"The dead do not rest. They wait."
1. The Curse of the Onryō
"Do not listen to them. Do not look for them. And above all—do not answer when they call."
That was the first lesson every child in Aokigahara Town learned.
Ghost stories were common in rural Japan, but here, they were different. Here, they weren't just stories.
The Onryō—vengeful spirits—were not ordinary ghosts. They were curses, fueled by rage so deep it defied death itself. They did not haunt. They consumed.
Unlike restless souls that simply lingered, Onryō returned to enact revenge. Some appeared as drowned corpses, their lips moving soundlessly beneath the water. Others whispered through walls, their voices threading into dreams, unraveling the mind.
But the worst of them… left a mark.
Those unfortunate enough to be cursed by an Onryō would find their lives unraveling.
Some suffered relentless misfortune.
Some wasted away, their strength devoured by unseen hands.
And some… simply disappeared, as if the earth itself had swallowed them whole.
Among all the legends, one was feared the most—the tale of the Drowned Woman of Yomiga Lake.
The lake had existed for centuries, its waters deep and untouched. They said that on stormy nights, when the wind howled through the trees and the rain lashed against the earth, a voice could be heard.
Calling.
Some claimed she was searching for something. Others believed she was waiting.
But all agreed on one thing.
"Once you hear her voice… it's already too late."
Aokigahara Town was drowning in the storm.
Rain lashed against rooftops, drumming against the windows of a dimly lit room. Inside, Rei Kuzunoha sat at his desk, flipping through a worn-out file. His lamp flickered, casting long, dancing shadows against the walls.
The storm was getting worse.
He should've been studying. Instead, he was reading about the dead.
A few hours ago, someone had left a folder outside his door. No name. No sender. Just a collection of newspaper clippings, police reports, and blurred photographs.
All about missing people.
And they had all vanished near Yomiga Lake.
Rei's fingers tightened around the pages. The most recent case was just last week—a 24-year-old man who went out for a walk and never returned.
At the bottom of the last page, a handwritten note stood out in deep red ink:
"Do not go near the water."
A chill crawled down his spine.
Someone wanted him to stay away.
Which meant… someone knew something.
And Rei needed to find out why.
Thunder rumbled. The wind howled. Outside, the streetlights flickered.
Rei tapped his fingers against the desk, deep in thought.
He wasn't the type to believe in ghost stories. He had heard them all before—the warnings about cursed forests, about the lake that swallowed people whole. But lately, things had started to feel wrong.
The dreams.
Dark water, stretching endlessly. Distant whispers, curling into his ears. And a shadow, watching from the depths.
The disappearances.
Three people in a month. No traces. No bodies.
And now, this file.
Someone wanted him to stay away from Yomiga Lake.
But that only made him more curious.
Something was waiting there.
And tomorrow night…
He was going to find out what.
The next night, the rain hadn't stopped. If anything, it had gotten worse.
Rei pulled his hood over his head, his hands deep in his pockets. The road leading out of town was slick with water, the streetlights casting a dull glow through the downpour.
No one else was outside.
Aokigahara wasn't the kind of place where people ignored warnings.
But Rei wasn't like most people.
He had always been the type to dig too deep.
He knew that if he didn't go tonight, he wouldn't be able to let it go.
His feet splashed against puddles as he walked, the scent of wet earth filling his lungs. The town faded behind him, replaced by the whispering trees of the forest.
And soon, he saw it.
Yomiga Lake.
The water was black beneath the storm, the surface rippling from the endless rain. The wind carried the scent of something old, something unsettled.
Rei exhaled, stepping closer to the shore.
Nothing. Just a lake. Just the wind.
Then—
A whisper.
His breath caught in his throat.
It had been soft, almost delicate. But it hadn't come from behind him.
It had come from the lake.
Rei's pulse pounded in his ears. He took another step forward, peering into the water's surface.
And that's when he saw it.
A face.
A woman's face, just beneath the surface, her eyes wide and staring. Her mouth moved soundlessly, as if whispering something just out of reach.
Rei stumbled back, his breath catching in his throat.
Then—
A hand shot up from the water.
It grasped at the air, fingers clawing desperately—toward him.
Rei turned and ran.
His heartbeat thundered in his chest as he sprinted back toward town, the rain stinging against his skin. The whispers followed him, curling around his ears, sinking into his bones.
And then—
Silence.
Rei stopped, gasping for breath. His clothes were drenched, his hands trembling.
He turned back.
The lake was still.
Empty.
No hand. No face.
Nothing.
But Rei knew what he had seen.
And he knew one thing for certain.
This wasn't over.
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To Be Continued…