Through the heavy iron bars, Mio raises her Camera Obscura to photograph Mayu inside ('Vanishing: Imprisoned Mayu').
Mio's eyes fill with guilt and worry as she softly reassures: 'I'm sorry... please wait a little longer, Mayu.'
Mayu presses her hands tightly against the bars, pleading with desperate fragility: 'Don't go... stay here. Mio... don't forget... our promise... I don't want to be alone anymore...'
Holding back tears, Mio turns away. After walking a short distance, Mayu's hollow, heartbreaking whisper echoes behind her:
'Yae... broke our promise again...'
Mio walks down the storehouse corridor and through the underground cellar. Suddenly, the dead black-and-white silence falls again—the invincible Kusabi appears in relentless pursuit! Sprinting for her life, Mio flees the Kurosawa House across the Whispering Bridge to the Twin Bell Gate. Finding the gate locked, Mio darts left into the dense thicket, holding her breath as the Kusabi forces the gate open. Once the terrifying entity fades into the distance, Mio steps out, her flashlight strangely flickering back to life.
Moving through the grass toward the Floating Island, Mio uses 'Reveal' to manifest a small walkway bridge across the water. Looking left from the bridge, she captures a drowned phantom ('Bound: Woman Dead in Water') and retrieves the 'Water-Soaked Note'.
Passing through the Twin Bell Gate and turning right, Mio captures a falling spirit at the stone stairs ('Vanishing: Falling Woman'); climbing the steps and turning left, she photographs dancing red lights ('Vanishing: Fluttering Butterfly').
Following the red butterfly to the Osaka House, Masumi's return manifests at the door ('Vanishing: Man Returning to Lover'); entering the entrance, Mio photographs a child in the corner ('Bound: Girl Playing Hide-and-Seek').
Entering the Altar Room, Mio photographs the right wall ('Vanishing: Man Facing Wall'). Seijiro Makabe's voice echoes: 'The boy who knows the underground entrance... is said to be locked in a storehouse...'
Crouching low beneath the broken partition on the left, Mio captures three entangled spirits ('Vanishing: Strangled Woman', 'Strangling Man', 'Reunited Couple').
Mio uses 'Reveal' on the wall Seijiro was facing, exposing an ancient puzzle mechanism. Solving the puzzle opens a hidden entrance to the underground passage!
Descending into the Osaka underground, Mio takes the left branch to find 'Twin Doll 29'. Continuing deeper and taking the next left branch, she captures the folklorist ('Vanishing: Man Investigating Underground'), hearing his whisper: 'The underground passages... were they once connected? Somewhere in here...'
Crawling through a narrow hole, Mio finds the 'Rusty Key' in a wooden box deep inside.
Clutching the key, hope blazes: 'With this key, I can save Mayu!'
Suddenly, a disfigured hostile spirit ('Hostile: Mourner') attacks! Mio quickly raises her camera and banishes him.
Returning to the Altar Room, Mio photographs a shadow being dragged into the dark along the dirt corridor ('Vanishing: Dragged Shadow'). Climbing the stairs, she uses the Flash Lens to reveal a passage, defeating an attacking child spirit ('Hostile: Boy Playing Tag'). She picks up 'Child's Note 3', 'Spirit Stone: Aragonite', and photographs 'Twin Doll 18'. Aiming toward the roof outside, she captures 'Twin Doll 19'.
Advancing into the inner room, Mio captures Masumi in the hallway ('Vanishing: Man Heading In'). Inside, a horrific memory overwhelms her—Miyako finally reunited with Masumi, only to be strangled to death by her mad lover... The phantoms of both ('Hostile: Masumi Makimura', 'Hostile: Miyako Sudo') attack simultaneously! Mio purifies them, retrieves 'Spirit Stone: Carnelian', and uses the Flash Lens to reveal a hidden crawlspace.
Entering the second-floor Study, Mio captures Seijiro browsing documents ('Vanishing: Man in Study'), picks up 'Folklorist's Note 5' from the bookshelf, and captures 'Bound: Boy Peeking from Beam' overhead.
Leaving the Osaka House, the red butterfly leads to the Tsuchihara House front, where Mio captures a weeping woman ('Vanishing: Weeping Woman') and retrieves 'Butterfly Diary 10' and 'Spirit Stone: Fluorite'.
Circling behind the storehouse, Mio consults Itsuki Tachibana.
Through the barred window, Itsuki speaks urgently:
'Yae... haven't you saved Sae yet...? With that key, you should be able to free her... You don't need to come here anymore. Yae, leave me and escape the village. By the way, Munakata seems to have entered the village. He will surely come for you. Once you save Sae, go find him immediately. Yae... both of you must escape... you must not let that ritual happen.'
Seeking clues about Munakata, Mio goes to the Kurosawa front yard, capturing three reunited phantoms ('Vanishing: Reunited Youth', 'Reunited Sae', 'Reunited Yae', 'Reunited Trio'), picking up 'Green Diary 1' and 'Crushed Phosphosiderite', starting [Side Event: Ryozo Munakata].
Heading to Kureha Shrine, she captures priests walking along the long stairs and path ('Vanishing: Priests Heading to Shrine', 'Climbing Priests', 'Priests on Path', 'Priests at Shrine'). Behind the shrine, she photographs Ryozo ('Vanishing: Youth Investigating Shrine') and finds 'Green Diary 3'.
Rushing back to the Kurosawa storehouse cell with the key, a hollow voice echoes from within: 'Yae... you're finally here...'
Mio unlocks the iron cell with the 'Rusty Key', but the room is completely empty! Mio captures the residual image at the table ('Vanishing: Mayu Writing Note') and picks up 'Mayu's Note'.
A traumatic memory floods Mio's mind—
In the pitch-black forest, young Itsuki covers the escape of Yae and Sae.
Itsuki urges: 'Run together from here. Don't look back...'
Yae pulls weak Sae through the dense woods, but Sae cannot keep up.
Sae cries: 'Yae, wait for me... don't leave me...'
Their hands slip apart during the desperate run... Sae tumbles down the ravine and is captured by the villagers. Even in despair, Sae fiercely believes Yae will return to save her...
Snapping back to reality, Mio sees crooked, chilling words carved into the cell wall:
'Did you leave me behind again?'
Mio's heart tears apart. Tearfully, she whispers: 'Mayu...'
Turning to leave, Sae's spirit stands outside the cell: 'The ritual must happen again...'
Mio photographs her ('Vanishing: Woman at Storehouse') and picks up 'Spirit Stone: Fluorite', starting [Side Event: Sae Kurosawa].
Using the Spirit Glow Lens, Mio follows Mayu's trail into the Cloth Hallway ('Vanishing: Mayu Leaving Storehouse'). At the Altar Room, she photographs a beckoning child ('Vanishing: Beckoning Boy'), finding 'Child's Note 2' and 'Spirit Stone: Prehnite', and banishes an attacking ghost ('Hostile: Boy Chased by Ghost').
Tracking Mayu to the Storeroom, she captures her heading to the entrance ('Vanishing: Mayu Heading to Entrance'). Mayu's sorrowful whisper echoes: 'I'm sorry... if only we could meet one last time...'
Ascending to the second floor, Mio captures a woman outside the Master's Room ('Vanishing: Woman Returning to Room'). In the Doll Room, she captures the twins practicing the ritual ('Vanishing: Practicing Sae', 'Practicing Yae', 'Practicing Twins'), picking up 'Butterfly Diary 5', and captures 'Vanishing: Girl in Doll Shadow'.
Returning through the Guest Room, she captures massacred victims of the Repentance ('Vanishing: Hanging Hand', 'Trapped Woman', 'Woman Seeking Hand').
Downstairs in the Great Hall, she defeats a hostile priest ('Hostile: Veiled Priest') and photographs a kneeling spirit ('Bound: Bowed Woman').
Stepping outside into the night wind, Mio captures Mayu wandering toward the bridge ('Vanishing: Mayu Heading to Bridge').
Mio crosses the wooden bridge and rushes through the Twin Bell Gate. Reaching the base of the Heavenly Bridge between the Kiryu and Tachibana houses, Mio looks up—high on the bridge, Mayu walks like a marionette, closely shadowed by a terrifying, vengeful spirit...
天之橋上的繭與背後的怨靈