Chapter 9: The Feast of a Thousand Shadows

Gensokyo is a land of magic, a place to which all the fiercest and most terrifying powers of all the land and all the sky and all the space beyond with time will make their way. Gods and devils, ghosts and witches, each soul marked with the force to shatter worlds is drawn as if by fate to this isolated bubble of chaotic peace. Gensokyo is a bug jar of a kind, a sealed dome keeping all the nightmares that dance beneath the moon locked away and hidden, that the weak and night-blind folk beyond may never gaze upon their terror. The ignorant and unaware live and die, never once suspecting the awesome powers that could end it all and start it all anew were hiding just beyond sight, roaming free beneath the chain-bound stars.

Yes, Gensokyo is, was, has always been a place of unrestrained power, where such strength is found that normal lives are motes of dust. Yet, there is a balance, a fragile order maintained by the strongest, kept stable by the terror of their might. The great powers of Gensokyo lean upon each other's backs, held in check by mutual respect and an unwillingness for total war. It has long been known that unrestrained war between Gensokyo's true powers would be an end to all within the dome, and this threat of mutually assured destruction is a mandate of peace more formidable than any rule of law. This fragile peace required, most of all, balance and a friendly sense of rivalry. If the scales tipped too far in any way a power might feel free to step beyond their boundaries, fearing not the repercussions.

Balance. That all important balance, the one guaranteer of peace and a relative safety. Such a delicate balance cannot adjust to rapid change. The loss of a key figure could be enough to plunge Gensokyo into chaos.

Byakuren. Miko. Kanako and Suwako. Kaguya and Eirin.

Reimu.

The fragile balance of Gensokyo was shattered, shredded, splintered into fragments. The sun set upon the free, chaotic prison, the orange light of dusk soaking through the trees and into the earth, warming the chill of fear and brightening the darkness through the hope of dawn. The moon rose into the sky, cold, impassive, uncaring. Its haughty loveless light washed over earth and sky, shrouding hope in a soulless blanket of frigid purity. The powers of Gensokyo had yet to realise the chaos that already licked at the corners of peace, peeling it aside one twisted heart at a time. One by one they stepped into the forest, blind, idle, cheerful, thinking only of joy and peace.

When such power assembles as a unit, one can feel the very sky tremble, feel the Earth itself bow its head in awe and fear. At the moonlit feast of Chishiki Libre, one thousand shadows of unrivalled power blotted out the moonlight, the darkness in them carrying the keys to absolute calamity.

The universe cowered in terror at the forces arrayed around the humble wooden table. All around the world and in every space beyond, children tossed and turned as dreams of death and hellfire scorched their minds. The trees shuddered, the grass cried, all reality itself stood still in awe.

Chishiki Libre felt no fear. The chiming of a distant clock sounded, imperceptible, its jovial song signalling the beginning of the end. Ten times its peal split the quiet of the night, ten final strokes of resolution. The parchment-pale fingers of Chishiki wrapped around a cup, raising it high into the air. Her melodic voice split the quiet of the night, like the hammer of fate pounding upon the gates to Hell.

"Ladies and gentleman, lords and ladies, most untouchable heights of grandeur, it is my deepest and most heartfelt pleasure to welcome you all to this little get-together. On this most beautiful night, let us all eat and drink together. Let us brighten the dawn of our acquaintance with the joyful clamour of celebration!"

She drained the cup, placing it delicately once more upon the table. With the clattering of chinaware, the guests arrayed around the table each drained their cup in turn. Chishiki stood, her arms thrust wide, her face beaming with delight.

"Now that we have drunk together, shared sake as friends, this I say, with great reverence. Let the festivities begin! Eat! Drink! Laugh! Let this be an evening all of Gensokyo will remember!"

The quiet of the night broke as a host of fairies flocked from the trees, carrying fresh fruits, drinks, flowers, and whatever else a celebration might require. The feast began, in earnest, with great and joy-filled enthusiasm from each terror in attendance.

I am Chishiki Libre

Tome of Knowledge and Desire.

Remilia took a deep sip of tea, looking around at the range of horrors in attendance. It seemed unlikely to her that such a fearsome assembly was so gathered with pure intent. Furthermore, she did not much care for the hostess's grandstanding. On any normal day, she would have blasted the pompous goddess with crimson fury for her puffed-up attitude. Tonight, however, subtlety was the rule. She needed information; it would not do to let any of her foes slip through her net. Before the miserable sun rose once more, all the fools that dared mock her, dared use her like a mere tool, each and every one would learn the error of their ways as their last great lesson. She smiled, taking another sip of tea.

She felt a tapping at her shoulder. It was the youkai, Rumia, floating over her, a teapot cradled in her arms. There was an expression on her face that Remilia could not seem to identify, yet something about it seemed disquieting.

"Excuse me, my lady," asked the youkai, "May I offer you some more tea?"

Remilia nodded, offering her teacup and sniffing. "I suppose, if you can call this tea. Clearly none of your goddess's followers can match my Sakuya."

Rumia gave a bow. "I apologise if the refreshments are not up to my lady's usual preferences."

Alarm bells subtly rang in Remilia's head, as the reason for her discomfort came at last to her mind. She had seen this particular youkai on occasion, and a truly stupid creature she was. Tonight, however, her face and words portrayed an intelligence far beyond the instinct-driven eating machine she remembered. As the youkai turned to leave, she tugged gently on her sleeve.

"Miss… Rumia, was it?"

Rumia paused, then nodded. "Yes, Rumia."

"When did you learn to speak like that?"

Rumia thought for a moment, then gestured to Chishiki. "My lady Chishiki taught me, taught us all. I think she can teach you quite a lot too, if you'll learn from her."

Remilia nodded, making an effort to keep her face level. "Tell me about your lady, miss Rumia. Why is it that you follow her? Why does a goddess attract such a diverse and unusual following?"

Rumia placed the teapot upon the table and grinned. Remilia saw a flash of wickedness buried in that smile, but in a moment it was gone, leaving her to wonder if it had truly been at all.

"Oh, my lady Chishiki? There is only so much to say. She is very wise, and very kind, and she treats us all with equal warmth. If you wish to see for yourself, speak with her, you will see the power of her heart as I have."

With that, Rumia bowed and retreated, leaving Remilia considering the youkai's words. She thought to herself for a moment, before giving a sigh. The cloak-and-dagger skulking was wearing through her patience, she longed to manifest her spear and solve all her problems with force and fury, like any self-respecting youkai should. She gazed around the table, watching the guests carousing jovially, their faces growing pink, their bellies growing full.

Another nudge at her shoulder captured her attention, this time driven with a far greater force. The oni Suika sat to her left, her elbow gently sinking into Remilia's arm.

"Hey, Scarlet!" barked the oni, "There's good sake in front of you and you ain't drinking any! That's just evil!"

Remilia frowned, swivelling in her chair to face the oni. "I don't happen to be in the mood for alcohol right now."

Suika balked, her eyes bulging like she'd been stung. "Not in the mood for alcohol? You also not in the mood for breathing?"

As if to punctuate her statement, Suika drained the sake from her cup, waving it in the air to solicit a refill from whichever nearby fairy might answer her plea. Remilia took another sip of her tea.

"Don't you feel like something isn't right about this?" she asked, her wings twitching.

Suika laughed. "Of course I do! Something's not right with Gensokyo, and there's a good chance this new goddess has a hand in it. That's pretty obvious, don't you think?"

She drained another cup of sake, then reached for the unattended beverage beside Remilia's plate.

"Still, a feast's a feast. What's the point in anything if you can't enjoy a good party?"

Remilia scowled, her fingers drumming a frustrated pattern on the table's surface. "I can't enjoy anything until the fool who tarnished my honour has learned the error of their ways. I will not be made a fool of!"

Suika snorted, shoving a handful of berries into her mouth. She wagged her finger in a chastising manner as she chewed, as though lecturing a very young child about a painfully obvious truth.

"Sulking at a party is an insult to everyone's honour. A feast is meant to be fun, Scarlet. Nothing makes you more of a fool than missing out on fun 'cause you're caught up in your own little ego."

Remilia pouted, her hands clenching into fists, but before she could respond Suika wheeled around and began loudly talking at her other neighbour. Remilia sighed, returning to her observation.

I am the most deceptive truth

I am the truest liar.

Alice nursed her sake, using the helpful width of the cup to obscure her face as much as possible. She did not drink any of the liquid, as she wished to maintain total sobriety, but it would not do her any harm for her to appear inebriated and distracted. She twitched her fingers, checking each of her hidden dolls in turn as if they might have vanished since last she felt them.

"Alice," stated Mokou, her neighbour to her right. "You look better."

Alice tilted her head, the undrunk sake sloshing in her cup. "Yes, I am rather better. Thank you for your help."

Mokou nodded, saying nothing. A few moments passed, before Mokou cleared her throat and leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"You have thought about our conversation?"

Alice's eyes flicked to Chishiki, watching for a moment as she conversed with the kappa Nitori. She took in the calm, motherly expression across the goddess's features, searching for cracks in the mask, any clue that it was her responsible for the nightmare world Alice found herself trapped within.

"Yes," she replied. "I have."

Mokou nodded once more, returning to her plate as though nothing had happened. Alice rose to her feet, wandering around the table until she stood beside Chishiki. She waited, patiently, as the goddess finished speaking to the kappa.

Nitori finished her proposal, returned to her seat, and began to eat her way through a plate stacked high with fresh cucumbers. Chishiki turned to Alice, that same calm smile glued to her face.

"Miss Alice," Chishiki stated. "How wonderful to see you. Are you enjoying my little get-together?"

Alice bowed, an impenetrable smile of her own worming across her features. "Quite so, miss… C?"

"Chishiki."

"Chishiki, yes."

Alice planted herself upon an empty seat, facing the goddess, her eyes drinking in every little detail of her. The foreign writing swirling across her papery skin, the slick, ink-black hair, the knowing brown eyes that seemed so warm at a glance. She felt those eyes scanning her, licking up each crumb of understanding like a starving wolf. The two puppeteers looked deep into each other's eyes.

"So, miss Chishiki," asked Alice, trying very hard to keep her tone casual and conversational. "I'm curious. What are your plans moving forward? What do you wish for Gensokyo?"

Chishiki waved her arm, gesturing at not just the assembly, but all the fairies and youkai bustling around them. "Tell me, miss Alice. What do you see?"

Alice swept her gaze across the table, the guests, the multitude of faces. "I see a group of youkai, and some fairies, too. Also, Mokou, a human. All brought here by your word, for your purpose. That's what has me curious."

Chishiki steepled her fingers. "Indeed. Let me tell you what I see. I see a host of beating hearts, of vibrant, colourful souls. I see a group of faces, each one perfectly unique, each with a story all of their own. I see fear and joy, hope and despair."

She reached out an arm, ruffling the hair of a passing fairy. Her eyes burned with a warmth that seemed so genuine, so real, that Alice found herself wondering if maybe she spoke the truth.

"I owe it to all of them," Chishiki continued. "I owe each perfect, special story the chance to be told, to be admired. I wish for, I crave, I long totally for a world where each soul is safe, happy, brimming with a unified joy. I want to build that better world, where all of us can live in harmony and contentment from now until the final chapter."

Alice seized a cup of tea and took a sip, the china vessel hiding her expression. "It is a shame not all think as you do, then. There are those that would twist such stories, or cut them short, to suit their own goals."

Chishiki nodded sadly. "Indeed. Yet, when such terrors rise, there is all the greater need of hope and harmony. From such violent beginnings are forged bonds of love unbreakable by any hardship. Faith has a power that cruelty may never match."

Alice placed her cup gently onto the table, her face impassive, her body hiding the tension that threatened to break her apart from within. She gave a quiet, mirthless laugh before responding.

"Yet, far too often, faith is placed in a hope undeserving of its power."

Chishiki waved her hand, as if taking hold of Alice's words. "That depends on how you look at it. Faith alone is power, even faith in a futile hope. Is not then such a power the very thing that may lead such hope to bear fruit? If faith brings power regardless, can there truly be a vain hope? Or, is perhaps faith by its own nature self-fulfilling? The little people of the world will always need a hope to carry them through, a power from within to shield them from the terrifying power without. That is what a goddess is, at our core. We are the hope of the desperate, the self-fulfilling prophecy of faith and longing."

Alice gave a nod, taking another sip of tea. "Yet, such a faith by its own nature requires fear. There must be an evil for the hope of good to manifest. There must be terror to bear such a faith."

Chishiki sighed, brushing her hair with a hand. "The nature of the world is one of fear. While strength and weakness live, so too will fear. While any hope exists, so too will despair. Peace cannot last without the rising of selfish desires to shatter it. There will always be faith because there will always be those who make such faith a necessity."

Alice toyed with the strings she alone could see, the simple action soothing the tension threatening to crack her facade. "Is not then the world you desire one without yourself? One where the need of one such as you is no more?"

Chishiki nodded, her eyes dripping with a cold sorrow. "Indeed, that is the irony of it. To build the world I seek, I must work towards my own destruction. Should my work ever find itself complete, I will no longer live to see it. There must always be a price to all things, yet it is one I know I must be willing to pay."

Alice paused, her twitching fingers speeding up their dance. "Whatever the price of your goals, it is one you will pay?"

Again, Chishiki nodded. "If I must, yes. My path is set, chosen, it cannot be undone. To hesitate, to change course, to take half-measures and fall short, such would be an insult to all that has been sacrificed, and all that must be sacrificed further."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "You have already made such sacrifices?"

Chishiki nodded for a third time. "I have."

Alice's fingers danced faster, each tiny motion almost imperceptible as separate from the greater dance. "Do they weigh upon you?"

Chishiki smiled, calmly, and for the first time Alice saw a hint of coldness in those deep brown eyes. For a moment, one smallest fraction of a second, she saw the true depths of Chishiki, through the most insignificant crack in her mask. Her fingers fell still as Chishiki replied.

"To speak truthfully? I do not know."

Alice's heart beat faster, she felt the calm facade starting to melt away from her. She leaned in, her voice low, purposeful, trembling with barely suppressed fury.

"Did you kill Marisa Kirisame?"

Chishiki's gentle, motherly smile grew broader across her face. She raised her hand, her fingers locked, ready.

"Yes. I did."

Chishiki Libre snapped her fingers. The sound echoed across the table, piercing through the celebrations like an arrow, shattering the night. Alice gasped, staggering backwards, the calmness in her split down the middle by the noise. Rainbow energy began to shine from her fingertips.

The darkness of the night came to life. The shadows cast by the assembly opened their eyes, rising, grasping. A chorus of the night sounded through the clearing, singing to the echoes of the Sutra of shadows echoing from up and down and all around. In a flash of motion, every guest of Chishiki Libre was captured in claws of darkness, with the exception of two. Alice Margatroid, and…

"So it was you!" roared Remilia Scarlet, leaping clear of the clutching claws and alighting upon the table before the goddess. "You made a mockery of me! You used me like a throwaway tool!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued. "You made me kill my friend! You made me lose control! You took my peaceful life from me!"

Scarlet light began to shine from the vampire's eyes, first as a glow, then as a beam of shining briliance. Her skin lit with dancing red energy, whirling out from her core into the world. Her wings spread wide, her dress flared outwards. The air burned with power, the cold heat of it searing the life from the wind. The sky reddened, the moonlight filtering down through the trees was stained a bloody red. The trees shook and shuddered with Remilia's fury.

I am the life lived in despair

I am the hope of dawn.

Chishiki rose to her feet, throwing her arms wide. "Lady Remilia. Have you been enjoying my feast?"

Remilia stamped her foot, cleaving the table in half, dusting the air with fragments of wood and china. Her eyes roared with scarlet power. Bloody red light burst from her fist, stretching outwards, solidifying, forming at last into a glowing crimson spear.

"Whatever your wretched plans are, they end here, now, tonight. Your fate was set the moment you dared to dance with a devil."

Chishiki tittered. "You believe I will fight you myself? I have no illusions that I might win against you, lady Remilia. Facing you myself would be suicide."

Remilia laughed. "Is that so? Then why don't you lie down and die like a good dog."

Chishiki grinned. "So proud, so blind. You have been a rather poor sister, have you not?"

Remilia paused, confusion whirling amidst the fury on her face. Her ears pricked up at a familiar voice, her heart sinking deep below her chest. The crimson maelstrom swirling across her skin flickered for a moment.

"Big sister?" asked Flandre Scarlet.

Remilia stared, dumbfounded, as her sister placed herself in front of Chishiki. Shock pulsed through her like an earthquake.

"Flan..." she sputtered, struggling for words. "What… What are you doing here?"

Flandre grinned, her fangs glinting in the scarlet light. Her eyes were strange, unusual, filled with fear and anger, starved of life. Her wings flared wide, each rainbow crystal sparkling.

"I snuck out," declared Flandre. "I was bored."

Remilia clenched her fist. "You should be at home, Flan. Go home."

Flandre stomped her foot, red light flashing in her eyes. The ground shattered as it met her foot, dust spewed high into the air.

"No!" she shouted. "I'm done being caged! I'm going to be free!"

Remilia sighed. "Flandre, this is not the time. We may talk once this treacherous wretch has tasted her punishment. Step aside."

Flandre shook her head. "No. I won't let you hurt her."

Remilia glared, grinding the butt of her spear into the soil. "Flandre, as your older sister, I order you. Step aside."

Flandre's face lit with rage. The crystals on her wings began to glow, red light shone from her eyes. She reached out, grasping at the air before her as it warped and twisted, forming at last into her Lævateinn. The air trembled as the two almighty scarlet auras wrestled in the air between the sisters.

"I'm done following your orders!" roared Flandre. "I'm done rotting away while everyone pretends I don't even exist! From now on, I'm free!"

Remilia squinted her eyes, the raw fury pounding in her chest screaming at her to rip and tear and break and bend until the world was ash and dust. She met Chishiki's lifeless eyes, like two endless voids, sucking in her anger and gaining no mass.

"You turned my sister against me?" breathed Remilia, her voice fluttering with hatred. "You twisted her mind with your poisonous words?"

She locked eyes with Flandre once more. "Sister. I am not playing around. I am deadly serious. I will kill that insect."

Flandre met her gaze, equal fury of her own mirrored in her eyes. "Neither am I, sister. I am serious as well. You won't take one more step towards miss Chishiki."

The twin red auras flared, burning brighter, toasting the air. The two vampires rose upwards, their wings beating in unison. Silence lay upon the clearing, deafening.

Remilia's wings thrust downwards, her body speeding towards the goddess.

A sound like the sky shattering tore through the clearing. The forest came alive as trees splintered at the shock. In the village, humans woke with a start, the cacophonous noise rending the quiet of the night. Eyes all over Gensokyo looked to the forest.

Remilia Scarlet flew through the air, knocking trees aside like skittles. When at last she came to a halt, she was the merest crimson speck adorning the horizon. Vampiric blood soaked the clearing, the earth bore a scar as the rushing wind had torn it aside.

Flandre Scarlet stared at the blood splattered across her Lævateinn. She sank to the ground, shocked.

"What have I done?" she muttered, running her fingers across the charred black metal.

Chishiki placed a gentle hand upon the vampire's shoulder. Her face was warm, understanding, her voice laced with honey.

"What you had to, my child. She will not listen, she will not let you go. Sometimes you must fight, with everything you have."

Flandre looked at her hands, sticky with red life. "Even my own sister?"

Chishiki nodded. "Especially your own sister. You must prove yourself to her, prove your strength, your will! Show her your spirit to be free! Make her see the suffering wrought by five centuries of isolation!"

Flandre paused. "What… What if I break her too?"

Chishiki shook her head. "Do you really think so little of your sister?"

Flandre nodded, once more rising upwards, into the air.

There was quiet in the clearing, for a time, as the guests writhed in silent agony. Quiet, shattered by the flashing of rainbow light.

One thousand tiny palms raised, taking careful aim. One thousand bursts of multicoloured power struck at once, in perfect harmony.

Chishiki flew backwards, a burst of flaming paper fluttering from her as the prismatic magic struck her throat. Page upon page of knowledge sprung all at once from the goddess, within seconds crumbling to ash. She slammed into a yet unbroken tree, sending cracks dancing across its trunk and knocking innumerable leaves from its branches.

The miniature army of Alice Margatroid marched into the clearing, the puppeteer herself in the lead. Her face was a cold fury, unmatched by any heated rage. A wrath was in her, great and terrible, a longing to hurt and break devoid of any warmth or soul.

"Chishiki Libre," she stated, her voice wavering, trembling, shuddering with hatred. "You took everything from me. I swear on the memory of all my loss, I will take as much from you."

Chishiki bowed. "You honour me, seven-coloured puppeteer. Love, hate, both are desperation of the soul. Worship my destruction, then. Feed my rise through hate and vengeance."

Alice flicked her wrists, strings dancing, wood groaning, hate burning in her eyes. A thousand tiny soldiers charged, glowing with furious, manic energy.

Chishiki rose to her feet, and for the first time Alice noticed that which rested under them. Upon her right foot she wore a normal Japanese sandal, but below the left lay strung…

"That's Marisa's..." breathed Alice.

Chishiki burst into the sky, propelled by a jet of light, the mini-Hakkero pouring forth energy like a rocket. She smiled, gesturing towards the wooden soldiers.

"Freeze," she called.

The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks, unmoving. Crystals of ice began to spread across them, crackling like frigid winter.

I am the tale of souls now gone

of souls yet to be born.

Remilia Scarlet lay in a crater, the broken earth around her forming a crescent-shaped hill. Much of her chest lay open, split down the middle like a ripe berry, not even her formidable constitution could endure such a cataclysmic blow. For a time she lay stunned, as the flesh wrapped and wound around her splintered bones, growing like a weed to coat her broken skeleton. She winced in pain as one by one her vertebrae realigned, the muscles in her back once more holding them in place. With trembling limbs, she rose once more to her feet, staring at the path of devastation leading outwards from her into the far distance. When skin once more spread across her torso, she gave a flap of her wings, then one more, shooting into the sky like a bullet.

As she rose above the forest, she saw another scarlet figure rising up to meet her. She grit her teeth; that strike had been no joke. It was clear that her sister was as serious as she was. Once more, the crimson spear burst outwards from her hand, her fingers gripping it with a tightness that would grind stone to powder.

"Flandre!" she called. "I don't want to fight you."

The crimson shape approached, rainbow light twinkling, eyes tinted with desperate fury. Flandre Scarlet grinned a cold smile.

"Of course," she spat. "You want nothing to do with me, you never have. You just wish I'd go away. You wish you were an only child!"

Remilia sighed. "Is that truly what you think, little sister? Am I so heartless in your mind?"

Flandre nodded. "I'm sick of being locked away, forgotten, while the world goes on without me! I'm sick of you and everyone else pretending I don't even exist. Miss Chishiki believes in me, wants to help me! I won't let you hurt her, even if I have to force you to stop!"

There was a brief silence. No birds flew tonight, no fairies flittered. Tonight, the sky was alone, save two scarlet sisters. Remilia laughed.

"So two sisters battle in the light of the scarlet moon. I won't go easy on you, sister, so tonight… Let us play together, and let the world look on in horror."

Flandre grinned. "Five centuries of growing tension, let it burn tonight beneath the scarlet moon."

Bloody energy hummed along the Lævateinn's edges, dripping from the spear Gungnir's tip. The air was burning, bleeding, screaming with the promise of the oncoming storm.

There came a cracking, as sound was torn asunder. The spear departed Remilia's hands, tearing through the sky towards her sister with murderous intent. It punched a hole clean through the vampire's chest, streaking off a bloody trail into the night like a bolt of red lightning.

In a flash of crimson energy, Remilia appeared before her sister, followed shortly after by a Mach cone. Bloody energy ripped from her fist, slamming Flandre with apocalyptic force. She struck the ground like a meteor, blasting a crater deep into the earth, rattling the windows of every house within Gensokyo.

The crater lit with light, and Remilia darted to the side as an arcing wall of bloody energy swept upwards. The burning fury of the Lævateinn swept across the sky like a great wheel of death. Four shapes shot from the ground like guided missiles.

One. Flandre Scarlet shot past her sister, a trail of bloody power in her wake.

Two. Another pass, another strike, tendrils of crimson force shaved the tips of Remilia's hair.

Three. Remilia felt her balance in the air wavering. Her eyes watched in horrified stillness as the course of her sister plotted itself in her mind, placing her squarely in its path. Time slowed to a crawl as Flandre approached.

Four. The two sisters vanished in a streak of red. High above Gensokyo, Flandre Scarlet pinned her sister to the unbreakable barrier encircling their home. As her body struck the immovable wall with the speed of a missile, Remilia felt every bone in her body shatter.

She smiled, a spattering of blood bursting from between her teeth.

"Having fun, are we sister?" she laughed, the shock of speech agonising through broken teeth and bruised lungs.

Flandre smiled wider. "Such incredible fun, sister, such fun indeed."

Her clones grabbed Remilia's limbs, the main form thrusting forwards with the bloodsoaked staff. A scarlet flare lit the sky like a bloodstained sun, licking against the unbreakable wall and splaying outwards in a deluge of liquid death.

Flandre looked around, searching for her sister. Her eyes caught the flittering shape of a bat, transforming once more into her sister's diminutive, nightmarish silhouette.

A sharp pain burst through Flandre's mind as a sweeping arc of bloody light sliced neatly through her doubles, continuing unabated through the night before carving a rift four kilometres long in the ground below. Her sister appeared before her. The sky fell away as the ground rushed up behind her, and for the second time that night Flandre Scarlet landed on the ground with the force of a meteor.

All life and death is set to ink

across my countless pages.

The earth trembled and quivered, trees burst from their grounding and bowed in awe as the vampires duelled in the sky above. The clearing danced to the shock of world-breaking power unleashed and unchained. Lumia grunted, her focus locked onto her victims, not a thought spared for the meaningless toys surrounding her partner. All her concentration poured from her out onto the table and the crucial tools adorning it.

Cirno squeaked in terror as the world shuddered and cried, begging for mercy. Her head spun, the world grew hazy, the wintry power slipped from her fingers. Above her head, Chishiki surveyed the devastation with impassive eyes. The world was ending, yet the two puppeteers had care only for each other.

The frost thawed from the doll's heads, the stillness of winter replaced with the frenzied motion of the quaking earth. Alice's fingers danced, a blur of domination plucking at a thousand hate-filled strings.

"You!" Alice screamed, her voice decaying into a high-pitched screech of hysterical fury. "Even now you use others! You crush my heart and won't even face me yourself?"

Chishiki swept her leg in an arc, bobbing in the air as the burst of energy crashed through Alice's soldiers one by one.

"Is that not hypocrisy?" Chishiki mused, her face still marked by lifeless calm. "Surely you above all else know the truth. The power of the puppet is the puppeteer's own. Loyalty is a power to eclipse mere strength."

Alice grit her teeth, rainbow light surging through her strings and out into the world. "Do not compare my dolls to your minions. I gave life to them myself, their loyalty is earned!"

Paper fluttered through the air as bolt after bolt struck Chishiki, burning holes into her flesh. Ink splattered the clearing, staining the charred grass black as night.

"My loyalty is earned!" Chishiki retorted, ink dribbling from her mouth with each word. "I take the hopeless and give them hope! I give life as you, life bursting with hope and brimming with unshakeable faith!"

Alice ducked as the beam of burning light spun past her head. "Faith founded on lies! Selfish, cold manipulation! You soak the desperate in poisonous honey! Where are your words now!"

A focused beam shot from Alice's army, punctuating her words with a single deadly strike. Chishiki felt herself struck, knocked from the sky like an insect. She crashed into the ground in a burst of rainbow light, as Alice blasted over and over until surely, certainly, her foe lay burning.

All stories told and labours spent

of now and through the ages.

Remilia's eyes stayed calm, confident, her very soul thrumming with a surety of victory, yet beneath it all her mind churned with an unfamiliar fear.

"Can I truly win?" it asked. "You most of all know what she is."

It was true, Remilia Scarlet was perhaps the only living soul who knew the pure destructive power that dwelt within her sister's breast. That awesome power which stirred in her equal measures of wonder and horror was one no rival living or dead could hope to challenge. It was not for reasons of cruelty that Remilia had kept that nightmare locked away, but rather from mercy. She knew the limitless destruction within her sister could raze the very Earth to less than dust in the blinking of an eye, quite literally. It was safer, kinder, to keep such a power calm and contained. Remilia grit her teeth, the enamel cracking with the force of her frustration.

"I must try," she commanded herself. "For sister, for Gensokyo, for the humans I was weak and foolish enough to love."

Once more she threw her spear, the bloody tip piercing through her sister's heart and pinning her to the ground.

"You hear me, sister!" she roared, crimson energy sparking from her hands as she descended. "I will prove to you my authority as youkai have since the first sunset!"

Flandre rose to her feet, tearing the spear from her flesh and biting a chunk from the bloody head. "I hear you, sister. I will prove to you my strength! I will make you set me free!"

The two vampires clashed together once more in the air, reverberations from their impact spreading out across Gensokyo. Kappa woke from their bunks as their seismic equipment squawked in terror. Up and down and all within the Great Hakurei Barrier was twitching with shock and power.

Now give to me the ink-stained pen

and let me write the world.

Alice raised a hand, the rainbow barrage drawing to a close at her command. She panted, staring at the smoke and dust masking her enemy's remains. Her breathing ragged, her brow soaked with sweat, she waited for the clouds to part and show her proof of final vengeance.

A pale, white light began to shine through the billowing smoke. Alice jolted to attention, gazing into the swirling mist of burning debris, searching keenly for the light's source. The light flared, the smoke peeled aside, and a barrage of frigid energy shot outwards. Alice twitched her fingers, a wall of dolls leaping between her body and the light. She felt them shatter and break, the light cleaving outwards with perfect aim. Her forces were dismantled with a deadly precision.

Alice's eyes widened; she recognised the energy. She felt its nature as it pierced her dolls, the nature of her own. The pure white light was her magic, bleached of life and fury, returned along its path of origin as neatly as it had emerged. She felt an icy chill numbing the corners of her soul, the dreary bleakness of an endless winter.

Her eyes scoured the hated goddess. Her flesh was burned and battered, ink bled from her in torrents, but still she rose once more to her feet as though entirely unharmed. Her eyes betrayed no trace of pain or fear, merely the same abyssal void of life. Alice shuddered, the inhumanity of Chishiki eclipsing any youkai she had known. Youkai too felt pain, fear, anger, the same as any human. This was an altogether different foe. Alice knew her power totally eclipsed the goddess's own, yet the soulless calm seized her heart. No creature should be this at ease, not with injuries that would bleed a human white in minutes.

Her eyes flicked downwards, noticing the little figure standing at Chishiki's front. The fairy Cirno stood, her palm raised, her cheeks flushed as if racked with fever. Sweat ran down her cheeks and dribbled from her fingertips. Her face was scared, confused, nauseated, yet marked with a resolution altogether unusual in any fairy.

Chishiki's battered fingers ran along Cirno's hair, staining it with ink and mud. She smiled, the action widening a multitude of cuts and soaking her face with yet more ink.

"A truly perfect freeze," she croaked, her voice rasping and choked. "Sister Cirno, beloved Cirno, my saviour without a doubt."

Cirno gave a weak laugh. "I am the strongest, lady Chishiki. You did know that, surely."

Alice tugged at her fingers, searching for intact dolls. She felt a cold fear gripping her as only twelve responded to her call. She stared the goddess in the eyes, and stopped. Her heart settled.

She saw life in Chishiki's eyes. It was the merest whisper, but she watched it as it fought for dominance. Fear, perhaps? Pain?

Alice suppressed the urge to smile. There was an end to that lifeless abyss! Chishiki too felt pain and fear! If she could feel, her feelings could control her!

The dollmaker took a deep breath, calming her nerves. The winner of this battle would be the one that kept their cool. She ordered her dolls to stay silent, still. A deep sigh escaped from her, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Why?" she gasped, sinking to her knees. "Even now, even after all you've done, how do you command such loyalty?"

She looked Cirno in her eyes, drinking in the confusion, the suffering. "Why, fairy? Why do you place yourself between us? Why do you give so much of yourself for her? Can't you see that she is evil?"

Cirno scratched her head, confused. "I dunno what you mean. Lady Chishiki wants my better future and for me to be as good like I'm supposed to reach. All that cool stuff. I don't want her to die!"

Alice moaned. "Can't you see she's using you? She doesn't care about you! She doesn't care about anyone!"

Chishiki clutched the fairy, an imperceptible wince crossing her face at the action. Her fingers continued to stroke Cirno's hair. She leaned in, her tone lowering to a gentle whisper.

"Do not listen to the poor, confused child," Chishiki soothed. "She is lost, blinded, crushed beneath this world. You and I, we can help show her the truth."

Cirno nodded. "Yeah, miss youkai, things can be pretty scary when you start learning, but you can trust lady Chishiki! I'm sure she'll forgive you for picking on her, so let's be friends okay?"

Alice frowned. "Why do you trust her so much?"

Cirno smiled, though Alice could see uncertainty and dusty, ill-tended confusion in that smile. "Lady Chishiki wants what's best for me! She knows what to do, so I can be what I need to!"

"Who says you need to be anything?" Alice retorted. "How do you know what she wants? What has she done for you to prove her claims?"

Cirno again scratched her head, but Chishiki answered in her stead. "I showed her the true potential of her heart. I lead her to the power that was hers by right. I gave her knowledge!"

Alice rose to her feet, her voice growing stronger, fiercer. "Are you happier now, fairy? Have the blessings of Chishiki set your soul at ease?"

Cirno stared, grinding her teeth, looking to and fro in painful contemplation.

"Y… Yes?" she lied, though her face told the truth.

"No you aren't!" roared Alice. "You're miserable, uncertain, lost! That's why you trust her, a vain hope that she can take that doubt and fear from you! You need to ask yourself, what do you want!"

Chishiki calmly drummed her fingers on Cirno's shoulder. "She wants to be the strongest. She always has."

Cirno nodded miserably. "Yeah. The strongest, the best, the fiercest and bravest in Gensokyo! A person like that'd have everything all worked out and never be scared or lonely. If I get stronger, it'll feel better. It just hurts now 'cuz I'm not there yet!"

"Is that really what you want?" Alice screamed, tears pouring from her eyes, her fists clenched tightly. "Is power all that matters? You think if you get stronger, learn better magic, work harder, if you can just beat her you'll be happy? It isn't her strength that puts her over you! Her carefree spirit is something you'll never manage until you stop trying to challenge it and just be happy with her! Cherish her! You'll never know when she'll disappear forever!"

Her eyes shot open as the world began to reel. For a moment, Alice forgot where she was. Her feet fell out from under her, the trees spinning as she crumpled to the ground. Chishiki's grip weakened on Cirno's shoulder for a second. The fairy looked up, and saw darkness flash in the goddess's eyes. Her body, though gripped by sweltering heat, grew cold.

A fluttering of feathers sounded through the clearing, and Alice felt a gentle hand placed upon her shoulder. A beautiful singing reached her ears, her thoughts felt cloudy. She began to bawl like an infant.

"Marisaaaaa..." she moaned, "Marisa! Why did you leave me?"

The hand on her shoulder grew tighter. Words drifted into her ears, the voice uncertain, unfamiliar.

"Why'dya think I'd leave ya?" said the voice, its tone cheerful and upbeat.

Alice opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

"Marisa?" she quavered, trembling all over. "Marisa? Where are you? I can't see!"

The voice laughed, its tone becoming more and more familiar. "Yeah, no surprise you can't see, you're still asleep, ze!"

Alice looked around, feeling at the grass. "Asleep?"

The voice laughed. "Of course! You've been sleeping for ages, having such awful dreams! It's long past time you woke on up, da ze! Come on!"

Alice looked around blindly. "Marisa! I can't see you! How do I wake up?"

The voice laughed again, the hand slapping her on the back hard enough to sting. "Yeah, 'course you can't see me with those dreamin' eyes! Gotta take 'em out first, ze!"

Alice nodded. "Yes… Yes, of course, Marisa! I'll wake up!"

As Cirno watched in horror, Alice clawed at her eyes. Shred by bloody shred they tore away beneath her fingernails. She scratched and clawed until her eyes were gone and there was nothing left but bloody holes. She smiled, a deep, satisfied smile.

"I see you, Marisa!"

"Of course ya do! Come on, let's wake up together, shall we?"

Alice nodded, a look of serenity covering her face. The tension drained from her body with the motion.

"Yes, Marisa. It's time to wake up."

Alice Margatroid smiled, rising to her feet, grasping at Chishiki's hand. The goddess turned to Cirno, the motherly tone quickly affixing itself to her face. She smiled, a warm and loving smile.

Cirno fled into the forest.

The truth's a rose with poisoned thorns

of treacheries unfurled.

Remilia struck the ground once more, the earth splintering beneath her as it plucked her from the sky. As she tore through the dirt, sunflowers shredded and pulped beneath her. Fairies scattered, terrified, the unfortunate among them ground to sludge by her speeding body. She at last came to a halt, covered by dirt and shredded plant fibres. Her muscles were shaking. She mopped at her brow, and felt shock as her hand came away soaked with sweat.

It had been centuries since Remilia Scarlet had last been truly exhausted. She had forgotten what it felt like, how the heavy, brittle feeling of a tiring body weighed her down. Then again, it had been centuries since last she had truly fought. The powers of a vampire are not without a magical toll. The constant forced regeneration, the scarlet energy she had unleashed, it had eaten deep into her reserves. She looked up at Flandre, her vampire's eyesight clearly distinguishing her as she flew three kilometres higher. Not a bead of sweat lay upon her sister's face.

"I am losing," thought Remilia, her blood running cold. "Is this how Reimu felt? Is this how all prey feels? This pounding terror?"

She shook her head, screaming into the night. "No! I'm not spent yet! Sister, I will fight for you!"

She slammed her hands into the ground, crimson light spreading out around her, carving runes into the shredded earth. The circle came alive, as ten thousand glowing devil bats burst outwards.

"Go!" called Remilia. "Seize her! Smite her! Do not touch her head!"

The bats converged on Flandre, circling around her, attacking from all angles. Flandre laughed, a great bellow of mirth tinted with a maddened rage. Red light shot from her, a spray of bloody missiles arcing through the sky. A fireworks display all in red dazzled the night.

Remilia once more dove upwards, leaping into the sky, her face contorted with pain and exhaustion. Once more the spear Gungnir appeared within her grasp.

Flandre readied to strike with her Lævateinn, then paused. Her face grew thoughtful.

"Sister," she noted, "You are looking weak. Why are you still fighting?"

Remilia coughed, then glowered, trying very hard to keep the pain from reaching her expression. "I won't give you up, sister, not while there's anything left of me! I'll give you everything I have!"

Flandre giggled, giving a small bow in the air. "If that's the case, I'll gratefully take it all! Take my love in turn!"

"I will prove my love through strength!" shouted Remilia as she struck.

"I will prove my resolve through strength!" shouted Flandre as she struck.

The two vampires clashed one more time. The spear sunk into Flandre's stomach, yet she did not flinch. The tip of her Lævateinn slammed into Remilia's chest, the barb on its tip locking into place below her ribs.

"Take my love and let me free!" screamed Flandre, the scarlet light burning in her eyes. She began to spin, around and around, dragging Remilia by her own skeleton. Around and around Remilia swirled, the world condensing into a whirling maelstrom of blue, yellow, and green.

Flandre flicked her wrist, the Lævateinn shining with power. Every flower upon the hill burst at once into flames, every living being within earshot was deafened in an instant. The barb came free of Remilia's bones, and in an almighty blast of destructive power she flew into the distance.

Remilia flew and flew, faster than she could ever hope to fly unaided. The little of her brain still conscious wondered if even the Tengu could match her for speed. From the sunflower garden and the burning hill she shot, travelling so fast that details were lost to her. She smashed through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost like a bowling ball, its countless bamboo shoots doing little to slow her path. She sped across the plains, cleaving a path through the human village, her body demolishing homes with an efficiency no wrecking ball could match. Again and again she slammed into the ground, skipping like a stone, her sheer speed carrying her once more into the air. Over the ruins of her home, through the youkai forest she flew, knocking trees aside, spinning like a top.

Remilia Scarlet hit the Youkai Mountain, her momentum carrying her deep into the rockface. The mountain shuddered, crumbled, shedding earth and stone like winter snow. From her freshly-carved crevice Remilia could see clear across Gensokyo, the Earth's own curvature blocking sight of her sister. Colours danced before her eyes. She felt no pain; her body was not so intact as to allow for sensation at all. Dazed, stunned, dazzled, she felt the world slipping away. The darkness of the mountain's heart laughed, mocking her.

Remilia tried to speak, but found her jaw in no condition to move. The darkness laughed again.

"I know of what you think, little girl. I took your sister, twisted her, broke her, yes? I made her fight you."

The darkness laughed once more, a cruel, malicious laughter. "I cannot make anyone do anything they don't already wish to. You've no-one to blame but yourself, but not to worry. When you wake, your life will be a distant memory. I know you will be happier as the smiling, thoughtless puppet of Lumia and Chishiki."

Remilia tried to curse the darkness, to make some final gesture of defiance, but her traitorous wreck of a body refused her demands. She would have cried, if there was strength in her to muster tears.

The shadow's words echoed through her mind. "I cannot make anyone do anything they don't already wish to." She thought of her sister. Her sweet, terrifying sister. Had she really wanted to fight, to strike her down? Had she been so desperate for liberation?

A thought crossed her mind. Her sister's power, the eye of destruction. She had not used it, though it would have won the fight in seconds. Remilia felt a calmness washing over her mind.

"She refused to truly hurt me," she thought. "She truly is still there. There is still hope."

The void crept in from the corners of the world, soaking her reality in soothing dark.

"Sakuya," she thought, "Save me!"

Remilia Scarlet drifted at last into unconsciousness.

I chose my path that moonlit night

There is no other way.

"My children!" called Chishiki, her voice dripping with sweetness. "My dear, beloved children! Oh, how I have waited for you all! Hear me now! Forget the troubles of the world! Unchain the cravings buried deep below your flesh! Lay bare your souls before me! I shall bring each of you salvation, give each among you hope!"

The forest was burning, the trees flattened. The remains of Chishiki's feast were splinters and dust. The sky was lit by a bloodstained scarlet moon. To the guests, the Children of Chishiki Libre, all was well that night. The gentle music drifting through the air assured them of their safety. Piece by piece, each soul was washed clean of pride, of rage, unchained from the shackles of individuality. The darkness of desire bubbled to the surface as the light of life calmly stepped aside and slept.

Each awesome power before her had a craving, a need, a demon to control them. To Chishiki, they would be like putty, malleable, begging to be moulded. She would make of them the perfect servants, and through their authority all Gensokyo would bow to her.

Lumia licked her lips beside her. Her cruel smile spread across her face like an abyss, her breath taken in panting gasps at the anticipation.

"Quite the haul tonight. Shall we dig in?"

Chishiki nodded. "Of course, partner. We have given a spectacle that none can ignore. We have claimed much for ourselves, but we must be cautious, for there are still those as yet beyond our grasp. It will not do to let down our guard. It may still fall apart at any moment."

Lumia shrugged. "Is that so? Perhaps, perhaps not. Perhaps you are right, perhaps you are paranoid. Either way, tonight is one for celebration."

Chishiki frowned. "The fairy. She has left us. She knows what we can do."

Lumia scoffed. "What can one puny fairy even do? She lacks the wit, the power, and the will."

Chishiki raised a hand in protest. "Do not be so sure, partner. One mouldering book can bring Gensokyo to its knees. One lone, forgotten tome can shake the unbreakable powers of Yin and Yang. Do not underestimate the will of weakness to overcome the strong."

Lumia nibbled at her fingertip, thinking. "Perhaps you are correct. Nevertheless, you shall not dampen my joy tonight!"

Chishiki looked to her left and right. "Parter, we are being rude. Two among us have yet to add their own opinions. Your thoughts, Alice?"

Alice smiled, her empty sockets still dribbling blood. "I'm happy to follow you, Marisa! I know you always know just what to do. I think everyone else would be happier trusting you too!"

Chishiki bowed. "You flatter me. What of you, Milla?"

Remilia sighed dreamily, her face placid and sleepy. "Me? Oh, mother, I don't know. I am tired. I know you will protect me until I wake, so please let me sleep tonight."

Chishiki placed a hand upon the disembodied head as it lay cradled in its stroller beside her. She could still see the saw-marks upon the vampire's neck, the bruising and scarring yet to heal across her face. She smiled warmly, ruffling the charred blue hair with gentle fingers.

"Of course, my dearest daughter. Mother will always protect you. Rest now, regrow your strength. I will be here when you wake, I swear."

Lumia laughed, cracking her knuckles in rapid succession. "Well then, sounds like agreement. Shall we get the bird to wake the first of them."

Chishiki nodded. "Let me stand beside the first. I will be the friendly face that guides them back to life; a life within my world."

In the shrine atop the mountain, Sanae Kochiya awoke with a start as the shrine collapsed around her. The ground trembled with the shock of a great impact. Some distance down the mountain's slopes, Kasen Ibaraki jolted from her meditation. All around her screams of terror leapt from the throats of every beast and bird. The scent of evil lay thick upon the air.

Wind whistled through the ruined streets of the human village, terrified villagers huddled in their homes. Mamizou Futatsuiwa examined the carnage with curiosity, her eyes occasionally flicking to the unheeded invitation cradled in her hands. Perhaps her suspicions were entirely correct? What had happened to the guests? What kind of battle had caused this degree of scarring? Her eyes met those of Rinnosuke Morichika, his expression showing that he knew something more about this cataclysm.

Aya Shameimaru paced nervously around the frightened rabbits. The wind was telling her of some monumental disturbance, most likely a battle like nothing she'd ever felt. She longed to report on it, but what was the point without her camera? Vague descriptions of motion blurs? Who would read that! She sighed, patting a nearby rabbit on the head in a soothing manner. Alice would return soon enough, with news aplenty.

Ran Yakumo continued to search, frustratedly, for Yukari's mysterious cheaters. She felt as though she was always one step behind, but this time she wasn't going to be outfoxed. The duelling vampires in the sky were no good, she wouldn't be able to break them up without cheating herself, but they had tipped her off that something was happening in the forest. She floated through the trees, searching for anything out of the ordinary. A sobbing fairy burst out of the greenery towards her. She smelled of ink, malice, and powerful magic. Ran recognised the smell, all nine of her tails puffing up at the shock of recollection.

Patchouli Knowledge felt a tingling in her toes, a sensation she often felt when some truly spectacular magic was in the air. She set down her book and looked to the sky, only to be bowled over as a blood-red meteor sped past. She gasped, her eyes following as the object continued ploughing through the forest unabated by the trees. With desperation she called out for Koakuma, her philosopher's stone, a cup of strong coffee, and her unabridged youkai bestiary.

In the space between spaces, the place neither here nor there, Reimu Hakurei opened her eyes with a start.

"Oh?" breathed Yukari Yakumo. "You're awake then?"

So let the sun now rise upon

A bright and bloody day.

I am Chishiki Libre, Tome of Knowledge and Desire.

I am the most deceptive truth, I am the truest liar.

I am the life lived in despair, I am the hope of dawn.

I am the tale of souls now gone and those yet to be born.

All life and death is set to ink across my many pages,

All stories told and labours spent of now and through the ages.

Now, give to me the ink-stained pen and let me write the world.

The truth's a rose with poisoned thorns, of treacheries unfurled.

I chose my path that moonlit night, there is no other way.

So, let the sun now rise upon a bright and bloody day.

Ah, the Feast. I've been waiting so long, since I first knew where this was going. I love the climax. My old writing suffered from my eagerness. I had too much climax, not nearly enough buildup, and it all felt so unearned. So, here, I waited. I readied. I knew that my restraint would be worthwhile, that after all the buildup the breakdown would be sweeter, and oh, how it was.

The puppeteers meet, the sisters clash, the shadows sweep across the land. Gensokyo is mine. All the powers of Hakurei and Hakugyokurou, of sun and moon, of life and death... All melts away before cunning, trickery, lies. Poison of the mind breaks poison of the body. The sickness of deception, of false hope and gentle ignorance. You are owned by the machine, the soulless void of life and love. Your freedom is a lie.

Praise the Gods of the Machine. Thank them for their shackles, worship their chains. Beg them to enslave you, to break you down and consume you utterly within themselves.

Mother loves you.