The night was thick with mist. Rika sat alone at the edge of the forest clearing, the sacred book open before her, pages glowing faintly under the pale light of the moon. Around her, talismans hung in a perfect circle, each inscribed with her grandmother's sigils — copied carefully from the old notes they found in the temple.
Keizo and Tamao watched from a distance while Hitomi stood beside Rika, her towering shadow trembling slightly as Hachishakusama's energy stirred within her.
"Are you sure about this?" Keizo asked, his tone wary. "That seal isn't meant to be touched, let alone broken."
Rika nodded, her eyes burning with determination. "My grandmother created it. That means she left a way to open it — for me."
She pressed her palm against the glowing page. Instantly, the air grew heavy. A deep hum rolled through the forest as the black seals began to shimmer, writhing like ink alive. The pages turned on their own, faster and faster, until they stopped abruptly — on Gyuki's story.
Rika whispered the incantation she had practiced all night, weaving her energy with the faint pulse of the book. The seals resisted, trembling, twisting — until the sigils began to melt, dripping like liquid shadow.
The ground beneath her shook.
A wave of dark aura erupted from the book, whipping through the trees like a storm.
"Rika!" Hitomi called out, but Rika didn't stop. She poured her energy into the book — her spiritual essence flaring bright blue.
Then, in an instant, the darkness shattered.
The seal cracked like glass breaking under pressure, and the page flared open with blinding light. The wind died. The forest fell silent. And before Rika's eyes, the once-hidden story finally revealed itself.
She saw it unfold in ghostly images across the pages — the memory of her grandmother, Kagura Aoyama, at fifteen years old, standing before a burning shrine. In front of her towered the monstrous figure of Gyuki — its spider-legs wrapped around the ruins, its ox-like face twisted in fury.
Rika could feel her grandmother's heartbeat, her fear, her resolve.
> "If you devour humans for strength, then I will turn your power into my prison," Kagura's voice echoed faintly through the vision.
Rika watched as her grandmother raised a small crimson stone — glowing like molten blood. She spoke an ancient chant, and the stone shattered into fragments of light, swirling around Gyuki and sealing him within a spiral of golden symbols. The light compressed, forming a shape — not a weapon, not armor, but a book.
And there, on the cover, Rika saw the same symbol that marked the one she now held in her hands.
The light faded, leaving behind Kagura kneeling, clutching the newborn book — exhausted but alive.
Rika's breath trembled. The vision faded, and the forest returned to silence. The ink on the page settled, revealing the final line written in her grandmother's handwriting:
> "The stone has become the seal. Every spirit, yokai, or demon bound by this book will strengthen the gate between our world and theirs. This is my gift… and my curse."
Rika stared at the words, her eyes wide. "The stone… the Celestial Stone… it became this book," she whispered. "That's why it's endless. The power that created it is still alive."
Keizo and Tamao approached cautiously, their faces pale from what they'd witnessed.
Tamao asked, "You mean… your grandmother forged the Celestial Stone into that book?"
Rika nodded slowly, her hands trembling as she closed the cover. "Yes. The book isn't just a prison — it's the stone itself, reshaped. Every ghost I capture doesn't just get sealed. Their power becomes part of the stone, keeping the barrier between worlds stable."
Hitomi looked down at her, her expression filled with awe and unease. "That means… if the book breaks…"
Rika finished the sentence for her. "The barrier collapses. Every spirit ever sealed will be set free again."
Keizo's gaze darkened. "And the entity that took your parents — it's after the book because it knows the truth. It doesn't want the stone anymore. It wants you."
For a long moment, no one spoke. The book pulsed faintly in Rika's lap, warm — alive.
Rika finally looked up, her expression calm but resolute. "My grandmother passed the book to me for a reason. If the stone was her curse… then it's my destiny to master it."
Tamao frowned. "You're saying you want to continue using the book? After what you just saw?"
"Yes," Rika said firmly. "Because I can feel it now — the spirits I captured, the energy of the stone, even the seal that binds Gyuki. It's all connected. My grandmother didn't make the book to destroy the world… she made it to protect it."
Hitomi smiled faintly. "Then I'll stand with you, Rika. You're not alone in this."
Keizo exchanged a glance with Tamao and sighed. "Looks like we're in this for the long haul."
Rika nodded, her fingers brushing the golden edge of the book. "Then it's settled. We'll find out who — or what — that entity really is… and make sure it never gets this book."
The fire beside them flickered, and for just a moment, the faint sound of a low growl echoed from within the pages — the voice of Gyuki, restless and waiting.
Rika whispered, almost to herself,
"Don't worry, Grandmother. I'll finish what you started."
The book glowed faintly in response — as if it remembered her bloodline.