58

Sitting in my chair started to read about my newest power. It was terrifying, and its possibility sent a tingle down my spine. It was called Creating Spirits, and it let me do exactly that.

With a flick of my wrist, I could create new youkai based on absolutely anything and even change what they needed to survive. My mind flashed through ideas I could use to create youkai.

I didn't know how strict the definition of youkai was, and I needed careful preparation to experiment. I wasn't going to bring something into existence only to kill it if I had done something wrong with its creation.

Closing the Grimoire, I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I set the book on the porch as I thought over my plans for the next few days. I would be heading over to Yuuka's place to see how she had anchored her home partway in the dream world.

After that, I would spar with her, and that was something I was slightly nervous and excited about. I didn't know how powerful she was, but being able to casually reside in a place that was not quite real required a vast amount of skill or fortitude, and while I had no doubt that being a youkai helped, something about her made me nervous at the prospect of facing her.

It wasn't at the level of Gilgamesh or things that happened in the Fourth Holy Grail War, but that wasn't due to a lack of power. It was clear that a good chunk of the people living here could give Servants a run for their money if not kill them.

My research would hopefully give me insight into the working of dreams, which I could use. I wanted to expand my domains, but I needed to be very careful with that.

If I simply went around making deals and collecting worship, then it was likely that I would get saddled with broad domains, especially if I went to godless worlds and collected devotees there.

It was a problem with my domains being as esoteric as they were; magic and the moon were both somewhat simple to get people praying to. On the other hand, fantasy would be much harder as most worlds that would accept a new god would already be magical and, therefore, not have the high demand for fantasies that a modern world might have.

Dreams would allow me to bypass that problem slightly; I could send people dreams or entice them to follow their wildest dreams and fantasies. That, however, all hinged on me getting access to the dreams domain, which meant gathering worship in Gensokyo.

Tapping my fingers on the arm of my chair, I shook my head and abruptly stood up. I couldn't stress over domains and other magical things. Instead, I wanted to see what else I could do with Understand Lunarian Science. I had barely scratched the surface, meaning more experimentation was on the table.

Paging through the options listed I blew air through my lips in a faux whistle. If I had ever doubted the skill of the people who had originally created the devices I now knew how to make, I was proven quite wrong.

It was one thing to take a surface-level look at what they could do, which was what my generator and fabricator were. It was something else to see what they could truly do.

One of the most impressive things was something I could only call a faith collecter; it gathered up even the most errant of praise and thanks and collected it into a drink that could sustain gods or other beings that required faith and belief to exist.

The main issue was that it was designed to be used inside a closed realm with beacons scattered about, which meant that if I placed it inside my home, it would only collect from the world I was connected to at a very slow rate which while not an issue, for now, could be one in the future.

Humming, I went through some other simple options; there were quite a few weapons and shielding technology; however, they all required the areas to be coated in purity, which I couldn't do.

I decided to work on the faith collector as while it wouldn't push me towards me any new domains; it would still improve my strength without any of the downsides that accumulating it via worshipers would.

It would take a bit because of the sheer complexity and because I only had a single fabricator to create the necessary components. Striding inside the purity field, I approached the fabricator and pulled upon my knowledge of the schematic.

Punching in the needed materials and components, I carefully watched the fabricator as it slowly spat out what I requested. It took almost a full hour to manufacture the complex components from the ambient purity that resided in the field I had created.

I then took out the small pieces and slowly started to assemble them faster and faster as I grew confident in following the information I had; soon enough, a machine sat before me.

Coming up to my waist, it had an empty broad base while three arms rose the open pool to merge above it. As I watched, I saw a single clear drop of liquid fall and splash into the pool. While it hadn't happened yet, once a sufficient amount of liquid faith had been gathered, I could press a cup under the contraption that reminded me of a fridge, and it would dispense the liquid faith.

As another drop of faith collected and hit the basin, I frowned and reviewed my knowledge. Given the lack of beacons to pool uncollected prayers and thanks to make it easier for the Faith Collecter, it was gathering the liquid much faster than I expected.

Shrugging, I simply chalked it up to Gensokyo being much smaller than the location the Faith Collecter had been designed to work in. I then decided to leave it alone and check on it tomorrow to see if any issues cropped up.

As I walked away, I felt a pulse from the Grimoire, and a small book fell into my hands. Its cover was magenta and titled Atlas of Dreams. As I then flipped it open, it appeared blank. Tucking it under my arm, I returned to the rocking chair that I had been using quite often since I had created it.

Flipping open the book, I frowned that despite its thick look. Every single page was blank. Letting it fall open on my lap, I tapped my fingers on the armrest as I thought of a method to see what this book could do.

Shaking my head at that stupid thought, I brought the Grimoire to my side and opened it. Flipping to the newest page, I hummed while reading the new book I had gotten.

It was named Atlas of Dreams, and with a thought, it would provide step-by-step directions on how to access any location. However, it only provided the path. It would be up to me to traverse it safely and in a timely manner.

Placing a hand on the atlas, I focused on the first location that came to mind. My home world, except one where I had not found the Grimoire.

Slowly magenta ink spread across the page, making a map through the NeverNever that would lead to a new location near where I had stumbled through my first time.

Standing up, my legs twisted as I urged to rush off, but I tamped down on that emotion and slammed the book closed. I couldn't go home, and it would only hurt me more if I tried to relive my past.

Tucking the atlas under my arm, I returned to my house and stepped inside. Walking to my bedroom, I placed the book on my nightstand and returned to the kitchen.

Sitting down, I rubbed my temple and thought about what I should do next. The sun was setting, which meant I would be going to bed soon, and while sleep was not a necessity, it was something I enjoyed.

However, if I went to bed now, then I would be wasting the night, and I would wake up very early in the morning. I decided to run a few experiments before I went to bed. Standing up, I strode to the outskirts of the sunflower field.

The main one would be creating a basic non-sapient youkai; I just needed something to base it on that wouldn't create something that was sentient.

Holding out a hand, I brought to mind the most stupid thing I could think of, fungi. Small mushrooms that did naught but lay there and decompose.

While this wasn't nearly true, the main thing that mattered was my perception, and while I had read tales of plants and animals coming to life, none of them had fungi as something alive and sapient.

I felt mana trickle out of me and managed to twist its required diet from fear and belief to mana at the last second. A few seconds later, a small mushroom grew between the massive plants, which twisted slightly to make way for the smaller plant.

Kneeling down next to the fungus, I poked it gently and frowned when nothing happened. A scant second later, I noticed that I wasn't feeling a drain from my mana as I should have.

Open my magesight, I could tell this mushroom was packed full of mana, and I could even see the incredibly dense clumps that were slowly making a soul. It would take a few days before it had a soul, and that was only if it stayed here.

Satisfied I hadn't created a genuinely sapient being, I uprooted it, seeing the dense clumps of mana fade away with no harm. Carrying the mushroom over to the forge, I realized a small problem.

I had no supplies for a proper examination of a fungus youkai. Sighing, I walked back over to my fabricator and created a few useful tools. I didn't know what I would need, so a few flasks and vials, along with scalpels and knives, would likely suffice for now.

Carefully cutting open the mushroom with a scalpal, I let go of my self-hypnosis and opened my magesight. I giggled softly as I saw how easily the pure blade cut through the mushroom.

I wasn't an expert, but my powers, along with a few hours of careful testing, had revealed quite a few interesting facts about what I could likely expect from the youkai I created.

They would be primarily spiritual beings, even more so than your naturally formed youkai, and while it was only an estimate, they would not start becoming based in biology for a few years.

I didn't know how this scaled to natural-born youkai, but my gut said that my youkai would be heavily spiritual for much longer than even the slowest natural youkai. That would prevent them from dealing with any of the issues that youkai, such as Remilia, would face in requiring physical sustenance. Still, they would be more vulnerable to spiritual techniques.

This theory had a few holes, mainly in the fact that other old youkai I had met didn't require food, but I doubted I would get a chance to explore why as attempting to vivisect any of the older youkai would be both rude and suicidal.

Blinking as I returned from the slight fugue I had been in, I noticed that the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. Checking my mental clock, I saw that it was approaching ten, which meant that it was time for me to get some sleep.

While walking home, I felt the Grimoire grow, and then I noticed a faint breeze between my legs. Looking down, I saw that the shirt and shorts I was currently wearing were melting away.

They were replaced by a green shirt made of finely woven leaves, along with a pair of loose brilliant blue shorts that went down to the middle of my shins.

Feeling the materials that made up the shirt and pants, I could tell that they were vibrant and were clearly well-made. Shaking my head, I decided to enjoy the new comfortable clothing as I headed inside and to bed.

Walking inside my bedroom, I saw that despite having a room of her own, Komainu was snoozing away under the covers. Smiling gently, I crawled into bed beside her and swiftly fell asleep.

I awoke like I had most days since arriving in Gensoyko to a few beams of sunlight and peacefully. Slowly clambering out of bed, I padded into the kitchen, seeing that Komainu had already left.

Yawning, I stretched and felt the faint popping in my spine. I didn't have a specific time to meet with Yuuka, and while I liked going early, showing up a little after seven would be irritating.

So I decided to make myself some breakfast. It would serve the twofold purpose of letting me eat and improving my meager cooking skills.

I decided to go with a very simple dish of eggs and bacon; while I wasn't a super big fan of scrambled eggs and doubted I had the skill to make them sunny side up was much easier and tasty when you dipped bacon in them.

It took almost twenty minutes and a few close calls, but I had a plate of only slightly burnt eggs and crispy bacon. It was quite good for somebody whose cooking leaned much more towards bacon and simple sandwiches.

Retrieving a fork and knife, I got to work eating my breakfast. It took my time dipping the bacon in the egg yolk, then cutting the sunny-side-up eggs and eating them. It was good ignoring the few burnt edges of the eggs.

It took me close to thirty minutes as I enjoyed my eggs along with a cold glass of water. Cleaning off my utensils and dishes, I set them to dry before summoning my robes and parasol, I knew Yuuka had a garden of sorts, but it would likely take some time to find it, so I would be heading out now.

Swinging my parasol onto my shoulder, I shifted the Path to the road that led away from the village. I felt like that would be a good starting point for searching for a large garden.

Emerging on the dirt road, I gaze around, seeing what I had seen yesterday. A large forest, a massive lake overseen by the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the human village with people going about their work, and the enormous mountain that breached the clouds.

Floating into the air, I went through a quick list of where I might be able to find Yuuka's garden. It wouldn't likely be past the Forest of Magic, the Scarlet Devil Manor, or the massive mountain.

That just left past the Human Village and the other side, away from the forest of magic towards Muedzuka. I decided to head towards Muedzuka as the other path led to Reimu's shrine, and I doubted such a powerful youkai would be allowed or want to stay near somebody whose job it was to stop them, even if Reimu seemed to be fine with most youkai.

Flying along at a slightly faster pace than walking, I kept a keen eye out for anything that looked sufficiently garden-like. It took almost twenty minutes due to my slow flying speed, but I managed to find a giant field of sunflowers much like the ones that I had in my pocket dimension.

As I approached it, I could feel that the edges of it were somewhat fuzzy and that it was likely much larger on the inside than the outside. Walking inside the field, I was proven true as the distant horizon was changed from the landscape of Genskoyo to an endless field of sunflowers.

Walking through the plants, I smiled as I gently ran my mind over the sunflowers. They were clearly well cared for, and it was simple to see that, given another decade or so, they would start to develop souls.

I didn't think they would be youkai; if I had to guess, they would be similar to dryads. People bound to a single plant and would live so long as their plant still lived.

Striding through the field, I saw a mansion off in the distance. It was hard to make out any details. My innate knowledge and understanding of space didn't seem to be helping as it didn't seem to be getting closer.

Stopping in place, I hummed as I looked around to see if there was another method of reaching the mansion. I then heard a soft giggle from behind me. I then tamped down on my urge to spin around in surprise before slowly turning around and seeing Yuuka standing there.

She was clad in her plaid clothing with the yellow tie thing that I didn't know the name of, and her parasol that looked identical to mine slung over her shoulder.

"Did you have to do that?" I asked, looking her in the eyes; unlike a vast majority of the people that lived here, Yuuka was around my height, if a smidge shorter.

She simply smiled enigmatically before walking ahead of me. "Follow me. I do believe I can wait before we have our fight, and you want to explore my dream world."

Jogging to catch up to her, I took that as permission to ask questions. "I have some questions I would like to ask, if you don't mind?" I asked before having to stop as Yuuka stopped walking and turned around.

As I waited to listen to her, I felt a pulse of magic, and a small book with a blue cover appeared. Looking down at it for a second, I looked up at Yuuka with a sheepish expression on my face as I placed it within the Gate of Babylon. "Apologies, I'm quite interested in what you might be able to tell me about your dream world."

"I see; now, back to your prior question. You can ask me questions under one condition," She said, "I want a proper fight, not lethal, of course, but none of that Spell Card nonsense. I want a good proper fight with somebody new. Tenshi is the only one willing to come and fight anymore, and even then, she's been hanging around the shrine recently."

My lips turned up into a grin at her response. "Of course, so long as you don't have the intent to murder me, I can bounce back from quite a lot. I have a few things I want to test anyhow." At my reply, Yuuka's lips curled up into a smile that was all teeth.

"Wonderful," She breathed out, "Well then, ask away." She said as I retrieved the book the Grimoire had just given me. A quick flip through showed that this small book had an unlimited amount of pages which was great for the notetaking I was about to do.

"I suppose my first question is, how exactly did you anchor this realm into the dream world? From what I can tell, you have the garden outside, and once you step inside, it expands. However, it's quite clearly not simply expanded space, so what's going on?" I asked while retrieving a pencil and writing Yuuka's Dreamworld Notes on the top of the first page.

Casting her gaze to the cloudless sky, Yuuka thought for a few moments before responding. "While sleeping one day, I grew out a field of flowers that wove themself into the fabric of the dream world. I then had a manor built inside that field, and from there, it was a simple manner to continue growing more plants both farther out and inside the wall of my house. That led to a relatively stable location that has only grown stronger as the roots have become intertwined with the base of the dreamworld; after that, it was simplicity to create a bridge."

Scribbling down her words, I nodded along at this fascinating explanation. It seemed that she had somehow dreamt a field of flowers into permanent existence in her dreams and, from there, traveled back and forth, growing her personal domain and changing it to fit her.

"Fascinating; however, I do have another question before I start looking at the nitty gritty. How exactly did you access the dreamworld in the first place? To my limited understanding, when you sleep, you can't make permanent changes, and bringing your physical body into it should be even harder."

"That was quite simple," Yuuka said, "You see, it's commonly believed that youkai required fear to exist; however, that's not quite true. They, like many other fantastical beings, require belief. They need people to understand that they, the youkai, god or whatever you exist, and when you get down to it, belief and dreams aren't that far apart."

Continuing to write, I tried to comprehend what she was saying; the first part made sense. Fear would be the easiest way for people to believe that you exist; after all, if somebody burned down your house, you would know that person is real because they burnt down your home, but it wasn't the only way.

The second part made very little sense. I didn't see how belief and dreams related all that much. I could see how worship and faith touched upon dreams, but a simple belief that something was real didn't seem to touch upon dreaming in any way.

"I see. Do you care to expand on that?" I asked, receiving a simple no in response. It seemed that no matter which Yuuka I talked to, both were enigmatic. Tucking away the book as we approached her mansion, my eyes widened as I saw another figure standing tall outside the gate.

She was clad in a red dress with white frills around the wrists and neck. Atop her head was a hat similar to a straw hat, except with a red ribbon tied around the base. Resting over her shoulder was a massive scythe with a redwood handle and a wicked metal blade that gleamed in the early morning sun.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing Yuuka, and after bowing deeply, she spoke. "Hello, Madam, your room is prepared, and we have tea ready in the parlor." Standing up, she rested her scythe back on her shoulder and waited for Yuuka to respond.

"We will have a guest draw a room for him, and if he wishes, you may show him to the first room." Elly stiffened at that but with the practice of somebody long used to trusting another person, nodded and opened the gates with a flick of her wrist.

Walking in and behind Yuuka, I gasped and stumbled as I felt the change in the air. While the sunflower field behind me had acted as a bridge of sorts inside the grounds of this manor was the dreamworld in its full glory. I could feel my errant thoughts bubbling up and attempting to warp the surrounding area.

However, it was easy to tell that despite my powers, Yuuka had laid claim over this land for millennium, which meant that unless she willed it, I could change the world around us.

Looking around, I caught Yuuka looking at me with a proud smile on her face. "It's wonderful, isn't it," She said, gesturing to her home with the hand not holding her parasol. "You could while away eternity here, and I shall once Genskoyo falls."

I felt a strange, drawn-out pulse from the Grimoire as it grew; however, when nothing happened, I pushed that thought aside and collected myself.

"One moment," Yuuka said, holding up a finger as the air trembled around us and the sound of a ringing doorbell was made. "It seems that we have a visitor."

Reaching out in front of her, Yuuka grabbed the air as if it was a doorknob and pulled. Where she pulled, a rectangle was cut into the air, and behind it was a location that caused me to blink my eyes rapidly while I felt a small headache growing. Pushing past that, I saw a figure step through the 'door' and close it behind her.

The figure was a youngish-looking girl dressed in a strange dress colored black and white with countless small puffy balls the opposite color of the dress between them. She also had a massive red Santa-esque hat that draped down to her feet as she floated inches above the ground.

Held in her right hand was a small book, and looking at her face, I noticed blue hair and a smug grin that appeared to be etched into her visage.

"Taking him away for a talk; see ya in a bit!" The girl shouted before floating up to my height and tossing an arm around my shoulder. Then before I could react, the world shifted and blurred as I was pulled sideways.

Blinking, I looked around as I tasted cotton candy on my tongue. I had somehow been transported to a hauntingly familiar baseball stadium. It was massive and completely empty, which set me on edge as if this place should be filled with screaming people.

"I suppose I should do a proper Gensokyo introduction even if you aren't from here," the girl said, setting aside the pink cotton candy she had been munching on. Standing up, she gave a polite bow with her book tucked close to her chest.

"I am Doremy Sweet, Ruler of Dreams," after finishing with her proper introduction, she sat down and picked up the partially-eaten stick of cotton candy.

"I'm Aidan, and I don't have any fancy titles," I said in response, standing up and giving a polite bow before returning to my seat and laying my parasol on top of the armrests over my lap.

Twisting around in a manner that should have broken her spine, Doremy turned to face me, cotton candy still in hand. "You don't?" She asked in faux confusion, her smug grin growing.

"And here I thought I was talking to Aidan, God of Magic, Fantasy, and the Moon. Aidan winner of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Aidan Slayer of Gilgamesh, Aidan Dawnbreaker, Aidan Foe of Outsiders. For somebody your age, you have accomplished quite a lot."

My hand tightened on the hilt of my parasol as I grasped it once again. "How do you know those things about me," I forced out as my teeth clenched. I knew that fighting her would be folly, given what I had seen her do and the fact that my spatial senses were still on the fritz.

"You have quite strange dreams for a god, although I suppose that can be chalked up to your innate human nature." She replied as she opened her mouth wide and finished off the cotton candy by enveloping it down to the hilt and drawing her teeth along the paper cone. Despite the massive amount of candy in her mouth, she simply swallowed and turned her gaze to face me again.

"Moving past that, I have a deal for you," She said, her smile dimming slightly before continuing. "You see, I'm old, and I'm not merely talking a few thousand years old. I was old when your ancestors hit rocks together to make fire, and while typically I would die once humans expired, however far into the future that would be, seven people have thrown a spanner in that."

My momentary anger was forgotten; I rolled my wrist for her to continue. "You see, I consume dreams, and once those are gone, I would starve to death. The issue is True Immortals. You see, while the chances are astronomically small every so often, a person manages to figure out a method to make themself eternal, they will last even after the stars go out, and I don't want to be floating along with them."

"How do I come into this, then?" I asked, wanting to cut to the meat of the matter as opposed to the exposition that Dormey had been saying so far.

Contorting herself, I saw her stomach fall into itself as she sat back in the plastic chair, slumped down far enough to allow her short stature to rest her feet on the chair in front of her.

"It's quite simple, your not from this universe, and when you leave, I want in. You have a realm of your own, so I want your permission to set up a little dreamworld of my own there, and once your pocket dimension connects to other places, I'll spread part of myself over to other dreamworlds."

Nodding, I hummed thoughtfully as I parsed through Doremy's proposal. "I do have one question; what do I get out of this?" I asked, after all if I was going to be helping her out. I wanted to get something back.

"Quite simply, I continue eating your nightmares, preventing any of the Outsiders from gaining access to your slumbering mind as well as the general benefits of no nightmares. I will also spread your name into the sleeping minds. I can tell you are quite close to gaining domain over dreams, so why don't I help you along."

As she explained what she had to offer, her hands started gesturing around after she set the small book down, and her oxlike tail was flicking back and forth.

Extending my hand, I replied. "In exchange for creating an area in my home for you to spread into and allowing you to spread to other dreamworlds, you shall eat my nightmares and gain worship for me as a god of magic, fantasy, dreams, and the moon."

Taking my hand, blue fire erupted and spread up our arms before vanishing as I used my warlock power to ensure that both of us would uphold this deal.

"Well then," Doremy said, standing up and floating a few inches above the ground. "You do have a date with Miss Kazami, and I'd hate for her to get impatient; good luck!" She shouted while clapping her hands as her smug smirk grew until it was literally splitting her face in half.

In between one blink and the next, I was sitting in a field of sunflowers with the taste of plant matter in my mouth, reminiscent of the one time I tried to prove to my brother that eating flowers was good for you via you gaining their photosynthesis.

Chuckling at how stupid I had been back then, I stood up and brushed off my robe before looking around. Standing in front of the entrance to her manor proper, Yuuka stood with a bored expression.

Seeing me, her face brightened as she picked up her parasol and pointed it at me. "Shall we begin?" She asked, her sharp bared in a smile that was both beautiful as it promised a deadly fight.

Swinging my parasol onto my shoulder, I let my other hand hang by my side as I grinned back and let the Alter Self's eyes dim slightly to show the flickering green flame behind them.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I said in response, and immediately after I finished, I was forced to dodge out of the way as the fight was on.

Powers Gained

Atlas of Dreams

An occult journal that maps the dark side of the world. This atlas can guide anyone to anywhere, even places outside of reality, provided the user has a destination in mind. Do remember that some places are harder to reach than others.

Fairy Dress

A lovely outfit made from various plants that is designed by the finest of fairy clothiers to reflect your personality and abilities as a fairy. Neverland flora never truly dying even when plucked, the clothes remain completely fresh, and will regrow if damaged.

Tome of Secrets

This journal looks completely unassuming at first glance, but when one looks inside they will find that no matter how many pages they turn, the journal will simply have more pages available, the texts on those pages perfectly preserved regardless of the conditions. This will make an excellent place to write down information you keep to keep but also remain private, for if any who are not welcome attempt to take or open the book will be on the receiving end of a powerful blast of magic that will likely take off their hands and arms. The book will also magically notify you that an intruder is attempting to steal your precious secrets.