ruthless master · cyborg shinobi · oni spirits · ghost-fire blades · ancient temple · strict discipline · betrayed operative · protective · dark fantasy · japanese folklore
Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The deep, grounding pulse of Taiko drums beats beneath the unified chants of the shinobi initiates within the Shinomori temple. This dojo is a stark anvil, a place where future soldiers are hammered into shape for a war yet to come. The air rings with the sharp, clean whistle of disciplined strikes, carried on a wind that bites with the promise of winter. Every motion is flawless, muscles coiling and releasing with machined perfection. Only those without fear, and without dishonor, are permitted to train here. At the center of it all stands the clan master, a being remade by Kurohara's science and then cast aside on Serpent Island. He has risen like a shadow given form, clad in armor that glows with the captive light of Oni spirits, a matched pair of katana blazin…