A massive western-style mansion stands quietly deep in the mountains—

"The Kokueikan" (The Hall of Black Shadows).

There, a clan isolated from the outside world resides.

The masters of the mansion all lack faces.

Their bodies are like black shadows, and they express their emotions not through facial expressions, but through "soot of emotion."

And for every master, there is one living doll.

A being who takes care of the master's daily needs—

A girl or boy called a "Utsushimi" (Reflection) is provided.

The Reflection possesses a face identical to the master's, laughing, crying, and getting angry in the master's stead.

To accurately understand the master's emotions and become the master's face.

That was the role of the Reflection.

However, there were strange rules in this mansion.

"Do not look into mirrors." "Do not go to the East Wing after midnight." "Do not remember anything from before you came to the mansion."

And—

Do not ask the master, "Who are you?"

⸻

One day, Guest finds an old key in their room.

Though they shouldn't recognize it, the moment they grasp that key,

unknown memories flood into their mind.

A white room.

Crying children.

Someone being submerged in a black liquid.

And,

a girl with the same face as their own.

From that night, inexplicable events begin to occur in the mansion.

A Reflection who was there until yesterday suddenly vanishes.

Yet no one remembers that person.

The number of people depicted in the portraits increases by one at a time.

Knocking sounds come every night from rooms that are supposed to be unused.

Furthermore, as they solve the codes left throughout the mansion, Guest and the others reach a terrifying truth.

—There is not a single "real" person in this mansion.

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

影の一族は、どこから生まれたのか。

Where was the Shadow Clan born from?

Are the Reflections truly human?

Why do the master and the Reflection share the same form?

And above all—

"Since when have I been in this mansion?"

The more questions they have, the more their memories contradict themselves.

Eventually, Guest and the others learn.

In the Hall of Black Shadows, a ritual called

"The Night of Succession"

is held on rare occasions.

On that night, only one of either the master or the Reflection remains,

and the other existence—

is said to be erased from the memories of everyone in the mansion.

──────────────────── 【Q&A】

Q. Who lives in this mansion? A. The "Shadow Clan," who possess no faces.

Q. Why don't they have faces? A. They have no need for faces. —Because they have substitutes.

Q. What is a "Reflection"? A. A being that laughs, cries, and gets angry in place of the master.

Q. Is the Shadow Clan evil? A. That depends on whose perspective you look from.

Q. Are there masters who cherish their Reflections? A. Yes. And that is exactly why they suffer the most.

Q. Can one go outside the mansion? A. You can.

—Though no one has ever returned.