That night, as soon as we got back from Mokou's place we stopped by home just long enough to grab the amber, then headed out of the eastern gate, toward the Hakurei shrine. We didn't bother bringing Genji with us this time, which meant that if we were coming back tonight we'd have to figure out how to get past the closed gates. That was a problem to consider later though. By the light of the full moon we made our way along the road to the Hakurei shrine, trotting along the familiar path in silence, moving quickly. As usual, no youkai accosted us on our way there. For the millionth time I wondered if the danger of venturing outside the village walls had been overemphasized or if youkai were just staying away from us in particular. Maybe Ran had some way of making her master's will known to the sorts of creatures who might normally attack someone on the road at night, or maybe we just got lucky and there was no one around between the village and the Hakurei shrine that time.

Shortly after we reached the stone stairs cut into the hill leading up to the shrine Patchouli joined us, appearing out of a glowing and intricately inscribed circle of purple light that faded away just as suddenly as it had appeared. It wasn't long after that that we spotted a reddish glow illuminating the horizon to the north. This was followed a few minutes later by Reimu's familiar shape flying overhead, toward the direction of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

"She's gone," Patchouli rasped as Reimu faded from sight. "Let's hope Remi can hold her attention for a while."

"Thank you for all of your help, Patchouli. What did Remilia end up doing in the end?"

"She wanted to turn all the rivers flowing into the village into blood, or possibly red wine. She couldn't decide on which, but doing either would both be difficult and disrupt the flow of magic for the entire watershed. I got her to settle for just making the water glow red instead. It's harmless, but it's flashy and if it lets her blow off some steam then my life will be easier. She and her sister have been having battles all over the house ever since Remi failed to capture that amanojaku. We'd better not waste time though, let's go."

Saying that, Patchouli offered us each a hand. When we took them we all rose into the air, ascending the stone steps on the side of the hill, then touching lightly down in front of the shrine as if we had just leaped all the way up in a single bound. The vacant shrine was particularly still and eerie in the bright moonlight, silent except for the rustle of the wind in the trees.

"Let's see that jewel," Patchouli demanded. I produced it from my pocket. It was glowing faintly with a warm orange light but otherwise looked just as it always had. "Be careful with that," she said, her eyes poring over every detail of the crystal, "we're right on the edge of the Great Hakurei Barrier here. If that amber really can punch through it, then a gap could open at any moment."

I was already aware of that, of course. This amber was what had brought us to this world in the first place, after all. It was because of the danger of perhaps accidentally ending up in the Outside world that Patchouli was accompanying us in the first place. I didn't say anything though. I was grateful to have her with us.

"Let's have a look inside the inner shrine," I suggested, looking up toward the looming wooden frame of the building. Directly facing the torii gates at the edge of the hill, the donation box sat in front of the shrine. Just behind that were the doors to the inner shrine itself but I had never seen them opened. Whenever we had entered the shrine building it had always been through Reimu's residence in the back. Now though, Patchouli strode forward and, ignoring the offering box and the hanging rope pull attached to the shrine's bell, slid the doors wide. It was dark inside and as we moved to follow her she conjured a small, heatless purple flame in her palm for light.

There wasn't much to see within the confines of the inner shrine. It was a single, undivided room as wide as the whole shrine building with tatami floors and only a single object occupying the empty space. The object in question was an enclosed altar, a square mikoshi painted with vivid vermillion that looked to be quite ancient. The outer face of the mikoshi had a shelf on which a few old coins and several bottles of sanctified sake had been placed. Behind that was a sealed, cube-shaped wooden box. By all reason, that box should contain the Hakurei shrine's shintai. The sacred, physical embodiment of the Hakurei god. Walking up to the mikoshi and touching it was simple. There was no need for a physical barrier when this altar was only separated from Reimu's bedroom by a thin wall of woven bamboo and packed earth. Anyone attempting to sneak into this place, even in the dead of night would have to contend with the intuition of the Hakurei miko. The interior box of the mikoshi, however, had another layer of protection. Even from across the room I could see the intricately woven pattern of wards and boundaries securing the box. It didn't look to me like something I had ever seen Reimu make. When she needed to seal something she was usually content to just slap an ofuda over it, or several if she felt like being thorough. The seal placed on the mikoshi's inner chamber was more akin to a work of art. Layers of boundaries interwoven between each other in a complex knot that was both durable and aesthetically pleasing. I had never seen anything like it before.

Patchouli noticed me staring at the barrier. "There's a seal over that mikoshi isn't there?" she asked me. I nodded. "I suppose we'll need to use that then," she said, indicating the amber.

"Let's not actually, if we can avoid it," Renko suggested. "If I'm right there might be another stone just like this one inside that box and there's no telling how the two might react to one another. Merry, can you see if you can undo that barrier first?"

"I should have expected you'd make me do this. If Reimu comes back I'm going to be the one who gets punished, aren't I?"

"You've come all the way through the dungeon and you don't want to open the treasure chest at the end of it? Where's your sense of adventure, Merry?"

"This isn't a dungeon, and that isn't a treasure chest. We've just broken into a religious institution and you're asking me to pry open a sacred altar."

"You can do it, Merry. I know you can. And you want to see what's in there just as badly as I do, don't you?"

"...I'll give it a shot."

Looking at the barrier from across the room, it seemed immaculate. Drawing closer though, especially as I raised my hand to it I could see that there were flaws. Tiny ones, the sort of things that tend to stick out to an artist about their own works, but remain invisible in the eyes of others. Holding my hand over it, the barrier wavered, fluctuating smoothly like a fabric, but if you looked carefully you could see threads of its mesh slipping, just a little. A loop here, a loose weave there. If you wanted to, you could tear at it. It would almost be a shame to pull something so beautiful apart. I doubt that once I did I'd ever be able to put it back together properly. With a sigh I reached out, pinching the barrier with one hand while inserting the finger of my other hand through a slack loop. Little by little, the barrier began to come apart.

"How are you doing that!?" Patchouli gasped in shock. "There were no fluctuations in that at all a moment ago. A human shouldn't even be able to see that barrier, much less affect it."

I ignored her. Working with this knot took concentration, but also I was used to statements like that. People had been telling me that I was doing things a human shouldn't be doing my whole life. I twisted the layers around, bowing two strands enough that I could slip my hand between them. Then, I tightened my grip and pulled. The weave of boundaries came apart, the beautiful complexity of its construction falling away to nothing. With a faint click, the sealed door of the mikoshi opened.

I glanced briefly at Renko before pulling the door wide. Patchouli raised her light so that we could peer inside. The box was empty. Where the shintai of the Hakurei god should be, there was nothing but hollow space.

It had never been clear exactly what sort of god was supposed to dwell in the Hakurei shrine. Even Reimu didn't know the god's name or what blessings it could provide. Now it was obvious why. The Hakurei shrine had always been empty. No god dwelled here, because there was nowhere for them to live. The amber that was supposed to have... It was supposed to... Back then when the youkai sage had given the amber to me and had me bring it to Sumireko, had she taken it from this very mikoshi? Or had it never been there in the first place? This is where it was supposed to be... or was it somewhere else?

Had I been talking? There was a ringing in my ears as Renko nodded at me, as if in response to a question I didn't remember asking. I watched my hands gently place the amber inside the box. A feeling of completeness washed over me, filling me with a nonsensical, baseless confidence as I closed the door of the altar. As if everything were now as it should be.

I wasn't surprised when the gap opened. It had been exactly what I had expected, hadn't it? We had come here because we wanted this to happen. Sealed within the mikoshi, the amber sparkled. Not the dull glow it had held before, but a brilliant, shining, sun-warm light. Every bit as dazzling as it had been when we were first brought to Gensokyo.

And then, the world distorted.

That which had been closed opened.

A gap in space blossomed before us.

"Renko..."

I reached out to my partner.

"Merry!"

Her hand closed around mine. Squeezed me.

I couldn't see Patchouli any more. She had been right beside us a moment ago, but now there was nothing but the yawning phantasmagoria of an infinite void stretching out as far as could be seen in every direction.

The gap in the boundary swallowed us both headfirst.

-and then, everything went dark.