Karma Speed

"The shrine maiden was one step away from devolving into a mindless machine that did nothing but shoot bullets for eternity. Luckily, her friend was there to stop her.

Reimu Hakurei is the name of my master, though the characters she uses to write her name have changed a little from how I remember it.

On the other hand, I have no idea who you are. I suspect you came from a place inaccessible to this old turtle."

"Hakurei Shrine is situated on the eastern edge of Gensokyo atop the boundary separating Gensokyo from the outside world. The shrine is a great place to enjoy the cherry blossoms in spring, but it doesn't get many visitors or donations. It's also a popular hangout for youkai, with more youkai gathering there each time an incident is resolved. Reimu, the Hakurei shrine maiden, doesn't know what kind of god is enshrined there, nor does she seem all that interested in finding out.

There are many reasons why the shrine doesn't get many human visitors. First, to get to the shrine from the Human Village requires a long and arduous trek through the wilderness. Second, people are scared, and rightly so, of all the youkai that gather there. And lastly, most humans don't really see the point of going there to pray because it isn't clear what blessings the enshrined god is supposed to give. That said, everyone seems to trust Reimu's abilities as a shrine maiden. People still gather at the shrine if she holds a festival, and they rely on her to solve their problems when she visits the village. You'd think she'd end up getting lots of visitors if she'd just work harder and take her job as a shrine maiden more seriously, but for some reason, Reimu refuses to do this.

Reimu mercilessly exterminates youkai in front of humans, but she also feasts and parties with youkai when there aren't any ordinary humans around. Were all the previous Hakurei shrine maidens like this, too?"

"The Yin-Yang Orbs are magic items that are only usable by members of the Hakurei clan. Yukari Yakumo modified them so Reimu could communicate with other people through them, and when Kasen Ibaraki touched one, it attacked her by unleashing a burst of energy. Misumaru Tamatsukuri claims to be their creator, and she calls Reimu the inheritor of the Yin-Yang Orbs.

The Yin-Yang Orbs are supposedly the Hakurei Shrine's shintai (a vessel for the enshrined god), but Reimu, the shrine maiden, doesn't seem to be aware of this. Most people only know the Yin-Yang Orbs as magical weapons that Reimu uses in combat to resolve incidents. However, what separates them from her other weapons is that they can fire ofuda and needles in the exact same way as Reimu. This implies they copied her ability, which might be possible, considering they're made out of Izanagi Objects.

However, it's said that the orbs harbor another, more mysterious ability... Apparently, they can absorb and store power from their wielder, which can then be unleashed to grant a wish. This wish is fulfilled regardless of what positive or negative consequences this may have, and it can range from fulfilling simple desires to destroying entire worlds. Who knows if this is true or not, but if it is, perhaps this ability also comes from the orbs being made out of Izanagi Objects."

"It's said that youkai extermination was a much more common practice in the past, as dens and nests of youkai existed deep within the mountains all over Japan. When these youkai came down from the mountains, they would raid and pillage human settlements. There are even tales of youkai attacking entire cities, like Shuten-Douji of Mount Oe. Some courageous humans took up arms and became youkai exterminators. They'd track the youkai and slay them in their mountain lairs. They did this in order to protect their friends, family, and land.

Humans that couldn't fight against the youkai directly would develop other means of resistance, such as maintaining a lookout to give warnings whenever youkai descended from the mountains. One thing led to another until a group of youkai exterminators founded a settlement right next to a common haunt of youkai. Eventually, this entire area was enclosed within a barrier, and it was given a name... Gensokyo.

Most of the current residents of the Human Village descend from these youkai exterminators, but the Hakurei clan retained the strongest ties to the profession."

"Reimu and Marisa are friends who support each other but also rivals who drive each other to attain new heights. They are like yin and yang―two parts of a whole. So, as long as they're together, they perfectly complete each other and the entire world around them...

Or, at least, that's what I used to believe. However, I have sensed a gap―a gap that cannot be filled by just Reimu and Marisa. According to all the records, such a gap shouldn't exist. And it's not as if any of the records have been lost or tampered with. There isn't a single snippet of deficient or excess information. So why do I feel this way?

Perhaps the gap can only be sensed by those who possess the ability to fly. Looking down from up high gives us an unrestricted view of the world. Or maybe that's just my old brain overthinking things. Either way, this seems like a good place to end this account."