Best enjoyed with the music: /8mQUk7JvPDw
Chapter 3 - 幻想結界 ～ Fact Fantasy
Yoshimi woke up in a daze with a dull pain, not being used to sleeping on the hard ground. It was enough to remind her that she had not been dreaming, and she was closer than ever to finally being Gensokyo. That thought was interrupted when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. It was a small fairy, giving no attention to her.
Ah, a fairy! I'm closer than I thought! she thought to herself, before realizing that it was going through her bag. Slowly she picked up a stone, and lobbed it at the fairy. It hit her in the back of the head, startling her off. She flew away, and Yoshimi sat up satisfied with her victory. That was, until she herself received a strike to the back of the head. It was Kiteiki, who had a displeased look on her face.
"What was that for!?" Yoshimi said, rubbing where she had been hit.
"Do you understand how it felt for her now?"
"But she was going through my stuff! If she took something that would make being out here harder! Besides, didn't you say that this was a dangerous place? What if she attacked me?"
"A fairy like that isn't so dangerous you need to resort to violence from the get-go, you know? Use your head and see things clearly! Otherwise, someone is just going to take advantage of you."
Yoshimi huffed in indignation, then sighed in defeat.
"Anyway," Kiteiki continued, "get ready to go. Our journey starts today."
The two hiked through the forest, Yoshimi struggling to keep pace with Kiteiki. If there was a specific trail they were following, it was very obscure.
"Where exactly are we going?" Yoshimi said, short of breath.
"The truth is," Kiteiki said, "we're not going anywhere in particular."
"Wait," Yoshimi stopped in her tracks, "why are we here then?"
"Well, do you see yourself right now? If the mere act of walking is so tiring, you simply will not make it if things come to a fight."
"But there's magic! Why would I need to be physically fit?"
"There is nothing on this Earth that one can do that they have not first prepared themselves for. If your body is not ready, you are going to severely hurt yourself."
"Uh huh… Weren't you telling me not to use violence earlier?"
"I don't quite like the rain, but I can't stop it from pouring. Anyway, we're not just here to exercise either. Have you been paying attention to your surroundings as we've been walking?"
"It's a forest, it's been nothing but trees…"
"I think there's a saying about that," Kiteiki laughed. "But really, we're walking along, or more accurately into, the Hakurei Boundary itself right now."
"Huh? How does that make any sense if we're already 'in Gensokyo' or Sosatsukyo, or whatever?"
"There is more than one barrier that separates us from Gensokyo. There is the Hakurei Boundary, which you know, and the Boundary of Illusion, which is often forgotten. You may think of yourself as having passed the Boundary of Illusion, knowing of Gensokyo's existence and all, but that's only a small part of it. There are still many illusions that have to be faced, and of them the biggest is the true nature of the Hakurei Boundary.
"What is Gensokyo in relation to the Outside World? It's a world where things that aren't are, correct?"
"I guess?"
"Then it logically follows that the Outside World is the world of things that are, or more aptly, the factual world. And since the opposite of fact is fiction, it should follow that a world where things that aren't are is a fictional world. Thus we can arrive at the conclusion that the relation of Gensokyo and the Outside world is akin to the relation of fact and fiction."
"I understand the analogy, but I'm not sure that actually makes sense. If Sosatsukyo is Gensokyo in some way, we shouldn't actually be able to be here right? It's a fictional, literally not real place. But we know Gensokyo exists, I've even been there before."
"There is the illusion. Fiction is not totally separate from fact. Think about it. How can something like fiction, something that seems to serve no real purpose, arise in nature, when it is nature that separates the wheat from the chaff? That fiction is purposeless entertainment is another illusion, we needed fiction to develop belief systems that changed our behaviors into beneficial patterns. Thus, fiction was made by men to reflect fact, and in return that fiction reflected back on to fact. Then, it is evident that fact and fiction are not at odds, but satisfy each other!
"So too is this the relation of the Outside and Gensokyo, and that this place, this Sosatsukyo, is a place that must exist. Sousatsu is a word that both means 'speculation' and 'imagination.' To connect fantasy and reality, fiction and fact, one must use both imagination and speculation; imagination to create the fantasy, and speculation to reflect on it, give it meaning, and ultimately actualize it.
"However, Sousatsu is something that everyone is capable of in some capacity. Therefore it is possible for a person of unsound mind to affect fiction, and potentially for that fiction to come into some form of being."
"So…" Yoshimi said clearly trying to grasp Kiteiki's diatribe. "I just have to watch my thoughts then?"
"A fool's task," Kiteiki said. "Nobody is truly in control of their thoughts, not you nor me. The Unconscious is the wellspring of all thought, and within that place you will find many, many uncomfortable things. Fantasy, indeed Gensokyo itself also resides there, however. Given both of those, we can see the Hakurei Boundary for what it truly is, a nagging unconscious feeling that keeps us from accepting fantasy. Crossing that border is getting past that feeling, but that is easier said than done. If we are to do so ignorantly, or by delusion, we would be eaten by our own imaginations and sent straight to Hell."
"Uh huh…" Yoshimi said, a chill running down her back. "How do I achieve a 'sound mind' then?"
"A sound mind is preceded by a strong, healthy body. Ponder these things I've said as we continue our hike."
As the two continued on, Yoshimi pondered if she could even make it back to camp.