Kelvin didn't sleep for 48 hours. He drank coffee and read.
Every myth. Every local story about Daku. About Dark Mountain. The stories were all the same: demons take babies. Mothers go mad. No one fights back.
Except one story. 200 years old. About a 'mask' that could see demons. Worn by the 'kageyama'. It meant 'Shadow Mountain' in old Japanese.
His family name.
Coincidence. Had to be.
Aoi came back with forensics. "The claw marks? Wood is decayed. Like it aged 100 years in one night."
"They're draining things," kelvin said. "Life. Time. That's why kalina didn't age. The river stalled it. But now she's out…"
"She'll catch up," Aoi finished. "15 years in what? Days?"
Kelvin didn't answer. He was looking at his grandfather's trunk. The one he never opened. His grandfather died when Kelvin was 10. Said he was a 'guardian'. Kelvin thought he meant police.
Inside the trunk: old photos, medals, and a box. Wood. Lacquered black.
Inside the box: a mask.
White. No features. Just two eye holes. Smooth like bone. Cold.
When Kelvin touched it, kalina started crying. First real baby cry. Loud. Scared.
Hana grabbed kelvin arm. "Don't. Mama said the mask calls them."
Kelvin put it on anyway.
The world went quiet. Then he saw them.
In the apartment. Four of them. Standing in the corners. Watching. They'd been there the whole time.
One of them pointed at kalina.
And smiled.