Suddenly, the wit purple raised her staff once more, the smirk on her lips widening with a cruel, knowing amusement.

  This time, the very air surrounding the shrine shimmered, twisting unnaturally. The serene, almost sacred atmosphere of the shrine distorted like a refle in rippling water. Then, as if reality itself was tearing apart, fractures split through the space outside the shrine. Jagged, gaping rifts that bled darkness.

  One by one, grotesque creatures crawled, slithered, and skittered from the swirling voids. Their forms twisted as if they couldn’t decide on a single shape. Limbs bent at unnatural angles, eyes appearing and vanishing in chaotic patterns across their shifting bodies. Some had too many mouths, others had he air grew heavy with a suffog, corrupt presehe very essence of these beings wrong, like they were never meant to exist in this world.

  The shrine in the vision trembled uhe weight of the unnatural energy. The paper charms hanging from the wooden beams fluttered violently, as if trying to ward off the encroag corruption. The golden ors oar rattled against the wood, and the tatami mats darkened as an eerie shadow spread across the floor.

  “I’ll collect my loot ter,” the witch mused, giving a zy wave of her hand. Her tone was almost pyful, as though she had merely left behind an annoying little trap. “Enjoy getting corrupted.”

  With that, she turned away, stepping off the cliffside as if gravity itself bowed to her whims. Her form melted into the darkness, vanishing into the distance as though she had never beeo begin with.

  Then, with a final shudder, the vision colpsed. The holographic proje trembled before shattering into tless shards of glowing violet light. The fragments scattered into the air, dissolving like dying embers caught in the wind.

  And just like that, silence.

  The shriuro its eerie stillness, the weight of the past lingering like an unshakable shadow. The once-floating light was gone, leaving behind only the whisper of the wind filtering through the broken ttice windows. Dust swirled zily in the dim afternoon sunlight, catg in the beams that streamed through the cracks in the wooden walls. The aged floor creaked softly under my shifting stance, as if the shriself had exhaled after witnessing something it had long tried tet.

  Yuzu's grip on my sleeve tightened. Her fox ears flicked back, her bck tails bristling and puffed up in arm. Even Ai, who had been silent until now, let out a low, warning growl, the fur oiny body standing on end.

  “Bery bad,” Yuzu whispered, barely audible. Her voice trembled, her usually pyful energy drained. “Bery, bery bad.”

  The voice, dista pleading, seemed to seep into the very foundation of the shrine, carried by unseen forces that made the air around us shiver.

  "Please… save us. Before we disappear pletely."

  It was as if the shriself eaking, its aimbers groaning uhe weight of unseen sorrow. The glow above the altar pulsed weakly, its dim light flickering like a dle struggling against the wind. Dust swirled zily through the air, illuminated by the golden rays of the setting sun filtering through the broken ttice windows. The st of old wood and faded inse lingered, a quiet reminder of the prayers that had once filled this sacred pce. But now, the air was thick, heavy with something unseen, as if the very walls of the shrine were suffog under an invisible force.

  I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to breathe. Yuzu stood close beside me, her grip on my sleeve tightening as her bck tails bristled, the fur standing on end. Her ears flicked baot in curiosity, but in arm. Ai remaie my feet, her tiny frame trembling slightly, eyes locked onto the wavering glow as if staring at something beyond what we could see.

  For a moment, the sileretched on, pressing down on us like a held breath. Then, at st, the voice spoke again. This time, the weight in its tone was unmistakable, as though whatever eaking to us was barely holding on.

  "The corruption is severe… We only have two more weeks before it pletely takes hold. We have resisted for over a tury, but we are falling short."

  A cold dread curled in my chest at those words. The air thied, pressing against my skin, as though something unseen was trying to pull me under. Beh my feet, the wooden floorboards trembled ever so slightly, as if the shriself was alive. Breathing, struggling, dying.

  “Corruption?” I echoed, my voice barely above a whisper. The word itself sent a shiver down my spine. “What do you mean?”

  The glow above the altar flickered again, dimming until it was nearly extinguished before fring back up, its golden light twisting unnaturally, as though somethirying to smother it. The moment stretched unbearably long before the voice finally responded.

  "The witch sought the power of the foxes… specifically, the fox gift of spatial magic. With that power, she could summon beings beyond this world. Creatures beyond mortal prehension. If she succeeds, this world will not withstand their presence. Reality itself will fracture."

  A deep, chilling silence followed. The kind that settled into your bohe kind that made you feel impossibly small. I struggled to process the weight of what I had just heard. The fox-kin’s spatial magic… That’s what this was all about?

  Yuzu’s grip on my sleeve tightened. When I turo look at her, her usually carefree expression was o be found. Her dark jet bck eyes, usually bright with mischief and curiosity, were clouded with worry. Her tails, normally swaying with pyful energy, remaiiff, the fur along them standing on end like a warning.

  Yuzu gripped my hand tightly, her usual pyful demeanor absent. "Bery dangerous," she muttered under her breath, barely above a whisper. "Bery, bery dangerous."

  A knot tightened in my stomach at her words. Even without fully uanding what we were up against, I knew ohing for certain, if Yuzu was scared, then this was beyond anything I had faced before.

  I forced myself to take a steadying breath. My hands ched into fists at my sides. “What… what do we do?” I asked, my voice steadier now, more determined.

  The light pulsed once more, as if in respoo my resolve. The wind ihe shriilled, the eerie, suffog atmosphere thick with anticipation. The air itself seemed to hold its breath.

  "You must se the corruption before it es us entirely."

  The glow above the altar flickered one final time, then dimmed to the fai ember.

  "Or we will be lost forever."

  A sharp chime rang through the shrine, followed by a ripple of energy surging through the air. I gasped as glowing symbols appeared in front of me, lines of text materializing in midair like a game interface. The letters shimmered with ahereal glow, h just above the altar.

  [Shrine Maiden authority activated, summoning corruption interface]

  A sed window blinked ience beh it:

  [Corruption: 205,422 / 231,234 (88.83%)]

  My breath hitched. I had no idea what I was looking at, but the meaning was clear enough. Whatever this "corruption" was, it had already ed nearly y pert of the shrihe numbers pulsed ominously, like a tdown to something irreversible. The moment I had stepped forward, something had respoo me, activating this strange system. It reized me. A chill ran down my spine. Ai let out a low whimper and nudged my leg, her eyes dartiween me and the interface.

  Another prompt flickered ience:

  [Would you like to begin corruption purification?]

  [Yes] [No]

  I swallowed hard. Whatever this was, I had been chosen, no, forced into it. And if I had any hope of saving this shrine and those within it… I had no choice but to press [Yes].

  The moment my finger hovered over the glowi, a deep hum resohrough the shrine, vibrating through the wooden floor beh me. The interface pulsed in response, as if aowledging my decision before I had even made it.

  I took a steadying breath and pressed [Yes].

  A burst of light erupted from the altar, washing over the room in a wave of warmth. It wasn’t blinding, but it carried a weight, an undeniable force that pressed against my skin a shivers down my spihe wooden beams groaned, and the dust that had settled over turies stirred, lifting into the air like tiny stars caught in the shrine’s newfound radiance.

  Yuzu’s grip on my arm tightened. “Mashiro… something bery happening.”

  I barely had time tister her words before another prompt materialized in front of me, glowing with urgent iy:

  [Initiating Purification Ritual: Phase 1]

  [Analyzing Shriegrity…]

  [Spatial Distortioed. Sealing Barriers promised.]

  The air grew heavier, thick with an unseen pressure that curled around my body like uendrils. The shriself seemed to breathe, responding to the magiow c through it. Shadows flickered at the edges of the room, ing unnaturally, stretg as if resisting the purification process.

  A new set of options fshed ience:

  [Select Purifiethod]

  ? Direct Exorcism (High Risk - High Effibsp;

  ? Gradual sing (Low Risk - Slow Efficy)

  ? Invoke Spiritual Guardian (???)

  [WARNING: Shrine Maiden Level Too Low]

  [Attempting Direct Exorcism without adequate spiritual fortification will result in failure and potential backsh.]

  I hesitated, my eyes darting over the choices. Eae pulsed with an eerie glow, awaiting my and.

  “Mashiro…” Yuzu’s voice was quieter now, almost reverent. Her eyes reflected the shimmeri before us, her usual cheerfulness repced with something more solemn. “This shrine… bery wants Mashiro’s help.”

  I exhaled slowly. This was more than just some random interface, it was a desperate plea for salvation. The question was…

  Which path should I take?