[Scene opens – Midnight in the Ghostpine Clearing]
Fog coiled low to the ground. Moonlight flickered through dead trees. Jin stood alone in the center of the clearing, Tenrou stabbed into the dirt, burning slow and steady.
He wasn't hiding.
He was waiting.
Because he knew they were coming.
The Pale Veil.
Three assassins sent by the Rekikan Council. Trained in silence, masters of instant death.
And they were already surrounding him.
[Scene shift – Assassin POV, synchronized whisper]
"Target exposed.No cover.No squad."
"Strike from three vectors."
"One strike only. End the Crimson Soul."
[The ambush begins]
All at once, they moved——one dropped from the trees—one emerged from the shadows—one phased through the mist like a memory.
Their blades were coated in soul-severing poison. One cut would not wound Jin. It would erase him from the soulstream.
[But Jin didn't move.]
Because he wasn't standing still out of fear.
He was anchoring.
Tenrou flared—pulsing with every step they took.
And when the first blade struck—Jin was already gone.
[Fight Begins – Jin vs. Pale Veil]
He reappeared behind the tree assassin and kicked him through a stone pillar, flames trailing behind his boot like a comet.
The second assassin struck from below—Jin blocked with Tenrou, but the impact still cracked his ribs. The blade trembled, soul venom trying to infect his core.
Jin gritted his teeth and forced a detonation burst outward, burning the venom away before it spread.
[Dialogue mid-fight]
"You Council dogs really think I haven't fought death before?"
The lead assassin finally revealed herself—black mask, twin blades, aura so cold it silenced the flame around her.
"You're not death," she said. "You're a spark the Rekikan let grow too long."
She dashed.
Jin parried.
Their clash sent waves of energy rippling through the forest.
[New Move – Jin's Flamefold Style: Ghostcutter]
He baited a strike, slid under her slash, then twisted Tenrou into reverse grip.
"Flamefold Style…"
A flash of sigils formed at her back.
"Ghostcutter."
One surgical strike—not to kill, but to sever her anchor to the soulfield.
She staggered midair.
"W-What… did you—"
"No soul support. Just steel now."
Jin roundhouse kicked her into the dirt.
[Final assassin – reengages with rage]
The remaining male assassin triggered a final protocol—Burning Mirror Technique—doubling his spirit body, now moving at soullight speed.
Jin could barely track him.
A slash caught his shoulder.
Another grazed his jaw.
But then—
Tenrou sang.
And Jin's body moved without thinking.
[Climactic Finish – Jin's Soulbrand: Phoenix Crest]
He lifted Tenrou skyward.
A column of fire erupted behind him in the shape of a giant burning bird.
"Soulbrand—PHOENIX CREST!"
He swung down—
And the entire clearing exploded.
The assassin was engulfed. His mirror body shattered like glass.
[Aftermath – smoke clears]
Jin stood, breathing heavily. Blood down one arm. Half his cloak burned away.
The assassins lay broken.
But not dead.
Because Jin didn't kill them.
He looked down at their unconscious forms.
"Go back to the Council.""Tell them next time they send someone…"He sheathed Tenrou.
"…they better not miss."
[Final Scene – Rekikan, Aria's Quarters]
Captain Aria stared at the wall of her office, knuckles white.
A paper lay on her desk.
A bounty.Jin's name on it.Stamped by Kurohana herself.
Marin entered behind her.
"It's started, hasn't it?"
Aria didn't turn.
"No," she whispered.
"It's about to."