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* Prologue: Lurking in the Deep(Miu Hinasaki)

(Escape the building)
A girl named Miu awakes in water. As she stands up, she sees countless bodies floating around her.

The bodies stir, as if sensing Miu's presence...
- - - - -
- Spirited away -
In the vicinity of Mt. Hikami, people have been mysteriously disappearing without a trace.

One such girl is Miu Hinasaki. She awakens to find herself in an old, half-flooded building.
- - - - -
Miu Hanasaki has disappeared. No one could hear her cries for help as she was scaled into a shrine on top of a mountain. That mountain is where the events of this story take place. We follow the fates of three people: Yuri, Ren, and Miu. It is a terrifying tale of the supernatural.

* First Drop: A Vanishing Trace(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find the Postmortem photographs.)
A novelist has sent Yuri and Hisoka to an old inn on a case.

Yuri receives the Camera Obscura, and her first shadow reading job begins. They have been asked to find "Postmortem Photographs."
- - - - -
- Shadow Reading -
Among the residents of the villages at the foot of Mt. Hikami, a certain unique ability has been passed through the ages.

This ability, known as "shadow reading," enables the user to view the shadow, or "trace," of someone lost in inexplicable circumstances. This is not unlike the "Psychometry" practiced elsewhere.

Yuri Kozukata accompanies Hisoka Kurosawa, a woman who possesses the shadow reading ability, to an abandoned inn on Mt. Hikami.

Sensing Yuri could in time become talented at shadow reading, Hisoka takes her along on an assignment.
- - -
While learning about shadow reading from Hisoka, Yuri used the ability to retrieve an album of Postmortem Photographs from a ruined inn on Mt. Hikami. The album was requested by a certain Ren Hojo.

As Ren awoke from a bad dream, he found himself tormented by uncertainty.

Was it really just a dream? Or a suppressed childhood memory?

This question has plagued him for some time.

* Second Drop: Mt. Hikami(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find Fuyuhi Himino.)
It has been several days since the incident at the inn. Hisoka is out on a case. A young girls comes to the shop and finds a worried Yuri.

Yuri is given a missing person case, something Hisoka forbade.
- - - - -
A few days have passed since Yuri's introduction to shadow reading at the abandoned inn.

Since then, Hisoka has gone off somewhere and hasn't returned. Yuri worries for Hisoka, but isn't sure how or where to start searching.

As she sits waiting at the antiques shop, a girl named Fuyuhi Himino shows up, claiming to have enlisted Hisoka to help her find a missing person.
- - - - -
While searching for her friend, Fuyuhi Himino ended up taking her own life.

Having witnessed Fuyuhi's final moments, Yuri knows she wasn't alone when she died. What of that other woman who killed herself in the same way? Not to mention the mysterious shrine maiden, sodden from the rain...

Yuri managed to locate Hisoka's Camera Obscura, along with a charm she always liked to wear. For now, she must return to the antiques shop alone.

* Third Drop: Postmortem Photography(Ren Hojo)

(Search for information.)
Ren Hojo, the author who sent Hisoka to find the photographs, take a closer look at the album.

One photo catches his eye, and he decides to investigate further. He goes to the inn with a Camera Obscura and Rui, his assistant.
- - - - -
Ren Hojo, a writer is haunted by a recurring dream in which he kills a young girl during a ritual.

He receives an album of Postmortem Photographs, located on his request by Hisoka. Upon viewing one of the photos, Ren recognizes the very scene from his dreams.

Eager to delve further into this puzzling mystery, Ren heads to the abandoned inn in person this time, bringing along his assistant, Rui Kagamiya.
- - - - -
The photo album left behind by the innkeeper was put together by a folklorist who lived on My. Hikami. As Ren and Rui explored the inn and traced the spirit of its owner, a ghost tried to lure Rui to suicide. Then, through the pouring rain, an ominous shrine maiden appeared.

Ren and Rui left the mountain with more questions than when they started.

* Interlude: Shadow Reading(Yuri Kozukata)

(find a token that will lead you to Hisoka.)
That mountain...
After Fuyuhi's death, countless corpses washed into the Pool of Purification, along with the Camera Obscura. Hisoka must be up there somewhere.

Yuri sets about looking for clues.
- - - - -
With Hisoka still missing, Yuri recalls what she witnessed on the mountain: Fuyuhi, taking her own life while entranced by a malevolent spirit, and the bodies of dead shrine maidens washed up at the Pool of Purification.

These disquieting images leave Yuri with no doubt that My. Hikami houses some kind of horrifying secret.

Yuri takes the Camera Obscura that she found on the mountain and begins searching for a token that will lead her to Hisoka.
- - - - -
Using the Camera Obscura, Yuri found a number of missing person case files connected to My. Hikami.

She is now more determined than ever to head back to the mountain and find Hisoka.

* Fourth Drop: Spirited Away(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find Haruka Momose.)
Fuyuhi had been searching for her friend, a girl called Haruka Momose.

Yuri finds a photo of Haruka in Hisoka's desk, and uses it to follow her trace, leading her back to Mt. Hikami.
- - - - -
After finding a missing persons file on Hisoka's desk, Yuri realizes Hisoka had been looking for Haruka Momose.

She recalls what Fuyuhi said when they passed the Shrine of Dolls; "Haruka... She's here."

With this in mind, Yuri heads to the Shrine of Dolls, hoping that if she finds Haruka, she may just learn of Hisoka's whereabouts too.
- - - - -
Yuri finds the missing Haruka Momose in a reliquary in a cave beneath the Shrine of Dolls.

She takes the girl back to the shop. Haruka is in no state to talk and can't explain what happened to her.

That night Haruka is visited by Fuyuhi's ghost, which takes her back to the mountain.

* Fifth Drop: The Veiled House(Ren Hojo)

(Find the Veiled House.)
From the writings he found at Ichiru Manor, Ren learns of a folklorist who lived on Mt. Hikami.

Ren sets out to the Unfathomable Forest to see if the rumors of a "disappearing house" are true.
- - - - -
In the course of their investigation, Ren and Rui learn of Keiji Watarai, a folklorist who settled on Mt. Hikami.

His writings are certain to be a treasure trove of information about the mountain and its peculiar folklore. Ren and Rui happen across a video tape that may just indicate the way to Watarai's residence.
- - - - -
Ren Rui arrived at the Veiled House, where they discovered several of Keiji Watarai's writings on the customs and beliefs surrounding Mt. Hikami.

They escaped the house, only to see it vanish in a thick veil of mist.

* Sixth Drop: Immortal Flower(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find Miu Hinasaki.)
Yuri found Haruka trapped underground in a reliquary and brought her back, only to see her taken away by a ghost.

Yuri heads to Mt. Hikama to look for new clues and to find another missing person, Miu Hinasaki.
- - - - -
After being brought back from the mountain, Haruka disappeared again. This time, she seemed to be led away by the ghost of her friend, Fuyuhi.

Yuri recalls one more open case from Hisoka's file: A missing girl named Miu Hinasaki, who went to Mt. Hikami in search of her mother.

Yuri takes Miu's token with her and sets out for the mountain, hoping that the key to all the disappearances will be waiting there.
- - - - -
Miu Hinasaki was found in a reliquary within the Shrine of the Ephemeral.

Yuri attempted to glance the sleeping Miu's memories, but found the tables turned against her.

It seems Miu also possesses the same shadow reading abilities as Yuri.

* Seventh Drop: Maiden of Black Water(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find Hisoka Kurosawa.)
Yuri finds Miu in the Shrine of the Ephemeral, but not Hisoka.

Yuri's final hope is to follow the river upstream from where she found the Camera Obscura to its source, the Lake of the Departed.
- - - - -
Yuri managed to rescue Miu from the Shrine of the Ephemeral, but obtained no new information about Hisoka.

The only clues she has are a photograph found in the Camera obscura and the vision she saw when she touched Hisoka's charm. These lead Yuri to believe Hisoka is somewhere upstream.

Clinging to this last hope of finding her friend, Yuri heads towards the Lake of the Departed, located on Mt. Hikami's summit.
- - - - -
Yuri followed Hisoka's trace to the shore of the lake of the Departed, where it vanished into the mist. In her place, a woman appeared: the same dark presence seen in Hisoka's photograph. Unable to inflict any damage with the Camera obscura, Yuri's only option was to run.

Yuri recalled the outline of a large torii gate over the misty lake. Could that be where Hisoka was headed?

* Eighth Drop: Witching hour(Ren Hojo)

(Keep watch.)
Miu and Yuri sleep after returning from Mt. Hikami.

Learning that Haruka has been taken by a ghost, Ren and Rui keep a watchful eye on the girls to prevent it happening again.
- - - - -
When Yuri returns from Mt. Hikami's summit, she quickly collapses from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Miu is also in an unnaturally deep slumber.

Worried that some unwanted visitors may be on their way, Ren and his assistant Rui decide to watch over the girls through the shop's surveillance system.
- - - - -
Ren is watching over the sleeping Yuri and Miu on the surveillance cameras, but he passes out. He has a dream where he's chasing after Rui. When he wakes up, both Yuri and Rui are gone. He finds Miu getting ready to leave for Mt. Hikami, taking Yuri's Camera Obscura with her. The door shuts behind Miu, leaving a bewildered Ren behind.

* Ninth Drop: The Sacret Casket(Miu Hinasaki)

(Find Yuri Kozukata.)
Yuri has vanished from the shop.

Miu takes the Camera obscura and heads to Mt. Hikami to search for her.
- - - - -
Miu wakes up to discover that Yuri has been taken to My. Hikami.

She borrows Yuri's Camera Obscura and heads for the mountain, against Ren's advice.

She hopes not only to find Yuri, but some clues to her mother's whereabouts as well.
- - - - -
As Yuri waded into the mist over the lake of the Departed, she was stopped by Miu.

The distance between the girls seemed to narrow. Losing their parents at a young age and being able to see into the souls of others... The girls have more in common than they may have first realized.

Yuri still hasn't found Hisoka, while Miu still searches for her mother, Miku.

The eerie dark figure that appeared at the lake may just hold all the answers. But why does she keep calling out to Yuri?

* Tenth Drop: Ghost marriage(Ren Hojo)

(Find Rui Kagamiya)
Ren goes in search of Rui, who has vanished from the antiques shop. He heads to the Veiled House, which is where he saw Rui in his dream.
- - - - -
Ren checks the surveillance footage only to discover that Rui has also been beckoned away to the mountain.

He recalls the dream he had after he fell asleep: Rui was inside the Veiled House, a.k.a. the Watarai Residence.

Ren knows this is where he must head next.
- - - - -
Ren found Rui in a reliquary in the Veiled House, only to be pulled in himself. He awoke in an unfamiliar building.

An old woman dressed in white led Ren to a room in which Rui was waiting, dressed as a bride. This seemed to be the room in which weddings between the living and the dead are held.

* Eleventh Drop: Shadowborn(Miu Hinasaki)

(Find Miku Hinasaki.)
Miu's mother, Miku, is on Mt. Hikami.

Convinced of this, Miu takes the Camera obscura from Yuri's room while she sleeps.
- - - - -
Having brought Yuri back from the Lake of the Departed, Miu stays awhile at the antiques shop.

Convinced her mother, Miku Hinasaki, is somewhere on Mt. Hikami, Miu knows the only way to find her is to follow her shadow.

To do so, she needs the help of Yuri's Camera obscura.
- - - - -
Miu finally found Miku on My. Hikami, where she had entered into a ghost Marriage at the House of Joining.

Miku explained her desperate wish to be reunited with her beloved, pleading for Miu's forgiveness.

Miu led her mother away from the mountain and back to the antiques shop.

Miu and Miku lay side by side and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* Twelfth Drop: To the Other Side(Yuri Kozukata)

(Find Hisoka Kurosawa.)
Rescued by Miu, Yuri decides to continue chasing after Hisoka.

Across the mists of the Lake of the Departed stands a massive torii, leading to the Shrine on the Water.
- - - - -
Yuri ponders what she saw at the lake of the Departed: Hisoka's shadow vanishing into a thick veil of mist.

She recalls the tall Torii gate rising from the lake, marking the entrance to the Shrine on the Water.

Could Hisoka be in that Shrine? Yuri knows she must find a way across. She goes to investigate the Shrine of the Ephemeral.
- - - - -
Yuri boarded the Boat of Passage and was taken to the Shrine on the Water, the final destination for shrine maidens set to become Pillars.

Yuri found Hisoka inside the shrine and took her safely back to the antiques shop.

The bond between the two of them grew even stronger.

* Thirteenth Drop: The Dark Sun(Ren Hojo)

(Stop the ghosts from getting into the shop. )
Rui, Miu, Miku, Hisoka and Yuri have all returned from Mt. Hikami.

The Dark Sun has followed them. The mountain will not let them go.

Ren must protect them, alone.
- - - - -
Rui, Miu, Miku, Hisoka and Yuri all fall into an unusually deep slumber.

Ren fears that while this persists, the defenseless group may be vulnerable to attack. Time to get back to those surveillance cameras.

Ren knows he must find out what's going on with Mt. Hikami before something comes to pay a visit.
- - - - -
Ren learned of the true purpose of the rituals performed on Mt. Hikami.

The mountain acts as a boundary between the world of the living and that of the dead. A place at which the souls of visitors were returned to the water from which they were born.

Shrine maidens absorbed the memories of the dying, and when they could take no more, they were sacrificed in reliquaries.

Ghost Marriages served to console and strengthen the souls of those sacrificed. Wedded couples were thrown into the darkness that leads to the Netherworld.

Water connects everything.

* Last Drop: Bride from Black Water

(Yuri, Ren, and Miu go to meet their fates.)
Caught up in the madness of Mt. Hikami, Yuri, Miu, and Ren all make their way there, each for their own reasons.

A heavy fog descends, as if to snuff out all hope of escape.
- - - - -
The glow of the Dark Sun fades away and the sleeping girls regain consciousness.

The mountain calls to our three protagonists. Their individual mysteries await resolution.

* First Thread: Stranger in the Rain(Ayane)

(Find Tsumugi.)
Ayane undertakes a quest to search for a girl named Tsumugi who has gone missing.

Following her trail, Ayane makes her way into the abandoned inn, and encounters the impossible.
- - - - -
Ayane is a ninja from the Mugen Tenshin Ninja Clan's Hajinmon sect.

Her mission: To search for a missing girl, Tsumugi katashina, last seen near Mt. Hikami

Ayane spins a Purple Thread which should help lead her to the girl.
- - - - -
Ayane agreed to look for a missing girl named Tsumugi.
Stealing herself into the abandoned inn on Mt. Hikami, she was severely wounded by a malicious ghost.

How can she fight off these supernatural foes? Ayane made her escape, realizing she may need the help of forbidden magic...

* Second Thread: Purple Ties

(Follow Tsumugi's trail.)
That which should not be: the spirits of the dead.

Unable to detect their presence, Ayane covers herself with protective charms and heads back to the mountain.
- - - - -
When confronted by spirits from the Netherworld, Ayane is forced to make a fast retreat from the mountain.

She heads in search of a means to fight her new opponents.
- - - - -
Ayane cast a spell on herself, bringing her closer to death. Enveloped in darkness, she followed a purple thread connected to her target, Tsumugi.

The thread led her to the Shrine of the Ephemeral, located on the summit of Mt. Hikami.

* Third Thread: The Shrine of the Ephemeral

(Find Tsumugi.)
The purple thread connected to Tsumugi vanishes at the Shrine of the Ephemeral atop Mt. Hikami.

Ayane makes her way in.
- - - - -
The Purple Thread leads Ayane to the Shrine of the Ephemeral on Mt. Hikami's summit.

She heads inside the old shrine, which seems to exude darkness itself.
- - - - -
Ayane searched the Shrine of the Ephemeral.

She located and rescued Tsumugi, who was being swallowed by the Black Water.

An unsettling presence surrounded the pair. Beings from the Netherworld were all around.

* Last Thread: Wash Away

(Escape with Tsumugi.)
Ayane rescues Tsumugi from the shrine, but the two are surrounded by creatures from the Netherworld.

Ayane takes Tsumugi with her and plans their escape.
- - - - -
Within the Shrine of the Ephemeral, Ayane locates Tsumugi and rescues her from the Black Water. The next step is to plan their escape.

Surrounded by evil spirits, Ayane knows she has to think fast.