Shadows of War: Shimazu and Mahou at Aozora Hills

The Graveyard at Shimazu

Yokai's grief is still close at hand. Ai no Miko says the war's losses are fresh, and the people are still mourning their dead. Now a powerful onryō and his followers have overrun the graveyard, vandalizing graves and keeping mourners from visiting their loved ones. The first work is at the cemetery itself: drive off the Hyosubei, cleanse the stones, and wash away the grime.

Restoring the graves also means returning what the dead were given: the Hero gathers eight Grave Offerings and replaces them on the graves they were stolen from. The task helps the community reclaim a place to mourn, even as the danger has a name and a history.

Miko identifies the onryō as Shimazu, killed during the war and reawakened by Malgor. He had been one of Jaaku's men; in death, his anger has turned toward the people who killed him—Miko and her people—and he stalks the graveyard with the soldiers who served under him. Miko's plea is personal: defeat Shimazu so she can visit her father's grave.

The Hero collects seven Golden Coins and uses the golden urn to summon Shimazu. At the shrine, he appears in a puff of smoke, and the Hero steps forward to face him. Shimazu's defeat completes the named task, but Miko says the remaining spirits still need to be defeated; the graveyard's wider danger therefore outlasts this one fight.

The Wizard on the Hill

Miko calls the Hero to Akiba's throne room with news from the front: Malgor is sending soldiers toward Yokai. Arcangrove was valuable because of its ley-line nexus, but it is not the only connection he could seize. Yokai has a nexus too, guarded by ancestral spirits trained in life to protect it.

Mahou, an old wizard living on a hill outside town, is the current liaison with the Nexus Keepers. Miko believes he can help protect the roads. Varga sees another reason to approach him: he will become one of Malgor's most powerful allies, she says, and this may be their chance to recruit him first.

The Hero gathers white blossoms, cherries and truffles as a gift and carries them to Mahou's house. He thanks the visitor for remembering their elders, then asks them to leave. The Hero objects that he is only sitting over tea. Mahou replies that his tea has better manners than his guests.

The Hero explains that Malgor threatens the Spirit Roads, but Mahou insists their ancestral guardians can do their job. The Hero still wants to warn them and asks where the nexus can be found. Mahou says the roads move, and their nexus moves with them. Bringing his lantern closer, he studies the Hero's undimmed hope and asks whether they are as strong as they are brave.

Before committing himself, Mahou demands help. Kijimuna pester him outside his home, and the Hero clears them away. He also wants proof that the person drawing him into danger can protect him: the Hero must survive the giant salamander Osanshouo's claws and venom. When that test is passed, he agrees to help.

The lantern needs spectral flame before it can guide them. The Hero gathers it from the Kosenjobi, then collects ki to attune the light first to the Fuyurei, then the Kijimuna, and finally the Reishi. Each attunement reveals another Spirit Road to follow. Mahou uses those journeys to map the roads' current locations.

The Guardian's Warning

With three Spirit Roads mapped, Mahou can locate their current intersection. The Hero gathers the brightest black flame to draw the ancestral guardians' attention. The lantern reveals spirits around the meeting place, and Mahou recognizes Grandmother Hasu among them. The others will follow her lead, he says. He asks the Hero to let him speak.

Hasu cuts him off. She asks whether he thought she would be so easily fooled, and what he expected to happen by coming here. Mahou says he hoped she would hear him out and help. The Hero adds that the nexus and all Yokai are under threat. Hasu answers that the threat is already here, and transforms to stop it.

Mahou urges the Hero to best Hasu, believing the other spirits will be more willing to deal with them afterward. The Hero defeats her in the fight, but she remains able to dodge another attack and strike back. Pleading that they only want to protect the nexus, the Hero asks why she opposes them. Hasu tells them to turn around and see what Mahou has brought.

Malgor's soldiers stand behind the wizard. The Hero realizes the hoped-for recruitment has come too late. Asked how he could do this, Mahou answers with the endless fighting and death he has seen. If helping Malgor can break that cycle, he believes he must do it. The danger Hasu recognized was traveling beside the Hero all along.

Hasu gathers her power. She, too, must act, and refuses to let Mahou destroy this world. The confrontation pulls both Mahou and the Hero through a portal into the spirit nexus. Finding the roads has brought the Hero to the guardians, but warning them has become a struggle against the very person who led the way.

Miko admits she thought she knew Mahou and never saw the betrayal coming. Varga recognizes that their chance to reach him before Malgor has already passed. She and Miko will protect their side of the veil while the Hero follows him. They cannot let Mahou return to the Shadowlord's army.