[The Vermillion Town, Sakaiminato]
The Grand Temperance drifted through the frozen channel towards Sakaiminato beneath a suffocating blanket of fog, its lanterns reduced to pale smears of light against the dark. From the deck, the island looked less inhabited than haunted. Snow coated the harbour roofs in thick layers, temple bells echoed faintly somewhere beyond the mist, and along the docks, figures stood unnaturally still as the ship approached. Sailors should have called out by now. Dockworkers should have moved to receive mooring lines. Instead, silence lingered too long, broken only by the groan of timber and the uneasy murmuring spreading amongst the crew.
Whatever disagreement had taken place below deck was quickly overshadowed by the atmosphere swallowing the vessel whole. Men who had crossed violent seas and endured hardship without complaint now exchanged uncertain glances, rubbing cold hands together whilst a deep, instinctive dread settled into their bones. The air itself felt wrong. Not dangerous in the ordinary sense, but hollow, as though something sacred had long since abandoned the island and left only its shadow behind. Even the townsfolk watching from the harbour stirred discomfort. Their smiles lingered too long, their movements seemed delayed, unnatural, and several pairs of eyes reflected strangely beneath the lantern light. One old fisherman bowed his head politely whilst his jaw stretched just slightly wider than it should have. A woman carrying baskets turned away, revealing fingers tipped with darkened claws before they slipped back beneath her sleeves. Another figure vanished into an alleyway, though the sound of footsteps never followed.
The crew noticed. Fear spread quickly after that.
Then the sea erupted.
Black water crashed over the deck as something colossal slammed against the hull hard enough to shake the entire ship. Crates skidded loose, barrels toppled across the planks, and several men were thrown from their feet as a monstrous shape dragged itself from the freezing depths. Chains rattled violently as the creature rose towering above the vessel, its swollen body wrapped in iron restraints that hung from its limbs like execution weights. Pale flesh bulged over monstrous muscle, crimson hair hung wild around a face twisted into a permanent snarl, and in each massive hand it dragged iron spheres large enough to crush a man flat. The thing looked less alive than condemned, like a demon hauled screaming from the pits of hell itself.
Panic swept the deck. Some sailors stumbled backwards whilst others froze outright, but beyond the ship the harbour erupted as well. The watching townsfolk began to change. Skin split at the jawline to reveal rows of sharpened teeth, eyes glowed amber beneath human disguises, and hunched figures poured from alleyways and rooftops with distorted laughter spilling from their throats. Low-ranking Yokai, creatures that had hidden amongst the living, finally cast aside their borrowed faces now that blood and terror had filled the air.
The island had been watching them since the moment they entered its waters.
Now it welcomed them properly.
7!
