His and Her Past
"Ren, what are you doing there?"
"Ah, Tsuki..."
Today, too, they had scoured the shrine's surroundings, but Ren and the investigation team found no unusual phenomena. It had been over eight months since they entered these mountains and met Tsuki.
"I've been through so many ghost story incidents, but this is a first. A domain that twists the very concept of time."
Ren checked the time-measuring device he'd carried since starting the investigation.
[Exploration Time: 288 hours, 32 minutes, 17 seconds elapsed]
The time outside the domain showed less than two weeks had passed, but here, seasons had shifted and the environment had changed.
"I don't know if it's absolute time flow or just perceived time... but either way, over half a year has definitely gone by."
"It's been that long since I cooked for you and the team."
"Ah, yeah. If not for the shrine's storehouse rations, we'd have been eating grass to survive. Haha."
"Did you find anything today?"
"Nope, nothing. We've tried dozens of times, but we can't get out of here."
They investigated daily, attempting escape, but always ended up back at the shrine. Months dragged on helplessly. The silver lining? Aside from being unable to leave, this ghost story domain was safe.
"By the way, Tsuki, it's been eight months since we met."
"Hehe, but you said barely any time has passed outside."
"What can you do? A day out there is weeks here."
It was a bizarre space. The shrine where Ren and his team first arrived. And the shrine maiden living there, Tsuki. She didn't know why she was here—only that she was the shrine's maiden and her name.
At first, I wondered if Tsuki was the ghost story itself...
Months of observation proved otherwise. Tsuki was ordinary—no, exceptionally diligent. She cooked for the team daily, cleaned the shrine, and always prayed to the moon.
There's no way this Tsuki is a ghost story. She must have lost her memories after getting caught in some accident.
"Ren, why am I here? I've tried everything to remember, but nothing comes up..."
"Tsuki..."
"I'm scared... What if I'm trapped here forever, with no memories?"
Ren sat quietly beside her, taking her hand.
"Don't worry. Even if you never remember, once we get out, I'll be there to help you every step."
"Every step...? Hehe, Ren. What happened to the guy who pointed his sword at me when we first met?"
"Ahem! Tsuki... I've been apologizing for months..."
"Haha, just kidding, Ren. I would've been wary too."
Tsuki smiled shyly, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Having no memories is terrifying. But lately, one thing surfaced."
"What?"
"I blessed royalty."
"Royalty?"
Tsuki reached toward the moon, lost in recollection.
"I don't know why I'm here, but I always prayed to the moon for my kingdom's happiness."
"Maybe you were a shrine maiden who bestowed blessings in a moon-related kingdom."
"Hehe, want to try a shrine maiden's blessing, Ren?"
Ren gazed at her, a wistful ache in his chest.
Back when we first started investigating, I just thought this was an annoying ghost story.
Now, he was glad they'd come. Otherwise, he'd never have met Tsuki.
They'd grown accustomed to this peaceful life when the incident struck.
A eerie voice echoed across the area. Ren and his team knew exactly what it meant: the ghost story's rule declaration.
"What the hell? What's going on all of a sudden?!"
"We got complacent. The place had been getting subtly darker—that was the eclipse progressing. Eclipse was awakening bit by bit."
"We have to stop the eclipse now."
"The moon's up there in the sky. What are we supposed to do?"
How could human power halt an eclipse? They racked their brains, but no answers came.
"Tsuki might..."
"Tsuki?"
"As the moon shrine maiden, she might know something."
"Makes sense... You go first, Ren. We'll follow."
Ren raced to the shrine, searching for Tsuki. But the Tsuki he found inside was... different.
"Tsuki... you...?"
Inside the shrine, a woman staggered as if about to collapse.
"Re... Ren... Something's wrong with me. My body..."
Tsuki's form was off. Black-red mist rose from her, darkening the surroundings like an eclipse.
"Tsuki... What the—" As Ren stepped forward—
—Vmmm!
"My sword?"
Ren's weapon hummed strangely. The sword that pierced the Disaster-grade ghost story 'The Interrogator', granting the power to discern and seal a target's true nature. Now, it reacted more fiercely than ever.
"Ren, what the hell...!"
"Tsuki looks wrong."
"The detector's going off. That means...!"
—Beeeep!
The team's detectors screamed. Ren and his comrades finally understood.
Eclipse—another word for solar eclipse. The moon shrine. The shrine maiden, Tsuki.
"The eclipse itself was the ghost story. The shrine and Tsuki were part of it too. How did we not see it until now?!"
Ren refused to believe it. He didn't want to.
"No way... Tsuki... Tsuki can't be a ghost story!"
"Ren! You don't trust the readings? Your sword! You know it best!"
"Shut up...!"
"Snap out of it! Forgot why we're here?!"
"I know... but... but...!"
He couldn't accept it. Tsuki, a ghost story?
No way.
No way...
No way!
But his sword still trembled.
Damn it. Deny it all I want, it's telling me Tsuki's a ghost story?
"Re... Ren......"
Tsuki looked confused, as if she didn't understand what was happening.
"Am... I the ghost story...? Was I the one holding everyone here...?"
"No, that's not it! Tsuki, pull yourself together!"
"Phase Two...?"
"Ren, there are three types of eclipses."
"Partial... annular... and total eclipse, where light is completely blocked."
"If it reaches total, we'll all die per the rules."
They'd try anything to halt the rules, but how? Block the moon with human hands?
"Damn. If there was even a tiny clue to try..."
As if hearing their wish, another rule echoed.
To stop the eclipse, kill the moon shrine maiden.
"What... did it just say?"
"Ren, we have to attack Tsuki."
"What...?"
"She's definitely part of the ghost story. She's the only one with a physical form here. That means... kill her."
"You're serious...?"
"And that rule—you heard it. We have a way to break it!"
"Are you insane?! A ghost story telling us its weakness? Does that make any sense?!"
Ghost stories toyed with and hunted humans—why reveal their downfall so conveniently?
Impossible. And that voice announcing the rule... it felt subtly different.
The initial rules were emotionless, dry. But the latest had the same eerie tone... yet carried hatred.
Worth checking!
Ren drew his sword, pointing at the moon.
"I, Takahashi Ren, ask you: Is Eclipse's final rule false?"
Black-red energy surged from the blade, activating its power. The Netherworld ignored it, but this ability transcended such limits.
"Show me. Is the rule true or false?"
[FALSE]
"You all saw that? This is the ghost story trying to deceive us."
Ren turned to his comrades, but... no response.
"What are you—wait, your eyes...?"
Everyone but him had glazed, unfocused stares—like puppets controlled.
"Re...n... Ki...ll Tsu...ki..."
"Kill...... her......"
"Snap out of it! What's wrong with you all?!"
His comrades shuffled toward him like marionettes, repeating the same phrase.
—'Kill Tsuki.'
"Resorting to this cowardice after we saw through the lie...!"
Then, Tsuki—wracked by black energy—spoke with effort.
"Re... Ren... Run... now..."
"What are you saying? How can I leave you?!"
"The ghost story's power... it's seeping into me. Soon... I'll lose myself. I won't be me anymore... Before that... kill... me..."
"I can't... How could I?! You know how I feel about you!"
Tsuki smiled sadly at his words.
"I... know. Because I feel the same... I cherish you too."
"Tsuki...!"
"I've lost so many memories... but I know this feeling. I... love you... Ren."
"Tsuki, me too. I love y—"
Grip—
"Guh?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Before he could reply, his comrades grabbed him from behind, pinning him.
"Ren...... Kill...... Tsuki..."
"Kill...... her......"
"Let go! Still controlled?! Snap out of it! This is Eclipse's trick!"
Ren wanted to shake them off, but unleashing power this close risked harming them.
"Eclipse, you coward...!"
The voice matched the final rule's tone.
"This voice... You're the real Eclipse...?"
"What do you m—"
With those words, Ren blacked out. Just a fleeting moment, mere seconds.
When consciousness returned, the scene before him was...
"Ren... It's... not your fault..."
Tsuki had his sword plunged into her chest, blood pouring out.
"Ah... Ah... What the hell...?"
"Ren... I... stabbed myself with your sword. Before becoming the ghost story..."
A blatant lie, bright red. Tsuki hadn't moved from her spot. That meant Ren, unconscious, had attacked her.
Even facing death, she lied to spare him guilt.
"N-No, Tsuki!"
"Sorry... for breaking our promise... to leave together, Ren......"
With a sad smile, she collapsed, sealed into Ren's sword.
"Eclipse—!!!!"
Eclipse has been sealed. The eclipse stops.
After the events, the team escaped safely. They announced Eclipse broken, but it wasn't over. Sealed in Ren's sword, it merely paused.
"Eclipse... I'll destroy you and save Tsuki."
Ren roamed the country for info, finding none. Then, news from Korea: a mengmang-grade emergence. And Phantom, who erased ghost stories without trace.
His heart raced with hope.
"Phantom!"
Maybe Phantom could destroy only Eclipse and save Tsuki.
Ghost Story Eclipse Record Concluded
==========
And now, unable to find Phantom, Ren chose his final path.
I'll bear this unforgivable sin forever.
He knew it was wrong. But his shattered mind couldn't think straight. Only the longing to see her remained.
"I... won't lose you again."
—Splash!
Black waves surged from Ren, red letters heralding despair to the cityfolk.