The moon. The purest object in the sky...Home to the "purest" species in Gensoyko, the Lunarians.
One such Lunarian, Sagume Kishin, currently strolls through the pure gardens with an ill omen creeping down her backside.
Her feelings are answered with the arrival of one Alex Whiter, who immediately attacks her without stating either name or purpose.
Sagume, being one of the highest Lunarian Sages, is one of few people who can fend off Alex's powerful attacks without flinching.
But her ability to twist the passage of fate with a careless use of her words does not have any affect on Alex, due to his Gaia Temporis.
Their fight pushes the both of them closer to the Lunar Capital, where ultimately their battle is interrupted by one of the Lunarians' toughest warriors...Watatsuki no Yorihime, messenger of the Gods.
Sagume is tasked to retreat and take the other Lunarians to safety, while Yorihime will combat the new "Butcher of Sins".
Alex and Yorihime briefly scuffle, with the Lunarians' arsenal of gods to draw upon proves capable of countering everything Alex throws her way.
However, this isn't necessarily a fight Alex is fully invested in. Not yet anyways...For as a matter of fact, right now he's merely a distraction.
The first thing he did upon returning to Gensokyo is contact Hecatia and Junko to get their help in invading the Lunar Capital. He also had them rally every single Fairy in Gensokyo and Hell, just to ensure it goes correctly.
Thus, with one tap of his Gaia Temporis, Alex uncorks one of the portals he sealed and allows Hecatia and her merry gang to ambush Sagume and the other Lunarians.
Hecatia immediately cuts a bloodbath through the Lunarians while Junko moves to get revenge on Chang'e. Fairies, full of life, are poison to any and all Lunarians.
The surprise of this attack catches Yorihime off guard and allows Alex to briefly get the upper hand over her. Its only when Yorihime's sister, Toyohime intervenes, that the tide turns back against Alex.
Even Alex can't fend the two sisters off anymore as he is now, with Yorihime's gods complimenting the mystifying powers of Toyohime's fan.
Alex readies to pull out his Phoenix Form when Yorihime's sharp perception allows her to force his sword out of his hand and pin it to the ground.
Alex makes a hasty retreat and works to separate the two sisters long enough for him to focus on breaking his sword free.
Once he obtains Phoenix Form he's able to actually inflict harm upon the Watatsukis, though Yorihime's plethora of gods continues to keep them healthy.
Yet that same boon can do nothing to breech Alex's Soul Shields. And for all her wisdom, she can't perceive an answer on her own and has to rely on the god of knowledge, Tenjin.
Toyohime distracts Alex for a bit, questioning his complete disregard for the concept of death. Alex turns it around on her, saying how death is a blessing, and their race is nothing but cowards for evading it this long.
Yorihime's skin turns pale, as it seems the answer she found was not something she wanted to hear. Yorihime continues to desperately summon gods to break Alex, including Susano'o and Izanagi.
And then, in one truly desperate act, Yorihime goes for Amaterasu, the mighty sun goddess herself. The Lunar Capital is purged with holy flames, yet Alex stands defiant, and throws all his strength into striking the goddess down.
The Lunar Capital is thrust into a terrifying inferno, of which there may be no survivors...
...For the Lunarians, anyways. The Fairies, unknown to death, yet full of life, have endured the flames. At the last possible second Toyohime had protected herself and her sister with a barrier.
But that meant very little now, as they were the sole survivors of their race. And the leader of this assault, Alex, stills rises from the ashes of their once prosperous city.
However, seeing the two sisters cuddling one another, with Yorihime looking scared of him, dulls Alex's will to keep going.
Their brief display of humanity has Alex offer them a chance to live if they choose to go to Earth in exile.
But...Toyohime refuses.
For once in her life she can't in good conscience allow him to leave. Alex rightfully calls her stupid and even Toyohime agrees, as this impulsiveness isn't like her at all.
But she cannot accept a life of mortality if it means she did nothing to avenge her people, even if it means her death.
She charges Alex and he kills her without further hesitation. Yorihime curses him, but as Alex points out she could have stopped him at any time...But her pride prevented her from making the right choice.
Yorihime can no longer take being insulted by someone who relishes in destruction like this. Casting aside her pride, she calls upon the power of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, the god of shadows.
This otherworldly power will allow her to cleave through Alex's remaining Soul Shields in one final duel to the death.
But having gone through the long battle beforehand, she no longer has the strength to finish the job and Alex stabs her through the heart.
Yet in her last moments, Alex hopes that she'll reincarnate with her sister, respecting her will to fight. He can't help but say, however, that she was only the beginning for him...And nothing more.
With the battle at an end, Alex crawls through the dried blood and ash at his feet to find Hecatia and Junko. While he had been busy, Junko got her revenge...The body of Chang'e laid strewn on the ground, purified of its immortality.
Junko's body, now wreathed in warmth, smiles as she looks upon Alex with tearful eyes.
She vanishes from this world, unable to sustain her existence now that her vengeance had been fulfilled.
Alex feels cold, and wonders if he'll be able to smile at the end of his vengeful road...
Hecatia has no answers, but does have questions...Particularly regarding Alex bringing the Fairies here in the first place.
She suspects there's another purpose to it, which Alex confirms through his silence.
Hecatia will bring them back to Gensokyo later...assuming there's a Gensokyo to return to.
Alex silently draws out the Gaia Temporis and heads for Gensokyo, leaving Hecatia to lean back on this ashen battlefield.
She wonders if she should've said something else, but realizes that Yukari's managed to put even HER in a tough position...
Meanwhile Alex returns to Gensokyo silently with a mission...Evading the watchful gaze of one Komachi, he approaches Shikieiki once more in the Ministry, passing through the line of Lunarian souls he delivered here with his own hands.
Shikieiki questions his return and Alex promptly tries to apologize for the scuffle they had before. Shikieiki is not one to bear a grudge, fortunately.
Alex wants her to look at him again with her mirror to see the truth behind Yukari. Shikieiki does so, and finally, believes his accusations.
Her determined response is to send Yukari to the deepest pits of Hell when she dies.
Alex...is far from happy with that answer, stating how Yukari needs to be punished NOW.
Shikieiki refuses to go against her line of work, to which Alex finally has enough and calls her out as guilty of her own crimes.
He's tired of her passive attitude allowing Yukari and many others to just KILL and inflict suffering upon others. If anything, she's basically an accomplice to their crimes.
Shikieiki tells him how there are rules that must be followed to keep humanity from becoming monsters, and it is HIS duty in particular to uphold the law.
But Alex retorts how his duty is to stop evil, and he'll do so even if it means disobeying the law, admitting to the extinction of the Lunarians.
Shikieiki calls him deplorable, using thin justifications to validate his murders.
Alex tries to stay calm and tell her he never asked for Yukari to die, simply to seal her away. But if Shikieiki can't even do that much, then its basically an admission of guilt.
Shikieiki plans to punish Alex, however, if he acts upon his feelings now and attacks her. Alex attacks her without hesitation then and there, calling her a damn hypocrite.
Shikieiki enforces the full power her dominion as the Yamaxanadu allows her, weighing Alex down with the guilt of his actions and attacking him with reflections of his violent urges.
Alex, fully determined to make Yukari pay, will not let Shikieiki decide the Hell he'll endure and kills his reflections while slowly advancing towards her.
Breaking her Rod of Remorse and Yama's Mirror, then destroying even her podium itself, Alex shows how unstoppable his resolve is now.
And yet, even putting the Yama at his mercy, Alex looks upon himself and wonders what the hell he's even doing attacking her like this.
He withdraws his sword and relieves her of her duties, intent to carry on as the true judge of Yukari.
Shikieiki says that his only judgment shall be one of execution no matter what. That he's a horrible monster, a 'Blank' that can only poison wherever he touches.
No matter what he does, he'll NEVER be happy. Because he's not a person, he's simply a tool.
One moment of blind rage later, Alex is horrified to find Shikieiki has been decapitated by him. He screams at himself for losing control, and letting ultimately an innocent life be taken by his hands.
But then his emotions start to grow cold, and he carries Shikieiki's head out of here, sealing the way behind so Komachi cannot pursue.
The moon bleeds red, and Alex throws Shikieiki's head before Reimu and some of the others gathered at the Hakurei Shrine.
From nowhere that can be seen, Alex declares his intent to end Yukari, using Shikieiki's decapitation as proof of what can happen to those who side with the phantasm.
He gives them an hour to choose their sides, hoping under his breath that only Yukari will have to die from here on out...
His first destination, upon the hour's passing, is Eientei, to try and get Eirin's help. She suspected as much, and calls it a wise move on his part to go after the smartest person in Gensokyo.
But she wonders just what his plan is. Alex presumes he'll be able to seal Yukari away for good, since there cannot be two of her in one timeline.
Yet Eirin labels the flaws in the plan with precise deduction before attacking the reasoning behind Alex's plans at the moment. She knows he's desperate.
Alex thinks she's been blackmailed into picking Yukari's side. That's not the case AT ALL. Rather, there's a feeling Eirin is experiencing at this very moment.
Comparing Alex to Yukari, Eirin remarks how the Phantasm once taught her to fear like a human when she invaded the Lunar Capital.
And now, by culling the lives of those she once considered family, Alex has allowed Eirin to feel another human emotion...anger.
Her murderous intent flares up and Alex prepares to defend himself, only to be kicked in the face by Mokou and dragged out of the mansion.
Her and Kaguya attack him together, allied to prevent him from ruining Gensokyo, as Eirin believes they are the best bet of doing so due to their immortality.
Eirin busts out the Anti-Genesis Theorem on her arrows and begins firing them with deadly precision into Alex's body, wanting his pain to be drawn out just as he did the same to her people.
Kaguya's powers cause the arrows to be trapped in an eternal moment, keeping Alex from pulling them out until he can touch the Gaia Temporis.
He goes into Phoenix Form so at the very least, he can easily beat up Mokou and Kaguya, though he still suffers from the sting of Eirin's arrows.
Eventually Alex manages to drag them both into the Bamboo Forest and, with some quick thinking with his elements, manages to hold Mokou down at the least.
Suddenly Reisen jumps into the fray, using her insanity inflicting eyes to throw Alex off while piercing him with bullets.
She then frees Mokou and alongside Kaguya, the three of them hold Alex in place while Eirin continues to pierce him with her arrows.
But Reisen pushes the matter too far, causing Alex to sink so far into insanity that he literally explodes upon the Bamboo Forest. Kaguya and Mokou try to grab Reisen and escape, but the rabbit's lower half gets incinerated by the fire and she promptly perishes in Kaguya's arms.
Alex crawls out of the inferno, his body slowly pulling itself together by dragging the energy from the elements around him.
Eirin still holds confidence in her victory, as the three of them are immortal but he, despite his claims, is not.
However, Alex shakes her by revealing that Chang'e is dead, meaning the means that make them immortal is not as foolproof as she claims them to be.
Alex believes that the reason for this is that Eirin's Hourai Elixir cannot work on things its master never understood, and with that theory in mind, he pulls out his Blazing Overlord Fist and runs it through all three of their chests.
Their eyes become hollowed out and it seems as though killing their souls killed their will to life...But Alex can't take any risks. He encases them in steel and diamond so that even if they revive, they'll have no escape.
He pulls his head back and mutters the number of people he's killed so far that didn't need to die...Seven lives, their blood being a sin that him and Yukari shall share together in Hell.
Meanwhile, Miko and Byakuren have gathered their groups outside the Myouren Temple to talk about the current affairs. Miko is as calm as ever, though wonders if even she's being true to herself anymore.
Its not long before Alex arrives with the intent to determine their sides. Miko approaches him alone, answering only for herself, and requesting that the others be ignored.
Alex agrees, and the two depart to her realm of Senkai so that there'd be no risk of interference from the antsy Futo.
In Senkai, Alex and Miko briefly talk as though they are old friends, but the conversation quickly turns grim upon Miko unveiling an obscured truth...Mamizou is dead.
Alex knows who to blame, and Miko agrees though not fully. She may not advocate what Yukari has done for Gensokyo, but its hard to deny that the Phantasm's actions come from a genuine sense of love for the land...Much as how Alex's revenge is driven by a genuine love for Shina.
Alex freezes stiff as Miko pieces together that something is deadly wrong if Alex is here but not Shina.
Alex has no confident answers, and Miko read him like an open book. His thoughts, his feelings, they are all laid bare before her.
Alex cannot bring himself to return to Shina when he's supposed to be dead.
Miko has another theory as to why he doesn't return...He cannot bring himself to confront the possibility of fatherhood.
Miko warns him that while there are those who despise Yukari, many more would rather rally to save Gensokyo than turn against her.
Alex finally asks what side she's on, upon which Miko declares herself on the side of the people of Gensokyo and draws her sword.
Alex, with gritted teeth, draws his sword to fight her, begging her not to follow her heart just this once.
But Miko does not care if she perishes, so long as her death can be a dazzling ray of hope to those still fighting...That's all that matters now.
They duel only with their blades and spirits in this quiet realm, the Crown Prince proving to be a surprisingly tough and resilient opponent.
Midway through their duel Miko demands they take their battle more seriously, even if by all means, she could win just the way they are.
Alex respects her warrior's spirit, however, and goes into Phoenix Form while Miko powers her blade with her dark taoist arts to be able to cut through his Soul Shields.
Remarking on her having less pride than a Lunarian, Alex continues his fierce duel with Miko once more.
Miko fights not just with her own strength, but the hope and desires of all mankind. Even with all that at her beck and call, she is disarmed, and quietly she accepts his blade through her chest.
Alex is angry that she wasted this determination on him. But this wasn't about determination for Miko. It was about love, the love she had aplenty for humanity.
In one last act of defiance, she sets her realm through an accelerated process of entropy that would surely trap Alex in oblivion or reduce him to ash.
As her body crumbles away, Alex is pissed that he will live through this. Ultimately declaring Miko the victor in the aftermath he presses onward, using the Gaia Temporis to return to the Myouren Temple...
There's no avoiding the truth. Everyone gathered there knows that if he survived, Miko is dead.
But he's done shedding innocent blood for nothing. He tries to tell them the honest truth of what happened in hopes that they'll accept Miko's final fate.
He plans to leave right away afterwards, but Futo refuses to let him get away with what he's done.
She flings a plate at the back of his head to get him to listen to her cry out in pain over the loss of her Crown Prince.
She's equally angry at her allies for having the sheer audacity to DEFEND her from attacking Alex. Futo keeps flinging plates at Alex, trying to show just how much she cared for Miko.
Her determination pulls the rest of her allies to their senses and they start demanding repentance from Alex, saying he can't just turn tail and run after what he's done.
Alex begs them to reconsider, but at this point they only see Alex as a murderer. Alex tanks through their angered attacks and holds his ground, prepared to fight back should they continue this for any longer.
When the cloud spirit Unzan tries to punch him, Alex draws first blood by absorbing him completely into his body, beginning to count up the amount of lives he's ending that didn't need to die.
With Nue's help to create the illusion of water, Murasa uses her power to try and drown Alex, only to die next being impaled from underneath.
He then impales Nue through the chest and forces Kyouko's wails back upon her lungs.
He doesn't waste any further time wiping the rest out with a wave of sheer power, his body in incredible heartache from seeing them lose the spark of life.
All the remains is Byakuren, who pleads with Alex for some semblance of understanding as to why he's doing all this.
Its not because he likes to kill, but because he had wanted to just gather allies so that Yukari would stand no chance. It would've pained Yukari so much to see the people in the land she loved turn against her.
Byakuren activates her Superhuman strength and attacks Alex head-on, but can't break his shields. He shoves her away and calls her a fool.
Then, suddenly, a mysterious unidentifiable object is wedged into his shield, causing it to go on the fritz. With one last breath, Nue defies Alex and tries to provide Byakuren a chance to end this.
Byakuren, with tears radiating with anger and blood, pushes her body beyond its limits, becoming a glowing effigy of rainbow flames not unlike that of Alex's Blazing Overlord Fist.
She then blitzes Alex faster than he can blink, wailing on him through his Soul Shields for a solid few minutes. Alex tries to muster a response but her speed is just too much for him to handle.
She eventually manages to pin him to the ground as a bloody heap, with her fist set to deliver the decisive blow.
But pushed to the very brink of her life, Byakuren cannot bring herself to betray the one oath she holds dearest as a Buddhist...To take another life.
Thus Alex survives only because of her moral integrity trumped his. Her power runs dry, and she collapses as little more than a withered old lady.
Alex stands and starts to laugh, finding his continued survival a farce. But its too late to back down now...He has to keep going, keep trying, until Yukari is finished...
Meanwhile the likes of Reimu, Marisa, Alice Margatroid, Suika Ibuki, Patchouli and Sukuna have gathered at the Hakurei Shrine.
The magicians three plan to pool their power into Sukuna's Magic Mallet in hopes that its wish-granting powers will be able to put an end to Alex's rampage.
Yet, for reasons unknown, the wording of Sukuna's wish upon the mallet causes Reimu to perish on the porch of her shrine...
Suika suspected such a thing would happen, as it means there really is no miracle that's going to save them now.
Thus she prepares to go to war, with Marisa left to mourn alone, and the barrier of Gensokyo beginning to crack around them...
Alex's next destination is Youkai Mountain, where an army has gathered. Denizens of the Underground, the Tengu and the Kappa number the rank and file soldiers, including Aya, Hatate, Momiji, and Nitori. At the very top lie Kanako, Suwako, Sanae, Satori, Utsuho, Rin, and the leader of the Tengu, Tenma.
Kanako leads the charge, having been tricked into believing that Yukari's demise would mean the end of Gensokyo.
At this point Alex has barely any patience to talk to those who have been so easily deceived. Given no choice but to defend himself, he charges at the combined army on a warpath towards Kanako.
The front line is tasked with keeping Alex from transforming, throwing daggers tipped with concentrated illness borne of the underground Youkai Yamame.
Alex gets deathly ill and causes his ability to fight back to lessen over time until he can sweat the illness out of his body. But then comes exhaustion from dehydration, and the excess onslaught of Tengu makes it difficult for him to pull water out to heal himself.
Once he quenches his thirst he cuts through most of the Tengu and leads a one man charge towards Kanako.
Kanako realizes its coming time for a fatal confrontation and turns to Sanae, hoping she's prepared for what's to come next.
Satori has the Underground forces retreat while the Tengu do the same on their own. Tenma is angered and draws her sword Muramasa, which feasts upon the fallen so far so she may strike Alex down in one blow.
But Alex delivers that fate upon her instead.
This did give Sanae enough time to channel Kanako and Suwako's powers completely into her body, allowing her to match Alex even when he goes into Phoenix Form.
Meanwhile Nitori and her fellow Kappa are arming a machine powered by the Anti-Genesis Theorem so they can trap and neutralize Alex completely.
Satori sticks back and uses her mind reading to help Sanae along, and with her two goddess' powers she's able to actually force Alex on the defensive for a while.
After narrowly evading a shot from the Anti-Genesis Theorem powered cannons, Alex tries to attack Nitori only for Utsuho and Rin to join the fight to hold him back.
Rin's ability to coerce souls actually allows her to pull back the Soul Shields and give Sanae openings to strike as hard as she can.
But in the sole opening he's allowed, Alex smites one of Nitori's cannons with lightning. The damage is done but the Kappa is confident they can still operate it.
Alex roars, refusing to be caged again like a wild animal.
Everyone notices the barrier around Gensokyo beginning to crack, and wonders if this is Alex's doing.
But Alex knows the truth, and understands now that he has little time to fool around. Yet as he's prepared to attack he's confronted with a surprising intruder...Satori's sister, Koishi Komeiji.
Koishi's unconscious existence makes her oblivious to whatever's going on and ultimately she wants to play with Alex.
He tries to ignore her, which is sort of easy given her power makes that happen, but at the same time she's getting involved in the struggle and its throwing Alex off completely.
Koishi's power over the unconscious mind starts screwing with Alex's perception of reality and he believes that Shina's here.
Then he starts seeing himself, followed by seeing the reflections of those he's slain so far.
Enraged, Alex starts hyper-focusing Koishi while the others are free to strike him as much as they can. Nitori continues her repairs, and hearing them being performed causes him to remember what he needs to do and charges the machine to try and destroy it.
Rin gets in his path and takes the full brunt of his sword, sacrificing her life to give Lady Satori a chance.
Sanae and Utsuho attack Alex in a rage to force him away, with Alex baffled as to why these Youkai keep throwing their lives away for nothing.
Alex then finds himself trapped in Koishi's nightmarish unconsciousness, where she makes Alex relive the moment Shina "killed" him, albeit with less restrain placed in her actions.
This winds up having an adverse effect on his body, freezing him in place as Nitori finishes her machine and prepares to cage him.
However, denying reality and dreams alike, Alex lets out one pained scream and forces his hand upon the Gaia Temporis.
Koishi's attempt to crush his mind is stopped, and in the brief moment of stopped time he's been granted he summons a meteor to crush Koishi and Satori together against the mountain.
He then overloads Utsuho's nuclear flames and throws her into the mountain, blowing up the entire mountain range in one deafening explosion.
All this leaves is Sanae, who curses Alex for what he's done.
Alex finally confronts her with the horrible truth of what Yukari did, and who exactly she hurt to drive him this far.
Sanae's will to fight is shaken by this news, and becomes completely crushed when Alex theorizes that Yukari would rather kill Reimu to bury him in Gensokyo than confess to her guilt.
Alex punctures her through the chest with his chest and finishes her off, realizing there's no point in anyone staying alive now that Gensokyo is perishing.
But he's not allowed a moment's rest as he's immediately ambushed by the Deva Yuugi Hoshiguma, who pounds him into the flattened remains of the mountain, breaking through the remainder of his Soul Shields thanks to her ability.
Suika and another Deva, the Youkai Sage Kasen Ibaraki, then come together with Yuugi and seal their battlefield off with a barrier.
This is their last desperate attempt to stop his rampage while there's still a Gensokyo TO save. Alex, already tired from so many battles in a row, nevertheless laughs at the face of their defiance and swears to tear through them to get to Yukari.
The three Devas together, however, may prove to be his toughest foes yet...
Yuugi provides power, Suika offers her density manipulation, and Kasen brings a variety of sage magic and tricky techniques.
Together Alex can only just barely manage to hold on, clinging to a desperate hope that he can triumph over all obstacles in his path and eventually get to Yukari.
The first to fall in his path is Yuugi, who he defeats by plunging his hand into her chest and summoning his sword through her heart and skull.
But in her final moments Yuugi uses all her strength to piledrive Alex down in hopes of breaking his neck. She doesn't succeed well enough, and with what strength he can muster Alex drains the elemental energy from Yuugi's bones and blood to allow himself to stand.
Barely able to gasp for air, Alex pushes himself forward unwillingly against Kasen and Suika, eventually managing to plunging his hands into Kasen's chest and splitting her in two.
He drains her elemental energy as well and the barrier shatters, with him gaining a ghastly appearance due to all the blood splattered across his broken body.
Thunder and rain accumulate across Gensokyo, as the moon shines down its haunting red light.
Suika, the last survivor, mocks Alex for having come and ruined a good thing. Alex says there's nothing good about this world, built from the dream of a deluded woman like Yukari.
Yet Suika remarks that surely even he must have dreams of his own, and how just because this is Yukari's dream doesn't mean they never enjoyed being a part of it.
Suika takes one last drink for her gourd and charges at Alex with her full might, intending to put an end to this nonsense alone.
Though she tries, by god she tries, Alex is simply inhuman at this point...An unstoppable juggernaut that cannot be put down no matter what she throws at him.
Sensing that this is a losing fight, Suika decides to die at his hand just to make a point. He can kill the individuals of Gensokyo, but he'll never be able to kill what Gensokyo represents.
Bathed in the blood of the fallen, and now having lost count of the bodies in his wake...Alex screams to the sky for Yukari to come out of hiding, but gets no answers.
All he can do now is stare at his reflection in the blood at his feet and recognize that he's become what he's hated the most...He is little more than the Phoenix of Destruction.
...But he has to keep going forward, because otherwise these deaths mean nothing.
Yet now he doesn't really know where his path shall take him. He wanders towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion, because he feels there's nowhere else he can go.
And in his way are those most loyal to Yukari's dream...Yuyuko, Youmu, Ran, and her shikigami Chen.
Ran reveals herself, not Yukari, to be the one who orchestrated Mamizou's death and tricked Kanako into turning against Alex.
And now, having seen Alex broken this much by everyone who betrayed him, Ran intends to mercilessly finish the job herself.
Alex breaks down slowly with laughter, as for the first time since coming back here, he can get some joy out of killing someone and charges straight at Ran.
Alex goes into Phoenix Form and tangles with Ran, whose claws are infused with the Anti-Genesis Theorem to tear through his shields.
Chen and Youmu provide back-up while Yuyuko floats behind, waiting for her chance to inflict Death upon Alex once his shields are down.
Ran lives up to her name of the nine-tailed fox proudly, putting up an even fight with Alex physically while tormenting him emotionally over the lives he's taken.
But Alex pins all the blood onto her hands, yelling at her that the souls she led to their death will get their vengeance in the afterlife.
Yet Ran continues to carve away at Alex's body with ease, eventually breaking his arms and legs so he can not use the Gaia Temporis for a last minute save.
Alex proves resilient to the very end though. Bloodied and battered, he calls the Gaia Temporis into his mouth, nearly breaking his jaw off in the process of stopping time.
He then stabs his sword into Ran's chest so she'll be suspended and take the death blow Yuyuko launches at them.
Alex then uses Ran's corpse as a shield to fly forth and stab Yuyuko to death as well. With those two gone, he would've been content to just leave Youmu and Chen alone.
But they choose defiance, and perish in the blink of an eye.
He continues on in futility towards the Scarlet Devil Mansion, knowing all that awaits him is one last wave of resistance between him and Yukari.
Gensokyo...continues down towards a path of destruction.
As expected, Alex is greeted by Remilia and her crew, aided by the likes of Alice too. Remilia knows she's the last line of defense with Reimu's passing, and plans to let this be a glorious end with Alex's death.
Remilia leads the main charge against Alex while the others safely distract him from a distance. Once the distractions manage to knock enough shields off of Alex's Phoenix Form, all but Remilia retreat further into the mansion.
Remilia keeps battering Alex around for a while before attempting to flee down the halls. Alex pursues, being led into the library where the others have laid traps to bewilder him.
But Alex focuses solely on Remilia, throwing attacks at the others only when it suits his needs. Eventually pinning Remilia to the ground and sealed off her limbs so they can't regenerate, Alex prepares to finish her off when suddenly...
Sakuya activates "The World" and time freezes to a halt. Alex is unaffected, and mocks the maid for even trying to pull this off.
But Sakuya doesn't stop at just one time stop. She layers her time stops atop one another, grinding the flow of time down to the mere unit of Planck time. Alex follows through, but winds up realizing soon enough that while he can continue to freeze time...The reactions of his Soul Shields do not keep pace.
Sakuya, having been many time stops ahead of him this whole exchange, laid a trap of knives for when Alex finally caught up to the atomless void of Planck time.
Sakuya impales him ruthlessly all over, seemingly finishing him off in one clean bloody heap.
But as Sakuya goes to free her mistress, Alex rises from his blood and smashes Sakuya's face into the floor. She had missed both head AND heart, and thus, lost the one chance she had to stop him.
Alex absorbs the elemental energy of her knives to heal, and then prepares to finish off Remilia.
Just then, Flandre wanders into the library, having heard the commotion from the basement. Seeing her sister in such dire straits, the Scarlet Devil snaps and ignores Alex's pleas to have them join forces.
Using her power of destruction, she instantly shatters one of Alex's remaining Soul Shields and then prepares to kill him, losing control of her sanity.
The battle swiftly devolves into a mad banquet of destruction that reduces the mansion to rubble and ash. The two tear themselves apart in a desperate attempt to kill the other.
Flandre turns the tides a little by summoning multiple copies of herself, slowly whittling away at Alex's Soul Shields with her power.
But Alex is more stubborn and more determined to win. With every last fiber of his being, he shoves a spear through Flandre's gut to pin her against Remilia's body.
Then he begins to charge up one final attack to atomize the entire mansion and everyone still present in it. Remilia and Flandre share one last sisterly hug, as Remilia apologizes profusely for her mistakes.
Alex feels no joy or even anything at all as he finishes this place off.
Now, with the last hope for Gensokyo turned to ash, there can be only one destination left...The Hakurei Shrine, where he believes, or at least hopes, that Yukari is waiting for him now that there's nothing left...
The Human Village is flooded by the ones who have survived this terrible day. All of them wonder how much longer they'll last, given the Hakurei Barrier continues to crack...
The likes of Akyuu and Keine worry the most about the death of Reimu, as Marisa is noted as being the sole person not here.
Meanwhile, Tenshi and Kokoro reunite in the village, Kokoro not knowing that her "mother" and "father" Byakuren and Miko are dead...
The two watch as Alex passes by above them, only taking a moment to try and deliver an optimistic message about avenging them.
Tenshi calls bullshit and chooses to be the one person in their ranks to go up and confront him on it.
Alex is just so tired of people being morons at this point and she's the last person who deserves to be calling him out.
Tenshi flips it around though, saying how he wouldn't let anyone call him out for his destructive attitude. She's sick and tired of him already, and plans to be the one to finish him off.
Alex warns her that she'll suffer the fate of the others, dying for nothing, mentioning Byakuren and Miko specifically much to Kokoro's horror.
Tenshi is pissed now and draws her sword to fight him to the death for the sake of Gensokyo, a land even SHE is happy to call home.
Tenshi's blade is capable of cutting through Alex's Soul Shields by nature of it being able to morph to counter the nature of the things it slashes.
But at this point even a Celestial is little more than an ant to Alex, and he treats her properly by crushing her into the dirt amidst the onlooking survivors.
Tenshi takes a moment to taunt Alex for his attitude, pointing out that he's no saint, or symbol of hope like he's pretending to be. He's just a monster, and he's now feared like one.
Alex starts tearing into her face with his fists, nearly breaking her skull before Kokoro intervenes, stopping his punch with a powerful grip.
Kokoro's pissed, and that's exactly what Tenshi was hoping to gain out of this.
The truth that Mamizou had hidden from her story comes to light. Kokoro shoves Alex aside with a powerful burst of emotional energy, which grows to form a giant protecting the Human Village beneath it, and raising many weapons to combat Alex.
At this moment this mere menreiki has the power of the concealed emotion goddess. She is now Kokoro-no-Okami. And with a roar of hope, the last one Gensokyo can afford to shed, she rallies the people beneath her to give her strength to fight the last battle.
The humans and Youkai-kind alike unite their faith and hopes into Kokoro, granting her enough strength to topple Alex with relative ease.
Alex fights on, refusing to die here. But as Kokoro's giant energy construct continues to grow and change, he's unable to keep up with her for much longer.
Ultimately Kokoro drags Alex into her energy form and starts inflicting the pain of everyone he killed through her masks.
She believes he's empty and cannot feel guilt whatsoever. But as the last mask drops, Alex is crying terribly. Kokoro refuses to believe he's being truthful, but Alex's pained gasps show otherwise.
He despises what he'd had to do. He RESPECTED some of those people he killed. But he cannot stop now...If he did, then their deaths WERE truly for nothing.
With one last push of strength, Alex stabs Kokoro while her guard is down, telling her that he doesn't care if he goes to Hell or beyond...As long as Shina can live in peace, that's enough for him.
As he leaves, Kokoro's energy mass collapses upon the village in a fiery heap, taking out all remaining survivors...Except Marisa, whose state of being remains unknown.
Turns out she's stayed at the Hakurei Shrine the entire time, mourning over Reimu's death by remembering their memories as friends/rivals.
When Alex arrives she's not even the least bit scared of him. In fact she's almost apathetic.
Alex learns the truth of what happened to Reimu when he finds Sukuna's corpse on the ground, the poor inchling having committed suicide in shame.
Marisa gets her feelings out then and there, not necessary angry at Alex so much as she as is towards Yukari for thinking nothing of them even now.
But her and Alex should've sorted this out on their own instead of dragging Gensokyo into the mix...Alex is hard-pressed to disagree.
Marisa then perks up and decides she wants to settle all her affairs in this world with one final Spell Card Duel against Alex, as she knows she can't beat him normally.
Alex agrees, and Marisa mentions what'll happen if she wins or loses. If she wins, she wants Alex to take her to the Outside World so maybe, just maybe, she can use her magic to find some way to restore Gensokyo back to the way it was before he arrived.
And if she loses...she wants a quick death.
Alex agrees to those conditions and then prepares to duel her.
Marisa whips out Spell Cards combining Danmaku she used across all manner of Incidents, flashing back to those eras with a tearful respect given towards Reimu in particular for being such a great friend.
Her Last Word is a survival card that fuses all the Danmaku she's taken from other magicians and Youkai...But on top of that, she steals Reimu's Fantasy Heaven, so that Alex cannot touch her.
Its a truly magnificent performance on the Ordinary Magician's part...But Alex survives to the last second, even though he wishes he hadn't.
Marisa doesn't want to hear his humble bullshit and asks he gets it over with, so he does. And with that over, it seems like this is the end of Gensokyo...
But then, the barrier grows silent.
Rising from the ashes like a wraith of snow, Reimu Hakurei returns, garbed in pure white to get in his way for the first and final time.
Without malice in her voice, Reimu speaks to Alex with nothing but mystifying power. She realizes that no one ever stood a chance of defeating Alex with the odds so stacked in his favor...Until now.
She forces the final Spell Card Duel for all of Gensokyo's existence, as her power prevents Alex from actually touching her directly.
Every single one of Reimu's danmaku waves and Spell Cards are survival ones, with her combining the Danmaku of Remilia and Yuyuko, Kaguya and Shikieiki, Kanako and Utsuho, Byakuren and Miko, and then Sukuna and Junko.
Alex has no choice but to endure, and yet endure he does, just like he always shall. Yet Reimu haunts him with a threat of stopping him without killing him, a mistake the others had made up until now.
When Reimu's Spell Card come to an end, there is still one more to be played by another...
For what all the denizens of this land have neglected to realize, is that by the very metaphysical laws that keep this world together...Gensokyo itself, is a living Youkai.
And now the land wants its say in its destruction, summoning forth the mightiest of all Spell Cards..."Eternal Gensokyo".
The dead's spirits are brought back as living Danmaku to shave through Alex's will to fight little by little. Yet still her persists, until he's kneeling at Reimu's feet, still ready to fight.
Reimu grabs hold of him, dropping her power of flight so she can use it on him instead, flying him outside of reality so that he cannot touch anyone, harm anyone, or kill anyone ever again...
...A vain effort, ultimately, as the Gaia Temporis rewinds time a few moments prior, allowing Alex to realize he has an opening to kill Reimu.
When time resumes, Alex stabs her the moment she solidifies. Reimu does not understand how this is possible, and dies hearing Alex cry for justice once more...
And now, with absolutely NOTHING left standing between him and Yukari at the end of this world...The Phantasm finally emerges, taunting him for having to wait so long for her appearance.
Alex is FURIOUS that she'd show up now after so many people died for her damn dream, and begins listing off the name of every person he killed just to make his point clear.
But Yukari does not acknowledge his cries as anything more than deflection from the real issue...That HE killed them all.
Yukari admits to having a hand in what happened with Shina but not Justek's involvement.
Alex demands to know why Shina's had to suffer all this time, and the answer is simple...Because she was the only thing keeping him in check.
In all the times she's watched Gensokyo burn to the ground, it was never ALEX who did, but rather the Phoenix of Destruction he's kept buried inside.
It was all the plan of the "Author" to try and pin the destruction of Gensokyo on possession via a split-personality, thinking it would pardon Alex of any wrong-doings.
But Yukari was having none of that, hence why she had Alex grab the artifact piece back on Mega Man's world, so that events would transpire that'd keep the split personality out of the picture to this point in time.
Freed from the clutches of the "Author", Alex is still a destroyer of worlds. It proves what Yukari's always believed: That given the choice, Alex would destroy in vengeance over restraining himself.
Alex breaks down and admits that she's right, only to try and make HER seem worse off for not even mourning Gensokyo.
And that's when Yukari laughs, saying how it'd be foolish for her to mourn a "Fake" Gensokyo.
All this time Yukari had been manipulating events from the shadows to lure Alex to Gensokyo, as being one of the Four Guardians, she cannot directly confront him.
She could not use the wish to destroy him either...At least not directly. Instead she used said wish to created a duplicate Gensokyo existing concurrent with the real one, of which she'd be the full master over it.
But she hadn't really affected the second Gensokyo until very recently. As it was a mirror of the original, she used the original to spread paranoia and worries over the Phoenix of Destruction years ahead of time.
The moment Alex returned for vengeance, however, she cut the worlds apart so that Alex would drift into the fake one.
To her it doesn't matter though if this world was fake. Alex's intent to kill, and the lack of restraint he showed to every foe in his path was real. All she managed to do was save the real Gensokyo from destruction.
Alex just had to return to Shina to end this. ALL he had to do was prove he had a good soul of his own, free from the reigns of the "Author".
But he chose this, and proved everything Yukari's ever said about him.
Alex doesn't give a shit at this point what she says. She's here NOW and he'll kill her once and for all.
But its too late...Yukari supplants the "Author" as the controller of Alex and forces him to stop moving. Then, she plucks the Gaia Temporis from his pocket and begins conversing with it.
Whoever or whatever resides within the stone is confused, as they claim Yukari's brought this fake Gensokyo back a million years ago to that world.
Yukari's manipulations are unveiled further, as she admits to having controlled things down to the nanosecond so that only one variation of time exists that houses the Phoenix of Destruction. That, she claims with 100 certainty.
This was done in part to stop the Gaia Temporis from jumping Alex and all his other souls to other timelines, which was the point of the experiment she performed in the BlazBlue world.
Now Yukari knows for certain that the only way to stop Alex for good, given all the boons in his possession, is to implicate him a crime so horrifying, that the "higher-ups" will have no choice but to imprison him.
History has already depicted the end of one particularly powerful world at the hands of the "higher-ups"...So all Yukari has to do is have Alex replace them in that moment of time.
And she KNOWS that the Gaia Temporis will go along with her desires, if she wants to save him.
Thus the fake Gensokyo begins to crumble, and through her "Author" powers Yukari guides Alex out towards the place she wishes to destroy.
Wishing she had some other option, she nevertheless moves forward...Towards the Marvel Universe.
…
…
Screams of a universe dying awaken Alex from his slumber.
In a realm devoid of anything, he finds himself chained to nothingness. Unable to break free, and with no answers as to why he's at, or why...He waits.
Soon enough, three beings descend upon him, prepared to deliver a judgment.
They are Yen Sid, Homura Akemi, and the arbiter of this universe and all creation, the infinite dragon of dreams, Futanji Shinryu.
They are the "higher-ups" of this reality.
And with them come the Four Guardians. Yukari needs no introductions, then there is Alvis from the world of the Bionis and Mechonis, and Sans from Undertale.
The fourth, Hades from Kid Icarus, is reported dead by the hands of the hero from his world, Pit, and the one called Riku.
As there is no time to replace him, the "higher-ups" move with their proceedings to put Alex Whiter to trial for the destruction of the Marvel Universe...
Alex, confused, naturally pleads for answers but is silenced, forced only to answer that he's Not Guilty.
An explanation of what the Marvel Universe is/was is handed out to the likes of Sans, who is knew to this Four Guardians business.
Upon hearing the story Alex remembers enough to instantly blame Yukari, only for his mouth to be wiped from existence to keep him silent.
The proceedings continue with a verdict being rendered by some of those gathered here. Futanji, Homura and Yukari choose Guilty. Yen Sid chooses Not Guilty.
Thus Alex's hopes for freedom lie in the likes of Alvis and Sans.
Alvis has to ponder on the verdict for a while, believing that the story has not been fully divulged...And that Alex Whiter may in fact be innocent.
Sans, meanwhile, sees a lot of "EXP" and "LOVE" radiating from Alex. He's about to give his verdict when Alvis interrupts him, intent to sway him to his cause, with respect to Futanji's wishes of course.
First off, he wonders if Sans' eyes can tell if one gains their karma willingly, to which Sans replies "no".
Alvis believes that Alex had been controlled into destroying the Marvel Universe by another, thus explaining the boy's confusion.
Futanji wishes for Alvis to bring relevant points up, lest he null and void his vote.
So Alvis gets back on track, saying how Alex's attitude makes little sense if he was genuinely guilty. His emotions are too pure, untampered. He had little time to prepare any form of denial or lie.
Truly the blood on Alex's hands cannot be denied...But is he ACTUALLY the kind of person who would destroy an entire world for no reason whatsoever?
To discern the true nature of Alex Whiter's character, Alvis wishes to bring out a surprise witness to the stand...The original Elemental Overlord himself.
And to do so, he will use his wish granted to him as one of the Four Guardians, which he had been saving for all this time.
Yukari objects, knowing full well that Sarajin's opinion comes from a biased perspective.
Alvis considered this from the start and shall word his wish to preclude any feelings of bias Sarajin may have towards his successor.
Futanji exercises his power to awaken Sarajin's spirit from within Alex.
In the presence of the "higher-ups", Sarajin's soul suddenly drops his sagely voice and starts acting more laid-back and formal.
He is confused by Alex's presence here, as it was per their agreement that the "higher-ups" not interfere in the affairs of his successors.
But Futanji calls this too grave a matter to ignore, and prompts Sarajin to answer who Alex Whiter is.
Sarajin is thorough, blunt, but ultimately fair to Alex's true character. Though Sarajin never expected him to be his successor, he doesn't have any regrets choosing him. And while there's a possibility Alex could destroy the Marvel Universe, Sarajin doubts he did so willingly.
Yukari's unconcerned though, as even if Sans' vote is swayed, a tie means Futanji will decide the final verdict overall.
Yet she underestimate the power of empathy, as Sarajin's plight manages to convince Futanji to declare Alex Not Guilty.
Without any further hesitation, Alex is set free from this realm, though he leaves glaring bitterly at Yukari.
Everyone sans Alvis and Yukari depart, the two getting close together to have a conversation regarding the trial.
She questions whose side he's on, to which he answers he sides with "possibility".
He divulges how much he knew ahead of time, specifically her decision to recommend Sans into the Four Guardians' ranks.
Yukari notes the convenience of Hades' demise, but Alvis says that was merely that...a coincidence that proved convenient.
She curses him out for letting Alex go free, as even without the "Author" controlling him he's a danger to them all.
Alvis says that he deserves the right to choose his own future even if he was birthed from different circumstances than the rest of them. And he wants Yukari to see that very future.
Which is ultimately why he didn't rat her out to Futanji for her involvement in controlling Alex.
Yukari doesn't intend to stop here. She plans to move on to Plan J, who will deal with Alex in another way.
Alvis knows who she is referring to, but Yukari boasts that this time the "Monado" will not be able to weasel Alex out of his demise.
Alvis tells "Maribel Hearn" to let "Justek Arcavira" know he said "Hello" before the two of them part ways.
Yukari grips her parasol in anger, and returns to Gensokyo for now.
Outside the realm in the depths of space, Alex curses at Sarajin for lying to him all this time.
He's so tired of everything though. And now, more than ever, it feels like nothing he's done ever mattered. He doesn't have Shina. He doesn't have Yukari's head. And he can't even trust the person who gave him his damn powers.
Alex tries to demand answers on how to kill Yukari from Sarajin, but he is reluctant to help him, seeing him as nearing a breaking point mentally.
But he accidentally lets slip the name "Justek Arcavira", which is all Alex needs.
Finally choosing to let his mind slip, Alex embraces his other self as the Phoenix of Destruction, so that "they" can use Justek to do everything possible to bring an end to this wretched life they've endured.
Shackling Sarajin's soul back into his body with his hate, the Phoenix of Destruction then digs his fingernails into the Gaia Temporis so it will obey their every command from now on.
A terrible flame has been unleashed upon the universe. Reborn...has been the Phoenix of Destruction...
PART 4.5 END...
Shina Epilogue:
Not long after Alex "died", Shina prays for the strength to finish her journey. Alone, she travels, to the place where the Cosmos Drive is held.
She's surprised at how ruined the landscape is within the azure sphere. Trying to remain optimistic as she always used to be, Shina eventually finds the slot where the Cosmos Drive can fit into.
However, the artifact then grabs hold of her wrist and forces itself onto her. With a brief drop into unconsciousness, Shina wakes up to find the artifact has transformed into a starry bracelet...the true form of the Cosmos Drive.
She is then greeted by a short figure in a feathery robe, who introduces himself as the Grand Cosmic Aurian Sage.
Having known of her since birth, he was waiting for someone like her to come and claim the Cosmos Drive.
He has great expectations for her ability to control it, and begins to teach her about some of its powers. First off is its ability to observe all worlds.
Shina uses this to try and see what's happened back in Sancturia...And what she sees is horrifying. Gravitus appears triumphant, with the power of the Neo Drive radiating from his body.
Then she sees a black dragon-like figure towering over two who look like Alex, a black hole threatening to consume everything behind them...
She denies these visions and wants to go save her sister before its too late.
But the Sage notes that there is no way of getting back in time. However, that does not preclude the possibility of saving Kairi anyways...
The Sage tells Shina how to use the Cosmos Drive to bring Kairi HERE instead. And she does so, determined to spit in every ambition Gravitus has aspired towards.
Shina is reunited with her little sister at long last, and holds her tight for a long while.
She then vows to the Sage that she'll learn everything she can so that both Justek AND Yukari will pay for what happened to Alex.
The Sage is delighted, but allows Shina the chance to spend time with her sister first.
As the two depart for now, the Sage chuckles...
Underneath his robe lies a primordial bug-like creature, claiming to be the one who shall return the world to the Lost Age of Aurians.
Cursing the "Ten Sages" but thanking the likes of Yukari, Justek, Auris, Gravitus AND Alex for bringing Shina to him, the Sage grins...For he has won.