In the Light of an Icy Moon

In the Light of an Icy Moon follows Storm Chaser and takes Musashi into the corrupted Arashiyama. The route includes the hidden-path riddle, the floating Oni Shortcut, the swamp and tower, and the fights against Sasaki Ganryu and Dokyo.

This is the story route through the completion screen, with practical combat openings rather than an exhaustive boss move list. Treasure detours and equipment purchases are optional. Inputs use PlayStation labels: Cross (×) to interact, Square (□) to attack, Circle (○) to evade, and hold R2, aim and release to fire the Oni Bow.

Enter Arashiyama and seal the first Rift

At a Spirit Mirror, choose Travel → Arashiyama → Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple and confirm with Cross. Leave the mirror, follow the stone steps through the temple gate and continue down the bamboo path toward the stone towers and candles.

Follow the path around the large roots into the red-mist clearing. After the scene, defeat the Genma and Dohatsu-ten guarding the Rift. Keep out of the large enemy's frontal swings; use Circle to move toward its side, then take a short Square counter when the attack ends. If smaller enemies close in behind you, reposition before attacking again.

When Absorb Rift appears, approach the red sphere and hold L2 until it breaks apart. Wait for the blocking roots to withdraw and Continue onward to appear.

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Return to the path beside the cleared roots and follow the stone-and-bamboo steps to the clearing with a six-faced stone pillar. The apparent way ahead is blocked, and the objective becomes Find the hidden path.

Find the hidden path at the Hell face

Inspect the small inscribed stone beside the pillar. Its clue points to continuing through hell. Then approach the central pillar and press Cross to Examine its carved faces.

Find the face labeled Hell. It shows an emaciated figure with its arms extended sideways. Stand facing this carving, then turn around and walk in the direction the carving faces.

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Continue across the grass toward the rock wall, passing the low red lantern on your right. Walk directly into that section of rock: it is an illusory wall you can pass through.

A gold Glyph appears beyond it. Approach the symbol and press Cross to open the circular portal, then walk through. The destination is the Oni Shortcut.

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Connect the floating paths in the Oni Shortcut

Pass the dragon-carved double gate and climb the low ledge to the first torii island. The path to the floating house is broken. The large ornate blocks have circular switches in the centers of their carved faces; shoot those circles with the Oni Bow to change the blocks' orientation.

Make the first bridge

From the first torii island, look sideways and down across the gap for the tall ornate block below the neighboring platform. Aim at the central circle on its vertical face, hold R2 and release.

The block rotates into a flat bridge. Turn back toward the house and cross the newly connected gold platform.

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Arrange the blocks around the house

Use the house's two openings and the pillar made of stacked gold discs as landmarks for this sequence:

1. Go through the house to the outside ledge by the stacked-disc pillar. Walk down the small step along the edge, turn back toward the house and shoot the circular switch on the block beneath it. Return up the step and into the house.
2. From inside, look down through the opening toward the nearby gold block. Shoot its exposed central switch to raise it upright. Stay inside the house while it moves.
3. Cross the room to the opposite opening and shoot the central circle on the block visible through that side.
4. Return outside on the stacked-disc-pillar side. Shoot the central circle on the upright block beside the pillar.
5. Go back through the house to the other opening. The gold blocks now form a flat, connected floor leading to the next torii island. Cross it.

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Check the floor before stepping out. An upright face or a remaining gap means the route is not connected yet; return to the house openings to reach the exposed switches instead of trying to jump the void.

From the next island, follow the torii gates onto the narrow rock path. At the gold-marked walls, press Cross at Use Oni Power to run across; use the next gold wall to reach the far ledge. Pass the dragon-carved gate into the small courtyard, climb its steps and activate the exit Glyph with Cross. Enter the portal to return to the bamboo path.

Defeat Byakue and reach the second Rift

Follow the bamboo path to the bridge, clear the enemies around its entrance and approach the red-threaded root barrier. Hold Cross at Use Oni Power until Musashi tears it open.

Beyond it, defeat Byakue — Haunted Defilements. Keep room to evade its close attacks, wait for the end of a combination and answer with a short Square attack. Back out when the surrounding effects obscure its next movement.

Continue to the house beyond the fight. Pass through the house and out its rear doorway, follow the street and go through the wooden gateway. The broad pale-root path leads uphill to the next red Rift.

Clear all the encounter's waves. When the sphere gives Absorb Rift, hold L2 until it collapses. The roots withdraw and the objective returns to Head for the center of the key sanctuary.

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Follow the bamboo platform into the next group of houses. Clear the street, go around the outside of the house into its rear yard and take the doorway leading back onto the root road. Follow the broad root bridge, deal with the ranged enemies above the path and hold Cross to tear open the next red-threaded barrier. Continue along the stone path into the defended yard.

Advance through the first cannon position

After the cannon scene, use the gaps between volleys to advance from the supplies into the yard. Clear the nearby Genma and shoot the rooftop enemies before staying exposed to aim.

At the large wooden gate, Shizuka points out the explosives on top. Aim upward and shoot the explosive supplies. Continue clearing the enemies on the upper wooden structures.

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Facing the gate from the yard, find the wooden ladder on the low wall to its left. Climb it to the raised platform and defeat the guards beside the straw bales and braziers. Drop back into the lower yard and climb the stone steps between the braziers toward the wooden doors.

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Confirm that Destroy the cannon has changed to Head for the center of the key sanctuary. Open the wooden doors with Cross and continue through. The doors remain an interaction here; the earlier explosion does not replace opening them.

Pass through the house behind the doors and leave through its back opening. Follow the bamboo lane, climb the ladder on the outside of the next house and cross its roof. Use Cross at the gold-marked wall to reach the adjoining route, then hold Cross to tear open the root barrier.

Absorb the first dark mass

Take the lower stone path into the lane between the reed fences. When Absorb the dark mass appears, walk toward the black mist at the end of the lane and hold L2 to absorb it.

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Let the memory of Dokyo and Ganryu finish. With Look for Dokyo and Ganryu active, follow the bamboo lane downhill past the lanterns and through the next houses. Clear the enemies on the approach and climb the stone steps into the thread-blocked village area.

Sever the threads in the village

When Sever the threads appears, the route runs over the nearby houses before returning to the barrier.

Climb the first outside house ladder and use Cross at the gold root wall to reach the adjacent roof. Cut down the plant core there with Square. Cross back over the gold wall, drop to the yard, then climb the other house ladder and cut down the second roof's plant core.

These plants are landmarks on this route. The red thread sources are separate hanging creatures inside the houses; clearing the plants does not by itself finish Sever the threads.

Clear the lower yard and enter the house with the ladder inside. Climb to its upper floor, defeat the enemy, leave through the opening and use the gold wall to reach the adjoining roof and upper room.

Destroy the upper-room Weaver

Defeat the large Genma at the upper room. Look on the inside wall beside the open window for the hanging red creature with threads extending from it. Attack it with Square until it disappears.

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Return to the barrier-side house

Leave through the window and cross the roof to the outside ladder below the large pale-and-gold root. Climb it and use Cross at the gold wall to cross to the other side. Drop down and follow the narrow bamboo-fenced lane back toward the red-root barrier.

Facing the barrier, enter the small house immediately beside it, by the roofed sign. The second Weaver hangs on the interior wall. Cut it down with Square.

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When the objective returns to Look for Dokyo and Ganryu, leave the house and hold Cross at the barrier to tear it open. Activate the Spirit Mirror beyond it.

Travel to Swamp I and rescue the samurai

At the mirror, choose Travel → Arashiyama → Swamp I. This moves you to the swamp mirror; continue from the travel destination rather than searching the previous village for the next doorway.

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Leave the mirror toward the tall wooden gate, take the passage beside it and follow the red-water route through the carved stone gateway. Continue through the second stone gate to the Temple Spirit Mirror. The Still Water equipment tutorial and chest on the way can be handled as optional preparation.

Approach the ruined temple to find a trapped samurai. When Defeat all the Genma appears, clear the waves around the temple yard. Keep moving away from the red mist and fences when several enemies surround you. Guard ordinary melee sequences with L1, use Circle to regain space and take short counters rather than staying between attackers.

After the last wave, finish the conversation with the rescued samurai. He gives you the Rear Gate Key.

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Open the rear gate and absorb the next memory

Go around the temple to the wooden gate beside a burning wall torch. Approach and press Cross to use the Rear Gate Key. Confirm Used Rear Gate Key, then pass through the opening.

Follow the lantern-lined bamboo lane to the next Spirit Mirror. Continue along the narrow passage beside it. Absorb the dark mass appears at the mist ahead: approach and hold L2 to reveal the next memory of Dokyo and Ganryu.

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When the memory ends, continue toward the defended wooden gate and the next cannon position.

Destroy the next gate and cannon

Clear the guards in front of the gate. For Destroy the gate, aim at the white explosive boxes beside and beyond the wooden gate, then hold and release R2 to shoot them. The explosion opens the passage and the objective changes to Destroy the cannon.

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Go through the opening, clear the guards and climb the wooden ladder outside the wall. At the top, use Cross to cross the gold-marked root wall. Follow the raised stone-and-root path, clear the enemies ahead and continue up the root steps to the high ledge.

From this ledge, look across the gap at the wooden cannon tower. Aim at the white explosive boxes beneath its platform and shoot them. Check that the objective changes to Look for Dokyo and Ganryu.

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Turn back along the root fork and drop into the lower yard. Go through the opening between the wooden palisades, follow the firelit lane down the steps and activate the Spirit Mirror. Continue up the broad root path as Head for the top of the tower appears.

Seal the two tower Rifts

The first tower Rift blocks the broad root slope. Defeat the ground enemies and use the Oni Bow against the enemy on the tower's upper wooden edge and the floating heads. When the last enemies fall, approach the red sphere and hold L2 at Absorb Rift.

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Once the roots withdraw, use Cross on the gold-marked root wall to cross the gap. Continue through the scene involving Dokyo's mask, then run across the next gold wall to the upper platform.

Clear the next Rift encounter, including the floating heads around the platform. Hold L2 at its sphere until it disappears. Follow the newly opened root ramp into the hall at the top of the tower.

When Absorb the dark mass appears inside, approach the mist and hold L2. Let the memory finish. The story returns you to the lower swamp with Confront Ganryu active.

Cross the swamp to Ganryu

Use the nearby mirror to prepare, then cross the bamboo bridge over the red water. Shoot the distant attackers and clear the enemies on the bridge before using Cross at the gold wall to reach the next ledge.

Continue along the raised bamboo walkway. Tear open the red-threaded root barrier with Cross, deal with the enemy above the route and follow the walkway to the temple buildings on the shore.

Go around the small house onto the root path. Use the next gold wall to reach the bridge and Spirit Mirror before the arena. From this mirror, follow the broad red-root bridge into the clearing to start Ganryu's scene.

Defeat Sasaki Ganryu

Ganryu now fights with multiple arms and long purple blades. His close-range attacks come in sequences; a clash or brief knockdown does not necessarily end them.

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Keep him in view and leave enough space to see the blades begin moving. Hold L1 to guard ordinary sword swings, or hold L1 and press Cross just before impact to Deflect. When the blades sweep across your position, use Circle to move away from the attack line and wait for the follow-up before stepping back in.

Use a short Square combination when he finishes a sequence. If the red weak-point opening and Square prompt appear, take that attack, then resume defending when he recovers. He can stand up after these knockdowns, so continue until the fight transitions into the concluding scene.

For a larger opening, use an equipped Oni Armament with R1 if you have sufficient Oni Power. With a full Awakening gauge, L3 + R3 activates Oni Awakening; R1 during Awakening performs Onimusha Onslaught and ends the form. Make room before returning to normal attacks or healing.

After the final exchange and the scenes with Ganryu and Gioh, the objective becomes Look for Dokyo. There is still another boss before this story is complete.

Follow the root path to Dokyo

Take the root route into the next house and leave through its back doorway. Follow the bamboo ramp, shoot the ranged enemy ahead and cross the roof into the red-mist yard.

Clear the yard, cross the gold-marked wall with Cross, then follow the bamboo slope down. Deal with the enemy at the corner and hold Cross to tear open the next root barrier.

Continue through the yard to the house doorway and Spirit Mirror. Prepare here, then enter the clearing beyond to begin the scene with Dokyo.

Defeat Dokyo

Dokyo — The Transgressor alternates between ranged patterns, brief grounded openings and attacks powered by the moon. Keep your view on him while moving across the open arena.

Avoid the projectile lanes and counter his landings

• Rows of small masks or statues: move to the side of the line and use Circle when a projectile closes in. Running straight toward him through the row exposes you to several hits.
• Red lines and orb patterns: move into clear space between the attack lanes. Do not begin a long combo while a line is forming beneath or in front of you.
• Clones joined by red lines: move outside the linked area and reposition until the figures disappear. Avoid chasing through the connecting lines.
• Levitating charge with an orange face-like orb: back away and evade the blast. Do not rely on arrows to cancel it; he can release the explosion after being shot. Once he lands and the blast clears, close in for a short Square counter.

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Stop the counter when he teleports away, locate him again and repeat. Use an Oni Armament during a grounded opening if you have enough power, rather than committing while he is disappearing.

Use the floating rock against the giant moon attack

When the huge moon appears overhead and rocks rise around the arena, stop attacking. Move behind one of the large floating rocks, keeping the rock between Musashi and Dokyo. Stay there through the bright flash instead of trying to chase the airborne boss.

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After the flash breaks the rock, approach the debris. At Use — Cross, press Cross to use the rock against Dokyo. This creates a strong counterattack; continue fighting if the encounter has not yet transitioned to its ending scene.

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Finish In the Light of an Icy Moon

After Dokyo is defeated, let the following scenes finish. He escapes wounded; the story then returns to the temple for conversations with Shizuka, Okuni and Takamura.

Wait for Story Complete — In the Light of an Icy Moon. The next story is The Clash at Rendaino, beginning with Speak with Takamura. Takamura advises you to deal with unfinished business before proceeding, so use this pause to prepare before starting that conversation.