Tournament of Dreams - part 2

They come out of the ground.  It's still Janxi.  In this case, I spit fire to the point of burning the whole room.  Bored, I turn around and take another path.  I keep my eyes closed so as not to lose the thread of the meeting.

Reimu beats Sanae in this third quarter-final.  Marisa defeats Sakuya in this fourth quarter-final.

Bingo!  I will face one of the two in the final.  On the other hand, for the second quarter, I do not know who wins.

- It's incredible !  Ika Sekairi defeats Meira in the second quarter-final.

Oh no, not him!  My hands are shaking as I recoil at hearing his name.  He is the embodiment of Acala who cursed the entire Parallel Branch for his genocide.  And he came...for me.

The first semi-final will oppose Yakumo Kenpyri to Ika Sekairi.

No, I don't want to face him!  I'm going to lose, I'm sure of it, and the rest of the clan will fade away.  And I'm not sure my regeneration will be enough.  I cannot therefore continue the tournament.  Forgive me, Yu, but I'm going to forfeit!

- I can't beat him.

I'm looking for a way to leave the place, when suddenly a breach appears in front of the exit door to bring me back to a dark arena.  On the other hand, I doubt that it resembles Yukari.  When in doubt, I put myself in a defensive position when the lights come on.  I then see Yumemi with Kasen talking.  Not wanting to drag on, I head for the exit, but just as I touch the wrist, I'm caught in an electric shock so powerful that anyone would be dead;  which is my case.  However, I woke up a few minutes later, on the legs of my master as well as the organizer of this tournament that I should have refused.  Now I'm going to have to face the person responsible for the curse too soon.  Sorry, but I can not !

How are you ?  Kasen asks me.

No, I answered.  I will face my worst nightmare, and I will lose.  And the Yakumo clan will disappear with me.

" Oh ?  Yumemi is surprised.  We thought you hated your clan, Yukari, and me.

I understand better why I was registered under this type.  Clearly, you're just a troll!  Now I imagine him laughing at me.  I get up and then walk towards the same door again, but my master grabs my arm.

Let go of me !  I don't want to face him.  He'll just kill me and finish the job.

What's wrong ?  That doesn't look like you!  Usually, you show as much courage as recklessness.

Sorry, but this time, I can't be brave anymore.  Ika Sekairi is the incarnation of Acala: divinity of anger.  I know that... But this guy is the origin of the curse of anger and even the madness of the parallel branch, and I am the last of them.  I don't see how he could spare me.

I free myself from his grip and then try to open the door again, even if it means dying again.

- You can't leave because if you do, Yukari will be at Acala's mercy for good.  Is that really what you want?  The same is true for Mei and Sariel afterwards...

What ?

- You're talking rubbish !  Yukari is more powerful than me!

- You don't know everything, though.  In truth, Yukari and I set up this tournament to prevent him from killing you directly and destroying Gensokyo and the earth at the same time.

The shock almost made my heart stop.  I then turn to Kasen, who nods and then asks me this question:

If you were alone in this situation, would you have directly involved Reimu or Marisa in your problems?

My answer is no.  Worse, I will probably sacrifice myself.

She smiled at me sadly.

Thanks for being honest.  Listen, we would have liked not to come to this, but now we have no choice.  You would only have one week to prepare to face him.

I lower my eyes except that they take my hand while reassuring me.

But we will help you because we have put in place something that can take you up a gear, namely the spatial and temporal dimension.

- Spatial and temporal training?

I don't know this type of training.  At the same time, it's more Kasen who usually takes care of mine.  And now I find myself in a very huge and empty room.

Remember one thing, Chiyuri explains to me that several years, centuries, or even millennia spent in this place is equivalent to 0 seconds in Gensokyo and the outside world.

In that case, I can stay here as many times as I see.

On the other hand, the time that you will spend here will influence your basic physiology, at least normal.

But with your special regeneration, adds Yumemi, you can spend more time than a normal human.

How long already?  I asked, curious.

- A thousand years, answer the human duo.

I almost passed out because of this news.  This is how during the allotted time, I learn various techniques then take the opportunity to educate myself on the strengths and weaknesses of all the races present and absent in Gensokyo, the earth, and even the moon.  I improved my condition to sometimes exceed human limits;  which earned me sacred corrections from my mistress.

You mustn't overdo it.  How many times do I have to repeat it?

Sorry, I apologized.

I survive in extreme conditions in the most hostile parts of the terrain;  yes, there is not only a dark room, it seems.  But the most difficult training remains my mind.  To put it simply, I have to relive my whole life until the death of my mother and another event that follows: The disappearance of Yukari.... These two events hurt me the most, even more than what I  happened before and after, as imagined.  And the whole thing is that I have to live it, relive it again, again, again and again without doing anything, just suffering.  Unfortunately, I fail every time.  Either I'm angry or sad.  I wonder if I did well to follow this training.

Do not give up !

You're right.  I must not give up because I am not fighting only for myself but also for the victims of this curse, for my loved ones, and even for its future victims.  So I must stand firm in faith, hope, and show love.

- I'm more than ready!  I exclaimed.  I have no intention of giving up!

Thank you, Lord !  During the last try, I managed to relive all the passages without problems.  I finally heal from the passage of my mother's death, but for Yukari, something new is happening.  This one, seeing me cry, sheds a tear saying: Sorry, but I can't take you with me right away.  Survive a little longer, okay?  I'll pick you up, but in the meantime, God protect this child!  Please protect my future man!  These words warm my heart so much that I wipe away my tears, being delighted to hear it.  Kasen, Yumemi, and Chiyuri look at me with emotion.  The rest of the training goes off without a hitch.

When finished, Kasen orders Kenpyri to rest for the entire week.  And on D-Day, the semi-final can take place.

Here we are !  The crowd goes wild, each cheering on their champion.  Regardless of the outcome of the fight, it will be a very good match.  Now I'm a thousand and two years old, anyone not at least a thousand years old are just sisters to me, or friends.  Anyway, enough about age, since my body always seems to be twenty.  I advance, still at dawn, towards my opponent of the day: Ika Sekairi.  It begins by tying me with several threads that burn on contact with the flesh.

- Aaaaaaah!

In addition, here I am walking on embers and taking my hot breath from the ground.  It's really hot to the point where anyone would beg him to stop.  I must hold on until he inflicts on me the equivalent of the punishment of each member of the parallel branch.  So, since I will survive, he will have no reason to continue.  So I have to delay.

Mortal, do you judge me? Do you understand the error of your miserable branch, or just like your ancestors, you will blame them for your bad behaviour?

No, I answered calmly.  And I beg your forgiveness because - even though I don't believe in you - but I know what we did to the main branch is wrong.

- I am happy to hear it. He announces to me with his wisdom, then fury, but that will not prevent you from undergoing your sentence.  Let's see how long you can hold out.

My nails have just been ripped off, followed by the burning of my fingers, and then it is the turn of my skin to be riddled with flaming arrows.  I scream so loud that even old hell hears me before then holding me back afterwards.  I have to hold on until he stops or gets tired.  I've been through worse, so that's nothing.  I don't know if everyone is watching me, but everything will be fine now because I keep the faith.

It is said that he no longer emits any sound despite the most horrible tortures that he undergoes.  Everything stops an hour later.  Ishiha Kenpyri's body remains motionless on the ground.  Ika Sekairi is delighted. However, he checks if the man is indeed dead.  Suddenly, he feels an aura that is as luminous as it is destructive, so destructive that he begins to think of thousands of punishments he may face by killing this man.  He turns around and then bows down before....

And yes.  Since Mima, it's not several thousand tortures that will stop me.  Now I make a huge sword of light appear on him, which begs me:

Do not kill me !  I was just doing my job, you know... Please!  I will do whatever you want!

At first, this surprises me, but it turns into a pragmatic solution.  Then I answered him:

I have good news, I don't want to kill you.  But bad news, you pretend to be a god when you're only one.  Starting from this postulate, I will have to say goodbye to you!

Three....two...one....bye, bye Ika Sekairi!  The sword falls on him, crushing him with all his strength equivalent to a million years of suffering.  Fortunately for him, he is not going to die since this remains prohibited in Gensokyo.

The victory goes to Yakumo Kenpyri, who defeats Ika Sekairi.

Finally, more than one person!  Reimu just beat Marisa, and according to Kasen's words, she never trains.  While waiting for D-Day, Kasen makes me do a review of everything I learned in the dimension in the morning, then in the afternoon, I have to face him in his dojo.  Relentless, she helps me stay in shape against Reimu, also for a more obscure reason.  In the meantime, here is everything I have learned so far: first reinforcement, then materialization, then emission, transformation, and faith, which is now my main ability.  For those that I already have, for example, exorcism and swordsmanship, I do not neglect them at all.  Better...

I know what to use against Reimu, I explained to him.  I'm going to use two katanas as well as melee to make him believe in any advantage.  And once she lets her guard down, bim!

- That's good, but be very careful not to rely on what you've learned. Otherwise, you risk being surprised.

Ok, in this case, I will take the opportunity to create a new technique.  Would you like to help me please?

Of course !

The long-awaited final takes place under the cries of the spectators as well as some participants.  Because of Yukari, a gate lover, and many other people, all of Gensokyo are watching the game from home.

" Well, you finally came.  I heard that you wanted to run away in the semi-finals, but here you are to challenge me!  Good since there is no incident, so much fun, don't you think?

- If by that you mean kicking my ass, I hope you won't be disappointed.  I love you, little Reimu, but I only intend to win this tournament.

Hey, she's a ranged attack.  She flies into the air and then throws more projectiles at me.  As expected, I do not move.  She can shoot in all directions, and the result remains the same.  For now, I'm just going to stay here.  On the other hand, at the biggest ball, I dodge.

" Here I am behind you!

Ah!  She kicks me.  However, I land myself with ease while resuming my position.  So she decides to immobilize me with her talisman.  To reply, I free myself from it with disconcerting ease, not without provoking him with my finger.

This is for you, Yuugi, I thought.

It seems to disappear to reappear on me.  Smiling, I shift 180 degrees from her, then push her out of the ring so that she gets eliminated.  Alas, she barely steals, then counter-attacks with more power.  I avoid the first blows and then return them thanks to Kasen's hermit style in a defensive position.  So, no matter what attack comes to me, I throw it back at him.  I then see a genuine smile on his face.

Let's get down to business, she says.  I will defeat you here and now!

I take out my tachi and then put myself on guard.  But I can't move anymore.  From that moment, I can no longer move.  By concentrating a little, I understand what is happening: she places mini seals on me, which are now triggered.  I can't help smiling.  In truth, you absolutely must not cut them, nor make any sudden movement.  The easiest solution is to concentrate, inhale , and exhale, and then I wait for her to send her ultimate technique.  Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...Six...Five...Four...Three..Two...One...Now I notice they are getting weaker.  No, she just used her special technique!  I have to hurry.  Am I using my... But what am I doing?  If I hesitate, then I can say goodbye to victory, and it is out of the question.  I then raise my sword, concentrate in it all the faith that resides in me and around me.  This technique is called: Kenpyri or pure combat of Christ.  The destruction of the ball as well as the creation of a huge crater sweeps my opponent so well that it ends up on the ground.  The result is final

The champion of the second tournament of dreams is Ya...

Ishiha Kenpyri, I corrected her immediately.

" All right !  Ishiha Kenpyri has won the Dream Tournament Final by defeating the last tournament champion!

I put my tachi in its sheath, go down from the stadium, when Yukari comes out of the breach, and gives me a hug followed by a wink.  I respond by kissing his forehead with a smile on my face.  Did I forget Reimu, who gets up with difficulty?  Ah, I'm told she's fine despite everything.  I'm glad that's the case.

[ A few days later ]

There is a huge party that is organized in honour of the tournament.  Everyone is invited, especially those who participated.  I always wondered what my reaction would be if I won something.  Hehehe... I should write a book about my adventures.

- You come ?  Yukari asks me in his thirty-one.

I wear a black suit as well as glasses in comparison.  Seeing her like that makes me blush.  As for my wish, you won't know right away, dear readers, because - for the moment - I have an evening to spend with my other half.