The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

If I had never known loneliness, I could have endured solitude.

If you can't always give me sunshine, then don't bring light in the first place. If you can't always stay by my side, then don't appear in the first place.

To give a heart to a flower that knew nothing of light or loneliness before it was born—I think there is perhaps nothing more cruel in this world.

My birth was less an accident than an inevitability of fate. In a world destined for chaos, I was the only being born in that world.

Or rather, from the very beginning, I was the sole master of that world.

This world is empty and desolate, with no so-called boundaries. The only thing that accompanies me is the ubiquitous specks of light of various colors in the space.

As an ordinary flower, I have spent countless years in this almost nonexistent world, or rather, there is no concept of time in this world.

I didn't feel bored or dull, because in my hazy understanding, I didn't have any concept of those messy emotions.

At that time, the only concepts that existed in my mind were probably sleeping and occasionally waking up.

If that accident hadn't happened, perhaps I would have stayed in this world forever, until the moment I finally blossomed and bloomed... But there are never any "what ifs".

In the long, endless years that followed, every time I briefly awoke from my long slumber and looked at the empty world, I would stare blankly at this question in my mind.

If I could turn back time to the day I met him, what choice would I make?

...Perhaps I would not hesitate to kick him out of my world immediately, rather than stay and observe out of curiosity.

After all, for a flower to possess a "heart" that knows loneliness and solitude ahead of time must be an incredibly painful thing.

However, in a world where only oneself exists since the dawn of consciousness, it is only natural to be curious about the sudden appearance of an unusual and peculiar being, right?

What's more, the other party's appearance was so... bizarre.

Perhaps I wasn't very good at using adjectives at the beginning, but now I can describe things in words, even if they're not entirely accurate.

"Strange" is the best word to describe it than "disheveled".

Black, invisible flames, almost tangible, burned on every part of his body, slowly scorching his body and soul to death.

I simply cannot imagine how he could have survived under such circumstances, given the sheer size and unimaginable extent of his "sins"... or even had the leisure to hurl insults.

Of course, in his own words, that's called "swearing."

As the master of a world, I quickly figured out the source of his sins.

...That is the "original sin" that comes from the world itself.

Even his very existence is a sin.

At that moment, I couldn't help but wonder if there really existed beings who could bear such a degree of "sin".

I originally thought that after he was completely burned to ashes by those black flames, this would just be an insignificant episode in my endless long years, but as it turns out, fate played a not-so-small joke on me.

After standing there covered in black flames, jumping around and cursing at someone for a full five minutes, he seemed to finally tire of cursing. He took out a small object from somewhere and pointed it at his head.

—Later I learned that the thing was called a Gauss pistol.

"Didn't expect that, did you?! I'm back from the dead! Come and try to kill me again if you dare!! I love seeing that look on your face when you clearly hate me but can't do anything about it. Come and try again if you dare!!"

I saw him get up from the ground again, all the flames on his body gone, and give the sky a big middle finger... and then continue to spew profanities.

...Immortality?

I suddenly developed a small interest in this mysterious existence.

The other party seemed to possess quite magical power, actually starting to produce other things in my void world, and began to build pavilions, houses and squares. It was bound to be an extremely large project, but he seemed to be enjoying it.

Some things are simply hard to explain. As I began to observe his every move with curiosity, my curiosity only grew, and my interest only increased.

After some time, I decided to meet him formally... although I quickly regretted my decision.

To be honest, this first formal meeting was an extremely bad experience for me.

I originally intended to punish him slightly for his rude behavior of trying to touch me on our first meeting, but I never expected that he would suddenly focus all his attention on me as if he had discovered a new continent.

At that time, I couldn't understand the meaning of being bored and having nothing to do, but my appearance did indeed become a spice in his otherwise boring life.

When I finally figured out what he meant by "garbage disposal station," I admit I was almost furious. If he weren't practically immortal, I would have had the urge to kill him and use him as fertilizer.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time that anger is not actually a good thing for a flower.

However, strictly speaking, his condition at the time was not very good, and even seemed rather bad.

Because of the original sins he carried, he had to die every so often to reset his state.

The continuous and seemingly endless deaths must be a heavy blow to any being, I think.

But the other party seemed to have gotten used to it all along, and even had the mood to find amusement in the midst of it all, playing a game with a dangerous object he had summoned...

To be honest, I don't understand him.

After I lost my temper, he finally realized I was there, but even so, he still didn't seem to want to change some of his bad habits... like holding a microphone in front of me and singing songs as if I were an imaginary audience.

I think he must have been incredibly bored, otherwise he wouldn't have enthusiastically waved or shook hands with thin air as if there were many audience members after he finished singing a song.

I was the only viewer from beginning to end.

To be honest, although it disturbed my sleep a bit, his singing was actually quite good. However, compared to his singing, his dancing was a bit of an eyesore.

...Especially when he was seriously dancing to "Little Apple" and "Gokuraku Jodo" in front of me, I admit that I did have an urge to beat him up at that moment.

Of course, I can still accept these things to some extent... but I absolutely cannot tolerate the fact that he sat in front of me on a small chair, wearing sunglasses, and played the erhu in an unusually mournful tone for three days and three nights.

For a long time afterward, the melody of the erhu piece "Moon Reflected in the Second Spring" would often echo in my mind...

Of course, aside from these unserious moments, he can sometimes become unusually serious. What he often does is sit next to me with his head resting on his hands and chat aimlessly.

Although it was called a chat, he was the only one talking, while I was just listening quietly.

He talked to me about all sorts of things, including jokes, stories, and even some really lame jokes. He would even do some stand-up comedy, and when he got to a funny part, he would laugh out loud first and then answer my questions himself.

From what he said to me, I learned a lot about him.

He talked most about his time in the Heavenly Realm, his interactions with Xiao Xi and Xiao Ye, and the things that existed there. Sometimes he would even proudly say that anyone who went to the Heavenly Realm and mentioned his name would be able to walk sideways with impunity.

...Although, judging from what he said, there's a high chance that anyone who dares to mention his name will be beaten up by the beings in the Heavenly Realm.

Hmm... I guess it's like walking sideways too?

Although I listened to him talk so much, I could feel more and more that his heart was as lonely as a barren desert with nothing but endless sandstorms.

Sometimes, he would pause what he was saying, glance at me, and sigh softly, saying how wonderful it would be if I could talk to him.

At that time, all I could do was remain silent.

For a period of time, he would enthusiastically bring several books to me and tell me stories. Of all the books or the stories he told me, my favorite was The Little Prince.

Because I feel that the Little Prince in The Little Prince is somewhat similar to him, definitely not because the Little Prince also has a flower... But could he be the Little Prince of my flower?

I glanced at him furtively as he read a story in a book, completely unaware of what was happening, which was to be expected, as his gentle voice echoed in the air.

“Just sit quietly on the grass, a little distance from me. I'll watch you out of the corner of my eye, and you won't say a word. Words are the root of misunderstandings. But every day, you can sit a little closer to me…”

Occasionally, he would sit next to me with a bunch of empty bottles, drinking alone. But he would seriously argue that underage girls shouldn't drink alcohol and instead give me other beverages. When I angrily destroyed all those drinks, he would chuckle and explain the dangers of underage girls drinking alcohol.

...That's really annoying, since I can't even have a drink with him.

In some ways, however, he was quite willful.

Without my permission or consent, he just picked a name for me. While it's not impossible for him to help me choose a name... naming me Little Flower is definitely asking for trouble!

When he kept calling me "Little Flower," I swear I really wanted to bite him to death.

Sometimes, I fall into a long sleep, but because of his arrival, I force myself to shorten or postpone my sleep time.

But every time I fall asleep and wake up again, I can always see him... although he always shakes his head helplessly and says that I'm too sleepy and picky about food, which is bad for my health.

I originally thought that this kind of time would continue forever, and that he would always stay by my side like this, but I subconsciously ignored his mental state and my own problems.

Things that have reached their end will only perish again upon rebirth, just like the beginning of every story is merely a pre-written ending.

Even if one could repeatedly reset their mental state through death, it was clearly a temporary solution. As time went on, his mental condition and problems became more and more serious, while I became drowsy all day long because I refused to sleep for long periods of time.

If I were to fall into that long, deep sleep, and lose me as his only person to communicate with, would his mental state worsen?

I don't know.

But no matter how unwilling I was, that day eventually came, and amidst his familiar voice, I slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

The time between my slumber and my awakening this time is estimated to be nearly a thousand years. But before I must fall asleep again, I suddenly feel a sense of dread: will I really be able to see him again?

no one knows.

But he is an immortal being. If he can find a way to solve his problems and prevent his mind from collapsing, perhaps I will be able to find him again in the future... That's what I thought in my heart.

What I didn't expect was that this wait would last for countless years.

The world has evolved, and the stars have changed in the night sky, but he seems to have disappeared from the world. I have searched for him for many years, but I have never found him.

In the end, I returned to my own world.

He named this world the Dream World, and I really like that name.

I don't have much time left, but perhaps I can still wait for him. Just like in the story of the Little Prince, the Little Prince eventually returned to his own planet to find his flower.

If he really is my little prince... he will come back, right?

With this thought in mind and a strange expectation in my heart, I lay in bed and fell into a deep sleep.

If I can see him when I wake up...

P.S.: Good morning! I'd like to recommend the book *My Girlfriend is Misaki Shokuhou*. It's a really good book, everyone should check it out!

Chapter 1: Ibaraki Kasen's Journey

Life is often full of surprises.

Just like the ever-changing nature of fate, you never know what you will encounter in the next moment, but it is precisely because of this that life is always full of surprises.

"...As mentioned above, this is a surprise from fate."

Holding up a finger in front of him, the person had a serious expression on his face.

"Just as you can't expect a blind person to speak, you can't expect someone like me, who has no sense of direction, to lead the way."

"........."

Turning her head to look at the vast ocean behind her, Ibaraki Kasen was speechless.

Strictly speaking, their journey started off quite smoothly, but this smoothness was only limited to the land. When the journey reached the vast ocean, all sorts of accidents and natural disasters followed one after another.

In this era, there were no nautical charts or similar things, and the ocean was an extremely dangerous area. The enormous monsters that lived in the deep sea for countless years were incredibly powerful.

After all, the mainland accounts for three-tenths, while the ocean accounts for more than seven-tenths. However, most of the great monsters that live in the deep sea are extremely lazy and generally do not come to the near-shore areas.

Even so, on their very first day at sea, Shi Bai and Ibaraki Kasen gloriously and completely lost their way. Upon waking, both of them were in a state of utter confusion, wondering who they were, where they were, and what place they were in.

Shi Bai had made some preparations in advance, wearing all the necessary nautical instruments and compasses, but he never expected that, for some unknown reason, the magnetic field at sea would be almost entirely chaotic and disordered.

To this day, he still can't figure out why the two compasses point in completely opposite directions, while the third pointer transforms into a spinning top, stubbornly defying gravity and rising into the air... You're a compass, not a propeller, you idiot!!

"...So what do we do now? Just keep drifting at sea until we see land?"

Sitting down on the bamboo raft, leaning against the sail, Ibaraki Kasen sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Sixteen ancient trees, some of which had stood for countless years, were felled and tied together with steel cables to form a simple bamboo raft. This raft was large enough for not just two people, but, with a sail erected, it could easily carry dozens—this was Ibaraki Kasen's masterpiece.

Shi Bai didn't want to dampen the other party's enthusiasm, and besides, it was his first time riding a mode of transportation like a bamboo raft, so he was naturally very happy to go.

Seeing how professional the other person was, Shi Bai thought his first bamboo raft voyage at sea would go smoothly. But in the end, he found that the two of them were complete novices on their first time at sea...

Now, let alone going back, he doesn't even know where he is. All he can see is a vast expanse of ocean.

So far, they have been drifting at sea for almost a week, and the scenery they see every day has hardly changed. They haven't seen any land or islands, just water.

He was quite composed, while Ibaraki Kasen seemed a bit impatient.

"Don't worry, people can do anything when pushed to their limits... except for math problems, if they can't solve it, they just can't solve it."

Putting away the completely useless compass, Shi Bai extended a finger and shook it indifferently.

"I have experience with this kind of thing. If you can't find a direction, then you might as well just leave it to fate and go with the flow. Anyway, you will definitely reach land in the end. After all, my luck is the best in the world."

"...But this is clearly not a matter of luck, is it?"

Looking at the man in front of her, whose face practically screamed "lucky charm," Ibaraki Kasen couldn't help but sigh again.