Stage 6: Immortal
Everything was in peaceful, perfect harmony.
Finally, after all these long and hectic years, Youmu could stop and reflect on the path she managed to take and all the grand projects she managed to complete.
The garden was in pristine condition, and neatly trimmed lawns were like little pools of emerald water. The pond was cleaned of reeds, and lazy fat carps glided slowly in clear and calm waters.
The shrine was repaired and cleaned, ready to hold a formal event any moment. These became frequent lately, emissaries from far and wide coming to pay their respects to the mistress of the Netherworld. Yuyuko greeted them with style and class, finally accepting and growing into her role as a princess.
Youmu faithfully served her at these events, imposing authority with her posture and ever-present blades. Not that she ever had to use them of course, the worse that could happen was an infrequent mission of escorting some jolly drunk spirits out during festivals.
Things were settling down in Gensokyo too, the mature and experienced priestess of the Hakurei shrine keeping everything under control. The three great youkai wars were over long ago, and the wilderness finally became safe for the travelers even at night.
Maybe it was time for her to settle down too, Youmu thought. After all, she never had any shortage of potential suitors, men of knowledge, wealth and power. She would continue serving Yuyuko, of course, all while raising her own children and grandchildren, until one day, she would pass her blades to the most gifted one, continuing the ancient tradition.
And then, after a long and fulfilling life she would pass away peacefully, her body returning to earth and her spirit rising up to heavens, to prepare for the next reincarnation…
And, with a feeling of final eternal peace, Youmu woke up to the sizzling sound of the stove and rancid smell of cooking, in a large, filthy kitchen. She was lying on an extremely hard and uncomfortable bench, wrapped in a small, dirty kitchen towel. Underneath it, as she found a few seconds later, she was completely naked.
Oh crap.
Suppressing a desire to release a quite undignified yelp Youmu sat up, frantically examining her surroundings. Well, almost all the important things were at least there, if a bit spread out in space.
Her blades were on the table, among some pots and plates. Her dress, along with assorted underwear, was hanging above an empty lit stove, in blatant and nearly sacrilegic disregard for the rules of fire safety. Her clothes were extremely dirty with gods know what, from normal dirt to rainbow-colored mythical star patterns.
Last, but not least, the kitchen featured Yuyuko, who was busily concocting something in a series of pots on another stove.
Of course, each and every one of these things raised a series of very important questions, but every time Youmu tried to address any of them, the ship of her thoughts hit a very unpleasant and unnerving shoal of emptiness. In other, much simpler terms, she had one of the most clichéd and overused in fiction mental conditions that may affect an action hero – retrograde amnesia.
And it wasn't funny in the slightest, because there is nothing funny about waking up one day and finding out that your memory now has a gaping hole a size of a day in it, and you can only hope that the day before the other you who was in control in your body acted like a reasonable and responsible person, and all that red on your clothing is totally just ketchup. And the star patterns are totally because you played with stencils and paint, not because you were in a vicious fight to the death with a star wielding mage. And once again, those stains are absolutely totally just ketchup…
Youmu released a short nervous laugh and Yuyuko turned to her, a soup ladle in her hand. She asked a single question, which sounded like it was a part of some kind of test.
"Youmu, would you like some rabbit stew?"
"Err… actually, I'm not very hungry right now, so I would probably go for something lighter," Youmu answered truthfully. Judging from Yuyuko's relieved expression, she just passed.
"Good, good," Yuyuko quietly said, nodding to herself. "Well then, it's almost morning and we still have to defeat an immortal master of illusions, medicine and rabbits. Are you up to the task?"
"Say what who where?" Youmu stumbled, but immediately corrected herself. This was not important. She had a task given to her, and the task had to be completed. She stood up, holding the tiny towel so it wouldn't slip, and nodded confidently.
"Great!" Yuyuko exclaimed, and stirred the stew in the pot with her ladle. "And if you still worry about your memory, don't be, as it will return slowly over the course of the month, in nightmares and terrifyingly real flashbacks. Get dressed, I'll be outside."
She closed the pot with an oversized lid and floated out, leaving it on the stove. Youmu took her clothes, partly damp, partly nearly at the point of combustion, and started to dress with precision and haste, like a real soldier would.
Where was she? Why was lady Yuyuko making rabbit stew? Why did she lose her memory? Why did her clothes have to be cleaned up? Who was the enemy?
All these questions Youmu mercilessly and effectively pushed out of her head. It was not important. The mission was important, and lady Yuyuko knew what had to be done. And she, Youmu Konpaku, the half-ghostly gardener of Hakugyokurou shrine, would do it without delay.
The funny thing is, if she took five seconds and looked under the lid of the largest bubbling pot, she would probably scream and run away from that place as far as she could. Then, she would most certainly resign her vows to Yuyuko, whom she would only see from that point on as a horrendous, soulless monster. And then, without being able to bear the shame of serving such a monster, she would perform a ritual suicide.
Well, she probably wouldn't go that far, but she'd be very, very disgusted that's for sure. Or at least, mildly disgusted. Boiling humanoid rabbit heads are not pleasant to look at, trust me.
But of course, she never looked into the pot and, having finished her dressing with a proper adjustment of the ribbon in her hair, she followed Yuyuko outside, into the long, seemingly endless corridor.
The final battle for the fate of Gensokyo has begun.
(O,)
The long corridor was extremely, unbelievably long. It stretched for untold miles in every direction, and Youmu started to wonder if it was made from smaller corridors stitched together. These thoughts evoked strange a feeling of déjà vu, it was something scratching at the back of her mind with sharp, foot-long talons. It was unnerving.
They were attacked, again and again, by strange fairy-bunny hybrids. They actually looked quite cute, and Youmu felt a little bit sorry about slicing them up. They provided a challenge though, and she would not allow Yuyuko to be harmed, not on her watch.
They were pretty organized, their attack using clear restrictive patterns. Once in a while, they were attacked by loners, though, those highly skilled fairies filling the air with swarms upon swarms of danmaku fired from familiars spinning at extremely high velocities. Yuyuko backed her up at such moments, and Youmu noticed her mistress was much less talkative than usual.
The corridor started tilting up, the angle going steeper and steeper. Soon, there was no longer possible to walk, as the strange corridor tilted almost completely vertical.
And then, just like that, the corridor ended, without any fanfare or closure. Just ended, and they were outside, miles above the ground, and the full moon was right above them, very, very close.
It covered most of the sky, and had a decaying, unhealthy look. It was huge, but not nearly as huge as it could be expected. Youmu subconsciously counted how much time it would take for her to mow the lawn of that size. Not that much.
There was someone before them, floating at a distance. Youmu had a feeling she has seen that woman recently. That arrogant sneer of hers was really unforgettable.
"And just as planned, you fall right into my trap," she said confidently.
"We caught up with you, that's all," Yuyuko responded.
"Yeah, you won't escape again… or something," Youmu supported her, a bit unsure of her words. Was this the villain they were chasing? The hat was a definite proof they were facing a medic, but Youmu saw no illusions or rabbits around. Could be a mistake, and mistakes were not to be allowed.
"I am known as Eirin Yagokoro, and as I said, you have fallen right into my little trap, following the false pathway I created, just like every other pursuer who would dare to threaten the safety of the princess."
"False pathway? Princess?"
Youmu was getting more and more confused. There was something important, right at the corner of her mind, but she just could not grasp it. She tried her hardest to concentrate.
"A false moon in the false sky. An overly elaborate creation," Yuyuko said, an obvious admiration in her words.
"Ah, impressive. So you've noticed the moon was also an illusion," Eirin responded, not looking impressed in the slightest. She had a look on her face exactly like when Yuyuko was talking to Wriggle.
Who was Wriggle, why would they talk to her, and why Yuyuko would have such a look, Youmu couldn't remember, it was just that, an obvious similarity of two events. Now, it was extremely unnerving.
"Illusion? Perhaps, it once was. But then, we, the one who remembered how the old moon of Gensokyo looked like, made it real with our memories. And it became real, and a threat. And so…"
"And so, to protect yourself and your precious Gensokyo, you froze the moon in the sky. It finally makes sense," Eirin finished for her.
For Youmu, of course, it made absolutely no sense. She suddenly felt weak, small and irrelevant, a tiny human caught in the clash of titans...
No. She wasn't irrelevant, small or weak. She was a true warrior, a sworn servant and bodyguard to Yuyuko Saigyouji, princess of the Netherworld.
"Lady Yuyuko, give me the command," she said firmly. Yuyuko glanced at her, and Youmu didn't like that glance. There was doubt in it, clear, obvious doubt.
She didn't waver. She would not question an order. If need be, she would back down, returning to her duties as a gardener. After all, she failed last year, beaten twice by Reimu and her sealing spell cards. She could only hope she would be given another chance…
"Oh, fine, just stop looking at me like that," Yuyuko said with a sigh. "Be my shield, Youmu. I'll back you up if I feel like it."
Youmu beamed proudly. "I'll be the hardest shield in all Netherworld."
Eirin laughed, a cruel, empty laugh. "A shield can only stop something from the outside. We of the moon have the ability to affect you directly. And, while your hard shield is defending you outside, you're decaying slowly inside... Yes, that carefree girl, your "hard shield" is worthless."
"Don't worry, Youmu. I'm not alive, so I can't rot."
And then it hit her, a spike of memories piercing into her skull. Just like that, out of the blue, with no connection to the words said, or actions taken.
A flashback, bright and vivid, sharp, like an edge of the blade.
She is fighting, desperately trying to find a hole in the enemy pattern, bullets grazing her skin. And Yuyuko… she just stands there, looking bored and nearly yawning. She doesn't care. She never cares. She is dead, she has been dead for gods know how many years.
The dead don't care about the living.
Shaking her head, Youmu returned to reality. She had to say something, something uplifting, but the words came out bitter and harsh.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you are rotten already. But rotten or not, it's my duty to protect you."
And Yuyuko felt it, everything that was left unsaid. She understood, and she didn't like it.
"I said, I can't rot," she uttered, emphasizing the last part. It seemed to amuse Eirin to no end.
"Oh, what's that? Are you going to make a scene in front of me? How… human of you," she said, spitting the word "human" as an insult. "And by the way, fermentation is the gift from the gods…"
She raised her bow up, and the moon, earth and everything blurred spinning and vanishing into darkness. They were in the endless infinity of outer space, barely lit by the stars and swirling galaxies around.
"…and unable to rot, ghosts are forever forsaken by the gods! Spacesphere: Earth in a Pot!"
A streak of lights from the nearest galaxy shot out towards them, a spinning wheel of familiars. It was mesmerizing, and Youmu felt comfortable warmth spreading around her body. The battlefield vanished, and Youmu was once again in the garden, a pair of hedge trimmers in her hand.
Everything was in peaceful, perfect harmony.
Finally, after all these grueling and hectic years, Youmu could stop and reflect on the path she managed to take and all the grand projects she managed to complete…
"No!" Youmu shouted and the illusion shattered, images of the false future fluttering around. "I will never become such a person! I will never just sit back and watch, remembering the days of my former glory with tears of nostalgia! Never!"
She performed a wide swing with her katana, destroying the familiars and images around her. Eirin seemed unfazed, addressing Youmu with a mocking smile.
"Really? Then, what about simple pleasantries of life? What about the joy of having kids, of the happiness in the hands of your lover? Will you throw all that away just for the service to the corpse?"
"I think I'll manage to cram all that into my schedule," Youmu said with a mocking smile of her own. She charged forward, and Eirin immediately shifted back, preparing another spell card.
"Such arrogance from a lower life form. Allow me to demonstrate how low on the food chain you really belong. Awakened God: Memories of the Age of the Gods!"
Eirin released her bow, and it floated above her, radiating light and creating something alike of a halo. From her outstretched hand, a lattice of brilliant white beams shot out towards Youmu.
"Kneel before me, for I am like a god to you! I am in heavens, and you are at the very bottom of the sea of filth, crawling, flopping around helplessly, your blood so thin you are not even worthy of propagating any more! Know your place, vermin, and despair!"
A vision intruded Youmu's mind, a vivid, colorful vision. A fairy, in a cape that looks suspiciously like a bug carapase, and Yuyuko, talking in the same arrogant and condescending voice…
"That's… holy gods of Gensokyo, that's the largest bug I've ever seen in my life! I mean, just look at the size of that thing, it's almost half a human height, holy hell!"
"I am not a thing!" the fairy cries out. "I have a name, it is Wriggle Nightbug, and you'd better recognize it, filthy ghosts!"
So, that's how it feels like, Youmu bitterly thought. Her voice, however, was confident as ever. She would not show weakness.
"A god and a vermin, eh? If you are a god, then why the spell cards? Just turn me to dust with a passing thought," Youmu said, shaking her head and the vision faded. Then, she locked her gaze with Eirin and smiled again. "Oh, but wait, you can't. Because you are just a pretentious bitch."
She waited for the lattice to time out and jumped forward, ending up in the next cell. Then, she jumped again, one step closer to her goal. Then, another.
Eirin didn't stop smiling, but her gaze hardened. She shifted out of reach.
"So, the understanding of your own insignificance doesn't stop you, and you don't accept my superiority. This means you are just a cog in the machine, a redundant and useless tool. Well, then, let me introduce you to your peers. Revival: Game of Life!"
White immobile orbs appeared, creating a solid pattern, boxing Youmu in. Eirin flexed a string of her bow, and a stream of brightly green damaku gushed forward.
"Do you know what a game of life even is? Can you, with your primitive brain, even grasp a concept of primitive cellular automatons? Because you are exactly that – a primitive life form capable only of performing a fixed set of commands!"
Another flashback, a dusty and choking one. She is in an empty school corridor, looking for her mistress. A voice comes from behind the door, a voice that belongs to Yuyuko, a voice filled with boredom and disdain.
"You know, I don't have anything against education, and can even stomach the education of youkai, but seriously, history? That's, like, the most useless discipline."
Youmu felt like she was out of air, memories choking her, trying to overwhelm her and bury her soul. And once again, she pushed the unwanted thoughts away.
"So, now you insult my intelligence. But this is not a scientific debate, here, it's all about who has better reflexes. So, are you all talk or are you going to finally get to the fight? Because right now, you wouldn't believe how bored I am."
Eirin was no longer smiling. This opponent, this thin and frail looking pale girl, dared to defy her, dared to question her power, dared to survive this far. This was unacceptable.
"A person like you would never be able to appreciate true intelligence. But intelligence has practical application too, you know. Allow me to demonstrate. Leading God: Omoikane's Device."
The name meant nothing to Youmu. It was just another spell card, a single familiar creating a maw-like pattern. The maw turned, and Youmu had no choice but to follow. A spread of dark blue danmaku flew past her. Doable.
The battle shifted up, and Youmu felt her body becoming lighter for some reason. Yuyuko caught up with them, overlooking the battle from a safe spot.
A thought entered Youmu's mind, a clingy and rotten thought.
Why are you fighting for her, if she is no better than the villain in front of you?
Youmu clenched her teeth. This was not her thought. It was the lunatic moon affecting her, trying to stop her where the danmaku failed to. It was all the moon's fault.
No, it's not the moon. She was lying to you, all this time. You are just a tool to her, a shovel to sort through manure. You are nothing.
But at least she is not trying to kill me, unlike some people.
Then you are just an evil henchman with no will of your own.
I know very well who I am.
Yuyuko is a villain. Kill her.
No.
The spell timed out, and Youmu's mind cleared. Eirin was still out there, her face calm, but her eyes blazing with anger. She raised her arm for the next spell.
"Your arrogance really is amazing, but that changes nothing. It's the fate of humans to try to reach the moon, only to be put down mercilessly, like rabid dogs they are. Curse of the Heavens: Apollo 13!"
And once again, a flashback, coming in a blinding white flash. A human in black on the ground, her face bloody and unrecognizable, her hat trampled into mud. Yuyuko makes a sign for her to stand back.
"Your spirit is strong, but your flesh is weak. You are just an ordinary human, after all."
"No…" the human shook her head. "I am not…"
"You know nothing of humans and what they are capable of," Youmu said calmly, dodging a swirling pattern of interlocking dual-colored danmaku. "Locked up in your ivory tower, you know nothing of the world."
"Also, if anything, Apollo 13 is a symbol of human creativity and tenacity," Yuyuko added, floating closer. "A really uplifting story, especially when Yukari is telling it."
"Silence!" Eirin shrieked, losing the last vestiges of her posture and class, her spell fading into a putrid fog. "Before me, you are like worms, worms, you hear? I am Eirin Yakogoro, an immortal lunarian, a descendant of the gods themselves! And you, you are less than human, just two worthless sacks of ectoplasm! And with my power, I will burn you, until not even the ash remains! Esoterica: Astronomical Entombing!"
The world around started spinning, galaxies and stars swirling and merging, drawing closer and closer, preparing to crush the insolent fools who dared to come this far. Youmu felt completely weightless, as if she had become a full ghost. Yuyuko was beside her, staring at the approaching galaxies with an absent smile.
"What? I thought we were having a wonderful midnight snack tour across the land! Come on, who cares about the moon? Let's eat!"
And Youmu remembered, everything. The confused look on Wriggle's face, the snuffed out song of Mystia, the classroom, such an improper place for an execution, bloody face of Marisa and her Master Spark, her own burning hatred, when she stabbed Reisen, again and again…
And Yuyuko's smile, to whom this was just another night, just a walk to clear her head and have some snacks.
Heroes and villains, right and wrong, good and evil – all of this was not absolute or easily defined. It was all a matter of perspective, and a matter of taking your place in the world. And at that moment, despite all the whispers in her head, all the memories that tried to crush her, Youmu knew, understood who she was, and who she always wanted to be.
"I am Youmu Konpaku, the half-ghostly gardener of Hakugyokurou shrine, a bodyguard and eternally loyal servant to Yuyuko Saigyouji, princess of the Netherworld," she said proudly, and raised her fist. "My blades, Roukanken and Hakurouken, shall slay any evil youkai that crosses my path. Mine are the blades that are able to slash everything, and mine are the blades that will put an end to you, villain. Now, meet your end!"
She charged forward, through the wall of approaching galaxies. She slashed, and the galaxies crumbled, disappearing in implosions of dark light.
She pushed forward, carving a path through the light, to the figure behind the wall of galaxies. She blasted through, and Eirin screamed, putting her bow in the way of advancing blade. The blade cut through, nearly severing her arm, and continued forward, slashing Eirin across the chest.
The galaxies and other illusions disappeared, torn away like a thin mist. They were far above the ground, and the moon covered all the sky, a putrid and moldy moon that just would not die.
Eirin doubled over, coughing out blood. She tried to get away, leaving a blood trail behind her, red drops hanging in the air like a morbid necklace.
"It's no use running, villain. Meet your end with dignity," Youmu said, drawing closer and raising her sword. Eirin winced, trying to keep a mercilessly advancing girl at bay with her uninjured hand. Youmu slashed down.
And her blade froze in mid-air, held by an invisible hand.
"Eirin, what are you doing?" a calm voice uttered.
The owner of the voice appeared beside the wounded woman. No light or sound, just an appearance in a just a moment ago empty space.
This short and a bit plump girl was wearing a long royal dress, but Youmu could not identify the style. Strange, but she didn't wear a hat, but various objects floating around her more than enough filled the quota for obligatory silly youkai accessories. Her pitch-black hair was long and neatly combed, and she looked rather sleepy.
"So, Eirin, what is it? Are you losing your touch? I really expected better from you."
Eirin tried to respond, but all she did was cough out more blood. Youmu's blades were still frozen in air, the force holding them stronger than she ever experienced before.
"Princess… Kaguya…" Eirin finally managed to say.
"I am very displeased with you, Eirin," Kaguya responded, and a vial materialized in her hand. "But I am willing to give you another chance."
She opened a vial and shook it, pouring a smoking red liquid on Eirin's gaping wound. The liquid sizzled, being instantly absorbed.
"And you, ghosts," Kaguya said, pointing her finger. "My powerful medicine, and Eirin's true strength… you'll never forget this! Forbidden Arcanum: Hourai Elixir!"
Eirin screamed.
She arched back, and beams of unholy red light shone through the enormous sword wound. Her blood boiled and gushed forth, turning into danmaku. She kept screaming, and from the wound on her arm, a lattice of lasers shined forth.
Her mouth became a furnace, an origin point for uncountable razors. Her eyes boiled, releasing streams of red energy blasts. The raging inferno beneath her skin broke through, elongated energy maggots crawling outward.
There were no illusions, dirty tricks or confusing voices, just danmaku, gushing out from the screaming body of Eirin. Its concentration forced Youmu to back down, first a little, then further and further away. Slicing at it, she dodged one seemingly impossible cluster, then another, then another…
But in the end, it does not matter how many you dodge, how many fly past you, grazing your skin. It does not matter how many times death misses just by a hairbreadth. It does not matter how skilled you are, or how lucky or confident you are.
It was quite an ordinary bullet. It wasn't fancy, colorful or unusually shaped. Just another blazing projectile that was born to fly, gliding through the air with a soft humming sound. Just another bullet to fly by, giving you a feeling that once again, death missed its mark.
Except this time, it hit, colliding with Youmu's stomach. The outer shell of the bullet burst, creating a miniature directed blast. She was thrown back, leaving behind a trail of blood in the air.
Eirin's screaming finally stopped, and the spell timed out, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell from the burned skin. What remained of her started to descend slowly, to the ground that was miles and miles away. The last undirected danmaku patterns vanished in the distance.
Despite the piercing pain, Youmu was at peace. True, she did fail in the end, but the victory of the final villain would be at least tainted by the loss of her closest lieutenant. Which would of course anger the mentioned villain greatly, and no doubt cause her to go on a bloody rampage across the world, destroying hundreds of innocent lives…
Okay, she wasn't at peace at all.
Something lightly touched her on the shoulders, and she stopped moving. Her vision started to blur, but she could still see the face of the one who caught her.
"Lady… Yuyuko," she managed to say. "You came for me… after all…"
"Uh-huh, floating twenty paces and catching you was truly an amazing feat," Yuyuko said with a smile. Her eyes weren't smiling, though.
"Lady Yuyuko, it was… a great honor for me to serve you…"
"Oh, don't mention it," Yuyuko said, her voice only a fraction from being truly carefree.
"Too bad… my wish never… came true," Youmu said, and with great difficulty pulled a broken piece of bone from her pocket. "I wished… for both of us… to return from the mission… safely…"
"It's okay," Yuyuko responded, pulling her own piece from folds in her clothing. "I wished for the same thing as you."
Despite all the pain, Youmu's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Nope," Yuyuko said, smiling again. "I wished to meet and eat a dragon tonight, and where is my dragon? Where is my dragon?"
She finished her question as an outcry, pleading the uncaring heavens for the dragon that would never come. Then, she turned her attention back to the dying girl, and her smile vanished, replaced with an expression of hunger and anticipation. A drop of saliva streamed down from her mouth.
"Lady… Yuyuko… what's wrong? Why are you looking at me… like that?"
Yuyuko didn't answer, and instead, in one lightning-fast motion, she grabbed the ghostly orb that floated around Youmu.
"No… not Myon… stop it… please, stop…"
Yuyuko's face was now a mask of pure madness, her mouth a drooling gaping hole and her eyes bulging grotesquely. Youmu averted her eyes and Yuyuko slapped her, making her focus.
"I'm not getting my dragon today, but a ghost is fine too. Now, I am going to eat it, and you are going to watch, to the very last second. Such is the price of your failure."
And Youmu watched, as her mistress, the only person in the world she trusted completely, grabbed her ghost half with both arms and slowly, dramatically and inevitably drew it towards her open mouth. The orb trembled, shivering and shrinking to almost half its size…
And then Yuyuko instead of biting thrust the orb forward, into an exposed hole in Youmu's gut.
The pain was nearly indescribable. It defied words. Molten metal poured into your stomach? Not even a fraction of it. Rats, gnawing through your intestines, while molten metal is poured into your stomach? Closer, but still not close enough.
Thousands of needles piercing your intestines while they are being slowly spooled on a rusty spiked wheel to a conveyor belt where they are first gnawed by rats, then molten metal is poured on them and then they are finally hammered on by an extremely unskilled blacksmith – that was how it felt like.
But hey, at least the bleeding stopped, so no worries, right?
Due to Youmu's incoherent screaming, the conversation drew to a halt. Yuyuko gently tapped on the writhing half-ghost, and she started to slowly float down, just like Eirin a little earlier did. In a short while, she disappeared in the distance. Yuyuko turned to face her final opponent.
And so, there were no more heroes left under the undying moon.
Only two ancient monsters, facing off, preparing for the final confrontation, the ultimate battle.
Kaguya spoke first, the words that would be forever etched into the history of time.
"Would you like some tea?"
(O,)
The formal introductions were complete, and tea has been served. Kaguya conjured an ornate table from thin air, along with cups and a boiling kettle. At Yuyuko's silent question of how the hell she did it, Kaguya proudly said that the power of Eternity allows absolutely everything. Yuyuko smiled and nodded, pretending she understood.
The tea was good, but the conversation stalled. There was an aura of strained uneasiness in the air, and the pauses dragged for far too long. It was probably due to the fact it was quite drafty. Or maybe because their friends most likely just died.
Anyway, it was Yuyuko's turn to awkwardly speak.
"So… those things around you, are they useful or something?"
"What, impossible requests? Well, they are pretty, and go well with my style," Kaguya answered, and picked a smoking stone bowl from the air. "Also, sometimes I throw them at people when I get angry."
She released the bowl and it floated lazily behind her. The pause dragged, and Yuyuko sipped her tea.
"I always wondered how ghosts perceive the world around them," Kaguya broke the silence. "You don't seem to be particularly tormented."
"Why would you think I'm tormented? I'm not tormented at all," Yuyuko said dismissively. "In fact, I like my existence so far. No pain, no sweat, food and drinks are luxuries instead of requirements… well, except when I get really, really hungry, of course. This reminds me, I left a pot on the stove and should get to it soon…"
She trailed off. Kaguya picked up her another impossible request, a branch with colorful berries on it, and fiddled with it. The silence again became heavy. Yuyuko was trying her hardest to find another topic that would not inevitably lead to escalating conflict and a fight to the death. The opportunity to talk to such an old entity was rare and quite fascinating, and Yuyuko did not want to end it too quickly.
Unfortunately, most normal small topics were unacceptable.
Weather was out of the question. Any question about the weather would draw attention to a quite obvious presence of the titanic gravity-warping moon above.
Recent events? Again, the moon.
Family and friends? Yeah, right.
"So… Buretsu crisis?"
"What about it? I never considered politics to be important. Empires rise and fall, but all succumbs to the power of Eternity," Kaguya said, her voice full of pathos. She dropped the branch, picked up her another impossible request, an intricate seashell, and offered it to Yuyuko.
"Listen to the voice of Eternity," she said, and Yuyuko reluctantly took the shell and put it to her ear.
Eternity sounded like nothing special. Yuyuko made a dreamy face out of politeness and passed the shell back.
"Impressive, isn't it? Your 'death' is nothing compared to the true power that is Eternity."
"My specialties are 'death and rebirth', thank you very much," Yuyuko corrected her. Kaguya was starting to get on her nerves. Not as much as Eirin, but still, pretty annoying.
"Death, birth, rebirth, it's all the same to me," Kaguya said quite arrogantly, picking up yet another of her trinkets, an iridescent jewel. "All these concepts are very important to mortals, but I am not a mortal anymore, so it doesn't interest me."
"Everything that has the beginning has an end, your own existence included," Yuyuko said, no longer able to contain her annoyance. "One day, you are going to die."
"Oh, stop being so preachy," Kaguya sneered. "It sounds shallow and hypocritical, especially from you, a millennia old ghost. I intend on living forever."
She dropped her jewel, no longer interested in it, and it positioned behind her, near a tiny cloak that seemed to be wreathed in flames.
Impossible requests. Eternity. Immortality. Forever. Hollow concepts that clashed so painfully with everything Yuyuko believed in. It was indeed hypocritical of her to defend the cycle of reincarnation, but compared to the utter blasphemy Kaguya embodied and voiced, it was like sixty pages of a madman's scribbles compared to the genius masterpiece of multi-medium Art.
It was about time to end this.
"You know who else intended on living forever?" Yuyuko said, standing up. "Eirin did, and look what happened to her."
"And what exactly happened to her?" Kaguya said defiantly, standing up too. "A minor injury? An insignificant event of burning her innards out? She probably can regenerate from as much as a fingernail. On the other hand, your associate…"
"Oh, Youmu is a tough girl, she's going to be fine" Yuyuko said, and Kaguya snickered.
"What's so funny?"
"Your face," Kaguya said, and snickered again. "Such pain and guilt in your voice, and still you look like a 'have a nice day' mask has been glued to your face. My, you really are one messed up ghost."
She made a gesture, and the table vanished.
"But I think the time for exchanging pleasantries is over, so let's return to business. I have an offer to make. You see, I have an old, and very persistent enemy-"
"Not interested," Yuyuko cut her off.
"You didn't let me finish. In exchange, I will use the power of Eternity to save your—"
"Not. Interested. In. The. Slightest." Yuyuko interrupted her again, hammering every word. Kaguya sighed, and massaged her temples.
"My, how unreasonable and childish. I never expected you, of all people, to be taking this all so personally."
"I am not taking this personally," Yuyuko said. Kaguya barely suppressed a snicker, but Yuyuko didn't seem to notice and continued. "But Gensokyo is just not big enough for the both of us. Return the true moon, and I will end the Imperishable Night. Then, we will—"
"Wait," Kaguya interrupted her. "Wait there just a second. 'I will end the Imperishable Night'? What the hell?"
She paused, taking a deep breath, and stared somewhere in the distance. A smile twisted her lips.
"Oh, I see what you did there," Kaguya said, nodding to herself. "Clever, clever indeed, to make the night undying. I am quite impressed."
"Thank you," Yuyuko said dryly. "But I didn't come all the way here to be praised for my abilities. Leave now, or this all is not going to end well. For you, especially."
"Oh my, a threat," Kaguya said, mockingly covering in fear. "A big bad ghost is scaring me. Help me, Eirin, I don't know what to do!"
She straightened up and pointed at the false moon, her face serious again "I never asked for this. I never asked for a life of prosecution and exile. I never asked to no longer have a home to return to. I never asked to be left completely alone."
She balled her face into a fist, her fingernails digging into her skin. Her face remained calm, even after drops of blood streaked down her arm.
She relaxed her hand, and tiny wounds closed up. The blood vanished, absorbed into skin, like nothing happened. Kaguya smiled.
"All I ever wanted was to be immortal. Was it so much to ask for?"
"Yes."
"No!" Kaguya screamed, pointing at Yuyuko with a trembling finger. "It was not too much! And no one can judge me! No one! Especially you!"
She threw her arms forward, and a swirling sphere of darkness appeared in front of her. It released a wave of energy, and Kaguya concentrated, holding the sphere tighter and tighter.
"The fragmented eternal evening that you have created," she said, her voice full of hate. "My arts for manipulating Eternity will tear it away…"
"It is still not too late to back down," Yuyuko said sadly. She knew Kaguya wouldn't listen.
The sphere contracted into a single, brilliant and at the same time pitch-black mercurial point. The skin melted from Kaguya's hands. She didn't seem to notice.
"I, Kaguya Houraisan, will shatter your blasphemous spell! The dawn will come!"
"Don't do this," Yuyuko whispered.
"Last Spell: End of Imperishable Night: New Moon!"
The spell imploded in her hands. A brilliant wave of energy rushed outward, instantly vaporizing Kaguya and continuing further, breaking into tiny energy blades.
The origin point released another wave, then another one. Yuyuko didn't move, and the blades pierced her body, carrying her forward and upward. The spell didn't stop, releasing more and more waves, more and more blades.
The spell reached the false moon, tearing into it. The surface cracked, not like a solid rock would crack, but like the carapace of a long dead insect. The spell spread through the surface, cutting and burning the hollow shell of the moon.
And it crumbled, turning into dust and nothingness. Behind the surface, the illusion Eirin created shriveled and blinked but held. In the distance, the true full moon was now visible through the illusion, exactly where it was supposed to be.
The spell finally faded, releasing the last wave. It spread, and disappeared in the distance, cutting through the fading and torn remains of what used to be Yuyuko Saigyouji.
And so, everybody died.
Well, sort of.
The air around the origin point of the spell wobbled slightly. There was a quite comedic 'plop' sound, and the invisible bubble of wobbliness burst, leaving a quite unharmed Kaguya behind.
She blinked a few times, shaking away the daze. She looked around, gathering her bearings. A smile slowly crept on her face, replaced by a psychotic smirk soon after. She arched back and laughed.
"I won! I won! Nothing can bring me down, for I am immortal and invincible! They will never find me now! I will forever live in this world, and soon, everything will be mine! Mine! With my power of Eternity, I, Kaguya Houraisan shall become a new god of this world! And nothing, absolutely nothing is going to stop—"
As far as tempting fate goes, this was a pretty decent attempt Kaguya's part, as a very thin and multicolored laser beam that pierced her arm immediately proved.
Kaguya winced, pulling her arm through the laser. She turned, and saw Yuyuko behind her, the ghost holding a spreading cone of lasers in her hand.
"So, you surv - AAugh!"
Kaguya's words turned into screaming when another laser cut through her leg. Yuyuko rotated her wrist, piercing Kaguya's shoulder with another beam.
"Is it all… you are capable of? Indulging in petty revenge, how pathetic," Kaguya managed to say.
"As I said earlier, it's not about revenge or any other emotion," Yuyuko responded, her face absolutely calm. "It's about incompatible concepts we embody."
A laser cut through her stomach, but Kaguya just smiled. "Concepts, you say? What concepts? Death versus Eternity? Change versus Stability? An unstoppable force versus an immovable object? It is laughable. You can't win."
"Laughable? Then laugh, even when I announce the Last Spell of my own. Laugh, as your body becomes a host to the swarm of ghostly butterflies, each and every one of them dying and being reborn endlessly. Laugh, as your body becomes an eternal undying shell of itself, endlessly floating, twitching far above the ground, where no one will be able to find you."
"You are incapable of such a—"
A beam pierced Kaguya's lung. Yuyuko's face was a visage of absolute calmness, boredom even. It was unnerving, this calmness. It was not supposed to be like this, Kaguya thought, it was supposed to be a heated battle of danmaku, her colorful impossible requests clashing with butterfly blasts of her enemy…
"My power of… Eternity… is not to be denied…" Kaguya wheezed. "Impossible Request: Dragon's—"
A beam pierced her throat.
"I've seen enough spell cards for today," Yuyuko said, her whole body and face now almost completely unmoving. "And there are no dragons in Gensokyo. Besides, you promised me you would laugh, so here is my own impossible request for you – laugh. Laugh, and live forever. Last Word: Saigyouji Flawless Nirvana."
The spell unfolded slowly, more and more lasers piercing Kaguiya's body, holding her in place. She tried to resist, focusing her powers, denying the reality that was forced upon her.
If only she didn't use that much of her power to break the moon. If only she would be allowed to die, for the powers to kick in automatically. If only she could concentrate more, if only she could ignore all that pain…
Transfixed, Kaguya watched in horror as the host of the undying butterflies drew closer and closer, preparing to make her body their new eternal hive.
And behind the swarm, she saw Yuyuko's face, her true face, a cracked skull covered in pale writhing maggots.
Kaguya tried to laugh.
But it is impossible to laugh without lungs.