Chapter 6: The Fall of Legends

Fifteen minutes after the fall of Eientei, a gathering of a few certain folk was occurring at the Myouren Temple. It wasn't a large gathering. Just the usual suspects. Byakuren, her followers, and even the likes of Futo and Tojiko from the Taoist faction were there. Those two had just arrived at their doorstep, with Futo trembling like she was walking in the middle of a small earthquake.

Byakuren eased her own shaken allies, most particularly Kyouko, with the gentle serenade of her voice, and then approached the two Taoists with a rather forced smile.

"Is it just the two of you?" She pondered as she peered over the peak of Futo's hat with a longing, worrying gaze.

Futo tucked her hands into her sleeves and remarked, "Our Crown Prince said there was something she wanted to check-eth before coming here. I-I am afraid..."

"Afraid of what, dear Futo?" The familiar bravado of Futo's cherished prince put her courage into overdrive as she spun around and saw her caped leader stroll past the gates, her shaku pivoted in the usual position before her chin.

"T-That you..." A single tear was shaken off Futo's face as she stretched her grin across the breadeth of her face and boasted, "Didn't leave any of that accursed-eth Phoenix of Destruction for us to pummel-eth!"

"Hahaha!" Miko stopped and let out a jovial guffaw, and then whispered with a tiny smile, "Who is to say really? Perhaps he is too afraid to confront me!"

Miko then lowered her head and with a gentle nudge towards the temple remarked, "Be with the others you two. I need to speak with Hijiri alone for a bit."

Futo and Tojiko complied and wandered right on over with the rest of the Myouren crew. Miko watched for a bit, and paid close attention to the way their mouths moved. She was adept at speaking many tongues, even that of silence. And what their lips told her was that they were all wondering what they were going to do. They were scared, frightened, and she knew that this was all in spite of Byakuren's best efforts.

Thus when the priestess approached her, Miko hung her head with a sigh and asked, "It hasn't been easy holding down the fort, has it Hijiri?"

"We've...been managing," She responded while trying to keep her smile strong. But with her back turned towards her followers, she couldn't help but let it sag upon looking up at the dark, cloudy sky, "How about you?"

"I've been taking a walk. Trying to clear my head and get an understanding of what is happening." Miko remarked with her undying confidence.

"And?" Byakuren prodded with mild concern.

"...Everyone's in a state of panic. I can't blame them...To think that witch would be right about his arrival," Miko turned aside and the cold, unnatural wind swayed her cape to cover her body as she looked towards the sky, "I went to see what he left at the Hakurei's Shrine."

"...What was it?" Byakuren hesitantly asked, sensing the discomfort in her comrades' voice.

"The head of the Yamaxanadu of Gensokyo...That's all Marisa could bring herself to tell me. Poor girl was shaken up the likes of which I'd never seen."

"The judge of the afterlife? Is it actually possible to kill them?" Byakuren murmured.

"We cannot perceive things as if they are or are not possible anymore, Hijiri," Miko swiveled her head aside and, for someone like her, seeing a glare as stiff as stone was of serious concern, "He has arrived. He has drawn first blood. Not just from the Yamaxanadu, but from the folk of Eientei as well."

Byakuren sharply raised her head and frowned, "W-What?"

Miko closed her eyes and let out a short, quiet gasp. Byakuren squeezed her hands down by her waist and looked back towards the temple, "...We had him come to this temple. You...you let him into your domain. He just looked like any other boy...a-and now."

"Get a hold of yourself Hijiri. Its not time to jump to conclusions yet." Miko spoke with the stern voice she'd used to give sermons to the people she leads.

Unleashing her glorious charisma in the form of swinging her cape aside with the gentle brush of the hand and sparkling radiantly like the starry night, Miko exclaimed, "Even if the world seems dark, we can still fight to reclaim the dawn!"

That admittedly put some hope back in Byakuren's heart, and with a chuckle and smile she said, "Nothing ever fazes you, does it Miko?"

The Crown Prince laid her arm to rest and tapped her shaku against her chin, "That's hardly worth boasting about. Of course a Prince must stand strong! To be the upstanding pillar of support for her pillar, a Prince cannot flaunt even a single flaw."

But immediately after saying so, Miko let out a long sigh that of course her friend could not ignore, "...You're not being honest with me about something Miko."

"Ha! Despite what I just boasted, you see right through me yet again Hijiri," This brought a long, tender smile to her face as she spun back to look her in the eyes and whispered under breath, "There is something I wish to ask of you...Not as a Prince...But as a friend."

Byakuren's heart sank slightly, and she squeezed her hands together to tough out what she knew would only be a grim omen, "I'm listening."

"...What I am about to do is something with lasting consequences for us all. Even if I am to succeed, I..." Miko bit her lower lip and sucked in a deep breath, then said after letting out a sigh, "I am entrusting Futo and Tojiko to you, Hijiri. They are a fickle pair, but I do believe they'll fit right in."

Byakuren swung her hands up to grab Miko's and pull her in closer. The Crown Prince grimaced at how tightly she held on and how deeply she looked into her eyes, and was suddenly starting to raise her voice, "Don't think that way! We can come up with a plan. Together! You, me, and Mamizou...If we put our heads together, we can-"

"Hijiri, Mamizou isn't here. Did you not realize that?" Miko said with a sullen gaze. Byakuren stopped and looked back, counting up all the people on the steps by their names, "Shou, Ichirin, Unzan, Nazrin, Nue, Murasa, Kyouko, Kogasa, Futo, Tojiko, and..."

Upon letting out a pale gasp, Byakuren turned back around and found that Miko was now averse to looking her in the eyes as she whispered, "To think that we used to be at each other's throats Hijiri. That seemed so long, long ago...Almost like it was a dream."

The Crown Prince closed her eyes and spoke under her breath, "To think that reality would wind up being the nightmare..."

Byakuren wanted to say something, speak what was glued to the tip of her tongue, but her heart just continued to sink. And Miko would ultimately rob her of that chance by staring deep into her eyes and commenting, "There's no more time Hijiri."

And then raising her voice upon closing her eyes, "Because you are already here, aren't you, Alex Whiter?!"

He was standing right there at the gates, no quieter than a mouse. His hands were tucked into his pockets and his body hunched over, showing that he was feeling a bit tired. The announcement of his arrival brought the panicked bunch at the temple's front steps to cobble together and slam up against the door.

Byakuren backed up from Miko and began to raise her fists, only for the Crown Prince to press them down and gently shake her head. Miko then took the lead and approached Alex with a smile, "And to what do we owe the honor of your company?"

"You know why I'm here Miko." Alex cut right to the chase, but spoke with mild respect. Miko raised her brows and let out a curious hum, then leaned her head back and chuckled.

"To talk about whether or not we are with you or against you, no?"

Alex grumbled through a scrunched up mouth and then pressed the issue bluntly, "Obviously all of you haven't gathered here to host a party."

"Ignore the others," Miko hastily responded, "If there's a matter to discuss, then you can do so alone with me."

"Are you speaking for everyone here or...?"

"Like I said. Just myself," Miko gave a smarmy grin and asked, "Unless...there is something wrong with this?"

"Why are you asking me?" Alex closed his eyes and sighed, "If this is what you want, then I don't give a shit either way."

"Aha! Perfect then!" Miko raised her head with a loud, haughty laugh, "Shall we depart for me Senkai then? I'd presume you'd want as little interruptions as physically possible."

Alex nodded softly and Miko raised her brows to ask, "Are you sure? You do not suspect a trap?"

"You?" He grinned and snorted a brief chuckle, "I have it on good authority that you won't try anything funny Miko."

"Hehe. As I can only imagine you would!" Miko was proud to hear that, and after striking her shaku out from her chest she pointed for the ground and opened a wide white gap from the cracks in the ground.

"Shall we?"

"You first, of course." Alex said while barely putting the effort into waving for the gap.

"Of course." Miko snidely aped with a nod. But as she took the first step forward, Futo bellowed out in fury.

"Crown Prince! Do not acquiesce-eth to his requests! He is deserved-eth none of your mercy!"

"Hey peanut gallery. Can it!" Alex remarked while stamping the ground with one foot.

"Its quite alright. They shall be a non-issue," Miko assured before turning back around and looking past Byakuren to state, "Futo! As your Crown Prince, I request that you stay strong, now and forever...I have faith that you can do so."

Then her gaze went towards Byakuren for but a moment, where with the quietest of smiles she then spun around and walked into her own gap without a word. Alex followed suit, and the gap was zipped shut.

Miko's Senkai was as quiet and peaceful as Alex remembered it. The atmosphere was soft and foggy, and her Divine Mausoleum looked utterly mystical because of that. Miko was the one in the lead, and she was taking her dear sweet time moving forward.

Each step of hers was like a snail's crawl, and Alex was the anchor trudging along behind her. He didn't really care one way or another how long she was taking. It certainly didn't feel like she was planning a trap.

Miko just stopped. Not in any special spot, but the way she said "This is fine" suggested it was. They were halfway to the Mausoleum from where they had begun. Mikoe slowly turned around and kept her chin close to her chest for a bit, pondering in silence.

Alex broke that silence by asking, "Did you ever get your robe back?"

"Oh?" Miko perked her head up in surprise and smiled, "That is what you wish to start with?"

"All that is going on...And you ask about a robe? Haha, it is like we are old friends conversing in a park about days gone past." Miko felt eager to laugh about that, but knew it was not the time.

"Yes," She then said, "The robe was returned just fine. Though if I were to describe the state it was in..."

With a light blush she cough up her answer, "Well, I'm not sure there are words appropriate enough for me to speak."

Alex got mildly embarrassed and fought hard against the urge to smile. Miko then shifted her brows down and inquired, "Speaking of which...Have you been to see Mamizou recently?"

Alex felt his stomach churn for reasons he could not explain as he replied, "Not since the day after the festival...Why?"

"...You might be surprised to find that she is no longer a part of this world." She cast out with a stoic voice.

Alex knew what she meant. By god did he know...But his denial was so strong that he spoke otherwise while nervously biting his teeth, "You...You mean she returned to the Outside World, right?"

She closed her eyes and kept her voice in a dulcet whisper, "I went straight to the village to search for Kokoro. Had no such luck. She must have gone and taken refuge elsewhere. So I took my leave on the usual route out into the forest. Even in these troubling times I presumed I'd be safe alone. Then I began to smell blood. Fresh...blood. I couldn't ignore it. Even if I wanted to."

"...I immediately recognized the body by the tail. Her chest had been cut open and her heart ripped out. Judging by her hollow eyes, she didn't see it coming."

Alex squeezed his fists deep within his pockets and let out a slowly unhinging chuckle while steam rose in his heart.

"She's...dead?" Though he bit his teeth into a scowl, only the tiniest part of it was shown to Miko.

"...You had nothing to do with this, right?" She asked, fanning the flames in his heart to a boil.

"I would never lay a hand on her!" Alex gnashed at her with a bigger scowl and stared deep into her eyes as he explained, "You KNOW who did this."

"Ah yes. The boogeywoman." Miko saw that fire in his eyes explode like dynamite and yet with a mellow vibe to her posture she whispered, "Do not take that as an insult. Given the circumstances, I have every right to be suspicious...But I am still willing to hear your side of the story."

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and released his frustration in a hiss that grew into a loud, skyward shout as he jerked away from Miko and walked a couple steps forward. He grabbed onto the side of his head and felt like tearing his own brain out just to keep the anger gone for good.

"What do I even need to say?" Alex gazed over his shoulder, "I heard Mamizou's story. You were there. You, her, Byakuren..."

"This shouldn't be up for debate. Yukari's a goddamn animal that needs to be caged or put down."

"Sure, you heard the tanuki's perspective...But not mine," Miko stated boldly in the face of turmoil, "I may not advocate Yukari's methods, but its not as though I don't understand why she employs them."

"Her love of Gensokyo is as true as it gets," Miko closed her eyes and smiled, "Love makes you do good things. Love makes you do stupid things."

Alex hung his head and took in a deep breath to relax, then murmured bitterly through his teeth, "So what? And that's supposed to justify what she did?"

"To you? ...Or to that girl, Shina Aurora?"

Her question was a cold nail pounded through Alex's heart that stilled him entirely. He bit his lower lip, and Miko smirked before remarking, "Love goes both ways. 'Tis neither good nor evil."

There was a long, drawn out silence before the Crown Prince could muster up the courage to ask, "Is she alive?"

"...I don't know." Alex said with a heavy murmur.

"Are you sure?"

He stamped his feet upon turning around and growled through his teeth, "I. Don't. KNOW!"

The anguish and loneliness in his voice was as real as her and him. His breath was ragged, and she could tell he was running on fumes. And yet, she pushed him further with a simple question, "Then why haven't you confirmed this?"

Her answer, unsurprisingly, was but a drape of silence descending before his face.

Miko laid her shaku down by her hip and murmured "I see" as though unsurprised.

"Because you could not bear the thought of knowing she might no longer be alive. Or that, even if she were, she'd no longer see you the same way she did before. You're afraid of holding her close, but you're even more afraid of letting her go."

"...That's a little too on the nose," Alex grumbled, "Did your 'divine hearing' tell you that?"

"Hardly," She admitted right away, humbling herself with a grin, "It was all guesswork."

She then looked at him in the eyes, each of hers glistening with a wisdom beyond humanity's own, "But if there's one thing I can say for certain...Is that you are afraid of being the father of her child."

Alex's body went numb after he turned around and saw Miko's self-assured smile, "I told you I saw my robe again. What? Did you presume me daft in those ways of love?"

After a short, jolly laugh, Miko settled her chin to rest on her chest.

"...Return to her, Alex Whiter."

"What?"

"There's still time to turn back. Find her. Embrace her. Never let her go. I'm sure she will understand."

"...She saw me die." Alex whispered to himself. But when Miko took interest, he quickly shook his head and said, "I can't go back. As long as I'm alive, anyone I care for will be caught in the crosshairs if I get close. You already saw what happened to Mamizou...I have no choice. I will not stop until Yukari's done for."

Miko's eyes sank as she spoke stoically towards the boy, "Are you sure about this?"

Alex gave it a second to digest his thoughts then nodded his head softly.

"You've only instigated the chaos. You haven't seen it unfold firsthand like I have. They are all afraid. For their lives...and of you."

"...And I'm sorry about that. I truly am..." Alex whispered under his breath.

"There are some that despise Yukari, who at the same time love Gensokyo for what it is. With their peace threatened though, they will flock together to deal with the immediate threat, not the one lurking in the shadows. At the rate things are going, there will barely be any allies for you to rally to your cause. And as more and more people come after you, that number will dwindle, but the blood shed shall grow..."

"Eventually, all of Gensokyo will be in ruins, even if perchance someone stops you..."

"Miko, whose side are you on?" Alex firmly pondered aloud.

She smiled and yelled proudly to the heavens with her head held high, "My loyalty shall always be towards the people under my rule! But today I shall not stand alongside humanity as their champion, but the Youkai as well!"

She dropped her shaku to the ground and reached for the sheath dangling from her waist. Alex bit his teeth and growled, "What are you doing?"

"In the name of peace I offer myself as the sacrifice! My body, whether in life or death, shall burn bright as a star through the darkness! And my name, the name of the Prince Shoutoku, shall be carved into the annals of legend, my story retold across many generations to come until the end of eternity!"

She slyly raised her brows and remarked, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"No..." Alex whispered in a disheartened voice before yelling at her harshly, "Don't be a fool! There's nothing to gain from this!"

"Then if you wish to dissuade me, withdraw from Gensokyo at once as per my advice! Otherwise..." Miko cast her sheath off with a flick of her left hand and let it crash to the ground with barely a sound. She suspended her blade, which cast a light as bright and yellow as the morning sun, aloft before her face.

"Draw your sword, and face me in a duel to the death, Elemental Overlord!"

Alex muttered "Damn it" a couple times and swung his right arm up and out to draw his sword out of hiding. He then squeezed it in both hands and held it before his waist, scowling all the while.

"Hahaha! Wonderful! Lets this be a duel for the ages!"

The two locked eyes. Miko swung her sword beside her head while Alex's rose overhead. The absolute silence of this realm was the perfect backdrop for their duel, as when their blades finally collided the thunderous clang was like a harmonious bell ring.

THE TRUE ADMINISTRATOR OF GENSOKYO: TOYOSATOMIMI NO MIKO

The wind their blades kicked up blew Miko's cape up to her shoulders, where it blew around like a kite caught up in a storm. The two were then forced back five feet each. Alex swung his head up and looked a bit shook from the strength she had displayed. But the surprises were far from over.

"Here I come!" Miko rushed at him with blinding speed and attack his shoulders from his left. He was forced to hold his blade downward with his arms curved before his face just to block it. After putting him in this compromising position Miko spun her sword downward with a flick of the wirst and stabbed it right towards his feet.

Alex leapt back and slashed his sword out twice before he blinked once, with Miko perfectly parrying each one. If swordsmanship could be compared to artistry, then the way Miko handled her blade would be like how a painter handles acrylic paint, with swift, gentle strokes that engrave her heart into whatever happens to be in front of her.

Miko swiveled her body to the right and brush her cape out of the way as she eyed Alex in her sight and leapt off the ground, spinning around and around to repeatedly slice at him like a pinwheel of blades. Alex was on the defensive and was driven back to the floor in a second with his knees bent halfway down.

Miko ended the assault by swinging her blade down in one singular stroke that broke a shockwave around the boy's feet.

"She's stronger than she looks...!" Alex gnashed his teeth together and then held onto his blade with all his strength as he swung it out, repelling her away.

She landed with a couple hops to maintain balance, then flung herself forward while stabbing the air repeatedly, leaving plenty of sparkles in the air every time her blade connected with Alex's. She evaded his defense and prodded his stomach and arms a few times before he pulled away, dragging his blade down against his hip like it was too heavy to wield.

Miko leapt with a clockwise twirl and slashed forth with a gliding crescent. Alex leaned his upper body back and sucked his gut in before it was cut, then swung his blade in an uppercut.

His slice cut the air roughly with fire until it connected with the underside of Miko's blade, upon which flames spurted like a firework going off. Miko's blade flew out of her hand and flipped around along with her. She made a graceful landing ten feet back and shook her wrist free of pain before using it to snatch the blade right out of the air.

Alex spun his sword around twice and held it backhanded, his body burning with fire. All that fire spun into his blade and followed him along as he slashed forward, sending a wave of it out towards Miko. She responded with a guffaw of raw bravado and then cut the wave down with a slash of blinding light that was swung so fast her cape parted all the way.

From underneath the folds of her cape a series of golden glints heralded the summoning of sparkling arrows to be thrown at his body at lightspeed. Alex twirled his blade quickly before his body, using the fire to expand the range it was able to shield him.

Miko lunged forth and stabbed her blade in-between the pinwheel, digging it in close to his hands so the tip of the blade was but centimeters from his elbow. A couple lasers pecked Alex's face and made him squint, keeping him ignorant to Miko's next daring move.

Her decision was planned well in advance, for with a hearty thrust she weaved her blade over his elbow and wounded his chest. She pulled her blade out the instant after and the light burned any blood that could stain it. Alex stumbled a step back and bit his teeth, then thrust his own blade towards her shoulder.

She swerved to the right and sunk into her cape, escaping underneath his line of sight by sliding forth to his backside. She twirled around and cut at his shoulder blades, but Alex was able to meet and deflect her attacks in the nick of time.

He slashed down at her second attack with all his strength and managed to put a nasty kink in her wrist that delayed her ability to react to his next move. He grabbed onto his blade in both hands and slashed upward, dragging up a wildstorm of flames in his wake.

The flames obscured the blade's position from her eyes, so she closed them shut and used her heightened Taoist instincts to sense the change in the air's flow. The heat of his blade penetrated towards her chest, and thus it was only natural that she'd leapt over it.

She blew the flames aside with a swing of her cape upon landing gently atop the fangs of his blade, which she used to propel himself over him, much to his surprise. Like a feather in the wind, she gently descended to the ground and spun as fate dictated, all while wearing that cherished, charismatic smile.

"How can she still smile?" Alex was finding himself envious of her ability to do so, and his head sagged slightly while his heart felt like it turned to stone.

"What's wrong? Have you been bewitched by my swordsmanship?" Miko remarked while swinging her right arm up and sparkles glistening beside her face.

Alex grabbed his blade in both hands and rushed the Crown Prince without a second thought. She let out an "Oho!" and parried his valiant stab with the full length of her blade. He then attacked with broad strokes, and Miko lashed her blade out twice to fend off each one.

She hopped back to put some distance between them and thrust the tip of her blade out repeatedly to keep that distance. With just a single hand she was able to keep Alex at bay for a few moments. But it was a move that'd prove costly when that precious time had passed.

Alex grew frustrated with this defensive game she played and smashed his blade into the bottom of hers with a raging blow to dislodge it from her hand. It twirled around a few feet overhead, and with a playful smile she leapt after and grabbed it both hands. The radiance of her blade doubled in size and she prepared to stab it down.

Alex leapt ten feet away in a single bounce, yet the stab was not what was to be feared, but what came afterwards. A geyser of light erupted under his feet and scorched him for a good five seconds before she ripped the blade free and stood upright, cutting through the geyser with an air slash.

Alex blocked that attack and his eyes were squinted in a peeved manner. With a haughty smirk she swung her cape aside and remarked, "Now you're getting into it!"

He charged straight forward and brought his blade down after hopping to add to its power. When the blade smashed into Miko's it erupted with flames that lashed against her body. He smashed his blade down twice more and managed to force her to let out a loud "Oomph!" that showed him his assault was effective.

Miko took advantage of the time it took for each swing to be peformed to spin her whole body around, whipping out a ring of light from her blade to strike Alex in the gut and send him flying back. When he landed he wobbled around with a burning sensation in his stomach coming from the wound Miko had inflicted earlier.

He held his hand atop it and grunted and hissed until the pain started to cool down. Then he panted and looked over at Miko, who had knelt and planted her sword in the ground to take a temporary break. She had looked as though she had barely broken a sweat.

"I'll be the first to admit I underestimated you! You definitely live up to your title as the Crown Prince of Shoutoku!" Alex yelled with sincere praise.

"And you the same, Elemental Overlord..." Miko relayed her views with an unflinching smirk, "But what do you say we take off the kid gloves?"

Alex widened his eyes for a brief moment and warned her, "Are you sure about that?"

"I requested a duel to the death. Do not mock me by holding back!"

The reverb of her mighty voice sent this wonderful shiver down Alex's spine that brought his lips to a grin. He grabbed onto the blade's seven triggers and pulled them down as he lashed the blade aside and exclaimed, "You asked for it, Toyosatomimi no Miko!"

As the golden flames erupted from his body to signal his transformation, Miko twisted her hand excitedly around the handle of her weapon, waiting for the flames to subside and his wings to spread wide.

"Very well...No more holding BACK!" Miko grit her teeth harder than a seasoned warrior fighting to the brink of death in war and the light of her blade became twisted and black. What was once bright as a sun was now dark enough to eclipse it. Yet in its own strange manner, its shone with incredible radiance. She pulled the blade free from the ground and cracked it apart, then grabbed the collar of her cape and threw the whole thing right off.

Alex smiled with glee and told her straight up, "Congrats! You have less pride than the Lunarians!"

"Pride...and something more! That is what guides our blades to fight!" With that valiant remark the two rushed each other and attacked with speeds that no normal human'd be able to react to.

As they hacked away at each other with a furious, undying resolve, the fog high above was parted to reveal the white empty void that was this realm's true form. Alex and Miko were splashed with the energies of their own attacks, the prolonged exposure forcing their retreat so they could rub their eyes clean.

After a few vigorous rubs they turned to face each other and swung their blades up in very much the same manner. One upward slash, curved in perfectly fine half-circle. The clashing blades exploded upon contact with each other and hurtled their owners back a few feet, whipping their arm down to their hip.

"This isn't just her own strength...!" Alex swung his head forward and bit his teeth down, then carved the air straight down and sent a wave of fire hurtling along the ground.

Miko leapt towards it and whipped her blade forward to cut her way through, stabbing the tip of her blade forthright at his face. He pivoted it out of the way and yet it still cut through his soul shield and drew blood from his cheek.

Alex pushed his face into the blade and let it bleed out as he thrust himself forward and cut at Miko's legs. He hit just below the knees, which was only enough to wobble her stance for a brief moment upon landing. She drew her blade back and swung it out with all her might, carving a large horizontal scar into the air that was suspended upon Alex blocking it.

But then she rose over it with a backflip and stabbed her blade down to penetrate the scar with another, causing a chain reaction that blew up in Alex's face and hurtled him back through the air. Miko went for another stab at his stomach, but Alex managed to get himself composed and block it with the blunt edge of his blade.

His back rammed into the ground and blistered his skin until Miko hopped off. She took a page out of Alex's book and sliced twice to send energy waves at him, which he was a little less successful blocking while he tried to stand up.

Alex laid a hand on and straightened his back until the bones cracked, then thrust his sword out before his right shoulder and heeded Miko's stance. She was pulling the blade back behind her back and cautiously had her eye on his legs. She was waiting for him to make the first move.

And deliver that move, he would. He ran headlong into the perimeter of her blade's swing and watched as her wrist twisted around the handle. She swung with all her might, coating the air in a thick black light. Alex leapt and turned over the energy. He kept his spin going even after flying over the Crown Prince, who was still midswing.

Upon dropping behind her he spun around and went for the back of her head. Yet she had masterfully predicted his every step and spun her sword into a backhanded grip to block his strike. She rose up high and let go of her blade for a second as she danced around and snagged it out of the air, managing to cut along Alex's fingers in the same stroke.

Alex gripped his blade tigher even at the cost of the pain burning through his nerves and attacked with explosive slashes that lit up the dismal atmosphere of Senkai. Miko was forced to retreat with every blow, yet struck with all her might as well. Cutting through the explosions with her black light blade, her smile continued to shine.

It was at that point in the battle that Alex started to see what she meant. Miko was drawing on the same power that he was. The power of determination coursed through her veins and allowed her to draw on even greater strength to prevail and overcome everything he was throwing at her.

That must be why, even though it was unlike him, he engaged the Crown Prince in a duel of swords. The subtle echoes of determination from their hearts beat in perfect sync. The vow to duel to the death was one of unspoken respect towards each other, even if this was but their second meeting.

"But I will not lose to you!" Alex roared as he dredged his blade through the ground and ripped it up with an eruption of crackling fire.

Miko hopped away from the falling embers and thrust herself forward the moment she landed. She broke right through his defenses with a single stab to the left shoulder, leaving it limp in a second. She pulled the blade out slightly with a hearty chuckle and tried to cut along the breadth of his chest, only for him to raise his blade to bash hers free from her grasp once more.

Miko leapt right after it and kicked her feet off the air to get away from his jumping slash. He dove after and slashed at her some more, kicking up the pace. Immediately after landing Miko ducked down and let Alex fly over her back, giving her a few precious seconds to build up more energy in her blade.

Alex swung around and was overcome with the shadow the black light cast as it towered clear into the heavens. Miko swung the blade downward without hesitation and Alex barely managed to jump away from it in time. This attack left a permanent cascade of energy upon the battlefield.

Miko ran alongside and dragged her blade through it, whipping it out once she was set to strike Alex's vulnerable side. Alex brought his blade to his shoulder's aid but suffered from the recoil as the blunt edge rammed into it and further shot the pain through his nerves.

"Ah...Ahh!" The pained scream manifested as a loud hiss as his feet dug through the ground in silence.

He stood tall and stared at Miko, who came flying at him once more. She wouldn't quit. Nothing but death could still her blade.

It just felt like such a waste. All this determination, all this fighting...And she spent it on him, not Yukari.

He closed his eyes and growled, then flared them right back open with red in his irises and a permanent scowl of anger towards that witch. He grabbed his sword in one hand and swung it out with all he had as Miko landed. Her blade went flying far back overhead. She silently closed her eyes, and as he ran his blade through her chest her own blade lodged itself into the ground in a perfectly upright position.

Alex trembled and was on the verge of shouting in anger that this had to happen, but was stopped by the curious lack of blood leaking from Miko's wound. She caught this abject look of surprise and grinned from cheek-to-cheek as she remarked in a dulcet tone, "Do not be alarmed. I was never 'alive' to begin with."

"Futo, Tojiko and myself...We became Shikaisen in hopes of attainting immortality. We discarded flesh and blood and were one day reborn anew in Gensokyo..." Miko closed her eyes and chuckled, "Though that never precluded us from death, I had always presumed I would've lasted...just a bit longer than this."

Alex looked down at the ground and squeezed his blade tighter as she continued, "There was still so much to do...So much to say. To think that even an immortal would find their time sparse and fleeting. There's honestly some irony to that."

"...You didn't have to do this. This wasn't determination, it was suicide!" Alex lambasted her with an immense fury that yet again was born of Yukari's part in this.

"Determination? My boy it was never about 'determination'. It was about something greater. Greater than us all. Something we spoke about just recently, and cherish more than we do our material bodies."

Miko closed her eyes and smirked, "But I suppose none of that matters now does it? At least not for me. All I can perform now is one final act of defiance against the chaos that sweeps through our land."

Miko lowered her hands to her hips and spoke with a solemn melancholy, "The moment you pull your blade free I will die...And shall mark the end of my Senkai. But it shall be no normal farewell. No, I intend to part this world in grandeur. Time shall accelerate only within this realm. My body, the Mausoleum, everything I have created shall be turned to dust, until eventually the only thing left is oblivion. And as you wander aimlessly through oblivion, eventually you too shall succumb to the dust as well, as with my passing there will be no way for you to escape."

"...I say this not out of malice, but as my final edict. All I wish to ask of you, Elemental Overlord...Was if all this was really worth it?"

Alex ripped the blade free from her chest so she'd collapse onto the ground. As the glimmer of light left her eyes, she saw only his face in her final moments. There was no panic, no concern, no fear. So with her final breath, she dully let out a regretful "Oh..."

The moment her body hit the floor, her last act of defiance began. Time zipped through decades and centuries within seconds. Her lifeless body rotted away to dust, and not long after the Mausoleum suffered the same fate. The fog in the sky grew dark and grey, then black and devoid of hope.

Yet Alex stood through it all, unaffected due to factors that were beyond Miko's control. He limply pulled the Gaia Temporis from his pocket and crushed it tightly around his hand. With a bitter, tired scowl, he murmured to the void, "You beat me fair and square Miko...Its not your fault that I cheated you of your victory."

Hanging his shoulders and shaking his head, he muttered the number "Eight" and used the enigmatic stone to rip open a hole in space-time that'd allow him to return to Gensokyo. But as he stepped through that portal and left Senkai to complete its oblivion, he had this sinking feeling in his heart that that number would soon surely grow...

Next Time: Desperate