The whole group was back in Patchy Library.
Almost like they were trying to yet, each other across the room
Koakuma and Sakuya bored everyone with tea.
Patchouli set her teacup down with a soft clink, the sound somehow loud in a room where everyone was very clearly trying not to yell at each other. Even Moukou and Sanae sat stiffly, arms crossed, still shooting occasional glares across the table. Youmu kept her hand on her sword. Marisa kept a hand on her hat. Remilia kept a hand on her forehead.
And Reimu?
Reimu was busy feeding Chris sweets one bite at a time while holding him protectively on her lap like a mother hen guarding the world's smallest nuclear warhead.
Only Sakuya and Koakuma looked relaxed—because they had already resigned themselves to the chaos.
Patchouli tapped the Grimoire's cover. Its emerald slit-pupil eye blinked back at her.
"Now," she began, "before we address what this book is—and why it reacted to your child—"
"He's not a child," Moukou muttered.
"He is absolutely a child," Reimu muttered louder, pulling Chris a little closer.
Patchouli ignored them both.
"I need to explain the basics of Norse cosmology," she said, folding her hands together. "Specifically, the being known as Níðhöggr."
The Grimoire hissed quietly, as if pleased with the name.
Sanae blinked. "Like… the dragon who eats the roots of Yggdrasil?"
Patchouli nodded. "The very same. In the mythology, Nidhogg gnaws upon the roots of the World Tree, feeds on the corpses of the dead, and represents a force of decay, endings, and punishment. A counterbalance to the order of the Aesir."
Marisa raised a hand. "So, uh… why is there a book with that thing's name sitting in your library?"
The Grimoire's eye narrowed at her.
Patchouli sighed. "Because, unfortunately, it is not just a book."
Reimu paused mid-bite of feeding Chris. "…Then what is it?"
Patchouli gestured around the room as floating runes appeared, painting a diagram of a massive dragon coiled around a great tree.
"A fragment," she said.
"A sealed consciousness."
"A piece of Nidhogg's will, preserved and condensed into a grimoire during a long-forgotten magical conflict."
The room collectively leaned forward.
Youmu squinted. "So… it's alive?"
The Grimoire blinked twice.
"Yes," Patchouli said flatly. "Regrettably."
"So why did it react to Ryusei?!" Reimu snapped, clutching Chris a bit too hard, earning a small squeak from him.
Patchouli turned toward the boy—toward the faint golden shimmer behind his eyes.
"Because," she said softly, "Nidhogg feeds on endings.
On cycles.
On souls with deep karmic weight."
She pointed to Chris.
"And he is the first person to enter this Mansion in centuries with a Golden Soul. A soul of destiny. A soul that has… died wrong."
Everyone froze.
Even the Grimoire.
Patchouli continued.
"Nidhogg seeks such souls. Not to devour, but to bind. To use. To cling to them like a parasite of fate."
Marisa swallowed. "And Chris has that kind of soul?"
"Yes," Patchouli said. "And the Grimoire recognized him instantly. That is why it drew power from him."
The Grimoire pulsed, its pages fluttering as ghostly writing appeared on the surface—binding sigils, commands, warnings.
"Luckily," Patchouli said, "he did not unleash Nidhogg's true power. He only triggered its instinctual defense mechanism—the Chains of Ending. The kind that suppress and nullify other powers."
Reimu stiffened. "You're telling me he accidentally used a world-ending dragon's power and didn't even realize it?"
Patchouli nodded.
Chris, still nibbling a sweet, lifted a hand timidly.
"…Sorry?"
The entire room groaned.
Patchouli, however, smiled just slightly.
"Do not apologize. You did well—even if unintentionally."
She turned the Grimoire over, the eye watching Chris with predatory curiosity and… something like recognition.
"Now," Patchouli said, standing fully, her robes shifting like old parchment.
"Let me tell you the story of the three souls Nidhogg desires most…
And why your boy has already become its favorite."
Patchouli moved her hand, as it shows the sealing had changed like most. "In Human time, there were 3 Souls"
Then Orbs of White, Red and Golden were shown to the group, as they moved around. "The White Soul of Grown and Change, the Soul most Common and the one everyone almost has, The Red Soul of Anger and Vengeance, people who were killed with hate in their life and their soul absorbs that hate, becoming hate and Vengeance themselves".
Chris moved at that, Reimu thought he got scared by seeing the red Soul, but in reality, he already knew who had that soul.
Patchouli let the golden orb rise from her palm, its glow spilling across the library walls like a miniature sun.
"The Golden Soul," she continued, her voice gentler now, "is the rarest of all. A soul of Purity… and Destiny. One appears only once every millennium."
Everyone stared at the floating orb, mesmerized—everyone except Chris.
Reimu noticed the way his shoulders tightened, as if a weight he didn't ask for had just been dropped on him. She stepped closer, concern slowly replacing irritation.
"…Chris?" she whispered.
But Chris wasn't looking at the golden orb.
His eyes were fixed on the red one.
Patchouli drifted her hand and the red soul orb hovered closer. "The Red Soul," she repeated. "Wrath, Vengeance… a soul twisted by its own hatred. People who die filled with rage often become this. They don't move on normally."
Chris's jaw tightened. He didn't flinch from the redness, the burning aura around it—he recognized it. Too well.
Reimu saw it immediately.
This wasn't fear.
This was familiarity.
Patchouli, oblivious to Chris's internal turmoil, continued her lecture with a sigh. "The three souls rarely interact, but they define the balance of human reincarnation. And yet…" She pointed to the golden orb now hovering protectively behind Chris. "This one has chosen him."
Marisa whistled low. "Damn. So that's why the chains went berserk."
"So that's why the Grimoire reacted," Patchouli corrected sharply. "Golden Souls are magnets for ancient magic. Artifacts—even sealed ones—respond instinctively."
Chris looked down at his hands. They were still trembling slightly, though he tried to hide it.
Reimu placed a hand on his shoulder. "Chris… is there something you're not telling us?"
He didn't answer.
But the Grimoire drifting behind him shivered like a loyal beast sensing danger—
and the golden orb quietly circled him, as though guarding something far more fragile than any of them realized.
Reimu crossed her arms, staring at Chris as if trying to peer straight into his soul. "Alright, then explain it. Why did that thing—" she jabbed a finger at the Grimoire hovering behind him, "—pick you? Why a Golden Soul? What does that even mean for you?"
Chris didn't answer right away.
Instead, he took a slow breath, eyes still lingering on the drifting red orb Patchouli had shown earlier.
"…The Golden Soul is rare, right?" he finally said, voice quiet. "It… attracts things. Ancient things. Magic older than civilizations."
Patchouli nodded approvingly. "Correct. Golden Souls are beacons. They draw in miracle-level artifacts, divine relics, and—unfortunately—disasters."
"Great," Reimu deadpanned. "So he's basically a trouble magnet with legs."
Chris winced. "Not entirely wrong…"
The Grimoire thumped open midair—as if offended—and flipped its pages aggressively, glowing with golden runes. Chris startled and held up his hands.
"See?! This is what I mean!"
Marisa snorted. "Looks more like a puppy than a disaster."
Patchouli sighed. "An ancient puppy capable of rewriting magical law."
That shut everyone up real fast.
Patchouli raised her book again, letting an ancient diagram appear in shimmering light.
"Now… as for Nidhogg."
Her voice dropped, the room chilling slightly.
Everyone leaned in.
"Nidhogg was a devourer," Patchouli explained. "A cosmic serpent that fed on roots—foundations—of worlds. Magic foundations, soul foundations… even conceptual foundations."
Reimu scowled. "And what does that have to do with Chris?"
Patchouli gestured to the Grimoire now calmly circling Chris like a loyal guardian.
"Because this Grimoire is one of Nidhogg's Fragments. A piece of its power and essence that broke off when the beast was destroyed. Most fragments are hostile, hungry, destructive."
The room tensed.
"And yet," Patchouli continued, eyes narrowing at the golden aura wrapped around Chris, "this one imprinted on him."
"Why though?" Mokou asked. "Why stick to him like he's its damn owner?"
Patchouli shook her head. "Fragments choose power. The Golden Soul is both irresistible and stabilizing. It pulled the Fragment out of dormancy."
The Grimoire bumped gently against Chris's shoulder, as if confirming the statement.
He jumped.
Everyone stared.
Patchouli let out a long, exhausted sigh.
"Lucky for all of you… out of all the other Fragments, this one isn't evil. After all, neither is Envy entirely evil."
Mokou blinked. "What?"
Patchouli smacked her forehead so hard Marisa flinched.
"Each Fragment represents a sin or virtue! This one isn't evil—just chaotic."
The Grimoire spun in a circle, letting out a delighted magical fwip.
Chris groaned.
Reimu placed a hand on her forehead.
And Marisa laughed.
"Oh yeah. This is gonna be fun."
Chris stared at the Grimoire with a mix of suspicion and betrayal, then slowly lifted a shaky finger and pointed at the blinking green eye.
"D-Do… it… speak?" he asked, stumbling over his Japanese again.
Reimu blinked, somehow understanding him perfectly anyway. "What, the book? Why—"
Patchouli cut in, raising an eyebrow like she'd been waiting for that exact question.
"Yes," she said plainly. "It speaks. But only to the ones a Fragment has bonded with."
She pointed at Chris and the Grimoire hovering protectively behind him.
"In your case… only you can hear it. And only inside your mind."
Chris froze.
The Grimoire's eye blinked once.
Then twice.
Then—very loudly inside Chris's head—
'HELLO NEW FRIEND.'
Chris nearly jumped out of Reimu's lap.
Reimu grabbed his shoulders, startled. "Chris?! What happened?!"
He pointed frantically at the book again. "I—It—It scream at me—!"
'I did not scream,' the voice corrected cheerfully inside his skull.
'I enthusiastically introduced myself.'
Chris paled.
Marisa burst out laughing. "Oh gods, he got the talkative one!"
Patchouli pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Of course. Of course this Fragment ends up being extroverted chaos."
The Grimoire bounced in the air.
"I like sweets. Feed me."
Chris's soul briefly left his body.
Sanae leaned forward, hands on her knees, staring at the floating Grimoire with a mixture of fascination and unease.
"Are… all the Fragments Grimoires?"
Patchouli adjusted her glasses, already preparing to dismantle that assumption.
"No. Only this one—Eidolon Gluttony—and the Fragment of Kindness take the form of Grimoires."
She pointed to the eye on the cover, which blinked as if proud of its uniqueness.
"The others manifest differently. Each Fragment has its own form, its own nature, and its own method of bonding with a host."
Sanae blinked. "So they're all like… magical artifacts?"
Patchouli shook her head.
"Artifacts. Familiars. Living beings. Cursed spirits. Divine echoes. Some are objects, some are creatures, some are… something in between."
She gave a pointed look at the Grimoire.
"This one just happens to be a book. A very rude book."
The eye narrowed defensively.
'I resent that.'
Chris flinched. "It, uh… said that wasn't nice…"
Patchouli closed her eyes, massaging her temples.
"Yes. I heard it through you. Wonderful. It's already getting attitude."
Patchouli dusted off her dress, exhaled through her nose, and pointed one elegant, unamused finger directly at Remilia.
"Alright. With all that explained… end the Mist, Remilia."
The vampire froze. "Patchy, you can't order me, the own—"
She stopped.
Patchouli wasn't glaring.
Patchouli wasn't scolding.
Patchouli was staring directly into her soul core, the kind of look that said I will turn you into a magically-preserved paperweight.
"…Yes."
Remilia squeaked the answer out instantly.
A few minutes later…
One floor above the basement, Remilia led the group to a large device—brass pipes, glowing red crystals, pressure gauges that absolutely should not be shaking that violently.
The Scarlet Mist Engine.
Everyone stared.
Marisa deadpanned, pointing to a single metal switch with an On engraving.
"So lemme get this straight… We just flip this thing up, and the Mist and those fire chains in the sky go poof?"
Reimu squinted. "Is it actually that simple?"
Sakuya coughed politely. "Milady… your 'grand schemes' tend to be… straightforward."
Remilia puffed up. "I'll have you know it took weeks of elegant planning—!"
Patchouli flicked the switch herself.
CLICK.
The entire castle trembled.
A deep wooooosh echoed outside as the crimson sky began fading back to normal.
Marisa crossed her arms. "Yep. Simple."
Reimu nodded. "Too simple."
Behind them, the Grimoire opened one page and wrote on its own:
'Even I could've turned that off.'
Chris whispered, "…It said it was easy."
Patchouli sighed. "Of course it did."
Reimu slowly turned her head toward Remilia, smile calm… but not nice.
"Now then," she said sweetly. "About the kid whose blood you took—the one who fell into your mansion. The one Patchy told us about."
Her eyes sharpened.
"Where. Is. She?"
Remilia froze like a deer in headlights.
Sakuya, ever dutiful, raised one gloved hand and pointed straight downward.
"…The basement, Miss Reimu."
There was a pause.
A long one.
Marisa squinted at Sakuya. "Okay, why did you say 'basement' like it's the same tone people use for Final Boss Dungeon?"
Sakuya didn't blink. "Because it is."
Reimu blinked in supirse. "You have a dungeon."
Sakuya noded with her eyes close."A very organized one."
Patchouli, sipping tea: "She alphabetized the torture devices."
Chris looked with a horrified toddler stare
Mokou just sighed "Why am I not surprised…"
Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Fine. Lead the way. But if anything jumps out, traps us, tries to kill us, or monologues, I'm burning it down."
Remilia coughed politely. "Ah—about that—"
Patchouli sighed. "We should probably hurry before Flandre wakes up."
Everyone froze.
Marisa: "…Wait.
FLANDE?"
Sakuya nodded like she was announcing today's lunch special.
"Yes. The child is in the same wing."
Reimu, dead inside "…Of course she is."
To be continued
Hope people like this Ch and give me Power stones and enjoy