...So I was a day off my estimates. Writing is hard, you know?
So, this is the end. Well, one of a couple ends to be precise. I am sorry to have been so vague in regards to things as of late. I write this not just for my benefit, but for yours as the reader as well. Thin though your numbers may be, your patience in this regard shall soon be rewarded.
You deserve that much for having to endure what has happened.
But...did you ever figure out my final truth? I'd rather assume not. The only one besides me who did was Hecatia. But...there was nothing she could do even with that knowledge at her disposal besides sit back and watch events play out the way I intended.
Reimu...everyone. Regardless of what I am about to say, it doesn't change what has happened. I thank you all for trying your hardest to fight, and I shall remember these events forever. But I shall not mourn them, because...
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...Tee-hee. No, not yet~
First off, why don't we see what our little Phoenix of Destruction has to say to me?
Outside the thrall of the narrative, Alex Whiter has only been standing alone in wait for a few meager seconds, his eyes dazzled with confusion while the rest of his face looked worn down and tired. He's been through a lot these past twenty-four hours, perhaps more than any "mortal" man should have been allowed to endure.
He didn't waste a single second after reviving from the death inflicted upon him by the one he loved...To come to Gensokyo and exact his revenge upon me. He wanted to deliver "justice" upon the wicked, but wound up killing everyone who stood in his path.
He's been beaten, battered, torn apart, and yet stitched back up anew time after time after time again. He's but a puppet...A puppet of flesh, sinew and blood, but a puppet nonetheless. So please...Dance little puppet, dance for me a waltz of rage and despair. Scream at me your words of venom until your lungs are ripped apart like a popped balloon. Enjoy your last moments, for you robbed yourself of your joy.
Alex raised his head and took the weight of the dying world upon his shoulders as he leaned his neck out, the veins popping out slightly from under his chin as he strained to bark the vitriolic words from his mouth.
"You...bitch!" A simple start, unsurpising to be sure. He followed up this rancid snarl by raising his voice and digging his feet into the ground, as though attempting in vain to intimidate me.
"How dare you...How dare you show your face now!" He swung his right arm back towards the fires and famine that swept Gensokyo, his smile twisted up to the right as he let out one, unhinged chuckle.
"Everyone! Everything! Its all GONE! I did it...I ruined all of Gensokyo!" He squeezed his fist and teeth together and stared me down with eyes almost black as coal, his anger somehow only growing stronger.
"...They fought for you. They fled...for YOU! They died...FOR YOU!" Alex pounded his fist up against his beating heart and squeezed his fingertips against the palm until it started bleeding.
"Do you know how many people died because of you?! Because of ME?!" And from there he started listing off all the names in agonizing detail, adding emphasis to each and every one for no other reason than to think it'd incite me to anger.
"Shikieiki! Reisen! Kaguya, Mokou, Eirin! Miko! Unzan! Ichirin! Murasa! Nue! Kyouko! Shou! Nazrin! Futo, Tojiko! Byakuren! Aya, Hatate, Momiji! Rin! Satori, Koishi, Utsuho! Nitori! Sanae, Kanako, Suwa-"
"What is the point of-"
"LET! ME! FINISH! You...BITCH!" He yelled through snarling teeth, and so for this moment I seceded to his rage, but wore a flowery smile as I leaned in closer to listen.
"...Yuugi, Kasen, Suika! Yuyuko, your best friend! Ran, your loyal servant! Chen, Youmu! Meiling, Koakuma, Alice, Patchouli, Sakuya, Remilia and Flandre! Tenshi! Kokoro! Marisa! REIMU! AND THAT'S JUST THE PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES I CAN REMEMBER!"
He started tearing up. What a pitiful, blatant facade of emotion...
He swung his bleeding fist up towards my face, as though offering me a portion of his "bleeding" heart as he cried out, "All those people died hoping that I'd be stopped...Or that you'd face up to your duties! But instead they place all their faith in a coward!"
I closed my eyes and let out a somewhat trite sigh before responding back, "Yes, but at least I have the strength in me to admit that I am one. What do you have to say for yourself on that front, o'Phoenix of Destruction?"
He started trembling before me and swung his fist back down to his hip as he stammered, "T-This isn't about me damn it!"
"Could it be about anyone else BUT you? You've been the main focus of this entire tale from the very beginning. Yes. Its always been about you...Poor, pitiful Alex Whiter...The orphaned, traumatized little boy given great power and beloved by everyone he comes across."
"Shut...UP!" He yelled back, but for me...That was simply the perfect signal to keep going.
"But pity fails you now. After what you've done, no one watching on the outside deserves to give you even an ounce of sympathy ever again."
"What...I've...done?!" His eyes widened, for he was blatantly horrified by the callousness my words seemed to suggest I was expressing, "After all that bullshit you spewed about 'loving' Gensokyo you couldn't even have the decency to try and protect it! I accept my role in all this! Its time you did as well!"
He lashed a pointer finger at my face and I felt a slight breeze kick my hair back. Was this really the best he could muster at this point? I shouldn't be surprised, honestly, but even I am starting to feel a little sorry for how weak he feels before me now.
"...I did try my best to protect Gensokyo. I sought to break you, dissuade you from ever believing you had a chance to stop me...And then in a cruel twist of fate, turn the one you love against you," I close my eyes and shake my head a little, "But alas, you came back to life anyways. And spurned on by the vengeance in your heart, you came back to finish the job..."
"So it was you...You're the one that tricked Shina into attacking me." His voice was insipid, lacking in surprise.
But he did put me in a bit of a tight spot. I do not wish to lie, but I cannot divulge my comrade's existence to him now can I? A little wordplay ought to serve me well here...
"I tricked your mind into believing she was an enemy. To my lack of surprise, her love for you was so strong that her voice reached out to you through the illusion and helped you break it at the last moment."
"...Why?" He growled, "Why do you keep targeting her too?! She didn't do anything to you!"
"Because," I spoke most quietly, "She was the only thing keeping you in check."
"Yes. It wasn't out of any sense of spitefulness towards the girl. I am actually quite fond of her, truth be told...But as long as she was around, you'd continue to be well..."
"Fuck you...!" Thankfully for me, he interrupted me before I'd have to strain myself to try and divert the subject naturally.
He lashed out, unsurprisingly, in anger, "You're a deceitful, spiteful witch! Do you think I'll ever believe your lies?!"
"Believe what you will. But there is one thing even you cannot hide from yourself..." I sat up atop my gap and stared down at him with a playful allure surrounding my body as I smiled and whispered, "Countless times I've watched Gensokyo be burned to the ground. But this is the first time that you have stood amidst the ashes and embers."
"...What are you talking about?" He growled in confusion.
Luckily, I am quite the enlightener on these sorts of things, "I mean that you, the real you, not your 'split-personality', is standing before me."
He narrowed his eyes and growled with a trembling body, but did not utter a word as I continued on, "But of course that doesn't make any sense to you. Even with everything I've told you thus far, there is no way you could have known this."
"Did you never consider how odd it was...That your 'split-personality disorder' didn't behave in the way that it should have? Instead of you shifting between two different personalities, that second one only seemed to be a voice in your head? That is because the 'Author' used your trauma as a catalyst to create his second 'Blank' inside of your mind...The TRUE Phoenix of Destruction."
"Oh yes," I say as the boy's jaw drooped somewhat in silence, "I am not lying. You see, it was the 'Author's' intent to hide this 'split-personality' from the general audience, and then when the time came to destroy Gensokyo he'd force the Phoenix of Destruction out and try to spin the event as you being possessed. That way he could get EXACTLY what he wanted out of his insane narrative and leave you 'blameless' for the act."
"But that's not what happened in my series of events now is it? Like I said before, when a 'Blank' is separated from the 'Author' for long periods of time, they start developing their own sense of self. Now your 'split-personality' became its own entity altogether, and decided that it wanted to destroy to satisfy YOU...And on top of that, I exposed the secret of this 'split-personality' to the world."
"But I couldn't just let the Phoenix of Destruction be. So that is why I enticed the artifact piece into your hands on Mega Man's world...So its cursed nature would draw your 'split-personality' into control of your body, and in time Shina Aurora would damage it so thoroughly that it'd be forced into slumber."
"And from there, the rest of my plan would unfold as you know it...Since you'd been separated from the control of the 'Author', your 'split-personality' wouldn't be able to accomplish the task it was created for, and for good measure, your death would finally avenge the countless timelines where I watched Gensokyo fall to ruins."
"...But things didn't go according to that plan. That meddlesome stone of yours rewound your clock and brought you back to life...And then well...You know what happened. After all..." I stared down with empty eyes, "You caused all this."
He started to hang his head and avert his gaze from my own as I spoke, "It appears that, 'Author' or not, you are a natural born destroyer of worlds, Alex Whiter. And now...you can no longer hide behind any excuses. YOU chose to do this. Not me. Not some 'Author' tapping away at his keyboard. YOU, and only YOU, can say you have blood on your hands."
"...So what?" He said with a surprisingly minor degree of laughter following up on that, "Yeah...I did it...I ADMIT IT!"
He swings his arms up for a moment and then let them limp back down to his hips as he declared, "I destroyed Gensokyo! I AM the Phoenix of Destruction..."
He bit his teeth into a scowl aimed my way and growled out, "But none of this changes the here and now Yukari Yakumo! You can keep pinning the blame on me all you want...But after all you expressed about loving Gensokyo you can't even bring yourself to grieve and mourn it!"
I laid back into my gap and gently laid my hands under my chin. With a sultry gaze and mischievous smile I uttered quietly to the boy, "Now why would I mourn for the demise of a fake Gensokyo?"
And upon saying those very words his body stiffened up like a statue and his rage turned towards fear and denial. He started shaking his head with a haughty grin and barked back at me, "Don't try and weasel out of this you bitch! Gensokyo is-"
"Safe and sound back where I left it, with no awareness of your return." I said with my eyes closed and my smile feeling quite lovely, if I must be honest.
I didn't even have to see it. It was so easy to visualize the boy's pupils shrinking and his body retreating a couple steps on its own. He must have been shaking his head around, taking one long look at the world around him. I know what he was attempting to do, but...
"Its a perfect recreation, isn't it? Even down to the tiniest leaf, this duplicate served its purpose splendidly," I opened my eyes and my smile grew wider. Eventually, it is going to run out of space to grow, so I dialed it back a bit and muttered, "Now I know what you're thinking...Yes, this trickery is far beyond even my capabilities."
"But...Hecatia warned you, didn't she? That I have friends in 'higher-up' places." With the grin of a Cheshire Cat I watched the boy's will to fight collapse like a jenga tower.
"There were certain rules I had to obey in making myself one of the Four Guardians. Unless you instigated a fight, I could not directly touch you, so I manipulated events from the shadows to give you every reason to want to fight me when we meet. Likewise, the wish I made could not be used to put an end to you, even if it was within their power to do so. You have Sarajin to thank for that bit of protection."
"So that left me with a tough decision to make regarding my wish. I wondered...How could I stop you, and ensure Gensokyo's safety on the off-chance my Plan A failed to work? I thought about it long and hard for a couple centuries before finally deciding on it..."
"I would wish for a second Gensokyo to be created. A mimic that duplicates everything that happened in the real Gensokyo down to the letter, but not vice versa. And in my wish I included that I would be the master of this duplicate, given full control to do whatever it is I wished. I could plant more trees, I could add more people...I could destroy it, or I could rebuild it. Anything I want was within my power to do so."
"So with a second Gensokyo under my control, I informed the people of the real Gensokyo about the real and immediate threat you posed. Just enough paranoia to ensure they'd fight you when the time was right, but not enough to ruin the structure of Gensokyo itself. After our first encounter, I supplanted the fake Gensokyo over the real Gensokyo, so that when you'd return you'd fall right into my trap."
"...From the very beginning...This Gensokyo...Was a fake?" Alex couldn't believe a word I said, but yes...
"Ever since you returned. Everyone you killed and tormented with your presence, from the Lunarians all the way to Reimu, were all duplicates born of a wish I made upon the 'higher-ups'."
"Y-You're lying...!" That spark of life returned to his voice and ignited a tearful rage as he swung at me, fists flung at the empty air, "Everyone I saw...Everyone that died! They fought with all their heart! Those were the real deals damn it! Don't fuck with me!"
"That just goes how little our almighty overseer refuses to slack when it comes to craftsmanship. Futanji Shinryu didn't just create all these worlds we live in...He also wears those very worlds as his scales. Each and every individual world, and each and every one of those trillions upon trillions of individuals that live upon them beat as one in his heart...When he creates, copies or destroys, he does not allow even the slightest imperfection to escape his notice."
I smiled Alex's way as he pulled back his fists and continued to cry. It was rather insulting at this point to see him weep, so I remarked in a rather forceful manner, "That's curious. Why would you even want me to lie in the first place? Wouldn't it be better if this world was a complete and utter fake? A dream whipped up by an insane woman? Then...you'd be able to live with yourself guilt-free."
I pulled a fan out from behind my left sleeve and whip it before my face, hiding my dainty smile while peering down with glaring violet eyes, "This world being a duplicate doesn't change a thing. Just because I have preserved the real deal doesn't invalidate your behavior or your actions."
"You came into this world with the intent to kill, and kill you did. You had the power within you to incapacitate any who stood in your path. But instead you killed. You killed and killed and killed some more until finally there was no one left but you and I. And for what? 'Justice'? Its true what they say...Justice is blind...Blinded by a blood-soaked curtain of red."
"You could have avoided this. You had the perfect out...All you had to do is return to the one you love. The 'Author's' control over you was broken, your 'split-personality' was laid dormant...But you chose 'justice' and 'revenge' over 'love' and 'restraint' because behind all the masks that's the person you truly are, Alex Whiter."
"I never engage in a fight I know I cannot win. And now...you lose. Plan B has almost gone off without a hitch."
"...You're wrong." He tightened both his hands around the handle of his blade and raised it up high before his chest, the amber sheen swallowed up in engorging flames.
"I'm still here...You're still alive! I'll destroy you and your lies once and for all Yukari Yakumo!" The flames raged but were whimpering in comparison to the inferno I saw him raise in the past.
I folded my fan up, closed both my eyes, and with the fan pointed down at his body I remarked, "I said you lose, you but that's not quite true in a manner of speaking...The full truth is that you lost 3,081 words ago."
Alex Whiter dispelled his sword and dropped to his knees. His eyes became blank and unblinking as his upper body slumped back and stared towards the sky. All this, he did as I have written it to be, and without any cause for resistance.
"...Full supplanting achieved. As of now, for as brief a time as I am allowed, I am in full control of your actions, Alex Whiter." A slapped my fan against my left wrist for a moment then tucked it into the adjacent sleeve, descending upon the boy as he just stared into oblivion against his will.
I hopped out of the gap and kneeled down in front of him. Drawing one hand up to the side of his face I caressed down his cheek and giggled like a little girl receiving a doll for the first time, "Your 'Author' really did craft you well. A pity the personality leaves much to be desired..."
I turned my head to the left to look at you all and giggle some more, "Yes. I'm certain you're all very, very confused right now. But I assure you, this will make sense in a moment. But...I do require a little help in that department."
Thus I reached into the boy's right pocket and draw the Gaia Temporis out, enclosing it in a tiny spherical barrier as I leave it hovering between my palms. I stare deep into its "eyes" and with a wide smirk remarked, "Hello little miss troublemaker. How are you doing?"
"...What have you done, Yukari Yakumo?" A bitter young woman speaks to me in return.
"Oh come now don't be vague. Tell them what they wish to hear..."
"...W-Why have you brought this duplicate Gensokyo one million years into the past? To THIS location?!"
"Ohohoho. Why, you ask? Isn't it obvious dear Temporis? ...Cause you left me no other choice, of course." With a lighthearted smile I stood up on my feet and propped the stone between my chest and the boy's head, looking beyond it to gaze at my new little plaything.
"Beyond keeping the number of Phoenix of Destructions at one, I worked to the tooth and nail to keep the probability of these events at 100% because I knew YOU just simply couldn't let him go. Whenever you ferried Alex Whiter's soul to another body, you were also working to preserve his soul, the pure and original soul that you knew..."
"..."
"You're a powerful nuisance, but even you aren't without a rulebook to follow. Without a perfectly perpendicular timeline to jump to, you're stuck rewinding the clock to keep them both alive. But...in this current state of affairs, you can only rewind, you cannot jump forward. After all, time travel of this extent is strictly forbidden. Even I am risking a lot to do what I am about to do."
"..."
"Without words to say are we? Then let me keep going. The way I see it, as long as you are around it is impossible to kill Alex Whiter for good. But 'Reimu' had the right idea, she just didn't go about it the right way...If killing is off the table, then imprisoning him in a situation he cannot escape from is the right way to go about that."
"...That's why you let things unfold that way in the BlazBlue world."
"Yes. That's right. That too was a test. The Boundary would have been an effective prison to hold the Phoenix of Destruction back...Were it not for the fact that it was still bound by the laws of time and space, allowing you the chance to work your mischief to save them both."
"But there IS one prison that isn't upheld by these troublesome laws. The 'higher-ups' prison...The Eternal Ravine."
"..."
I smiled at the Gaia Temporis as finally, at my command, the fake Gensokyo started to unravel around me, "That's right, Ms. Temporis. You know what it requires to be put in that prison. A catastrophe so grand that it would draw even the 'higher-ups' attention..."
"History dictated already that the 'higher-ups' obliterated one troublesome world. A world filled to the brim with 'Authors' and hundreds upon hundreds of 'Blanks'. But instead of them being responsible, I shall rewrite history ever so slightly, and put the Phoenix of Destruction in the spotlight of this world's end. And as the 'higher-ups' shall be watching, they will react upon this world's end almost immediately after it unfolds."
"Under my command as the boy's temporary 'Author', he shall raze this world to the ground and be set to trial for his actions. I am assured in myself that he shall be rendered a 'Guilty' verdict and imprisoned for all eternity for this crime, while I shall return to my real Gensokyo without a problem."
"And you, you meddlesome stone...Shall pay penance for troubling me so by following my every wish."
"Why would I ever do that? Why would I ever help you?!"
"What other choice do you have? You can attempt to run, but then you'd be breaking the law. You could attempt to hide, but I shall always have my eye on you...Or you could accept the punishment I wish upon the Phoenix of Destruction, and remain at his side for all eternity...Just as you always wanted."
"..."
"..."
"...That's a good girl," I undo the barrier around the stone and place it back into Alex's pocket, giving it a couple pats before standing upright and drawing my parasol behind my head, "Now then..."
The "barrier" behind the shrine parted, and the bright blue and green light of the Earth basked upon my body. But this was not my Earth...
Alex got up, because that is my wish, and drew his sword in his right hand while growling like a rabid beast.
"Shall we go? A world of heroes and villains of all shapes and sizes awaits us. As does your final fate, Phoenix of Destruction..."
I wish there was some other way, some other sacrifice I could make. But like the boy, I have chosen my path forward and shall not look back. So forgive me, true believers...For it is your world of Marvels that shall be the sacrifice to ensure the end of the Phoenix of Destruction.
With one rather forced smile, I slipped back into the open depths of space and crawled into a gap, my lengthy blonde hair entangling my body as Alex Whiter pursued me out of the collapsing replica of my beloved world with his fires raging out like that of an immortal Phoenix.
And this...is where the threads of fate between the one who Destroys and the one who brings Balance, at last intersect.
...But its a fickle thread. For soon, the story of the Destroyer shall meet its end...
Final Chapter: The Fall of Alex Whiter
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Next Time: Trial of the Phoenix of Destruction