From what I still knew about the outside world – alongside what I had read from the more modern literature that I could find in the bookstore that I worked at – I surmised that were I living a normal life as a salaryman in Japan, I would perhaps be waking up an hour or so past the crack of dawn every day as I made my way to work, yawning and dragging my feet as I took the train from the station near my abode. Thankfully, the vast majority of the people in the Human Village were from ages past, meaning that although all members of the Village were expected to pull their weight, no one would get fired for coming into work a little late, especially since the types of jobs available at the village were largely limited to such languid workplaces as bookstores, restaurants, inns, and shops offering various miscellany. Thus, everyone got out of bed essentially whenever they wanted to, though given how little there was to do in the Village, people mostly arrived on time anyway. It was a similar situation for everyone, including me: the sun would enter my eyes, I would awaken, and after breakfast I would head to the bookstore. No alarm clocks, no stressing about being late.
So, I was understandably shocked to find the door to my room being on the receiving end of a hard rap when the sky outside was still just barely turning gray. There were no other sources of light in my room, so my eyes took some time to adjust and focus long enough for me to find the doorknob and turn it.
"Yes?" I asked blearily.
"Rise and shine," said the tuft of chestnut hair that abruptly filled my vision.
I blinked as hard as I could. "Toyosatomimi no Miko? Is that you?"
"The one and only. Now, come. Your training begins today."
"It's barely light out," I mumbled.
"Discipline is the foundation of all achievement. I'll be waking you up at this time every day for the next week. Chop chop."
In my grogginess, I could barely taste the breakfast I was eating, so fogged and consumed by fatigue were my senses. Miko watched me as I shoveled the food into my mouth, and the smile she wore told me in no uncertain terms just how much she enjoyed watching me suffer. Or perhaps I was just being too cynical.
"I don't think Marisa will be awake this early," I commented as we departed the Village and entered the Forest. As the meager rays of crimson sunlight filtered through the leaves, I could see clouds of spores floating around the branches, and Marisa's earlier warnings to me about them began to ring alarm bells in my head. "Are those dangerous?" I asked, pointing to the spores.
"Oh, the mushroom spores? They're only dangerous to beings that are unaware of their magical potential. By now, you should be very well-versed in the possibilities of your own magical prowess, so you should be able to control the relatively minor effects of magical overload from inhaling those spores."
"To be honest…" I frowned. "I'm still not really sure about that."
"Why not? We know about your teleportation to places that you've already visited, don't we?"
"Yes, but there's a few other things that I haven't been quite able to pin down. My ability to remember Satori Komeiji's sister, for instance."
"Satori Komeiji… has a sister?"
"She does, it's just that people forget about her once they stop seeing her – except for me, apparently. Also, my incredibly realistic dream about the first moments that I remember since arriving in Gensokyo."
"A dream? About the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"
"Exactly. When Moriya invited me to the Furnace and performed her dissection spell on me, I was apparently sent briefly into the past. Only it wasn't really the past, or I probably wouldn't have been able to return. Patchouli Knowledge would never have allowed me to leave."
Miko raised her eyebrows. "Interesting. Suwako Moriya didn't see fit to inform me about that particular phenomenon."
"I suppose she has bigger fish to fry. Or whatever it is that they're frying down there in the Furnace."
As the cottage came into view, something caught my eye – though in fairness, my ears had picked up the disturbance long before we could actually see where it came from. Two blonde figures were stood outside the entrance of the hut, engaged in heated, if still relatively civil, conversation. The one stood in the doorway was clad in the recognizable black-and-white frills of the witch that I had come to call my closest friend; the other was a maiden I had not seen since the first time I had ventured into this forest on the advice of Reimu.
"Surely you can spare some time to assist me in my endeavors," said Alice Margatroid in as pleading of a manner as her monotonous voice would allow.
"Like I said, I will be busy today," replied Marisa. "Oh, here they are."
"What are we bickering about today?" asked Miko, waving in greeting as we approached.
"Marisa promised to help me test my next doll in combat," Alice said. "She's reneging on that agreement."
"I did say that, but as you can see, circumstances have changed. I can always help you later. You're always free anyway, aren't you?"
"You made me that promise before they intervened," Alice protested. "Shouldn't they be making way?"
"We can always go somewhere else," I suggested. I didn't want to cause any unnecessary trouble, especially with regards to this particular maiden, whose relationship with Marisa seemed just about as stable as a rollercoaster at full pelt. Judging by the contents of their discussion, it seemed like they were at the very least not averse to each other's company, but it was hard to tell just how far the rapport between them extended.
"Maybe we can work something out." Miko, ever the negotiator, pursed her lips and looked at each maiden in turn. "What sort of doll have you been making?"
"It's a unique type of doll, one that will supplant some of my existing support dolls. I have called it the Amplifier for now, although I will think of a different name eventually. As the name suggests, its primary function is magical amplification. It draws on my existing magic reserves and allows me to combine those reserves with the supply within my body in order to enhance the magnitude of my spells. Of course, my knowledge of the exact nature of the doll's inner machinations is as yet inchoate, but the only way I will learn more about how exactly the Amplifier operates is through constant testing in skirmishes. Which is why I sought the help of Marisa, who has so rudely rebuffed my advances."
"I… see." Miko nodded sagely as if understanding something that the rest of us did not, though the sweat on her brow suggested that she was not actually all the wiser. "A doll that makes your spells stronger. Very nice. I… oh!"
"What is it?" Alice asked.
"Does the doll work on other people? Or does it only work on yourself?"
"I have not tested this product on other people." Alice appeared slightly downcast. "There are no other people for me to test it on."
"That's just as well," Marisa piped up. "I remember the last time you asked me to help you with one of your experiments. You nearly blew my house up, along with half the forest."
"If you'd assisted me with even the modicum of competence that I expected from a magician of your caliber, then the overload would never have occurred." Alice harrumphed noisily and pushed her wavy hair back, as if she were a child who had just been told off by her mother. "Your indolence will be your undoing."
"Now, now." Miko clapped and stepped between them in the hopes of bringing the two warring factions to a momentary truce. "I think your interests and ours can align. You see, we happen to have someone with us who's in need of a little magical amplification."
The three of them turned to look at me.
"Me?" I asked.
"Who else?" Miko chirped. "We might as well see what you can do with a little extra impetus. Alice gets her experiment, you get your magic. It sounds like a fair deal."
"For once I must agree with you." Alice nodded. "Traveler, you will partake."
"And what if I refuse?"
"You cannot refuse." Alice's eyes turned cold, and I abandoned any notions of resisting further.
With a snap of her fingers, a doll materialized in the air. Although my s of what Alice Margatroid's dolls looked like were hazy at best, I could tell from the menacing jade-green aura swirling around this particular prototype that this was to be like nothing I had ever seen before. The doll was clad in a simple purple dress, its blonde hair shimmering in the sheer incandescence of the energy that surrounded it, and it did a dainty little twirl as it fully materialized into the air above us, before settling into its spot beside Alice's shoulder.
"I will now attempt to redirect its suction towards your reserves." Alice closed her eyes and held one arm out towards my chest. Her outstretched hand glowed, and a faint tingling sensation rushed across the surface of my skin. "The redirection is complete. You may attempt to cast a spell now."
"Slight hitch there," interjected Marisa. "He can't really cast any spells right now. We still have no idea what Kanako Yasaka wants with him, and the last thing we want is for him to get sent back into Senkai on his own. So, the one spell he knows is pretty much ruled out."
Alice frowned. "Then what need have I of you?"
"We can try the exercise we were doing last time. Find a spot to sit down, and focus on drawing your magic out. However, try doing it in a different manner so that you don't end up accidentally teleporting away."
"I'll try." I looked around for a relatively soft-looking patch of grass, and took my seat there. Matters were not helped by the awkward thought of having three of the realm's strongest magic users staring at my back. But expectations were high, and I had to deliver.
As I focused my attention inwards, probing through my body for the latent magic that dwelt within me, I also made sure to prevent myself from casting any thoughts about places that I knew intimately. No Youkai Mountain, no Makai, no Senkai. Just a blank slate upon which no images could be painted. Yet the more I tried to forget, the easier it became to remember. I held my breath as I struggled to prevent my thoughts from drifting, as the magic within me had already swelled to an uncontrollable level thanks to the Amplifier simultaneously diverting my magic away from my reserves and towards my mind.
In my haste to discard the many fond contemplations that I carried with me, I unwittingly steered my thoughts towards the one place that I knew I would never in my wildest dreams desire to return to. Yet as my senses began to dull, I had to wonder if a mental picture of the Scarlet Devil Mansion really was the best way through which to evoke a clearer understanding of my abilities.
As I would soon find out, it most certainly was not.
"I see you have woken up," said a horrifyingly familiar voice for the third time that I had heard those words.
