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Volume of the Ritual LampAuthor: Izumi Kyoka
| Original Title | 灯明之巻 |
|---|---|
| Author | 泉 鏡花 |
| Genre | Popular Fiction |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | A traveler ventures into a desolate mountain cemetery, where crumbling graves and overgrown grass whisper of forgotten histories. Clad in summer attire and a new straw hat that belies his unease, he encounters an enigmatic old man who warns of vipers lurking in the shadows—a metaphor for deeper terrors coiled within the land. Their exchange crackles with tension as they navigate the eerie stillness, the air thick with decay and the weight of untold stories. \nNearby, a dilapidated temple harbors relics of a spectral past: a woman’s abandoned handbag, its delicate embroidery stark against the rot, and a fan inscribed with a name that haunts the traveler’s memory. Mysterious figures clad in crimson—a gaunt leader and his red-clad entourage—emerge like phantoms, their purpose as inscrutable as the swamp rumored to swallow souls. Whispers of curses, unexplained pregnancies, and a white heron’s ominous flight weave through the narrative, blurring the line between folklore and reality. \nAs shadows lengthen and the traveler’s resolve wavers, the mountain’s secrets pulse with menace, promising revelations as treacherous as the vipers in the grass. What binds him to this forsaken place? And what awaits in the depths of the demon-haunted swamp? The answers lie shrouded in mist, beckoning the brave—or the doomed—to uncover them. |
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