#Chapter 5 Act 4 — Final Endings

Contents

4-session length (Session 4). The concrete resolution of the 3-branch ending structure: Return, Settlement, and Transformation. Each person's cost and epilogue.

Core References
- Required: 10th-dan Renown Title · Enmadoji Seal
- Reference: Three Ways and Six Hearts
- In this supplement: Design Notes § Ending Design · Premise · Act 3 · Ending Handling

#Act 4 Summary

The rite began in Act 3. Act 4 completes that rite and shows how the PCs, NPCs, and domain accept the concrete outcome of each ending.

This chapter flows differently from earlier sessions. It takes place after one ending has been confirmed, so the other two endings are not played. The GM should still understand all three endings and focus play on the scenes for the chosen one.

Act 4 Final Declaration (present to the PCs after the ending is confirmed): "The story stops here. But they go on living."

#Shared Act 4 Structure

Each ending follows this shared flow:

Rite Completion (30~45 minutes): the completion check for the rite begun in Act 3.
Outcome of the Cost (30~40 minutes): the concrete scene of each ending's sacrifice.
The Domain's Acceptance (30~40 minutes): residents' and NPCs' reactions and final interactions.
Individual Epilogues (60~90 minutes): final scenes for each PC and major NPC.
Final Ceremony (15~20 minutes): the symbolic rite for the ending.
Read-Aloud and Silence (10 minutes): GM read-aloud, then silence.

Total session length: about 3~4 hours.

#Ending A — Return (帰還)

#A.1 Rite Completion — Resealing Chant

#Location Continues

Before the sealing stone. The Renown Title declarant has one hand on a crack in the sealing stone. The other PCs sit formally in a circle around it. Threads of the seal are growing outward.

#Structure of the Resealing Chant

The chant has 3 stages:

Stage 1 — Name Calling: the Renown Title declarant grants their own name to the sealing stone. The seal begins under that name.

Stage 2 — Sutra Repetition: all PCs chant together. Sample sutra (onmyoji line):

"南無閻魔大王降三世無量無辺
南無地蔵菩薩救苦救難応身応諸
封ずる封ずる無明の門
閉ずる閉ずる冥界の隙
…南無."

Repeat 3 times. Sorcery check, Target Number 13 × 3 (on 1 failure, restart the chant from the beginning).

Stage 3 — Final Knot: the Renown Title declarant cries out 1 true name(眞名). That name is their own true name. At the same time, the crack in the sealing stone closes.

#The Renown Title Declarant's Sacrifice Choice

At the moment they cry out the true name in Stage 3, the Renown Title declarant must choose one of the following:

Choice 1 — Immediate Death (classic sacrifice): the declarant's life is offered with the seal. Their breath stops here. If Gensho declared, use this route.

Choice 2 — Remain in the Spirit Realm (separation sacrifice): the declarant lives, but cannot go to the main-world. They remain beside the sealing stone and become the "guardian of the seal." This is effectively close to Transformation. (Unlike the Transformation Ending, however, they keep their humanity.)

Choice 3 — Partial Sacrifice (when there are 2 Renown Title declarants): if there are 2 Renown Title declarants, one dies immediately and one returns. The returnee comes back with a trace of the Spirit Realm engraved on the body (choose one: loss of sight in one eye, loss of fingers, altered voice, or similar).

The choice belongs to the PC. The GM does not force it.

#Chant Check

Final Chant Completion Check: Sorcery check, Target Number 18 (2d10 + Wisdom + Sorcery, Renown Title declarant base modifier +5).

Success: the crack in the sealing stone closes completely. The purple light disappears. The sealing stone quietly returns to the form of a stone.
Failure: retry the chant. However, each failure gives the Renown Title declarant weakening +2.

#A.2 Outcome of the Cost

#Silence of the Sealing Stone

The moment the sealing stone's crack closes, space trembles. From inside Avici, the PCs have returned to the pillars of the nameless door. The door leaf closes. There is no sound. But it is definitively closed.

"The door closed. But the door closed — without ever having opened. Between the pillars is the door leaf that was never there, just as before. Invisible, but closed."

#The Renown Title Declarant's Final Scene

On Choice 1 (Immediate Death):

The declarant collapses where they stand. Another PC catches them. A last breath. A short farewell line.
If it is Gensho: "...Young Master Akihisa... the prayer beads... one bead each morning..." — the sentence ends unfinished.
If it is a PC: the GM and player jointly build 2~3 lines of final dialogue.

On Choice 2 (Remain in the Spirit Realm):

The declarant sits beside the door pillars. They wave to the other PCs.
Line: "...Go on ahead. I have... work left here. I will spend about 100 years playing with old Saigo."
Afterward, the declarant remains as a "fragment of consciousness" in Avici, like Saigo Yukimichi.

On Choice 3 (Partial Sacrifice):

The one who dies and the one who returns face each other. The dying one gives a single line. The returnee accepts it.
The dying one exits. The returnee stands, marked with the trace on their body.

#Domain Return Chant

At the same time the sealing stone closes, the Renown Title declarant or the most suitable surviving PC (highest Sorcery/Will) begins the return chant.

"...Domain, return. Stand on the earth, look to the sky, and stand once more in the place of people."

When the chant rings out, space trembles again. Avici Hell withdraws. Grass sprouts again underfoot. Scent returns to the air. Sunlight shines through the clouds.

#The Domain Returns

When the PCs open their eyes, Kagamiyama Domain has returned to the main-world. The place is the original mountainside. Every resident is gathered in the square. The sunlight in the sky is, truly for the first time in 100 years, warm.

#A.3 The Domain's Acceptance

#Akihisa's Awakening

Akihisa stands in the center of the square. One of his eyes is covered with a bandage. Beneath the bandage is an eye that remains closed and will not open. The physical expression of the seal's cost.

"...We returned. We did. All of us."
"One of my eyes remained in the Spirit Realm. That is — enough."

Akihisa is 16 years old. But now he is the domain's adult lord. His height has not changed, but the center of his body has come into its own.

#Residents' Memories

Some residents lose their memories of the Spirit Realm. The suffering of Chapters 1~4 is erased. This is Enmadoji's natural effect, preventing chaos.

Complete Rememberers: 30% of residents (mainly those who had direct contact with PCs or were close to the Barrier). They keep their Spirit Realm memories for life.
Partial Rememberers: 50% of residents. They remember only nightmare-like fragments.
Complete Forgetters: 20% of residents. They do not know the Spirit Realm existed.

The PCs are complete rememberers. This is the narrative weight they carry.

#Gensho's Place

If Gensho exits in this ending (immediate death on the Renown Title declaration):

His prayer beads and will are enshrined before the shrine altar.
The entire domain wears mourning clothes for 3 days.
Akihisa begins a 49-day ceremony.

In the rare case that Gensho survives (PC Renown Title declaration + completion of Gensho route 3):

Gensho recovers weakening -5 at the shrine. He can live another 5~10 years.
In exchange, his spiritual power is halved. Barrier maintenance passes to a successor.

#A.4 Individual Epilogues — Return Ending

#Akihisa

Short Term (within 1 year): Rebuilding the domain. Resuming diplomacy with nearby main-world domains. Akihisa formally becomes head of the house at 17.

Mid Term (5 years): Marriage. A child is born. The marriage partner is at the GM's discretion (from among the residents or from an outside domain). The marriage partner does not ask about Akihisa's closed eye.

Long Term (20 years): Akihisa at 35. Stable lord of Kagamiyama Domain. He checks the sealing stone once each year. Sometimes he sees Spirit Realm landscapes in dreams.

#Renown Title Declaration PC (Sacrifice Type)

On Immediate Death: A grave marker stands on a hill at the northern edge of the domain. The epitaph is the PC's true name. Akihisa visits every year on the anniversary of the death. Among the domain residents, the PC remains as a legend of a guardian hero. After 50 years, whether they truly existed grows hazy.

On Remaining in the Spirit Realm: The PC sometimes appears in the dreams of domain residents. Like Saigo, they give advice to drifters from the distant future. If a new drifter appears after 100 years, this PC becomes their "Saigo."

#Surviving PC Without a Renown Title Declaration

Life After Return: Life in the domain as an ordinary person, ronin, or onmyoji. Most settle within the domain. Combat skill retires from the battlefield.

After 20 Years: Some PCs leave the domain and wander. Some raise families in the domain. Some become successor onmyoji at the shrine. Decide through GM and player discussion.

#Romance Partner

Human Partner (Main-World): Marriage after return or continued courtship. An ordinary life.

Yoma Partner: Remains in the Spirit Realm. The romance ends. They sometimes meet in dreams (on nights when the domain's Barrier grows thin).

#Resident Representative (Named Person)

If named, their role is "chair of the first main-world village council." Within 1 year, the role naturally becomes an official leadership post.

#A.5 Final Ceremony — Return Ending

#3 Days Later — Sealing Stone Ceremony

Before Mirror Pond at the northern edge of the domain. The sealing stone sleeps again beneath the pond. Akihisa establishes a new ceremony:

"Every year on March 14, House Kamijo gathers before this pond. We call the name of old Gensho, the names of the expedition, and the name of the day we fell. Then we cast one stone into the pond, so the seal will not be forgotten."

This ceremony becomes the 100-year rite of House Kamijo.

#GM Read-Aloud — Return Ending Closing Text

"...They returned. The earth of the domain was firm again. The residents worked beneath the sunlight and drank tea in the evening. Old Gensho's prayer beads were enshrined on the shrine altar, and every morning Akihisa came to that place, one bead at a time, and stood there for a while."
"One who returned never left the domain again. One who left remembered the domain for life. One who remained sat beside old Saigo in the wasteland of Avici, waiting for the next person who would one day come."
"The story stops here. But they go on living. How they live is as much as you remember."

#Ending B — Settlement (定住)

#B.1 Rite Completion — Spirit Realm Pact Takes Effect

#Location Continues

Before the sealing stone. The negotiation representative among the PCs is reading aloud the pact text. A copy of Akihisa's seal is stamped at the end of the text.

#Structure of the Pact Text

The text prepared in Act 2. Standard clauses:

"Kagamiyama Domain (represented by Kamijo Akihisa) declares the following to the Spirit Realm. First, this domain settles inside the boundary of the Spirit Realm. First, this domain renounces its right to return to the main-world. First, the lord of this domain renounces human standing and is renamed as a Spirit Realm lord. First, the sealing stone becomes the boundary between the domain and the Spirit Realm, and is no longer sealed. First, the Spirit Realm protects this domain and provides enduring stability."
"...Confirm that all clauses above are accepted in the name of the Spirit Realm."

#Mumyo's Acceptance

Mumyo has returned from the awakened body form to a human form. The mask is attached. He takes the pact text and reads it. Then he says one line:

"...Accepted. From today onward, I become the boundary of your domain. I have worked for 100 years, so working another 100 years will not be difficult. But remember my name. Mumyo. My name, as something that is not anything."

Mumyo presses his handprint onto the pact text. A stone seal. The pact takes effect.

#Pact Effect Check

Pact Effect Check: Negotiation + Wisdom check, Target Number 15 (use the highest modifier among the PCs).

Success: the pact takes effect immediately. The sealing stone becomes a "boundary stone." Avici Hell becomes the new background of the domain.
Failure: the pact clauses need revision. The PCs may renegotiate 1 time. On failure, abandon Ending B and shift to Ending A or C (if conditions are met).

#B.2 Outcome of the Cost

#Akihisa's Renaming Rite

Immediately after the pact takes effect, Akihisa's renaming rite begins. Akihisa stands before the sealing stone. He takes out the mirror-surface mirror prepared in Act 2.

Akihisa looks into the mirror. What appears there is not himself, but a figure covered in light. The outline is Akihisa, but it has no face.

"...Kamijo Akihisa changes his name as of today. I am now — Kagamiyama Akikami. Lord of the Spirit Realm and boundary of the domain."

(The name is one of the 3 proposals from Act 2. Decide through GM and player discussion.)

The moment he speaks the name, Akihisa's feet take root in the earth. Roots do not physically grow; this is a symbolic connection. From this point on, Akihisa cannot leave the domain boundary.

#Loss of Human Standing

Akihisa's human standing disappears. Concrete changes:

No need to eat: he does not need food. He still joins meals with residents (as courtesy).
Does not sleep: he does not need sleep. At night, he focuses on Barrier maintenance in the center of the domain.
Does not age: he stops at the appearance of a 16-year-old. Even as domain residents pass through generations, Akihisa remains the same.
Does not die: as long as the domain exists, Akihisa exists. If the domain ceases to exist, Akihisa ceases to exist.
Emotion remains: he still feels joy and sorrow. But their intensity is thinner than a human's. There is distance.

#Residents' Settlement Check

After the pact takes effect, require a settlement check from every resident. Each resident rolls 2d10:

Result	Reaction	Ratio
17~20	Gladly settles	40%
13~16	Reluctantly settles	30%
9~12	Hesitates but accepts	20%
5~8	Refuses but cannot escape	7%
2~4	Refuses and attempts suicide, renunciation, or flight	3%

This concretizes the main premise that about half accept settlement: 2/3 are voluntary or accepting, while 1/3 are passive. About 3% refuse.

#Fate of the Refusers

Suicide attempt: domain medical staff (including Gensho) intervene immediately. They persuade the resident and turn them into a passive accepter. Or the resident actually dies by suicide (a rare tragedy).
Renunciant: moves to a small hermitage on the edge of the domain. Removed from the domain's official population. Becomes a wanderer of the Spirit Realm.
Fugitive: leaves the domain boundary. Wanders through Avici Hell. Most become "fragments of consciousness" like Saigo.

Their fate is the weight of the epilogue.

#B.3 The Domain's Acceptance · New Landscape

#Landscape Changes in the Spirit Realm Domain

When the pact takes effect, the domain's landscape changes subtly:

Sky: still ash-gray, but there is something like sunlight. A false sun and false moon.
Ground: firm, like main-world earth. Grass grows. But the color of plants is subtly pale.
Seasons: four seasons exist, but each lasts only about 15 days. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter cycle through 1 year.
Sound: Avici silence withdraws, and everyday sounds return. But somewhere, there is a distant resonance.

#Gensho's Survival (on the Pact Route)

In the Settlement Ending + completed pact route, Gensho receives donated remaining lifespan from the Spirit Realm and recovers weakening -5. Route (3). He lives another 5~10 years at the shrine.

Gensho's line:

"...That this body has been accepted as an offering of the Spirit Realm... is a strange blessing. I will live my final years quietly here before I go."

#The Sealing Stone's New Place

The sealing stone emerges above Mirror Pond at the northern edge of the domain. It is now a boundary stone rising above the pond's surface. Each day, residents bow silently once before this stone.

#B.4 Individual Epilogues — Settlement Ending

#Akihisa (Akikami)

Short Term (within 1 year): Settlement takes hold in the Spirit Realm domain. Akihisa adapts to the sense of distance from the residents. Sometimes, in the evening, he visits a resident's home and drinks tea.

Mid Term (10 years): The domain is stable. Children of a new generation are born. These children are "Spirit Realm-born."

Long Term (50 years): The residents pass through generations. Akikami remains 16. Residents shift from calling him "my lord" to "lord-god."

After 100 Years: Akikami is the domain's guardian divine being. Residents perform rites honoring him, but it becomes rare to speak with him. Solitude.

#Renown Title Declaration PC (Settlement Ending)

Renown Title declarant of the B route: sublimates into a "deified guardian." They become an enduring presence of the domain beside Akikami. They retire from humanity.

Line:

"...I will remain here. My path has reached this place. But as a guardian of the domain, I will be with you forever."

Daily Life: They reside at a specific place in the domain (choose one: shrine, lord's manor, Mirror Pond, etc.). They become someone the residents can pray to.

#PC Without a Renown Title Declaration

Settlement Survival: Settles in the domain as an ordinary resident. May raise a family.

Special Note: As "humans of the Spirit Realm," they cannot go to the main-world outside the domain. Life within the domain is peaceful.

After 20 Years: Differences by PC. Some become advisers to the lord. Some become farmers. Some become martial instructors. Some retire.

#Romance Partner

Human Partner + Accepts Settlement: Lives together in the domain and raises a family. The most peaceful epilogue.

Human Partner + Refuses Settlement: The partner rolls a low result on the settlement refusal check → separation. The partner leaves the domain and vanishes in Avici. The PC settles in the domain in deep sorrow.

Yoma Partner: The pact clauses formally permit residence within the domain. Marriage to the PC is possible. The beginning of a "hybrid house."

#B.5 Final Ceremony — Settlement Ending

#Settlement Proclamation Festival

1 week after the pact takes effect. A large ceremony in the central square of the domain:

Boundary Stone Bow: all residents bow silently before the sealing stone (boundary stone).
Name Return: Akihisa burns paper bearing his true name at the boundary stone. The name is returned to the Spirit Realm.
New Name Bestowal: Akikami's new name is proclaimed.
Residents' Oath: all residents read aloud an oath to "live as domain residents of the Spirit Realm."
Celebration Banquet: the first meal of settlement. A silent seat remembering the 3% who refused is prepared as well.

#GM Read-Aloud — Settlement Ending Closing Text

"...They remained. The domain's earth now belonged to the Spirit Realm. The sky was close to gray, but in the evening a false moon rose, and the residents ate beneath its light. Akihisa was now Akikami. A lord-god. He would live 100 years in the form of a 16-year-old."
"Old Gensho lived a few more years, then quietly closed his eyes at the shrine. His prayer beads passed into Akikami's hand, and every morning Akikami moved one bead and prayed."
"There were three who left. They went beyond the domain boundary and disappeared into the wasteland of Avici. Their names were called once each year beside the fire in the square."
"The story stops here. But they go on living. Beneath a false moon, they go on living."

#Ending C — Transformation (變容)

#C.1 Rite Completion — Oath of the Transformation Vow

#Location Continues

Before the sealing stone. PCs who meet the Transformation conditions kneel beneath the crack in the sealing stone. They have cut their wrists. Blood flows onto the floor. The sealing stone begins to absorb that blood.

#Final Check of Transformation Conditions

PC 1~3 people (maximum 3): 10th-dan Renown Title non-declarants.
Cumulative Spirit Realm stay of 10 sessions or more (Chapters 1~4 cumulative).
"Compassion(慈)" in the Three Ways and Six Hearts is confirmed or nearly confirmed.
The person's own voluntary will — the GM must not force this.

If all these conditions are met, Transformation begins. Anyone who fails the conditions is rejected by the "Spirit Realm's test"; Transformation does not take effect, and they return as an ordinary survivor.

#Transformation Vow

The Transformation PC stands before the sealing stone. Read the vow:

"...I am (PC true name). As of today, I willingly renounce my human standing. I offer my flesh, bones, and name to Avici. I now become the one who guards this door from within. My domain returns. I remain."
"...This is my choice."

When the vow is complete, the sealing stone engraves the swearer's name. The name is actually carved into the surface of the sealing stone.

#Transformation Check

Transformation Rite Check: Courage + Sorcery check, Target Number 15 (individual check for each PC).

Success: Transformation begins.
Failure: Transformation does not take effect. The PC returns as an ordinary survivor (mixed route with Ending A or B).

#Transformation Process

The Transformation PC's body slowly becomes translucent. Purple mist rises from the wrist where blood flowed. The PC's shape remains, but materiality thins.

PC sensations:

There is no pain. Instead, it feels like becoming lighter.
Space expands. The boundary of their own body blurs, and they feel the surrounding air, stone, and wind together.
Time slows. Their companions' movements look slow.

#Transformation Complete

The PC still keeps their own consciousness, but becomes an intelligent being of the Spirit Realm. They are not human.

#C.2 Outcome of the Cost

#The Domain Returns

At the same time Transformation begins, Mumyo says one line:

"...I have received your cost. The domain returns. Go back."

The domain returns to the main-world. Use the same process as Ending A. However, because there is no Renown Title declarant, the seal is not reinstalled. The Transformation PC becomes the "living part" of the seal.

The Transformation PC does not return with the domain. They remain beside the sealing stone.

#Transformation PC's Farewell Scene

A farewell between the Transformation PC and the remaining PCs. This is a final scene jointly built by the GM and players.

Example Line (Transformation PC):

"...Go. I will be all right here. I will meet you in dreams. So long as the domain is safe, I will guard it without rest."

Example Line (remaining companion):

"...I will not forget. Once each year, I will send a prayer to this place."

The Transformation PC waves. The hand grows gradually transparent. But it does not completely disappear. Like Saigo, they remain as Avici consciousness.

#Akihisa's Reaction

Akihisa remembers the Transformation PC. Deeply. On the way back, he says one line:

"...You carried our share in our place. This grace — our house will not forget across 5 generations."

#Gensho's Reaction

In the Transformation Ending, Gensho undergoes natural exhaustion. After reaching weakening 10, he enters nirvana at the shrine. On hearing of the Transformation PC, his final line:

"...Truly... a beautiful choice. That child (the Transformation PC) will live for centuries from now. May those centuries not be lonely."

#C.3 The Domain's Acceptance · Empty Place

#The Empty Place After the Domain Returns

The domain has returned to the main-world. But the Transformation PC is absent. Residents clearly recognize this absence.

Akihisa raises a stone pillar carved with the Transformation PC's name in the central square of the domain. Every year on March 14, flowers are placed beside the pillar.

#Residents' Memories

Special effect of the Transformation Ending: residents' memories are fully retained. The Transformation PC's sacrifice takes priority over Enmadoji's chaos-prevention effect. Residents remember their Spirit Realm experiences for life.

#Reunion in Dreams

The relationship between the Transformation PC and the domain is reduced to "meeting in dreams." But the dreams are vivid. 1 time per month, one domain resident sees the Transformation PC in a dream. They can speak in the dream.

#C.4 Individual Epilogues — Transformation Ending

#Transformation PC (1~3 People)

Short Term (within 1 year): They meet Saigo beside the sealing stone. Saigo, in a tired body, says farewell. Saigo hands over 80 years of work to the Transformation PC and disappears. The Transformation PC becomes Saigo's successor.

Mid Term (10 years): The Transformation PC walks the wasteland of Avici. They record the landscape. They wait for the next drifter who will one day come.

Long Term (100 years): The Transformation PC becomes a "soul of a previous drifter," like Saigo. They perform for the PCs of the next drifting domain the role Saigo performed. A tired witness.

Forever (GM free): The Transformation PC will one day dissolve completely into Avici. 500 years? 1000 years? Until then, the PC's consciousness remains.

#Transformation PC's Final Realization (Optional Epilogue)

The GM may read the following to the player:

"You wait. In the wasteland of Avici. No wind blows, but time flows. You sit beside the torii where Saigo sat. Your name is carved in stone. That stone keeps you in this place — so long as your name is not erased."
"Centuries pass. The next guests arrive. You lift your head. You say to them — 'Welcome. After several dozen years... guests.'"

The Transformation PC's "loop" structure. Sad, but not a complete defeat. Their role as preserver of the story.

#Akihisa

After Return: Almost the same as Ending A. However, Akihisa's eye is not lost because the Transformation PC paid in his place.

After 20 Years: Akihisa at 35. A sturdy head of the house. He commemorates the Transformation PC every year. When his child reaches adulthood, he tells them the Transformation PC's story.

After 100 Years: The Transformation PC's name remains in the history of House Kamijo. Even if whether they existed becomes hazy, the name remains.

#PC Without a Renown Title Declaration (Non-Transformation)

Ordinary Survivors: Almost the same as Ending A. Ordinary life in the domain.

Special Note: They remember the transformed companion forever. After retirement, some PCs devote themselves at the shrine to rites that call their companion's name.

#Romance Partner

Human Partner: A partner who did not transform returns to the main-world. Permanent separation. One of the most painful epilogue branches.

Yoma Partner + Transformation Couple Route: The yoma partner remains in the Spirit Realm with the Transformation PC. A "guardian couple of the Spirit Realm." The most romantic epilogue branch.

#C.5 Final Ceremony — Transformation Ending

#Name-Engraving Rite

3 days after the domain returns. Before Mirror Pond at the northern edge of the domain. Akihisa raises a new stele. Inscription:

"(Names of the Transformation PCs)
Guardians of Avici in the Spirit Realm.
Every year on March 14, call their names in this place.
Not so they will return — but so they will not be forgotten."

#Dream Rite

Every year on the night of March 14, 1 domain resident chosen by lot performs the dream rite at the shrine. Through this rite, they can speak with the Transformation PC in a dream. The conversation remains in the rite performer's memory and is passed down until the next year.

#GM Read-Aloud — Transformation Ending Closing Text

"...They returned. But one person (or several people) was missing. In the square of the returned domain, everyone raised their heads. There was an empty place. Wind passed through it. And everyone bowed silently to the empty place."
"The transformed ones remained in Avici. Their bodies were translucent, and their eyes were tired — but not miserable. They were Saigo now. They wait for the next guests."
"Once each year, the domain calls their names. Whether that sound reaches the wasteland of Avici, no one knows. But they call."
"The story stops here. But they go on living. One side beneath sunlight, one side beneath an ash-gray sky — in their own places, they go on living."

#Shared Act 4 — Space After the Ending

#Silence at the Session's End

After the GM read-aloud ends, keep at least 1 minute of silence. This is time for players to let go of their characters. Do not speak.

#GM's Campaign Closing Text

After the silence, the GM gives the final words:

"...Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for being here together."

If players want, each may freely say how their character lived after the epilogue. The GM listens and affirms each with one sentence.

#Act 4 GM Operating Principles

#Principle 1 — Refuse a Perfect Victory

No ending is a complete happy ending. The GM should not blur the cost of the ending. If a player asks, "Can we avoid this cost?", answer honestly: "You can avoid it, but then you lose something else."

#Principle 2 — Weight of the Read-Aloud

GM read-aloud should be slow and clear. Give players time to savor each sentence. Watch players' reactions during the read-aloud and adjust speed.

#Principle 3 — Respect Individual Epilogues

Each PC's epilogue is jointly built by the player and GM. The GM should not decide it alone. Ask the player, "How does your character live?", and build it together.

#Principle 4 — Weight of the Transformation Ending

The Transformation Ending is the saddest ending, but it can also be read as the most beautiful ending. The GM should not present it only as tragedy. Emphasize the dignity of the Transformation PC as preserver of the story.

#Principle 5 — Meaning of the Onmyoji Survival Route

Gensho's survival in the Settlement Ending is a rare branch. If it opened, it is the reward of the whole campaign. The GM should present this moment with deep emotion.

#Principle 6 — Do Not Promise the Next Campaign

You may mention the possibility of a follow-up campaign in the epilogue, but do not promise one. The campaign ends today. A follow-up belongs to itself.

#Linked Documents

Chapter Overview
Act 1 · Act 2 · Act 3
NPCs — NPC details by ending
Yoma Bestiary
Rewards and Afterstories — after 5 years, 10 years, and generations
10th-dan Renown Title ★ core principle
Enmadoji Seal
Design Notes
Premise

"Three paths. All three are paths. All three — they walked by their own will." — Act 4 GM read-aloud example.