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The bell above the Hakurei Shrine’s donation box hadn’t rung in weeks. Not that Reimu had noticed. She stood in the courtyard, her crimson bow hanging askew, her eyes fixed on a single, swirling purple sigil that floated before her.
She blinked. The shrine felt... smaller. Less important.
“You see, Hakurei,” Yukari murmured, stepping from a gap beside her, “your ‘balance’ has always been a cage. You protect a world that fears you.” reimu gets brainwashed
The sigil pulsed. Reimu’s pupils dilated, her mind unspooling like a reel of old prayer slips. Memories of youkai hunts—the thrill, the justice, the rightness of it—were scooped out, one by one. In their place, a warm, humming certainty settled.
Reimu nodded. A serene, broken smile touched her lips. She turned toward the village, pulling out a purification rod—but its talisman now glowed a deep, rotten violet. The bell above the Hakurei Shrine’s donation box
“Of course, Yukari-sama. I understand now.”
Yukari smiled, adjusting Reimu’s bow so it sat perfectly straight. “To protect the strong. To cull the humans who would disrupt our peace.” She blinked
“What is my purpose?” Reimu asked, her voice hollow as an empty gohei.