[] Use my power.
-{} Enhance my vision. As unlikely as it is that anything survived when it happened, I might spot some manner of landmark in the distance.

[X] Use my power.
-{X} Enhance my vision. As unlikely as it is that anything survived when it happened, I might spot some manner of landmark in the distance.

This looks like it'll be interesting.

[x] Use my power.
-{x} Enhance my vision. As unlikely as it is that anything survived when it happened, I might spot some manner of landmark in the

Honestly, I'm tired of squinting through the dust blasting into my face and still not seeing a thing. I'm not going to trip over anything, but my other senses don't give me much of an idea of what might be in the distance. For all I know, I could've been walking around in circles all this time; looking behind myself, even my footprints are erased by the storm within seconds of me lifting my feet.

Alright, here goes.

I close my eyes for a moment. Tends to make you nauseous when you mess with how your eyes work while looking around, and I'd rather not lose my breakfast in a barren wasteland. I didn't bring much with me in terms of supplies, but that shouldn't really be an issue.

I focus my will. The muscles controlling my eyes contract. I feel a slight stabbing pain in the upper back side of one of my eyes, akin to a migraine; years ago it'd have been bad enough to make me pass out instantly, but for now it's just a minor annoyance. A nostalgic smirk creeps onto my face beneath the red scarf; it's been a while since I've last used my power to such a degree.

But I came here with full awareness that I'd probably have to use it.

For a while, I can feel my eyeballs rapidly moving around beneath my eyelids as if I were dreaming. Limitations of the human body, maybe a law of physics or two, anatomical processes and whatnot... I reject all of that. My will is stronger than that of nature; if it weren't, I'd have died a while ago to heatstroke or choking on searing hot dust or something.
By the time I'm finished and I open my eyes, it's as if I've arrived in a different place entirely.

The air almost looks like it's cleared up, at first. Of course, this isn't true; as I get used to my empowered vision, feeling a little off-balance for a moment as my brain adjusts, I begin to notice the dust and other small pieces of debris in the air, blasting along the wind in vicious torrents just as before. The only difference is I can perceive individual particles of dust now, or essentially filter them out of my vision completely to see what lies beyond. The human brain normally fills in a lot of blanks or ignores irrelevant information fed to it through the eyes in general, I just abused this ability and cranked it up a few notches.

In any case, what lies before me is anything but a pleasant sight, not that I was expecting any different. Blackened, lifeless ground with deep cracks baked into it by the merciless heat peeks out from beneath dust dunes here and there, wherever lightning hasn't struck and fused it into a glass-like substance. Not a single lifeform in sight; my superior senses can hardly detect a trace of even microscopic lifeforms in the area, aside from whatever may be dying off to this heat on my own body. Sparse traces of what must have once been trees are visible here and there, reduced to brittle charcoal pillars that occasionally spontaneously combust due to random spikes of heat. A truly hellish, hostile environment.

In the distance, between flashes of lightning, I spot what looks like a faint pillar of light, hinting at an area where the clouds are less thick. Roughly in that same direction, I think I can see what looks like remnants of stone structures just barely jutting out of the dunes. Or they might just be rocks, who knows. There's also the silhouette of a mountain in the distance, but even my enhanced eyes can just barely make it out.

Well, it's -something- amidst a whole lot of nothing, so my next best bet is to head for the eye of the storm and investigate what might possibly be ruins. Even this heat and ceaseless storm can't possibly erase all traces of civilization, can it? Then again, it's been how long now... Around a decade or so maybe, give or take. I might be too late, and this might all be a wild goose chase.

Either way, I won't find out for a while. My head still pulsates rhythmically in pain, the flashes of lightning combined with my amplified vision merely driving the imaginary wedge further into my skull. It's almost enough to actually bother me, but for the time being it merely serves as a reminder to take a break from using my power for a while. Looks like I'll need to cross the distance the old fashioned way.

...

I hate dust.

It seems to hate me back just the same. My footing is far from stable, the ashen dunes flowing out from beneath me as I attempt to cross them, occasionally making me lose balance and roll right back down. If my clothes weren't a dust-caked mess before, they certainly were now. I find myself frowning a little at such petty concerns, but there's not much else to do but get back up and try again.

At times the dunes reveal secrets buried underneath, giving me hope that the ruins up ahead might not be completely empty after all. The closer to them I get, the more I stumble upon dessicated, mummified corpses, dried up in the extreme heat and left underneath piles of dust and ash without any moisture or microbes to eat away at them. Mostly animals of various types, a couple of humans of various sizes, the occasional strange creature which I assume would be a youkai of some type.

You'd think at least -some- youkai would manage to survive in these conditions. Oh well, that remains to be seen as I proceed further towards my goal.

Gonna take me a while, though. I've been walking for a couple of hours now, I reckon; it's hard to tell the time in this place, and I forgot to use my power to protect my wristwatch. I peel back my sleeve and look at the now-useless timepiece on my wrist with a strange sensation of guilt. I think this was a present from someone dear to me, once long ago, but I can't remember. Ruined by heat or not, I decide to keep it on my wrist out of either habit or respect.

What I thought were ruins are closer and more clearly visible now, definitely looks like the remains of a settlement. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some answers... even though I can't remember the question. But it'll come to me, I'm sure.

Still going to take me a while to actually reach them, though.

-------

[] See if I can find some shelter nearby. Take a break to recover energy, see if any of the food I brought survived this heat.
[] Keep walking. I'm not that tired yet, and I'm more likely to find a place to rest in the ruins themselves.

[x] Keep walking. I'm not that tired yet, and I'm more likely to find a place to rest in the ruins themselves.

Looking for a shelter could waste a lot of time and energy, so it's better to head straight for a destination.

[X] Keep walking. I'm not that tired yet, and I'm more likely to find a place to rest in the ruins themselves.

I wonder what happened to cause all of this.

[x] Keep walking. I'm not that tired yet, and I'm more likely to find a place to rest in the ruins themselves.

Somehow, I'm reminded in a pleasant way of Palingenesia.

[x] See if I can find some shelter nearby. Take a break to recover energy, see if any of the food I brought survived this heat.

I take a quick glance around the surrounding area; a preliminary scan reveals a whole lot of nothing, as per usual. I figure I might as well peek pushing forward since there nowhere in close proximity where I could really get some proper rest without dust and ash beating into my face. Besides, I'm not particularly tired just yet, despite using my power not too long ago. I've pushed myself far worse in the past, although I suppose I should avoid anything overly reckless this early in my journey.

Regardless, I make my way across more dust dunes, each more bothersome to climb than the last. I can feel some of it getting in my boots after the wind pick up a particularly violent burst of speed and knocks me over. How annoying. I ponder removing the offending boot to empty it of its unwanted contents, but this wind is likely to just funnel more crap into it if I do, so I decide to simply bear with it for the time being.

More of those charcoal-like pillars that I presume were once trees. Some of them even still have remnants of branches sticking out o them; I reach out and touch one almost subconsciously, causing most of the branch to crumble at my fingertips. I spot bits of another blackened, dessicated corpse jutting out of the dust beneath the tree, belonging to some manner of small animal. Probably some manner of squirrel or lizard or lesser youkai, I can't quite tell.

It makes me wonder: Did this place turn into a hellish furnace in a flash? Or was it a gradual process? Was I here when it happened? I can't remember...

Well, only one way to jog my memory, I suppose, and that's to jog to those ruins. It's mostly downhill from now, so it's not as tiring as the rest of the trek had been. Still, with this wind I just barely avoid stumbling and rolling down the hill. Granted, that would've been a quick and easy way down, but I'd like to avoid getting more dust underneath my clothing if I can help it.

The ground's a little more even around here, although the ash and dust has still built up into small hills leaning against what remains of any stone constructions in this skeleton of a settlement. Now that I'm up close, I can't actually see anything that resembles what might've been buildings constructed entirely of stone, at least at first glance; most of these were probably made of wood, with stone supports or occasional stone walls. This is somewhat worrying, as it greatly reduces my chances of finding any information around here.

I explore further, keeping up hope. Until now, I'd been in fairly high spirits, regardless of the annoyance of the dust in my boot, yet the prospect of the trail running cold right at the beginning of my journey manages to frighten me. Looking around, all I can see is crumbling walls, more dried-up carcasses, bones... only hints of death from years past, yet no clues.

Over time, however, as I wander around the place, a sense of familiarity hits me. I slowly spin myself in place, taking in what's left of the entire settlement, scanning it... I rush over to a few of the ruined buildings, brushing and kicking aside the piles of dust threatening to bury them completely, digging them out with my bare hands. I don't accomplish much, naturally, as the wind tauntingly carries more dust onto the pile than I can get rid of, but it's enough to trigger something in the back of my mind.

I remember s???o??????me????t??hi??n?????g???????.

This used to be a village, yes... and I used to live here.

-------

[] See if I can find what's left of my old house.
[] See if I can find what's left of the s??????????????????????????????????c???????????????????????h?????????????????
???o????????????????????????????o?????????????????????l??????????????????????
???????h???????????????????????????????????????o????????????????u????????????
??????????????????????????s????????????????????????????e?????????????????????
?

Whoa, you shouldn't use Zalgo text here. It messes up the website.

[X] See if I can find what's left of my old house.

Probably won't be able to salvage anything, but it's worth a shot.

[X] See if I can find what's left of the school house.

Did Okuu get the nuclear purification she wanted or what?

>>54543
Ah, sorry. I did ask on the IRC whether it'd cause problems or not.
What's it look like on your end?

>>54557
It's fucking up the lines.

>>54566
That word looked fine on my computer.

[X] School.

[X] See if I can find what's left of the school house.

A school house is usually in a reasonably centralized location to minimize travel time for the children, and is roomy enough to hold people and supplies in case of apocalypse.
Meaning the perfect place to look for clues.


>>54557
Light amounts of zalgo usually works well enough, but when you go medium/heavy use of zalgo it tends to screw with formatting, in my experience.

Suddenly, sharp, crippling pain, far worse than the little migraine I'd given myself earlier; I drop to one knee involuntarily, clutching my skull. It's a familiar type of pain. The type of pain where you brain is desperately rejecting an impossible idea or a suppressed memory, telling you it's for your own good. This happened a lot when I was first learning to use my power, but... why here, why now?

I suppress it.

The first thing I can feel once my senses return to me is the annoying sensation of what turns out to be the dust in the air sticking to a trail of blood going down my nose to my upper lip. I wipe it into my sleeve, trying to focus my thoughts. What I remembered was a schoolhouse, on a hill near the village. What I didn't remember, however, was the significance of this building, but at least it was another clue.

I stand back up, my legs still feeling a little unsteady after that battle with my own brain. I lean against one of the exposed stone walls nearby for balance, ignoring the sizzling noise coming from placing my palm against what amounts to the surface of a running stove. Taking another look around the area, I indeed spot the silhouette of a small hill with a ruined structure on top of it in the near distance, having somehow missed it earlier. Or maybe I didn't miss it, and my brain just filtered it out as it does with the dust particles in the air. Or maybe it just never occurred to me that a school would be on a hill by the village in the first place, as opposed to being somewhere in the village itself.

I any case, I feel like I can keep going. My hand sticks to the rock a little, so I have to pull it loose, leaving behind charred bits of skin in the shape of a blackened handprint. I look at the palm of my hand, dust and ash sticking to my exposed flesh. It stings a little, but it'll heal with a bit of rest. I probably should've brought gloves, though. For the time being, I rip off a piece of my cloak and wrap it around my palm as a makeshift bandage, more out of some sort of human habit than actual necessity.

At least, I think I'm human. I suppose I can't be too sure with all this memory disruption, though.

In any case, I push myself forward, navigating my way through the remains of the village until reaching what must've once been a path to the hill with the schoolhouse, now buried under a dense layer of debris. At least it's easier to walk through than climbing those dunes earlier. Although the hill itself isn't particularly high or steep, I decide I ought to take a break once I reach the top, lest I overexert myself; no telling how long I'll have to survive in this hell before I find what I'm looking for and can leave again, hopefully for good this time.

I make it to the top. With impeccable timing, lightning strikes the elevated building, setting the remains of what must've been a wooden support beam or somesuch ablaze and causing a small part of the building to collapse. Fortunately, most of the school was made of stone and various modern materials, so it's survived far better than anything in the village itself. The doors even seem to still be up, although most of the windows seem to be broken. Still, I can't help but wonder if it would still even be here, had I decided to return here a year or two later than I did...

Either way, for the time being I make my way inside the schoolhouse by kicking the front door until the lock breaks, ducking into the first windowless room I can find to get some shelter from the searing wind and dust storms. I decide to get some rest and nourishment to recover my energy before I start searching the place. I remove my backpack and set it down, opening it up and pulling out my lunchbox.

It was a real pain figuring out how to pack food for a trip into a hellish furnace of a wasteland. I had to get this box custom-made, and it wasn't cheap. I did test it by letting it sit in an oven for a while before leaving, but I can't help but feel a little worried as I unseal the airtight lid , the box hissing at me as air sips into it.

Despite my worrying, the box did its job. I pull out a thermos filled with tea, and a couple of sandwiches. I wolf them down fairly quickly, more out of caution than hunger, although the prospect of a sandwich that toasts itself over time as you eat it sounds rather entertaining. After I have some tea to finish off my meal, I pack everything back up again and mess with a valve on the box to restore vacuum, before packing it back in my backpack.

Try saying that three times fast.

I get back up and take the moment to dust myself off a little. A futile exercise, considering I'll probably be going back outside fairly soon, and the building I'm in isn't particularly clean itself, but it's just another of those human habits I suppose. I glance at the palm of my right hand; it still feels raw to the touch, but it's mostly healed by now already. Good. Just in case, I make a mental note to not touch things with my dominant hand unless I really need to from now on.

I exit the small room I was in, presumable some manner of storeroom or larger type of closet judging by the amount of janitorial items I saw in there, and take a glance around the building. I walk around a little to get a better idea of the layout of the place, although I do feel the subtle sense of familiarity guiding my feet as I go along. My brain aches dully at me, but I choose to ignore it and keep exploring.

So, where do I start?

-------

[] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.
[] I see a lot of classrooms on the first floor. The windows are mostly all broken, suggesting that the dust storms have been stirring up the rooms for years. Checking them all one by one might take a while.
[] I see stairs leading up to the second floor. I'd assume there'd be more classrooms, maybe clubrooms, the teachers' lounge... The stairs don't look very stable, so it might be a one-way trip for the time being.
[] I should check outside to see if I can find anything else of note. I did just rush inside as quickly as possible to escape the storm, so I didn't get to look around the territory much. The wind howls menacingly at me from behind the door I broke through.

[X] I see a lot of classrooms on the first floor. The windows are mostly all broken, suggesting that the dust storms have been stirring up the rooms for years. Checking them all one by one might take a while.

Best to be thorough about things.

[X] I see a lot of classrooms on the first floor. The windows are mostly all broken, suggesting that the dust storms have been stirring up the rooms for years. Checking them all one by one might take a while.

Might as well start with the ground level, though I suspect the basement would probably be the most likely to have some intact clues.

[X] I see a lot of classrooms on the first floor. The windows are mostly all broken, suggesting that the dust storms have been stirring up the rooms for years. Checking them all one by one might take a while.

http://youtu.be/x0n5yObwyDE

-------

Let's get started, then.

...

Room 101-A.

Go figure, the signs are still up. The insides of the school haven't been damaged quite as badly as I'd thought after all. Unfortunately, that's quite a bit more than I can say for the classrooms themselves, as being exposed to the hostile elements of the land outside through broken windows for several years has reduced their insides mostly to assorted piles of rubbish. The paint's been seared right off the walls, the lights are all broken leaving shards of glass all over the floor, most of the furniture looks like it was consumed by fire... Still, who knows, there just might be something here that I can use, or that'll jog my memory.

I get to work immediately, separating worthless, ruined and otherwise brittle materials from items that have fared better and endured the punishment of time. It doesn't look particularly promising so far. Most of the desks have been completely destroyed, leaving behind pieces of metal pipe that would probably sear my flesh again if I touched them directly. A couple of desks in the back of the room, away from the windows, have endured better. I decide to check out the desk drawers.

Again, there's not much. Remains of what probably used to be paper, the majority of it having combusted at some point or another. Surprisingly well-preserved pens and compasses and the like. One drawer actually has some manner of partially melted plastic gun-shaped device in it, which turns out to be a freaking taser of all things upon closer inspection. Doesn't work, obviously.

Who hides a taser in a school desk? Honestly.

I move back to the front of the classroom and check the teacher's desk, but aside from more burnt paper it seems to have been cleared out at some point. I do, however, find a rather well-preserved key, and pocket it just in case. The last thing that comes to mind is to check the blackboard for any sort of compartment behind it, but this room doesn't appear to have anything of the sort.

Oh well, moving right along to 101-B.

This one has a locked door, surprisingly enough, and the key I found doesn't fit the lock. I try kicking the door in, but the lock just won't break. I consider using my power, but decide to keep looking around first; maybe I'll find a key, and if not, I could always climb in through a window from the outside.

Room 101-C.

The door falls off its hinges when I try to open it, kicking up a dense cloud of dust into my face; I can't help but cough a little, but my vision is unimpaired by this. This room seems even harder hit than 101-A was, so I don't waste too much time searching through it. Practically everything that was ever in this room has been completely destroyed, although curiously enough some of the items seem to have been ruined intentionally, rather than by wear-and-tear caused by the hellish conditions the school's been engulfed in. A metal pipe that used to be the leg of a desk lies on the floor, one end of the otherwise round hollow pipe squeezed shut, as if someone bent it back and forth until it snapped off. Speaking of bent, it definitely looks like someone hit something or someone with this at some point. Regardless, the makeshift weapon was abandoned in the classroom, and there's no other clues to be found in this particular one.

Room 102-A.

Now we're getting somewhere. The desks in this room have survived far better than the others, which means less foraging around in a pile of refuse and more going through drawers. Some of the papers have managed to not get burned beyond recognition, although the majority of them are, surprise, school-related stuff, class notes and homework and such. I suppose expecting to find a convenient apocalyptic log or something was hoping for a bit much. I do find a bunch of girly accessories and whatnot, but barely anything useful. I pocket a few paper clips and other miscellaneous items you'd find lying around in any school, just in case.

Room 102-B.

Aside from being as well-preserved as the previous room, what immediately catches my eye is the blackboard at the front of the classroom, which has been smashed in half, as if something large either tackled it or was thrown into it. There also appears to be a knife embedded in the wall next to the board. It's stuck pretty good, and seems otherwise unremarkable, so I leave it be.
One of the desks has a porn magazine hidden in the drawer. I decide to loot it, since it could be a valuable clue.

Room 102-C.

More signs of fighting, improvised weapons, dents in the walls... What happened here? Did the school come under attack before the cataclysm hit? Is what happened in this building connected to what happened to the rest of the area?

Is whatever they were fighting still around here?

Well, that's unlikely. It's been years, and I can't imagine much besides myself would be able to survive in this hellhole. Even if it could, it wouldn't have anything to eat. Speaking of which, I find what looks to be the charred remains of what was once supposed to be a sandwich or something, in one of the drawers. It looks like it was left in a working toaster oven and just forgotten. What a waste.

Room 103-A.

Another locked door. The key still doesn't fit; it's probably for the staff room or some other room the students were never meant to have free access to. This door is a little less stubborn, though, and a well-aimed kick breaks the lock.

Ah. I was wondering when I'd find one of these.

A dessicated corpse in the corner, curled up in a loose fetal position. Most of its flesh has been eroded by the dust storm beating in from the windows, so its extremeties are missing digits and it's showing a lot of exposed bone. It's impossible to tell whether it's male or female, or even if it was originally human. A few scraps of seared cloth are all that remains of what clothing it once wore, and I can't find any belongings on it worth looting. A bent key lies on the floor near the door I broke through, suggesting this person locked themselves inside.
Why? To hide? To keep something out?
The rest of the room is practically empty, one of the rooms that has suffered the most damage from the hostile weather over the years.

Room 103-B.

The door's been split in two diagonally, both halves still attached to the hinges. The cut goes through the lock and penetrates the opposing door frame, making the door impossible to close. I find a mostly-burnt flyer advertising the school's kendo club in one of the drawers. Nothing else of note in this room.

Room 103-C.

The door wasn't locked, but was barricaded with a large ruler meant for the blackboard and a few desks and chairs. It didn't take me much to break through. Strangely enough, however, there's no bodies in this room, suggesting whoever barricaded the door probably escaped through the windows.
I loot a thin metal nail file from the room.

...

Well, that was quite a bust. All I managed to find was some paper clips, a nail file, a key I haven't found a use for yet, a bent compass, a magazine which I'm sure will be of use sometime later, and a flyer for the kendo club, plus assorted tiny screws and whatnot which I simply dumped into one of my pockets. No real clues, though, despite wasting a good hour or two sifting through garbage with my bare hands.

Suddenly, a ominous sense of danger washes over me. If you've ever walked in front of a car or something without noticing it, you know what this feels like. Not the shock once you turn and see it, but this subconscious sense of alarm bells going off just before that. It's coming from outside, a fair distance away, but it's definitely coming this way, whatever it is. I can't help but feel my heart rate quicken in anticipation of an unpleasant encounter. Could there really be anything else out there besides me.."

I reckon I've got time to check one more location before whatever it is gets too close for comfort, tops.

-------


[] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.
[] I see stairs leading up to the second floor. I'd assume there'd be more classrooms, maybe clubrooms, the teachers' lounge... The stairs don't look very stable, so it might be a one-way trip for the time being.
[] I should check outside to see if I can find anything else of note. I did just rush inside as quickly as possible to escape the storm, so I didn't get to look around the territory much. The wind howls menacingly at me from behind the door I broke through.
[] (Write-in option.)

[x] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.

I was torn between this and looking upstairs, but ultimately settled on going downstairs. Seems more likely to have something worthwhile intact.

Also...
>One of the desks has a porn magazine hidden in the drawer. I decide to loot it, since it could be a valuable clue.

Main character clearly has their priorities straight.

[X] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.

Definitely the most likely place to find something useful.

Admittedly, I'm worried about being trapped in the basement when whatever is following us arrives.

If it's something that can actually survive out here, I don't really want to meet it.

I'd like to see what it looks like though.

[X] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.

I'm systematic in how I like to explore things. Basement first and then the rest.

I would think that someone like Mokou would be able to survive in these conditions. Maybe it's her on her way?

>>54732
I'm not convinced that we're even in Gensokyo. Was it ever stated that we were?

>>54736
While it was never specified, there has been several mentions of youkai, and we're currently in a village that has a schoolhouse of significance. While this could all be a misdirection, I don't see any reason to believe it is at the moment.

Sorry about the inconsistent update pace, you'll have the next one on Monday.

>>54747
Well, Youkai aren't technically exclusive to Gensokyo, and while this isn't a particularly strong point, I always thought Keine's schoolhouse was inside the village, not separate from it, and that there was only her for a teacher. This schoolhouse is on a hill a little ways away from the village, and has many classrooms and even a second floor and basement.

So as of yet, I see no compelling evidence to say that we are in gensokyo, except that the story is on THP. Yes I know, but I'm a doubtful person.

[x] I see stairs leading underground right past the entrance. Maybe some manner of basement wardrobe for the students, or something along those lines. It's dark down there.

I decide that going underground is probably the most likely choice that will result in actual clues. There's plenty of signs of some manner of struggle or armed conflict having taken place in the school at some point, and a basement would probably make for at least a fairly decent temporary shelter, maybe even protect a little bit from the worst of the heat.

I'd better hurry, though.

I make my way down the stairs into pitch black darkness. It's a good thing I augmented my vision earlier, or I wouldn't be able to see anything down here at all. I find a light switch, but it obviously doesn't work. Oh well. I decide to press forward, breaking through the flimsy metal barrier intended to keep intruders out of the basement, a worn old padlock falling to the floor in my wake, defeated.

It definitely seems to be a wardrobe of sorts, with rows of lockers heading along the featureless walls and the middle of the room. There seem to be storerooms or something at the back as well, and a little room right next to me which I presume to have belonged to whatever old man was paid to keep watch over wardrobe security. I decide to check in there first.
As expected, the door here is fairly well-preserved and sturdy, but fortunately it's not locked. Peeking inside, I see a rather outdated tiny little TV set, a whole bunch of old crosswords and sudoku puzzles, posters, a gun, a few books...

A gun?

That's odd. Sure, I brought a handgun and rifle myself when I came here, but I didn't expect to find anything of the sort here. I think it's a Colt something-or-other; the text engraved into the side is rather worn and hard to read, but the grip panels are decorated with a small metal circle with a picture of a rearing horse. Not that I'm any sort of gun nut myself, I pretty much had to go to a certain website's gun-nut board and ask them stupid questions to figure out what I should look into.
The thread quickly devolved into people telling made-up stories about how soccer moms freak out when they carry their guns with them while buying groceries and whatnot.

In any case, I decide to scavenge the room for any ammo I can find. Unfortunately, all I can find are empty casings on the floor, as well as a skeleton with a notable hole in its skull had previously been hidden under a cupboard that had fallen onto it at some point. With no real use for it, I decide to leave the handgun behind and keep exploring further.

It takes me a while to go through all these lockers. Most of them are either empty or have something utterly mundane in them, like shoes and the like - stuff you'd normally expect to find in a school wardrobe, y'know. I find a piece of paper that had slipped between a crack between the bottom of the locker interior and the back wall; it turns out to be a love letter, its intended recepient never having noticed it. Cute, tragic. I decide to pocket it for a reason I can't quite explain even to myself.

I can feel my pursuers getting closer, outside. Suddenly, lightning seems to crash into the building itself, and dust shakes loose from the ceiling as something up above crumbles. I'd better hurry and get out of here soon.

I decide to leave the rest of the lockers and instead head to the storeroom in the back, my last hope of finding something that'll give me my next goal or destination. Sure, I've scraped together some vague information with what I've found so far, but nothing I can actually -use-. All I know is that the fighting that took place in this school is most likely somehow connected to the cataclysm, and that I have some connection to the school itself as well. I can definitely feel a mild sense of nostalgia as I explore the ruined building, but the sheer amount of damage has warped the place so far from what it must've looked like in the past that even that emotion is fleeting at best, not nearly enough to jog my memory.

As for the store room door, it's locked, and the door appears far sturdier than the ones I kicked through before, despite having numerous deep scratches and gashes in it. It then occurs to me that I had looted a key in one of the classrooms; it's a bit of a long shot, but I try putting the key in the keyhole.

It fits. The key struggles to go all the way in just a little, but eventually the tumblers click into place and the key turns, opening the lock, yet not granting me entry yet. The door resists; I ram into it with my body weight, snapping in half a wooden broomstick that had been used to barricade the door against the handle from the inside.

Honestly, I was prepared for what I saw inside, but I still couldn't help but wince a bit.

Bones. Lots and lots of bones, some piled together, others strewn along the floor randomly. Some still arranged in the vague shape of what was once a person, curled up in a corner and awaiting death's embrace. There's so many that I can't avoid stepping on and shattering a dry bone or two as I look around the room. Most of the skeletons seem to belong to children or teenagers, with a few adults in the middle. It's a pretty gruesome sight, but I try not to dwell on the thought of what these people's last moments must have been like. Indeed, I don't really even know what happened down here, but they were definitely in here hiding from something, and stayed in hiding until they eventually perished.

I find a note on the floor, hidden under a thick layer of dust in a corner. I manage to brush off enough of the dust to make the text mostly legible. It's in Japanese, as is to be expected, so it's a little difficult for me to be certain about what symbol is what exactly in the state the note is in, but I manage to piece together what it seems to say.

...

Sensei,

Though it pains and disgraces me grately, I must leave you. The children are beginning to starve and fall ill after being cooped up in here so long. There is something wrong with the air.

<text garbled>

I shall go and find help, and return as quickly as possible. Please, I beg of you, do not lose hope, do not give up. I apologize once again that I must sneak away like this, but I know you would not let me leave otherwise.

I leave <White Tower Sword?> with you <text unreadable> knows how to fight with swords. It's up to her to protect you now.

I shall return, I swear this on my honor.

<the rest of the note seems to have been torn at some point>

...

I pocket the note and glance around the room some more. Indeed, I eventually come upon a sword in an ornately decorated scabbard, hidden in a supply closet. The scabbard seems to be decorated with images of cherry blossoms and white string, which have endured the test of time rather well, not seeming particularly faded at all once I dust it off a bit. I unsheathe the sword itself, slowly; the blade would surely glisten at me with blinding light, were there any down here for the steel to reflect. It's a strange dissonant feeling, to find something so pristine and untarnished in this wasteland, almost as if it had been left here yesterday. Not a single nick in the blade, it looks brand new. The length of the blade seems to be decorated by intricate etchings and engravings, with paper-thin pieces of ivory contained within in a manner I cannot imagine; whoever forged this thing was more of an artist than a blacksmith. While it's extremely pretty, and probably moreso if it were exposed to light, I can hazard a guess that this sword is just as effective as a weapon, too. The design on the blade, it seems more than decorative; almost like a m-...

...Ah. While I was admiring the craftsmanship, they've finally arrived.

-------

[] I decide to stay down here and barricade myself in the storeroom. Hopefully they won't bother looking down here...
[] Might as well get out of here.
-{} Fight.
--<> Use the rifle I brought. It probably won't do much to anything supernatural, and I'm not exactly an experienced marksman, but enough bullets will either take down or scare away anything.
--<> Use the sword. While I'm not particularly crazy about the idea of swinging the best clue I've found so far around as weapon, something in my gut tells me it'll be effective against whatever is out there.
--<> Use my power. Energy comes back over time, physical resources only last so long. Better to get rid of them quickly and efficiently, rather than waste time and risk attracting more of them... assuming using my power isn't what lured them in the first place.
-{} Run.
--<> (Optional) Use my power. I need to get as far away from here as I can, as fast as possible. Better to have these things eating my dust than biting at my heels.
[] (Write-in option.)

[x] Might as well get out of here.
-{x} Fight.
--<x> Be prepared to use your power, but don't attack until you're threatened.

We don't know what or who the thing is. The idea of shooting first and asking questions later only to find out that they were harmless after doesn't sit well with me.

(X) Baracade

[X] Might as well get out of here.
-{X} Fight.
--<X> Be prepared to use your power, but don't attack until you're threatened.

>Letter
Based on the writer's ownership of Hakurouken and sense of honor, I would guess it is Youki, but it doesn't make sense for him to call Yuyuko "sensei" by any stretch. It was probably referring to teacher(duh), who possibly was Keine.
The "but I know you would not let me leave otherwise" refers to the teacher not allowing Youki to leave, not out of technical authority, but out of concern for the obvious danger.
That we found the sword unmoved is a terrible sign, it means Youmu (and probably everyone beside Youki) did not leave this room and are all already dead around us.

[] Might as well get out of here.
-{} Fight.
--<> Use the sword. While I'm not particularly crazy about the idea of swinging the best clue I've found so far around as weapon, something in my gut tells me it'll be effective against whatever is out there.

I think it's a safe bet whatever out there is supernatural, which rules out bullets. His gut feeling accurately predicted the pursuers' presence, probable malice, and arrival. It's probable that they came here because they sensed him. It's too fishy. Be ready to fight for your life.

>White Tower Sword

Daaaamn it. Well, hush my mouth, seems like we ARE in gensokyo. And double damn it, this is going to get very depressing very fast, isn't it?

[] Might as well get out of here.
-{} Fight.
--<> Use the sword. While I'm not particularly crazy about the idea of swinging the best clue I've found so far around as weapon, something in my gut tells me it'll be effective against whatever is out there.

>>54867
All of the implications finding this sword implies are rather depressing as is.

If what I'm reading the clues correctly, it's probably going to be even more depressing than you think.

>>54870
Care to speculate out loud?

>>54872
No thank you. I think I'd spoil things pretty bad if I were to do so.

>>54872
Not >>54870, but I hazard a guess we're dealing with an Apocalypse Type 0 (no living organism of any kind exists within the affected area; Gensokyo in this case) with shades of Type 5 (the affected area physically ceases to exist as it did before, but remnants of it can still be found).

[] Might as well get out of here.
-{} Fight.
--<X> Be prepared to use your power, but don't attack until you're threatened

No reason to try out a random sword that we found because of a gut feeling.

[x] Might as well get out of here.
-{x} Fight.
--<X> Be prepared to use your power, but don't attack until you're threatened

We need to learn more about our power and its limits.

So this is Gensokyo?
Nope nope nope.

[X] Might as well get out of here.
-{X} Run.
--<X> (Optional) Use my power. I need to get as far away from here as I can, as fast as possible. Better to have these things eating my dust than biting at my heels.

No need to risk getting hurt in this hellscape. And it might not always be the best idea to fight.

[x] Might as well get out of here.
-{x} Fight.
--<x> Use the sword. While I'm not particularly crazy about the idea of swinging the best clue I've found so far around as weapon, something in my gut tells me it'll be effective against whatever is out there.

For some reason, I think this person is either Mokou or Momiji.

This oppressive feeling, this sense of dread one would feel while staring down a wild predator... It's simply unnatural, is what it is. There's no way whatever's out there could be human, right? Even so, I decide I'd best not be too hasty - one should always assess their situation before charging headfirst into danger. Who knows, maybe I can even reason with whatever's out there, though I sincerely doubt that.

I decide I'd best take the sword along and examine it later, when I'm not being stalked by mysterious creatures. The scabbard has a belt attached to it, which conveniently fits through the beltloops of my pants, leaving the sword hanging almost horizontally on my lower back. I try unsheathing and resheathing it a few times, just in case, and adjust it closer to my hip on one side for easier access.

However, I'd like to avoid dirtying or damaging it for now, at least until after I've gotten a better look at it. Still sensing the tangible aura of malice in the air, I slowly, stealthily make my way out of the basement, careful not to step on anything or do anything else that'd make noise or otherwise attract unwanted attention to myself. If only I had a cardboard box or something to hide under... although that would probably spontaneously combust in this heat.

In any case, I make my way to a broken window in one of the classrooms and peek outside, keeping most of my body out of sight. At first, I don't see anything except the usual vast empty grey wasteland, obfuscated by dense clouds of dust howling across the dunes. But then I realize that howling is getting louder. And closer. I suddenly get a hunch and pull back a bit, unfocusing my vision; I'd been subconsciously ignoring the dust particles in the air, but for the time being this was also making my pursuers largely invisible to me.

Indeed, the school is being circled by a pair of strange creatures, the source of the howling noise, steadily growing in pitch, as well as the dangerous, hateful aura permeating the air so thickly. At first glance one would probably not even notice their existence, dismissing them as part of the ceaseless dust storms ravaging the land. They superficially resemble small tornadoes, a couple of meters high, carrying assorted debris around within their swirling vortex. Scraps of cloth, bone and teeth whirling around chaotically, whistling as they cut through the air.

However, these whirlwinds are not mere elements of the hellish weather - they have a life of their own. At times, otherworldly lights flash inside the vortices, like demonic eyes scanning the area for prey. Their movements are not random, but more closely resemble a predator on the hunt, following a trail left by an unsuspecting animal. Even though the storm had erased my footprints, it was almost as if they had tracked me by my scent... or sensed my lifeforce directly. At times, when they stop moving to scan their surroundings, I could swear they almost seem to take on a vaguely humanoid form, the solid matter being carried along in their winds giving them a hazy sense of shape. The very air around them seems to blur and ripple, like a mirage above pavement on a hot summer day. Could these be some kind of youkai?

Suddenly, the sound of the wind whistling past corrupts into an incoherent screeching howl - one of them noticed me, and it flies straight at me, blasting its way through the remains of the broken window as it rockets into the classroom. I manage to pull away from the window just in time, the creature only grazing the edge of my cloak, instantly burning a large hole into its edge where its "arm" tried to swipe at me. I scramble to get back up on my feet just in time to see the monster recompose itself, its "body" appearing more solid due to it picking up stray shards of glass and bones from within the classroom itself. The spectral lights within its form float up to where a human's head would be, glaring right at me with murderous intent.

"Uh, hi. Nice weather, isn't it-..."

The beast lunges for me yet again before I can even finish my sentence, a wave of heat burning the skin on my face as I narrowly avoid its attack. Scraps of burned paper, shards of glass and other debris fly around the entire room like shrapnel, shattering against walls around me as if I were being shot at.
Tch, so much for hoping to reason with these things.

For heat-related reasons I haven't loaded my rifle yet - not that bullets would do much to this thing, probably - and I don't know what effect this monstrosity would have on the sword I found, so all I can rely on in this situation are my own bare hands. Well... That and my power, of course. I didn't want to overuse it too much this early in my journey, but dying here would probably be an even worse option. My vision is already augmented, so I should be able to see its attacks coming well in advance...

There. Compared to its previously lightning-quick attacks, the dust spirit seems to be moving almost in slow-motion, as long as I'm perfectly focused on its movements. Still, even though I move out of the way in the nick of time, I do not go unscathed, stray dust and other debris scraping at my skin and clothing, and the heat singing my eyebrows even from a distance; a direct hit would likely result in grievous injury, if not instant death. I can't focus on dodging forever, or this will be a simple battle of attrition for my foe.

I have to fight back.

But first, I need to figure out a way to harm this thing. It doesn't really have a physical body in the traditional sense, being more of a sentient hurricane of heat, carrying with itself shards of bone. Could it be some manner of vengeful spirit of the dead? It would make more sense than it being a mere youkai, at least - predators die out with their prey. As I think on this, the sword seems to almost vibrate in its scabbard, but I choose to ignore it for now.

It attacks again. I decide to mix things up a bit, and instead of avoiding it I take it head-on. Just before impact, as the heat becomes nigh-unbearable, my will projects a barrier in front of myself, the phantom beast colliding into it full-force. It is relatively unfazed by this, however, splitting in two on both my sides, reconverging behind me for a follow-up attack which I narrowly avoid. How do you fight the wind?

Or rather, maybe the wind isn't what I'm fighting here. Coming back to my previous theory about it being some manner of spirit, my attention is drawn back to the shards of bone and teeth whirling about inside the creature, at times converging near those spectral "eyes".

It's worth a shot.

I tap into my power again. It feels like drawing water from a well. I'd best be careful not to risk drying it out, but for the time being there's plenty for me to spend. At first, I focus on improving my overall agility and reflexes, so I wouldn't have to focus so hard on following the thing's movements. Once I get to a point where I can comfortably avoid its attacks on a semi-consistent basis, I keep drawing more power from the well. I drink deep of it.

It attacks again, never tiring, constantly surging at me, trying to tire me out until it can score a direct hit on me, frying me, flaying the charred skin from my flesh in a torrent of dust and bone. I project a forcefield of willpower in front of myself again, and once more the monster doesn't let itself feel intimidated in the slightest, crashing into it without even slowing down.

I release my power just as it collides with my shield, emitting a shockwave that pulverizes most of the physical debris upon impact. The spirit howls in response, having lost the majority of its solid form in an instant, halting its attacks for the time being and merely swirling around me like a small tornado, with me caught in the eye of the storm. I notice what it's trying to do - it's trying to pick up bone fragments from the corpses in the classrooms themselves.

"Oh no you don't," I mutter, projecting my will forward and dashing through the whirlwind surrounding me, leaping out of a window. My cloak gets caught on the broken glass, tearing a nasty gash through the fabric. I land into a rolling tumble, not quite managing to stop myself as the slippery dust sends me rolling further down the hill. Out here it's a lot more difficult to tell the dust spirits apart from the storm itself, but as long as I stay away from the ruins they won't have a way of regenerating their "bodies".

As I reach the bottom and get back up on my feet, I sense a stronger hostile presence than before; the second spirit has joined the first one, and they follow me down the hill, trails forming in the dust as they stir it up into the air with their currents. Before I can do anything else, they've surrounded me, orbiting me as a pair and cutting off all options of escape.

They attack in unison, making dodging much harder than before; even though I avoid the attacks themselves, I'm yet again punished by the sheer heat and stray shards of bone and glass that detach from their main bodies as they swipe at me. I can feel fatigue accumulating - even I can't endure much more of this. I tap into my power yet again, this time focusing entirely on attacks. One of us is going to be worn down eventually, and I have no plans of that being me. Fragments of demonic bone shatter, my clothes burn, the winds howl, my flesh feels like it's being cooked alive, the spirits frantically beat up dust around me to both blind me and to search for more bones, my skin becomes gradually more charred and blackened.

Suddenly, the two spirits collide with one another. For a moment, I wonder if one of them tripped or something, but then I realize what they're up to; before me, a vertical column of dust and debris extends upwards, three meters tall, four meters, five meters... The teeth and bone fragments assemble into something vaguely resembling the upper half of a human skeleton, its fingers long and scythe-like, the spectral lights embedding themselves into the eye sockets of the loosely-arranged skull shape, granting it an inhuman four-eyed visage. Scraps of cloth and paper wrap around the giant's limbs, keeping it from spreading apart, giving it solid form, parts of it bursting into flames from the sheer heat of the wind itself. The spirits' intent is to crush me with brute force, their wolf-like hit-and-run tactics foiled.

...Good. I was hoping they'd do something like this eventually.

Just as the flaming titan finishes assembling its body, my augmented vision detecting no further loose debris in its winds, I reach out my hand and lunge right towards it at full speed; before it can react, my hand enters the vortex, engulfed in impossible heat. As my flesh burns from my bones, I curl my fingers, as if grabbing onto an invisible object.

The winds stop.

And I clench my fist, engulfed in flames.

...

I black out for a second, but no longer than that. I can't quite tell whether that was from the exertion it took to use that much of my power in one go, or my human brain being unable to suppress that much pain without consequence. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, but it can only go so far. The wind picks back up, but it no longer carries with itself an otherworldly malice. A thick cloud of dust and ash descends upon my body, quickly scattered by the storm; the remains of the monster crumbling apart, the spirits set loose as practically nothing is left of their physical remains, their connections to the world finally severed. I take a look at my right hand, wincing at the gruesome sight of dead, black remnants of what was once flesh, and exposed bone.

This might take a long time to heal.

...

After catching my breath, I slowly rise to my feet again, the wind knocking me off-balance for a moment as I'm still light-headed from that battle. Lightning strikes nearby, but I can't hear the thunderclap, my brain having temporarily shut down non-mandatory bodily functions to aid in survival. My good hand subconsciously rests itself on the hilt of the sword, as if reminding myself of the journey I was on.

...

My right hand begins to sting a little. Things have a habit of getting worse before they get better.

-------

[] I decide to rest a while before continuing onwards. I need to recover energy, or I'll expire before I find what I was looking for.
[] I unsheathe the sword and examine it thoroughly. I can't afford to lose momentum, or more of those creatures might find me.

[] I decide to rest a while before continuing onwards. I need to recover energy, or I'll expire before I find what I was looking for.

[X] I decide to rest a while before continuing onwards. I need to recover energy, or I'll expire before I find what I was looking for.

That could've gone better.

The Hakurouken also is said to be able to slay 10 spirits in one slash, but I didn't see how that could have escaped being meta-knowledge.

>>54907
Pretty sure that's Roukanken.

[X] I decide to rest a while before continuing onwards. I need to recover energy, or I'll expire before I find what I was looking for.

>>54920
Ah, that's right, whoops. However, while confirming that on the wiki, I discovered something unexpected.

"Hakurouken ... has the power to dispel the confusion of those it cuts. That is, using it on humans will cause them minor pain and discomfort, while using it on ghosts will send them to nirvana.

Sorry about this, I'm really not good with weekends. Will have something today-tomorrow.
From this point on let's just assume probably no updates on weekends outside of exceptional situations.