The Silence Beneath the Thunder

> “A heart that never speaks, still drowns in screams.”— Renjiro Akegami



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[Scene: Tenrai High Academy – Evening]
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the schoolyard. Students laughed, chattered, and parted ways. Renjiro stood alone on the rooftop, watching from above, his crimson coat fluttering in the quiet breeze.
He held his notebook, a worn-out page titled:
"Things I Wish I Could Tell Amiya."
It was filled with half-sentences, scratched-out lines, and a single unspoken confession that had lived in his heart for years.

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[Flashback – Three Years Ago]
Rain poured heavily.
Renjiro waited outside the school gate, holding an umbrella.
Amiya passed by with Kaede. She didn’t see him.
But Renjiro saw everything—how she smiled at Kaede… how she laughed. It shattered him.
And still, he whispered under the rain:
“Just smile like that forever... even if I’m not the reason.”

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[Scene: Present Day – Training Grounds, Eastern Forest]
Renjiro was surrounded.
A group of elite fighters from the Shadow Regiment had found him—sent by the Council of Ether to eliminate a rogue inheritor of the forbidden “Void Flame.”
Renjiro clenched his fists. His aura erupted—deep violet and storm-black, spiraling with explosive heat.
Elite Warrior:"Surrender, Renjiro Akegami. You're a danger to the balance."
Renjiro (softly):"I became a danger… the moment I chose not to feel anymore."
They attacked.
But they weren’t ready.
He moved like lightning, danced like silence, and struck like thunder with a wounded heart. His blade sang a screamless song of sorrow and strength.
One by one, they fell—until only one remained.

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[Scene: Inner Realm – After the Battle]
Renjiro stumbled to a tree and dropped to his knees.
Blood trickled from his arm. The cursed mark on his chest pulsed again—its voice whispering:
> "Power… comes from pain. The more you lose, the more you burn.”


Renjiro looked at his palm—stained with blood and memories.
He whispered:
"What’s the point of power… if the one I want it for no longer looks my way?”

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[Scene: City Lights – Amiya’s Perspective]
Amiya stared at the street below from her apartment.
Kaede had sent her another message. She ignored it.
Her mind… wandered.
To Renjiro.
To the time he shared his umbrella without a word.
To the time he stood between her and danger, even when she didn’t ask.
Amiya (softly):"Why do I feel like I lost something I never had…?"
Her eyes welled up with tears she couldn’t explain.

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[Scene: Final Moments – Temple of Flame Echo]
Renjiro entered the ancient ruins that had called to his dreams every night.
A sealed scroll hovered before him, burning with a strange blue light.
Inscribed on it:“Only the forsaken may awaken the Flame of Oaths.”
He reached for it.
As he touched it, visions of Amiya, his broken childhood, and every unspoken word surged through him.
And from the fire came a voice:
> “Renjiro Akegami… you have been chosen not to destroy peace… but to suffer for it.”