No one man can defeat an army, but one creature can.
How does such a creature come to be?
Long before our great shogun ordained the sun to rise, there lived a ronin.
Seared into his soul was the day his lord was assassinated by a rival clan whose crest was the phoenix.
On that day, he felt something rise within him.
A storm in his soul.
A hate that radiated from deep in his heart to the tip of his sword.
The ronin returned home to his village, where his parents implored him to begin a new life.
But hate is like a typhoon.
It begins as a breeze at the sea that is swallowed by darkness.
Then deepens. Energizes. And grows ever stronger.
Swirling and raging until it is ready to strike!
The ronin set on his quest, vowing to cleanse the earth of all who wore the phoenix crest or shared their blood.
But he would soon learn the demon's path is paved with sharp stone.
The ronin's soul grew weary and his body ill.
He did not fear death, only that he might die before fulfilling his vow.
All seemed hopeless until the ronin saw a vision as if sent from the gods.
The beautiful woman took the ronin home with her.
And for the first time in many moons, the ronin rested.
The ronin regained his strength, ready to return to his journey of hate.
The woman beseeched him to stay.
The ronin told her of his vow, a vow he could not break.
Desperate, the woman recalled something taught to her long ago.
His loyalty was no longer to his slain lord nor to revenge...
But...to his bride.
As time passed, the ronin and the bride enjoyed their simple life.
The demon's path seemed like a distant dream.
Though sometimes, if he stopped to listen, the ronin could still hear it.
Calling his name.
After what seemed an eternity of sunshine, one day, the sky darkened.
The rain washed away the dye on her kimono, revealing the phoenix crest of her former clan.
The ronin now realized the bride shared the blood of his sworn enemy.
The bride exclaimed she had run away from her father's evil clan.
She swore her loyalty was to the ronin alone.
But for the first time in years... the ronin felt the storm rage inside him.
Hoping to soften her husband's heart, the bride danced.
And so the bride met her death, but she did not meet her end.
Within her lifeless body roiled a tempest of hate, betrayal, injustice, possessing her soul,
transforming her into a nightmare, into an onryō!
How did this terrible creature come to be?
Hate alone was not enough. It took one more ingredient.
Love... poisoned by betrayal, to bring so much bloodshed and woe to create the onryō.
How does such a creature come to be?
Long before our great shogun ordained the sun to rise, there lived a ronin.
Seared into his soul was the day his lord was assassinated by a rival clan whose crest was the phoenix.
On that day, he felt something rise within him.
A storm in his soul.
A hate that radiated from deep in his heart to the tip of his sword.
The ronin returned home to his village, where his parents implored him to begin a new life.
But hate is like a typhoon.
It begins as a breeze at the sea that is swallowed by darkness.
Then deepens. Energizes. And grows ever stronger.
Swirling and raging until it is ready to strike!
The ronin set on his quest, vowing to cleanse the earth of all who wore the phoenix crest or shared their blood.
But he would soon learn the demon's path is paved with sharp stone.
The ronin's soul grew weary and his body ill.
He did not fear death, only that he might die before fulfilling his vow.
All seemed hopeless until the ronin saw a vision as if sent from the gods.
The beautiful woman took the ronin home with her.
And for the first time in many moons, the ronin rested.
The ronin regained his strength, ready to return to his journey of hate.
The woman beseeched him to stay.
The ronin told her of his vow, a vow he could not break.
Desperate, the woman recalled something taught to her long ago.
His loyalty was no longer to his slain lord nor to revenge...
But...to his bride.
As time passed, the ronin and the bride enjoyed their simple life.
The demon's path seemed like a distant dream.
Though sometimes, if he stopped to listen, the ronin could still hear it.
Calling his name.
After what seemed an eternity of sunshine, one day, the sky darkened.
The rain washed away the dye on her kimono, revealing the phoenix crest of her former clan.
The ronin now realized the bride shared the blood of his sworn enemy.
The bride exclaimed she had run away from her father's evil clan.
She swore her loyalty was to the ronin alone.
But for the first time in years... the ronin felt the storm rage inside him.
Hoping to soften her husband's heart, the bride danced.
And so the bride met her death, but she did not meet her end.
Within her lifeless body roiled a tempest of hate, betrayal, injustice, possessing her soul,
transforming her into a nightmare, into an onryō!
How did this terrible creature come to be?
Hate alone was not enough. It took one more ingredient.
Love... poisoned by betrayal, to bring so much bloodshed and woe to create the onryō.
—The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride
