Nijuuei

Year 1640 of the Kan'ei era. The echoes of the Warring States period still linger; masterless ronin wander seeking food and work, and among the shogun's own retainers, swordsmen senselessly slay passersby on the streets. In this forsaken world reeking of death, a mysterious swordsman roams. His name is Futatsukage Sougen, a man bearing two shadows. One shadow is human; the other belongs to something inhuman. This torn shadow marks him as a cursed being, hunted by both the living world and the underworld. The path he treads is paved with flesh and bloody vomit. Whether due to his cursed blood or sheer coincidence, Sougen is drawn to a terrifying island mirroring his own curse—Awahomurajima. Named after the formless, uncanny island in the Kojiki, this place harbors bizarre phenomena: every child born is a twin, and one from each pair is inevitably sacrificed. Torii gates stand in number equal to the children born. What dark rituals unfold there? Can the swordsman with two shadows break his own curse? And will he escape this cursed island alive? A full-fledged historical fantasy, drawing inspiration from countless classic Japanese tales of the strange—the story begins here!