Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

House of Eternity

Something was wrong. That, Alice knew with absolute certainty.

She first looked at her hands. They were smaller and... younger than she remembered. Then, down at the rest of herself.

White blouse... Blue suspender skirt...

It was an outfit that was hauntingly familiar, and it was not one that she had expected to ever wear again.

...

Vulnerable... Incredibly vulnerable...

Without her dolls... Without her grimoire... Without Shanghai... Alice felt exposed. All of that comfort, all of her crutches... stripped away in an instant.

...

The scene surrounding her did little to ease her fears.

The once familiar streets of Makai City seemed to twist in on themselves in unnatural ways. An unending flood of panicked residents surged around her. Miraculously, she remained untouched by the crowd.

A great column of fire, unleashing a sky swallowing plume of smoke, burned in the distance. And... it was growing closer.

Alice, despite herself, became seized by the same terror that seemed to infest those around her. Some base, instinctual part of herself was screaming 'Go! Run! Get as far away as you can! NOW!

She obeyed, though try as she might, her limbs felt as though they were made of lead.

She knew... She just knew what was coming next.

From within the smoke, four figures began to emerge. They were equal parts familiar and unfamiliar.

Their proportions were skewed, and as a whole, they were several times larger than they should have been, but their recognizable features were still intact.

A young miko. A rebellious witch. A vengeful spirit. A deadly flower.

These beings were not idle. No, they were unleashing a great magical barrage, concentrated on a single point within the gloom.

Mother...

But it was not truly her mother. No, this figure was a heavily warped mockery of what her mother once was. Far too many wings, far too many eyes. It unleashed damnation upon its opponents, spreading collateral damage as it went.

As it moved closer, disaster followed.

The ground quaked as the firestorm swept across the city. She could hear her own voice screaming.

The buildings became rubble. The fire seared at her skin. A great fissure opened up beneath her and she could do nothing else but fall.

Everything became dark as she hit water. Cold, absolutely frigid water. It immediately soaked her to the bone. No matter how hard she swam, she continued to sink.

Above her, the faces of those she once knew stared down in disappointment.

Alice fought for breath, only to have water rush in instead, leaving her to drown in an endless ocean.

~~~~~~Tradition's End~~~~~~

Alice gasped and coughed as she jolted awake. Her breathing was frantic, her body shuddered, and everything hurt. She could not find the strength to sit up, and so she remained on her back. She brought her hands up to cover her face.

...Her face was wet. She had been crying.

It took several more minutes and all the willpower she could muster to stabilize her breathing and bring herself back down from the sheer panic she was experiencing.