NIGHT – A BLACK PORTAL OPENS
The group staggers out from the Underworld—battered, burned, breathing hard. Shin-Ri's cursed blade crackles faintly. Kazu still has faint horns and demonic eyes.
The portal shrinks... but doesn't close. A ripple of shadows slithers out unnoticed.
MOMENTS LATER – OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS
They rest under a tree, watching the stars. The wind is cold. Maen lies asleep. Kazu stares at his hands.
KAZU (quietly):
I can still hear them.
The screams. The fire.
His eyes flicker red.
SHIN-RI:
It's the blade.
It changes you.
KAZU (gritting teeth):
Then maybe I should throw it away.
SHIN-RI:
Would you throw away the thing that made you strong?
Pause.
KAZU:
...No.
LATER – SHIN-RI'S DREAM
Black water ripples. Shin-Ri floats. Voices whisper.
CURSED SWORD (V.O.):
They scream beneath the earth.
Do you want to hear your father's final breath?
SHIN-RI:
Shut up.
CURSED SWORD:
Your mother called your name until her throat snapped.
He wakes up in a cold sweat, hand on his blade. It hums faintly... smiling.
MORNING – TOWN SQUARE IN RUINS
The Empress—Nyari—returns. A long cloak flows behind her. Her phoenix sword pulses with rage.
NYARI (to the crowd):
Where is he?
Where is the one who drank poison and vanished?
GUARD:
He fell into the Underworld, Your Grace...
NYARI:
Then I'll burn the ground until he's dragged back.
CUT TO – THE GROUP RETURNS TO THE CITY
Maen, Kazu, Shin-Ri, and Sylden enter. Civilians whisper. Soldiers bow. Nyari turns and walks toward them.
NYARI (stern):
You survived.
Barely.
SYLDEN:
But something followed.
Just then—a villager collapses. His body twitches, and his face morphs unnaturally.*
VILLAGER (warped voice):
Found you...
A demon shapeshifter rips out of his skin, tall and sinewy, skin slick like oil, with a mask made of stretched faces.
BATTLE – CITY PANIC
Guards shout. Civilians run. The demon lunges.
MAEN:
I hate these things!
She zips through, slicing its legs with a dozen quick slashes. Kazu slams it back with a flaming strike—but he starts shaking uncontrollably.
KAZU (growling):
It's... calling to me...
His blade ignites on its own. His horns glow. He screams—and flames spiral around him uncontrollably.
MEANWHILE – SHIN-RI HEARS VOICES
CURSED SWORD (V.O.):
Help him... if you remember him.
Touch his flame... and burn your past.
Shin-Ri grips his sword. It pulses—and suddenly he sees a vision—*
FLASH – KAZU'S MEMORY
*A young Kazu as a child, in the rain, watching his house burn. Someone stands beside him—Shin-Ri.
CHILD KAZU:
I don't want to be weak again...
The vision ends.
SHIN-RI (gasping):
What was that...? That was his memory...
PRESENT – BACK TO BATTLE
Kazu falls to his knees. His sword shakes in the ground, flames flickering weakly.
SHIN-RI (running to him):
Kazu—listen to me.
You're not a monster.
Kazu snarls.
KAZU:
I feel like one...
SHIN-RI:
Then I'll drag you back every time.
Like you would for me.
FINAL STRIKE – SYLDEN & NYARI
Nyari rises, eyes glowing. Her phoenix sword ignites the air. Sylden floats, wings flared. Together they unleash a Heaven & Flame Technique—blinding.
SYLDEN:
Heaven's Edge!
NYARI:
Phoenix Talon!
The demon shapeshifter is torn apart—its scream warps the sky before vanishing into smoke.
AFTERMATH – QUIET STREETS
Kazu breathes slowly. His horns fade. His flames settle. Shin-Ri helps him up. The two look at each other, quietly.
KAZU (grumbling):
You didn't have to help.
SHIN-RI:
Yeah. But I did.
FINAL MOMENTS – NIGHT
Shin-Ri and Kazu sit on the rooftop, swords beside them. Both blades whisper—faint echoes of each other's thoughts.
KAZU (V.O.):
Did your sword show you something too?
SHIN-RI (V.O.):
Yeah.
I think... our swords are connected.
KAZU (V.O.):
Then what else are they hiding?
A new voice hums in Shin-Ri's ears.
UNKNOWN WHISPER (V.O.):
You are the vessel.
You and he... will choose the next world.
TO BE CONTINUED...