Taylor took a deep breath and centered herself. The release of everything she had pent up had left her shaken, but she was slowly pulling herself together. Even if she did keep randomly wanting to break into a happy song or smash her head into something hard and heavy. Self control was something she was well practiced at.

She was in control. She was focused and clear headed. She was humming…

Another deep breath followed by one more. She looked within and focused on what had changed. It honestly wasn't much. She still regretted much of her life. She could still feel a dark pit of self loathing deep within her, but it wasn't all encompassing any more. Pride in what she had accomplished, even if not in how she had gone about it, and relief that she had been able to protect that which mattered to her most offset it.

Taylor opened her eyes and stood looking for Eiki or Komachi, she found them standing a bit away from her talking quietly. Taylor started to walk towards the pair and Eiki turned towards her as she approached. Taylor felt a spike of embarrassment as she remembered the Yama holding her as she cried.

Taylor paused, when was the last time she had felt embarrassed? She remembered her teammates trying to embarrass her when she joined the Wards but she had only felt frustration at their antics. Maybe it was that time Lisa took her shopping and made her try on clothes. Had she really been so focussed on saving the world that she hadn't even allowed herself to feel something as harmless as embarrassment for two years?

Escaping her head Taylor noticed that both Eiki and Komachi were now watching her and she felt the feeling increase in strength. She smiled at the pair sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier."

Komachi laughed and waved off her concern, "Most souls have a bit of a breakdown after their judgement. Though normally it is because they don't want to go to Hell instead of the other way around."

Taylor sighed, "Well part of me still thinks you are making a terrible mistake and that I belong in Hell, but I'm willing to accept ."

Komachi snorted, "Yep, you are definitely the most stubborn soul I have ever met."

Eiki smiled, "Well I am glad you have found peace with your judgement. For now we still have a couple of things we need to discuss."

Taylor nodded in acceptance and Eiki continued, "First we should talk about what you should do once you get to the Netherworld. While there are no real restrictions on where you can go I think you would find much of it not to your liking."

Taylor asked, "Why? What is there that I won't like?"

"There is nothing there you would dislike, mostly just a bunch of souls meditating on the nature of all their incarnations and their place in reality as a whole in an attempt to reach Enlightenment. I just think you would probably find it unsatisfying for now given that you still look human." Komachi nodded as if Eiki's statement explained everything.

Taylor looked down at herself and asked, "Is that not normal?"

This time Komachi responded, "It is uncommon, if not particularly rare. It just means that you think of yourself as being one particular human rather than a soul that has had many incarnations. It is very rare for a soul like that to have broken the chains of reincarnation like you though. Normally souls that accomplish something in life worthy of that are a bit more at peace with themselves than you."

Taylor frowned, "Is that going to be a problem?"

Eiki replied, "Not at all, you will shed your human form when you are ready and willing to do so. It just means that you will likely find most of the Netherworld a tad boring until then. Luckily you have other options, the Princess of Hakugyokurou sent word that she wishes to meet with you."

"Hakugyokurou?"

"A region of the Netherworld, well known for its beautiful Sakura gardens and eccentric princess?" Eiki replied.

"The Netherworld has royalty?"

"Less royalty and more administrators. Some souls need to have some level of responsibility to feel satisfied, they can apply to be given territory where they are in charge of maintaining a good environment for the other residents of the Netherworld. You can apply for such a position as well if you wish but I would suggest not doing so immediately. You have eternity to find your place in the Netherworld, there is no need to rush into anything."

Taylor thought for a moment. When she was a warlord she had found holding territory and ensuring that her followers were cared for to be satisfying. Still she doubted there was much need for her style of leadership, there was likely to be much less calls for her to attack gang members with bullet ants so they got the message to leave her people alone in the Netherworld, Still it was something to consider for later. "So why would you suggest I go to Hakugyokorou?"

"Yuyuko is like you in that she still maintains her human form, so she may be able to help you adapt to your afterlife. The souls that stay at Hakugyokurou also don't generally seek Enlightenment, instead finding satisfaction with their afterlives in the Netherworld. It makes the region much more lively than most of the other areas."

Taylor found the statement odd, "Is that okay? From the way you sounded in my Judgement I thought I was supposed to be seeking Enlightenment?"

The Yama laughed quietly, "Taylor, it is your afterlife. You have earned your Eternity, you can do with it whatever you wish." Her tone darkened slightly, "There is also something strange going on with Heaven's leadership right now so even if you found Enlightenment you wouldn't be able to get in until it is resolved."

"Something strange is going on with Heaven's leadership? Is that normal?"

Eiki looked frustrated, "Not particularly and it bothers me that they aren't doing their job properly." A moment later she back at Taylor and schooled her expression back to serenity, "But it isn't really something you need to concern yourself with. Eventually the higher ups at the Ministry will negotiate a resolution with Heaven's leadership and things will return to normal. The advantage of Eternity is you can afford to be patient. Heaven not allowing new entrants for a millennium or two won't make a difference in the long run. For now you should focus on finding your place in the afterlife."

Figuring she was unlikely to get anything else about the situation with Heaven from Eiki, Taylor decided to put that aside for later and focus on what she would do next. So much of her last few years had been lived with a singular purpose to work towards, she wasn't sure what to do with being told that her death was hers to do with as she pleased. Finally she responded, "I think I will visit Hakugyou." As she said it an idea sprung forth and she continued, "Is there any way I can meet my Mother? And is there anything you can tell me about my Father? He didn't didn't take my Mother's death well, I can't imagine he is doing well with mine."

"Your Father is doing well, the one you know as Contessa made arrangements to keep him healthy and happy after she killed you. Possibly as some kind of penance." Taylor let out a small breath, that was good. She still wasn't particularly happy with Contessa but if she made arrangements then her Father should be doing well.

Eiki paused before she continued, her brows furrowing in thought, "As for your Mother we normally try not to allow souls to meet those they knew in life as it can harm the purification process. But you have a lot of good will built up with the higher ups for preventing Earth from shutting down this cycle so it may be possible. I'll try to set something up but it is going to take some time, the afterlife is not a small place."

Taylor considered before asking, "If it is going to take a while will she reincarnate before I can meet with her?"

Eiki shook her head, "It takes at minimum a century or two for an adult to reincarnate even if they are not sent to Hell. Don't worry Taylor, if it is within my power I will make it happen."

Taylor closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky thinking about her mother's warmth. She doubted meeting her would be everything she wanted it to be, but still wanted to try, "Thank you."

"I am glad I could be of service, but now that that is out of the way we must finish your Judgement." Taylor felt her eyes snap back onto Eiki at that statement.

Taylor felt oddly nervous as she asked, "What is left?"

"Well I judged that you needed to hear about what you had accomplished with your life so I skipped to the end so you would know your fate. But you were correct when you said that I hadn't even talked about all the other sins you had committed in your life, and the Judgment is supposed to go over all of your choices." The Yama's expression reminded Taylor of the one her Mother had given her when she found out that Taylor had lied about doing her homework so she could go over to Emma's. Behind Eiki she saw Komach giving her a pity-filled look and leaping through the hole she had opened upon her arrival.

"Now, Taylor, I would like to hear in your own words what exactly you were thinking when you decided you would join a gang and help rob a bank."

Yukari smiled as she looked at the makeshift shrine before her.

She normally did not enjoy visiting other worlds, especially not ones like this where parahumans had arrived. Yokai were monsters created from the imaginations of man to give form to their fears and ignorance. While ignorance and fear were in no short supply on such worlds the parahumans had beaten the imagination out of the populace, after all there was no need to create new monsters when parahumans were so happy to fulfill the role.

All that fear but barely even an ounce of wonder, it was a toxic mix. Every time she visited she left feeling like she would need to bathe for a week straight to ever be clean again. Still such excursions were necessary. One did not create paradise on Earth only to allow the Earth it resided on to be destroyed. So every once in a while she needed to go out and inspect the modifications she had made to the boundary of her world in order to ensure that it was still undetectable by those who did not already know of its existence.

But something had changed on this Earth, and the shrine that stood in front of her was a symbol of that change.

The shrine was a simple thing, a mural on a wall illustrating figures standing tall against a golden light. Above the mural the words 'Remember Their Sacrifice'. At its base was a collection of framed photos of people in costumes, most of which were signed. But what caught Yukari's attention was the word 'Khepri' splattered across the mural in dark red paint.

The word had destroyed the comfort of the shrine, people who noticed it hastened their step as they walked away.

It was a feeling Yukari was intimately familiar with. The people of this world were afraid of what that word represented, but they did not actually know what it meant. It was fear without form.

Yukari silently changed her plans, after all it would be a shame to miss the chance to witness the birth of a new Yokai.

A/N: A shorter transitional chapter this time as we get past Taylor's navel gazing and start setting her up to interact with various Touhou characters. Also laying the groundwork for the first major conflict with Yukari's little discovery. I don't think I did a fantastic job of introducing Yukari or the concept of Yokai to people unfamiliar with Touhou but we will get a bunch more of that next chapter as it will be focused on Khepri.