PROLOGUE
MEMORIES OF A LOST HOME

Location: Korean Peninsula, near the border…
Date: many, many years ago…

The village was in total devastation. No trace of survivors was to be found, and the scale of damage suggested that it was wiped out in one decisive attack. The air was foul, the voice of death echoing and the smell of decaying flesh so dire even the toughest scavengers would rather stay away. The only sign of life visible was two mysterious persons standing near a dry fountain, and neither of them was saying anything about the scene.

"Well, what does your mind have to say?" one of the persons asked and lowered the parasol she was holding.

"None of the villagers was spared, it seems," the other person spoke, even as his trench coat was flapping with the blowing wind. "Just by looking at the damage you can already tell."

The parasol lady batted an eyebrow. "Hmm? I bet my familiars will prove the otherwise," she said and gestured to two figures - a cat girl and a fox woman across the field. "Or is it perhaps you knew there would be survivors but you chose not to tell?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It's not my job to foretell."

"Miss Ran! I found something!" the cat girl cried out as she waved from the top of rubbles. The fox woman rushed to meet the cat girl who was excitedly pointing towards something, and she immediately alerted the parasol lady and the man in trench coat. "There it is! Look! Look!" All eyes were focused on what perhaps was the most horrendous sight any of them had ever witnessed. With the exception of the cat girl the fox woman covered her gaping mouth, the man in trench coat coughed to get rid of the stench clogged inside his throat while the parasol lady just made a long, static gaze.

"Who could have done this heartless act?" the fox woman asked and approached the limp body of a woman stabbed by many spears. "She's still alive! Miss Yukari! Mister Lone Wolf!"

The parasol lady ran ahead of the man in trench coat and rushed towards the woman. She knelt beside her, not taking care of the spears that were riddling her body. The only words spoken as the barely conscious woman realized her presence were stuck inside her throat and they would not come out even after she forced herself to speak.

"You're finally here…" the woman spoke, her voice barely audible. "I thought… we wouldn't meet again…"

"I'm sorry. The news reached my place too late," the parasol lady said. "What happened? How did this village end up like this?"

"He was too powerful…" the woman answered. "…our combined strength was not enough to defeat him…" She lifted a hand, which was quickly seized by the parasol lady, and it trembled when she gave it a gentle squeeze. "Miss Yukari… I couldn't even… become strong…"

"Don't say anything," the parasol lady told her. "Just don't say anything."

"I'm sorry…" she sobbed. "I'm so sorry…"

The man in trench coat approached the woman. "Tell me who did this." When she mentioned the word 'Whistler' the sudden change of emotion could be seen on his face. "How could he do this? Whistlers are supposed to protect, not destroy." He produced a combat knife out of his elongated sleeve and stared into the woman's eyes as he continued: "this has gone too far. I cannot allow this to happen again."

"Lone Wolf? Do you think your strength alone can solve this problem?" the parasol lady asked.

"I wish I could answer," he said. "But alas, what can this lone wolf do?" He was about to leave when he heard a baby crying not far. Helped by the cat girl he searched for the source of the voice and found a baby inside a cradle from beneath piles of house remains. "He's fine. Whose baby is this?"

The woman could only smile, albeit weakly, when she saw the baby. "My child… my beloved and only child…" She turned back to the parasol lady and gave her a final squeeze on her hand. "Miss Yukari… will you do me a favour?"

"Anything, dear," she replied and clenched the hand tightly. "Tell me what your favour is."

"…please take care of my baby…" she murmured. "And… please give him the name both of us had agreed with…"

The parasol lady nodded. "I will. I promise you I will, Widuri."

Her smile widened. "Thank you, Miss Yukari…" Her hand became limp, turned cold and began slipping off her grasp before it dropped onto the soil. The parasol lady fell silent, speechless at the death she had witnessed. Neither the cat girl nor the fox woman wanted to speak anything for fear of invoking her wrath, knowing that she was in deep anguish over the event.

Finally she stood up, gestured at the familiars to take care of the body, and approached the man in trench coat. "Here," he said and handed over the baby. "She had entrusted you with this child. It's your responsibility now."

"This valley will have to be sealed," she said as she was cradling the baby in her arms. "So that nobody will learn of its existence in the first place."

"When I thought I could come here; I heard it was a beautiful place to begin with," he sighed. "What's your plan next?"

"I'll take this baby back to Gensokyo and raise him until he's ready to fend for himself," she answered. "Then I'll tell him to return to his home world and start his own life. You can arrange for that to happen, can't you?"

"Consider it done," he told her. "So what name to give him?"

She stared at the baby that had fallen asleep in her arms. "I'll use the ancient name of this place in honour of his mother." She declared the name aloud. "…or in your native tongue, the valley of eternal magnolia."

"Fitting name, I see."

She nodded. "It will fit him, indeed."