Interlude: The Hound

A mysterious, cloaked being stood on the precipice of the shrine on the mountain, looking out over the sea. A mask, shaped like a dog, covered their face, obscuring any distinct features from view. The sea’s breeze blew in from the north-east, but their cloak didn’t move, in clear defiance of the wind, keeping the figure obscured.

The luminescent full moon overhead kept the shadows on the shrine’s ground at bay, but if one were to see this being, they would be convinced it had stolen the shadows and cast a shroud of them around itself.

Rumors circulating about a cloaked figure appearing here on the island of Tsuiraku were almost as old as the shrines themselves.

However, this being was no mere rumor or myth.

For the few who had come across them on a cloudless night, much like tonight, knew this being had a name.

The Hound of Canaan.

The Hound, as they were referred to, had many stories and rumors surrounding their sightings, but the physical description was always the same: a tall, slender but athletically built figure with a body that was no doubt masculine, covered in a cloak that somehow seemed to blend into the darkness of the night, which added credence to him using the shadow as a shroud. His face was always covered by that dog shaped mask, his hood never down. If anyone had seen his outfit beneath the shroud, they hadn’t dared share it as the stories of encounters with the Hound were always out of awe or fear.

All that added to the legacy and mystique of the enigmatic figure who would sometimes appear on Tsuiraku.

Even tonight, if someone were to venture up the shrine at the peak of Mt. Ochiru, few would believe their own eyes, as The Hound seemed to be waiting for something on the horizon.