The Premise

In a world folded between the living and the dead, there is a trade older than money: keep a flame alive, and what should not walk will work for you instead.

The candle is the contract. You, the Keeper, inherited it along with the debt attached to it. As long as the flame burns, the debt is serviced. Sixteen spirits of world folklore answer the light: collectors who gather wealth, guardians who shield the flame, mediators who bend the night in your favor.

Tuyul counts silver in the corner. Draugr holds the window against the wind. And when the wick drowns in its own wax, something always comes to collect.

One room, one flame

The whole game lives in a single top-down diorama, the Vigil Room, seen the way Harvest Moon sees a farm. The candle sits at its center. The door at the back is where arrivals and threats come from. Storage stands to the right, the work corner to the left.

The candle is also the UI. Its height is the oil gauge. Its color is your fire tier. The way the flame moves tells you how dangerous tonight will be. Almost no HUD needed; the room itself keeps you informed.

Where the folklore comes from

The launch roster of sixteen spirits is drawn from real folklore: Indonesian legends like Tuyul and the Gilded Boar sit next to Japan's Kitsune and Gashadokuro, Ireland's Banshee and Dullahan, Slavic Rusalka, China's Jiangshi, Thailand's Krasue, Mexico's La Llorona, Germany's Poltergeist and Nachzehrer. Each keeps its origin as part of its identity. Content from living religions (Wendigo, Skinwalker) is permanently off the table.