Kaguya's Moonlit Festival!
Kaguya's Moonlit Festival!
...
...Thank you.
Thank you, Kaguya. I'm glad you've lived this long.
I finally get you now. I fully understand who you are and why you did what you did.
It must have been tough, but now you can rest.
Kaguya... Kaguya Houraisan.
Mother of the people of Hourai.
Even with XX Yagokoro's skills and knowledge, the Hourai Elixir could never have been made without your ability.
The Hourai Elixir bestows boundless life to whoever drinks it. They become a person of Hourai... a truly immortal being.
But the people of Hourai aren't natural. All things are supposed to end.
You shouldn't be able to create something permanent. It's impossible to even think of a system that lasts forever.
Things with form always decay. And to maintain a form, a price must be paid again and again for perpetuity.
But this world has its limits, and space doesn't go on forever, so you'll eventually run out of resources.
Stars burn out. And spacetime is finite.
If the foundations that enable the people of Hourai to exist disappear, they'll have no choice but to perish alongside them.
But not you, Kaguya Houraisan. You are different.
No one else has your ability.
Your ability to manipulate eternity and the instantaneous.
Eternity is spacetime without history, and the instantaneous is spacetime where infinite histories exist in parallel.
Each time the universe ends, spacetime is reset to zero. Then, like a beating heart, it begins again in an endless cycle.
Kaguya Houraisan, your ability is the only thing that can endure this reset.
And with it, you can cross to another world while retaining your sense of self.
The universe is made up of multiple layers, like the strata of the Earth.
And you are the roots that bore down through them all.
...No, not you.
Me. I shall carry on from where you left off.
Thank you, Kaguya Houraisan. Thank you for collecting the Lunar Capital items.
Having been doomed to an eternal life of imprisonment, I became an integral cog in the Lunar Capital machine.
And the items you gathered formed a microcosm of the Lunar Capital. That's how I was able to accompany you all this time.
Without you even realizing I was there.
You've done enough, Kaguya Houraisan. You can rest now.
Leave the Lost Word Incident to me. I'll resolve it.
Leave it to me―
Chang'e
―Chang'e, the goddess of the Moon.
???
Miss Chang'e?
???
Unfortunately, we still haven't got much info about Miss Chang'e.
???
So I can't be sure you're really who you say you are... Hmmm...
Chang'e
Are you still going on about that?
Chang'e
...Well, I guess that's fine. I don't care as long as you observe me.
Chang'e
I was the one observing Kaguya, but now that I've assumed her role, I need someone to observe me.
Chang'e
Umm, what was your name again?
Chiyuri
Chiyuri. Chiyuri Kitashirakawa.
Chiyuri
...But you don't need to remember it. You won't need to know my name once you leave here.
Chang'e
You just witnessed Kaguya Houraisan's ability, didn't you? So, that issue has been resolved.
Chang'e
I've outsmarted the Lost Word. I won't lose anything now.
Chiyuri
No, um, that's not what I meant...
Chiyuri
Well, whatever.
Chiyuri
Our probability space observations are nowhere near finished. So we kinda have to use your perspective.
Chiyuri
We can't afford to be picky.
Chang'e
...
Chang'e
Hmm, I'm not sure I like how you phrased that, but fine.
Chang'e
Bear witness as a new world begins once more.
Chiyuri
Sure, I'll watch.
Chiyuri
Have fun, ummm... Miss Chang'e.
Chiyuri
...If that really is your name.
Kaguya
Miss Yagokoro?
Kaguya
Are you there?
Teacher
Yes, what is it?
Kaguya
Um, there's something I need to talk to you about.
Kaguya
I, uhh... I want the Hourai Elixir.
Teacher
Yes, I thought it was about time you came to see me about this.
Kaguya
I, uhh... I want the Hourai Elixir.
Teacher
No, I have a fairly good idea already. Besides, I wouldn't want to make it seem like I put this idea in your head.
Kaguya
Right, that makes sense. If you say the wrong thing, people might think you encouraged me.
Kaguya
Wow, you really are smart. And you even figured out that I long to see what it's like to live down on Earth.
Teacher
Me and a few others, including Lord Tsukuyomi, still remember the days when we used to live there.
Teacher
So it wasn't hard for me to imagine what you're feeling. Miss Kaguya, your heart is being pulled by the Earth's gravity.
Kaguya
Gravity? You mean the law of universal gravitation?
Teacher
Yes, gravity―the power of attraction inherent to all things.
Teacher
And Earth pulls us Lunarians even more strongly because that is where we originally came from. It compels us to return.
Kaguya
Then why haven't I heard of anyone else wanting to go there?
Teacher
The Earth is an impure land, so returning would defeat the whole purpose of us coming here.
Teacher
Normally, you'd need a very good reason to even think of going back.
Kaguya
Hmm...
Kaguya
Hehe, that's kind of funny.
Teacher
What is?
Kaguya
I think everyone might secretly long for the Earth, just like me.
Kaguya
But they try to suppress their emotions. They bottle them up inside and refuse to acknowledge them.
Kaguya
...Though I can't be sure.
Kaguya
When I thought of that, I just couldn't stop myself from laughing.
Teacher
I see.
Teacher
That's an interesting idea... Very interesting.
Teacher
If every Lunarian's heart is indeed drawn to the Earth...
Teacher
...that would mean this longing is a part of our very being.
Teacher
It could be written in our blood―our DNA.
Kaguya
If the Lunarians born on the Moon feel the same way, then that must be the case.
Teacher
Children can miss their parents' homeland through the parts of their soul inherited from their ancestors...
Teacher
Hm...
Kaguya
What's wrong?
Teacher
No, it's nothing.
Teacher
I was just thinking about how to make the Hourai Elixir.
Teacher
It's supposed to bestow immortality.
Teacher
This would inevitably give whoever drinks it an attachment to life at the genetic level, making them forever impure.
Teacher
That's why this elixir is strictly forbidden. But that doesn't mean we can let what we know about it be forgotten.
Teacher
No matter the field or discipline, science can only be suppressed and controlled through adequate knowledge.
Teacher
In fact, without knowledge about the elixir, it would never have been prohibited in the first place.
Kaguya
Does that mean you know how to make the Hourai Elixir?
Teacher
In theory, that should be the case.
Teacher
However, for some reason, I don't. Or rather... I didn't until just now.
Teacher
Kaguya.
Teacher
I cannot make the Hourai Elixir without your ability.
Teacher
I need your help.
Kaguya
How's our project going?
Teacher
Have you heard about the Jeweled Branches of Hourai?
Kaguya
They're the branches that grow from udonge plants subjected to impurity, aren't they?
Teacher
Correct. I sent a few udonge plants down to Earth.
Teacher
But I modified them to produce medicine in addition to the jewels they bear after absorbing impurities.
Teacher
This way, even the rulers with no interest in material wealth will compete for them. Not to mention...
Kaguya
...You can get more data regarding the behavioral patterns of humans?
Teacher
Exactly. Nothing gets past you, Kaguya.
Kaguya
Hehehe!
Teacher
To make the Hourai Elixir a reality, we must first resolve the quandary of how it actually works.
Teacher
We must discover how it can restore someone to perfect health from any state without creating an additional body.
Teacher
All we know so far is that this process is deeply tied to the location and permeation of one's soul.
Teacher
It comes down to the question of where the self resides. It requires a conscious awareness of affiliation and ownership...
Kaguya
Um, Miss Yagokoro... you've gone all teacher mode again.
Teacher
Oh, sorry.
Teacher
Anyway...
Teacher
The Jeweled Branches of Hourai will sow conflict on Earth, which will promote cultural and technological growth.
Teacher
However, the unique electromagnetic waves emitted by the plants will also stunt humanity's growth, thus inciting conflict.
Teacher
It's hard to say which effect wins out.
Kaguya
Will doing this really help us understand the formula for the Hourai Elixir? There must be a more direct method.
Teacher
Of course, it will.
Teacher
You can think of culture as a subcategory of species. A single culture is made up of multiple individuals of the same species.
Teacher
So, what do you think would happen if an individual organism had a culture all of its own?
Kaguya
We'd get closer to true immortality?
Teacher
Exactly. Proving this hypothesis won't give us all the answers, but...
Teacher
I'm sure it will be a big step forward.
Kaguya
Miss Yagokoro?
Kaguya
Ummm... This is really bad, isn't it?
Teacher
So you've heard, have you? Our subject for the final phase of testing, XX, has been imprisoned in the heart of the capital.
Teacher
She will likely be incarcerated for eternity, even though the usual sentence would be death.
Teacher
Those who drink the Hourai Elixir cannot die. Not to mention that the Lunar Capital cannot afford to lose XX.
Teacher
I doubt her life will change that much apart from having to suffer the inconvenience of not being able to go outside.
Kaguya
Is that why you decided to experiment on her?
Teacher
No, of course not. She volunteered.
Teacher
I want to do a few more tests with the udonge plants, so I'll make sure the news about her imprisonment doesn't spread.
Teacher
It's still too dangerous for you to drink it, Kaguya.
Teacher
Don't worry. Just leave everything to me...
Teacher
...
Teacher
...
Teacher
Kaguya.
Teacher
Kaguya...
Teacher
I was such a fool.
Teacher
I knew you wanted to live down on Earth, so I should've predicted this would happen.
Teacher
How could I not have foreseen this?
Teacher
I knew Kaguya would get caught on purpose.
Teacher
I knew she wished to be exiled to the impure Earth through artificial reincarnation instead of being imprisoned like XX.
Teacher
There was no way Kaguya wouldn't choose to be reborn on Earth in the form of a human. That's the easiest method.
Teacher
But it didn't even occur to me what might happen before that.
Teacher
They didn't have to do THAT so many times before deciding on exile.
Teacher
...
Teacher
Again and again...
Teacher
So many needless executions.
Teacher
There was no point to it.
Teacher
...
Teacher
Kaguya.
Teacher
...
Teacher
KAGUYA!
Old Man
I cut that bamboo stalk 'cause it was all weird and shining... but I didn't expect such an adorable baby to pop out!
Old Man
Where'd she come from...?
Kaguya
Aaaah. Ohh.
Old Man
...
Old Man
Right. You don't have a home, do you?
Old Man
I'll take care of you. Hehe! The missus is gonna love this!
Kaguya
*happy baby noises*
Kaguya
Gaaaa!
Old Man
Hahaha, you're such a happy little thing, aren't you?
Old Woman
*sigh* I can't believe you're so laidback about all this. I'm still worried about how we're going to feed her...
Old Man
Go on, you try holding her.
Kaguya
*giggle*
Old Woman
Oh, my. She really is adorable. You like me more than that smelly old man, don't you? Don't you?
Kaguya
Ahh! *giggle*
Old Woman
Oh, it looks like I was right.
Old Man
No way!
Kaguya
Gaa. Gaaa.
Old Woman
There, there. Huh, that's strange. My back would usually be killing me right about now, but I feel right as rain.
Old Man
Yeah, now that you mention it, my shoulders don't hurt at all, either.
Kaguya
*giggle*
Old Woman
Wait, did she just...?
Old Man
What is it?
Old Woman
No, maybe I'm just imagining things, but...
Old Woman
I swear she just got heavier.
Old Man
Nayotake no Kaguyahime. No, Kaguya...
Old Woman
Can we talk for a bit?
Kaguya
What is it, Father? Mother?
Old Man
You're such a good kid, Kaguya. Truly.
Old Woman
Yes, you're so smart and beautiful.
Old Man
I'm sure you must be the reincarnation of a god or a Buddha. It's impossible to think that you're a human like us.
Kaguya
You're exaggerating...
Old Woman
No, that's the truth.
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
Wait, you don't mean...?
Kaguya
No! I don't want to leave! I want to live with you forever!
Old Man
...
Old Woman
...
Old Man
The world isn't so kind as to just ignore such a refined and beautiful girl... We've got no choice.
Old Woman
And we also have to live as part of this world... We've got no choice.
Kaguya
Who cares about what other people think? That's transitory! Everyone will forget everything once enough time has passed!
Kaguya
All I want is to stay with you while you're still here...!
Old Man
Exactly. We don't have that long to live.
Old Woman
That's why we want to see you happy...
Old Man
Before we go.
Kaguya
How could you say that? I'm happy here... with you.
Kaguya
It's only been about three months since I got here, but to me, it's felt like years.
Old Man
...
Old Woman
...
Old Man
Those five nobles have already sent you letters, so it's only a matter of time until rumors of your beauty reach the Emperor.
Old Woman
You caused all this to happen, Kaguya.
Old Man
...
Old Woman
...
Old Couple
You're just too beautiful.
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
Maybe I overdid it a little.
Kaguya
Just a little bit.
Kaguya
Right, Father? ...Mother?
Old Man
...
Old Woman
...
Old Man
No, not at all.
Old Woman
Of course not.
Kaguya
Are you sure? I personally think I took things too far...
Old Man
...
Old Woman
...
Kaguya
Sorry, that was mean. I shouldn't tease you.
Kaguya
Perhaps I just wanted to tease those princes as well... Or maybe not.
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
I wanted to know what they felt.
Kaguya
I wanted to know their thoughts and feelings.
Kaguya
I wanted to know what made them come to see me.
Kaguya
I thought it would be easy.
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
I never expected it to be...
Kaguya
...such an impossible task.
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Kaguya
...?!
Kaguya
(What am I seeing right now?)
Kaguya
(This... isn't right. Is it the sequence of events? Is the order off?)
Kaguya
(Is this because I said I wanted to remain on Earth? Have I said that already? I'm not sure I have.)
Kaguya
(Was she planning to come down here from the very start?)
Kaguya
...Why are you here?
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
(I don't have the right to slap away her blood-drenched hand.)
Kaguya
(I wouldn't have been able to do it as the person I was before... nor can I do it as the person I am now.)
Kaguya
(Even if the Moon didn't condemn me, I know that I'm a sinner.)
Old Man
UAAAAGH!
Old Woman
P-Please spare us!
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Teacher
Old Man
A-As you say!
Kaguya
...
Kaguya
...
Who wished for this?
Was it me? Did I make the wrong wish? Is that why this happened?
I'm not asking these questions out of grief. I honestly don't understand.
I simply want to know where I went wrong.
―What happened after wasn't included in the story.
I learned later that the bamboo cutter and his wife passed away. And apparently, it wasn't due to natural causes.
One of the five nobles had a daughter who would try to mess with me...
...But I stopped seeing her around the time when I heard the Emperor was going to burn the Hourai Elixir on a mountain.
My teacher chose "Eirin" as her Earth name. I guess she was pretending to be a pharmacist who emigrated from China.
However, we had to keep a low profile.
We don't age, so we'd arouse suspicion if we lived close to normal humans.
And if the Lunar Emissaries caught wind of us, they'd ruin our peace by helplessly trying to pursue us.
...That's why we had to stay mobile.
Eirin and I went from place to place.
We traversed the ages as we kept on running.
It was fun.
I was able to forget and leave all my troubles behind me.
And being a fugitive was actually pretty exciting.
I felt there was something off about Eirin, but I stopped worrying about that eventually.
Eirin was precious to me.
As Kaguya, I...
...Huh? I am Kaguya, aren't I?
Of course, I'm Kaguya. Who else could I be?
Could I be someone else?
Well, whatever.
After years of running...
We finally...!
...
...Huh?!
Has the world ended already?!
How? This doesn't make any sense.
Weren't Eirin and I meant to arrive in Gensokyo...?
Then we'd stop history and cause an incident.
Why? Why can't I follow that timeline no matter how many times I repeat this...?
???
Who are you?
Junko
Are you lost? The world has ended. What are you doing out here at the edge of the universe?
Junko
This is a really odd place to get lost.
No way!
JUNKO?!
Junko
Whoa, take it easy.
Junko
This is a closed space, an imploding micro-universe. So you don't have to shout. My ears are still ringing...
S-Sorry.
Are you really Junko? You look smaller than I remember...
Junko
How rude! I'm not small! Everything else is!
Junko
I just told you this is a micro-universe, didn't I?!
Junko
Besides, how do you know my name? I've never met you before.
Junko
Wait, you seem to have lost your own name, so I'm guessing you inadvertently picked up some errant memories.
Junko
Such a shame. Once that happens, there's no easy way to recover.
Huh? Why? I thought... such things wouldn't affect me.
Umm... why did I think that again? Err, what am I?
Junko
How should I know? I'm just passing through.
Junko
I'm going to another universe, so I'll leave you to it, OK?
W-Wait!
Junko
What are you doing?
I don't really know how to explain it, but I feel there's something about you that I mustn't forget...
But... for some reason, it also feels like I don't want to remember.
Junko
Hm...
Junko
Next thing, you're going to say something truly ridiculous, like you're actually Chang'e or something.
Junko
It seems you've gone insane from experiencing the cycle of the universe beginning and ending too many times.
Junko
How sad.
D-Do you really think I'm mad?
Junko
Then again, being able to experience such a thing makes you pretty unique. You might prove useful down the line.
Junko
I suppose I could help you out a little.
R-Really?! Thank you so much.
Junko
Just know that this is a special case. I don't want you getting the wrong idea.
Junko
Trying to save stray phenomena like you right before a universe ends is stupidly inefficient.
Junko
There are countless things just like you floating around in this graveyard. Do you understand?!
Y-Yes! I'll make sure to keep that in mind... Wait, will I even be able to remember this?
Junko
No. Memories are the first things that get deleted when you've passed your limits.
Junko
So you don't need to thank me! I basically volunteered to help!
Junko
All right, see you. I'm off!
Huh?
What am I supposed to do now?!
Junko
Wow, you really like shouting, don't you?!
Junko
I made the connection, so my replacement will appear once I'm gone.
Junko
See, there she is now.
Reisen
This world... is all but finished.
Reisen
I doubt I'll find anything useful in a place like this...
Reisen
Whoa! No way! There's actually something here!
Reisen
This is an item containing records of the Lunar Capital that only Lady Kaguya can use! I'm so glad I found this!
Reisen
I have to hurry and bring it to her!
Kaguya
We used to hold the Lunar Capital Expo at Eientei every year.
Kaguya
At first, we just put all the items from our secret collection on display, but...
Kaguya
As the years went by, we kept getting more contributors from the Moon, greatly increasing the number of exhibits.
Kaguya
Eirin's influence also played a part in making it pretty much on par with an exhibition you could find in the Lunar Capital.
Kaguya
It's not like we were worried about anyone misusing the items in the exhibits, but things did get pretty crazy.
Kaguya
It's strange to think how all those exhibits are helping us now. No one could've predicted that.
So why did the expo call itself Miss Chang'e...?
Kaguya
Hmm, that's a hard question to answer. It could've just been a dream seen by the Lunar Capital Expo.
Kaguya
Or the collection of lunar tools might've replicated Chang'e because of her undeniable influence over the Lunar Capital.
Kaguya
I'm inclined to believe the latter since this item has managed to do things that only Chang'e can do.
Does that mean...?!
Kaguya
Teehee!
Kaguya
We were able to connect with each other because I love Inabas.
Kaguya
Chang'e is their mother. All the moon rabbits obey her instinctively.
Kaguya
In other words, it's Reisen who binds us together!
Kaguya
Oh, speaking of Reisen... it looks like she's calling for us.
Kaguya
Come on, let's go.
Kaguya
We have to find our perfect future.
The lunar princess started holding the Lunar Capital Expo to spread knowledge and awareness on Earth.
She wished to pull down the veil and shed light upon the Moon's secrets and the items manufactured there.
Stripped of their divine mystique, the gods lost ownership over these items. They became things of the Earth, of people.
Naturally, it took an extremely long time for the denizens of Gensokyo to comprehend super-science, but...
There was one thing they understood much sooner.
The princess gave the appearance of holding the expo on a whim or just to have some fun, but...
...everyone knew she did it out of love.
