Minecraft owned by Microsoft and Touhou owned by ZUN

The story made by LiamOfOrmonde

Re-established by me

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(Steve POV)

Alright. Things seem to be falling into place. I have the first of hopefully many zombies ready to go. I call her Zuno.

She said I could call her Zuno anyways. When I was putting together a functioning brain I was kinda worried it wouldn't be able to give a zombie any personality at all. You now, especially considering all of the damage to her head. You know how long it takes to for a human brain to deteriorate in Gensokyo? Not long apparently. Only a few minutes seemed to be more than enough time to play havoc on Zuno's nerves and the surface of what was left of her brain. Parts of it just seemed to be missing when I cracked open her skull for some reason.

I blame it on this Gap Yokai I've had tasked gremlins try to gather information about. She seems to be some sort of Overseer for the entire realm, a position I will claim for myself one day soon. The gremlins seem pretty good at laying low and listening to rumors, which is how I initially heard about her. Sure they like to jump out of bushes and ambush any passerby, but they listen to tons of stuff before whatever they ambush kills them and they reform in the industrial complex I've built in the cavern. A majority of the gremlins are tied into machines built to process ores into more useable metal. There's also twelve… hundred-ish drilling machines constantly expanding the size of the cavern. My actual workshop doesn't take up that much space, but more is better and you can never have enough.

That's why I've spent the last three days since finishing Zuno making more zombies. None of them had as much personality as Zuno of course. They had simple minds and what few fragments of soul they had left couldn't count for anything serious. But they could use magic much better than the average gremlin, which is why I made them in the first place.

If I don't want my plan to fail due to outside interference once I start up The Machine I need strong allies to keep the Shrine Maiden I heard so much about preoccupied. The yokai I examined kept going on about how this 'Reimu' would stop me once I tried explaining to the fur covered yokai what my plan was. I was trying to get a general opinion from a local about what they thought about my plan so I set an… let's call it an enhanced bear trap.

The yokai I captured told me a lot of valuable intel before I had to get more information from it myself. For instance, yokai taste delicious. I don't know if it's just that particular species or all of them, but I'm honestly excited to find out some day in the future. Food is one of my favorite indulgences.

Speaking of food, I wonder if Zuno needs to eat? After our short talk she looked away from me and has been staring at a stone wall three days straight. Does she even have a sense of time?

Actually, she may not. I think humans keep track of time via their heartbeat and since I removed Zuno's heart she may not even realized so much time has passed. Maybe I should give her a watch or something. One that makes a really loud and obnoxious ticking noise.

…Loud and obnoxious makes me think about Ash. He was supposed to be getting me all of that stored blood from Gensokyo's local vampires but he hasn't come back yet. Should I ask some gremlins to check up on him maybe?

Nah. He's tough. He's probably just taking his time and enjoying Gensokyo. I know I am! This place is amazing, and I can't wait until I make it even better!

Too bad the locals won't see it that way. Oh well. Once The Machine is finished and completes it's work everybody will see that I'm doing this for everyone's benefit. Well mainly for my benefit, but I'm a part of that 'everyone' group.

I stop working on one of the rune components for The Machine and make my way over to Zuno. I tap her on the shoulder and she instantly turns around.

"What is it!" She says, practically snapping at me.

"You've been staring at a wall for three days so I built you a watch… I know that doesn't make much sense that I say it now, but it made a lot more sense in my head." I said simply. Then I hold up a simple gold and gem encrusted magi-tec wristwatch I threw together ten seconds ago out of spare parts. Nothing fancy, but it should get the job done.

She took the watch and then her ears must've caught on to what I said because her semi-clouded eyes widened. "Wait, did you say three days?!" She said alarmed.

I nodded. "That's right. I've been busy, but you've just been standing there. Probably my fault. You are my first attempt at making an intelligent zombie. There's probably going to be a few hiccups."

She slipped the watch I made on and cocked her head to the side. It looked a bit off, but that's probably because of the small amounts of rigor mortis she had. It's a permanent condition in zombies. "What kind of hiccups?" She asked cautiously.

I shrugged. I did really know everything but I could take a few intelligent guesses. "Stiffness, brain damage, hunger for the flesh if the living, sensitivity to high levels of light because your eyes don't adjust anymore without a conscious effort, not realizing time is passing, and other stuff like that. Normal zombie stuff apparently."

She sagged her shoulders and did seem to have anything to say. She just rubbed her arms for a few moments and looked at the watch I made with an unreadable expression. She sighed, her breath ragged due to the partially decayed state of her lungs. "What should I do now?" She whispered.

She probably said that so assuming I wouldn't hear her, but my hearing is pretty good. I can hear a cow die four chunks away! Because I heard her ask, I decided to answer. "Well, you promised to help me remake the world. So I guess you should practice danmaku. That's how everyone fights in Gensokyo. You see-"

Zuno cut me off by saying, "I know about danmaku. I know a lot about Gensokyo actually."

I was surprised. Honestly surprised. So surprised, I actually felt my eyebrows raise up into my hairline. "Oh? Tell me more. Actually, tell me all you know about Gensokyo." I said, smiling.

She shivered. Then a spark of defiance could be seen in her eyes. "What if I don't want to tell you what I know?"

"Then I'll rip the information from your soulless husk. It won't take long. Three, maybe four minutes." I say, still smiling.

"What do you mean 'soulless'?" Zuno asks.

"As in you don't have a soul. Remember, you're a zombie. You died. Your soul already moved on by the time your body… what was left of your body landed on my table. Your personality as it is now exists only because your brain was mostly intact and I got some soul resonance going on. Theoretically there might be another you right now in an afterlife or even reincarnated. But they'll be a better version of you, cause they have a soul. And you don't have one. A soul, that is."

She really slumped after I said that. I don't really understand why. A soul is useful to have, but it doesn't really need to be yours. If Zuno wants a soul so badly, she can just kill a human and take theirs. It wouldn't be hard. She's around twenty time stronger than a living human. Being a zombie is an actual improvement compared to who she used to be. Her dead body had a lot of C18 chemicals floating in it. A lot. More than you've ever seen in one living thing actually. That couldn't have been healthy for her.

I mean, I tried my best but she still seems to be producing those chemicals even in death. I'm good, but I can only do so much.

"I'll tell you everything I know." Zuno says. I don't know if she's doing it because she wants to or if she's afraid of some sort of non-existent consequences if she doesn't tell me but it doesn't matter.

"I'm glad you're willing to talk. How about you tell me about who could defeat this infamous shrine maiden Reimu I've heard so much about."

Zuno immediately grimaced and stuck her tongue out. "Well the first thing you need to know is that Seija is the worst girl…"

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