[Scene opens – The Broken Plaza, moments after impact]
The ground was shattered into a crater.
The General of Thorns stood in the center, cloak torn, chains whipping through the air like living serpents. The souls trapped in his links wailed louder, their faces twisting into silent screams.
Jin Kuroya knelt across from him, blood trailing down his face, one arm trembling from the force of the last clash.
But his eyes burned brighter than ever.
No fear.
No retreat.
Just pure, unfiltered resolve.
[Internal monologue – Jin gathering himself]
If this was any other battle... I'd already be dead.But this isn't about strength anymore.It's about what refuses to die inside me.
Tenrou pulsed once in his hand, answering.
Not in rage.Not in hunger.But in defiance.
[The General speaks, voice dark and hollow]
"You should not be standing.""You should not even be breathing."
The chain lashed again—dozens of spirit-strands crashing down like a tidal wave of sorrow.
Jin exhaled slowly.
And stepped forward.
[Jin's Flame Awakens Further – Second Core: Infernal Soul]
As the chain struck—
Jin didn't block. He didn't dodge.
He let the chain tear through his cloak, slice into his flesh.
And he kept walking.
Because his soul burned hotter than the pain.
The air itself shifted around him—an aura of Infernal Soul began pouring from his chest, setting the ground ablaze with golden-red wildfire that refused to be snuffed out.
The second core of Tenrou's power—unsealed.
[Dialogue mid-battle]
The General staggered.
"Impossible... your soul... it should have fractured!"
Jin wiped the blood from his mouth.
"Maybe it should have."He raised Tenrou, now burning with two flames—red and deep, molten gold.
"But you can't fracture something that doesn't belong to anyone but me."
[Jin's New Technique – Infernal Soul: Brand of the Endless Flame]
Jin lifted his sword high.
Sigils blazed around him—circles of ancient fire magic, resonating with his heartbeat.
One step forward—The sigils locked onto the General's soul signature.
One step more—Tenrou pulsed with the fury of every burden Jin carried, every regret he burned away.
"Infernal Soul: Brand of the Endless Flame!"
He slashed downward—
but the flame didn't hit the General physically.
It branded his very soul.
The chains shattered instantly—souls screaming in freedom as they dissolved into light.
The General dropped to his knees, howling, clutching at his chest as his core spirit was set ablaze from the inside out.
[End of the General of Thorns]
He looked up at Jin one last time through his broken mask.
And instead of hate—
He smiled.
"You're more dangerous than he ever was..."
The General burst into white ash, scattered into the wind.
[Aftermath – Silent Victory]
Jin dropped Tenrou into the ground, leaning heavily on it.
The fires slowly died out around him, leaving only charred stone and the smell of ozone and spirit dust.
He stood alone once more.
But this time, the loneliness didn't feel empty.
It felt earned.
[Meanwhile – Rekikan Council Tower]
High Council gathered, faces pale.
Captain Genroku slammed his fist into the soul-mirror projecting Jin's battle.
"He survived the General."
Captain Kurohana hissed under her breath.
"We created something we can't control anymore."
A hooded figure, cloaked in heavier shadows than the others, spoke for the first time:
"Then we will have to destroy him before the Eclipse is complete."
[Meanwhile – Kuragami Inner Chambers]
Raikou stood silently, feeling the ripple in the soul currents.
A small grin crossed his face.
"Good," he whispered."Grow stronger, Jin.Because when I rip that strength from you...the whole world will watch you fall."
[Final Scene – Jin walks deeper into the Northern Wastes, heading straight toward Raikou's domain]
The flame around him didn't roar.
It hummed.
Quiet.
Certain.
The fire of a soul that refused to die.