Author Note

Collaborating with Dreaming Hearts and Again With This. This will be an AU compared to the anime and manga. We hope you enjoy this different take on Fushigi Yuugi.

Prologue:

The path to summoning Suzaku didn't go according to Miaka's wishes. The betrayal from her once good friend, Yui had not only severed their friendship, but had led her on the route of a true villainous. Not only that, but it also permanently destroyed her relationship with Tamahome. And by the time it came to summon the great beast god, Miaka was already exhausted and depressed.

Although helping Konan win against its war with Kutou and their respective seiryu warriors, Miaka already had enough. There was no happiness at the end of all of this, not for her or Yui, and certainly not for the lives of her fallen suzaku warriors. All of this could have ended differently.

"I wish Yui and I never opened that damned book! I wish the universe of the four gods would disappear from our world entirely!"

This story begins in 2022, during a time in which the entire world is barely holding on from a devastating pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Even with the new vaccines being distributed worldwide, it is already too late, and the virus known as Covid-19 is more powerful than ever before. Now Earth faces what will soon be an end to humanity...

With the government on permanent lock down, and all clinics and hospitals closed, there was nowhere else to turn for help. This resulted in many spending their last days among friends and families, others in absolute isolation, those continuing to work to provide for families, and as the days continued into weeks, many had resorted to suicide.

In those final moments, a light sparkled in this era of darkness, and that light revolved around the internet. Most importantly, among many talented and inspirational authors who had started updating their stories to quell the rising fear of many.

And this is where the story begins.

December 5th, 2022

Cleveland, Ohio

Ruth Emerson, an eighteen-year-old woman with blue-gray eyes, hidden behind black rimmed glasses, her shoulder-length hair dyed bright magenta, stared out the foggy windows of her house. For about an hour, she waited for her best friend, Victoria Wainwright, to stop by, but with the heavy snow falling and the late evening blanketing the skies, she became doubtful she'd ever show up.

A sigh escaped her as she leaned back, slumped on the leather couch, staring at the bright screen of her laptop out of boredom. It'd been so quiet as of late, and there was nothing on TV to watch except the same re-runs of shows.

Back in May, she had graduated from high school with full honors, hoping to go to college to pursue acting, but with the end to humanity fast approaching, those dreams were gone. It was crazy, almost unbelievable that something like this would ever happen, especially in her lifetime...

But it was happening.

The thought of her deceased family and those of friends who had fallen victim to this virus left her feeling miserable. Ruth hadn't left the safety of her house since, only allowing herself to leave once in a great while to buy groceries whenever necessary.

Not without the protection of a surgical mask. They irritated her face, and sometimes caused breakouts, but with winter barreling down on her, it also kept her face warm from the cold.

The phone rang just then, and she reached over the arm of the couch to answer it. "Hello?"

"Ruth? It's Victoria! Hey, I'm on my way right now, but I need you to lock all the doors and windows until I get there!"

Ruth blinked. "Huh? Why? Is everything okay?" She asked, noticing the panic in her friend's voice and what sounded like her running through the snow. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Just do what I asked! Don't answer the door for anyone except me!" She said and hung up.

"Okay..."

Considering the fact that Ruth lived on the outskirts of town in a small cottage, she figured if anyone were to visit, this would be the last place they'd think.

Whatever the problem was, she wasn't certain, but she leapt from the couch and quickly locked all the doors and windows, even pulling the curtains and blinds down for good measure. The same was done to all the windows upstairs, just as a precaution.

Ruth's gaze shifted to the burning fireplace, the only heat which kept the entire house warm, and somewhat reluctant, she filled a bucket full of water and tossed it over the flames. What resulted was a blast of smoke, but once it diminished, she stepped away.

"I wonder what she meant by lock the doors and windows-"

Before she could put the pieces together, a loud rapping on her backdoor drew her attention, and she jumped. Immediately turning off the lamp by the couch, she crouched onto the floor and crawled toward the kitchen, where the knocking continued.

Who was it? Was it Victoria or someone else?

Somewhat fearful, she stood up and stared out the small peephole toward outside, and what she saw shocked her. There were a group of men and women adorned from head to toe in protective garments to shield them from the virus. On their strange uniforms were emblems she wasn't familiar with and realizing this was what Victoria warned her about, she quickly ran up the stairs toward the bedroom.

After closing the door and locking it behind her, she heard the banging continue downstairs and around other parts of the room. Although she prayed for them to leave, she knew they would not. They must have seen the smoke from the chimney, so obviously they knew someone was inside.

Ruth kept her back firmly against the door, until she heard the sound of glass shattering downstairs. "Shit..." She cursed. "Those weren't ordinary people... and I doubt they're here to rob me either, which means..."

Which meant only one thing. This was probably a last-ditch effort from the government to kidnap those who hadn't yet contracted the virus. Probably as a means to do experiments on them! Or... there was another possibility, more frightening than the last. Could it be possible they targeted her because she was a woman?

The thought almost made her sick. "Oh, hell no! You can all fuck off!"

After quickly pushing a dresser in front of the door, she grabbed her duffle bag and threw a handful of clothes into it from her closet. Fortunately, she was smart enough to bring her laptop with her, and after securing it inside the bag, she unlocked the window and stepped out onto the roof.

After carefully climbing down the side of the house and dropping into a huge mound of snow to save her fall, Ruth ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Despite knowing her footprints were a dead giveaway in the snow, she had no other option but to run.

For what seemed like minutes, her breath caught in her throat, she ran through the woods outback her house, trying to place as much distance as possible between her and her house. There was no clear path, and she avoided running in a straight line, but she feared what sort of wildlife she'd stumble upon in her escape.

Wolves most likely, maybe some coyotes, but definitely not bears.

A vibration in her pocket caught her notice and pausing just enough to retrieve her phone, she realized it was Victoria. She answered it just as she saw her battery drop to two. "V-Victoria?!"

"Hey, where are you?! Are you okay?! I drove by the house and saw a van parked in front of it and your windows smashed to hell!"

Ruth spared a glance behind her as she continued running. "I'm on my way through the woods outback my house. I think the government wanted to kidnap me or something. Can you pick me up on the other side?"

"On those backroads? I can try if they aren't icy. I'll try to meet you the-"

At that instant, her phone went dead, and Ruth cursed her luck, but at least she told Victoria her whereabouts. Now all she had to do was get there and then they could make their great escape. Unexpectedly, there was a collection of noises behind her, and fearful she was being followed, she glanced back once again.

Just as she thought. It was those lunatics! "Shit! Fuck!" From what she gathered from the brief glance as she continued her sprint, there were at least four of them chasing her. "Damn it... And I don't have anything to protect myself with either!"

Just as they started gaining on her, the untreaded path opened up, and Ruth saw a clear view of the road and her friend's parked car. Hearing Victoria's horn honking for her to hurry up, with the passenger door flying open, Ruth leapt across the old wooden fence before they could grab her and threw herself into the car not a second too late.

After barely escaping, Ruth released a heavy sigh as she adjusted her duffle bag in front of her. "Oh my god... They almost had me!"

"Are you okay?!"

Ruth nodded, fanning herself with the palm of her hand as she leaned against the seat, still trying to catch her breath. "Yeah. Good thing I bought that elliptical early this year... Otherwise, I might not have gotten far from my backyard. I literally jumped off the roof."

Victoria's eyes widened at this as she paused at a red-light intersection. "The roof?! Geez... Glad you can still run after all that."

"Don't worry. The snow broke my fall..." She said, sighing. "So... I'm guessing those weirdos showed up at your house?"

Victoria shook her head. "Actually, it was all over the news. I guess it's mandatory that those who aren't quarantined or infected must sacrifice themselves as a means to create new vaccines. So, more or less they'd do experiments on us."

"Or worse..." Ruth replied. "Use us as baby factories."

Hearing this, her friend gasped. "I didn't even think about that!"

Ruth made a face. "I figured as much, but it's already too late by now. The world is practically ending..."

Once the light turned green, Victoria turned right onto the ramp toward interstate. As she turned on the blinker to merge in, she realized the lanes were almost barren of other vehicles. "Humanity is ending. Wildlife will still survive," She corrected her. "And those who remain in quarantine as well."

Ruth almost rolled her eyes. "Still, that's like three or five percent while everyone else will perish. Probably us since we're no longer safe inside our houses. Speaking of which, where are we going?"

"I'm not sure. Far away from here."

"I doubt we'll be able to cross the border without being stopped... Someone is bound to pull us over. And don't forget, it's almost dark. Everyone is on mandatory curfew, so if we're caught, we're done for."

Victoria nodded at this. "Then... we'll just have to avoid that somehow. Our best bet is to park someplace secluded before it gets too dark. That way we aren't sticking out like sore thumbs."

There really wasn't anywhere safe to park, especially with the streets and parking lots completely abandoned. Several shops, restaurants and other establishments had seen better days before this pandemic, their windows busted, and the buildings raided.

It was survival of the fittest out here, and people would go to any lengths to get what they wanted, and that included stealing. Forget having money, because that was now a memory of the past. Well... it was the least of their concerns at this point, except for the fact that Victoria was running low on gasoline, and gas stations were already closed up for the evening.

It couldn't get any worse, right? Well, it did. Her best friend had found the perfect spot to hide their vehicle for the evening, but there was barely enough gas to get them to the nearest station by morning. Instead, that would mean they'd have to hike up to the nearest store, buy a canister and then fill it and walk all the way to their location.

And where was their location? Well, they hadn't left Cleveland, and were currently situated under a bridge next to Lake Erie. Where Victoria parked the car was actually a small sidewalk meant for tourists and bicyclists, but it was concealed perfectly. It was honestly better than anything.

Now situated in the backseat of the car, Ruth rummaged through her duffle bag for her laptop, but to her dismay, the battery had drained considerably since leaving the house. Then again, the battery was so old, it was no wonder. "Dang it..."

"Huh?" Victoria asked, leaning over to stare at the dim screen of her laptop. "Is it almost dead?"

Ruth nodded. "Yeah... I was hoping we could watch some videos before going to bed," She said, staring at the ten percent of battery life left on it. Turning it off and carefully putting it away, she flashed her light further into her bag. "I thought I had some snacks in here..."

"I wish you brought a couple pillows, then we'd be set," Victoria said, laughing as she unfolded a heavy blanket and placed half of it over her, leaving the rest for Ruth.

A triumphant cheer escaped her just then when she whipped out an unopened bag of Cheetos and pretzels. "I thought I swiped something off my desk before leaving."

Victoria accepted the pretzels. "Not the healthiest but better than nothing. In the morning, we can grab something from the gas station for our breakfast. I have a lot of money on my card, so that should tie us over for a while."

"It probably isn't safe to backtrack, huh?" Ruth asked. "No matter how hard we try, we're not safe. Someone is bound to spot us and alert the authorities."

"Hey, don't be a Debbie Downer. We won't know unless we try... Actually... I think I might know of a place," Victoria said, suddenly gasping in realization. "Oh! That would be perfect!"

Ruth turned her head curiously as her friend smiled excitedly. "Huh? What is it?"

"A bunker! My cousin has a bunker over in Columbus. That's two hours away! We could ask to stay with him and his kids!" She said, but when Ruth didn't seem convinced, she continued. "And here's the best part, no one knows about it. It's a secret bunker hidden beneath their house."

Now that caught her interest. "That's great! But... do you really think they'd let us move in? Even if it's temporary?"

"I think so. Let me send him a quick text really quick, but he probably won't respond until tomorrow," She said, quickly moving her fingers over the keyboard of her phone.

At least it was better than nothing.

"Got any music in there? Like an MP3 player?" Victoria asked, still glued to her phone. "I want to save what battery life I have on my phone until tomorrow."

While biting into a few Cheetos, she wiped away the orange flakes and sifted through her bag once again. Aside from the random clothes she threw in, her charging cables for her phone and laptop, she couldn't find anything else. Well, except for something kind of leathery.

"Huh? What's this?" She asked, pulling out a worn leather book. Knowing damned well she didn't grab this, she flashed her light at the cover and its yellow pages. It was almost as thick as a dictionary, but several of the pages were blank. "Kind of looks like a diary... The letters on the cover are so faded, it's hard to make it out."

Victoria finally turned off her phone and glanced over to see what her friend had found. "What's that? A book?" She asked, taking the offered tome from her hand before squinting at the letters written on it. "Universe of the... That's all I can make out..." She said, opening it to stare at the contents within. "Looks like some kind of fiction book. Sounds like something you'd read."

Ruth leaned in while still munching on her chips. "What's it say? Need my flashlight to see?"

At this, Victoria took a moment to adjust their seating arrangements. She pulled the other half of the blanket over her friend and leaned in close with the book situated between them. From there, with Ruth's light shining on the first page, Victoria read the first paragraph out loud.

"Herein contains the tale of four young ladies and their quest to gather the seven Constellations of Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko and Genbu. And if you, the esteemed reader, should read to the story's end, the spell contained within this book shall bestow upon you the powers of the heroines, and grant you your wish. For indeed the moment the page is turned, the story will become reality."

After reading this Victoria shared a glance with Ruth, and no surprise, her friend was already drawn into the story, her eyes wide with excitement. "Just how old is this book, Ruth?"

She furrowed her brow. "I wouldn't know. It's not mine."

"Well, it was in your bag, and this definitely sounds like something you'd read."

Ruth only shrugged. "For the life of me, I can't remember ever buying it, plus it's so old, it looks like it will fall apart at any moment," She said, before leaning closer. "But don't stop there. Read the rest. It sounds kind of interesting."

She rolled her eyes. "I guess..." Victoria flipped the page, and the image of a black tortoise and snake, along with a vermillion phoenix, stared back, painted beautifully and intricately on the page. But just before she could flip the page again to continue reading, something unexpected happened.

There was a flash silver and red light and then complete darkness.