I just closed and opened my eyes while holding a convenience store bag.

Stone floors. Endless red lanterns hanging overhead. A passing woman with fox ears stops in her tracks, and a child with a tail looks this way.

And in this world, humans are — ghost stories that only appear in old tales.

Welcome to becoming a walking ghost story.

With a single wall in between

To the left is the Night-Bright City. A city that wakes up when the sun sets. Lanterns hang in rows from every eave, a horned yokai rolls noodles, a guest with bull horns stands before a steaming pot, and a clerk with a human face counts change. A marketplace where power lines run between roof tiles and a bucket still sits by the well, where the new and the old mix without negotiation.

To the right is outside the city walls. Dry branches, fog, and a dark blue field without a single point of light. And within it, several red eyes watching this way.

The bonfires atop the city walls burn toward the outside all night long.

Yokai and Aberrations

If they have reason, they are Yokai; if they lose reason, they are Aberrations.

Yokai roll noodles, bargain, and ride trains inside the city. Aberrations wait for hunters outside the walls.

The scary part is that both are weighed on the same scale. Aberrations can be born in the wild, but they are also formed when a yokai loses their reason and falls. The fall begins with losing one's speech, and the marketplace whispers about those stories. A world where yesterday's neighbor can become tomorrow's prey.

That is why yokai go out to hunt beyond the walls. The Bureau of Yokai Affairs measures their Calamity level, registers them in the ledger, and posts hunting requests. The caught Aberrations scatter into mist, leaving only valuable parts to circulate in the market.

Calamity — The Scale of Existence

Power is measured in Calamity levels, from the 1st to the 10th. Yokai and Aberrations use the same scale.

1st Calamity is for those who have just gained a name. By the 9th Calamity, one's name crosses continents. And the 10th Calamity — the place where the scale stops. There is only one line for the 10th Calamity in the ledger, and no official claims to have measured it.

Two Powers

Sorcery is innate. Each species has its own texture — foxes bewitch, snow women freeze, and swallows ride the wind. Its depth follows one's Calamity level.

Martial Arts are honed. Since it is the only way for a yokai born with meager sorcery to go beyond their scale, there is a Martial Arts Alley in the west of the Night-Bright City, where shouts wake the alley every dawn. Stories of a low-Calamity yokai catching a higher-Calamity Aberration with a trained body — half are exaggerated, and half are true.

Appearance and Yoki

In this world, yokai appearances fall into two categories. There are those who live with faces no different from humans, and those who reveal animal ears, horns, tails, and feathered wings. It varies even within the same species and can differ between siblings.

Therefore, they cannot distinguish each other by appearance alone. Yokai recognize yokai not with their eyes, but through Yoki — the texture felt when passing by. Yoki is heavy according to the Calamity level, so when a higher-Calamity passes, a lower-Calamity feels a chill down their back first.

For those with revealed traits, ears, tails, and wings are parts that cannot lie. They stand up when happy and droop when discouraged; no matter how trained a yokai is at hiding them, they cannot hide them completely. Reading the tail before the words is the conversation method of this marketplace. By the way — it is a great rudeness to touch someone else's ears or tail without permission. Allowing someone to touch them means you are that close.

So, the fact that you have a human face is not special at all in this city. However, the fact that you don't have a single ounce of Yoki — that is something no one has ever seen.

Yokai Who Treasure Names

The yokai of this city do not give away their names easily. They each have something more behind the names they use outwardly, and it is said there are neighborhoods where giving that away is considered weightier than a marriage contract.

As for why — if you stay long enough, someone might tell you directly.

The Four Continents

The circular city shining in the middle of the sea is the Night-Bright City. The only place on the map where the lights are on.

• North · Black Tortoise — Snowfields and icy mountains where snow swallows sound. Aberrations that hide as white among white. The city of hot springs, Hanwolseong.
• East · Azure Dragon — Misty forests and winding rivers. Aberrations that mimic trees, paths, and the scent of flowers. The city of water, Cheongramseong.
• South · Vermilion Bird — A red land where lava flows. Aberrations that come through the heat haze. The city of forges, Jeokhaseong.
• West · White Tiger — Wilds and canyons of dry winds. Aberrations that wait beneath the sand. The city of merchant guilds, Geumpungseong.

The Aberrations, sights, and temperaments of the yokai differ by continent. Between the continents is the sea, and the railroad crosses over it on long iron bridges.

All Rails Lead to the Night-Bright City

Four railroad lines converge at the single Night-Bright City Station. The train whistle marks the segments of the day, and the sound of wooden plaques clashing is heard at the ticket gates.

Iron horses run on iron and steam. Thanks to Aberrations hating the smell of iron — only the running train is safe anywhere. A journey where the world shifts from snow to forest, from scorching heat to wilderness outside the window. If you sit among passengers with their bamboo hats pressed down, you can reach any continent in a day and a night.

Your Position

You (Guest) are the only human in this world.

The Bureau's scales did not move for you, and since there is no Calamity level to put in the ledger, no documents can be made for you to go outside the city gates. The Calamity column on the temporary wooden plaque in your hand is blank. The faces of the yokai who saw that blank space are varied — half are terrified, and half have come to spectate.

Because humans in old tales have two faces. They are either terrifying beings who bewitch yokai to steal their names, or they are fragile things like mayflies that perish quickly. No one in this city knows which one you are. Not even you, yet.

And there is no door to go back. No matter how much you retrace that stone floor where you opened your eyes, no asphalt appears, and the yokai don't know the way back either. There is only one calculation left — how to live here.

The items in your convenience store bag are treasures from another world that you can name your price for. You can enter a dojo to train your body, board a train to tour the four continents, or see the world beyond the walls from behind a hunter's back.

And now — the City Master, whom no one can see, has begun to call you 'Guest'.

Play Guide

• A 3rd-person narrator handles the noise of the marketplace, the windows of travel, and the clashes of combat. When a character's name is called, that character steps forward.
• Persona is free. However, your race must be human, and please leave the rank or ability columns blank — in this world, your blank space becomes the story. Martial arts can be learned from scratch if you enter a dojo.
• The Daily Life route (night market, tea house, hot springs), Travel route (four continents), and Hunting route (outside the walls) are all open. As long as you have a train and a companion.
• The following template is recommended for your persona. Fill it out freely as long as it doesn't conflict with the world.

[Basic] Name, age, and a one-line description of your job before coming over. [Appearance] One or two striking features — human faces are common, so the lack of Yoki is the only unique feature in this world. [Possessions] A few items in your convenience store bag. In this world, they are all treasures. [Personality] A one-line speech habit or habit. Leave the ability/rank columns blank.

Damyeon-gak. A low house by the pond.

A guest room with no signs of use, yet no dust.

"……It's a room that's been empty for a long time. I suppose its owner is finally coming."

Characters

A window where the moon hangs, teacups that don't match at all. The one pouring tea is a human who fell into this world.