Tradition's End (A Touhou Project Fanfiction)

The End of the Longest Day Pt. 2

It's been a long day...

...

Even as the sun dipped its way below the horizon and the sky became awash in a warm orange glow, momentum kept the people of the Human Village moving. It was merely evening, after all. The whole place still buzzed with opportunity.

And, of course, the air was filled with voices. Whether they were hawking their wares or having conversations just a bit too loudly to be private, it all melded together into the familiar babble of daily village life.

"Mochiiiii~ Sweet and soft!"

"Come get yer ramen 'ere!"

"Stop by Geidontei for drinks tonight! Take advantage of our two-for-one special!"

He could only make out bits and pieces as he walked along. Everything else simply rolled off of his mind. He had very little capacity for much else at the moment.

On a normal day, he would have loved to have taken them up on their offers. Though... not tonight.

...

"All I'm saying is don't fold the maps."

"I didn't fold the maps!"

The voices of two bickering men briefly came into focus. He caught a glimpse of scrolls and rolled paper as they passed him by.

"Well, Youkai Mountain is a mess. There's a big crease right through Kappa Valley."

"But, I-"

"Roll the maps!"

...

Eric sighed.

He was tired.

Physically, he was drained. While he had been slowly getting used to the almost daily treks out to Alice's house, today had been harder than usual on his body. Healing magic was, as he was coming to realize, very taxing on his mana pool.

That, combined with the fact that he'd fought in an actual duel earlier... Well, it had all taken its toll on him.

Emotionally, he was not much better off. Eric felt as though he had gone through an entire spectrum of emotions today. Contentment, fear, rage, determination, worry, guilt, sorrow, love... The whole day had been a veritable emotional rollercoaster, even for him.

Everything felt just a bit more distant now, though he was confident that a good night's rest would set him right.

And, mentally? Well, the revelations that Alice had shared with him, along with the heavy emotional baggage that accompanied them, still occupied his thoughts, despite his best efforts to quell them.

The nature of her grimoire and Makai, her former home, were fascinating in their own right, but what had captured him the most was what she had lost, and the profound grief that she carried with her.

It was difficult for him to think of much else.

He knew where she was coming from; he really did. Losing her home, family, and entire way of life. It reminded him strongly of his own experience. Too strongly, in fact. He thought that he had dealt with all of that pain already.

However...

It had truly, genuinely hurt to see just how deeply her anguish had cut her. To be shown the wounds hidden within her heart.

There was no way that he could have ignored something like that.

He wanted to help. He wanted to soothe her soul. He wanted to try and make it better, by any means necessary.