The player characters’ investigation into the missing students’ disappearance quickly attracts the interest of Ao- Andon. It has been hiding in this reality for some weeks now and has had the time to learn that it was Daisuke’s nature as a Potential that allowed it to find its way to our world. As the hyaku monogatari is the key to sending it back and returning the students, the evil spirit decides to track down the player characters and eliminate them to make sure it can stay in the physical world. It can only act in utter darkness, which is why it can only appear at the end of the hyaku monogatari when all candles are extinguished.
Ao-Andon will begin to stalk the player characters, but it needs to wait for complete darkness to make its move. Its appearances should create a sensation of an increasingly pressing menace over the characters during their investigations. Ao-Andon will appear as a bluish shape in the corner of a room where the player character is sleeping, awakening him with a
start. The player character might think it is nothing more than a nightmare or a hallucination.
If Ao-Andon gets too close to one of them, a member of the sect may intervene. The latter, always as a dark silhouette wearing a white mask, will appear holding a strange sort of lighter. The device throws out a particularly intense light that is sufficient to scare Ao-Andon off, at least for the moment. The sect member will still keep their distance though, shining the light through a window, for instance. The player character will be momentarily blinded by the light, offering the sect member a moment to escape.
Eventually, Ao-Andon will find his moment. Turning to a dark alley, one of the characters will find himself face to face with a vaguely humanoid being. Recognisable from the Kaidan stories from its malformed face surrounded by long dark hair and crooked fingers, it is draped in a kind of shapeless material and suffused in a sickly bluish aura. Approaching slowly, as if
savouring the moment, Ao-Andon will utter in a discordant voice: “I must make you disappear so that people like you will not
make us disappear!”
Then it will attack the player character by striking with its hands. If he tries to escape, the player character will soon become aware that his aggressor remains confined to the dark areas. If the player character can get to a lit area, Ao-Andon quickly abandons the chase, vanishing suddenly.
After a few such encounters, the stakes rise during one of the city’s uncommon power blackouts. The player characters are in an isolated place (a subway station or perhaps one of their places of work where they stayed a bit later than usual). Tensions rise, strange noises similar to scratching or a shambling walk will be heard nearby coming from no discernible direction. The evil spirit will finally appear and attack the characters, no matter how many there are. It will seem impossible to hurt the spirit using conventional means. Only the return of power or the intervention of the sect will get the party out of this mess. The encounter emphasises their apparent helplessness in the face of Ao-Andon.
It should be clear after this encounter that the player characters need to know how to destroy or banish the spirit. They may also want to find the identity of the sect. If it is almost impossible to find any information on the Furinkazan Sect; on the other hand it is very easy to identify Ao-Andon and its connection to the hyaku monogatari.
Shadowplay
If they haven’t already, by now the player characters will realise they are out of their depth and need help and advice. Those with supernatural contacts may decide to visit the shop of an occultist in order to learn more, and even attempt to protect themselves against Ao-Andon. There is no shortage of ads and signs for such places. However, most are con artists and charlatans. If they have no contacts in the occult themselves, the player characters might turn to Jiro, or they might be sent an advert by the sect for a shop called (in English) ‘Shadowplay’ in Akihabara. If they do contact Jiro, he too will recommend the shop.
They will find the tiny shop (only seven metres square, but filled to the brim) in the middle of a row of several others that look exactly the same. The ‘public’ part of the shop has several gadgets as well as the latest fashion in pods, gantai and flexible screens. A door at the back of the shop leads to a spiral
staircase. These old steps, seemingly carved in stone, lead to a large basement. The merchandise sold here, often for exorbitant prices, is mostly connected to the occult.
While the ground floor is tended by Katsura Ai, the basement is managed by her father, Katsura Kouki. The latter, a chubby and balding old man, is known for his jovial nature and especially for his business acumen, while his daughter has a more reserved nature. Nevertheless, it is Ai who chooses which clients are allowed to access her father’s shop on criteria that mostly seem completely subjective or even fanciful. With her shaved head, imposing broad shoulders and the help of her steel-tipped baton, she has no trouble dealing with undesirables. Both Ai and her father are somewhat sensitive to the occult, and while they don’t yet understand the player characters’ problems, they both notice the spirits have taken an interest in them.
As soon as she sees the player characters enter the shop (or just walk by) Ai will approach them directly and ask them to follow her downstairs. If they hesitate, she’ll tell them she knows someone who can help them deal with their problem. She will lead them to the stairs down to the basement where Kouki will receive them with a cup of tea that has a very strong smell and a bitter taste. The old man will begin a conversation about the weather and living conditions in Shin-Edo to put his guests at ease and to give them time to look around their surroundings. The room seems to be much larger than the ground floor, with a high ceiling. It is filled with shelves weighed down with piles of old and incongruous items. Here, ancient artefacts emanating immense power sit side by side with the last word in occultech. There are also numerous books, some of which have titles in foreign languages.
Once he has drunk his tea, Kouki lets his guests explain what they know. He regretfully knows no truly effective way of eliminating Ao-Andon. He also knows nothing about the sect but promises to do some research on the subject. He digs around one of the shelves and brings out a massive book yellowed by time. He brings it a table, and opens it on a page that details hyaku monogatari. On the opposite page there is a drawing showing the spirit that attacked the player characters. Moving his finger through the tight, handwritten lines, the old man announces that the only way to get rid of Ao-Andon is to go through the ritual again. “It is the only way to make it return
to its world and save those who are imprisoned there. But then, you knew that, even before coming here.”
When they return home, one of the player characters finds a bluish lacquer box on his doorstep. It refuses to open whatever the means are employed. There’s a simple note engraved on it: “Always
carry this with you and never leave it to prevent all misfortune.”