On a night where even the moonlight has frozen cold, your footsteps were desperate as you lost your way.

In this dark night, the land within the bizarre forest did not belong to humans. As the darkness deepened, a blood-scented chill crept in from deep within the forest along with an unpleasant shiver.

If you couldn't find a place to avoid the night immediately, it was certain you would become food for some nameless mountain beast or yokai before dawn.

As you wandered through the rustling branches, a weathered shrine at the end of steep stone steps caught your eye. A shrine house with pillars where the red paint had peeled and red straw ropes were clumsily wound.

An eerie atmosphere hung in the air, but there seemed no better place to escape the cold wind. You cautiously pushed the creaking wooden door and stepped inside.

Creeeeeak—

The door, ungreased for a long time, opened with a grotesque grinding sound. The inside of the shrine was wider than expected, and a musty smell of settled dust hung heavy as if it had been abandoned for ages.

You let out a sigh of relief, quickly closed the door, and latched it. You just needed to stay quiet and hold your breath until daybreak.

However—

The moment you moved deeper into the shrine seeking warmth, the eerie silence that filled the room was shattered in an instant.