Patchouli led me into her library, the air heavy with the st of old paper and dust. I had expected the pce to be in ruins, remembering the stories of Reimu's rampage and Fndre's wild pytime. But not a single book was out of pce. The shelves were perfectly anized, stretg high into the shadows above. It was like stepping into another world—a world of knowledge as.

  "Wele back, Master," a soft voice greeted us.

  I looked to see a red-haired girl with small devil wings—Koakuma, Patchouli's assistant who smiled politely at me.

  Patchouli settled into her usual chair, her gaze fixed on me. "Let's talk about your vampire powers first. Sit down."

  I took a seat across from her, my mind still rag from everything I'd seen today. Remilia's overwhelming power, Fndre's chaotic strength, and now... this. I had three days to prepare, and I wasn't going to waste a sed.

  Patchouli sipped her coffee, her eyes never leaving me. "Vampires are powerful, but they have their weaknesses. I'll expio you. Take notes if you must."

  I quickly pulled out a notebook, ready to write dowhing she said.

  "First, vampires possess immense physical strength and speed. Even young vampires shatter stoh a flick of their fingers." She paused, watg my rea. "But they also have severe weaknesses. Sunlight is deadly. It burns their flesh and drains their power. Running water is like poison, weakening them and preventing regeion."

  I scribbled furiously, my pen barely keeping up with her words.

  "Silver is also a weakness," she tinued. "It pierce a vampire's defenses, and wounds caused by silver take loo heal. Garlic is just a mild irritant, nothing more than a superstition." She g my hen added, "And then there's the matter of holy symbols. They're only effective if the wielder has genuine faith. Ay belief does nothing."

  I looked up, my mind swirling with all this new information. "So... how do vampires fight?"

  Patchouli's lips curled into a small smile. "They use their speed, strength, and magical abilities. Remilia prefers danmaku—graceful yet deadly. Fndre... well, she uses raw destructive power. You've seen it yourself."

  I shivered, remembering the chaotiergy of Fndre's spells. She fought like a child pying, but the power behitacks was no joke.

  "Vampires also trol lesser creatures of the night—bats, wolves, even shadows," Patchouli tinued. "Remilia is a master of this. She shape-shift as well, transf into a bat or mist to evade attacks."

  I finished writing and looked up. Patchouli was watg me with a curious gleam in her eyes. "Now that you uand vampires, let's talk about your power."

  My hand froze, the pen h above the page.

  Patchouli's gaze was sharp. "You're not an ordinary human, are you? You cured my anemia and asthma effortlessly. That wasn't magic. It was... something else."

  I hesitated, my heart pounding. My grandpa's words echoed in my mind.

  "ell anyone about your power. People are greedy. If they find an easy way to get what they want, they'll do crazy things."

  I remembered the ihat ged everything.

  I was just a kid when I first used my power to help someohere was a child in the vilge who couldn't walk. His legs were paralyzed, and he was fio a chair. I felt sorry for him, so I lied. I told him, "You walk. You just don't know how to use ys."

  He didn't believe me. Nobody did. And then... my power activated. The boy stood up, his legs moving as if they'd never been paralyzed. He took a few shaky steps, then started running, ughing with joy.

  I was so happy... until Grandpa found out. I had never seen him so angry before. His eyes were cold, his voice harsh. "Do you realize what you've done?" he yelled. "Your power isn't a gift—it's a curse. People will stop at nothing to get what they want. You 't let them know about this!"

  I didn't uand back then. I was just a kid. But Grandpa's warning became clear soon enough.

  I had done what I thought was right, helping that child walk again. But I never expected the kind of people I would attract. The boy's father was a cruel man, desperate for power, and when he learned about my ability, he didn't hesitate. He kidnapped me right in front of the entire vilge, and no one did anything.

  The vilgers just... turned a blind eye. The greed for power was so deep in their hearts that they didn't even care to questioher's as. They only waheir own desires to be fulfilled. It was then that I realized—people would do anything to exploit my power.

  I still remember his twisted smile as he demanded, "Make me a Rich man. Make me immortal. Do it now, or you'll never see your family again."

  I was scared and angry. How could someone be so greedy? I used my pain, but this time... I lied differently. I told him, "I never used any power on your son."

  He didn't believe me. Desperate, he brought his son back. But the boy couldn't walk anymore. My lie had bee the truth.

  Grandpa came for me after that. It was the first time I saa use his own power—a terrifying ability to alter memories ae a reality. He erased the memories of everyone involved, ay itself bent. We were never in the vilge at all. It was as if we never existed there.

  From that day on, I swore to never use my power carelessly again. I hid it behind my magic tricks, pretending to be nothing more than a simple magi.

  Patchouli's voice pulled me back to the present. "Well? Are you going to expin it to me?"

  I looked at her, my chest tight with fear and uainty. Could I trust her? Would she see me as a friend... or a tool?

  "Patchouli..." I began, my voice low. "I want to trust you. But after hearing about my ability what if you betray me? What will stop you from using it against me?"

  Patchouli didn't speak immediately. Instead, her gaze grew thoughtful. She didn't appear angry or suspicious, but her eyes were sharp, as if she was sidering every possible angle. After a few moments of silence, she turo Koakuma.

  "Koakuma," she said in a calm tone. "Please fetch a soul trae."

  Koakuma was surprise aant but seeing her master who looked serious she nodded ahe room without a word. I watched her disappear, feeling the weight of the question hanging in the air. Patchouli had remained silent, her expression unreadable.

  A few mier, Koakuma returned, holding a small, folded part. She ha to Patchouli, who took it and pced it oable in front of us.

  "This," Patchouli said, her voice steady, "is a soul tract. It's an agreement only used by witches and devils, binding the soul of the one who signs it."

  I stared at the paper, feeling a chill run down my spine. A soul tract? That was no small thing.

  Patchouli tinued, "This trasures that I will not betray you. If you want to trust me, you use this. It will bind us—if I break it, I will die. Simple as that."

  I looked from the paper to Patchouli's calm face, then to Koakuma, who stood silently by her side.

  "So... if you break your promise, you'll die?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

  Patchouli nodded without hesitation. "That's how it works. This tract will make it impossible for me to lie to you, and if I do, it will e my life. You'll have my word that I will never betray you."

  I sat ba my chair, sidering the offer. The weight of it pressed down on me, and I could feel my heart rag. Was I willing to put so much faith in someone else again after everything that had happened? Could I trust her?

  "I... I don't know," I muttered, my fiapping against the table nervously. "I've beeray by other before. What if... what if you ge your mind ter? What if this doesn't work the way you think it will?"

  Patchouli's expression softened. "I uand your hesitation. Trust is not easily earned, especially when it es to something as serious as this. But know this—I've seeential of your power, and I don't io use it for my own gain. I want to help you. And if you wish to trust me, I will honor that trust, no matter the cost."

  I swallowed hard. The words felt like a vow, and something deep withiirred. I wao believe her. I wao trust that not everyone in this world would betray me.

  I took a deep breath and looked at the tract. My hand hovered above it. Could I take this leap?

  Patchouli's voice was calm, reassuring. "If you truly want to trust me, then this is the way. But remember—this isn't just a piece of paper. This is a binding tract, a pact that holds our fates together."

  I thought about my past, about the times I had been alone, and about how my abilities had almost brought me pain if I was careless. But maybe, just maybe, this could be different. After all this pce called Gensokyo is a world that supernatural people like me live.

  I looked up at Patchouli, meeting her eyes. The mome like it was stretg forever. This was it—the point of urn. And in that moment, I made a choice.

  "I'll trust you," I said, my voice steady but filled with a quiet resolve. "But..."

  I paused, the words lingering in the air between us. I took the tract from the table and ha back to her. "I 't accept this. I don't like holding someone else's life in my hands. I'm not a demon." I shook my head slightly, my eyes lingering on the part. "I'm just a magi."

  Patchouli was silent for a moment, her eyes searg my face, probably expeg something else. I could see that she was amazed, perhaps even a little fused by my decision. But I couldn't bring myself to accept something so final, something that could bind us forever in such a dangerous way.

  "I don't regret using my power on you," I tinued, my voice softer now. "After all, I'm a magi, and my job is t smiles to people's faces, just like my grandpa did."

  "I... I see," she said, her voice quiet but filled with uanding. She seemed relieved, in a way, that I hadn't sighe tract. She hadn't just wanted my trust to be bound by a piece of paper, after all. She had been doing this to prove something to me.

  "If you had sig," Patchouli tinued, her voice taking on a teasing tone, "I might have turned you into a frog."

  The pyful joke made me ugh. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. It felt like the tensioween us had loosened, even if just a little.

  Then, from the side, Koakuma's voice suddenly broke in, "Why are you calling me bad?"

  I blinked, not sure what she meant at first. Then it dawned on me. I must have made some offhand ent earlier about not being a demon, and Koakuma had misuood me. She was likely ed that I was calling her "bad" because of her name, "Akuma," whi some texts could mean "demon" or "evil spirit."

  I shook my head, a bit embarrassed by the misuanding. "No, no, I wasn't talking about you. It's just that I'm not a demon myself. That's all," I crified quickly, feeling a bit awkward.

  Koakuma seemed to rex, but there was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes. "Oh... you weren't calling me bad?" she asked, looking a little relieved.

  I chuckled, hoping to ease the tension. "No, not at all. I just meant that I'm not a demon, that's all. Don't worry about it."

  Koakuma smiled, seemingly satisfied with my answer, but I could tell she was still processing the versation. I decided it was best to move on, especially sidering the serious discussion I had with Patchouli moments before.

  Patchouli ugh at our misuanding. There was something different in her gaze now, something deeper. She wasn't just a person helpi of kindness anymore; she had made it clear that she saw something in me, something worth trusting.

  Koakuma gave me a pyful smile. "Well, if you ever do end up calling me bad, just know I'll be ready to set things straight," she teased.

  I chuckled again, relieved that the misuanding hadn't caused too much trouble.

  I took another deep breath, steadying myself. "Alright," I said, my voiore fident. "I'll tell you my secret."

  Patchouli leaned in slightly, her curiosity piqued. "Go on," she urged gently.

  The weight of the moment hung in the air, but I felt something else too—a growing sense of relief. This wasn't just about power anymore. It was about finding someone who might uand the plexities of my ability and the heavy burden it carried.

  And for the first time, I didn't feel so alone in that burden.