> "Some wars are fought with swords…But the deadliest ones are fought inside the heart."— Renjiro Akamine
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[Scene: Twilight – Spiritcliff, Tsukihana Village]
The sun was bleeding into the horizon, casting the sky in hues of crimson and melancholy. The wind howled softly through the valley, whispering secrets to those brave—or broken—enough to listen.
Renjiro Akamine stood alone at the cliff's edge. His obsidian-black cloak fluttered behind him, his hand clutching a faded sky-blue ribbon—fragile, like the feelings he never dared voice.
He traced the ribbon's frayed edges.
> "Twelve years…" he whispered."Twelve years and I still can't tell her."
His amber eyes looked down upon the glowing lanterns of Tsukihana, the village bathed in joy and warmth below.
But joy never reached him. Not fully.
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[Flashback – 9 years old]
> Amiya Takahara: “Here! This is my lucky ribbon! Now you’ll always come back to me, okay?”
Renjiro (blushing): “…Yeah. I promise.”
(He tied it around his wrist and never removed it. Not once.)
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[Present – Festival of Stillness Begins]
The streets of Tsukihana were lit with soul-lanterns, their golden light floating like dreams across the wind. Music and laughter swirled in the air. Elders sang tales of ancient peace. Children danced in circles. Hope was everywhere.
And in the center of it all, Amiya Takahara glowed like the moon. Her hair flowed like river silk, her jade eyes bright, gentle, full of wonder. She moved among villagers, healing wounds with a smile and a gentle chant.
> Villager: “Amiya-sama, your light feels like my wife’s voice… I’d forgotten what peace felt like.”
She giggled, bowing humbly.
> Amiya: “Then let me remind you… every day, until you remember it without me.”
But her smile faltered for a moment. Her eyes drifted—upward, toward Spiritcliff.
> “Renjiro... Why don’t you ever come down?”
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[Scene: The Yurei Wastes – Far from Peace]
In a realm long cursed and forgotten, the earth cracked open. Flames of void erupted from a circle of forbidden sigils. Lightning screamed through the ash clouds.
A lone figure stood at its heart—scarred, shattered, reborn.
Rael Vael’thorn, the Fallen Archsage.
> Rael (snarling):“Peace? Ha! Peace is a lullaby sung by the victors… over the graves of the silenced.”
“They forgot our screams. Tonight, I remind them.”
He thrust his staff skyward. A fissure tore through the heavens.
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[Back in Tsukihana – The Sky Cracks]
The stars went out.
Not dimmed.Gone.
A silence deeper than death swallowed the celebration.
And then…
Boom.
Shadows poured from the sky. Black-armored wraiths, screaming in cursed tongues, struck the earth like meteors. Villagers screamed. Flame and frost collided as ancient wards shattered like glass.
A shadow-beast lunged toward Amiya.
Time slowed.
She gasped, frozen.
And then—
Fire. Holy Fire.
A blaze of blue lightning struck down from the cliff, ripping through the beast mid-air.
He had arrived.
Renjiro Akamine.
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[Scene: The Battle Begins]
> Amiya (stunned):“Renjiro…?”
Renjiro (quietly):“I won’t let them take you. Not while I breathe.”
His body glowed with the forbidden Peaceflame Magic—a power so ancient, it was thought extinct. Every movement was precise. Every strike, a silent prayer.
> Renjiro (to himself):“Let me burn. Let my soul crack… If it means she smiles one more day.”
A wraith grabbed him—he broke its neck with a twist and a burst of light.
Three more came. He ignited his fists and whispered:
> “Blessed be the silent, for they carry the loudest storms.”
They disintegrated in holy flame.
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[Rael Above the Battlefield]
Hovering on a platform of void crystal, Rael watched, amused.
> Rael (smirking):“So… the last Peaceflame lives.”
“Let’s see how long hope can burn before it drowns in truth.”
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[Back on the Ground – Amiya Crawls to Renjiro]
He was bleeding. Breathing heavy. Surrounded by ash and silence.
She knelt beside him, tears in her eyes.
> Amiya:“Why? Why didn’t you ever tell me you could do this?”
Renjiro (softly):“…Because every time I looked at you… I forgot how to speak.”
“And if I died saying nothing… at least you’d live not knowing what it cost me.”
She reached for his hand. It trembled—but he pulled away.
> “Don’t, Amiya. If you hold me now… I won’t let go. And I can’t afford that weakness.”
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[Final Scene – The Shadow Army Retreats]
The first battle ended. The village scarred, but alive.
But something had awakened that night.
A war far greater than swords and magic.
A war between silence and confession. Between peace and chaos. Between the love unspoken… and the fate that would never allow it to be spoken.
> “Some people say peace is the end of war…”“…But what if it’s just the calm before the love you’ll never have is taken from you?”
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