[b]DAY 26: SHINIGAMI – THE CIRCLE OF DEATH[/b]

A dark desire had always been hiding within Touji, something he hadn't dared to unleash. It was something wicked that was just waiting for a perfect time to bloom, because in the end, the darkness would seep through the cracks which would appear on the surface of a human being. Touji had no one in his life except his dear father and maybe, the love he felt towards him was the reason why he was still containing his malice. Even monsters are capable of love. But then came the day when Touji's father passed away, leaving him all alone in this world. He mourned over the loss of his beloved father, but soon his thoughts were occupied by something else. The passing of his father served as an invitation to a dark being, attracted by the scent of his death. It could see into the soul of Touji, and thus, it lingered around, never leaving the man's side.

It whispered into Touji's ears, encouraging him to commit the deeds he had wanted to do for so long. He could reach his potential; he could become the one he had always craved to be. Day after day the creature would keep whispering, whether Touji was awake or asleep. The dark words were feeding the beast inside him, awakening it, making it mad with desire. And it wanted out; for too long it had stayed captive in its cage. Every now and then Touji would hold tools like a knife or axe and ponder how deep it could cut somebody's flesh. He could feel a thrill coursing through his body every time he was thinking such thoughts and the whispers supported these ideas.

And one day, he finally surrendered himself for the darkness that had always been budding inside his twisted soul.

As the darkness had settled in, Touji brought home a lone young woman. That was the day when her life ended and the bloodstained life of the beast began. The man attacked the woman with a cleaver, striking at her throat so she wouldn't be able to scream. Blood gushing from the deep wound, the woman couldn't do anything but try to desperately hold the blood in, but in vain. Ferociously like an animal, Touji continued to cut her flesh until the woman was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor. Touji chopped her into tiny pieces and stuffed her remains into a barrel. It was his first taste for blood and he had enjoyed it. He would do it again. And the whispers, they kept encouraging him.

A few days later, Touji escorted another young woman to his house. This time he attacked his victim with a rope and strangled her to death. Afterwards he cut her to pieces like his previous victim and put those body parts into a barrel as well. A mad glee filled his mind and the entity who had been whispering to him felt overjoyed. Touji's home was slowly becoming a house of death and nothing could satisfy the being more.

Every few days Touji would take a life from a young woman. Sometimes he was quick, like doing a lethal strike right at the head, and sometimes he made it slow, targeting spots where no vital organs were located. He got pleasure from seeing the blood flow and the horrified looks on the faces of his victims as soon as they realized that death would claim them soon. The beast inside him has got out and found a playing ground for itself. However, the disappearances of many women didn't go unnoticed in town, even if they were prostitutes. The trail of blood Touji left behind was eventually tracked to his home.

Before Touji could be convicted for his crimes, he killed himself by slitting his own throat. Those who saw him do this would be haunted by the image of him grinning madly before he ended his life. The chopped remains of the women he had murdered were found from his house and proper burial was given to them so they could rest in peace. In the end, it seemed like that was the conclusion to a story of a murderer who preyed on young women during the night.

However, this wasn't the end of the murder house. The entity still lingered in Touji's home, relishing all the death that had happened there. It wasn't going to let go of that place anytime soon. The being remained there, waiting for the next person to make that house as their home. Then it would fill their ears with whispers, to bring forth their secret side of malice. The circle would begin again, the house would be stained with more blood and horror.

All the agony and death would keep repeating.



[b]DAY 27: JOROGUMO – HOUSE OF SPIDERS[/b]

A drunken young man was tottering through the streets of the city, barely able to keep his balance. He had enjoyed too much sake that evening and while he had been drinking, the world around him had gradually turned darker and darker. Now he was trying to figure out how to get home, but in his state, it proved to be harder than he had thought. The man wasn't quite sure where he was going or where he was at that moment and he stopped a lot to stare at his surroundings, trying to make sense of his situation. Somehow, nothing seemed familiar to him and so he kept wobbling around in the city. It was nighttime, but the streets were still bustling with life, however most people avoided him since they didn't want to make contact with a drunkard like him. So, the young man was alone with his mission of finding his way back home and so far, he wasn't doing a very good job.

With unsteady steps he continued forward and was so used to people ignoring him that he didn't notice at all how a young woman was looking at him, clearly having the intention of wanting to have a word with him. The young man was trying to stagger past her, but the woman placed her hand gently on his shoulder, thus catching his attention. He stopped and turned to face the woman, wondering what she wanted.

“You look a little lost”, she said with a voice so beautiful that she sounded like a goddess. “I can help you.”

“I… uh… uh…” It was hard to form coherent sentences. “I have no… idea… where… where I am…”

“It's fine!” the woman exclaimed and smiled gently, patting the man's shoulder. “Let me escort you to my place. I can take care of you until you sober up. How does that sound?”

The alcohol was clouding the man's judgment. In his eyes, he was being accompanied by this stunningly attractive woman and who knew where this could lead to. Maybe he would get lucky with her. She seemed to be into him.

Though, even if the man wasn't drunk, the woman could have found a way to lure him into her home. But of course, he wasn't aware of this.

A stupid grin appeared on the man's face. “Sure, lady. Show me… show me the way”, he slurred.

“How delightful”, the woman responded with a smile and positioned herself by the man's side so she could support him and keep him up. “Let's go, then. My house isn't far away from here.”

Side by side they got going. They made progress rather slowly, but neither of them was in a hurry, so it didn't matter. Perfectly they blended in with the city life of the night and seemingly nothing was wrong. The man himself wasn't aware that he was currently taking the last steps of his life.

Eventually they reached the house where the woman was living. They got inside and at this point, even in his drunken state the man started to suspect something was a bit off. He could see cobwebs all around, every surface of the house was covered by them. Countless spiders were crawling around in them, giving the man chills. Who could live in a place like this? When the man turned to face the woman again to inquire about the condition of her house, he noticed, to his horror, that there was something strange going on with the woman as well. Eight spider legs were now sticking out of her back and she was smiling a very disturbing smile, even the drunken man could see that. Then she attacked him, although not ferociously; she just started to spin silk threads around him, robbing him of his mobility. The man tried to struggle against this confinement, but couldn't break free. The threads were too strong, he was merely an insect caught in a web.

“Enjoy your stay”, the woman said quietly, almost whispering. “You're never going to leave.”

Then she bit the man on his neck, her teeth sharp like a beast's. After this, she retreated and wandered off deeper into her house. The young man was left alone, still trying to struggle and get free. But the threads were as strong as steel and there was no way he could ever break them.

After some time, his hell began. He started to feel pain coursing through his body, it was like a burning sensation. It broke through even his intoxication and it hurt more than anything else he had ever experienced. The agony just lingered; it wouldn't stop even for a second. And as time passed and he was getting sober again, the pain was getting even worse. The woman must have poisoned him with her bite, that was the only explanation he could think of.

The suffering wouldn't stop. Day after day the man was writhing in his agony, it was making him weak and felt like there was acid circulating in his veins. Every now and then the spider woman would come to him and watch him suffer, clearly getting some sadistic pleasure from his anguish. She would taunt him, stroke his cheeks gently and then leave him alone again. He could do nothing, nothing but wait for death to claim his soul. And unfortunately for him, death wasn't coming soon.

In the end the venom destroyed his insides. The young man died a slow and agonizing death as his organs failed because the venom turned them into mush. The spider woman had observed for days how her victim succumbed to his fate. She was there when he took his final breath. She had truly enjoyed watching him suffer, but she had also looked forward to the moment when she could feast on his body. She devoured everything except the bones.

She was ready to find her next victim.



[b]DAY 28: GASHADOKURO – BURNING HATRED[/b]

It was late at night when two travelers were strolling through the woods. The world was quiet and dark, but both men were carrying lanterns, trusting in their lights to keep beasts away. They were keeping up a light conversation, both so immersed in this activity that they didn't really pay much attention to their surroundings. Though, in their eyes, the woods appeared as an ordinary place where shadows skittered among vegetation. And for the most part, that was exactly how things were. However, many kinds of creatures can lurk in the darkness, even something that should be easy to notice. But the men were blissfully unaware that something was following them.

When the creature let its presence be known, it was already too late for the travelers. They both gasped from surprise and dropped their lanterns when something grabbed them from behind and lifted them high in the air. Fingers that were nothing but bones held them tightly like if they were a pair of dolls. Soon they were face to face with their captor; a humongous skeleton which had blazing fires in its eye sockets. Although it had managed to stay completely silent up to this moment, now its huge skull was rattling ominously as a sign of coming demise. The skeleton brought one of the men close to its head and just like that, it bit his head off, decapitating him on the spot. His head dropped all the way down to the ground. The remaining man managed to let out a horrified scream before it was his turn to die. He was killed in a more gruesome way as the skeleton tightened its grip and crushed him. A mess of blood, flesh and bones was the only thing left of him and the skeleton dropped the remains of the travelers to the ground and then crept away, the skull rattling.

The immense amount of hatred the huge creature possessed wasn't eased even a little bit after killing the unfortunate travelers. It was still a wrathful being that wandered around the countryside, lingering close to the area where it originally had risen and began to haunt the roads. It very much loathed the living and would attack anyone who would end up in its vicinity. Being fueled by its burning hatred, it would keep patrolling the surroundings of the ruins of a village, for its roots were in that settlement. 

The village used to be a peaceful place to live and the people led a modest lifestyle. They weren't wealthy folks, quite the contrary, but still the villagers became victims of a band of thugs. They robbed whatever little the people had and slaughtered everyone; not a single soul was left alive. The village was burnt and everything that was left were the charred ruins and the everlasting grudge of the villagers. Their innocent blood stained the ground and their flesh rotted away, until only their exposed bones were remaining. So great was the power of their resentment that their spirits, still tangled to their bones, began to gather together and they formed the great skeleton. This massive figure was the embodiment of their hatred and it would roam around, taking revenge on anyone because of their unjust deaths.

Many decades had passed since the great bloodshed. The fact the village had even existed started to vanish from the memory of the outside world. The ruins of the village were taken over by nature, slowly consuming it. But the most haunting remembrance of the incident lived on, as a form of an enormous skeleton, and it would stay around for a while, for too great was the grudge of the ones who didn't deserve their fate.



[b]DAY 29: HONE ONNA – TOGETHER WE WITHER AWAY[/b]

When one night Umeko appeared at the door, Katsu couldn't believe his eyes. Was she a ghost? But she felt real. It had been a few days since Umeko's burial and now, here she was, appearing just as beautiful and lovely as she had in life. Umeko had come back for him, that was the thing that mattered most to Katsu. Tears of happiness had poured from his eyes and he embraced the woman he loved more than anything else in this world. Her hair and skin were still so soft, just as he remembered. Her voice was still so sweet and Katsu couldn't get enough of it. He invited her in and they spent the night together and suddenly Katsu's world was perfect again; it had shattered into thousands of pieces because of Umeko's death, but now, all those pieces had been put back together. He couldn't possibly be happier.

But by the morning, Katsu woke up alone. At first he had thought that Umeko had got up before him but didn't want to disturb his sleep. As Katsu had started to look for her from the house, there was still no sign of her anywhere. He pondered if her return had been just a dream, the way for his broken mind to deal with her passing. He didn't want to believe that, though, and started to search for her from the outside, strolling around the town. He spent a lot of time doing this, but still, got no traces of Umeko. He felt disappointed and depressed again and returned home in defeat. He just hoped he could hold her again.

His wish was granted the next night. Once again Umeko appeared on the door and Katsu was so happy to see her it was hurting his heart. He just wanted to be with her, continue loving her. They spent the whole night embracing each other, their love undying. Katsu had tried his best to keep holding onto her, but just like previously, Umeko was gone by the morning, leaving him alone again. He felt heartbroken, but this time he dared to hope that Umeko would return when it would be dark again. And so she did. Still so beautiful, it was like death hadn't even touched her. Katsu was just so glad to have her back, even if she disappeared sometimes.

Katsu was so grateful that Umeko was back even though she had died. He was utterly blind to what was going on because of the love he felt towards the woman, locking him in a dreamy state. In his eyes, Umeko appeared as gorgeous as she had in life, although this was far away from the truth. Her body was decaying, her skin had started to rot away. A few people had seen her wandering in the streets during nighttime and had been horrified by her grotesque appearance. Only Katsu saw her as a beautiful woman. Even if somebody would mention to him that Umeko was just a rotting corpse, he would refuse to believe them. Because love makes people blind.

Umeko didn't mean any harm, especially to Katsu. But her nightly visits to him had started to take their toll. Day after day, Katsu was growing more sick and weak, he was wilting like a flower. Eventually he couldn't leave the house because he could barely stand at all, he only managed to let Umeko in before they would fall in bed together. And Umeko was rotting away more and more, face filled with maggots that were eating away her skin and flesh. Still, Katsu saw her beauty. She was oblivious to the fact that she was draining her lover's lifeforce night by night. She probably wasn't even aware that she was dead, she just wanted to be with Katsu.

By embracing each other, they were withering away. Umeko's face was completely gone now, the only thing left was her skull. Katsu couldn't get up from the bed anymore, he was too weak. And so it happened one night that Umeko had stolen all the lifeforce that he had and he died. Umeko stayed by his side, still holding him in a tight embrace and wouldn't leave. Even when the morning came, Umeko didn't return to her grave. She had no reason to anymore. Maybe their souls could now move on in peace.

Everything that remained of them was their entwined corpses. But this was the exact way they would have wanted to go, by holding each other until the moment when their souls would leave their bodies. They simply loved each other so much. And that wouldn't change, not even in death.



[b]DAY 30: ITSUKI – TAKE MY PLACE IN HELL[/b]

It was probably the darkest day for Aoto, in multiple senses. First there had been bad weather; the sky had been veiled by heavy grey clouds the whole day, sometimes slight drizzle would come down and get the city wet. A chilly wind had been blowing the whole day and Aoto felt like it had infiltrated inside him, freezing his heart. As the day progressed, the sky had gradually turned darker and darker, like it had been devoured by a gigantic beast. And then there were the people. Every single individual Aoto passed that day had felt like a cold shadow, that they weren't real people, only images of ones. Every interaction he had made that day were so superficial, that they hadn't impacted anything at all, not his life or anyone else's. For a while Aoto had felt like the whole world was against him, but today that feeling had been stronger than usual. It was little things, such as missing the bus, the worst drizzle of the day had occurred when he had been walking home, he had gained bills he couldn't afford to pay at the moment and since there wasn't much money, he didn't have food.

But the worst thing of all were these whispers he had been hearing throughout the day. They were urging him to end his own life. It had become increasingly harder to resist those words as the day turned to evening. They were a constant nuisance he couldn't tune out even when he tried to listen to music. And in the end, he didn't feel like ignoring them anymore, because they were right: there was only one way out of this miserable life. Nothing would get better.

Aoto had tried so hard to fight against the inevitable fate, he had tried to find a reason to go on. He had waited for a sign, anything that would prove to him that his life was worth living. But he had waited for too long already and he hadn't got his answers. He was a sad and lonely piece of shit with a disease rotting his brain. This past day had been proof that a wretched life was all he was going to get. And now even the whispers were here, guiding him to the right direction. Somehow those words had become clearer as the time passed on, in a twisted way Aoto felt like that he finally had someone close to him.

“Just put a rope around your neck and all the pain will be gone.”

It was the only thing he could do. When the night came around, Aoto prepared himself. He had a rope and a stool with himself when he left his apartment for the last time in his life. He didn't want to do his final deed in his home because he didn't want his parents to think of it as a place where he had taken his own life. He headed towards the nearby park instead; besides, he could be found from there sooner.

“The shadows are watching. They will remember even if people do not.”

In the darkness Aoto chose a tree that stood near enough to a path. A sturdy branch was at ideal height for him. He placed the stool at a perfect spot and began to tie the rope securely on the branch. It didn't take much time, but then he just stood there for a moment, to think for one last time. This was it, wasn't it? The final chapter to his miserable life. But the pain was too severe, there was no way to cure it. Maybe his parents would mourn a little, but surely they would get over it; he was nothing but a disappointment to them, after all.

“Waiting only prolongs the pain. Do it! This rotten world was never meant for you anyway.”

Aoto put his head through the noose. He took one last deep breath and closed his eyes.

He kicked the stool away from his feet and his neck was hanging from the noose. The rope tightened around his neck and so he started to slowly suffocate. But it was the only way to kill his pain, it was the only cure for his disease.

As Aoto was hanging from the noose, his soul slipping away from his body, he heard one more thing before his consciousness faded.

It was laughter, mad laughter that surrounded him.

“Thank you for taking my place in hell.”



[b]DAY 31: SHICHININ MISAKI – SEVEN DROWNED ONES[/b]

A tired lone hunter was walking through the woods in the evening. He had spent the whole day trying to find prey, but this day had been incredibly unlucky for him, he hadn't encountered any animals. But sometimes you have to go home empty-handed, this wasn't new to him. It still frustrated him, but he knew that he just had to try again tomorrow. Some good rest was what he needed at that moment, and so he strolled along the path that slithered through the woods. There was still plenty of light to see around, but that would change soon. However, the hunter wasn't worried, he could make it back to the village before nightfall. He knew these parts well.

At some point the hunter did diverge from the main path. He was feeling really thirsty and since this area was very familiar to him, he was well aware that there was a shallow creek close to the path. It was common for animals to use it as their source of water, so he tried to remain a little hopeful that he would encounter a deer or something if he paid a visit to that creek. He proceeded forward cautiously, trying to make as little noise as possible. He kept his senses sharp, listening carefully for even the slightest sounds and not even a smallest movement would get past his eyes. But he was alone. The only sound he could hear was the birds singing their late songs. It didn't take him much time to reach the creek and although he hadn't expected to meet an animal there, he was still a little disappointed.

Clear water was flowing through the creek, purling a song. This was truly a tranquil spot and the hunter felt a wave of serenity washing over him. He let out a content sigh and crouched down at the flowing water, scooping the liquid to wash his face. It felt refreshing. He scooped up more water to quench his thirst. Eventually the hunter felt vigorous again, all thanks to this simple gift of nature. He sat there for a moment, listening to the flow of water, chirping of the birds and the slight breeze that had started to blow recently, shaking the leaves of the trees. It was moments like these that made you appreciate life.

His serene moment was soon broken. He heard quiet splashing noises, like somebody was wading through water. Or more accurately, multiple individuals were making that noise. Curiously the hunter looked at the direction where the noises were coming from and he was pretty sure they were walking towards him. He listened to those sounds for a while, until the moment he saw the first figure coming into his view behind the trees. It was a man, but there definitely was something strange about him. He was dripping water and he had this ghastly aura around him and his eyes were beady, having an unsettling look in them. Six more men followed behind and they all shared this same disturbing look.

The hunter got a feeling that he shouldn't be here, but he wasn't sure that he would get away by running. He prepared his bow and shot an arrow towards the men, hoping that it would stagger them. But the arrow just flew right through them, doing absolutely nothing to hinder them. The hunter turned around and tried to run towards the main path he had walked a while ago, however, something grasped his shirt from the behind and powerfully yanked him backwards.

He couldn't react to anything when strong hands had already pushed him under water. He tried his best to struggle, to get free and breathe again, but the force holding him down was too powerful. He fought hard, but eventually ran out of air. He drowned in that creek, never making it back home.

His soul wouldn't rest in peace. It took the same form as those seven men he had just encountered. But one of them was now gone, he had managed to avenge his death by drowning the hunter. And now, the hunter would take his place in this group, haunting the creek together with all the other drowned men, just waiting for an opportunity to end someone's life so they could pass on.