After finding Sakuko's body wrapped in fog, Hinako brought her to a candy shop for a final farewell. Fueled by grief, she defeated attacking demons before unleashing her rage on their remains. Overwhelmed by a surrounding mist, Hinako collapsed and awoke in a dark shrine.
I returned to navigating the foggy, haunted town, searching for Shu and Rinko while guiding Hinako through the creeping mist.
As I pushed forward through the streets, a dramatic cinematic sequence triggered. Hinako backed away in fear as heavy fog rolled over the paths, bringing her face-to-face with Sakuko, whose body was completely enveloped by the evil being of the fog monster.
Hinako reached out desperately to pull her friend free, but quickly realized Sakuko was already gone. Tears streaming down her face, Hinako gathered her fallen companion and carried her into a nearby building away from the open streets.
The scene shifted inside a small, quiet candy shop where a single overhead light bulb flickered softly in the dim space. Hinako laid Sakuko down gently, covered the body with a warm blanket.
Stepping over to the flickering light, she returned to sit by her friend's side, softly remembering how Sakuko had dreamed since childhood of leaving behind his stuffy old shrine family to own a candy store.
She whispered that the shop was all her now, surrounded by as much sweets as she could ever want, before wishing her sweet dreams.
Stepping back outside into the murky air, Hinako noticed strange, dark vines twisting across the ground as another demon emerged from the fog. Exhausted and heartbroken, she warned the creature that the store was over for the day and demanded it to leave.
Recalling her vow to keep her promise even after Sakuko's death, she gripped her weapon tightly and prepared for battle. And I helped Hinako in taking down that twisted demon.
Two more demons lunged forward at once, forcing me to manage multiple targets in tight quarters. Taking heavy damage during the initial clash, I used several health capsules to keep Hinako standing before resuming a rapid counterattack.
Once both demons fell, Hinako gave in to pure fury, striking the remains repeatedly out of grief for her lost friend.
Hearing a sudden noise in the thick mist behind her, she spun around and struck the air, but found nothing there.
Overcome by exhaustion, she collapsed onto the ground as dense fog covered the screen, dragging her into a dark space. It seemed like something was happening to her, like an echo or something was messing up with her mind before she was collapsed to the ground.
Awakening to a mysterious voice urging her to rest, Hinako sat up to discover a glowing shrine standing quietly in the distance. Now I had to look for a way out of this place, without knowing how I actually ended up there.