#Act 2 — Traces of the Previous Drifters

Contents

1 session of material. Chapter 4 Session 2. The chapter of records. Everything about Kitamiyama begins to come to light. And the PCs see their own future.

Core References

- Required: Chapter 4 Overview · Act 1

- Reference: Premise · Kitamiyama Profile · Enmadoji Seal

- In this supplement: NPC loyal retainer Haibi · Monster ash soldier

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#Scent — The Act of Records

#GM Read-Aloud Box (Session Opening)

"Last night, you fell asleep on the tatami of a burning mansion. The fire did not burn you. Morning — if the word morning even belongs here, the color of the air has changed a little. From gray to silver-gray."

"The first page of the diary is still in your hands. March 14, 1407. The day your domain fell was March 14, 1607. Exactly 200 years ago today."

"You open it and read."

#GM Handout — First Page of the Diary (actually give this to the players)

"Keicho Twelve, Third Month, Fourteenth Day"... no, this is wrong. This is the Oei date.
"Oei 14, 3rd Month, 14th Day" — the corrected Oei date.

Before dawn today, a strange light rose from beyond the mountain. Lady Reika
has gone up to the observatory. When she returned, she said this was a light
she had never seen before.
Our lord gathered the retainers. I can only take up the brush.
The name of our domain is Kitamiyama. I am Goichi, clerk of the Kitami house.
This is the diary I begin today. May I be able to write it to the end.

Direction: prepare this handout as a real sheet of paper and give it to the players. Have the PCs keep it during the session — this sets up the moment at the end of the session when the paper turns to ash and crumbles.

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#Law — Structure of Act 2

#2.1 Diary Decoding — Goichi's Records

The study in the western mansion. The full diary of the clerk Goichi(小一) remains. 327 pages in all. From the first page to the last, it records roughly 3 years and 6 months.

#Structure of the Diary

#Checks — Diary Decoding

• Basic reading: Wisdom Target Number 11. It uses script from 200 years ago, but it is the same Japanese. Even on a failure, it can be read slowly.
• Detailed decoding: Wisdom (history) Target Number 13. Read between the lines and identify coded descriptions. On a success, names Goichi "hid to protect someone" come to light.
• Deep decoding: Wisdom Target Number 15. Understand Goichi's own mental state. He was part of the return faction. In the diary, however, he is officially neutral. Reason: he feared the lord's censorship.

#Core Points Revealed by the Records

1. Name of Kitamiyama's onmyoji: Atobe Reika(安戸部 霊華). Female, in her 50s. 10th-dan Tatsujin.
2. Name of the lord: Kitami Masanobu(北見 正信). Age 29. 3rd-generation kokujin.
3. Domain name: Kitamiyama. Southern Echigo (300 ri south of present Kagamiyama).
4. Cause of the drift: "a strange light beyond the mountain." Identity unknown.
5. Barrier construction method: Atobe Reika used her own life as fuel — exactly the same pattern as Hoshino Gensho of Kagamiyama.
6. Transformation contact: "the great one." Its name is not revealed. A being that appeared before the lord alone.
7. Start of the split: year 1, month 3 after the drift. The moment the transformation proposal reached the lord.
8. Barrier crisis: end of year 2 after the drift. Kitamiyama Barrier HP 15 or less. 3 consecutive lord-grade yoma breakthroughs.

Important: these records become a future forecast of the PCs' current situation. The PC party's drift year 1 almost corresponds to the "Chapters 1~5" of the Kagamiyama loop. This synchronization is the core horror of this act.

#2.2 Shrine Search — Atobe Reika's Ash ★ Loyal Retainer Haibi Appears

Behind the mansion, at the end of the western samurai district, stands a small shrine. The torii is burning, but its pillars still stand. When the PCs enter the main sanctuary —

Scene: in the center is the outline of one person in ash. Kneeling. Hands raised in the final moment of lifting a talisman. This is Atobe Reika. She offered her life to the Barrier and became ash.

Direction: when the PCs enter the main sanctuary, the ash outline stirs. As if touched by wind. But there is no wind.

#First Appearance of Loyal Retainer Haibi

In the corner of the main sanctuary, inside the shadow, one Haibi ember stands up. Unlike the other talking Haibi embers, this Haibi has a clear form — a human silhouette. The outline of armor is drawn in ash.

His name: Haibi(灰火) — he says this is his name. He has forgotten the name he had in life.

His true identity: a guard samurai of Kitami Masanobu. He was beside the lord at the time of transformation. He supported the transformation. Yet for 200 years after the transformation, he has not swept his own ash away from before this shrine — that is the shape of his guilt.

First line:

"You have come. I have waited 200 years. I do not remember whom I was waiting for — waiting itself is what I am."

#Conversation with Haibi — Linked to Act 1 Responses

If any PC gave an honest answer in Act 1, Haibi speaks to that PC first. He is friendly.

If any PC gave an aggressive answer or refusal in Act 1, Haibi is silent toward that PC. He avoids conversation.

If any PC received a mark of reprieve in Act 1, Haibi asks that PC a question: "Have you still not found your answer?" This renewed question gives them a chance — if they answer this time, the reprieve is released.

#What Haibi Tells Them

If the PCs approach him sufficiently (trust check or 3+ exchanges of conversation), Haibi says the following:

1. Result of the transformation: the residents of Kitamiyama became beings that burn forever. Each uses their anger and regret as fuel. If the fire goes out, their existence vanishes, so they must choose to remain angry forever.
2. The lord's current state: top of the keep. He believes he is "protecting" something. But even he has forgotten what he is protecting.
3. Atobe Reika's ash: she can speak. She speaks through the mouth of ash. However, because she resisted the lord, she speaks on a frequency the lord cannot hear. Haibi teaches the PCs how to hear her.
4. "The great being": Haibi did not see this being directly. The lord met it alone. Afterward, the lord said, "the sealing stone is already loose." This is the first hint of Enmadoji for the PCs (not explicit. Haibi does not know what the sealing stone means).

#Speaking with Atobe Reika's Ash

Under Haibi's guidance, the PCs stand before the ash outline at the center of the shrine's main sanctuary. If a PC lights 1 stick of their own incense and succeeds at Perception Target Number 15, the ash speaks.

Reika's voice: low and slow. The ash scatters as it speaks at the same time.

"I have waited 200 years. For someone to come and speak to me. For someone who can hear my words."

"I opposed it. On the night our lord chose transformation, I stood before the Barrier and said, 'This is not salvation. This is eternity.' He did not listen."

"I chose to protect the Barrier. I hoped even one resident might return. But after I became ash, every resident chose transformation. My sacrifice left nothing behind."

"But you — you have come. Whether that is the answer to what my sacrifice may finally become, I do not know. You are the answer."

What Reika gives the PCs (choose only one):

1. "Take a portion of my ash." — if they carry this, the PC gains +3 resistance against Shonetsu Reversion Residue. However, fragments of Reika's memory infiltrate the PC. In dreams, they repeatedly experience Reika's final night.
2. "Stop the lord. Your lord — and ours as well." — this is the PC's mission imprint. When facing the lord at the keep, a persuasion resolution option opens.
3. "Take nothing. Only protect your own Barrier." — if chosen, the PC has shown respect to Reika, and at the end of Act 2 the Domain Barrier HP increases by +5 (miraculous recovery).

The PCs can receive only one. This choice affects the second half of this chapter.

#2.3 Family Crest — Connection to Mirror Pond

The ceiling of the shrine's main sanctuary still bears the Kitami family crest.

Kitami family crest: two nested circles. The inner circle is a solid line; the outer circle is a broken line.

If any PC succeeds at a Wisdom check for history, Target Number 15 (or if Akihisa is present and familiar with family crests):

"This crest — it is the same as the ancient crest at Mirror Pond. The shape of the stone plate carved into the bottom of Mirror Pond at the northern edge of Kagamiyama."

This is the first exposure of the Enmadoji Seal. However, the PCs have not yet heard the word "seal." There is only the ominous coincidence that "the crests match."

GM hint: when the PCs recognize this crest, the surrounding Haibi embers all hold their breath at once. The air thins. The GM quietly reads the following sentence:

"Before this crest was the crest of a house — it was the sign of something older."

#2.4 Faction Records — Conflict Between the Transformation Faction and Return Faction

The PCs return to the mansion study and read the latter half of the diary. Records from year 1, month 3 after the drift onward.

#The Split Revealed in the Records

Core of the transformation faction:

• Kitami Masanobu (lord)
• Haibi (guard samurai, name forgotten)
• most residents

Core of the return faction:

• Atobe Reika (onmyoji)
• Izanagi(伊邪那岐) — a young soldier. Refused transformation to the end. Currently still fighting in isolation somewhere deep in the city's east side (rumor).
• Clerk Goichi (diary writer, but a return-faction member through his silence)
• a small number of residents

Core of the settlement faction (the 3rd path):

• Mikura(三倉) — a retainer. Originally part of the return faction, he judged that "we cannot go back," but also rejected transformation. He argued for a 3rd path: "remain here as humans." Leader.
• About 30 small merchants and technical residents. They believed in "a middle ground that is neither domain nor transformation."

Reason for the split:

• Transformation faction logic: "Protect the domain. Protect the residents. We will remain together to the end."
• Return faction logic: "If we can return to the core world, we should. Burning forever is not salvation."
• Settlement faction logic: "Both return and transformation are extremes. Let us remain here as humans. Even if we abandon the domain, we are still ourselves."

Decisive moment: early in drift year 3. The lord declared civil war. Many of the return faction tried to escape. Most failed. Only Izanagi survived in isolation.

Tragic end of the settlement faction: during the civil war, the settlement faction was surrounded by the transformation faction. But because the settlement faction refused transformation, they were exposed to the Spirit Realm without a Barrier — they became fixed after being only half-transformed. Unable to speak and unable to die, they remain in a state of "Half-Ash(半灰)." Even now, they sit in a circle beneath the city's northern district, holding hands. The PCs face them in Act 3.

#Foreshadowing the Faction Recreation

After reading these records, if the PCs go out into the street, they see the split from 200 years ago still being recreated in the streets of present Kitamiyama.

View: on the road, Haibi soldiers cut one another down. One group fights "for the lord," another "to return." They do not die. Even when cut down, they return to ash and fight again.

This is the scene of Act 3. In Act 2, show it only as a distant view.

#2.5 Harvest — First Activation of Reversion

Near the end of Act 2, the PCs return to the mansion and try to finish organizing the diary. Then —

Scene: the first-page diary handout given to the players during the session begins crumbling from the edges. The GM may actually tear the paper to show it (adjust the intensity of the direction).

First activation of the Reversion Residue rules:

Rules notice: tell the players that the Reversion Residue rules have begun operating in earnest. Reversion speed accelerates from Act 3.

Countermeasures:

• Lighting incense delays reversion by 1 round per round (1 stick of incense for 1 round).
• Returning to the domain pauses progress (but what has already reverted does not recover).
• Memorize important records. Recommend that the players remember 3~5 core diary points.

Direction intent: give the PCs a desperate need to "bring these records back to the domain." But those records are returning to ash. This contradiction is the essence of Shonetsu.

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#Law — Checks and Rules

#Major Check Table

#Reversion Residue Detailed Rules [applies from Act 2]

#Time Axis

The round accumulation in this chapter is counted by number of scenes, not real time.

• Participate in each major scene (2.1, 2.2, etc.) = 1 "stay round"
• Additional +1 when participating in combat
• Base rest = +0 (recovery)

In this act, each PC accumulates roughly 5~7 stay rounds.

#Reversion Target Rules

Resistance methods:

• 1 stick of incense = delay 1 round (linked to the domain's incense stock)
• Carry Reika's ash (if chosen in 2.2) = +3 resistance
• Act 1 honest-answer bonus (per 1 person) = +1 resistance

#Trust Check — Relationship with Haibi

Loyal retainer Haibi is managed with an NPC trust system.

Trust modifiers:

• Number of PCs who gave honest Act 1 answers × +0.5
• Number of PCs who gave aggressive Act 1 answers × -1
• Directly question Haibi + succeed at check, Target Number 13 × +0.5
• Show respect to Reika's ash (choose 2.2-3) × +1

Record this for each PC at the end of Act 2.

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#Direction — Session Management

#Session Opening — 5 Minutes

• Give the first-page diary handout as real paper.
• Have the players calculate the 200-year gap between "March 14, 1407" and "March 14, 1607." The GM does not calculate it for them.
• Announce that the Reversion Residue rules begin operating in earnest from this act.

#Middle 1 Hour — Diary Decoding and Shrine

• Handle diary decoding slowly. Spend 15~20 minutes. Lead the players into the feeling of decoding.
• The shrine scene is a direction of silence. On entering the main sanctuary, stay silent for 20 seconds, then describe the ash outline.
• Haibi's appearance should come at an unexpected moment. He rises in a corner while the players are looking at something else.

#After the Middle — Conversation with Reika

• This scene is the emotional peak of this act. The GM reads slowly.
• In the middle of Reika's words, the meaning of "your lord — and ours as well" is implied. This is the correspondence between the PC party's lord Akihisa and Kitami Masanobu. Let the players sense it.
• Do not force the choice. Wait until the PCs accept one of the options.

#Session End — 10 Minutes

• Present the first activation of reversion. Actually tear the diary handout (edges only).
• Hook sentence: "Somewhere in the street, someone — or something — is cutting another down. The sound is not once. It repeats. The same sound. Endlessly."
• This sentence leads into the faction recreation scene in Act 3.

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#GM Branch Table

#Checklist at the End of Act 2

Record the following for each PC:

• [ ] how many core diary facts they understood (among 1~8)
• [ ] Haibi's trust (current value)
• [ ] what they chose from Reika's ash (among 1, 2, 3, or none)
• [ ] whether they noticed the Enmadoji hint in the family crest
• [ ] reversion resistance value
• [ ] degree of record loss at the end of Act 2

#Chapter Accumulation Update (Act 1 → Act 2)

• Transformation-faction-leaning PC: aggressive Act 1 answer + expresses sympathy with the lord's logic during Act 2 → confirmed
• Return-faction-leaning PC: compassionate Act 1 answer + shows respect to Reika during Act 2 → confirmed
• Neutral/confused PC: Act 1 reprieve + avoids choosing in Act 2 → target for Mikura's approach in Act 3
• Skeptical PC: Act 1 refusal + conflict with Haibi during Act 2 → target for Izanagi's approach in Act 3

#Record Acquisition Check

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#Handouts (For Players)

#Handout 1 — First Page of the Diary

(See the Act 2 opening box above; give as a physical handout)

#Handout 2 — Diary at Year 1, Month 3 (summary excerpt)

Oei 15, 6th Month, 7th Day. Last night, Lord Masanobu climbed alone to the
keep and did not return. When he came down at dawn, his eyes had changed.
I did not ask whom he had spoken with. I could not ask. Yet from that day on,
our lord began using the word "eternity" many times.

Lady Reika prayed at the shrine that night. She did not stop praying.
I could not ask what she was praying for.

—Goichi

#Handout 3 — Diary at Year 3 (summary excerpt)

Oei 17, First Month. Our lord gathered the retainers and declared:
"To protect the domain, we will become new beings. By the grace of the great one,
we will gain eternity."

Lady Reika stood. "My lord, this is not salvation. This is an eternal prison
of fire."

Our lord drew his sword. But he did not cut her down. Instead, he said:
"You are no longer my onmyoji."

Lady Reika returned to the shrine alone. One week later, fire was seen at the shrine.
But the shrine did not burn. Only Lady Reika burned.

I am forbidden to leave this record. But I leave it. In the hope that someone
will read it.

—Goichi (final diary)

#Handout 4 — Atobe Reika's Last Words (directly from Reika's ash)

"I waited. I waited for those who would not come. You were those who would not come,
yet you came.
Is your Barrier still being protected? Then protect it. To the end.
After you protect it to the end — something will remain for you to choose.
When that time comes, remember my words:
eternity is not salvation. Eternity is a prison.
But a short life — a short life is precious."

—Atobe Reika, onmyoji of Kitamiyama

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#Direction Tips Box

#Tip 1 — The Power of Physical Handouts

Preparing paper handouts in real life greatly increases session immersion. Print them vertically on rough paper (dry stock). Slightly scorch or tear the edges for stronger direction. You may weaken part of the paper in advance for the "tearing direction" at the end of Act 2.

#Tip 2 — Directing Reika's Ash

The GM gives Reika a different voice. Quiet and slow. If changing voices feels awkward, write it down and show it to the players — Handout 4. Reika's lines are a direction in the act of reading.

#Tip 3 — Restraint with the Enmadoji Hint

Do not state outright the "match between the family crest and Mirror Pond" in 2.3. Guide the players so they say "Mirror Pond" themselves. The GM only goes as far as "the crest feels strangely familiar." The players' speculation opens the first gate to Enmadoji.

#Tip 4 — Directing the 200-Year Gap

State the numbers "1407 and 1607" only once, then let the players find their meaning themselves. The GM does not directly say that the PC party is standing where Kitamiyama stood 200 years later. The moment the players realize that is the emotional core of this act.

#Tip 5 — Directing Haibi's Affinity

Haibi is not human. But traces of having been human remain. The GM plays his speech like "an old man speaking while searching through memory." Pause briefly after a sentence, then continue as if he forgot a word. This direction carries the weight of his 200 years.

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#Act 2 Completion Checklist

• [ ] The PCs understood Kitamiyama's basic information through diary decoding
• [ ] The PCs found Atobe Reika's ash at the shrine
• [ ] Loyal retainer Haibi NPC appeared and contacted the PCs
• [ ] The Enmadoji hint in the family crest was presented
• [ ] The split between the transformation faction and return faction was revealed
• [ ] Direct conversation with Reika occurred
• [ ] The PCs chose one gift from Reika's ash
• [ ] The first activation of the Reversion Residue rules occurred
• [ ] Each PC's faction tendency became clear
• [ ] Act 3 preview — the repeating sound of swords in the street was heard

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#Connections

• Previous: Act 1 — Entering the City
• Next: Act 3 — Conflict Between Factions
• NPC: loyal retainer Haibi · Atobe Reika (ash)
• Monster: ash soldier
• Premise (Enmadoji): 00-02 Full Premise

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"Eternity is not salvation. Eternity is a prison." — Atobe Reika, onmyoji of Kitamiyama, Oei 17, 2nd Month.