Dream Journey: According to my research, this shrine should be abandoned since the Meiji era...
Ace: Then explain why the offering box just creaked open by itself.
Vodka: Focus on the storm. Nothing else.
white hoof: Relax, city girls. I got lost in these mountains before you were foaled.
Dream Journey: Ah, a local! Perfect—do you know the way down?
white hoof: Path's gone. Only way is through the shrine.
Vodka: Hear that? Hoofbeats. But... no horse.
Dream Journey: In the literature, they mention phantom horses that guide travelers to—
Ace: Don't say it. Don't you dare say it.
white hoof: The masks inside. They're not fox spirits. They're... previous visitors.
Dream Journey: Previous visitors who did what?
white hoof: Who stayed too long. Like we're about to.
Ace: We leave now. Storm or no storm.
Vodka: Too late. The shrine has chosen its next mask.
Dream Journey: My research never mentioned this outcome...
white hoof: That's because no one ever leaves to write about it.