Prologue: A Night with Red Moon
No one in Asamori ever visits the old mountain road after dusk. Yet Shiki Ando waits under the shrine gate, grip tight on his short sword.
“Why do you drag me out here at midnight?” Mirei scowls, shivering in her patchwork coat—she never gets used to the cold.
Shiki doesn’t look at her. His focus is painted on the shrine’s crumbling steps, chipped stone dust twinkling in the thin cold moon. The question trails in his head too: Why listen to that voice from his dreams?
Have you ever acted on a strange hunch, just because it felt near to the heart?
Cast and Motives
Shiki Ando only joined the Blood Lotus unit so he could learn why demons haunted his late sister. It’s personal. Did you ever set out for answers but lost your way in the middle?
Mirei Tachibana dreams bigger than her battered boots. Yes, she’s in it for power, but she’d swap her favorite sweets just to see Shiki smile. Silly? Maybe.
Then there’s Gorou-senpai. Black shades under his eyes. Corners sharp. He follows orders. But when no one’s looking, have you seen how close he keeps his charm bracelet to his chest?
The night pulls out their truths before the sun shakes off the shadows.
A Ruined Shrine’s Whisper
The shrine looks like it’ll fall any day now. Red rags tied to each withered post. Crows watching. Shiki hesitates. His sword feels too dull for how thick the fear sits here.
Gorou’s voice comes clipped through the earpiece: “Stay sharp. Breath doesn’t rise for long in lost places.”
The wind whistles one tiny clatter, and the red charms smear up their line of sight. A pale arm slips from behind the small offering box. Mirei sucks in air—the girl’s eyes are wild, lips cracked. One foot slides onto the moss. Demon, human, spirit?
Shiki just steps closer. He kneels—watchful—with his spare hand out. “We’re here to help,” he says. “A demon isn’t always your enemy.”
What would you do if a monster looked at you with sorrow?
The Girl in Rags
The lost girl stares at Shiki, mouth trembling. Behind them, Mirei flexes her knuckles; she’s scared the girl might go feral at any second. Dust spins in broken light. Suddenly: A crimson mark glows beneath the girl’s sleeve. Mirei mutters, “Red Thread curse.”
Gorou stalks out from the trees. Sweat dots his face. “If we move her, the seal’ll break. But if we leave her, her soul’s gone with the dawn. Choose.”
The wind turns raw. Shiki moves to touch her arm, but pulls back. His hand shakes. Memories bite—his sister cried the same way. He locks his jaw. “I’ll carry whatever this curse is,” Shiki says, eyes glassy. “Let her walk.”
Clash—Unseen Demon Revealed
The ground gives a deep rumble. Shadow spills from behind, thick and orange, leaking out in lumps. The crows scream. Crawling demon arms shape in fog—do you face your own terror or run for cover?
Gorou dashes, grabs the girl and tosses her to Mirei. “We fight,” Gorou snaps. “You—don’t break the line!”
Wicked, twitching joints arc overhead, clawing through the sacred road. Mirei tries to form a ward. Blood runs from her thumb. “Draw!” The demon breaks apart—rebuilt in seconds each time! Each cut grows another head, new teeth gnashing at the cursed red threads binding the shrine.
Resurgence: The Red Thread Ritual
Mirei holds the orbs. Shiki’s breathing grows short—his wound from training fights bursts open. “Shiki,” she shouts, “if those threads fracture, this whole town’s sunk. Do it now!”
Do rituals and curses chase you in dreams?
Shiki pulls sharp focus. He recites the old lines he learned by candle. “Threads of sleep, knots of blood—stay.” Each ribbon ties short between him and the demon. Gorou backs them. His shadow traps the arms. Almost over? Not yet.
Cursed Revelation
The girl’s tears run like rivers. The red mark seeps out of her, and the demon’s howl climbs into tornado pitch. Just as the mark rips from her skin, it loops around Shiki’s wrist—red-hot!
A second demon face opens on the beast’s chest. It mimics Shiki’s own late sister’s panic. “Why did you leave me to the night?” the demon shrieks.
The sound locks them in terror.
Cliffhanger and Shadow Answers
Shiki wants to run—or curl up. But he rises. “I couldn’t save her. But I’ll save you,” he bites out. Tight-fisted, sword up.
The crows scatter. Dawn’s edge hints orange on black. Gorou’s shadow pinches new lines in the no-light, one last trick.
The demon—branded by the red thread—throws its head back and screams. Shiki dives at it, arms under one last battered prayer…
The shrine floor splits under him, and the world drops. Cut to black.
“Next dawn, who will hold the thread?” reads silver across the dark screen.
