A Midsummer Fairy's... Dream?

[Eternity Larva]

A black void.

Complete silence.

The butterfly fairy tried to blink her eyes, but couldn’t. Her limbs, dull and unresponsive. Even her wings, energetic as they are, had went numb. She started to worry. What happened to her? Why couldn’t she move? Just what is this place, and why is she here?

…

After a brief forever, she recalled something.

Wasn’t she sleeping? If so, then she might just be dreaming. Yeah, that doesn’t sound too far-fetched. Maybe, this is all just a bad dream… wait a second, how can she be sure it’s just that? This is Gensokyo, after all. Eternity knew, even with a fairy’s forgetfulness, that there were as many kinds of youkai as there are stars in the sky. This could very well be the work of a dream youkai, if that existed. Well, it doesn’t matter. She was completely at the mercy of her captor-

In the infinite darkness, a white figure emerged.

Aha! This must be the culprit: the bug-catcher. Who else could it be? The look was completely unknown to her - or maybe she could not remember - and it certainly did not look like any youkai she’d ever seen. In fact, it was much closer to that of a human boy, like those daring children she saw who had strayed way too far from their village.

“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse.”

Omni? What a strange name. She'd heard odd names before, but nothing like this kind. If this “Omni” really meant what he said, that he had taken her from Gensokyo... then wouldn’t that make him a really powerful person? He’d be like a god! But what god would deal with a mere fairy like-

“You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”

She was startled by Omni’s quick response. It’s almost like he can read her mind, or something. But then again, he was possibly a god. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised? She watched as the chalk-colored deity had summoned a brilliant, multi-colored orb from nothing, and let it drift to the now-captivated fairy.

“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.”

Eternity’s hands - wait, her hands? - reached out, like a proboscis craving for sweet, sweet nectar. The glowing orb found its home in her palms, and began to dissolve into her very being.

An odd feeling washed over the fairy; one that was familiar, and exciting. The feeling of astonishing strength. It's as if her life-force would overflow and spill everywhere any second now. Overflowing life-force? Now she remembered. It reminded her of the door. The one on her back that midsummer day, which filled her with great energy. And it was happening again.

She was thrilled to feel so powerful once more. It felt incredible. She needed more of this “Omnilium”.

“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.”

It was a bit concerning, being put in a place filled with unfamiliar faces. However, if this Omni pulled her from Gensokyo, that meant he’s aware of the fantastic land. Maybe he could’ve pulled others from there, as well? Maybe, she might even find her friends? While it seemed unlikely, there was no reason to stop hoping either.

“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”

The figure vanished as quickly as he appeared. Was that all he would say? The fairy had more questions to ask than she started with-

Before she could react, the darkness already began to devolve into static, resembling small crystals flipping and spinning in the air. Her eyes blinked for the first time in a long while. The restraints on her limbs began to loosen, as if the chains holding her back would shatter if she struggled hard enough. Everything was coming back to her, being bombarded in a tactile shower of pins and needles. Then finally-

Whoosh.

An ocean of white.

[Eternity Larva]

In the middle of someplace, a little girl found herself staring at cracked marble.

Even from a sitting position - which the butterfly fairy realized she was in - she saw that the fountain, though derelict and ravaged in vines, had a texture as pristine as the clear water that spewed forth. The liquid escaped through the cracks to form little rivulets, nurturing green grass and flowers of all kinds in its path. To her, the sight of nature in this “Omniverse” was comforting, almost beautiful, really. However, the image could not be fully appreciated, for her eyes watched the greenery give way to cruel, white nothingness.

Confused and quite disoriented, the girl tried to find her bearings.

Eternity swayed her head left and right, but the fairy could not make anything of the pale expanse. Where she was, the fountain, looked to be the only consolation in a thousand, perhaps even a million steps. There was no road to take. No wildlife nor vegetation. Not even a stranger who could show her the way around. The white lands were completely devoid of… almost anything, really, save for this patch of grass and a few specks on the horizon.

Unfortunately, she was lost.

After a tedious search, Eternity finally lowered her head, as if in defeat. “I really hope this is just  some weird dream…” she said, hands scratching her already-ruffled cyan hair. She got by in Gensokyo just going with the flow, content with riding the waves of everybody in their big yet small world. However, the Omniverse, and in some way the god that visited her, seemed to be explaining that the fairy would have to ride her own waves.

The girl stood up and walked to the fountain of life, as if it held some deep, dark secret.

As she pondered about this new world, Eternity leaned slightly over the basin. Her hands cupped the clear pool of water, before splashing it onto her face. As the water dripped, she admired its refreshing coolness, a nice contrast to the overwhelming events these past… minutes? Hours? How much time had really elapsed, she didn’t know. The words of Omni echoed relentlessly in her mind, like she was trying to decipher some demonic book with an enigmatic code. “Just think of what I desire most…”

…

For some reason, her mind came to a sunflower. Why a sunflower of all things?! She doesn’t even need a sunflower, much less desire it! There were so many other things she could have come up with... Either way, the fairy thought it useless to fuss over. Her main goal is to figure out what this Omnilium can really do. If it didn’t work, it was worth a try. She quietly focused, retaining every detail of the large yellow flower in her thoughts. In a short while, it started to feel  like something wanted to escape, to lurch out of her form. She held her hand out.

To the little girl’s surprise, the familiar prismic substance began to emerge!

The curious butterfly watched with awe as glittering, rainbow-like Omnilium began to trickle from her fingers, coagulating into a floating mass. Her wings fluttered with excitement. This power truly is amazing! Even a fairy could realize the new horizons such an ability would have; the power to create. The substance slowly, yet surely, morphed into the very thing she had imagined. One side lengthened to form a long stem, the other side began to bud out and form the shape of petals. Before long, her hands were feeling a true-to-life sunflower, as if she had just plucked one straight from the Garden of the Sun.

In the end, the girl realized that if there were others exactly like her…

If Eternity had not been at awe with the power of a god before, then she definitely is now. After snapping out of her reverie, the fairy discovered that one could also break down things into Omnilium, reserving it for much grander uses in this world. Once more, she glanced around the lands. The fountain, the grass, the blank space, the specks on the horizon. It felt like an eternity had passed, yet everything remained in its static place. Nevertheless, the girl had a new appreciation for this universe. Limitless potential, infinite possibility. The Omniverse really can be shaped by the wishes of those within it.

...then she would be grateful to see the world they had created.

There were eight black dots. From this far, they could be anything. Grand civilizations, gateways to new worlds, magnificents creations of a powerful god, perhaps even of those who came before the fairy. This mix of curiosity and wonder filled her with the resolve to move forward. She hoped that the people summoned by Omni would be welcoming of her presence. Perhaps, even some of those she knows might be in this world. No matter how small the chance, she childishly held onto that pleasant wish. Fairies are just children, after all.

It was time to make her own waves in this world.

The girl stretched out her arms, her wings flittering with energy in preparation for the long haul. “If nobody’s coming to me, then I’ll be the one to come to them!” In one beat, she was flying at incredible speed, dashing towards a black speck she had randomly picked.

With a newfound fervor, the midsummer fairy began her journey in this strange dream; the Omniverse.

[Eternity Larva]

In the middle of nowhere, butterfly wings zipped across the stark white of the Nexus.

A terrible pain had been telling Eternity to stop and take a rest. It seems like she underestimated the strain of flying this much, even when she noted it was not an easy distance to cover. Despite that, the fairy’s wings fluttered on clumsily, her sights set on the speck which - in her vision - had grown into a large arch of plants overgrown.

Just a bit more...

. . .

After what felt like forever, she finally arrived at her destination. Aiming for a soft landing, instead the fairy stumbled onto the white floor before coming to a stop. Eternity was convinced to take this moment to rest; her breathing was heavy, and the aching feeling of fatigue did not relent.

As the pain began to fade away (thankfully), she glanced towards the gateway now at her front. The gate appeared very tall; it was about three times her height. Inside, the arch held an image of forestry and nature - an image familiar to Eternity. In fact, the image reminded her somewhat of the Forest of Magic in Gensokyo - of home. If Eternity were a bit more ignorant, she would have no problems believing this was the Forest of Magic.

She’s not like the others, though. She loves knowing things. And right now, this gateway could answer her questions.

The fairy recovered from her tiring dash in a few, silent minutes. Before Eternity knew it, she had taken the incentive to step through the gateway.