It was dusk, and the sun was setting. Mio and her twin sister, Mayu, walked along the deserted riverbed where wild blossoms grew.
The gentle murmur of the water filled the air, but looking down at the quiet stream, their steps grew heavy.
'Mayu...'
Mio called out softly in her heart as she gazed at the flowing water.
That promise was something they used to whisper almost like a ritual.
'We'll be together... forever...'
Mio gazes at the mountain stream
Looking at the familiar stream, Mio could not help but recall their childhood days when they used to play here.
Mayu had joyfully chased Mio along the rocky bank. But in an unguarded instant, Mio realized the footsteps behind her had stopped. Turning around, she saw only a small figure slipping and tumbling down into the gorge...
Young Mayu falling into the gorge
Mayu survived the accident, but her right leg never fully healed, leaving her with a permanent limp.
Ever since, that day remained an indelible scar of guilt in Mio's heart.
A gentle hand rested on Mio's shoulder from behind, breaking her train of thought.
Mayu smiled softly and said, 'We used to play here a lot, didn't we?'
'Yeah... We did,' Mio replied with a faint smile.
Mayu looked into the distance with a hint of sorrow: 'Because of the dam construction, this whole place will soon be submerged under water and disappear forever. I'm so glad we could visit one last time...'
Mio glanced worriedly at her sister's leg. 'Is your leg okay? Does it hurt?'
Mayu shook her head gently. 'A little... but I'm fine.'
'Mio...' Mayu hesitated.
'...Yes? What is it, Mayu?'
Suddenly, a butterfly glowing with a faint crimson hue fluttered across Mayu's vision. Mayu's gaze drifted, her eyes turning hollow.
'...It's nothing,' she whispered, yet her eyes remained fixed on the crimson butterfly.
A crimson butterfly flutters by
Mio fell back into self-reproach: 'Mayu... if only I hadn't run so fast back then...'
Snapping back to reality, Mio turned around, only to find the spot beside her empty.
'Mayu...?'
Searching in panic, Mio was terrified to see Mayu walking into the deep, dark woods as if possessed, chasing after the red butterfly...
Mayu follows the crimson butterfly into the woods
Desperate to catch up, Mio pushed through the dense undergrowth. Beside the desolate mountain path, she passed a pair of moss-covered twin Jizo statues.
Mio passes the twin Jizo statues
The moment she stepped past the statues, a wave of dizziness overcame Mio, and the world twisted before her eyes. The dusk vanished in an instant, swallowed by an unnatural, dead of night.
Pushing forward through the disorientation, Mio reached a dilapidated Torii gate. Before it knelt a woman in a white kimono, weeping and repeating in despair: 'I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...'
A woman in white weeping
As Mio approached, the weeping woman dissolved into a crimson butterfly and scattered into the air.
Following its flight, Mio spotted Mayu in the clearing ahead.
Behind Mayu, hundreds of glowing red butterflies surged forth, enveloping her in their eerie light.
Butterflies swarm behind Mayu
Mayu gazed quietly at Mio and murmured: 'This is... the village that vanished from the map.'
'I heard the legend once... A village disappeared on the day of a festival. Anyone who gets lost in the forest is lured here...'
With trembling eyes, Mayu asked, 'Could this place... really be...?'
Clinging to each other in fear, the twins descended a steep path through the fog. Through the mist below, they saw the lonely silhouette of a woman stepping slowly into a large wooden mansion.
'Is there... someone living here...?' Mayu gripped Mio's sleeve tightly.
Following the woman's path to the front entrance, Mio found a yellowed, mildewed newspaper clipping on the dark wooden floor.
Pushing open the heavy front door, the silence inside was broken only by their rapid heartbeats.
'It seems... nobody is here. Mayu, should we check further inside?'
Mio looked back and saw Mayu trembling violently.
'Mayu...? Mayu! What's wrong?'
Mio reached out in panic to touch her shoulder. The instant their fingers met, a psychic shock surged into Mio's mind!
Mio's consciousness was pulled into the manor's dark past—
In a gloomy backyard, a woman cried frantically: 'Masumi... where are you?'
A man approached, hollow-eyed, tormented by madness: 'I didn't want to kill you... I never wanted to!'
The man clamped his hands around the woman's throat. Amidst her dying gasps, a chilling laughter from a mysterious woman in a kimono echoed through the void...
Mio gasped and opened her eyes, snapped back to reality.
'What was that...?' Mio panted in terror.
'I don't know... I don't know...' Mayu clutched her head, tears streaming down her face.
Seeking answers and an escape route, Mio guided Mayu into the Grand Tatami Room. In a dim corner, they found a working Flashlight and Woman's Notebook 1 scattered on the floor.
Pick up the flashlight
Beside an unkempt futon on the other side of the room, they picked up Woman's Notebook 2.
Continuing into the adjacent Kimono Room, they found the Ginger Brass Key beneath a broken window.
'What does this open...?' Mayu asked uneasily, huddling behind Mio. 'Mio... I feel like someone's staring at us...'
Later, they retrieved Woman's Notebook 3 in the Storeroom, and Woman's Notebook 4 inside the crawlspace off the Dirt Hallway.
Wary of the oppressive presence around them, they arrived before the Altar Room. The door was locked tight with an engraved ginger crest padlock.
Mio inserted the Ginger Brass Key. With a heavy metallic creak, the door swung open.
'What is that...?' Entering the room, Mio's eyes were drawn to an antique device resting near the shrine.
On the floor of the Altar Room lay a curiously crafted antique camera.
The moment Mio and Mayu touched it together, another horrific memory flooded their minds—
A man in a shadowy graveyard raised the camera. Ghostly pale hands surged from the dark, wrapping around him! At the edge of death, the man desperately released the shutter. A blinding burst of spirit light erupted, and the hands vanished into ash with agonizing shrieks...
Pick up the Camera Obscura
'That was... this camera...' Mayu said, turning pale.
Several aged photos lay beside it, labeled on the back with names like 'Floating Island', 'Shade Mound', and 'Sliding Screen Room'.
'Does it still work?' Mayu asked timidly.
To test it, Mio raised the Camera Obscura, focused on Mayu, and pressed the shutter—
Taking a photo of Mayu
Confirming the camera was functional, they decided to leave the suffocating Altar Room.
Just as Mio reached for the door, Mayu panicked and tugged her sleeve, pointing ahead: 'Someone... is here...'
As the door opened, a horrifying, bleeding spirit of a woman lunged inside!
Ghost behind the door
'Ahhh!'
In the chaos, the vengeful spirit pinned Mayu down onto the freezing floor.
'Let go of my sister!'
Mio frantically raised the Camera Obscura. Locking on in the viewfinder, she triggered the shutter. A burst of spiritual light pushed the spirit back in agony—initiating the first ghost battle: 'Wandering Woman'!
Mayu pinned down by the spirit
After repelling the spirit, Mio helped Mayu to her feet and rushed toward the entrance. But the heavy front door was sealed shut by an unseen spiritual force.
Mayu pointed up toward the second-floor gallery with trembling fingers: 'Mio... look...'
Mio focused her camera upward and caught sight of the woman's spectral silhouette pacing across the upper hallway...
With no other way out, the twins headed upstairs. On the dim second-floor hallway, they found Woman's Notebook 5.
Passing the Guest Room Hallway, Mio saw the shadow turn a corner.
'This place... really is strange...' Mayu whispered.
Entering the Study, the figure vanished once more. Beside a messy bookshelf, Mio found Woman's Notebook 9.
Reading the handwriting, Mio murmured: 'She wandered in here just like us, looking for her lost boyfriend. But... what happened to her?'
'Mio... why is this...'
Mayu's voice froze in absolute terror.
From the pitch-black shadows behind Mio, the pale, bloodstained hands of the dead woman were slowly reaching for Mio's shoulder...
The ghost behind Mio
'Mio! Behind you!'
'Mayu...? Ahhh!'
Before Mio could turn, the spirit threw her to the floor, icy hands clamping down on her throat!
Choking in agony, Mio aimed the Camera Obscura upward and triggered the flash. As the spirit dissipated, Mio saw Miyako Sudo's final memory: she had finally reunited with her fiancé Masumi in this mansion, only to be strangled to death by the man she loved after he lost his sanity...
Mio strangled by the ghost
🔍 補充
1. In the Grand Tatami Room, aim at the window to capture 'Vanishing Spirit: Woman in the Courtyard'.
2. In the Kimono Room, photograph 'Twin Doll 1' beneath the window.