The Disillusioned Land

Chapter 32 - Silence

The hot sun scorches my eyes even through my closed eyelids. The constant chirping of birds fills my ears. I know I'm supposed to spend my time training but... what can I even do at this point except wait for evening to come. That damn shrine maiden is just goofing off, her associates are busy maintaining the shrine, even Marisa has left for her own home.

There's a small black puddle in the grass in front of the guest room. I can't imagine it to be anything other than oil or maybe tar.

I hoist myself to a sitting position once again. I've lost track of how many times I've intended to leave at this point. Inevitably I fall back onto the porch.

The puddle appears larger than it did before. Ah... the environment really has gone downhill as of late.

A bug lands on my face, I try to swipe it off but to no avail, it simply dodges my hand and returns to me. I stand up hoping to catch it as it flees, but it eludes my grasp once again. "That damn bug" I think to myself. Only then do I realise that I've finally managed to get up on my feet again, and by complete coincidence at that. Not wanting to waste this opportunity I immediately start walking, desperately hoping to find something to do.

Maybe... I should make myself some coffee. I'm sure Reimu has some, I mean, what civilised person doesn't? I slowly make my way to the kitchen and start looking through the same pantry that I saw Marisa raid yesterday.

A few minutes have passed and all I've found is cheap instant coffee, what's wrong with this chick. Nevertheless, it's better than nothing. I make myself a cup and head back outside to avoid the dusty smell of stagnant air that would undoubtedly make the drink taste even worse than it normally would.

The puddle of black liquid is even bigger than before, but it's really not my problem.

I sip my coffee in complete silence, one would think that a place as lively as the Hakurei shrine would never truly feel em,pty, but here we are. Perhaps the others are struck with that same stupor as I. Laziness is simply human nature I suppose. Now that I think about it, although me and Reimu are definitely human, I don't really know about Kasen. She looks human enough, but that sort of physical power, I just can't imagine a mere human being capable of such force.

I look over to the puddle and see it even larger than before. At this point it would be more apt to call it a pond rather than a puddle. The growing size of it is certainly concerning, but I get the feeling it's supposed to be there somehow, so I stop thinking about it.

The caffeine clears my mind a little so I decide to get up and look for the others. Sitting here all alone is starting to get boring. I look through the guest room and see no one, I was just there a couple minutes ago so I didn't really expect to see anyone anyway. The kitchen is the next closest place so I head back over there. Once again there's no one here. There was a slim chance someone came here in the few moments I was drinking my coffee, guess not though. Suppose I'll head over to the main building next.

No one is here either, I'm starting to get a little worried. I walk outside and see the pitch black liquid covering just about every patch of ground that isn't taken up by a building. Everything is as it should be, as it's always been, as it always will be.

I begin walking over to the giant gate in front of the shrine. The world around me begins to rise and my vision fades into deep black nothing.

...

"Hello once again my dear Ryan."

I recognise the voice immediately, the shock is enough to wake me from my torpor. I open my eyes and see myself lying down on the ground. I don't recognise this place, I can't even begin to describe the platform I'm lying on. I lurch upwards with all the strength I can muster, stumbling on my feet before regaining balance. The scenery is unbelievable, incomprehensible.

"Oh my, it seems you're intent on making me wait even longer than I already have. Unfortunately I've grown quite impatient in your absence."

"Wha-" I struggle to get any words out.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice you scheming against me hm? Disappointing to say the least."

Her taunts work all too well on me in my inebriated state. I grit my teeth and grab hold of the knife in my pocket.

"Getting some crazy ideas now are we? Good good, there's the Ryan I know. Too bad I don't have much attention to spare on you at the moment. Sit tight for now, don't worry, I'll be with you shortly."

I hear growling from behind me. I spin around and see a black featureless beast behind me. It's hard to tell, but its size and shape resemble that of a large wolf. Its open jaws are devoid of teeth, instead containing nothing but an empty black void. Despite its lack of eyes I can feel it looking straight at me.

The creature lunges for me, I pull out my knife preparing to block its attack. Where I would expect to feel impact, there is instead nothing. The beast continues onwards through my weapon, then my arm, and heads straight towards my head.

...

Once again I open my eyes and see myself in an unfamiliar place, at least this time I'm still standing on my feet. I look around and see the interior of a train moving at high speed. Wherever this is, it's nighttime here, the windows show nothing but darkness. The train is completely empty, save for myself of course.

I have next to no idea where I am, but I know I have to get out of here. The others were also on shrine grounds when all this happened, chances are they're also in danger somewhere. I dash forwards through the train carriages, each one as empty as the last. Something is seriously wrong with this train.

I arrive in the final carriage, there's nowhere left to go. But that doesn't only apply to me. It doesn't take much searching for the beast I saw before to reveal itself again, though it seems to be smaller than before. Its body resembles a void more than it does an animal, it doesn't strike me as particularly odd though. Even still, there's something at the back of my head screaming at me, this creature is important, I just don't know why.

The entity launches itself towards me again, but changes its course at the last moment. It circles me while soaring through the air, leaving a volley of bullets in its wake. I try to dodge but I'm completely surrounded. I pull out my knife and attempt to carve a path through the shots, the bullets split and scatter in opposite directions as my blade slices through them. I manage to escape the barrage, only getting hit by some shrapnel from the shots I split. The remaining bullets collide with each other and dissipate.

The wolf-like creature simply observes me from a distance. I get the feeling it doesn't want to get close to me. I rush towards it once more. It responds by dashing away again, just like before a line of shots is drawn across its path. I cut through as many as I can, trying my best to ignore the pain of stray bullets hitting me. I make one final lunge towards the beast and grab it by the tail with my free hand.

...

"...-Barrier!"

Once again I arrive somewhere else, but this time Reimu is here along with me.

"Ryan? Quickly get inside!"

I run into the barrier she just set up. I see the large wolf-like beast once again, as well as Yukari further in the distance. The creature jumps towards the barrier. The beast seems to splatter across the invisible surface of the barrier upon impact, covering it in thick black tar. The liquid flows across the barrier, almost eating into it, trace amounts of it seep through cracks. The cracks grow more numerous by the second, our defense won't hold for long. With a single movement of her hand Reimu causes the barrier to explode outwards, launching the liquid away.