thought about it, he probably never would.

It was a pity, really. The gunslinger reminded him so much of someone he once knew like a brother. Comrades in arms. Briefly, he remembered fighting alongside him, and once more against him. Cold, dead hands, vibrant crimson blood staining his once-white hair. A memory of holding a limp body, screaming his rage to the heavens. The sense of no purpose, the feeling of a sentence of eternal wandering. A grave in the midst of a thick forest, marked only by his comrade's broken sword, snapped in half and laid at the feet of the tree above them. The years without purpose that came after…

And the sight of an immaculate green dress and ever-shifting eyes. An offer of new purpose – and one day, maybe the chance to see him again.

Damion brushed a lock of hair out of Darius' eyes idly. Would he have made that deal or denied it, he wondered? Perhaps they weren't so different after all…

But it didn't end well. It never ended well.

That was what broke him. He saw his comrade once more, the laugh on his lips, dancing eyes filled with joy. But when he saw the strings he hung from, the rotted flesh, the hands that made them dance on their stage… that changed. Damion knew it, but he never stopped to care. He was still dancing on those strings, wasn't he?

Damion wondered… in another time, another place, what might have happened if he turned down the Wildcard? Would he still have stood here over the body of the gunslinger? Would he still have fallen so far?

Long fall…

"Tarot Sixteen," he whispered. "The Tower…"

Wildcard was a cunning bastard. Something nagged at his mind. Yes, it was all too likely Darius had made that same deal – and now, he was paying the price for it. At least, soon, neither would see the agony of the world any longer. More importantly, he would be free! A brief laugh escaped his lips.

And yet…

Damion couldn't help but pity the motionless body at his feet. Did he really deserve this fate?

He shook his head and sighed. Goddamn it all. He might've been a legend in his time, but he was a shell with one purpose now. It was time to stop dreaming. Time to wake up.

"You did well, Darius." The demon gave the gunslinger a halfhearted salute. "If nothing else… you've got a bright future ahead of you. One better than I could ever deserve. You should see it with your own eyes, not with mine. So wake up." A bitter smile came to him. "Wake up, stare into the reflecting pool, and answer me one question; who are you…?"

The fog began to condense into white spires, tiny twisters reaching down into the black sea beneath. Damion laid a palm against the surface of the ocean, the body in front of him falling through the surface. He watched as Darius sank, disappearing into the watery depths. If only he could follow him.

The fog met the ocean, white slowly bleeding into the ocean. At the same time, the mist thickened, inky black tendrils reaching throughout it. The demon's time was coming. He had to go. As he turned to leave, he noticed the second figure present, one he'd briefly forgotten about.

"Gap demon…"

No. She had a purpose to serve – not as great as that which had been forced on him, but better. Her's was a far better purpose. Wildcard would never know. Gently scooping up Karin's body, he raised her easily in his arms, the mist above reaching down almost eagerly. Wisps of white fog gathered under Karin and carefully plucked her out of Damion's arms. As it did, the mist bubbled upwards to accommodate her, briefly exposing what was on the other side of the fog.

He nodded to Damion with a small smile. Small, but genuine. He spoke, but no sound came out. Despite that, Damion read his lips easily as his favourite phrase rolled off his tongue. In a tiny section of his mind, he desperately wished he could hear his closest friend's voice again. Damion nodded once more and watched as they vanished, the mist once more condensing and hiding its secrets from the world.

"Wildcard…" He whispered to the collapsing abyss around him. "I don't know how long it'll take. I don't know how much this will cost me. But, no matter what, I'm not folding. I am going to find you when you're at your weakest, and I am going to fucking kill you."

He walked through the falling dream slowly. Destruction may be all he knew, but at least he was damn good at it. Perhaps some good could come from him, after all. So long as the cards were played right…

And, in the collapsing world of his own mind, he felt no more.

– TOUHOU –

Smash!

The runes beneath Wildcard broke away as her own counter-spell faded away, smoke rising from her dress. A crack had appeared in her mask, running from the left eye to the bottom of it, the grapevine she kept in her hair falling to the ground as a dessicated husk. Flexing her fingers slowly, she said, "Well done, miko. Not many have the reflexes needed to perform such a move."

"Not just me," said Reimu as she unclipped one of her hair decorations and patted out the flames on it. "That'd be her."

Sakuya curtsied slightly as she clipped her Lunar Dial to her dress once more.

"Thank you for wasting all your time, by the way," added the miko as she swung her gohei from side to side idly. "You really were pretty helpful."

Wildcard's hand dropped to rest on the hilt of her sword once again. "Oh?"

The ground began to glow once more, blue lines tracing themselves in a wild pattern across the ground as the magic coursed through them. "Remember what I said earlier? How the shrine is the central field of all Gensokyo's magic?" The lines flared, turning to a brilliant yellow as Reimu smiled at her opponent. "I wasn't just exaggerating." Whipping around, she barked, "Cirno! Now!"

[For our Boundless World! Yuuhei Satellite – The Gensokyo the Gods Loved]

Turning back to the Wildcard, Reimu continued. "Like I said, Wildcard – this is Gensokyo. No one makes a ruckus without me to put them back in their place, and you're not all that different." Raising an arm, the trails of magic around her began to condense at her feet, the spell card in her hand glowing brightly. "Have fun dying."

Wildcard's eyes sharpened – and she shot off, feet tearing at the ground. Sakuya grabbed her watch and dangled it from her wrist by the chain, time slowing down around her to close the distance. Slamming a foot firmly against the masked woman's chest, time resumed its full pace as they were both sent sprawling. Hitting the ground in a roll, Sakuya somersaulted upright and called out, "Cirno! If you could so kindly lend a hand…!" Her eyes widened as a chill went down her spine and a shadow fell over her.

"Don't get distracted," murmured Wildcard. Hand reaching down to her sword, she revealed the green flash of light again and lashed out, the razor arc coming down on Sakuya's neck–

The maid did a double-take as she realized Wildcard had missed. "Wait…" She turned her head. "Cirno-san?"

"I'd assume so," shrugged the ice fairy. One hand held her icicle sword loosely, the other outstretched, frosr dancing on her fingers. Where Sakuya had been just before Wildcard's strike, an ice sculpture of the maid quivered instead. Slowly, the upper half slid away and crashed to the ground.

Wildcard sheathed her sword, multicoloured eyes looking over the heads of the two girls. Reimu could be seen hovering some feet off the ground in front of the shrine, gold light gathering around her as she chanted silently.

Fantasy Heaven…!

"Sorry." Cirno deftly stepped in as Wildcard once more tried to target the miko, "but we can't let you do that."

The masked woman hissed through her mask and swung upwards, green light following her movement. The ice fairy raised an arm, a wall of ice blocking her strike and deflecting it to the side. Cirno quickly smashed through the breaking ice with another sword already in hand, poised to quickly jab the Wildcard. She sidestepped – and flinched as Cirno jumped back, Sakuya taking her place. Without missing a beat, another vortex of sharpened steel swept up the masked woman as the maid went wild with her ability.

"Tarot Seventeen! The Stars!"

Sakuya winced as the knives were blasted away with a huge gust of wind, a stray knife ripping at her calf. Dropping to one knee, she calmed herself and drew another set of knives. At her side, Cirno readied her icicle sword as they watched the Wildcard.

She met their gaze, eyes rapidly shifting between countless colours. When she spoke, her voice was beginning to distort, constantly warping with each word. "I didn't expect to HAVE to use this power… but you LEAVE me no choice!"

Unclipping the scabbard and sword from her waist, she held it out in front of her, ready to draw. Glancing over the heads of the two women facing her again, she saw Reimu's lips move. The miko was almost ready; she had to be stopped!

"TAROT Seven!The Chariot!"

She drew the sword, a sonorous ringing sound echoing throughout as she did. In that same instant, a sweeping gale lashed out, pushing back both Sakuya and Cirno with the sheer force. She held the sword to one side and dropped the scabbard to the earth, where it easily sunk in and vanished from sight. In her hand was a cruciform rapier, the blade a shimmering silver colour. Up and down the blade ran pure white waves, each undulation sending out another burst of wind.

"This is to BE your END."

A hurricane erupted, sweeping gales battering them with the force of an enraged oni. Flying branches violently snapping at her arms as she shielded her face, Sakuya reached for her watch to slow time – and found only the gold chain as the vortex tried to snatch away the Luna Dial.

"Cirno!" shouted the maid as she struggled to be heard over the raging wind. The ice fairy turned, saw the pocketwatch fluttering away, and nodded quickly.

Wildcard's mask cracked again, a rift nearly splitting it in two as she stood in the eye of the tornado. Flicking the rapier again, the wind fell silent as quickly as it started. Sakuya blinked as the lashing gale retreated. "What the–?"

The masked woman dashed forward, a burst of wind propelling her as it tore the earth apart beneath her. Rapier poised for a killing thrust, she closed their distance in the blink of an eye, ready to drive the tip clean through Sakuya's skull.

"Sakuya-san, look out!"

KRENGGG!

The maid landed roughly as Cirno came to her aid once more, parrying the Wildcard's thrust with her own ice sword. Not even giving her a chance to register what had happened, the ice fairy crouched low, kicking her legs out from under her with a sweep of her foot.

"Ungh!" The masked woman recovered quickly and rolled away as Sakuya snatched up her watch from the ground, a metallic rain battering her as she ran. "YOU… cannot defeat me!" Coming to a stop, Wildcard lashed out with the sword once more. A burst of emerald light, and Sakuya flinched again, powerful wind assaulting her like physical blows as her knives were blasted out of the air. "I am an inexorable FORCE!"

Once more moving on the offensive, Wildcard jabbed at Cirno with dizzying speed, the rapier tip constantly tasting blood as each strike was immediately followed with a disorienting burst of wind. "My POWER waxes eternal!"

Switching stances, her feet kicked up dust as the masked woman continued pushing back the ice fairy as her attacks went from stabbing to slashing. Caught off-guard by the sudden change, Cirno cursed as Wildcard stepped into her guard and rammed her elbow into her ribcage. The rapier pointed into the air, shining silver reflecting the sun's light as she prepared to impale her opponent–

"NOW!"

Cirno flung her empty hand at Wildcard's face. A puff of white snow exploded out, the distraction giving her just enough time to escape the Wildcard's attack. Sakuya quickly helped her to her feet, just as Wildcard let out a furious roar. The mist was dispelled, another vortex blasting into existence as she readied herself for another round.

"Give it up!" Cirno yelled, even as she was pelted with rocks that were kicked up from the ground. "You've already lost!" Crouching low to the ground, she began to back away without breaking eye contact. "There's no way for you to win now. Just give up while you still can!"

Wildcard's seething fury came to a boil. The vortex dissipated around her as she picked up speed, ready to wipe that damnable smirk on her face from the very fabric of existence. The distance was closed, and the rapier came up and around – and hit its mark.

The masked woman felt a brief thrill, but almost immediately lost it as Cirno laughed quietly. Despite the sword buried inside her, the ice fairy laughed mockingly at her would-be killer. "All this time, and you… still haven't noticed…"

Wildcard twisted the rapier a little deeper into her chest. "What are youTALKING about?"

Cirno blinked, no longer looking at her, but rather something over her shoulder. "That."

Her eyes widened as she remembered what their goal had been this entire time – they weren't trying to win, they were trying to…!

"NO!"

Swiftly kicking Cirno off the end of her rapier, Wildcard whipped around and was instantly blinded, an incredible light shining forth as Reimu Hakurei's spell neared completion. At her feet, the ice fairy enjoyed herself to one last laugh. "Game over…"

"I will not ALLOW YOU!" Wildcard leapt into the air at the miko, her sword already building up with the emerald magic in anticipation of the attack.

Reimu finally opened her eyes, staring directly into the masked woman's fearful ones. "You'll never take… this boundless world of danmaku." The shrine lit up, violet light quickly interconnecting around her to form one of the strongest spells in existence. "Fantasy Heaven!"

– TOUHOU –

"So it continues."

A darkened room, illuminated with a single candle on a desk. Hunched over it and seemingly lost in concentration was a tall figure, his hands working away at something.

"The Wildcard…" He stopped, silver hair concealing his eyes as he regarded his work. Holding it just above the open flame, a tiny voodoo of the masked woman dangled from two fingertips. One visible red eye watched the small doll swing back and forth like a pendulum. "You always think of yourself as in control of everything, don't you? You false god."

Placing the limp doll on the wood table, it watched him silently as he opened a cabinet beneath the desk. "Try everything you want." With a small thunk, the tin of needles opened and spilled out onto the table. Unlike standard needles, these resembled crosses, tiny red gems set into the point where the arms intersected. He ran his fingers over them seemingly at random before settling on one of them.

The candle wavered as an icy draft blew through the room, ruffling his hair. Spinning the needle with one hand inside the flame, he picked up the miniature Wildcard again. "You'll pay for what you did to her…" The tip of the needle now almost red-hot, he held it close to the doll's mask, poised just over its forehead. "Nature is strong."

The doll gave way easily as he slid the needle in.

"Science is strong."

One by one, he heated more needles and applied them with surgical precision, as if performing acupuncture. "But both together is so much stronger." Procuring one last needle from the stack, he held it against the flame until the tip began to smoke. Setting the tip against the doll, the red eyes turned, white sclera stained with empty black. "I'll make her pay ten thousand times over."

The voodoo practitioner carefully poked the last needle into the doll's heart. Its small button eyes watched as the body was engulfed in flames, yet somehow did not scorch the wood beneath.

"I have to make her proud…"

Leaving the table as messy as it was, he stood, snatching a black cloak from the ground. Clipping it to his neck, he stepped outside, torn wings with no right to flight doing just that to bring him away from his handiwork.

The Wildcard doll's arms disconnected from the body in the enchanted fire, the needles once holding it up now only pinning the arms in place. It fell to the ground, the force jostling the mask loose.

Another cold draft appeared, gently closing the door to his lab. Had anyone been standing outside, they might have, for a moment, thought they saw Wildcard move.

And, if their eyes were sharp enough, they might have seen the laughter on its lips.

– TOUHOU –

Aaaaand you have now seen the first taste of Muse's fucked-up metagame around the Boundless Universe. Don't ask, just roll with it. My brain has been melting trying to figure it out for a while now.

Also, OH MY GOD I FINALLY FOUND A GOOD TIME TO PULL YUUHEI SATELLITE INTO THIS FUCK YES