Night had already fallen by the time Rika and the others returned to their temporary camp near the base of the mountain. The small fire crackled softly, throwing orange light over the ancient letter and the open pages of Rika's book — the same book that had once belonged to her grandmother.
Rika sat cross-legged, flipping through the pages slowly. Her eyes were sharp, but her expression was filled with quiet frustration.
"I've checked every page," she muttered, tracing the symbols with her fingertips. "There's nothing about the Celestial Stone. The book talks about spirits, yokai, seals — but no mention of the stone or where it came from."
Keizo leaned forward. "Could it be written under another name? Maybe a metaphor? Your grandmother might've hidden the truth."
"Maybe," Rika said, but she didn't sound convinced. Her hand stopped on a page near the back — a record of one of the most powerful yokai her grandmother had captured decades ago.
The name written in elegant ink made the air feel colder.
> Gyuki — The Ushi-Oni of the Western Marsh.
Hitomi, sitting beside her, tilted her head slightly. "Gyuki? Isn't that the cow demon from the old legends? Half ox, half spider?"
"Yes," Rika replied softly. "But according to this, my grandmother didn't just seal him. She used him for something… a ritual."
The words on the page were strange — some written in the old kanji, others faded beyond recognition. But what truly caught Rika's attention was a section covered in shimmering black seals, like ink that refused to dry. Every time she tried to read the next line, the symbols shifted and blurred, forming a barrier that made her vision swim.
She blinked hard. "There's something… wrong with this page. It feels alive."
Tamao leaned over to look, but as soon as she tried to read, the air around the book pulsed with a low hum — like a heartbeat. "It's reacting to you, Rika," she whispered.
Rika nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "The seal's connected to my blood. It won't let anyone else read it."
Keizo frowned. "If it's a blood-seal, then your grandmother must've locked that story intentionally. Maybe it contains something dangerous — or something she didn't want anyone else to know."
Rika's eyes narrowed. "But why Gyuki? Of all the yokai she captured, why seal his story?"
Hitomi's expression darkened. The spectral essence of Hachishakusama within her stirred — uneasy. "I've heard of Gyuki," she said quietly. "He's not like other yokai. He feeds on human hatred — and he can absorb memories and powers from those who fall into his curse. If your grandmother sealed him, she might've used his energy to forge something powerful."
"The stone," Rika whispered. "It has to be."
She turned the page, but again the black seals shimmered, forming a web of symbols that twisted like living veins. She pressed her finger to the paper — and the seal pulsed beneath her skin, sending a sharp jolt through her hand.
"Rika!" Keizo grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "Don't touch it like that! That's an ancient curse seal — one wrong move, and it could consume your soul."
Rika's breath came out shaky. "I saw something — just for a moment. A temple… burning. And a woman holding a stone that glowed red."
Hitomi's eyes widened. "That must've been your grandmother."
Rika nodded slowly, clutching the book to her chest. "She sealed Gyuki, but part of him — or his memory — is inside this book. And that's probably why it reacts to my blood. The answer to the stone's power is here… but I can't reach it unless I unlock the seal."
Tamao frowned. "And how do you unlock something made by your grandmother, who was one of the strongest spiritualists of her time?"
For a moment, the group fell silent. The wind brushed against the tent flaps, carrying faint echoes from the forest.
Rika finally looked up, her eyes glimmering faintly with determination.
"I'll have to learn how she did it," she said. "I'll retrace her path — her techniques, her seals, everything. There's no other way."
Keizo sighed, rubbing his temples. "That won't be easy. The old Aoyama family methods were forbidden decades ago. Some of them involve direct spirit fusion."
Rika glanced at Hitomi, whose expression was unreadable. "Then maybe… I already have someone who can teach me what that feels like."
Hitomi blinked, understanding the implication. "You mean— merging power with the spirit inside me?"
Rika nodded. "If I can learn how your body and Hachishakusama's power coexist, I might be able to reproduce what my grandmother did with Gyuki. It's risky… but it's our only clue."
The fire popped, scattering sparks into the night. None of them spoke for a while — each lost in thought, weighed down by what they had uncovered.
Then, softly, Hitomi said, "Rika… if you try to break that seal, the ghost inside me will sense it too. Whatever's inside that story — it might not want to stay buried."
Rika looked down at the book, her reflection flickering in the gold-lined pages.
"Then I'll make sure it stays under my control," she whispered. "If my grandmother could bind Gyuki once, so can I."
The night grew colder, and the last embers of the fire dimmed.
In the distance, the forest sighed — and beneath the earth, a faint, monstrous sound echoed in reply.