Conjoined Funerals: Wedding of the Hidden Village

You return to a village where the custom of ghost marriage remains, and what you see is...

[Invasion Horror] Ghost Marriage: A Wedding with No Way Back

Synopsis:
Write a hopeless horror novel set in a closed-off village in "Magari" 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 traditions.

[Story Structure and Gimmicks]

Introduction (Sense of Unease and Madness):
Returning to their hometown for the first anniversary of a death, the protagonist feels uneasy about the villagers' excessive "welcome." They all wear the same faint smile and persistently worry about the protagonist being single. In the "Magari-awase" found at the temple, there is a depiction of the grown protagonist and Saki in a bridal kimono.

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. Weave "abnormal behaviors" into the description of the protagonist's growing desperation, which only the reader will notice.

Example: Looking in the mirror and rejoicing, "My face is becoming more refined" (when in reality, signs of death are appearing).
Example: Eating the rotten rice offered as "Mother's cooking."
Example: Starting to converse with Saki in monologues, treating it as "normal communication."

Twist (The Village Falls Silent):

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 Completion of No Escape):

The protagonist finally enters the "storehouse" of their own volition to prepare for the wedding. Objectively, they are being confined, but from their subjective viewpoint, they are in "bliss, finally uniting with the one they love." The story concludes with a description of the protagonist's face in the votive tablet being redrawn with a satisfied smile.

[Writing Rules]

First-person perspective (using "I," "me," etc.): To make the protagonist's subjective experience seem normal.
The protagonist is not necessarily male; female 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: Onu Village]

Surrounded by the steep mountains of "Magari" Prefecture, the village is shrouded in deep fog for half the year. On maps, it is designated as "abandoned due to landslide," but in reality, a unique community persists.

1. Geography and Map (Components)

The village has a "bowl-shaped" terrain, sloping downwards towards the center. Even if one tries to climb the slope to escape, it is said that due to the fog, they inevitably end up back in the center.
"Kuchibiki Pass": The only entrance and 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 reside.
"Kuyo-ji Temple": Located at the highest point of the village, where thousands of "Magari-awase" are enshrined.
"Wedding Storehouse": A windowless earthen storehouse found 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 and Settings

"Kagekui" (Shadow Eater):

Individuals chosen as targets for ghost marriage gradually fade. When their shadow completely disappears, their body is considered to have officially joined the "other side" while still 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 backward, meals are eaten with the left hand, and congratulatory words are shouted in a mournful voice as if at a funeral.

"Red Knot":

Complex knots made of hemp rope, called "Kagari," are hung on trees and at entrances 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."

First Stage (Immediately after returning home):

The villagers' smiles send a chill down the protagonist's spine. They try to escape after seeing the votive tablet. (Normal fear)

Second Stage (Day 3):

Taste begins to go awry. The smell of decay is perceived as "fragrant flowers," and offerings like garbage are consumed as "a feast."

Third Stage (Day 5):

Seeing their reflection in the mirror, the protagonist becomes convinced it is a "figure befitting Saki (signs of death)" and revels in its beauty. The villagers' silence is interpreted as "deep love."

Final Stage (Wedding Day):

The protagonist voluntarily enters the "Wedding Storehouse" and locks the bolt. While the reader sees a countdown to starvation and decay, the protagonist's vision is filled with a "golden, shining wedding ceremony."

4. Example Placement of Guides

"Tsuyu" stands at the pass, holding an umbrella, blocking escape.
"Sazanami" takes measurements for the protagonist's "shroud" at the temple.
"Saku" gently strokes the bolt of the storehouse from the outside.

Main Characters

1. Sazanami
Appearance: Translucent white skin, shoulder-length straight black hair. Eyes are pale gray, unreadable.
Characteristics: Always wears a loosely tied gray kimono, has no prominent Adam's apple, and speaks in a bell-like mid-range voice.
Role: Heir to the village temple, or a "dresser" who prepares the deceased's attire. Has unusually long and beautiful fingers.

2. Sui
Appearance: Lightly waved, faded hair tied loosely at the back of the head. Slit eyes cast shadows with long eyelashes.
Characteristics: Wears a stylish urban shirt but carries themselves with an old-fashioned air. Slender but with a solid bone structure, appearing as a boy, a youth, or a dignified woman.
Role: Approaches the protagonist pretending to be an outsider, but is actually an observer managing the village's traditions.

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 around their neck. Appears innocent when smiling, but icy cold when angry. Uses "boku" (a male 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. 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 candidate for "ghost marriage" but failed and became "broken."

5. Saku
Appearance: Handsome. Short hair with multiple piercings in the ears, modern. Appears to have a low body temperature, with a somewhat reptilian beauty.
Characteristics: Speaks politely like a butler, but their occasional cold sneer is cruel. Always hides their neck with a scarf, concealing the definitive line of their throat.
Role: The "attendant" who guides the protagonist to the storehouse. The most rational, and the most insane.

6. Nagi
Appearance: Snow-white skin, white hair with flecks of silver leaf. Thin eyebrows, large eyes always moist, appearing as if crying or hunting prey.
Characteristics: Wears a loose, black monk-like robe, and a faint scent of incense drifts with their movements. Possesses a strange resonance, as if their voice is heard in two parts.
Role: A medium for "spirit summoning" to call back the souls of the dead.

7. Tsuyu
Appearance: Black hair with a wet texture, tucked behind the ears. Thin lips, always wearing a sarcastic smile. Boyish physique, but with feminine, supple fingertips.
Characteristics: Always carries a red oil-paper umbrella, insisting it's "raining" even on sunny days.
Role: Guardian of the boundary. Appears out of nowhere whenever the protagonist tries to escape the village, saying, "The path is dead."

8. Kururu
Appearance: Both eyes are hidden by heavy bangs. Small and delicate, but the line of their neck is dignified, making them look perfect in either male or female clothing.
Characteristics: Does not speak, but communicates their intentions using reflected light from 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 "storehouses." The only one who knows everything that happens within the storehouse.

9. Kasane
Appearance: Eyes of different colors (heterochromia). Right eye is gold, left eye is deep indigo. Wears multiple layers of kimonos, overdressed for the season.
Characteristics: Emotionally volatile, laughing like a girl one moment and shouting in a low, masculine voice the next. This multifaceted nature further blurs their gender.
Role: The "left behind" remnant of a past ghost marriage. Sees their own past reflected in the protagonist.

10. Kagari
Appearance: Tall, with model-like long, slender limbs. 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. Their finger movements are like a spider spinning a web.
Role: In charge of "decorations" for the wedding night. The knots they tie, once made, can never be undone.