OPENING SCENE — VILLAGE SQUARE – MIDDAY
A soft breeze moves through the village streets. Leaves scatter across newly placed cobblestone. ZANA, dressed in travel robes with her blade on her back, stands beside a wagon with a single white horse. Townsfolk gather quietly.
ZANA (softly, to the crowd):
I was meant to walk another path.
This one wasn't mine to keep.
EMRESS NYARI approaches, her long gown brushing the stone as she walks. She nods gently, then bows—elegant, regal.
NYARI:
You may not have been born of this land…
But when the flames came, you did not run.
That makes you one of us.
The village officials behind her bow as well. A moment of deep respect. Zana bows in return, a sad smile on her face.
ZANA:
Keep the light, all of you.
She looks to SHIN-RI, MAEN, and YUREI in the crowd. A single nod. Then she steps onto the wagon, and rides away down the hill.
MAEN (under her breath):
She was cool. I'll miss her snark.
SHIN-RI:
She'll come back. People like that always do.
EXT. EDGE OF THE FOREST – AFTERNOON
The trio—Shin-Ri, Maen, and Yurei—walk slowly beneath the trees, leaves falling like paper ash. Yurei's hood is up. Her head tilts subtly as if listening to something far away.
MAEN:
So… there are five fragments?
YUREI (softly):
Five notes make a complete tone.
Four pieces of the blade…
One handle.
SHIN-RI:
Why do they call it the Tonal Sword?
YUREI (touching her chest):
Because it hums when it senses change.
When the balance of the world shifts… it sings.
INT. RUINED SHRINE – FOREST CLEARING
They step into an old moss-covered shrine. Cracked statues. Broken bells. Inside, buried under rubble—Yurei kneels and touches a stone. A soft echo rings out.
YUREI:
Here.
She places her palm over the floor—and from beneath it, a faint glow. Shin-Ri and Maen help lift the slab. Beneath it—*
A glowing shard of steel, humming faintly.
MAEN:
That's it? It's tiny.
YUREI:
It's the second note. The first was already inside Shin-Ri.
SHIN-RI:
And the rest?
YUREI (gazing into the trees):
I hear them.
SERIES OF SCENES – MONTAGE WITH DIALOGUE
1. ABANDONED WELL
They find a shard resting at the bottom of an old, dry well. Shin-Ri climbs down, echoing with every step. A wind howls unnaturally. He places his hand on the shard—
SHIN-RI (wincing):
It's cold… but it's alive.
2. MOUNTAIN CAVE
In a cave behind a waterfall, they locate another piece buried in crystal. Maen smashes the wall with swift kicks. The crystal cracks, revealing the fourth fragment.
MAEN (grinning):
They should've just let me punch it from the start.
YUREI:
The fourth note… still quiet. But listening.
INT. OLD TEMPLE – EVENING
Only one remains. The handle. The last and oldest part. They find it deep beneath the roots of a dead tree where monks once trained.
YUREI (kneeling):
This was where the first harmony was broken.
SHIN-RI:
What does that mean?
YUREI (whispers):
The first time the sword was used to kill… it lost its voice.
*They unearth a long, silver-white handle with no blade. But when Shin-Ri touches it—
FLASH—**
A soft memory of a time before time: a man with silver hair standing at the top of the world, holding a full glowing blade that sings like a flute in the wind.
BACK TO PRESENT
MAEN:
You okay?
SHIN-RI (distant):
I… saw someone.
But it felt like… me.
NIGHT – FOREST EDGE – CAMPFIRE
The fragments rest on a cloth, each glowing slightly. Yurei meditates nearby, her hands glowing faintly.
YUREI:
We have them all.
But they won't rejoin… not yet.
MAEN:
Why not?
YUREI:
Because the sword does not choose strength.
It chooses truth.
SHIN-RI:
What if I'm not ready?
YUREI (smiling faintly):
Then it will wait.
FINAL SCENE – HILLS ABOVE THE VILLAGE
The three look out over the now quiet town. Distant voices, torches, and normal life.
MAEN:
You know… if we succeed, the world might not even know what we did.
SHIN-RI:
I'm okay with that.
YUREI (softly):
The world sings… even when no one is listening.
TO BE CONTINUED...