The Yellow Chrysanthemum, Part II

Rather than walking out normally, it seemed as if she was in the void one second and somewhere else the next.

In hindsight, perhaps she should have tried to specify where the door she built would lead her. "Where she was supposed to be" sounded like a great idea at the time, but it seemed like reality and herself disagreed more than she had anticipated.

As it stood, the place she now stood in (with a real body!) appeared barely brighter than the void she had just left. Although the darkness here could be attributed less to a lack of light sources and more to a suffocating haze that permeated the atmosphere. Otherwise, the ground was thankfully solid, but that was the only good thing she had to say about it.

For whatever reason, all of this seemed familiar, but she couldn't exactly put a finger on why.

"Ah, I have been waiting for you." A woman's voice, once again a familiar one, hung in the air.

"Who's there!?" She twirled around, searching for the voice's owner, but found herself defeated by the fog and darkness that obscured her view.

"No need to be so tense, my child. You would not want to see my form even if you could." The voice replied. "All will be revealed in due time. I would simply be happy if we could continue our chat."

As she was about to lash out at this mysterious presence, she felt an unnatural calm set over her mind. It felt as if there was a small voice in the back of her head whispering: 'be at peace. You belong here.' Naturally, her first course of action was to purge such outrageous thoughts and lash out anyways. "Don't give me that shit!" She picked a random direction and directed her shouts that way, if only because this whole 'disoriented' bit was getting old. "You are going to tell me exactly who you are right now!"

"…As I expected. You are certainly an interesting one." She could almost hear this woman's annoying smile. "I will tell you if you wish to know—my name is Izanami, and I am the ruler of this land."

Izanami… Of course, another so-called 'god.' A famous one at that.

"I see my name does not please you. I can understand your sentiment, but I assure you that I mean nothing but the best for you, my child."

"And what reason do I have to trust you?" Yuuka kept her voice loud and accusatory in an attempt to control the conversation. While she definitely harbored a great deal of resentment to any so-called 'god,' this Izanami at least seemed willing to engage in a civil discussion. "And I don't remember ever being your child." Being civil, however, did not save her from being as annoying as the rest.

Izanami laughed. The god of the underworld laughed. At her.

"What's so funny, huh!? Are you going to take me as a joke, too?!"

The laughter died out slowly. "No, not at all. It was simply that I, too, do not remember you being among my children, and yet everything I have seen so far has suggested otherwise."

"Hah?"

The haze before her slowly started to part, and beyond it, a figure came into view. The uncanny form of a woman who by all means must have died months ago stood in the dim light of a torch in her pale, crumbling hand. Perhaps once she may have been the image of Japanese beauty, but over time it seems the makeup and accessories have been exchanged for flies and maggots. The god's arms were held to her body by the slimmest threads, and her face could hardly be called such with the sparse amount of skin that remained. And yet, she smiled. "Welcome home, my child."

Yuuka was certain fear could never affect her; whatever this was, however, startled her. She quickly tried to regain her composure and flashed as confident of a smile as she could imagine. "Quite the homecoming party then, isn't it? I would have imagined my home would be more… lively."

Izanami's smile was as warm as a corpse's could be. "This cave is simply the entrance. Behind me you will find the land of Yomi, of which I am steward." The fog parted further, and true to her word, she could see a faint light from the depths of the cave. "Perhaps 'lively' would be an inaccurate term for the land of the dead, but I assure you there will be plenty of what you desire."

"And how would you know—" She trailed off as she saw the god turn and walk out of sight. "Hey! Where are you going!? I'm not done with you yet!"

Izanami replied without looking back. "I have much to ask you as well, my child, but that discussion will take place another time. Until then—" She put out the light on the torch, once again disappearing from view. "I believe you should introduce yourself to the others."

"No, wait—!" She called out, but received no answer. The only thing that remained in her vision was the faint light at the end of the cavern—presumably where the 'others' await. Being that there were no other leads for her to follow, she sighed and relaxed her shoulders that she had unknowingly tensed. "Damn gods…"

Yuuka straightened her back, and made her way down the cave.

After what seemed like a much longer trip than it should have, the light at the end of the cave finally grew to an opening. Not to the surface as she had secretly hoped, but to a much larger cavern deeper within the earth. When she arrived at this opening and looked down, the sight took her breath away.

The cave was massive, stretching far enough in all directions she could see no end. At the floor were entire forests, fields, and cities all surrounding a massive, ink-black river that ran the length of the cavern. The light, she now saw, came from the rows of red lanterns that illuminated this subterranean city like a Chinese village during the Spring Festival.

So this was Yomi. If the name alone did not jog her memory, the chill that would never leave her spine was a hint. Now that light from the city shone into the mouth of the cave she was in, it appeared that it was not quite as barren as she had thought. The cave walls were lines with vines, ferns, and the occasional rodent—all rare, poisonous breeds, and all unmistakably dead.

Yomi-no-kuni, the land of the dead. Or, to use a common western interpretation, Hell. If Izanami was to be believed, this was her new home. That would imply...

What a laughable idea! There was no way she could be dead! It was surely impossible for such a thing to happen. Regardless, she was not getting anywhere with mere stubbornness. The valley below awaits, and that was perhaps her best chance of talking sense into that fallen god of creation.

As she thought that, she made her way towards the cavern floor, absentmindedly brushing her hand on the rotten plants she passed along the way. Although her abilities have slowly come back to her over time, there was nothing she could do for these poor specimens. Any energy she tried to spread would simply bounce right back to her, warped and corrupted. The plant just as pitifully dead as before.

What a horrible place.

In the interest of getting out of here as soon as possible, she made haste towards the town in the distance without even bothering to look for a bridge across the river that stood in her way. Instead, she dove into the rapids, confident in her strength. The water smelled of death, and the current made an unsettling roar, but Yuuka was not one to be daunted.

She soon learned, however, that it was no trick of the light that made the river appear as black as tar from a distance. It was the tar. An unfathomable amount of tar, sludge, and other substances so revolting they could not be graced with a name rushed across this cavern every second. Somehow, despite all these heavy substances, the whole mass flowed smoothly, and although she should have been many times less dense, it was a monumental labor just to stay afloat. It was not impossible for someone of her caliber to swim across this river, but every second she spent in these waters felt like ten years, and her soul felt as if it would be torn from her body at any moment.

The darkness had long since taken her sight, and so when she felt something solid in front of her, she grabbed on tightly. Using this new hand-hold, she lifted her body out of the water, and sprawled out on the dry surface in front of her.

It took several minutes of blinking and rubbing to get her eyes clear, but when she did, she found herself upon a large white rock about three-quarters of the way across the river. The edges of the rock were jagged, and despite the constant flow of the river, its surface never lost its shape, nor did its white color dull in the slightest.

If she were a romantic, she may have seen it as an embodiment of purity come to rescue her from this river of filth, but she couldn't help but be skeptical.

"Curious, miss ayakashi?" A voice called out to her from the shore nearest the town. Turning to face it, she found the only thing standing there was an unnaturally large spider, looking down at her. She was not well versed on the varieties of spiders in the underworld, but she assumed this must have been one of those tsuchigumo—earth spiders—she's heard of. That it spoke with a woman's voice was unexpected, but not inherently surprising, all things considered. "Or rather, miss Kazami?"

Who did this little spider think she was? Was she picking a fight?

"No need to be so hostile, dear. Everyone here knows your name. You might not know it, but you've been quite popular down here for quite a while." Yuuka didn't know if it was possible for a spider to smile slyly, but was certain this one just did.

"Oh, and why is that?" Truth be told, standing on a small island while covered in tar is not the best position from which to adopt a condescending attitude, but Yuuka was never one to care for appearances.

"Word is, Lady Izanami herself has been quite interested in you, miss. That is not something you hear often. As for why; there are many theories I've heard, but for the most popular one, you need only look beneath your feet. That's not your everyday limestone, you know?"

'What, this rock? What do I have to do with a stupid rock?'

Confused, she looked down to see the rock was just as it was before. White, and jagged on the edges.

'Hm...? Edges?'

She took another look, but this time it finally came to her just what made the edges of this rock so strange. On the upstream side, the shape was not that of fractured rock, but rather the shape of human bones that had been melded together to form the rock's surface. Skulls, ribs, and toes all protruded from that edge, slowly molding into one. And then, this entire rock is...

"Rumor has it that all the kegare, the impurities that are cleansed from the world above come down to Yomi through this river. That includes the bodies of the dead—why it smells so good here." The spider spoke once she saw Yuuka had noticed the bones.

'Good?' She elected not to press on that point. "And so you're saying that all those bodies piled up—to this? I must say, I expected a lot more."

"True. If every poor soul that came through here ended in that heap, this river would have been dammed by now." The spider moved its front two legs as if they were arms, gesturing to puctuate her speech. "No, that is special. It is a mass of death—impurity itself—and yet it is never absorbed into the tides of kegare. A sort of 'pure impurity,' if you will."

"...And? I don't see what this has to do with me. Surely you have something better to do than lecture me on paradoxes."

"You don't?" The spider tilted its head, and that might have looked cute if it weren't, well, a giant spider. "You don't recognize the smell of each and every bone? You can't still hear the screams of those wonderfully preserved jaws? You don't know every detail of the eyes that were in those hollowed sockets?"

"... Is that something I'm supposed to know?" Yuuka wasn't afraid of this spider—she knew she could easily kill it—but still, she started to feel a strong desire to be anywhere else.

"Is it? Oh, my apologies, I must be mistaken." The light drained slightly from the spider's eyes. "When I had heard the legendary ayakashi that was responsible for this was here, I must have mistaken you for her."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Yuuka responded indignantly.

"I mean exactly what I said. I had believed that you were the one responsible for sending these lives down here to us, but if you do not even recognize their faces, then you clearly must not be the one."

"How does that make any sense?" She clenched her fists, ready to jump over to the other shore and punch this spider if it kept saying things like that. "Who even takes the time to remember the faces of the people they've killed? Recognizing the bones? Are you really that stupid?"

"Stupid? Clearly you misunderstand." The spider reached over and picked up a broken skull that was on the shore next to it. "Is it not the nature of us ayakashi to be fascinated by humanity? Is our relationship anything but an elegant dance of love and passion? Is it not your desire to savor every last second of a man's life, and then every last ounce of his body afterwards? Is it not—"

Having had enough of this, Yuuka jumped off of the bone rock towards the shore. Crossing above the river was significantly easier than swimming through it, but her split second flying above it was once again filled with unpleasant feelings. That split second felt like a day, as her mind was assaulted with a wave of distorted emotions that left her momentarily dazed upon landing.

"Impressive. Not even I would brave a jump like that." The spider followed her movement with all of its eyes. "Although, you've already swam through the river itself, so I suppose you must be used to it."

"I don't need your approval, and you don't need this." Upon landing, Yuuka immediately swang at the spider's front legs (arms?), grabbing the skull it held and sending it flying towards the ground. When the spider desperately reached over to catch it, she batted its legs out of the way with her forearm. Watching the color drain from its (already colorless) face was strangely cathartic.

"You—!" The spider gasped, although it wasn't clear how. "Don't you know how important that is?" It bent down and frantically started collecting the shattered pieces of the skull. "Taro was the best! He was the tastiest person I've ever—!"

"Stop making a fool of yourself." Yuuka took pride in finally being able to look down on this giant beast. "Important? The best? Since when do we owe any respect to humans?"

"They're the most important part of an ayakashi's being! They're the reason for our existence! Why would I not respect the creatures that I love the most!" The spider screamed.

"Love? Some strange kind of love you've got there." Yuuka was sure she had managed to piece together what that thing meant by the word, and it was certainly... odd. "Either way, you've got it backwards. We youkai don't exist for humans' sake. They exist for ours." She picked up one of the skull fragments that the spider hadn't been able to reach and waved it around for emphasis. "Humans are nothing but cattle, walking that earth and living out their meaningless lives all so that maybe someday they could have the honor of serving as part of my dinner." Then, she tossed the piece of bone into the air and swallowed it in one motion.

The spider's eyes widened. "Ahaha... Ahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!" Why it started laughing hysterically, she wasn't quite sure, but Yuuka elected not to stay long enough to find out. Her business was done here. This deranged arachnid could only provide so much entertainment before she really needed to be doing anything else.

She still had much to do, and only an eternity to do it.

She made it to the city she saw quicker than expected. Perhaps there is something strange about the way distance is handled in the underworld, but she figured there are more pressing things to worry about. Namely, the city itself.

This town was her only real lead for information on Izanami's whereabouts, but she dreaded every step she made towards this place. Yuuka had not had good experience with cities in the past, and she didn't expect this to be any better.

Although, she had already spent a day in urban hell. How much worse could a city in actual hell be?

The shift in atmosphere was abrupt; one second she was minding her own business in the wastes, and the next she found herself swallowed deep within the city's grasp with no clear route of escape.

Still, she had to go, and as she crossed the threshold between barren hellish landscape and the outside of the city, the sounds and lights came over her senses like a tsunami. All around, bright red lights hung from every possible location while gambling and smoking ran rampant in the open streets, giving the whole thing the anachronistic feel of Edo's kabuki district at night.

Directly in front of her, a pair of unsightly demons played a strange game, using what appeared to be the body of one of their kin as a table. Their movements were done with all the confidence and coordination of drunk men playing poker, which is to say much more than she expected from creatures with feet for hands. Still, the game pieces, which seemed to be anything or anyone they could get their hands on changed hands seemingly at random, and just when Yuuka thought she understood the rules, the 'loser' reached over and took the entire pot.

"Something on your mind, missy?" A voice called out to her, bringing her mind back to the present. She looked around for its owner, but none of the creatures around her seemed to be looking at her— "Look down." When she did, in front of her stood a pipe— one of those long, eastern-style ones— with legs, smoking another, smaller pipe.

"And what's your deal, pipe?" She bent down and picked it off of the ground with two fingers, watching its little legs flap around uselessly. "You don't look like you could be any use to me."

"Well the boys always tell me I make all their problems go away!" The pipe let out a puff of... steam? Perhaps it was trying to show some sort of emotion considering it lacked a face.

"I don't know if you're aware, but I'm not exactly here to buy drugs."

"A new one, hm? Well let me tell you right now; there's only three things you can do down here in the land of the dead: drink, gamble, and smoke." The pipe took a hit of its smaller pipe, blowing the smoke directly in her face. "And I can tell you aren't an experienced gambler, miss. So that leaves you with one option—"

Yuuka waved the smoke out of the air before it could reach her nose and confiscated the smaller pipe with her free hand. "If I wanted drugs I could just grow— no, that's not the issue here." She shook her head, then lifted the pipe so it could feel the pressure coming from her eyes. "Tell me where to find the one that calls itself 'Izanami.'"

"Aiming for the big one right from the start, huh missy? Just give it up, you'll never be powerful enough to—"

In a single, fluid motion, she snapped the pipe in half, and sent either half flying towards the heads of one of the gamblers. Each half went clear through, carving out large portions of their respective brains, but somehow, they continued to play their game without interruption. All around her, not a soul nor a soulless being seemed to react at all.

"Tch. I suppose that answers some questions." She commented to no one in particular before turning to search the city on her own.

As she navigated the cramped alleyways, minutes turned into hours as each street looked nearly indistinguishable from each other and not once did she find anything that looked like a clue or a place to rest. Soon, hours became days, and although she found she did not tire physically, her mind would soon reach a breaking point if she couldn't find so much as a quiet little corner she could breathe in.

Her travels had taken her to what she calculated must have been the other end of this city, but still the sameness continued with no end in sight. Once again, she found herself in yet another narrow alley watching spirits and unspeakable horrors pass by. The loud, festival atmosphere remained just as strong here as anywhere else, and it was clear by now that this was not some special holiday occurrence.

None of this looked to be ending any time soon.

"Hey miss, you look like you need a drink!" A grating voice drew her eyes to a doorway behind her with the curtain over it drawn back. Leaning out of it, a man with a single eye on his forehead seemed to be waving at her.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She turned and made large steps in his direction.

The man stood in the face of her approach with a bemused smile. "Prickly, huh?" He then turned back to face inside and shouted to whoever was in there: "Hey boss! You're gonna want to get something strong ready! This one looks like she really—"

Yuuka cut him off, striking him lightly in the back of the head with her left hand.

He stumbled back, but quickly regained his balance and turned his attention back to her. "Looking for a fight, are we? I admire the spirit, miss, but I think it would be a shame if you—"

Her second punch was far from light; her right hand made contact with his eye and sent the man flying through both the building he was in and the one behind it. Feeling satisfied with herself, she took a moment to survey the reactions of all the ayakashi and others in the street behind her.

The passerbys continued to pass by; the street performer continued to perform. Even the two creatures playing a game right next to her were still playing the same game, although one of the previous man's teeth had suddenly become a game piece.

No one was surprised. No one was afraid.

Then she saw through the broken wall the man she had punched get up and strike up a conversation with whoever was in the house he ended up in.

Perhaps she did need that drink after all.

Come to think of it, she had somehow never had a proper alcoholic drink to this point. Maybe she was missing out on something by staying away from society.

Yeah, that's right. A drink was just what she needed. There was a voice in the back of her head telling her that a drink was precisely the thing to get rid of this strange disgusting feeling she had had since she got here.

She pushed aside what remained of the curtain over the door and stepped into what appeared to be a bar, albeit with some... recent renovations. The individual running the bar seemed to be a woman wearing some sort of mask with nothing but a pair of lips painted on it. As Yuuka approached, the woman didn't face or even acknowledge her in any way. Instead, she continued to stand rod-straight as she stared at the wall across from her while her hands busied themselves cleaning a dish.

"You still want that drink?" A gruff man's voice asked as Yuuka made to sit at the bar.

"I do." She looked around the bar, but saw that aside from her and the bartender, the other seats were only occupied by strange blue lights. She poked at the one hovering above the seat next to her, watching as it shook on her touch, but didn't do much else.

Once again the voice spoke. "Those are spirits of the dead. They seem to like it here, although I've never heard them talk." Only now did she question where this voice could be coming from. Her eyes darted around the room, but as she searched, the bartender, still staring straight ahead, waved a hand in front of her face. "Don't worry, you're not the first one to be confused." As the voice spoke, the lips painted on the bartender's mask moved along with it. Even more concerning was how they seemed to move freely around the white canvas of the mask with no regard for where the bartender's mouth would ordinarily be.

Yuuka shook her head and tried to dismiss the unsettling feeling. Yes, it was creepy, but it wasn't a threat.

"Although, if you are that confused..." The bartender poured a cup of sake and placed it in front of her. "A few sips of this might help."

"This is the strong stuff, I hope?" Something in the back of her mind cheered as she reached for the cup.

"Only the strongest."

"Wonderful" She picked up the sake and brought it to her lips. As she did, she could already feel her worries draining away. She was certain now that this was exactly the right thing for—

"—Don't drink it!"

The sudden shout, seemingly coming from behind her, tore her out of that bliss. She dropped the glass, sending its contents spilling all over the counter in front of her.

"I hope you know I'm not in the mood for your pranks." She stared daggers into that damned white mask. The voice that startled her was different from the one the bartender was using earlier, but clearly its abilities involve some kind of speech mimicry or something.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Once again, the bartender spoke with the old gruff voice. "A shame about all that sake though."

"Don't give me that shit!" She slammed a fist into the bar, splitting the surface in half and sending most of the spilled sake onto the floor. "Who else could have said that!?"

"Who knows? Down here, we all hear voices speak to us, and not one of us hears the same thing." The bartender's mouth smiled as its arms reached over to clean the splintered bar.

"Kazami, look at me! I'm over here!"

Yuuka gave the bartender a sharp scowl. "I don't know how you learned my name, but I'm sure you can tell I'm fed up with your tricks."

It stopped for a second. "It knows your name, huh?"

"What, did you guess or something?"

"You know, some of the ayakashi that pass through have told me a strange story." The bartender picked up the shards of the sake cup and placed them in a pile on the shelf behind it, alongside the other intact glasses. "They said that the spirits talked to them, but I could never hear it. Perhaps there was a connection I was missing?"

Yuuka stood up and pulled the splinters out of her fist. "Look, I don't give a single damn about your tricks or riddles. All I want to know is where I can find that bitch Izanami."

The bartender chuckled dryly. "I like the spirit, kid. But I see you're new around here." Even though the bar was no longer in any shape to be used, it poured another glass of liquor and placed it on the steeply angled remains. "I'll let you in on a secret, young one. This city never ends. And with every damned soul that arrives from above it only grows."

"And how does that-?"

"Search all you like, you'll be here forever. But even a million years in here is not enough time to find the god's palace at the center. This land is wide, and darkness obscures all. Not even us, the creatures of the night, have any hope of penetrating the dark."

"The dark? What in the hell are you talking about? It's lit up like a festival out there!" As they spoke, the never-ending parade of countless demons through the night continued outside. Old and new, benign and violent, their revelry could be heard from within this small establishment as it could anywhere in this accursed town.

"It means the mist! It hides the true size of this place from you!"

"Hah? What now? I didn't see any mist!"

The bartender's face went sideways, and it smiled. "I have no idea where that came from, but you're right. There is no mist. Look anywhere and you will find nothing but clear skies."

"If only there was a sky at all anywhere around here." Yuuka stopped to think. 'Although… mist? I'm sure I saw that somewhere…' "Okay, let's say this voice isn't yours, then I have a question for it: if that mist really does exist, then how do I get through it?"

"I… don't really know. The other spirits told me only one person has ever done it before! But I know you can find a way to light the path! You were always my light!"

Yuuka looked to her side, where one of the blue lights glowed brighter than it had been. Come to think of it, she did recognize this voice, although it was one she hadn't heard in a long time. Still…

She shot the bartender another look.

"I don't know what's going on with you, kid. And to be honest it's not really my place. But the sake is always on the table."

Perhaps it truly does not know what the voice is saying to her? Naturally it could still be a trick, but on the off chance it isn't… "Tsuchimi?"

"Yes! I'm so glad you remember me!"

"And why would you ever help me? Last I remember I killed you!"

"I don't hate you; I never could, Kazami!" The light beside her grew in intensity as it shrunk in size. "I always felt like I was different from the other spirits here, like I didn't really belong. But I waited! I knew someday you would need my help!"

She laughed, but for once she did not lash out. The idea was still preposterous- she would never need help, but she could recognize this man's naive spirit just as it was many years ago.

"I can't do much, but this is what the last person used to break through the mist!" the light began to coalesce into a physical form, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. "I love you, Kazami! I'd be happy to be another flower in your garden!"

The light, once blinding, faded away to reveal little more than a small wooden comb.

"Hah, this man was certainly something. Just as foolish in life as in death."

The bartender's face showed a frown, but its voice sounded rather bemused. "An unusual performance to be sure, but what do you hope to accomplish with a mere comb?" After a brief pause, it laughed. "I guess it's exactly what you need isn't it! I don't know what you've been up to but your hair looks like a bunch of overgrown weeds!"

Ignoring the bartender's rambling, Yuuka slowly turned over the comb in her hands. Certainly, this was little more than a normal, unremarkable wooden comb. It was undecorated, and uncomplicated: a simple, understated tool. Why then did he think this would be of any help? Surely it wasn't to untangle her hair as the bartender suggested.

"If it's any consolation, that's a nice comb there. You don't get cherry wood like that every day around these parts."

She wanted nothing more than to shut him up, but her thoughts kept her still.

She tapped at the comb with her fingernail.

It was hard, and given the reddish color, Cherry was the natural conclusion. Still, she could not understand. It wasn't quite as hard as she would normally expect from this sort of wood, nor was it as red. In fact, she would almost say it was… green.

She tried releasing a small flow of her power into the comb.

'This wood… it's still alive!' Unlike all of the other plant life in this realm, her power resonated clearly. If she so desired, this humble comb could soon become a proudly blooming cherry tree even in the depths of Yomi.

She cast a glance at the bartender, who only looked back in confusion. It was tempting, but that wouldn't solve her problem. How exactly was this supposed to light the path?

Somehow all of this seemed familiar to her, like there was a story she heard in her past life that told of exactly this situation. So much time has passed since then that she cannot remember a single detail. 'Well, when has thinking ever solved anything? I'm Kazami Yuuka, damnit. I'm strong! How can I hope to defeat the gods if I'm not the strongest youkai to ever live! If there's a problem, then I'll just solve it with my strength!'

She tensed her muscles, and not knowing what else to do, focused all of her power into the comb. Ordinarily, she uses her power for a purpose. Just a dash of power here and a jolt of power there, guided in such a way to force the plants to bend to her will. This time, however, she had no such guidance. Her power was no longer filtered by intention, and far differed from the gentle hand of a gardener.

This was, without question, the pure and unbridled power of a youkai.

An otherworldly force raced through her body, flowing through her hands not as a garden hose, but as a bursting torrent, a firehose of energy. What came out was a sort of pure impurity, the power of life itself but with all the stain of Yomi coursing through it.

The force was, naturally, far too much for the little comb to handle. In an instant, all of the wood had disintegrated, but the energy kept flowing out.

What began as a single spark burst out from her with unparalleled force. Before her, the scene of a cramped bar was washed out by a light more blinding than the daytime sun. First, it extended from her hands as a narrow ray, before expanding in volume to encompass the whole room.

It felt as if the initial blast should have destroyed everything in the area, but the power kept flowing.

All of her emotions, all of her regrets. The power of life and death, of hate and love. Everything surged fowards to trample anything in its path. It was a crude, and inelegant display of force. It was some form of magic, but to call it a spell would be far too kind.

She could see nothing, for it was far too bright.

She could hear nothing, for it was far too loud.

And she could think nothing, for all her mind had projected itself into the beam.

When it ended, she fell to her knees, drained of most of her power. The room around her, the wall in front of her, and everything beyond had been reduced to ash. A large gash ran through the floor and the torn up ground continued forwards for several blocks. At the end of the destruction stood the stone wall of a large, previously undiscovered castle. While the bartender was no longer anywhere to be seen, surely this was the palace of the gods it had mentioned.

"ha… hahaha… HAHAHAHA!" Yuuka, on the ground, grasped her head in her hands and laughed. "I… I did it! I mean… of course I could! That was my strength! The full power… hahaha… even I didn't know I had!"

She looked to the ground, where the pieces of that comb had gone through the full cycle of a cherry during her spell. Each shard produced a bud, then a blossom, before scattering in the wind as all sakura are want to do.

"I must say… thank you. You may have been a fool, but you bloomed quite beautifully I must say." She picked up one of the loose petals off of the ground. "I see you remembered my lesson. Of all the flowers in the East, the cherry blossom is said to be the most beautiful. And yet, for all that beauty, it is the shortest-lived. scattering and wilting before anyone has had the chance to enjoy it. Much like your foolish self. Truly, a flower that embodies the grandeur of life… and the inevitability of death."

Her goal was right in front of her, she need only walk. However, just this once, she could afford to relax.

So, for a few short minutes, she sat there on a lovely mound of cherry blossoms, and thought of a flower of Japan.

She had no idea how much time had passed, but at this point she no longer cared. When she was ready, she was ready. And when the time came, she stood up, dusted off her clothes, then headed in the direction of the palace.

Along the way, she could now clearly see the mist in the areas around her. It had filled the streets so completely the fog was impossible to notice. Only after clearing a large volume of it with her light could she fathom the darkness it held. She was still weakened from her expression of force, but had more than enough strength to walk over the broken ground, carried by her unshakable confidence.

It was enough to draw interest from the demons in the adjacent streets, but she paid them no mind. Yuuka was not here to deal with small fries, she had one goal and one goal only: to find that self-proclaimed 'god' and show her what's for.

Although it seemed the stone wall of Izanami's castle was largely able to withstand her attack, a hole had opened up just large enough for her to enter. So enter she did. Pushing away a few large blocks of rubble, she stepped into a corridor that was so utterly different from the scene outside. Gone were the gambling monsters and smell of smoke. The moment she entered the palace all sound left her ears, as if the world outside simply did not exist.

No light penetrated the wall, blocked by a mist far thicker than anything she had seen outside. Of her five senses, the only thing she knew for certain was the smell of death that assaulted her nose. Stronger than the battlefield, stronger than the river, any mortal would die immediately as their lungs filled with the pure odors of decay that filled the air here.

As a creature accustomed to the scent of death, she could withstand the assault. However, even she wished to be through with this experience as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, that meant following the smell.

"You don't need to go there"

"You don't need to know"

"Everything is better in darkness"

The voices spoke to her from all angles. In all voices. At all times. Just as they had when this fog had enveloped her in the past.

She could not be far, now.

With every step the air grew thicker. With every step the cold ate away at her skin. Yet with every step, she only grew more confident.

"Welcome, my child."

The voice, at once sweet and abhorrent, rang in her skull. It came from everywhere at once, and yet from nowhere at all. With it, the smell of death strengthened, but she could also sense the faint aroma of flowers. This was the place, and this was the person. At the center of hell, in the darkest parts of the darkest land, she had found the dead god: Izanami.

"I hope you enjoyed your tour of my land. No, our land."

"Ha!" Even though she could neither see the god nor ascertain from where the voice was coming, she laughed at Izanami's words. "If you mean you intend to make me the next queen of hell, I'm not interested."

"Oh you misunderstand, my child." The god chuckled politely, and yet the reverberation of her voice echoed far darker and more sinister. "I am no ruler. I may have been a god, but in this place I am no different from you or anyone else. You know more than anyone that no being can control the indomitable hearts of the ayakashi."

"Those are rich words coming from someone who holes up in a castle in the middle of the city. What I see is another so-called 'god' that acts like they're better than everyone else! You're the same as all the others!"

Izanami elected not to respond to her taunts. After a few seconds, just as Yuuka began to suspect the god had simply run off, a dim light appeared to her side. At first, it wasn't nearly enough to illuminate the area, just a small speck of illumination in the darkness, grabbing her attention and slowly drifting across the air.

Then, the light stopped, and out of it birthed another, brighter light. Shortly after that, another. Then another. Before long, what had once been a chamber of suffocating darkness was now illuminated by a series of small braziers that ran along the edge of a small, spartan chamber. Aside from the braziers, the only visible furniture were a pair of small sitting cushions. The biting cold did not disappear, but as the darkness lifted the fog was dispelled to a certain extent. While the room could not be described as inviting, it was at the very least no longer incomprehensible.

Before her sat the woman who had met her when she first arrived in this land. The rotten and mangled form of the goddess Izanami herself smiled back at her.

"I apologize if this place felt… unwelcoming. I have long been… conscious of my appearance. Although I assure you, I have nothing to hide from one of my kind."

"Then you better explain what the hell you're on about! What's all this about 'my child' and 'my kind'? Do you really expect me to believe you, of all people, feel any kinship towards me?"

"You are free to believe whatever you wish. Far be it from me to intrude on your freedoms when it is that very freedom which makes you so appealing. I am simply expressing my most sincere feelings." She smiled, the bones and sinews of her jaw on full display. "We are both beings shunned by the powers that be, impure beings of kegare with an unparalleled ability to bring death. Yet, is that truly what we desire?"

"Don't act like you know what I want!"

Izanami hummed. "I make no such assumptions. The ability to determine one's own desire and act upon it is what it means to be ayakashi, and it is not my place to interfere. I speak only of my own circumstances, in hope that they may prove helpful to you." She gestured to the pillow laid on the ground in front of her. "Please, sit. My story may take some time."

Yuuka remained standing.

"Very well, do as you wish." Izanami nodded, and closed her left eye. For lack of an eyelid, her right remained open. "I am sure you have heard, but long ago I was not the bringer of death I am today. Before I died, before I was cast away to this dark land of sulfur and grime, before I was betrayed by the one I loved the most, I was something far different. I was a mother, a wife, a bringer of life."

"And so what? Are you saying you forgive them? That you want to go back to your old way of life living all high and mighty in heaven?" She spat. "Then you're just as cowardly as the rest of them."

"Oh no, you may think us fickle creatures, but we do not forget. I will continue to despise Izanagi for all eternity, and for as long as he lives I will continue to hold my promise. Every day, a thousand will die. Their spirits, wreathed in the kegare of death, will continue to flow into this domain. This I have promised, and this I will do. However, even though my nature has long since changed; even though my form has long since deteriorated and my powers have been altered; I dream of a world where none of this came to pass."

Noticing that Yuuka was still standing, Izanami stood up and began to pace slowly about the room.

"A god's fate is absolute, a god's promises are ironclad. I have seen your experiences, so I know you have seen as much yourself. Some of us may lie, and some of us may be cowards, but each one has their role to play. However much I wish things had played out differently, however much I want to once more breathe life into the world, my role is that of death. For as long as my husband and I continue to exist, as long as we hold sway in the hearts of men, my role is absolute."

"Hmph, and what does this sob story of yours have to do with me?"

"I said it before, didn't I?" Izanami gestured absentmindedly towards her with a bony hand. "You ayakashi are different. Creatures of desire and freedom, you embody those very things which threaten the society above. And among them, you yourself are most unique. You are not born out of man's mind. You are not an abstract object of human fear taken form. People fear you for who you are. That alone is enough to bring you strength. To say I am envious would be an understatement."

"I'm sorry, but I'm already me. You're going to have to settle for being yourself."

"That is true." The goddess stopped pacing and nodded. "I can be none other than myself, but your appearance has reminded me of something. A plan I once made, long ago when I first resigned myself to this fate." She swirled her hand in the air, and out of the mist a dim image could be seen. There were few details, but the sight of crumpled stones and rotten shimenawa ropes indicated a shrine much like many Yuuka had seen in her former world. A place of worship long forgotten to the seas of time.

"-!"

Izanami nodded once more. "That you reacted as such confirms my suspicion. As one who has died, I know well that nothing is permanent. No man can live forever, nor can a tree grow eternally. Even the venerable pine, lauded for its everlasting greenage and long life, will eventually meet its end. In that case, it is foolish to expect that gods are exempt."

"That's obvious, isn't it? Aren't you already a dead god?"

"I am dead, yes. Cast into the underworld from which I can never return, but I am not gone. I still have a place to be, powers to use, and words to say. For many in the world above, that may appear to be the extent of it. I know otherwise."

"You mean faith and fear and all that? I've heard this lecture before. I'm well aware that you die when people stop fearing you."

"That is true, but at the same time I believe you are misunderstanding something. For most, to die is to spend the rest of eternity here in Yomi. They naively think that this is the end point." She reached her hand out once more, and beckoned a nearby spirit to rest on her palm. "But in my time here, I have come to realize something far more horrifying. Though I may not know their names, I know how many spirits have come to rest in this land. I can feel it when one goes missing."

"Missing? What, like the dead are un-dying?"

"Not reviving, simply missing. As if they were never here at all." Izanami sent the spirit away from her palm and turned to face Yuuka once more. "Though it has only been small spirits, those that have accomplished little during their lifetimes, I have learned that men die two deaths: once when their body ceases to function, and the second time when their name is last spoken by another. The first time, their soul passes from the mortal realm. The second time, however, it simply ceases to exist. This is a fate that awaits all humans, and if my assumption is correct, it awaits us as well."

Both of them let silence hang in the air for a few seconds as the words settled in. "... So?" Yuuka was the first to break that silence. "I never intended to be forgotten anyways. If you do, you only have yourself to blame."

"Perhaps, but not all of us can afford to be as… direct in our methods as you are."

"Hmph." She crossed her arms. "You said this was all leading up to a 'plan' of yours."

"Of course." Izanami turned once more to the image of the dilapidated shrine she had left hanging in the air. "When I realized this, the natural reaction would be horror, but I felt a strange sensation of relief. If even gods are due to fade away, then who is to say the chains holding us down may not also someday disappear? If I wanted to be free of my role, if I wanted to finally break from my eternal promise, would it be possible? There is a chance that some day, far in the future, Izanagi loses his faith while I remain, even if for the most brief of moments. On that day, just that once, I want to make a new life one more time."

"Hold on, you're telling me that's your big plan? You're willing to wait thousands and thousands of years for the death of your husband just to have a baby? Even when you know odds are he'll outlive you? That is the big secret I had to trek all the way across literal hell to get out of you? You have got to be kidding me!"

"... I understand that you cannot sympathise. I would not expect you to share the same desires I do. But for me, after an eternity wallowed in death, I can think of no more fitting ending than to bring life one more time. Even if I know I will not last long enough to bring a new life to term, it would be more than enough for me to entrust my remaining power to one who can. To know that my essence lives on in a new soul, even when I myself have long since vanished."

"And what-"

"What does this have to do with you, you ask? There is no need to feign ignorance. Whether you accept what I'm implying or not is not up to me, even I do not truly know. For you are from a future which I have not experienced. If you wish to ignore me as a rambling old woman, then you are free to do so."

"You- you can't be saying-! But then what about-!?"

"I know I told you that you belong here, and in truth I was not wrong, but you needn't be defined by that. You have died, and consumed the impurities of Yomi on the way here, that which would condemn any man or god here for eternity. But you are no god, nor are you a man. You are a being from another world. You would do well not to let yourself be bound by fate. It may seem a daunting task, but your mere presence shows that it is possible. The rules of the world may dictate that you cannot leave this land, but I know you can do it. You have the power to control both life and death. You have the power to create just as I once did, and you have the power to destroy just as I do now."

"What the hell are you talking about? Is this some kind of flattery?"

"It is merely the truth, my child. I know you came here intending to fight me for the right to exit; all I am telling you is that such actions are unnecessary. You have the strength to do so on your own."

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you know how much time I wasted? Do you understand how hard it was to get here just for you to tell me something you could have said right at the beginning!?"

Izanami simply laughed. "I apologize, it may seem selfish of me… but I wanted you to be mine. How could I let go of you so easily? … But I know now that I cannot contain you. Even under the full force of the underworld, you refuse to give in. However much I want to, I know I cannot keep you trapped here forever."

"I've had my fair share of old women trying to control me. You're not the first to fail, and you will not be the last." Yuuka turned away from her, facing towards the impenetrable darkness that indicated the hallway out. "I hope you're done running your mouth, because I am leaving. And don't think I'll ever come back to this horrid place…" She paused for a moment, before a small smile slowly crept onto her lips. "... Until you get some greenery installed, that is."

"Perhaps someday even that may be possible." The goddess covered her mouth to laugh politely. "Though before you leave, I wish to tell you one last thing."

"It better be quick."

"I know you have spent much of your life simply reacting to things. Being pushed around by others who wanted to use you, me included. But if you are to take one thing away from our meeting, let it be this: You are free. You do not need to spend your time proving your existence. You do not need to be worried about what you're supposed to do. Think instead about what you want to do. What it is that makes you happy."

"What makes me happy…?"

"You are strong, but do you truly need to be the strongest? What would that prove? Indeed, it may give you more power, but to what end?" Izanami sat back down on the cushions and settled into a comfortable position. "Think, my child. Whenever someone tries to control you, whenever you find yourself in the darkest of places, think back to what you really want. Think about what made you happy."

"When the day is dark, never forget the times you felt happy… I never thought I would hear such a thing again."

"While it may be selfish of me to project my own failings onto you, unlike us, you are free. Do not let that freedom go to waste. Let your flower bloom even in the darkness, my child, and do not let it wilt." Without another word, the braziers around her went out, leaving Yuuka to stand alone in the darkness once more.

"A flower that will never wilt, huh?" Yuuka faced the darkness, and reached her hand out towards nothing. "Good thing she finally shut up. Now let's just hope she didn't lie…"

She concentrated her power. Her power to give life; her power to create. She understood that she could not simply transport herself back to Earth. Beyond her fingertips, however, she imagined a different darkness. A blackness that was at once more complete and yet far warmer than where she stood now. A world of her own domain, and her own creation. Whereas the light earlier had represented the full force of her destructive capabilities, this darkness was the opposite.

An ability much like Izanami's own talents to give birth to a new world; one that she had used before, as she laid bleeding on that beach. She recalled the land of fantasies that her father brought her to, and by her hand brought forth a house of dreams.

For a while, she rested alone in a dark world.

She could not tell how much time had passed, but at this point, it hardly mattered. Each 'day' she awoke, added a room to the house, and then once more fell asleep. Before long, even she had no comprehension of the structure's true size. A thousand winding corridors led to ten thousand rooms, not one of them with a purpose.

She slept wherever she desired, and wandered aimlessly through the halls. Here, she was safe. Without a knowledge of dimensional travel that she assumed was almost impossible, no enemy could assail her dwelling. Well, she could think of one, but given how that individual has eluded her sight for so long, she wasn't concerned.

Finally, at long last, some peace and quiet.

After months, or perhaps years, of chasing shadows and being pushed around by those who thought themselves better than her, Yuuka was finally able to relax. She was alone, far away from the prying eyes of god and demon alike. Not even humans would disturb her in her home.

Accumulating 'fear' be damned, if she was going to fade away, then at least she'd do it alone for once in her goddamned life. Here, she was free to lay back and watch the seasons go by. Here. On her land. On her terms. She could plant her flowers and no one could get in her way.

Outside sat a small flower field. Unlike the inside of the building, these were nearly impossible to perfect. In a realm with no sun and no soil, she could not produce any flowers naturally. These flowers were merely artificial, constructions built with the same cognitive material that made up her house. Her attention to detail ensured that they were functionally identical to a real flower on even the closest inspection. Still, something about them felt hollow.

That is why on this day, she sat in a room with a window, watching her plants grow in the darkness. She had just prepared herself a cup of… well, it was not tea, but it had to do. Then she heard something unusual.

Thud. Thud.

A strange, hollow sound with the distinct feel of wood.

Thud. Thud.

For a brief second, she entertained the thought that someone might be knocking on her door. But surely, that was impossible. There was a pause in the sound, and she had just allowed herself to dismiss it as a trick of the mind when it began again.

Thud. Thud. "Hello!?"

A voice. From outside. There was no way. No one was supposed to be able to get here! Much less someone who knocks on doors!

"Is anyone home!?"

She heard the voice again. It was a strange voice. One she is certain she has never heard, and yet something about it was extremely familiar. It couldn't be Izanami. No, it didn't have the same feel. Nor could it have been any of the other gods she had made her acquaintance with. This, if nothing else, was a question she needed to answer.

"Anyone?"

The voice sounded more desperate this time, as if its owner had hoped someone was home. Clearly, this person does not know who Yuuka is. A human, perhaps? A naïve wanderer in search of food and shelter? It seemed unlikely, but that was not an opportunity she could pass up, no matter how much she wanted to be alone. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a visitor." She replied as she got up and walked to the door, opening it with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Oh thank goodness! I thought I wouldn't find anyone!" On the other side of the door was a young woman. She stood slightly taller than Yuuka, had blonde hair, and wore a purple dress. "I know you'll probably think I'm crazy, but—!" The woman launched into a long-winded story about how she got here, but Yuuka didn't listen to a word. Something felt odd about this person, but she couldn't quite tell what.

From what her senses told her, this was a human. A girl of twenty-some years who found herself lost in these woods. A blonde girl. In her own subspace, when the world outside should still be in ancient Japan. Something didn't add up. Sure, Yuuka herself was a massive anachronism, but at least she had an explanation for that. This girl, however—

"—And then I wanted to try to see if there was a border between past and present so I—" She was still talking a mile a minute, and very little of it made any sense. What could she possibly mean by a 'border between past and present'? The last time she heard someone say something like that was—

Oh.

"Go, traverse the barrier between past and present…" Of course. Her.

While the girl – the old hag – kept talking, Yuuka wordlessly stepped back from the threshold and slammed the door in her face.

Author's Notes:

Hello Everyone! It's been years since you've last met this wild and awfully non-canon Yuuka; I hope you find her as interesting as she was when I last updated!

This chapter has been a labor of love, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every second I put into this even if I was rarely able to find the time. Yuuka's adventures through Yomi have been on my mind since long before that little hiatus and I'm glad I've finally been able to put them to paper. There are countless interpretations of Yomi in Japanese media, from the abstract red squares of Persona 4's "Yomotsu Hirasaka" to the thick underworld jungles of Kamisama Hajimemashita. The realm shown in this chapter aims to be something that is at once far more wild and almost lovecraftian in its abject hostility to any traces of life or rationality, while also fitting in neatly with certain popular and mythological perceptions of the Japanese underworld. One minor detail you may notice is that, while the world outside should still nominally be decidedly ancient, the land of Yomi is full of minor anachronisms. This is to give it that haunting and bewildering atmosphere that would drive you mad were we not following the one being in existence stubborn enough to push through the fog.

Also, while I refrained from leaving too hard into it, I would like to mention that I've always thought the "old hell" in Touhou 11 was meant to represent Yomi or something like it. After all, the historical drift among the Japanese populace away from Shintoism and towards Buddhist afterlife philosophies would make a fine explanation for why no one goes to this version of hell anymore. This, then, is "old hell" before it was old. I had even written a scene wherein Yuuka is accosted by a mind-reading monkey-like creature (read: a satori ) during her travels, but I ditched it after considering the standard interpretation of canon involves those youkai only being banished there much later on.

I would love to hear your opinions about all parts of this chapter, but I'm particularly interested in what you think of the Izanami dialogues. I loved writing Izanami as a character, and I hope her role in the plot works with you. She says a lot of rather heavy stuff that has had and likely will continue to have a major effect on the way Yuuka conducts herself. Do you find it convincing, or is it unnatural to you?

Finally, of course, there's the ending. This was actually the first part of the chapter I wrote, although I changed it quite significantly after the rest of the chapter got to that point. I hope you're all excited as this provides the setup to what promises to be a very interesting fifth part to this story. I can't give any guarantees about how long it will take me to write it, but rest assured that it is in the works. Originally I had planned for this series to have six parts, although depending on my time commitments and storyboarding, it is possible that part five may be the last. I know you as the audience have very little information to go on, but if you have any input on whether this story would wrap up better in one part or two, feel free to leave that in your review.

As always, thank you all so much for reading. I really appreciate it. As this is a story I mostly wrote for my own sake, I don't expect it to be anyone's favorite. Despite that, I have been overjoyed to see that some of you have become invested in this story as well! Don't forget to tell me what you think, whatever it is. I'm always happy to read your comments.

Speaking of comments,

Re: Acerman

Thank you so much for your review, even if it was three years ago! I, too, was quite uncomfortable at times with the brutish, chaotic Yuuka that often appears in this story, although I felt it entirely necessary to tell the story I wanted to write. I hope this chapter helps to give some context as to both why she is like that and, more importantly, where her character is headed.

Re: Schnail

I hope I can still keep your interest!

Re: Annycc

There may or may not be some references to the PC-98 canon in this part, lol

Re: JustMovedIn

To be entirely honest, your review was a significant part of what motivated me to finally edit and post this chapter after all this time. The fact that there are still people who can find and enjoy my work, even if they assume it to be abandoned, makes me incredibly happy. I'm excited to tell you that this story is in fact not abandoned, and I hope I can continue to live up to your praise.

Re: FirstWinterLight

I'm glad to be back, even if it might just be for this chapter! Yes, that interlude was more or less about her parents, but don't worry too much if it doesn't make sense. It was largely meant as an appetizer of sorts, to remind you that there is more to the world of this story than Yuuka's violent escapades. Something this chapter touches on to a certain extent.

Thank you again to all who have read this story, and I hope I haven't disappointed you!