In the night's darkness, a famished ghost and a hurt Shiba Inu roamed the road without purpose, one trailing the other. Shinichi stopped his numb walk when he heard Enji's quiet cries behind him. He turned around, hugged Enji, and patted the dog's wounded neck. "I'm sorry, Enji, I'm sorry."
Shinichi couldn't grasp how he had transformed into a ghost. Just days before, Junbo had first told him about this fabled monster. How did it feel to become a ghost? Words failed to capture it. The first feeling that took over him was a deep hunger tearing at his core, a fierce craving for human flesh and blood.
Shinichi peeked at his reflection in a nearby stream. His eyes once dark now shone a bright red, and his face pale and thin, had filled out showing an unusual attractiveness. It seemed like this was the true form he was meant to have. He also had very sharp black claws and long fangs now. Turning into a ghost had given him incredible strength for some reason; he could rip apart a tree as wide as a man's hug and run more than ten meters in just one second.
Even with his new strength, Shinichi felt weak. His body told him he needed to eat human flesh to stop feeling weak and become stronger.
But Shinichi fought this urge. He decided to leave after he buried all the bodies from the destroyed temple. Ohei Saburo had died , but even if he were still alive, he couldn't stop Shinichi now. The temple Shinichi tried so hard to escape was now just rubble, but he felt sad. He couldn't keep his promise to take Junbo to Kyoto. The happy child would stay forever in a small grave behind the ruins.
Every time he pondered this, rage boiled inside him. The suit-wearing man! It was him! The one who called himself Muzan! He had started this nightmare! Muzan was a ghost too!
Shinichi remembered when the bone whip smashed his waist. Pain flooded his mind throwing him into a strange state. His surroundings seemed to stop; he could even spot dust floating in the air. In this weird moment of clarity, he could see the organs and muscles inside the body of the man named Muzan. That man—no, that ghost—might have several hearts and brains!
In this weird situation, Shinichi had managed to cut Muzan's face with the knife he hid in his sleeve. This drew blood and cut off his memories.
Now, as he recalled the scary vibe around Muzan, a deep fear took hold of him. "No! Damn it! Why should I be scared? I don't care who he is, I'll make him pay!" Shinichi yelled in anger. Just then, a beam of light started to break through the horizon lighting up the sky.
Zi! The sound of raw meat sizzling cut through the air as Shinichi pulled back his right hand from the sunlight shocked by a jolt of pain. In an instant, his entire right hand burned, the once-sharp black claws now dry and fragile.
Just as the tales said wicked spirits couldn't stand the sun. No matter their strength—even the spirit called Muzan—Shinichi had to escape with Enji into a cave to take cover.
The empty feeling in his belly grew stronger. As Shinichi lay in the cave's blackness, his mind started to slip away from the overpowering hunger. Something deep inside urged him to slay and eat human meat.
Shinichi's values, both in his earlier life and now, would never let him do such things. If he turned to eating people how would he be any different from the wicked spirits in the tales? He had no wish to turn into a beast.
Shinichi shut his eyes and fell into a trance. He pictured the wicked spirit called Muzan. Red eyes locked onto him as many pointed lashes rose behind Muzan. They surged at Shinichi like an overwhelming tide. He felt as helpless as an insect facing a car watching in vain as countless bone whips stabbed through him.
"Weak human, since you're lucky enough to become a ghost, accept who you are now. We ghosts are better higher creatures than humans. Go! Kill as many humans as you want and eat them! The more you eat, them the stronger you'll get! You might even reach the highest level of being!" The tempting voice rang in Shinichi's ears.
But right then, anger welled up inside him. He showed his sharp teeth and fought hard against the unseen lure trying to trap him. "Go away! I won't be a monster like you! I won't eat people! Go to hell, you jerk!!" As he pushed back, a green light flashed before his eyes.
With a roar, all the illusions broke turning into a shower of pieces. Bang! Shinichi's eyes flew open, and he felt like something had been pulled away from him. A strange feeling of ease came over him, and the fierce hunger in his gut eased a bit.
At the same time, in a fancy house in Shimane Prefecture, a pair of red eyes lit up in the dark room. The black straight pupils showed a desire to kill. "What's going on? Why do I feel so out of control? Tamayo?!"
Outside the room, the smashed bodies of the house's owners lay all over the ground, their blood making the floor red.
As darkness settled in, Shinichi left the cave with Enji. Hunger had almost driven him crazy so he set out to find food to ease his empty stomach.
Shinichi roamed the woods for what seemed like forever, but nothing could satisfy his appetite. He tried fresh wild fruits salmon from the stream, and even caught and ripped apart a rabbit. Yet, no matter what he ate, it would come right back up the moment it hit his stomach.
Meanwhile, Enji chewed on the fat rabbit legs with joy, and Shinichi saw the dog's neck injury start to heal.
As he patted Enji's head, he felt let down. Was it true that ghosts could eat human meat? Would he die from hunger?
Or... maybe some humans are evil, right? Is it...
The idea of consuming human flesh popped into Shinichi's head without warning shocking him to his core. He couldn't believe his own thoughts. No way! He refused to entertain such a notion! Not even for the bad guys. He worried that if he gave in to this urge, he might transform into a savage bloodthirsty creature.
He took a deep breath to clear his mind trying to remember who he used to be. He wouldn't let his new situation change his values. At his core, he was still Shinichi, not some brainless animal. He felt desperate, but he had to cling to what made him human, no matter how tough it got.
But the emptiness in his belly kept growing. How much longer could he hold out?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In the dark on a narrow path, a starving Shinichi roamed without direction, wrapped in quiet. Soon, a faint glow appeared far off. As he got nearer, he saw a log cabin next to the road. Could someone be living there?
The idea of people made Shinichi gulp down the spit collecting in his mouth. No, he couldn't go there. His ugly and scary look would shock anyone inside. Gripping Enji, Shinichi turned to find another way around.
All of a sudden, a light smell of blood entered his nose.
His gut feeling kicked in, and Shinichi knew the smell right away: it was human blood—very new blood! And where the smell came from was that wooden house!
His heart beat fast as mixed feelings rose inside him. The need to eat pulled him toward the house, while a voice in his head told him to back off. He stopped at the edge of the light fighting the basic urge to feed and what was left of his human side.