The festival began.
Drums echoed through the fog-drenched streets of Hoshiyama.
Children in wooden masks danced barefoot, trailing sparks from incense ropes tied to their backs.
Hiragi watched from a rooftop.
Below him, hundreds gathered under blood-colored lanterns.
Priests in robes whispered to empty altars.
And among them...
"Do you see it?" Airi's voice trembled.
A shrine.
Twisted.
It didn't exist yesterday.
Inside the crowd, the atmosphere shifted.
Sudden silence.
Then laughter.
Not human.
Something old mimicked their voices.
"Those kids—"
"They're not from this city."
Lain pointed.
The dancers moved with unnatural grace.
Feet never touching the ground.
Eyes glowing faint blue under their masks.
One turned to Hiragi—
and smiled.
"We burn for the gods, Void-Slayer."
The ground cracked.
A ring of cursed fire erupted, trapping the crowd.
Screams.
People tried to run—only to vanish mid-step.
Their shadows remained.
Dancing.
Hiragi drew his blade.
Void pulsed in his veins.
But before he could move—
A new mask descended from the shrine.
Golden.
Grinning.
And from its hollow mouth, it whispered:
"Welcome to the Trial of Flame."
End of Chapter 52