The Scars That Don’t Bleed

> "The deepest scars are carved without blood. And the loudest screams are always silent."— Renjiro Akegami



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[Scene: Temple Ruins of Tenra – Borderlands of the Fallen Nation]
Night fell heavy like a curse. The once-sacred ruins of Tenra Temple, now bathed in ash and shadow, trembled beneath invisible energy. Cracks formed across the ancient marble pillars, as if the ground itself feared what was coming.
Renjiro stood in the center of the ruins, his cloak fluttering in the icy wind. His katana, Kurozetsumei (Black End), pulsed faintly, sensing something… no, someone.
> “Why does this place feel like my soul — broken, forgotten, and waiting to be shattered again?”— Renjiro, whispering to himself



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[Flashback — The Day Before]
Sora Raijin, energetic as always, slapped Renjiro on the back.
Sora: “You sure you wanna go there alone? That temple’s been cursed since the Last War.”
Renjiro (smiling faintly): “I’m used to walking alone. Besides… the ghosts won’t hurt me. I carry more of them than the temple ever could.”
Kaito Uchiwara appeared behind them, silent, eyes heavy with wisdom.
Kaito: “This mission isn’t about monsters. It’s about truth. And truth... will hurt more than any blade.”

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[Back to Present — Tenra Temple]
Suddenly, the temperature dropped.
A voice echoed from the shadows. Cold, twisted, layered with pain and peace.
“I know that look. The look of someone who’s lost everything… without ever holding it.”
From the broken arch stepped Zankuro the Painwalker — cloaked in crimson-black, six eyes closed in meditation. On his back, a blade formed from broken promises and crushed prayers.
Renjiro stepped forward, his voice low.
Renjiro: “You’re the one behind the massacres in Sorai Village.”
Zankuro: “I’m the one who tried to save them. They begged for peace… I gave them silence.”
> “You see pain as an enemy. I see it as the only honest thing left in this world.”


Renjiro’s hands trembled. Not from fear. From the storm rising inside him — grief, rage, confusion… and love.
> “Don’t talk about pain as if you own it. I’ve been living with a heart that was never mine to begin with.”



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[Scene: Duel Begins — Blade vs Belief]
Zankuro unsheathed his sword: "Kuyou no Sabaki" – The Judgment of Nine Sorrows.
Renjiro raised Kurozetsumei.
In a flash, reality bent. Their swords clashed, not just in strength, but in ideals.
Zankuro’s strikes were heavy, deliberate — each one a sermon of suffering. Renjiro’s movements were fluid, precise — each one written in memory and love.
> “Hazy Moon Style – Third Form: Thousand Tears Waltz!”


The air exploded in light and shadows. Zankuro bled from the lip, smiling.
Zankuro: “You fight like a boy trying to protect something that was never his.”
Renjiro: “…Because she never was.”

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[Scene: Amiya – Somewhere Far Away]
At that same moment, Amiya Yukishiro stood on a garden terrace, her hand intertwined with Kaede Ishikawa.
Kaede: “You think Renjiro will ever stop being alone?”
Amiya: “…He always seemed distant. Like… he was trying to love the world but couldn’t even love himself.”
Her voice trembled faintly.
She didn’t know that Renjiro, far away, was bleeding for her.
And would continue to.
Always.

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[Scene: Battle’s End – Renjiro’s Awakening]
Zankuro stabbed his blade into the ground and vanished into mist.
Zankuro: “You are not ready. But you will be. When your heart finally breaks… come find me.”
Renjiro fell to his knees. The wind whispered.
He looked at the sky, blood trickling down his cheek.
> “I can defeat gods. But I can’t even win a heart.”


Behind him, unseen, a strange black flame flickered in his shadow — awakening.