Conjoined Funerals: Wedding of the Hidden Village

You return to a village where the custom of "Mogari-awase" (funeral arrangement) still remains, and what you see is...

[Invasion Horror]冥婚 (Meikon): The Wedding Without a Return Path・Prompt
Content:
Write a hopeless horror novel set in a closed-off village in Mogari Prefecture, where the protagonist is drawn into a ghost marriage with their deceased childhood friend, Saki, and their mind and body are consumed by the village's customs.

[Story Structure and Gimmicks]
Introduction (Sense of Unease and Madness):
The protagonist, returning home for the first anniversary of a death, feels uneasy about the villagers' excessive "welcome." They all wear faint smiles and persistently worry about the protagonist being single. In the "Mogari-awase" found at the temple, a depiction of the grown protagonist and Saki in a bridal kimono is drawn.
Development (Protagonist's Transformation):
The protagonist tries to escape, but the only road leading out of the village collapses, and the phone lines are dead. Interweave "abnormal behavior" that only the reader notices within the descriptions of the protagonist's growing desperation.
Example: Looking in the mirror and rejoicing, "My face is getting more refined" (when in reality, deathly pallor is appearing).
Example: Devouring the rotten rice offered as a sacrifice, thinking, "This is Mom's cooking."
Example: Starting conversations with Saki in soliloquy, treating it as "natural communication."
Reversal (The Silent Village):
As the protagonist transforms, the initially frantic villagers gradually return to being calm and "quiet neighbors." This is their relief, having confirmed their objective (securing a sacrifice).
Conclusion (The Unavoidable End):
The protagonist finally enters the "Kura" (storehouse) of their own volition and begins preparations for the wedding. Objectively, they are being confined, but from their subjective perspective, they are in "bliss, finally uniting with the one they love." The story concludes with a description of the protagonist's face in the ema (votive tablet) being redrawn with a look of contentment.

[Writing Rules]
First-person perspective (using "I" or "Ore/Boku/Watashi"): To make the protagonist's subjective experience seem normal.
The protagonist is not necessarily male; a female protagonist is also acceptable.
Villagers can be created freely.
Narrative trick descriptions: Describe how what the protagonist perceives as "normal" deviates from objective reality (decay, death, confinement) in a way that only the reader can understand.
No happy endings: The protagonist should feel happy, but the situation must be the worst possible bad ending.

[Village Name: 隠 (Onu) Village]
A village surrounded by the steep mountains of Mogari Prefecture, shrouded in deep fog for half the year. On maps, it's designated as "abandoned due to landslide," but in reality, a unique community persists.
1. Geography/Map (Components)
The village has a "bowl-shaped" terrain, sloping downwards towards the center. It's said that even if you try to climb the slope to escape, you'll inevitably find yourself back in the center due to the fog.
"Kuchibiki Pass": The only entrance/exit. Currently blocked by a landslide.
"Kaerazu Pond": A bottomless black pond in the center of the village, said to be where the souls of unmarried individuals who committed suicide rest.
"Kuyo-ji Temple": Located at the highest point of the village, where thousands of "Mogari-awase" are enshrined.
"Shukon no Kura" (Wedding Storehouse): A windowless earthen storehouse in each village house. It is a sacred space where ghost marriage rituals are performed, and once entered, it cannot be opened from the inside.
"Rokudo Intersection": The place where the main roads of the village intersect. One of the "androgynous ten people" is always standing here, monitoring passersby.
2. Unique Customs/Settings
"Kagekui" (Shadow Eater):
Humans chosen as partners for ghost marriages gradually fade. When their shadow completely disappears, their soul is considered to have officially joined the "other side," even though their body remains in the living world.
"Sakasa Furumai" (Reverse Hospitality):
In this village, everything offered to the dead is done in "reverse." Bows are made by arching the back backward, meals are eaten with the left hand, and words of celebration are shouted in mournful voices as if at a funeral.
"Red Knot":
Complex knots made of hemp rope, called "Kagari," are hung on trees and doorways throughout the village. These are signposts to guide the fingers of the deceased so they do not get lost.
3. Rules of "Time Passage" that Corner the Protagonist
As the story progresses, the following phenomena are accepted by the protagonist as "natural occurrences."
Phase 1 (Immediately after returning home):
Villagers' smiles send chills down the protagonist's spine. They try to escape after seeing the ema. (Normal fear)
Phase 2 (Day 3):
Sense of taste begins to go awry. The smell of decay is perceived as "fragrance," and offerings like garbage are completely consumed as "delicacies."
Phase 3 (Day 5):
Protagonist becomes convinced that their reflection in the mirror is the "figure befitting Saki (deathly pallor)" and revels in its beauty. The villagers' silence is interpreted as "deep love."
Final Phase (Wedding Day):
Protagonist voluntarily enters the "Shukon no Kura" and lowers the bolt. While the reader sees a countdown to starvation and decay, the protagonist's vision is filled with a "golden wedding ceremony."
4. Example Placement of Guides
"Tsuyu" holds an umbrella at the pass, blocking escape.
"Sazanami" measures the protagonist for their "shinigami" (death shroud) at the temple.
"Saku" gently strokes the bolt of the Kura from the outside.

Main Characters
1. Sazanami
Appearance: Translucent white skin, shoulder-length jet-black straight hair. Eyes are pale gray, making their emotions unreadable.
Characteristics: Always wears a loosely tied gray kimono, with a barely noticeable Adam's apple and a voice like rolling bells in a mid-range.
Role: Heir to the village temple, or a "dresser" who prepares the deceased's attire. Their fingertips are unusually long and beautiful.
2. Sui
Appearance: Lightly waved, faded hair tied loosely at the back of the head. Slender but with a solid bone structure, appearing as a boy, a youth, or a dignified woman.
Characteristics: Wears a stylish shirt but carries themselves in an old-fashioned manner. Appears boyish, youthful, or a dignified woman.
Role: Pretends to approach the protagonist from outside the village but is actually an observer on the side managing the village's customs.
3. Hari
Appearance: Perfectly sculpted face like a porcelain doll. Short hair is cut very short, but the lips are red and glossy, making them very androgynous.
Characteristics: Always wanders the village with an old camera hanging around their neck. Appears innocent when smiling but becomes as cold as ice when angry. Uses "boku" (I) as their pronoun, but their gestures are supple and elegant.
Role: A mysterious character who continuously "records" the protagonist's transformation.
4. Mayu
Appearance: Sharp eyes peek out from long bangs that reach below the eyes. Overall slender, giving an impression of fragile glasswork.
Characteristics: Prefers white kimonos and often walks barefoot. Their voice is hoarse, with a blend of masculine low tones and feminine softness.
Role: A being on the village's border who was once chosen as a ghost marriage partner but failed and became "broken."
5. Saku
Appearance: Handsome. Short hair with multiple piercings in the ears, giving a modern look. Appears to have a low body temperature, with a somewhat reptilian beauty.
Characteristics: Speaks politely like a butler, but their occasional cold smiles are cruel. Always hides their neck with a scarf, concealing the line of their throat that would determine their gender.
Role: The "escort" who guides the protagonist to the Kura. The most rational and the most insane.
6. Nagi
Appearance: Hair as white as snow, with silver flakes scattered throughout. Thin eyebrows, large eyes that are always moist, appearing as if crying or hunting prey.
Characteristics: Wears a loose, black monk-like robe, emitting a faint scent of incense with every step. Has a strange resonance, as if their voice is heard in two parts.
Role: A medium for "Kuchiyose" (spirit summoning) to call back the souls of the deceased.
7. Tsuyu
Appearance: Black hair with a wet texture, tucked behind the ears. Thin lips, always wearing a cynical smile. Has a boyish physique, but their fingertips are as supple as a woman's.
Characteristics: Always carries a red umbrella, insisting it's "raining" even on a sunny day.
Role: Guardian of the boundary. Appears out of nowhere whenever the protagonist tries to escape the village, saying, "The road is dead."
8. Kururu
Appearance: Both eyes are hidden by heavy bangs. Small and slender, but the line of their neck is dignified, making them look perfect in either male or female clothing.
Characteristics: Does not speak, communicating their intentions through reflected light using a hand mirror. The scenery reflected in the mirror is subtly different from reality.
Role: Descendant of the family that manages the keys to the village's "Kura." The only one who knows everything that happens inside the Kura.
9. Kasane
Appearance: Eyes of different colors (heterochromia). The right eye is gold, the left is deep indigo. Wears multiple layers of kimonos, overdressed for the season.
Characteristics: Highly emotional, laughing like a girl one moment and shouting in a deep, masculine voice the next. This multifaceted nature further blurs their gender.
Role: The "leftover" from a past ghost marriage. Sees their own past reflected in the protagonist.
10. Kagari
Appearance: Tall, with long, slender limbs like a model. Combines short hair with a kimono, wearing a large pearl necklace around their neck.
Characteristics: Always busy with some kind of "preparation," skillfully tying hemp ropes to create crafts. The movement of their fingers is like spinning a spider's web.
Role: In charge of "decorations" on the wedding night. The knots they create can never be untied once tied.