Komachi pushed the boat away from the shore, the oar dipping lazily into the dark water.
No one spoke.
The river was quiet.
Too quiet.
Even the usual chatter felt like it had been left behind on the bank.
Komachi glanced over her shoulder, clearly uncomfortable with the silence.
"…So," she said, dragging the word out, "any reason you all wanna meet the king of the underworld?"
Everyone shook their heads at once.
Reimu didn't even look up.
"We're just bored."
Komachi nearly dropped the oar.
"…Huh."
She stared at them, then laughed.
"Wow. People usually come here crying, screaming, or because they died. You lot really are something else."
Marisa leaned back against the side of the boat.
"Zehaha, spring makes people do weird stuff."
Youmu nodded.
"…I guess."
Komachi sighed and resumed rowing.
"Well, can't argue with boredom. It's basically the strongest force in Gensokyo."
Her eyes drifted back to Chris.
He sat quietly in Reimu's arms, watching the river. The water reflected his face strangely—sometimes clear, sometimes warped, like it couldn't decide what he was.
Komachi frowned.
"…Kid."
Chris looked up.
"You know," she said carefully, "most souls feel lighter the closer they get to Higan."
She tapped the oar against the boat.
"You feel heavier."
Reimu's grip tightened just a little.
Chris blinked.
"I… don't know."
Komachi hummed.
"Yeah. Figured."
The boat glided forward, the Sanzu River stretching endlessly ahead.
Far in the distance, the faint outline of Higan began to take shape—
and with it, the unmistakable feeling that someone very strict had already noticed them.
After a while, the group arrived at Higan.
They stepped off the boat one by one.
The air here was different—clean, still, heavy in a way that wasn't threatening, just absolute. Like the world itself was holding its breath.
Waiting for them was a woman in blue.
She stood straight, hands folded, watching them with clear blue eyes that missed nothing. Her green hair fell unevenly, longer on one side, and the symbol on her hat gleamed faintly.
She was as tall as Komachi.
Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu.
Her gaze moved across the group, then settled on Chris.
"I am Eiki Shiki," she said calmly. "Yama of East Japan. What brings you to my domain?"
Marisa tilted her head and pointed at the sky.
"Why's today so peaceful?"
Eiki blinked once.
"A great number of souls pass every sixty years," she replied. "When that happens, nature also renews itself. The world pauses to rebalance."
Yuuka's eyes narrowed slightly.
She did the math.
"…This is 2005," Yuuka said. "Sixty years ago was—"
"1945," Eiki finished.
Silence fell.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Chris looked down, his fingers curling slightly.
Something in his chest felt… heavy. Familiar in a way he didn't like.
Reimu noticed immediately and rested a hand on his back.
Eiki watched this exchange closely.
"…You feel it too," she said, not accusing—observing.
Chris looked up at her.
"Feel what?"
Eiki didn't answer right away.
Instead, she smiled—small, sad, and knowing.
"The echo," she said.
"Of lives that ended so others could begin."
Komachi scratched her head.
"Wow, boss, you really know how to kill the mood."
Eiki shot her a look.
Komachi immediately straightened.
"…I mean emotionally."
Eiki sighed and turned back to the group.
"Since you are already here," she said, "it would be improper not to speak."
Her eyes rested on Chris again.
"Especially with a soul that does not belong to any ledger."
The air tightened—just a little.
"Come," Eiki said.
"We have much to discuss."
They followed Eiki into the judgment chamber.
The doors closed behind them with a final, echoing thud.
The room was simple. No fire. No chains. Just a vast space of polished stone and an overwhelming sense of being seen.
Eiki turned to face them.
"If the Divine Scales were still functioning," she said calmly, "I wouldn't need to say any of this out loud."
Her left eye glowed.
"All of your sins."
The air dropped.
"All of you," Eiki continued evenly, "are going to Hell."
Chaos almost erupted—but she raised one finger, and the pressure alone shut everyone up.
"Reimu Hakurei," Eiki said, eyes sharp. "You exterminate youkai without investigation and barely acknowledge your own god."
Reimu opened her mouth, then closed it.
"Marisa Kirisame. Liar. Thief. Chronic borrower."
Marisa scoffed. "Hey, I always return—"
"—Eventually," Eiki cut in.
"Sakuya Izayoi. Excessively cruel to humans under your care."
Sakuya bowed slightly. "Duly noted."
"Youmu Konpaku. You have grown too attached to the Human World and misuse your blade to send souls upward without judgment."
Youmu stiffened. "…That's bad?"
"Yes."
"Reisen Udongein Inaba. You abandoned your allies during the war."
Reisen flinched.
"Cirno. You start fights, claim territory you don't understand, and never think past the next five seconds."
"Hey!" Cirno protested. "I think past six!"
"The Prismriver Sisters," Eiki continued. "You do not understand what you are. If this continues, you will fade."
The sisters went quiet.
"Mystia Lorelei. You provoke conflict through song and ignore the damage your power causes."
Mystia looked down.
"Tewi Inaba. Professional prankster. Habitual instigator."
Tewi grinned. "Worth it."
"Aya Shameimaru. You do not consider the consequences of what you publish."
Aya adjusted her hat. "…Freedom of the press?"
"No."
"Medicine Melancholy. Too naive. Too aggressive."
Medicine frowned. "I just want freedom."
"And Yuuka Kazami," Eiki said, not even looking at her notes.
"I have multiple files on you."
Yuuka smiled sweetly. 🌻
"And Komachi Onozuka," Eiki finished, turning sharply.
"Do. Your. Job."
Komachi saluted instantly. "Yes ma'am!"
Marisa had had enough.
She scooped Chris up into her arms and glared.
"Okay, fine. What about him? What's his sentence?"
The room went still.
Eiki narrowed her eyes.
Then—she smiled.
"Heaven," she said simply.
"Specifically, one of the rare sanctums."
Everyone froze.
"Amaterasu herself," Eiki continued, "has expressed a desire to keep him within her garden."
Silence.
Reimu's grip tightened slightly on her sleeve.
"…Heaven?"
Chris blinked.
"Uh… is that good?"
Yuuka chuckled softly.
"Oh my. That explains so much."
Nidhogg's voice hummed in Chris's mind.
'Told you. You shine too brightly to be ignored.'
Eiki's gaze softened—just a little.
"However," she added, "that does not mean your path will be easy."
She turned toward the doors.
"Judgment is not punishment," Eiki said.
"It is direction."
"And yours," she said to Chris, "is only just beginning."
Marisa finally snapped.
She let Chris down, turned, and lunged.
"You can't disrespect me!"
Her kick never landed.
Eiki vanished.
One blink—gone.
The next, she was behind Marisa.
A single, clean strike.
Crack!
Marisa hit the wall hard enough to leave a spiderweb of fractures, slumping down like a piece of broken modern art.
Out cold.
Everyone froze.
Reimu exhaled slowly.
"…You can't hurt my friend."
She stepped forward.
The air changed.
Eiki turned fully toward her just in time to block Reimu's first strike—barely. The impact sent a shockwave through the room, stone groaning under the pressure.
Reimu didn't stop.
Punch. Talisman. Sweep. Ofuda barrage.
Eiki answered with judgment light, barriers, precise counters.
Blow for blow.
Spell for spell.
Danmaku against danmaku.
And that's when it hit everyone.
Reimu wasn't trying.
She wasn't enraged.
She wasn't desperate.
She wasn't even breathing hard.
She was matching Eiki on instinct alone.
Sakuya's eyes widened.
Youmu swallowed.
Yuuka's smile sharpened.
'She's holding back,' Yuuka thought. 'And still doing this.'
Reimu slipped past a beam of judgment light and slammed a charm into the floor. The shockwave knocked everyone else back—but Eiki stood her ground, feet digging into the stone.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Eiki adjusted her stance, eyes gleaming—not angry.
Amused.
"So," the Yama said calmly, blocking another strike, "this is the Hakurei Shrine Maiden at full presence."
Reimu met her gaze, expression flat.
"You're in my way."
For the first time, Eiki laughed.
The room trembled—not from power, but from recognition.
Chris watched from Reisen's arms, heart pounding.
Something inside him stirred again.
Pulled him forward.
Pushed him back.
Nidhogg's voice murmured, pleased.
'Now you see it too. She's a boundary… just like you.'
Two authorities stood in the room.
And Gensokyo itself felt like it was holding its breath.
The clash stopped.
Not with an explosion.
Not with a final blow.
With silence.
Eiki raised one hand.
Everything froze.
Light hung in the air. Ofuda stopped mid-spin. Danmaku lines froze like constellations carved into glass. Even the pressure in the room—gone.
Reimu's fist hovered inches from Eiki's face.
The floor beneath them cracked anyway.
Eiki exhaled, slow and measured.
"That's enough."
With a flick of her wrist, the suspended magic dissolved into harmless sparks, fading like fireflies at dusk. The walls un-cracked. The room stitched itself back together, reality forcing itself to behave.
Komachi stared. "Uh… that was getting bad, wasn't it?"
Yuuka laughed softly. "Bad? No. That was getting apocalyptic."
Eiki turned fully to Reimu, her expression no longer playful, no longer judgmental.
It was… respectful.
"If this continues," Eiki said, voice calm but absolute, "the boundary between judgment and existence will tear. Higan is not built to host a Hakurei Shrine Maiden fighting at that level."
She paused.
Then her eyes glowed again—different this time. Not judgment.
Recognition.
"You truly are Amaterasu's descendant."
The room went dead silent.
"What?"
Sakuya's voice came out sharp.
"Excuse me?" Sanae blinked. "As in that Amaterasu?"
Youmu looked between them. "The Sun Goddess?"
Even Yuuka stopped smiling.
All eyes turned to Reimu.
Reimu lowered her hand.
"…Yeah."
Just one word.
No drama.
No denial.
No pride.
She nodded, like she'd been asked whether the sky was blue.
"I already knew," she said simply. "Yukari told me years ago."
Everyone collectively lost their minds.
"YEARS?!" Marisa shouted from the floor, somehow awake again. "YOU KNEW YOU WERE SUN-GODDESS BLOOD AND JUST—WHAT—FORGOT TO MENTION IT?!"
Reimu shrugged. "Didn't seem important."
Eiki actually smiled.
"A rare thing," she said. "A divine lineage without arrogance. Power without hunger."
Her gaze flicked, briefly, to Chris.
"And not the only one here who stands outside the normal flow of fate."
Chris stiffened.
Reimu noticed immediately.
She stepped closer to him, not protective—grounding.
Eiki lowered her hand completely.
"This trial ends here," she declared. "There is no incident. No judgment to be passed today."
She turned back toward the group.
"Enjoy this season of peace. Such alignments do not last."
As they turned to leave, Komachi leaned in and whispered to Reimu, grinning.
"So… Sun Goddess, huh?"
Reimu sighed. "Don't start."
Chris looked up at her.
"…Does that mean you're really old?"
Reimu blinked.
Then bonked him lightly on the head.
"Watch it, kid."
Nidhogg chuckled in his mind.
'Sun and Nightmare. Gods really do love irony.'
Eiki's voice cut through the room before anyone could take another step.
"Before all of you leave."
The air tightened again—not hostile, just serious.
She lifted her rod and pointed directly at Chris.
"That one," Eiki said, her tone measured, absolute, "has an unusually high potential to become a Soul Guide."
Everyone froze.
Chris blinked. "…A what?"
Komachi nearly fell out of her sandals. "WAIT—hold on—that kind of Soul Guide?"
Eiki nodded once.
"Yes. The kind that stands at the crossroads. One who does not judge, but leads. One who can walk beside souls without being swallowed by them."
Yuuka's eyes narrowed with interest. "That's not something you say lightly."
"No," Eiki replied. "It is not."
Reimu turned fully toward Chris, studying him in a way she never had before. Not as a caretaker. Not as a shrine maiden.
As something… older.
"Soul Guides are rare," Eiki continued. "Most crumble under the weight of regret, fear, and unfinished will. Others become executioners by mistake."
Her gaze sharpened.
"But this child reacted to Muenzuka not with fear—nor acceptance—but resonance. He was pulled in… and pushed away."
Komachi swallowed. "That means he can stand on the boundary without losing himself."
Chris looked down at his hands.
'Guiding the dead…?'
The thought made his chest feel heavy.
"I don't want to decide who goes where," he said quietly.
Eiki's expression softened.
"Good," she said. "Then you are qualified."
Marisa stared. "That's the most backwards job interview I've ever heard."
Eiki allowed a small smile.
"Fate does not ask for willingness," she said. "Only whether one will walk forward when the road appears."
She turned her gaze to Reimu again.
"Keep him close," Eiki said. "Not as a weapon. Not as a symbol."
"As a guide in the making."
Reimu placed a hand on Chris's shoulder, firm and warm.
"…I was planning to anyway."
Eiki stepped back, the weight lifting from the room.
"You may go," she said.
As they left Higan, Komachi watched Chris a little more carefully than before.
And deep in his mind, Nidhogg laughed softly.
'Sun's chosen… and now death's road opens too. How fascinating.'
The path ahead didn't glow.
It waited.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy