[Scene: Viridian Helios's Estate | Late Evening]
The fire cracked faintly in the hearth, but the warmth in the room felt like a lie.
Rossain: "Teriel."
The voice sliced through the dim silence like a rusted blade. Cold. Unforgiving.
Teriel turned sharply, eyes wide, her breath catching in her throat. The way he said her name—no honorific, no warmth—something was wrong.
Teriel: "W-what is it?"
Rossain didn't reply at first. He stepped forward slowly, each step deliberate, like the tap of judgment's gavel in a silent courtroom.
Rossain: "Your husband…"
He stopped inches from her. His presence was overbearing, and Teriel stumbled back until her knees hit the edge of the velvet chaise and gave out.
Rossain: "Viridian…"
Her knees hit the floor, and her breath stuttered in fear.
Rossain: "Is an incompetent imbecile. An accident… holding a title meant for someone else. He crawled into the seat of the Marquess, not by merit, but by mere chance. Because his brother—the true heir—died like a fool with the previous Marquess."
Teriel's hands trembled as she looked away.
Teriel: "That's not true... he's—he's trying."
Rossain: "Trying?!"
He unsheathed a dagger. The steel glimmered just before it pressed against her throat.
Rossain: "Who will follow a man who locks himself in his decaying manor, terrified of facing his people? The nobility mocks him, the merchants laugh, and his vassals await his fall. Think wisely, sister."
A single droplet of blood rolled down her neck.
Rossain: "When this Marquessate falls—and it will—what becomes of you? Of your… spawns?"
He shifted his eyes to a cradle in the corner, where Sylvia slept, hugging a rabbit plush, oblivious to the blades looming over her family.
Teriel: "N-no! Please…"
Rossain: "You are my sister. It is only because of that sacred tie that I'm showing you... mercy."
He rose, adjusting the cuffs of his coat, his dagger still smeared red.
Rossain: "Increase the dosage."
Teriel: "But—he'll die!"
Rossain didn't respond. He simply watched the cold wind ruffle the flags of the estate outside.
Teriel's eyes welled up, the last ember of hope in her voice extinguished.
Rossain: "Good."
The scene fades to black.
---
[Scene Shift – Raizen's Quarters | Midnight]
Raizen sat on the wooden floor of his room, shirtless, sweat clinging to his back. The night was dead quiet, save for the slow ticking of the old brass clock on the wall. His eyes stared into the void, breathing steady.
Raizen: 'I don't think I can do this…'
The silence answered.
And then—
Kezess: 'That's… strange.'
Raizen stiffened. The voice wasn't loud. It wasn't screaming or threatening. But it was there—coiled like a serpent in his ear.
Kezess: 'Since you are my reincarnation, you should have your own strength. A frightening, natural reservoir.'
Raizen: 'Then what is it… what's wrong with me?'
Kezess: 'That… I don't know.'
Raizen sighed, frustration rolling over his bones. He leaned back, letting his body collapse onto the wooden floor. The ceiling stared back at him with ancient cracks, like spiderwebs of his destiny pulling apart.
His mind wandered to something from his last conversation—
> "Shards—or Essences—are fragments of your soul scattered across the world of reincarnation. Each holds a memory. A truth."
Raizen blinked.
Raizen: 'Hey… do those Shards let me see into my past lives? Share their memories?'
Kezess: 'Heh. You're smarter than I thought.'
Raizen: 'So… I'm right?'
Kezess: 'You are.'
Raizen: 'Then why not just tell me? Why go through all this torment?'
No reply.
The darkness around him felt heavier.
Raizen: 'You could just tell me…'
Kezess: 'Don't trust the voice in your head too much, Raizen. My sole purpose… is to destroy you from the inside out.'
Raizen shivered.
The shadows twisted. Kezess's thought-form flickered—hollow eyes, jagged grin, fragmented like a broken reflection.
---
[Training Yard | Dawn]
The doors to the training grounds creaked open. Cold morning mist wrapped around the dummies and targets. The sound of wood striking wood echoed faintly in the distance.
Marvin: "Rai!"
Raizen jolted upright.
Raizen: "What!?"
Marvin: "Mother made you some soup!"
Raizen stood silently. His eyes drifted to the hallway, to the place where the voices had faded, and the past lay coiled like smoke.
Raizen: "I'll be there in a minute."
Marvin nodded, already running back.
Marvin: "Two hundred! Two-oh-one! Two-oh—"
And then silence.
Kezess didn't say a word. His form lingered in the shadows of Raizen's room, watching.
---
[Hours Later – In the Deeper Yard, Alone]
Raizen stood shirtless, his chest rising and falling. He drew his sword—old, rusted, but familiar.
He focused.
He had to.
Every slash, every spin, every stance—he repeated again and again. His muscles cried. His lungs begged. His mind—it refused.
But his soul?
It screamed for something more.
Raizen: "Where are my Shards? Where is my power?"
Just voices in his head and empty hands.
Raizen's vision blurred. The air warped around him.
And suddenly—his hand burned.
He looked down.
A faint shimmer—a glyph etched itself onto his palm. Unfamiliar. Flickering. But calling.
The air whispered:
> "Rai… find me…"
His eyes widened.
The first Shard.
The first step.
---