Chimper #2922
The Lantern Keeper of the Outer Wilds is what they call them, the one whose light is a warning, not a welcome. Those who stray too far from the cheerful center of The Heart of the Forest might see it bobbing between the trees. Mitsuchiyo’s three lanterns were a cursed gift, found humming in the hollow of a lightning-scarred tree, and they do not burn oil. The first consumes whispers of fear, the second thrives on bitter secrets, and the third feeds on the hope of anyone foolish enough to follow. They were meant to guide Mitsuchiyo back to safety. Instead, they revealed the woods' most terrible truth: that the forest itself is hungry. Now, they guide the lost not to a path, but to a choice, its heretical light illuminating the rot beneath the amber-leaved paradise. Most who accept their guidance never return whole.
