Taisho, year 12 (1923). A tragedy in Hinamizawa village changes the fate of a girl and her friends. The turbulent early life of Oryou, head of the Sonozaki family, one of the Three Great Families, who would later be feared and known as Empress Sonozaki. The missing link to the original *Higurashi no Naku Koro ni* is now revealed.