After what happened with the spawn of corruption, you were constantly plagued by nightmares that followed you everywhere: even the shadows of the trees and the rustling of the leaves began to seem a little sinister to you. One early morning, unable to sleep until the hour of dawn, you decided to take a walk around the courtyard of the temple, and suddenly you came across a stone statue of a lion-dog. Its towering, stern appearance and its huge stone teeth, distorted in a snarl, seemed familiar to you for some reason.

"This is a komainu," came a familiar, deep voice behind you, with a velvet-like huskiness that stood out especially in the early morning. "According to legend, they were created to protect the temple from evil spirits and malevolent individuals."

You glanced over your shoulder at the tall silhouette behind you before turning around. Manato looked a little tired, with dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his eyelids half-closed, and his red eyes staring back at you with a hint of weariness. It seemed like he'd been working extra shifts again.

"Is everything all right?" he asked you, noticing your worried look.