"Do not fret. Do not lose hope. For these beings have a weakness."
The reason I took the risk and came all the way down here — the weakness of the Kamikakushi was right before me.
"Do not fear. Do not lose hope. For these beings have a weakness"
Similar to how it's my fault that these creatures can enter our world, their weakness also came about as a result of my influence on the ancient god.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with this game — depending on when you're reading this — but in my time, when I was still a little boy, there was a game popular among the children called Onigokko (鬼ごっこ). The rules were simple and it could be played with any number of people. One or more players would be given the role of "Oni" (鬼), and that person would chase the others around. Whoever the Oni touched would become the new Oni and begin chasing the rest.
The same principle applies to the Kamikakushi. They chase their targets with violent intent, empowered by a curse born of the god's rage. Instead of simply tagging a person like in the game, they use brute force to severely injure or kill their target. If the target dies, the Kamikakushi takes a piece of their memory or presence and erases the "present" in which their death occurred. You've likely experienced this — when you die and it feels like you've gone back in time. That is the result of their power. Therefore, if you die from anything other than a Kamikakushi, you won't return to the past — you'll simply die.
However, just like in Onigokko, if you manage to touch the Kamikakushi that is targeting you, the roles will reverse — you become the new Oni, and it will stop chasing you. But this is not a permanent solution. If you've died to a Kamikakushi before, and you're capable of seeing the one targeting you — as well as those chasing others — then the Kamikakushi will resume its pursuit on the day you first noticed its presence. Simply put, it will continue chasing you from the day you first laid eyes on it.
But sometimes, there are exceptions.
There was a time I encountered a Kamikakushi other than the one targeting me. There was something strange about it. You must have felt the "gaze" of a Kamikakushi when it's chasing its target — some describe it as bloodlust. But a Kamikakushi should only be capable of emitting this bloodlust toward its target. This one, however, was different. It was looking straight at me, emitting that same murderous aura — even though I wasn't its target.
And that wasn't the only odd thing.
It had a body.
Depending on how long you've been able to see the Kamikakushi, you must have encountered more than one. Everyone who's encountered them describes them the same way: "a black, shadowy figure." That may be the common description, but it's not entirely accurate. A Kamikakushi's physical body doesn't actually exist in this world. Only their target can interact with them. Other people may see them, but they can't touch them, and the Kamikakushi can't harm anyone but its target.
But this one — this abnormal one — was different.
As I said, it emitted bloodlust toward someone who wasn't its target. It had a physical body. It wasn't just a black, shadowy figure. And I wasn't the only one who could see it.
You might ask, "What if it was just a normal person?"
But there was one detail that proved otherwise — its face.
It didn't have one.
I have a theory. I don't think the Kamikakushi merely follow the rules of Onigokko. I believe these beings have a leader — someone who decides whether or not they follow those rules. And I believe this leader is the abnormal Kamikakushi I encountered as well as the main...
After several minutes of reading, I heard footsteps slowly approaching me — as if someone were descending the stairs into this room, this basement. At first, I thought it was my mother, back from work.
But what I saw was someone I never expected to see — at least not that early.
It was him.
The abnormal Kamikakushi described in the records. The one with a body, but no face. The one the author of the book had encountered before he disappeared. The one he believed to be the leader...
The main body of the ancient god —
Kamikakushi (神隠し).