The sun was already sinking behind the mountains when Rika, Keizo, Tamao, and Hitomi finally reached the old trail. The air grew colder as fog crept between the pine trees, curling around their feet like pale smoke. It had taken them nearly two days of hiking to find this place — the same location where Rika's parents once conducted their research.
"We're close," Keizo said, his voice low. "The map from the archive said there should be a temple somewhere nearby."
Rika glanced around. Her senses, sharpened by the hundreds of spirits she had captured, tingled faintly — not from danger, but from something ancient that pulsed beneath the earth. "I can feel something… like a heartbeat under the ground," she murmured.
As they turned the corner of a moss-covered path, an old temple appeared between the trees. It was small, its roof half-collapsed, and the wooden gates leaned sideways as if the forest was swallowing them. Paper talismans still clung to the walls, whispering in the wind.
Tamao frowned. "No one's been here for decades."
They pushed open the doors, their footsteps echoing in the hollow silence. Dust floated through the thin beams of light from the ceiling. Inside, they found old scrolls scattered on the floor, rotted offerings, and an altar dedicated to an unnamed deity.
As Rika examined the altar, Hitomi wandered behind it — her senses still clashing with the remnants of Hachishakusama's power. Her ghost half whispered warnings she couldn't fully hear, but she ignored them and ran her fingers along the wall. The texture was uneven. Hollow.
"There's something here," Hitomi said softly. She pressed her palm against the wall — and it shifted, revealing a narrow passage leading downward. Cold air poured out from below, heavy with age and whispers.
Keizo lit a small lantern. "Everyone stay close."
The path descended deep beneath the temple, the walls lined with old carvings of humans and demons locked in battle. Rika's steps slowed as she read some of the old kanji. "These talk about the 'Devourer of Light'… that must be the entity."
When they reached the end of the tunnel, they entered a small underground room — part shrine, part storage. Scrolls and boxes were stacked against the walls. Keizo carefully brushed dust off a wooden chest and pried it open. Inside was an old letter wrapped in red silk, the ink faded with time.
He unfolded it slowly, eyes narrowing as he read aloud:
> "The stone has chosen its bearer. Her name is Kagura Aoyama. At fifteen years of age, she came into possession of the Celestial Stone — forged from the remains of fallen demons. With it, the seal of the demon realm may one day be opened again."
Silence filled the room. The name echoed in Rika's mind, burning through every other thought.
"Kagura Aoyama…" she whispered. "That's my grandmother's name."
Tamao looked stunned. "Then your grandmother wasn't just the one who created the book. She was the bearer of the stone."
Rika took the letter in trembling hands. The ink shimmered faintly, as if reacting to her touch. "My aunt never told me anything about this. She said Grandmother made the book to capture ghosts — not that she had a stone that could seal demons."
Keizo's brow furrowed. "Maybe the book and the stone are connected. The letter said the stone could open a portal — maybe it can close one too. That would explain why your grandmother could trap spirits no one else could."
Hitomi stepped closer, her long hair brushing against her shoulders. "Does it say what happened to the stone?"
Keizo shook his head. "No. It ends there. Just that Kagura Aoyama became its bearer. Nothing about where the stone went afterward."
Rika exhaled shakily, folding the letter against her chest. "If my grandmother had the stone, and the entity is still looking for it… maybe that's why my parents disappeared. Maybe they were searching for it too."
A low hum began to fill the air, subtle but growing — as if something deep underground was awakening in response to the letter being opened. The lantern flickered. Hitomi's eyes flashed with faint, spectral light.
"Rika," she said quietly, "we should leave. This place… it's reacting to you."
Rika nodded, but her gaze lingered on the altar carved into the wall — a depiction of a woman holding a glowing gem, surrounded by shadowy figures bowing in fear. Beneath it, faintly scratched into the stone, was an inscription:
> 'The bloodline will continue. Only the chosen of Aoyama may bear the seal.'
She stepped back, her pulse racing.
"Then it's true," she whispered. "The entity… it's after me."
Keizo placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then we find it before it finds you. Whatever your grandmother started, we'll finish it together."
As they climbed out of the underground room, the last of the lantern's light flickered out. And somewhere far away — deep beneath the mountains — something ancient stirred, whispering Rika's name.