The stolen plane cut through the clouds, its wings shuddering as the violent storm raged outside. Lightning painted the sky white, thunder followed like a war drum, as if the heavens themselves were announcing the calamity about to descend upon the world.
Cyrus Ra sat near the cockpit, eyes closed in meditation, Cyclebreaker resting across his knees like a sleeping dragon. Beside him, Rex flew in silence, his mind circling the truths he had uncovered—the hidden sickness of the world, the twisted games played by those who claimed dominion over nations.
At last, Cyrus broke the silence."Do you know the swordsmith?"
Rex's gaze hardened. "He forges only for those who carry the weight of worlds. His family once crafted blades for emperors, warlords… and gods. His name is Kenshiro Takeda. He will forge me a weapon that can break the chains of nations through destruction."
"And if he refuses?" Cyrus asked.
Rex's voice deepened with a force that filled the cabin. "Look at me, Cyrus. Tell me—what do you see?"
Cyrus opened his eyes, meeting Rex's burning stare. "I see the hope of a better world. But I also see the heart of a king—one who carries all within his chest. A will unbreakable. A presence that makes men want to kneel in respect."
Rex's voice thundered. "So do you think he will refuse me?"
Cyrus bowed his head. "No, my king. He will be in awe of you."
The Forge of Takeda
They landed in Kyoto under the cloak of night, touching down at a forgotten airstrip strangled by weeds and silence. Rex led Cyrus through narrow streets where old lanterns swayed in the wind. At last, ivy parted to reveal an ancient shrine, its doors heavy with centuries.
At the shrine's heart burned a forge.
An elderly man stood before it, unbent despite the weight of years. His arms bore the scars of countless battles with steel, and his eyes—dark, sharp, unyielding—locked onto Rex as though he had been waiting for him all his life.
"I felt the fire before you entered," Kenshiro Takeda said. His voice was steel striking stone. "Two diamonds, carved by the bones of the earth. And one meteorite, born from the cold cruelty of space. Tell me, warrior—what must I summon from their light and their darkness?"
Rex unwrapped the stones, their brilliance spilling across the forge in unnatural glow."One for a katana," he said. "It will be named when blood is spilled."
Takeda cradled the diamonds as though they were spirits. His lips moved in silent prayer."This stone is not yet a weapon. It has a soul. To forge it, you must give something of yourself."
Without hesitation, Rex stepped forward. "Then take it. All that I am is war and vengeance."
The forge roared to life, flames leaping toward the rafters. Takeda drew forth his hammer—iron forged from a fallen star. He set the diamond into the fire."Steel needs fire," he intoned. "Diamonds need sacrifice. Your blood will temper it. Your pain will bind it. Step forward."
Rex dragged a blade across his palm, blood falling into the fire. The forge shrieked. Sparks burst like stars, the diamond cracked, reshaped, glowing molten white.
Cyrus's grip tightened on Cyclebreaker. "If this fails—"
Takeda cut him short. "It cannot fail. This is destiny."
Hours passed like centuries. Each strike of the hammer rang like thunder across time itself. Finally—Takeda quenched the blade in Rex's blood. Steam hissed like the whispers of forgotten gods.
The katana was born.
Takeda placed it in Rex's hands. The weight was perfect. Balanced. Eternal.
Rex whispered, as if the blade itself commanded him:"Silent Fang."
The name burned into the steel. The weapon shimmered, alive.
Takeda nodded grimly. "It accepts you. It will drink only the blood of tyrants—so long as you remain true."
But Rex's eyes narrowed. He felt the hunger in the blade. Incomplete. Yearning.
Takeda felt it too. His face darkened. "It needs its brother. A sword of darkness to balance the light."
The Birth of Eclipse
As dawn broke, word of their arrival had already spread. Armored vehicles rolled quietly through the streets of Kyoto. Soldiers surrounded the shrine.
Cyrus's grip tightened. "They've come for us."
Rex sheathed Silent Fang, its glow fading. His voice was calm, steady. "Good. Let them come."
The doors of the forge shook, then splintered under the weight of men. Soldiers stormed in, rifles raised. Takeda stood unmoved, his hammer striking the second diamond upon the anvil."Then tonight," he growled, "we forge the second blade—in the fire of battle."
Gunfire roared. Cyrus loosed three arrows in a single breath—three men fell, throats pierced before their fingers touched triggers. Rex moved with impossible speed, Silent Fang cutting flesh and steel alike.
Takeda hammered. Sparks flew. Shadows writhed against the walls."This one," he muttered, "is born of shadow. It will not wait. It demands blood."
Cyrus rained death. Rex carved a storm. Each soldier that fell seemed to feed the fire.
The second diamond cracked open, bleeding molten black flame. The forge screamed, the shadows clawed across the room.
Cyrus's eyes widened. "What are you forging?"
"A curse," Takeda whispered. "A blade that devours not just blood—but souls."
The hammer rang one final time. The blade shrieked as though alive, its steel black as midnight, its edge glowing faint crimson. The very air froze.
Takeda's hands trembled as he lifted it. "This weapon carries damnation. It should never touch human hands."
Grenades shattered the shrine. Explosions tore through wood and stone.
Takeda thrust the blade toward Rex. "Yet only you can bear it. Take it—or it will take us all."
Rex hesitated, not with fear but with knowledge. This was no blade of justice. It was a monster.
"My king!" Cyrus roared from the doorway, firing arrow after arrow.
The shrine crumbled. Rex seized the blade.
Cold burned into his palm. Darkness surged through his veins, whispering of endless war. He almost faltered—but his will held.
The forge went silent.
"It has chosen its name," Takeda whispered, dread in his eyes.
The sword pulsed once, twice. The word carved itself into Rex's mind."Eclipse."
He swung it once.
A wave of black flame erupted, swallowing soldiers whole. Flesh and soul alike were torn apart, ash falling like snow.
Cyrus froze in awe. "What… what are you holding?"
Rex's voice was hollow, deeper than before."A blade to end worlds."
Silent Fang glowed faintly at his hip, as if in protest. But Rex pressed forward, Eclipse tearing through all in its path. The shrine collapsed behind them, Takeda's forge burning in shadow-fire.
When the last soldier fell, silence returned.
Takeda approached, pale. "You have forged both light and darkness. One to cut in silence. One to devour in shadow. You will never be whole again."
Rex sheathed Silent Fang. Then Eclipse. His eyes burned with fire."I was never whole before this journey."
Cyrus lifted Cyclebreaker. "Then where do we strike first?"
Rex looked east, toward the horizon, his voice like a war cry in the dawn."Every throne. Every tyrant. Until the world is free. But first…"
Eclipse pulsed in his hand, as if laughing.
"…I must summon my army. My Ten Commandments."
And so the war truly began.