Memory

I found myself looking at a scene with two adults and a child around 7 years old between them, holding their hands. Although each of their faces was blurred, I instinctively knew the child was me and that the people who were with me were my parents. The past me was in some kind of garden filled with lush trees and flowers. I heard a waterfall gently splashing down water, creating a calming sound. A peaceful atmosphere surrounded this scene. I noticed that I had not seen any sign of any location that seemed like this place in Gensokyo, then again, I had not explored much of the Surface yet.

“Here we are Sweetie, this is Yellowstone National Park, one of the most beautiful national parks in this world called Earth, or as we like to call it, the Outside World.” Mom said to the past me.

“The Outside World? Why do you call it that? Why not just call it Earth like everyone else does?” The past me asked Mom.

“It’s a long story, but to simplify it a bit, it’s because we come from a different place. It’s still technically part of Earth, but it isn’t accessible from where we are now.” Mom answered.

“So you can’t go back to your home anymore? Why?” The past me inquired.

“Yeah, we can’t go back to our home anymore, in fact, we don’t even know what is going on over there either. As for why, it is hard to explain right now, but for now, I’ll explain it like this. It’s like a giant wall was erected around our home. Those living within the wall do not know what happens in the world outside that wall while those living outside the wall do not know what happens inside the wall. Now imagine that wall was heavily guarded and that almost nobody could go into and out of the wall. That’s what our home is like. We left the walled space, but as a result, we can no longer go back inside that space.” Dad explained while sighing a few times.

“That is interesting! What is your home called?” I asked with my eyes glowing in intrigue.

“We lived in a place called Gensokyo. That would be the walled place that Dad explained to you. Specifically, we lived in a large home that we called the Palace of Earth Spirits.” Mom replied while stroking the top of my head.

I saw the past me close her eyes and start smiling. Even though the memory was replaying in my head, I couldn’t help but think. ‘So that’s the reason why I like my family petting my head so much, it was because Mom used to do it a lot and I loved it every time she did.’

As soon as I finished my thoughts, the past me coincidentally began speaking again, as if waiting for me to finish my thoughts first. “A palace?! Were you someone important?!” The young me gasped before continuing. “Were you a princess or something?!” The younger me asked, speeding up her words in utter excitement.

“Kind of. Instead of a princess, I was more like the inheritor of the place. As for what I did, I was a mediator between two different groups of people.” Mom responded while tilting her head upward as if she was trying to remember the memories of her past.

“Wow, Mom, you are so cool! You must have been skilled if that was your job in the past!” The younger me complimented her while squealing in joy.

“It wasn’t that cool, the job and responsibilities were handed down to me from your grandmother. Our family has a duty to do this, so it wasn’t really too impressive. The palace is also something that belongs to our family.” Mom started to say before I felt an aura of regret emanating from her. “I left Gensokyo before I got to pass down or explain these responsibilities to your eldest sister. I hope she is doing well.” Mom once again lifted up her head seemingly because she missed her eldest daughter.

“Why did you leave before explaining that to her?” The younger me asked. The question looked like it pierced Mom like an arrow. “I-it’s b-because, uhhh” Mom started before cutting herself off.

“It’s because we had no choice but to leave immediately, if we stayed there for too long, we could’ve gotten into trouble. We didn’t even have enough time to say goodbye to your 2 sisters and their pets.” Dad answered for Mom while putting an arm around her shoulder.

“Why?” I asked.

“We’ll tell you when you are a bit older,” Dad answered. The younger me pouted at hearing that she was not old enough to know why. Soon, the pout disappeared and the past me continued her questions.

“What did you do in Gensokyo?” The past me directed a question at Dad.

“I went around hiding the presence of this wall. I made it seem like there was no wall there in the first place.” Dad answered, puffing his chest out, feeling proud of his duty in Gensokyo.

‘Now that I think about it, if the place I supposedly lived before is the Outside World and the place that Mom and Dad come from is Gensokyo, then this wall they are talking about is the Great Hakurei Barrier and the unnamed barrier set up by a youkai named Yukari Yakumo. On the surface, I did not see any indication of these barriers at all. According to this memory, Dad should have been the one who hid the barrier, but if he is in the Outside World now, how can he still hide the barrier? Is there someone who replaced him, or is he still able to hide the barrier despite being in a different place?’ I wondered to myself.

“That’s cool Dad! How did you hide it?” The past me asked.

“I hid it by making it look like something else. It’s very similar to camouflage, but slightly different and more advanced. It hides the thing better than camouflage does because it doesn’t just make the thing look like something else, it makes it look exactly the same as the surroundings.” Dad explained while making various signs on his hands to add to his explanation.

After Dad finished his weird hand signs, the scene started to fade to gray.

Memory End

I suddenly jolted forward as soon as the memory completely faded to black. I felt a soft sensation beneath me that I recognized very well, it was the soft mattress of my bed. I wanted to reflect on what I just saw, but before I could, a transparent window appeared followed by Mio’s voice.

Second Memory Viewed

Granting Benefits…

A bright light emerged from my body forcing me to close my eyes. Then I felt an almost unbearable heat from the bottom of my back. It felt like a super-heated piece of metal was placed directly on my skin. The pain hurt me so much, I desperately wanted to scream out in pain, but I held it in, not wanting to disturb my other family members. I bit down hard on my lip, enough for a small trail of blood to flow from it. My eyes were full of tears because of the pain. Then the pain disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. Instead, an itchy sensation replaced it. The sensation reminded me of being tickled by a hundred feathers all contracted on the exact same place. I felt an urge to scratch the skin of my back, to which I responded by desperately restraining myself to prevent myself from doing so. After what felt like years, the itchiness disappeared, all my exhaustion vanished, and the wounds I inflicted on myself were all healed. I felt an extra appendage on my body, but I couldn’t tell where it was. I was about to conduct an analysis of my body, but the screen and Mio then interrupted me by announcing something else.

Success

Species Chireiden Chimera (One-Tailed) Has Become Chireiden Chimera (Two-Tailed)

Hearing this announcement, I felt my tail starting to sway a bit. I had felt the sensation of my tail starting to swing before, but something felt different for some reason. I reached behind me to grab my tail to see if anything was wrong with it. When I came into contact with it, it was super fluffy. Even fluffier than the pillow I slept on. I moved my tail under my legs and began to hug with both of my hands and cuddle it.

‘So fluffy! Why did I not try this before? If I was holding this while resting my head on my pillow, how good would that feel?!’ I excitedly thought to myself. As I was just about to try it, I once again felt something odd. I felt my tail beginning to sway again. ‘Wait, I’m holding my tail right now, why do I feel something still swaying behind me?’ I kept one arm wrapped around the tail while reaching the other one behind my back. Once I did, I felt my arm brush against another fluffy object. I had an idea of what it was already, but slowly brought it in front of me to make sure my assumption was right, and it was, in my other arm was another tail, just as fluffy as the other. I started gently caressing both of them and an indescribable sensation assaulted my body. It was the most comfortable I had ever felt in my entire life and soon, I could think of nothing except brushing my tails. This continued for several minutes before I finally regained some semblance of sanity. I loosened my grip on the tails and I realized something about them.

‘I remember my tail being platinum silver with a black end before, but now neither of my tails was exactly that color. One of them is a midnight black with specs of different colors scattered throughout, like a galaxy. The other one is a bluish-silver color. More importantly, though, why did my tail change colors?’

As if to answer my question, another transparent screen appeared just as Mio started to announce something

Gained {Trait} Elemental Tails

I clicked on the newly gained title to get a description of what the title was and what benefits it gave.

Elemental Tails: A title given to individuals with multiple tails completely filled with the energy of a certain affinity or element. The elements attuned to the tails are boosted when the owner of this title uses them and they are able to create more creative phenomena with that element when the effects of the tail are active.

Tail 1: Stellar

Tail 2: Wind

‘Interesting, so using the elements that match those of my tails will be more effective and allow for more creative usage, but what does it mean when the effects of the tail are active? How do I activate them in the first place? I’ll test out some things later, but right now I should take a moment to reflect on what I learned from that memory.’ I created a miniature plan for myself in my head.

‘From that memory, I learned that I came to Gensokyo from the Outside World, the opposite of what Mom and Dad did. They came from Gensokyo and somehow ended up in the Outside World. Why were they in the Outside World in the first place and how did they get there? I’ll tell everyone about this and see what they think’ I reflected on my memory while getting up from bed.

“Hmmm?” I heard someone groan from the corner of my bed. I had not realized that there was anyone in the room besides me. I looked over toward the voice and saw that it was sis who was sleeping there. She slowly raised her head and rubbed her eyes before fully opening them. Once she did, she stared at me for several seconds before rushing toward me and enveloping me in her arms.

“Are you okay lil sis? You suddenly fainted after that fight! I hurriedly carried you here, worried that something was wrong. Everyone was concerned when they saw you unconscious!” Sis told me.

“I’m fine, it’s just that one of my memories got unsealed as a result of winning that battle. Whenever my memories get unsealed, I always fall unconscious.” I explained to her.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Phew, I was worried that something was wrong. Now that you’re awake, let’s go see everyone. They were all worried, so I think you should explain to them!” Sis slowly started to let go of the hug before starting to pull me out of the room. Once I was in the hallway, I didn’t see anyone, for once.

“Hmm, it seems like they aren’t here. They are probably in the Great Hall then!” Sis yelled out. Following her declaration, we headed toward the Great Hall.

Once we got there, I saw everyone all together. Satori was sitting at the table in the center of the room while Orin and Okuu were standing a few feet away from her talking about the Hell of Blazing Fires.

“Oh, Ayaka! I’m glad to see that you are up. How are you feeling?” Big sis called out to me when she noticed that I had entered the room.

Big sis’s call to me also caused Orin and Okuu to halt their conversation and turn to me. They both had relieved expressions and their faces and asked similar questions as big sis and sis to make sure I was alright.

“Thank you for the concern, everyone. I fell unconscious because one of my memories got unsealed after I won the battle with Rumia. Whenever I unseal a memory, I always fall unconscious so I can view it. Speaking of memories, I want to hear all your opinions about the one I just recovered.”

Each of them simply nodded my head and beckoned me to continue.

“The memory showed a scene that I did not recognize anywhere in Gensokyo. She explained that it was a place called Yellowstone National Park, a famous park in the Outside World.” They all gasped hearing that Mom and I were in the Outside World.

“They Outside World? How did mother and father end up there?” Big sis quietly muttered under her breath. Her voice was so quiet that even I had trouble hearing it despite having far more sensitive hearing capabilities due to my cat ears.

Big sis appeared to be thinking about the answers to those questions for a while before she turned her attention back to me and indicated that I could continue.

“Back when I was also in the Outside World, everyone called it Earth, so the young me asked her why she specifically called it the Outside World. She answered that the place she came from, Gensokyo, and the Outside World are both parts of Earth. She then told me that her home is no longer accessible to her. The past me asked her why. Dad likened their situation to an isolated walled location. Gensokyo would be the place within that wall while the Outside World would be everything outside the wall. He added that those who left the wall would no longer be let back in and those outside the wall would never get entry into the wall.” I continued.

They each nodded, as if understanding this analogy perfectly. I was still a bit unclear about it, so I decided to ask them.

“I don’t understand this analogy, could you guys explain it to me?” I requested.

“Of course. Gensokyo is surrounded by two barriers, both of which prevent things from both entering and exiting. These barriers make up the wall that your parents were referring to. It is extremely difficult for things to end up on this side of the barrier unless they have been completely forgotten in the Outside World. Just like a wall, some stuff can still make it into the place inside the walls, just like how things can enter Gensokyo from the Outside World. On the other hand, it is said to be impossible to return back to the Outside World from Gensokyo, so I am curious as to how your parents ended up there.” Orin explained. “I have heard of people who were transported here from the Outside World, but I have never heard of any person who got transported to the Outside World from Gensokyo.” She added.

I nodded before I continued my recollection of the memory. “After that, I asked Mom where she used to live and what she did. She answered that she used to live here in the Palace of Earth Spirits and was the mediator between two groups of people. She also added that the home and job were inherited. The last thing that she said was that she had to leave before she could explain and pass on these duties to my eldest sister, that’s you, big sis. Then Dad added that they didn’t even have enough time to say goodbye to everyone. I asked him why they couldn’t but he just told me that I was not old enough to know yet. Then the scene faded and I woke up.” I finished my recollection.

I saw tears welling in the eyes of everyone in my family.

“They are alive, they are still alive! I knew they didn’t die even when they suddenly disappeared!” Orin said while wiping a few tears from her eyes.

“Mom, Dad, where are you? I miss you.” Sis asked with a feeling of longing written on her face.

“Mother, father, why did you suddenly leave? Why didn’t you tell us before?” Big sis uncharacteristically cried.

“Come back soon! All of us miss you both so much!” Okuu tearfully requested

All of them let their emotions pour out. All the loneliness that they felt as a result of my parent’s disappearance, all the sorrow, and all the grief. I wrapped all of them in the tightest hug I could. Eventually, I began to softly cry as well.

‘Mom, Dad, I miss you very much, will I be able to see you both again? I miss the hugs that you gave me, the random conversations we had, and the pats that you gave me.’ I felt an intense sorrow overtake my body as these thoughts passed through my head and I began to uncontrollably sob. While I was still sobbing, I felt something warm wrap around me. It didn’t feel like a hand, but something else instead. I could feel a softness that I recognized as feathers: Okuu had wrapped her wings around all of us. The warm sensation of her wings was transmitted into my body and I felt the warmth spread all over my body. The warmth comforted me and I slowly started to calm down. In response to Okuu’s action, I spread my wings around my family, layering my wings on top of Okuu’s. We continued this embrace for a while before all of our tears dried.

Even then, we still didn’t completely stop hugging. Okuu and I slowly returned our wings to their resting positions, but our arms remained locked around our other family members. We continued this for an hour before we slowly released the hug.

“Letting go of pent-up emotions is really satisfying,” Orin said while stretching her arms over her head.

“Yeah I agree, it feels nice to finally release the sorrow I felt from the disappearance of our parents.” Big sis agreed.

“I still miss our parents though,” Sis added before her face turned downtrodden again.

“Don’t worry, we’ll surely see them again! We first have to find out why they went to the Outside World without telling us and how they did in the first place.” I reassured sis.

“I’ll help you then!” Sis returned back to her cheerful attitude upon hearing my reassurance.

“I have a bit of information about travelers from the Outside World ending up in Gensokyo. From the party that Reimu held, I got to know 3 people from the Moriya Shrine, a shrine atop Youkai Mountain. From what they told me, they migrated from the Outside World to Gensokyo because they were not receiving enough faith. Somehow, they knew of the existence of Gensokyo and even managed to teleport an entire shrine here as well as themselves. Perhaps it had something to do with them all being gods, well 2 gods and 1 demigod to be precise.” Big sis informed us. “Furthermore, based on what they said, that teleportation relied heavily on technology that Gensokyo lacks. In fact, Gensokyo does not even have half the materials necessary to make the device. However, there is one thing that makes me doubt this explanation, the fact that no other person has entered Gensokyo with this same device. It also does not explain how they even knew about Gensokyo in the first place. In my opinion, the best place to gather information is the Moriya Shrine, so we should make that our objective for now.”

“Let’s go to the surface then!” Sis shouted in response.

“Before we go, I couldn’t help but notice your new appearance Ayaka, it really amplifies how cute you are!” Orin told me.

“I know, the increase in tails really does make me look fluffier, doesn’t it?” I responded to her.

“Yes, but I wasn’t just talking about your tails.” She quickly replied.

‘Hmm, not just my tails, did something else about me change? I didn’t have time to check my reflection in the mirror because sis pulled me out of the room before I could change.’

“Did something else about me change?” I asked her while slightly tilting my head.

“Yes, your ears look like they got a bit fluffier and your wings appear to have grown a bit.” She told me before pulling out a hand mirror.”

I looked at my reflection and saw that she was right. My ears had the same color and shape, but they were noticeably fluffier. I put my hands on my ears, gently moving my hands over my ears. As I thought, they were indeed much fluffier than before. I heard everyone start quietly giggling while hiding their mouth with their arm. I blushed a bit and moved on to looking at my wings. They looked a bit bigger than before, but I couldn’t really tell. I was honestly surprised that Orin could notice a difference that quickly.

“Hey lil sis, can we play around with your ears and tails for a bit?” Sis asked me while slowly extending her hand toward my tails.

I wanted to refuse, but then I remembered the pleasant sensation I had felt when they had done so before. I slowly nodded and all of them walked closer to me.

Orin and big sis played with my hair and ears alternating between scratching my ears, petting my hair, and combing my smooth hair, Okuu ran her fingers along my wings feeling how soft my feathers were, and sis hugged both of my tails before beginning to slowly move her hand up and down them. I felt a warmth appear from my ears, wings, and tail before it began to spread evenly to my entire body. I closed my eyes in pleasure and leaned into the hands of big sis and Orin. Purrs started involuntarily exiting my mouth, my wings twitched slightly before rhythmically and slowly moving back and forth, almost in a flapping motion, and my tails tried swaying, but were unable to because of how tight sis’s embrace on them was.

They continued this for about 30 minutes before they slowly retracted their hands. Not wanting the warmth to disappear, I leaned toward them begging for more, but they did not pet me anymore. I felt a feeling of disappointment which disappeared soon afterward; instead, a smile appeared on my face.

‘Being with family is the best feeling alive! Mom, Dad, I still miss you, but I know we’ll meet again someday so wait for me! I’ll be sure to reunite both of you with the rest of our family!’ I dedicated this thought to Mom and Dad, wherever they may be.

“Let’s go. Onwards to Youkai Mountain.” I said before walking to the door. The rest of my family laughed before following me.

When we exited the Palace, I received another announcement from Mio followed by a transparent screen.

New Quest

-From Outside to Inside

Find more information about how the people from the Moriya Shrine entered Gensokyo from the Outside World.

Status:

Name: Ayaka Komeiji

Species: Chireiden Chimera (Two-Tailed)

Age: 11

Job: [Locked]

Skill Points: 0

Unique Skills: None

Skills:

Lesser Darkness Manipulation Lv. 2

Lesser Mind Reading Lv. 2

Quiet Presence+ Lv. 1

Miniscule Wind Manipulation Lv. 2

Lesser Illusion Lv.2

Lesser Nuclear Manipulation Lv. 1

Affinities:

Stellar

Titles:

Progenitor

Spirit Seer

Elemental Tails

Family Bonds:

|Chireiden|

Spell Cards:

1st: Astro Sign [Solar Star System]

2nd: Sun Sign [Red Giant]

Quests:

(Possible) From Outside to Inside

Authority Level: 2

Fainted Counter: 5

Lesser Darkness Manipulation: Allows limited control over the darkness element.

Lesser Mind Reading: Allows the reader to read the mind of a target for 20 seconds. Cooldown - 10 hours.

Quiet Presence+: Makes the user harder to detect by eliminating the sounds of heartbeat and footsteps. Prevents the mind from being read.

Miniscule Wind Manipulation: Allows little to no control over the wind element.

Lesser Illusions: Allows the user limited control over the illusion element. Enables the creation of small illusions that last for 20 seconds. Cooldown - 5 hours.

Lesser Nuclear Manipulation: Allows for a small amount of control over nuclear energy, more specifically, nuclear fusion.

Progenitor: A title given to those who have evolved into a new species. Reduces pain felt by 10%.

Spirit Seer: A title given to those who have the capability to communicate with spirits. Allows for communication and understanding with spirits.

Elemental Tails: A title given to individuals with multiple tails completely filled with the energy of a certain affinity or element. The elements attuned to the tails are boosted when the owner of this title uses them and they are able to create more creative phenomena with that element when the effects of the tail are active. (New)

Tail 1: Stellar

Tail 2: Wind