Chapter 1 — Never After 6

Rain clouds swallowed the evening sky above Kuroyami Village.

The mountain town looked peaceful during the day — narrow stone streets, glowing paper lanterns, wooden houses lined beside quiet rivers — but once the sun began to disappear behind the dark forest, fear spread faster than the cold wind.

Every shop closed early.

Every door locked before sunset.

And every villager repeated the same warning.

“Be inside before 6 PM.”

Ren Takahashi hated that rule.

“It’s ridiculous,” Ren scoffed as he leaned against the old bridge near the marketplace. “We’re not little kids anymore.”

Haruto sighed beside him. “You say that now, but you’ve seen how people act around sunset.”

“They act crazy.”

The village bell echoed once through the streets.

5:20 PM.

Nearby, shopkeepers hurried to carry lanterns indoors. Mothers dragged children home by the wrists. Even stray dogs disappeared into alleys as if they sensed something coming.

Mika tightened her grip on her schoolbag nervously.

“I heard another person vanished last month,” she whispered. “My grandmother said the forest spirits take people who stay outside after dark.”

Ren laughed loudly.

“Forest spirits? Seriously?”

Yuna stood silently beside the group, her purple ponytail swaying gently in the wind. Unlike the others, she wasn’t smiling.

Her eyes stayed fixed on the distant mountains.

Dark.

Silent.

Waiting.

“We should go home,” Yuna said softly.

Ren noticed the fear in her voice.

“You too?” he teased. “Come on, Yuna. Don’t tell me you actually believe those stories.”

Before she could answer, thunder rumbled across the sky.

The villagers began moving faster.

One old woman stopped directly in front of the four teenagers. Her wrinkled hands trembled around a paper lantern.

“Children,” she warned shakily, “don’t stay outside tonight.”

Ren rolled his eyes. “We’ll survive.”

The old woman’s expression turned pale.

“No,” she whispered. “Not after 6.”

A freezing gust of wind swept through the street.

The lanterns flickered.

For a split second, Yuna thought she saw something moving far beyond the rooftops.

Something enormous.

Then it vanished.

5:43 PM.

Haruto checked his phone. “The storm’s getting worse. Let’s just head back.”

Ren crossed his arms stubbornly.

“No way. I’m tired of everyone acting terrified every night. Tonight we prove this whole curse thing is fake.”

Mika’s face turned white.

“You mean… stay outside after six?”

“Exactly.”

“Are you insane?!”

Ren grinned.

“A little.”

Another thunderclap exploded overhead.

Rain finally began pouring onto the village.

The four friends ran beneath the roof of an abandoned tea shop near the edge of town.

Water splashed against the stone roads as the village emptied completely.

Doors slammed shut one by one.

The streets became silent.

Too silent.

5:57 PM.

Mika stared at the old clock tower in the center of the village.

“I don’t like this…”

Yuna hugged her arms tightly. Her breathing had become uneven.

Ren noticed.

“You okay?”

Yuna slowly shook her head.

“It’s coming.”

“What’s coming?”

But she didn’t answer.

The wind suddenly stopped.

No rain.

No thunder.

Nothing.

The entire village became unnaturally still.

Then—

DONG.

The first bell rang.

6:00 PM.

DONG.

The second bell echoed across the mountains.

Mika covered her ears.

DONG.

The third bell sounded deeper than the others, almost… alive.

And then the lanterns went out.

Every single one.

Darkness swallowed the village instantly.

Haruto’s voice trembled.

“R-Ren…”

Something moved at the far end of the street.

A massive shadow.

Too tall.

Too wide.

Its glowing white eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

Mika gasped in horror.

The creature stepped forward.

Cracked skin.

Clawed hands.

A twisted skeletal grin stretching across its monstrous face.

Rain began pouring again violently as thunder illuminated the nightmare standing before them.

The Hollow Beast had awakened.

And it was staring directly at Ren.

The creature smiled.

Then someone screamed somewhere deep within the village.

A horrifying human scream.

Ren’s confidence vanished instantly.

The monster took one slow step toward them.

The ground trembled beneath its weight.

Yuna whispered with tears in her eyes—

“Run.”

And the Beast began to chase them.

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