⑨ Souls (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

Awakening

I opened my eyes slowly, gaining my consciousness after feeling a great amount of pain all over my body. It was like a giant needle had pierced through it. I grunted in pain, as I looked up to see that I was lying down on the shores of the River Sanzu.

"Why am I here...?" I asked myself.

The last thing I remembered, was that party that Sunny held. Now I am alone, and in pain in the middle of nowhere. How did I get here? Maybe my memories will return if I continue on.

It was dark, which is obvious since it's night by now. The only source of light is from the moon, shining above the horizon. The water in the river reflected the moonlight beautifully... But something isn't right. There's no signs of life in my vicinity, not even a fairy's sign.

I slowly got up on my feet, and I attempted to fly but I couldn't. It was as if my ability to fly is taken away by some unknown force. After moments of me incoherently grumbling, I realized my new objective. I need to find the others, and find out what on Gensokyo is going on by now.

Maybe I should go home, back to the lake first? Or should I visit the Human Village to know what is going on? After a few seconds of thinking, maybe I need to walk to the direction of the village, since Reimu's shrine is also in that direction. I set off, running along the road of Liminality, where there are supposed to be stalls that humans run along it.

However, to my surprise I discovered that the stalls are ruined. Something had happened here, and to add to the horror... There are corpses lying around the stalls. Some of them were holding rocks on their hands, and there are wounds that one would make by striking a blunt object to them. The path is also messy, with food, toys and etc. were littered above it.

"I thought that gap youkai said that killing is forbidden here... What happened, exactly?"

It was then when I heard a voice from a human man, groaning. He was walking out from one of the ruined stalls in front of me, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, and his body is shivering like crazy.

"E... Excuse me, Human..." I started.

The man turned his sights onto me, and he draws a small knife, raising it up, with the blade pointing at me. He approaches me slowly, and a small cackle escaped his lips.

"What... What is happening? Uhh, Sir?"

He didn't answer, instead he began to shriek and charge at my direction. In time, I managed to freeze the man on his tracks. In the end, I managed to get no information as to what is going on, until I touched his frozen figure.

A small ball of light came out from his body, and went into mine. It was then that my vision flashed, and I find myself standing on the road, back when everything is intact.

I see the man that I had frozen in front of me, happily chewing on some food that he just bought from one of the stalls.

However, all of a sudden the skies darken, obscuring the sun... Allowing only the moon to shine on the land. As soon as the moonlight hits the ground, the people shined by it suddenly began to tremble, and attack each other. Some killing each other with rocks, while the man I froze used his knife... Well I guess that knife was his to begin with.

I gasped, as my vision went back to the present, rubbing the ice sculpture of the man I froze. So the world has gone into an eternal night... Just like that one incident involving a fake moon, and now the real moon instead, drove everyone crazy?

But I only see humans went crazy in that memory. Maybe the others are still around? I quickly ran away from the sculpture, along the roads.

Until I stopped upon seeing a familiar face sitting against a rock. Short white hair, and carrying 2 swords...  The half phantom Youmu Konpaku, is sitting there, holding onto a mortal wound. Her ghost half is nowhere to be found.

"Hey... You there... You're not like them, aren't you...?"

I nodded. "What happened?"

"Danger... Ahead... Got... Careless..."

She coughed.

"Maybe... You... Last hope.... Fairy... Take... Roukanken... Save..."

Then she closed her eyes. Never thought I would see a half phantom would die like this. But she mentioned a danger ahead? What is the danger that attacked her, and killed her like this?

Following her words, I took her sword and scabbard, and tied the scabbard belt around my waist. I put the sword in it, and I looked up.

Whatever dangers lie ahead... I need to deal with them myself, unlike the usual, where I got my team on my side.

- To Be Continued