Aoi couldn't get the translucent arm out of her head. That night, in the moonlight of Kagura Shrine——the sight she'd witnessed. Ren's figure, his right arm and shoulder half-transparent. That hand, warm yet fading away. "There has to be a way. Absolutely." Aoi whispered it into her pillow, then checked her phone. 5:42 AM. The Beast-Return Festival was tomorrow. She threw off her blanket and bolted upright. --- "[scared]Wait, there are way too many stone steps...!" The stone steps of Kagura Hill——186 of them——Aoi was sprinting up them at full speed. 186 steps. When she'd heard the number, it didn't sound so bad. Running them was a different story. Her thighs screamed. Her lungs burned. And it was just past 6 AM. (At least I'm not in pajamas. I learned from last time.) She praised herself. That was all she could do right now. When she reached the shrine grounds, the old woman sweeping paused and said "my" at the sight of her. A fourteen-year-old girl, skirt soaked with sweat,