A Strength in Refuge

A Strength in Refuge begins after the cleansing of Kiyomizu-zaka Slope. It introduces a hidden Oni Portal and the equipment and ability enhancements found through these portals. This route ends at its Story Complete screen; the residents' Chance Encounters are separate activities.

Inputs use the displayed PlayStation layout: Cross (×), Square (□), Triangle (△) and Circle (○). Follow your displayed bindings if remapped.

Speak with Takamura at the temple

Use a Spirit Mirror and select Travel → Eastern Kyoto → Rokudo-chinnoji Temple, then confirm with Cross. From the temple courtyard, enter the main room and approach Takamura seated near the altar. Press Cross — Talk.

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Finish the conversation with Takamura and Shizuka. The Hidden Oni Power tutorial explains that Oni Portals are marked on the map and can be revealed with Oni Vision. The objective becomes Search for the hidden Oni power.

Open the Eastern Kyoto map and track A Strength in Refuge. If a resident's request has replaced your current objective, switch back to this story before following the marker.

Follow the hidden-power marker to the house

Travel back to Kiyomizu-zaka Slope and follow the selected story marker toward the fields. Leave the residential street at the large wooden cart near the thatched huts. Cross the paths between the field fences, dealing with the Genma that block your way.

Use the map to keep the story target selected. The target is the gold mission circle toward the lower-left of the map view below, beyond the player's current position among the buildings.

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Continue along the large plaster-and-timber buildings, then through the lane with a wooden watchtower visible ahead. Near the red-leaved tree and the marked house, the objective changes to Look for the entrance to the Oni Refuge.

The closed door beside the large gnarled tree will not open from this side. Follow the house's side past the low lean-to roofing and look for the exterior ladder against the white plaster and black timber wall. It leads to an upper opening beside a basket.

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Climb the ladder, enter the upper floor and drop through the gap in its wooden boards. On the ground floor, go through the doorway into the enclosed area with a wooden deck, barrels and a cart. The next wooden gate also will not open from this side. Facing this gate, follow the fence to your left and look for the broken section beside the large pots. Aim the Oni Bow through the gap at the lock on the far side of the gate, then hold and release R2 to shoot it.

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Return along the deck to the same gate and press Cross — Open. Walk through into the well courtyard. The fence gap gives you a shooting angle; it is not a passage to climb through.

Descend the well and open the portal

Pass the barrels and cart toward the square stone well beside a lit stone lantern and bamboo. When Enter the well appears, approach the opening and descend its ladder. The loose items on the nearby cart are separate pickups.

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At the bottom, follow the cave path to the seated stone statues between two tall metal lamps. Use L2 + R2 — Oni Vision to reveal the golden Oni Glyph in front of them. Approach the Glyph and press Cross — Use Oni Power.

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Wait for the giant eye to form. Move close and press Cross — Examine to enter the Oni Refuge. The new objective is Continue onward.

Circle around the ornate block

Follow the stone path through the wooden torii. Squeeze through the narrow gap between the rocks, continue along the ledge and descend the short ladder in the crevice. Climb the next low ledge to reach the back of a large black-and-gold block wedged between the cliffs.

To reach its core:

1. Drop to the lower path beside the block and follow the rock edge to the low tunnel beneath the cliff.
2. Duck through the tunnel to the opposite side. Turn toward the block's decorated front, which has a central face surrounded by circular sockets.
3. Aim the Oni Bow at the glowing red core to the left of the central face. Hold and release R2 to shoot it.

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Return through the same low tunnel and climb back to the ledge where you first saw the block's rear. Facing that rear panel, approach the climbable rock wall immediately on its right. Climb the marked holds, pull yourself onto the upper ledge and pass through the opening above.

Absorb the dark mass and finish the story

Continue over the upper stone platforms, past the red flowers and through the stone torii. The objective becomes Absorb the dark mass. Approach the dark figure ahead and hold L2 to absorb it.

Finish the memory scene and the Unlocking New Enhancements tutorial. It explains that visiting Oni Portals can strengthen your gauntlet and unlock additional skills. You return to the cave with the stone statues, where Story Complete — A Strength in Refuge confirms success.

The next story is Patching up the Pouch — Speak with Okuni. Leave the cave by the well ladder and return to Rokudo-chinnoji Temple to begin the pouch repair.