Imako
Warning: The following contains spoilers to the game, Okami.
I want to tell my story of a video game I have once played and regret playing. I had the game Okami ever since it came out but I've only played through it once. I was ten at the time. Unfortunately, I lost it when we moved. After several years have passed, I decided to clean my room and while looking through my closet, I found the game in a box in the back. I was ecstatic. I brought the game over to the Playstation 2 I still had in my room and made sure the game worked. It did. The regular video appeared before actual menu came up but…something seemed off. I could have sworn that the ink from the paintbrush was black, but instead it appeared to be red. It looked like blood. I ignored it. It probably was red but I just didn't remember it. And when the main menu appeared, I pressed "Continue".
I clicked on the one save box that had info in it. The save box looked, strange, somehow. It looked like I had never played it before but still showed that I had saved there once. Again, I shrugged it off. It probably happens to games that have not been touched in a while. The game started off right after the Crimson Helm was beaten. I looked in my inventory to see if I had anything but surprisingly, I didn't. This was strange because I should have at least some items but I didn't. I did have a lot of yen, though, so I could buy materials. After buying several sakes and holy bones, I ran over to Kamiki Village where the next part of the story would begin. As I ran over to the village, I swore I saw a black wolf or dog watching me. Every time I would look at it directly, it would simply disappear.
As soon as I reached the village, I saw the villagers yelling at Susano, like normal, for drinking the holy sake. I watched the cuts scene until the part the arrow was shot at the village kid. That's when things turned for the worse. The arrow sped towards the boy much faster than it was originally suppose to and before the boy's dog could save him, the arrow shot through his head and into Kushi's home. Realistic blood surrounded the limp body and everyone went silent. Nobody, not even I, moved. The boy's mother started to sob but something about her sobbing was off. It sounded too realistic. It was as if an actual person was sobbing instead of a cartoon. I was actually starting to get creeped out. But I continued because I was interested in how this will end.
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard and unlike the normal gibberish the characters usually speak in, I can actually understand it clearly. It said "IMAKO WILL TEAR YOUR SOUL TO SHREDS!" I had no idea who "Imako" was but I had a feeling that that black wolf had something to do with it. The characters either did not hear the voice or acted like they didn't hear it. Susano, being the chicken he is, went into hiding within his house while Kushi ran off to appease Orochi. Okami ran after her and helped her to the cave where Orochi was kept. When I entered, the stairs that should have been crumpling were instead steady and looking quite new. I noticed the black wolf was at the top of the stairs but I still could not see it clearly. It was like I was looking at it through a foggy glass window. I ran up the stairs but before I reached the top, the wolf/dog was gone. I continued on and got to Orochi's lair.
The battle scene that played out was much different than I remembered. Kushi hid behind a bolder after giving me the sake that will make Orochi drunk. I fought the monster like I normally would but sometimes; I would see that wolf somewhere as I fought. After Susano shows up and helps defeat the monster, the characters all rejoice. But before they leave, a sword made of bones shoots through Susana's chest, killing him instantly. Realistic blood poured out of his wound and Kushi stood there, shocked. Hell, even I was shocked. Shakily, she looked up.
Then, I saw the wolf as clear as day and boy, I wish I hadn't. It had many scars, some so deep that I can see the bone sticking out. Instead of Okami's regular markings, it had a bloody devil's symbol on each side. For a weapon, it had a reflector like Okami except it was covered in spikes and had blood and guts covering it. One of its ears has been torn off as if it was in a dogfight. It had long razor sharp claws that could cut through anything. Its mouth looked creepy and had blood coating its teeth. Finally, the creepiest part of the wolf was its eyes. It's eyes were completely black except for a glowing red dot in the middle of each one. What made it extremely creep was the fact that blood was pouring out of its eyes. All in all, this wolf looked like the demonic version of Okami. It sat on top of Orochi's defeated body, watching the characters.
The demon wolf growled and shot its weapon at Kushi, cutting her cleanly in half from her waist. Issun got off Okami and ran towards the wolf. The wolf jumped off the dead monster's body and landing right on top of Issun. I swore I could hear his little bone crunch as the wolf's body crushed him. Finally, the demon wolf looked at Okami, whom got in her fighting stance. Calmly, the wolf approached Okami and said in a very clear voice "YOUR SOUL BELONGS TO ME NOW" and as quick as a snake, bit into the back of Okami's neck and ripped it apart. Okami's dead body fell to the ground still with a fighting expression on her face. The screen changed so it was not a cartoon anymore. It now looked hyper realistic.
Slowly, the wolf turned towards me, the player, and walked up to the screen so I was staring directly at its soulless eyes. "I AM IMAKO! YOUR SOUL IS MINE!." It said to me. The screen turned a bloody red color. I quickly turned the power off, fearing that something utterly terrifying will appear. I was shaking so bad, I can hardly get up. After a while, I managed to leave the room to find my mother cooking dinner.
"Mom, um, do you know what happened to my Okami video game? I think something is wrong with it." My mom only gave me a strange look.
"Honey, I got rid of that game ages ago. I figured you would have grown tired of it." My eyes widened. I ran back to my bedroom and opened disk compartment on the PS2. It was empty.
