Your mention of this master sends visible chills through the tanuki's small body. Its beady eyes dart around nervously before leaning in closer, the scent of fear pungent in your heightened senses. 'The forest spirits whisper of him in the dead of night,' it confides, voice barely above a rustling leaf. 'They call him Kage no Oji - the Shadow Prince. Once, they say, he was a mortal man who sought immortality through forbidden magic.'

The tanuki shudders violently, nearly toppling over. 'The ritual... it went wrong. Now he exists between worlds, neither living nor dead. His reflection vanished first, then his shadow gained a life of its own.' You notice how the little creature's own shadow seems to ripple unnaturally at these words, as if trying to pull away from its owner.

'He seeks the Moon Shrine's power,' the tanuki continues. 'To complete what he started long ago - to cast the entire world into eternal twilight where he may rule unchallenged.' As if on cue, the white foxfire near the ancient tree flares brightly, illuminating strange claw marks scoring the bark - marks that seem to drip with a substance darker than night itself.

Your tails flick in agitation as centuries of knowledge whisper through your mind. A mortal who became something else... something hungry. The implications settle like ice in your spirit. The last time such an imbalance occurred, it took three great Kitsune lords working in harmony to restore order. And you stand alone.