Rumia didn't get to see much of where she emerged. It looked like a throne room, made of black... material, unlike anything Rumia had seen before, with red cloth draped around the throne itself.
She didn't get to see much because she suddenly collapsed. The reason for this was twofold. Part of it was exhaustion, as the battle caught up with her, as Eirin's Elixir wore off.
The other was her head. The pain was massive.
"Yumeko! Take her away! There's no way she can stand being in Makai for two days, put her in a Time-Pocket." Shinki ordered, as the maid appeared.
"Yes, Lady Shinki." she said, before Rumia felt herself being picked up by the arms of the doll-maid.
When she came to, she was in a much smaller room, along with Yumeko, who was glowing with a faint red light. Her head still hurt, but she was no longer exhausted.
"How long has it been?" Rumia asked.
"In this time-space pocket I created? An hour. In Makai? Depends on Shinki's mood. In Gensokyo? Just under two days." Yumeko said.
"Eh... so Shinki can control time if she pleases here." Rumia said.
"Not localized like me. The fact she told me to locally slow time for you means she wanted time in Makai to go by faster compared to time for me, you, and Gensokyo. She usually does this when she wants to think about something." Yumeko said, before adding, "We have a few minutes in this slowed time pocket before I am due to take you to Shinki, and I cannot take you early, for the risk of your... true self."
Rumia sighed.
"I thought I put her behind me, but no, she's still trouble when I'm here, I guess. Real shame, I'd like to visit 'ma a bit more often." Rumia said.
"She's not your mother. You are not a creation of Shinki." Yumeko snapped. "You are not like Alice or me, or Mai. If anything, you are an adopted child. Akin to Yuki, someone who came from another place, and settled in Makai."
"Huh?" Rumia asked.
"Many people attuned to magic, seeking more power, find their way to Makai, due to it being literally a world made of Shinki's magic. If they can survive, they become treated like Shinki's own. You, however, were different even for Adopted Children." Yumeko explained.
"The other me said... I exist to kill Shinki." Rumia said.
"I wouldn't be surprised. You killed me trying to kill Shinki." Yumeko said.
"Eh?!" Rumia exclaimed.
"I defended Shinki from you, and took a fatal blow. However, my will to live was so powerful that Shinki as able to construct me a new body, and place my soul within it. On that day, I became the 'Doll of Misery', a soul in a jar, who continues to give service to Shinki, even after giving her life. Many consider it a miserable fate... but I consider it the highest honor." Yumeko explained, before she stood up, and the room shimmered.
"It is time. Come with me. The more time we waste, the greater the threat to you." Yumeko said.
Pandemonium was surprisingly bland. It was largely just black material... a mix of metal and stone, with some red and blue, and the occasional glass floor, or strained glass window of Shinki. It seemed almost the opposite of what Shinki was.
Rumia looked out of a window, and saw Makai itself.
She immediately understood why Shinki called herself the Devil.
Makai was a twisted land. In the immediate area of Pandemonium, which floated above the land, was an expanse of ice and fire, in which Rumia could make out Yuki and Mai, having a sparring match, it seemed. Rumia had no doubt that the area of Fire and Ice was their home.
Beyond that, was a land of hills and rough terrain, which was red, filled with areas where there were large amounts of dark energy. Storm clouds floated above Makai, with lighting flashing in them.
And yet, despite Makai looking like a hellish landscape... something about it seemed serene... and beautiful. It was like a structured chaos, a land of magic, not of aesthetics.
Rumia continued to follow Yumeko, her head still hurting, until she entered Shinki's throne room.
The room had... changed, as if it reacted to Shinki's whim. The room looked infinite, a corridor of faintly blue glass, with pillars lining it, a glowing light behind Shinki... not like the Sun or the Moon... but like a sphere of pure magical energy. Shinki sat in her throne, which was made of the black material.
"So... I assume you wish to know more about yourself, seeing as you have doubtlessly discussed with your... former self." Shinki said. She sounded resolute.
Rumia just nodded, and Shinki waved her hand, as a sphere formed, which changed to show a black room, the form of Shinki's throne room when Rumia arrived. Rumia figured this was like when Yukari used her powers to show her the past before.
There were three beings. One was Shinki, who looked identical to today. The second, by her side, was Yumeko, with slightly shorter hair. The third, however, was some-one Rumia had never seen before.
She wore a heavy set of red and gold armor, and wielded a hand-and a half sword, with a large red gem in the hilt. She had large, bird-like, white wings, like that of a dove, except far larger. Her hair was golden, and fell straight, platted, between her wings, to her knees.
"You are an abomination!" the strange woman said to Shinki.
"How dare you! You are speaking to the God of this realm! How did you even get here?!" Yumeko shouted, before Shinki put up her hand.
"Explain, why are you calling a God an Abomination?" Shinki asked.
"Your power is false. I know the source of your power Shinki. I know how you became a God... I am here to return *that item*." the woman said.
Shinki just pointed at the woman, and a beam of darkness pierced her heart, killing her instantly. Shinki's face looked like one of absolute rage.
"How... can she know..." Shinki said. "Not even you, Yumeko, I have told about the Genesis of Makai..."
Shinki and Yumeko were looking at each other, and both failed to notice the body vanish, darkness consume it.
"I do not know who that was. I do not know where she came from." the modern Shinki said. "But I do know one thing. Her will to live, and her will to undo Makai's existence caught the attention of one that is sealed... one that is sealed at the very core of Makai. I guess if you consider me the 'Mother' to all of Makai, this thing is the 'Father'." Shinki said, before she sighed.
"The 'Father' hates me, I care not to explain the exact conditions, but if we were ever in proximity these days, our conflicting, polar opposite energies would literally tear Makai asunder, and destroy all I have created, while killing us both." Shinki explained. "He wishes nothing better than for Makai to be destroyed, even if that is suicide to him. As that woman's aims aligned with it's own... he resurrected her... in a dark form... and she accepted the power at any cost."
The orb lit up again, on the outskirts of Makai. The former Rumia, looking much more healthy, formed, and immediately began killing everything in her way, on a warpath to Pandemonuim.
It stung Rumia every time a spout of blood gushed at her hand.
She reached the land of Fire and Ice, and two strangers, different to Yuki and Mai, stood in her way. One looked like Mai, just older, while the other looked nothing like Yuki, instead being a creature of flame itself.
Rumia instantly realised.
"That's Mai's..."
"Yes." Shinki said. "And they stood in her way. This is why Mai feared you so much when she found out who you were..."
Rumia could not bear to watch as her past self killed the previous protectors of Pandemonium... but she knew she had to. She had asked Shinki for the truth.
The old Rumia arrived in the Throne Room, and words were exchanged, venomous words from Rumia towards the indifferent Shinki.
Then, chains formed out of the darkness, binding Shinki to her throne. Shinki struggled, and looked... scared.
"This power... it's the Father... Yumeko!" Shinki said. "These chains restrain whatever is bound in them without fail, but are brittle to anything not being bound. Do not get caught!"
Yumeko pulled out her swords and rushed to the chains. Chains rushed at Yumeko, but she used her Time-manipulation to evade, before she swung at the chains around Shinki.
Except there was only half of Yumeko... less. Rumia had rushed towards Yumeko, and sliced her. Yumeko's lower three quarters fell on the ground, as her upper section, and her arms, which she had managed to raise, sliced the chains, before she fell to the ground, unmoving.
Shinki looked mad. Madder than Rumia had ever seen her, even during the whole Alice incident. She blasted the past Rumia into a wall, before she literally started to strangle her.
"I'd kill you... but that didn't work. I already killed you once, and you just became corrupted... your desires are too much like HIS." Shinki said. "you would just fall deeper into madness and chaos, as you would be resurrected again and again!" Shinki hissed, before she opened a portal.
"I will curse you to warp between dimensions for the rest of your existence. You will not cause anyone harm again, and be lost for all eternity. I only hope that one day, something happens to you to redeem you. You seemed like a honorable woman when you first came before me."
The past Rumia just spat at Shinki's face, and laughed.
"Next... time... Shinki..."
Shinki threw the past Rumia into a portal, before she ran over to Yumeko's corpse, and the sphere vanished.
"Unfortunately, my curse ended up putting you in Gensokyo eventually, and while it had the strength to enter the barriers of Gensokyo, severed from easy connection with Makai, you stopped warping through dimensions... and started killing everyone in Gensokyo instead. When Yukari sealed you, the curse broke altogether." Shinki said.
"So... you killed me because I knew something. Then this... 'Father' resurrected me to kill you again, and made me evil. Then you spared me, and sent be between dimensions, and I wound up in Gensokyo, where Yukari sealed me?" Rumia said.
"Yes." Shinki said. "Had I sealed you, Makai itself would have just eaten away at any seal I made, as the 'Father's' influence broke it."
"And I killed Yumeko... and Mai's mother... and Reimu's Great-Grandmother... and who knows who else..." Rumia said.
"Yet ask yourself, Rumia. How many have you saved? How many would be dead if not for you? Rika's plans would certainly have succeeded, for example." Shinki said, her voice echoing with great wisdom, which was unusual for the aloof, slightly goofy-at-times Goddess.
"Yeah... I guess." Rumia said. "I guess in the long run, I can make up the people I killed... a hundredfold!"
Just then, a seven-coulored, rainbow-like portal opened.
"Ah, it's time for me to visit Alice. The deal is I can only go to Gensokyo on set days, at set times... let's go!" Shinki said.
Shinki and Rumia entered the portal.
Alice's house was neat and tidy. There were thre main things. Dolls, books, and equipment to make and maintain dolls.
There was also a black-and-white portal in the wall, while Alice was nowhere to be seen.
"Strange..." Shinki said. "Something important must be happening if she's not here to see me."
Rumia, out of curiosity, stuck her head through the black-and white portal, before walking through.
She emerged in a small clearing amoung a highly disorganized mountain of trash. She noticed several books owned by Patchouli, that she had seen before, which instantly made Rumia come to a conclusion.
"This portal... leads to Marisa's house?!"
Rumia turned around, and noticed the portal from Marisa's side was seven-colored, and chuckled, before going back through.
She found Shinki looking upset.
"Rumia... you're dead." Shinki said, holding up a note.
The note read: "Gone to funeral for Rumia."
Rumia sweatdropped.
"Uh... I guess when I didn't come through the portal, and then it broke, everyone assumed I died on the moon?"
"If it wasn't for me you would have... or if Yorihime didn't play around so much." Shinki said.
"Well, apparently they're at the Misty Lake... how about we pay them a little visit?" Shinki asked, a mischievous look on her face.
"Stupid Yama. Why wouldn't she show up to do the rights like she usually does?" Reimu groaned. There was no funeral attire in Gensokyo, everyone wore their usual attire, they were just more sombre.
"Maybe it's because she's the Yama of Gensokyo, not Makai." Alice said.
"Then why isn't the Yama of Makai here?!" Reimu shouted. "This isn't fair on Rumia!"
"Because this is Gensokyo... and there *is* no Yama of Makai. There's just Shinki." Alice explained.
The group at the Misty Lake was pretty large. Reimu, Marisa, Alice, Sanae, Aya, the Scarlet Mansion's inhabitants, Yukari, Mystia, Wriggle, Kogasa, Cirno, Daiyousei, the Three Fairies, Keine, Kaguya, Eirin, Reisen, Nitori, Rikako, Satori and her pets, Koishi, and Yuugi were there, as well as the Taoists, and Yoshika. [Who several had mentioned was highly inappropriate to bring for such an event]
In the forest, peeking through, hoping she wasn't seen, was Rika.
"Hey, everyone!" Shinki said, appearing over the lake.
"What are you doing here?!" Yukari said.
"It's my visit-day. And Alice isn't home." Shinki said.
"I left a note..." Alice said.
"Which is why I'm here. Rumia *is* from Makai after all." Shinki said, before she smirked.
"Although I would have thought you would know better than to come to a funeral for Rumia, especially when she supposedly died somewhere I'm not barred from visiting."
"You don't mean you..." Alice began.
"... What is it?" Mystia asked.
"Remember what Shinki did for Alice?! You don't think..."
Rika smirked.
"Knew she wasn't dead. She's not the type to go back on her word and let someone other than me kill her." she said to herself, before walking off.
"Of course I saved someone from Makai in peril!" Shinki said, before removing the invisibility spell on Rumia.
"Sorry to crash my own funeral!" Rumia said.
There were smiles and laughter all around. Even Patchouli smiled weakly before coughing, which was a rare sight indeed for the ill, frail magician, especially while she was outside.
"That's Shinki for you... the best mother anyone could have." Alice joked.
"Yes..." Yukari said, looking pleased... but, no-one but Shinki could tell what Yukari's true thoughts were. Not even Yuyuko, who understood Yukari more than anyone else, or Satori who could read all but the most hidden, guarded of thoughts, would have been able to.
'My my Yukari... I didn't mean to cause you offense...' Shinki thought.
Author Notes:
And with that, Arc 4 is finished!
Arc 5 has two main 'plots' going on. I'm actually going to re-order some of Arc 5's events. What happens at the very start actually happened after the main conflict.
Arc 5 also houses the end of the first 'Event Chain' and starts the second. There are three main 'Chains' in this story. Think of these 'Chains' like the Freiza, Cell and Buu arcs of DBZ. There are sub-arcs in them, like the Sayian Arc, or the Androids, but there are 3 overarching parts.
Arc 5 also has a few plot-twists and several major plot points. On top of the fact that the 'villain' is very different from the likes of Rika and Yorihime, and this arc is probobly the one I am the proudest of, when it comes to the RP itself.