Chapter 5: Vessels

The city glows below. Fog coils over the rooftop like smoke.
SHIN YAGAMI leans against the guardrail, hoodie up, staring out.
RICO STRYKER stands a few feet away, twin gold spirit Uzis holstered, his jacket fluttering slightly in the night breeze.

SHIN
(quiet, tense)
I’ve got a hundred questions...
But let’s start with the “Broken.”
Who the hell are they?

RICO
(stares at the skyline)
They don’t talk.
They don’t bleed.
They just erase.

SHIN
So what?
Just another freak squad of shadow creeps?

RICO
(smirking)
Yeah. Pretty much.
Except they’re not creeps.
They’re predators.
And we’re lunch.

BLACK EDGE (V.O.)
Be careful.
He’s a Vessel.
He could turn on you in an instant.

SHIN
(snapping)
I KNOW THAT!
You think I’m stupid?

RICO turns, eyeing him.

RICO
...Who are you talking to?

SHIN
(sighs, brushing it off)
Nobody.
Just... cursed necklace problems.

RICO
(scoffs)
Get used to that voice.
It never shuts up.

He lights a cigarette. The ember glows gold.
SHIN squints.

SHIN
So tell me.
What are these “Vessels” I keep hearing about?

RICO
(takes a drag)
There are seven orbs.
Only four have chosen hosts.
You. Me. And two others.

Each Vessel’s different.
The orb shapes to the soul—
Personality. Pain. Purpose.

He exhales slowly. Smoke glows faint gold.

RICO (CONT’D)
Some people wield their orb.
Others... get devoured by it.

He lifts his shirt slightly.
Embedded in his chest is a golden swirling sigil, glowing like a branded sun, fused to his flesh.

SHIN
(grimacing)
Dude, that's the worst tattoo I’ve ever seen.

RICO
(grinning faintly)
A reminder.
I fused with mine.
That’s not normal.
It’s dangerous.
For both of us.

SHIN
(suspicious)
So why are you telling me all this?

RICO
Because the Broken are coming.
And you're the most unstable Vessel I’ve ever seen.

SHIN
Unstable?

RICO
If you can’t control that thing around your neck...
It’ll control you.

Suddenly, the fog thickens.
Wind howls.
SHIN turns — but RICO is gone.
Like he dissolved into mist.

SHIN
Rico?
…Hey!

Nothing.
Just swirling fog.
Silence.

SHIN (V.O.)
(angry, low)
Shit.
I only know a little more than before.

BLACK EDGE (V.O.)
You know enough.
You’re a Vessel now.
Which means the others will find you soon.

SHIN stares down at the glowing city below.
His fingers grip the guardrail tight.
A new weight settles on his shoulders.

SHIN
Then I’ll start with the pawn shop.
I’m giving you back.

BLACK EDGE (V.O.)
(laughing darkly)
You think you can return me?
That shop’s long gone.
And so is the old man.

SHIN’s expression goes cold.
A humorless chuckle escapes him.

SHIN
Yeah?
We’ll see about that.

He walks away into the night,
fog curling around his steps.

FADE TO BLACK.