Two months earlier
Under a cloud-heavy night sky, in a hall drowned in darkness except for the flicker of an oil lamp whose flame swayed like a restless heart, Jin sat surrounded by five human shadows. Their faces were hidden behind masks that concealed their features, leaving only their eyes to glitter like blades dipped in darkness.
Jin lifted one corner of his mouth in a slight crooked smile, then spoke in a calm voice like a breeze before a storm:
> "Today… we begin a new mission."
One of the masked figures moved. His left hand crawled out from beneath his cloak, breaking the silence with a slow motion before he spoke in a hoarse voice:
> "Boss… you want the box, but how will we get it?"
Jin turned slightly, hands placed behind his back in the posture of a contemplative man hiding precise calculations. He lowered his head and his words fell with weight:
> "Harn… leader of the Thunder Village, is the one who has that box. Now… we will threaten him, and if necessary, we will resort to destruction."
He paused as if measuring the effect of the next sentence, then added in a low voice full of confidence:
> "I made a deal with the old man… and he agreed to my plan."
Suddenly Jin raised his voice, slicing the air in the hall like a whip:
> "Show yourself… show yourself, old man."
A man stepped out from among the shadows. He wore familiar clothes. His features were carved with deep lines shaped by years. His eyes were sunk beneath the brim of a black hat that had clung to him for decades.
Jin gestured to him with a slow motion that carried the weight of control and ownership:
> "Here he is… our new partner, the man who regretted handing the box to Ten's brother."
The old man bowed slightly. His voice came out in clipped tones, as if his vocal cords were tightened by the burden of time:
> "Thank you… Jin, for helping me."
Jin did not smile. Instead he cast a cold look like frost-hardened steel:
> "I am not helping you… all I want is what is hidden inside that box."
They sat in a circle, Jin in the center like an axis around which events turned. He looked at them one by one before speaking firmly:
> "I planned everything. You… will surround the village. I… will send the threatening letters. That alone will be enough to force Harn to sell the box."
The old man raised his brows. His eyes were shaded by concealed worry:
> "And what if Nelson refuses?"
Jin turned slowly. His eyes moved from face to face until they stopped on the old man. He spoke in an unwavering, decisive tone:
> "Do not worry about that… I arranged everything down to the last thread."
In that moment everyone felt the hall was no longer merely a meeting place but a tight trap, and their breaths now moved in sync with a plan beyond their ability to retreat.
Two months earlier the silence in the hall pressed on the air until Jin's quiet footsteps neared the old man like the inevitable knocking of an approaching fate.
He stopped in front of him. His eyes narrowed like double blades ready to strike.
Jin (low voice, edged with resolve):
> "Old man… I have a task for you. Very precise."
He slowly drew his hand from his right pocket as if pulling a thread from a repository of secrets, and produced a gleaming blade similar to the one Ten owns. The lamp light struck its edge, casting sharp trembling shadows on the walls.
Jin pressed his fingers on the blade, testing the weight of meaning before the weight of metal, then looked at the old man with the sternness of someone who sees beyond the veil.
Old man (calm, with a hint of surprise):
> "You want me to deceive him?"
Jin (tone hard as iron):
> "I did not say deceive… I said return this blade to its original place."
The camera drew close to his eyes. The light in them shattered into flashes of cold resolve.
Jin (very serious):
> "Do not ruin the plan."
The old man extended his hand with calculated hesitation, then took the blade while Jin straightened with a steady step, as if declaring the countdown had begun.
Jin (turning without looking back):
> "We start when I give the signal."
Masked figures (in one voice, echoing in the cave):
> "Yes, sir."
---
Transition to the forest
Jin moved deep into a forest swallowed by the shadows of a cold morning. Sunlight pierced the tangled branches like golden swords.
Between the dark trunks, a man sat on a rock. His hair was white as snow. His eyes were gray, reflecting the pale daylight. He wore black garments and a tilted mask on his head as if he had pushed it aside to reveal only half the truth.
The man (smiling like someone who knows more than he says):
> "So… you finally came."
Jin (steady tone):
> "Skip the talk… I have work for you."
The man (tilting his head with the confidence of a cat sizing up prey):
> "And what will it be? You have piqued my curiosity."
Lighting changed abruptly. Night vanished and a white morning replaced it. The scene moved to Nelson's office. Sunlight filtered through a high window and glittered on his sharp features as he stared at the horizon.
Nelson (smiling slyly to the sky):
> "So… you want a job."
The man (calm, with a cunning tone):
> "If you take me as the driver… I'll tell you a secret only you will appreciate."
Nelson (shifting his gaze toward him, voice charged with contempt):
> "And if you lie?"
The man (confidence unshaken):
> "I do not lie… I swear by it. It's a secret that will make you see clearly who your enemy is… and who your ally is."
Nelson's expression changed. The sarcasm disappeared and a wall of seriousness took its place.
Nelson:
> "Speak."
The man (breathing slowly as if his words fall like stones into still water):
> "In the Fire Village… their leader is named Harn. Just yesterday I was there and I heard talk about a secret box that belongs to that village."
Nelson turned suddenly as if struck by a dangerous idea.
Nelson:
> "Are you sure of this?"
The man:
> "I saw it with my own eyes. If it wasn't important… they would not guard it with a blade that can only open it."
Nelson (narrowing his eyes):
> "You mean… it can be opened only with that blade."
The man (smiling slyly):
> "Exactly… but keep this to yourself."
---
Threatening Harn
In the garden Harn stood frozen. His eyes widened with each step they took toward him. Sweat slowly streamed from his temples.
Jin (deep, resonant voice):
> "Stop your madness… or watch destruction swallow you before my eyes."
Harn (clenching his teeth, the grinding audible):
> "Who are you?!"
Jin (cold smile, sharp as a blade):
> "We are… the ghosts."
Harn (screaming, fear creeping into his voice):
> "What do you want?!"
Jin (stepping forward, his eyes glowing like embers in the night):
> "We want what is ours… and you stole it. Do not play dumb… I know the box is with you."
Harn (arrogant, giving a short laugh):
> "I will not hand it over… go back to where you came from."
Jin raised his left hand toward the sky. He closed his eyes for a moment as if summoning an unseen power. Then he opened them and pointed upward.
Jin (in a voice as quiet as thunder's whisper):
> "Heaven's flame…"
The color changed. A deep violet aura swept across the sky as if night had ignited with a strange light. The air grew heavier than iron. A strange pressure fell, making the leaves tremble and the ground crack under their feet.
Harn fell to his knees, gasping. His veins tightened under the overwhelming weight.
Harn (voice trembling):
> "Okay… okay… wait… I'll go in… I'll think…"
As he stepped toward the palace Jin's shadow stretched over him like an irreversible judgment while the violet sky watched like an angry god's eye.
---
The threatening letters
Harn sat behind his heavy wooden desk. His head bowed. His fingers pressed his temples. His face pale. Cold sweat formed on his forehead.
Suddenly the sharp sound of glass ripped the silence. His window shattered. Shards flew through the air then settled on the ground like dead glass stars.
Wind slipped through the opening carrying a small red paper folded on itself as if it feared revealing its message prematurely.
Harn reached out with a trembling hand and grabbed the letter. A choking sensation rose in his chest. Anxiety and terror mixed until the words looped endlessly in his mind:
> "Hand the box to Nelson… and if you hesitate, we will show you hell. Maybe we will turn this village to dust."
Shock did not last long. Another slip of paper slid between the documents, harsher than the first:
> "Do not tremble… do not try to hide anything. Hand over the box. And if you defy me… remember… I wiped out an entire clan from existence. Destroying your village will be much easier."
A heavy tear slipped from Harn's eye and fell onto the paper, leaving a damp spot that spread slowly… as if erasing the last glimmer of hope.
Elsewhere, Jin turned to his companions around the swinging lamp. His features were cold as stone:
> "Let's go… we awakened his fear. We'll strike again tomorrow.
"
Everyone answered in one voice:
> "Understood."
---
Harn's surrender
After a month, Harn came out into the square, raising his hands to the sky as if surrendering to a fated outcome. His voice was hoarse from exhaustion:
> "Alright… alright… Nelson asked me to buy the box… I beg you… stop."
Jin smiled as he slowly bent toward the ground, as if the gesture bore the weight of his wisdom and experience, and spoke with calm confidence:
> "If you sell it to him… that will be the best decision for you. Believe me."
Harn stood tense, feeling the weight of the words pressing against his chest, his voice faltering as if the very ground breathed with him:
> "I hope… you will stay away from the village."
Jin's voice suddenly rose, carrying an irresistible force, as if a fierce wind had slipped through the walls around them:
> "Come on… let's return and leave this village behind."
Harn froze for a moment, his eyes wavering between fear and relief, and spoke in a low voice, heavy with responsibility:
> "I hope you do not break your promise."
Jin smiled, his smile carrying silent certainty, like a vow engraved in stone:
> "A man… does not forget his promise."
Silence fell for a moment, like a single breath flowing through everyone, before the scene gradually dissolved into the end, leaving the reader with a sense of the moment's gravity and the beginning of a new journey forming in the imagina
tion of all who witnessed it.