Alexander said:
Gonna say, there are a lot of crossovers in this quest, even if only for the background...
Yes; all...two, three of them? Let's see, besides Counter Monkey; which is D&D, there's Old Man Henderson from Call of Cthulhu and then Touhou from this latest chapter. That's it. Unless I missed one.
And yes; Gilgamesh is meant to be this quest's version of the Lady of Pain, you have Hymn of Ragnarok to thank for that. You
could've ended up with regular Gil or F/P Gil, but nope; he had to roll the 99, which lets me pick the
fun option.
But...let me tell you a story; a brief story, but a good one nonetheless:
Once upon a time, there was a shrine maiden and a magician; the magician, both curious and jealous of her peers and their servants, decided to make one of her own. Using potent magics; she forged a vessel, to which she would summon a recently deceased or wandering soul to serve as her servant.
However, instead of summoning a wandering spirit; she called forth the soul of a King. Irate at being called only to serve; he struck the witch down, as well as slaying her friend; who fled to the heavens to escape his fury, to no avail.
When the King gazed upon the land he was summoned to, he declared; "This beautiful land interests me; therefore I shall indulge myself on all there is to do in this realm. For the world is my garden, to do with as I will."
So he journeyed and found himself in a field of sunflowers. Bored, he decided that he will harvest the seeds; to see if they would taste well. Doing so however, enraged the guardian spirit who protect the flowers. The spirit struck at him, but the King was unharmed; for his endless treasury had many armaments to protect him, and best the demon of the field.
Then he journeyed once more, finding himself in the realm of ghosts. Again struck by tedium; he harassed the souls of the departed who were stuck here, those with no ego or emotion. Little better than mindless beasts, beating on them and watching them scurry about was amusing to the King.
But again, a guardian appeared; one who was both mortal and spirit. With speed nearing that of the Sun's golden rays; she struck at the King, to slay him in an instant. But for the King who had outrun the Sun and it's reach; it was too slow, and again was a guardian who defied him struck down.
This angered the queen of the realm; who came forth and gave her verdict: death to he who broke the laws of the netherworld. And when the verdict is death, the queen's word is made manifest. However, once again did the treasury of the King best this threat to his being; nullifying the foul magics that allowed the queen to rob lives so easily. The king left the land of the dead, laughing all the while.
Again on his travels was he stopped; this time by a horned demon. Hearing rumors of the King's strength, the demon wanted to fight him; to see who was the strongest. The King, again bored, obliged; and so they fought. And again did the King win, for though the demon was strong indeed; the strongest in physical might in all the land in fact, the King was he who fought Humbaba and Gugalanna. The guardian of the realm of the gods, who strength even worried the gods themselves; and the Bull of Heaven who shook the world with the mere movement of his hooves, and who could break and sunder it on a whim.
The demon beaten, the King continued to travel the land and stumbled upon a lake shrouded in mist. There he met a fairy, childish and simple minded. It declared itself the strongest and challenged the King to a duel.
Such a thing make the King laugh; how bold! How stupid! Truly this is a creature that lacked common sense or reason! So amused by the little fairy, that he decided to 'accept' the challenge; with a stipulation: the fairy would choose the tools of her demise.
The fairy, with confusion and innocence, choose a golden bow and blessed chains. Seeing which treasures were chosen annoyed the King; but it mattered not, he said it would choose it's demise and it did. Bound by the Chains of Heaven and doused by the Surge of Utnapishtim; it was obvious who had died.
Immortals, Gods, demons, mortals; all the denizens of the land were suffering under the King's merrymaking at their expense. The shrine maiden who enforced the balance and who maintained the sanctity of the land had perished; yet forbidden to pass on and truly die, lest the land fall to ruin. Seeing the destruction being wrought; one of the great protectors of the land, one who divided this wonderland from the base and dull outside world, came forth to oppose the King.
"You who ruins the balance and peace of Gensokyo; yield or perish before my might," demanded the protector.
"I refuse; I am King, I have the right to do as I will. You may try to stop me by force, but you will fail; as all others before you have," taunted the King.
So they fought. For days they fought, the absolute authority and power of the protector against the endless treasury and might of the King. A perfect stalemate that neither could overcome; or so the protector thought.
The King demanded, "Yield, and protect the land; I grow tired of this and seek to end it. If you do not want to see that which you protect annihilated before you, do as I say; lest we destroy that which we fight over. Then we will continue our battle anew."
Confused, the protector did as she was asked; and created a second world over the first, so that the land would not be harmed. She could not believe that she would lose, that this boast of a mere mortal was true. Then, the King called forth his greatest treasure; and unmade the World, bringing it back to the primordial chaos from which it was born.
And thus did he begin it's birth anew. And the protector could do nothing; for she drew her power from the laws of the world and how they obeyed her will. In the time before these laws were formed, she was powerless; and faced the hellish waste that existed before the World was born, along with the force that divided Heaven and Earth.
The protector survived; barely. By enforcing the laws from within her being was she able to survive, but she was on the brink of death. And she was forever scarred; for few may gaze upon what came before and and come out unscathed. For one who's existence was forged from the laws of the world, it was even worse to gaze upon that chaotic wasteland.
Standing over his beaten foe; the King laughed and cried out, "I alone stand triumphant among Heaven and Earth! None exist who are my equal; and any who dare refute this may challenge me! And weep, for you will fall as all who came before you have; and all who come after you will as well."
"So, are there any who dare refute the will of the King?"
Silence. Absolute silence, for there were none left who had the will or the power to challenge the King. Smug in his triumph; he began to wander once more, looking for a new distraction to amuse him.
Then a voice spoke out, "I challenge you, O might King. For your tyranny shall end here, and you shall again learn Humility."
But that...is another story, for another time.