I started writing stories for this game in the middle of the short story contest that was held in May of 2024. I didn't win, but I had fun and wanted to post the stories I wrote here on Steam so you don't need a Discord account to read them.

Another Unsettling Place is the first story I wrote for the contest. It was only up for a few minutes before I took it down because I felt it was too similar to the game's story and wanted to come up with something more original for the short story contest.

The Truth Behind The Spirit is that more original story. I wrote it in the same night as Another Unsettling Place just a couple of hours later. I was happy with it for a story that could only go up to 100 words, any more and it would have been disqualified, but I felt like I could better tell this story if there was no word limit.

The Truth Behind The Spirit: The Full Story is the expanded remake of The Truth Behind The Spirit. Once the contest stopped accepting new entries, I got straight to work on The Full Story. No longer burdened by a word limit, this new version is much longer, more refined, and overall better than the original, making it the definitive version of this tale.

If I write any more stories for this game, I will post the story here as well as a brief history of it. If you have any questions, just comment it and I'll answer it as soon as I can. Enjoy the stories!

Umi’s family made vacation plans to visit the countryside. Umi’s Dad rented a cabin deep in the forest due to its cheap rent. As they exit the Suzuki, Umi’s Mom tells her to go inside. When Umi enters it, she attempts to turn on the lights. They don’t turn on, so she searches for the breaker room. When she finds it, she turns on the breaker. As she turns around to leave, the door disappears. Trapped and afraid, she panics, but is rudely awoken by her brother in the Suzuki. She had dozed off and just had a bad dream.

“Pirika Pirilala Poporina Peperuto,” Umi chanted as she performed the ritual. Her voice trembled as the spirit grew.

“Wait, I don’t intend to harm you,” the spirit said.

“Who are you?!” Umi shouted.

“I was the owner of this place. You remind me of my daughter. When she passed, I kicked the bucket. I’ve been trapped here since. Please complete the ritual so I may join her,” the spirit said sorrowfully.

“Okay,” Umi said before she continued.

“Thank you,” the spirit said as he ascended.

“Umi, this isn’t funny!” Her Dad yelled as he aggressively knocked.

“Oh, coming!” Umi responded.

Umi has finally made it to the ritual site, with all the necessary artifacts in hand. One by one, she set down her collection in a circle pattern. After contemplating what she should say, she chose to spit out the first thing that came to her mind.

“Pirika Pirilala Poporina Peperuto,” Umi chanted as she performed the ritual. The spirit appeared from behind a boulder soon after she started and grew as she watched him. She continued to chant, chanting faster and faster with each step the spirit took towards her. Suddenly, the spirit stopped walking. They were now standing face to face. Umi froze, anticipating his next move.

“Do not be alarmed. I do not intend to harm you,” the spirit said to her, breaking the awkward silence.

“Oh, I thought we were having a staring contest,” Umi said. She had misinterpreted their silent staring. “Who are you supposed to be?”

“I am the owner of this place…or was, rather. I lived here with my daughter, my sunshine. We didn’t have much, and I often worked many hours for little pay, but she gave me the reason I needed to endure life’s hardships. With that necklace, you bear quite a resemblance to her. May I see it?” The spirit said.

“Fine...” Umi said reluctantly. She liked the necklace, but she decided to return it to him, since she was still unsure of his motives.

“This was her favorite necklace. She loved it so much that she was seldom seen without it. One day she didn’t come home after dusk. She loved to play with her friends from noon to evening after school, but she should have been home in time for dinner. It had been too long, and I was growing uneasy. I went to the local playground where she said she would be, only to find her necklace where the police had gathered. When they informed me that a kidnapping had taken place, it occurred to me that she lost her necklace in the struggle, and that was the moment I knew I would never see her again. My home, where laughter once echoed through the halls, had become a lonely house. Life had no more joy in store for me, only sorrow. Knowing this, I chose to kick the bucket,” the spirit monologued sorrowfully. He had, in a sense, relived the worst day in his life.

Umi yawned, listening to his tearful rambling. “Nice bedtime story, but it’s not the time to take a nap. I have to perform the ritual to unlock the door, you know.”

“It has been many moons since that day, but I remain trapped here. If you finish the ritual, I can rest in peace and reunite with my daughter. Won’t you please finish it?” The spirit asked, hoping for a favorable response.

“Whatever you say, old man,” Umi responded. What choice did she have? It was the only way she could leave, after all. She continued the ritual, as the spirit had asked. After about a minute, she finished it.

“Thank you, little one. May you have a relaxing vacation,” the spirit said as he ascended. The ritual site lit up brightly, causing Umi to close her eyes. When she reopened them, she was back in the hallway where the door leading to the labyrinth had appeared, which had vanished just as mysteriously.

“This isn’t funny, Umi! Open the door!” Her Dad yelled as he aggressively knocked on the door.

Umi walked over to the door and opened it now that it was no longer locked. “It’s unlocked. You don’t need to bang on the door,” Umi told him.

“Umi, sweetie, why did you lock the door?” Her Mom asked.

“I didn’t lock it this time, I swear,” Umi told her. Well, she wasn’t lying…this time.

“Yeah, right,” her Dad said sarcastically. Of course he didn’t believe her. Umi pulled stunts like this frequently at home when her brother was outside to get some peace and quiet. “I don’t know what kind of prank you pulled, but the rental man was running outside shouting ‘I’m free! I’m finally free!’, then dropped the keys on the ground and ran off. You better have a good explanation for this.”

“Look, can the arguments wait? It’s almost time for dinner. We’re having chili tonight,” her Mom said.

“Yippie! Chili!” Her brother exclaimed excitedly.

“You look sleepy, dear. Go relax until dinner is ready, okay?” Her Mom told her.

“Okay,” Umi replied. It had been a long day for her, and she needed a break after everything she went through.

When they had their dinner, Umi told her family everything that happened. Getting locked in, the rental man disappearing, collecting the artifacts for a ritual to unlock the door, the spirit, the labyrinth, the ritual itself, the spirit’s story, everything. Umi’s parents chalked it up to her imagination since she had been cooped up in the Suzuki Carry for hours, and her brother couldn’t even comprehend what she was saying. Before she went to sleep that night, she reflected on her time in the rental thus far. It had been undeniably strange up to that point, but ultimately, she was glad she had learned the truth behind the spirit.

Thank you for reading.