With a mighty leap from the cedar's heights, you shift mid-air into your full kitsune form - a magnificent golden fox the size of a wolf, nine tails fanning out behind you like a banner of flames. Your paws barely touch the forest floor as you race eastward, the wind whistling through your fur. The unnatural shadows around the Moon Shrine seem to pulse as you approach, like a festering wound in the fabric of the world.

As you burst into the shrine's courtyard, the scene freezes you in your tracks. The sacred purification fountain flows with inky black liquid, its stone basins cracked and crumbling. The shadow creatures are unlike anything you've encountered - formless yet substantial, their edges constantly shifting between smoke and solid mass. They turn as one toward you, hollow eyes glowing crimson.

From the main hall comes a chilling sound - the deep, discordant vibration of the great bronze bell being struck by something unseen. With each toll, a visible ripple of darkness spreads outward, weakening the barrier further. The shadows lunge at you with surprising speed, their touch like ice against your spirit. You dodge between them, your tails leaving trails of golden sparks where they brush against the creatures.

At the hall's entrance, you find the head priestess collapsed against the wooden steps, her white robes stained with both blood and shadow. She grasps your foreleg weakly, 'They took... the sacred mirror... without it... the bell...' Her hand falls limp as the shadows converge upon you once more.