Location: The Black Dusk Carriage – En Route to Paradiso
The interior of the train car was velvet, shadow, and bloodlight. Enchanted lanterns swung overhead, their glow struggling to touch the corners of the room.
She sat cross-legged in the center.
The Witch.
Crimson silk wrapped her like living flame. Her eyes held galaxies—old ones. Dying ones. And yet, when she whispered, the world leaned in.
"He's burning through the bindings already."
A crow perched on her shoulder tilted its head. "You sound impressed."
She smirked. "I sound interested."
Across from her, a tall figure adjusted the straps on his gauntlets. They pulsed with runes that bled heat.
"Do I get to kill him?" he asked.
"No," she said softly. "You get to test him."
He growled. "Same thing."
Location: Paradiso Outskirts – Ruins Still Smoking
Shin stood on the edge of the wreckage.
Below, Kai sat on the remnants of a statue, golden light flickering beneath his skin like restrained wildfire. Ryuu paced nearby, tossing a coin.
"We're being watched," Shin said.
Ryuu didn't stop flipping the coin. "Always are."
"No," Kai said, lifting his head. "This one feels... colder."
He looked east. Toward the rail lines.
And then he heard it.
Laughter. Not cruel.
Hungry.
The Warpath Arrives
The train didn't stop.
It bled into existence—ripping through the space between now and elsewhere.
The door hissed open before it even halted.
He stepped off first.
The Weapon.
Built like war and moved like memory. Hair silver. Eyes dead. No footsteps—just impact.
"Renshiro," he said.
Kai rose. "Do I know you?"
"You erased me once," the Weapon answered. "I've been looking forward to returning the favor."
Behind him, the Witch floated down gently, barefoot on dust and silence. Her presence rewrote gravity. Even Shin flinched.
"Hello, Kai," she said sweetly. "Do you remember me?"
Kai blinked.
A fragment surfaced.
Her smile in the rain.
A child's voice:
"I'll wait for you at the gate."
He whispered her name.
"Syl."
The world lurched.
Flashback – Gate of Echoes
Two children under a black sun.
Kai, bleeding. Syl, smiling.
"You have to go," she said.
"No. Not without you."
"You promised."
"I break promises."
She leaned in, touched his forehead.
"Then this time, let me remember it for you."
And she walked into the dark.
Present – The Confrontation
Syl's eyes burned violet. Not anger. Not sorrow.
A test.
"You've started a war, Kai."
"I didn't mean to."
She nodded.
"But you will finish it."
The Weapon stepped between them.
"Not if I kill him first."
Shin was already moving. Blade drawn. Ryuu flanked left.
Kai stayed still.
"No," he said.
"This is mine."
He raised his hand.
And gold flame exploded.
The Fire, the Witch, and the Weapon Collide
Everything slowed.
Kai clashed with the Weapon—fists against gauntlets. Every blow split air. Every parry cracked reality.
Syl watched—silent, unreadable.
Then she whispered.
"One more test."
And the world fractured.
Again.