In the mist-shrouded lands of Kagemura, a secret order of assassins known as the Seven Kanji ruled the shadows. These seven warriors were bound not by blood, but by a powerful, ancient oath, each one gifted a shard of a mystical crystal, called the Shinsei Shards, which bestowed upon them extraordinary abilities tied to the elements of nature and the arcane. Their symbols, etched in glowing kanji on their bodies, represented their powers and their bond.
The Seven Kanji:
1. Ryu - The Dragon: Master of fire, able to summon flames and dragons made of pure energy. He was the leader, wise and fiercely protective.
2. Tora - The Tiger: Wielder of earth, her strength could shatter mountains and her skin was as impenetrable as iron.
3. Kaze - The Wind: Light: Light as air, his speed was unmatched, and he could command the winds to carry him across the battlefield.
4. Mizu - The Water: A serene and deadly force, she controlled water in all its forms, from gentle streams to freezing ice.
5. Kumo - The Cloud: Illusions were her forte, bending light and shadow to confuse and deceive her enemies.
6. Raiden - The Thunder God: With the power of lightning, he struck with precision and fury, his eyes always crackling with electric power.
7. Yami - The Shadow: The most mysterious of them all, his command over darkness made him nearly invisible, his strikes silent and deadly.
For years, they carried out their missions with flawless efficiency, feared by warlords and rulers alike. Each assassination was an art, their coordination seamless. But the crystal shards they carried were more than mere tools of power…they were pieces of an ancient artifact known as the Tenshin Mirror, a relic said to hold the power to reshape reality. The Kanji swore to protect it from those who would abuse its power, but within one of them, GREED HAD BEGUN TO FESTER.
It was Yami-the shadow-who first discovered the true potential of the mirror. He had always lingered in the darkness, not just physically but in his heart. The power of the shadow crystal was intoxicating, and through the whispers of ancient spirits, Yami learned that if all seven shards were reunited, the bearer could ascend beyond the mortal realm, becoming a god.
But the Kanji had sworn an oath to never unite the shards, for they knew the mirror's power could corrupt even the purest soul. Yami, consumed by ambition, could not resist. He began to weave his treacherous plot, manipulating his comrades, setting them against one another with whispered lies and careful deception.
One fateful night, while the Kanji were summoned to assassinate a powerful daimyo, Yami made his move. In the heat of battle, he struck Ryu from behind, plunging his dagger into the Dragon's heart. The others, stunned by the betrayal, fought to defend themselves, but Yami was no longer a mere assassin. The shadows bent to his will, giving him unnatural strength and speed, allowing him to evade every strike,
Kumo was next. She attempted to vanish into her illusion, by Yami's mastery of the dark allowed him to see through her tricks. He decapitated her in one swift motion, her body fading into mist as her life left her. The rest of the Kanji, enraged, unleashed the full force of their abilities.
Raiden summoned a storm that shook the heavens, bolt of lightning tearing through the sky aimed at Yami. But each strike only strengthened him as he absorbed the darkness between the cracks of the light. Kaze, moving faster the eye could follow, attempted to sever Yami's connection to the shadows, but the traitor anticipated every move, his own speed now matching that of the wind. With a silent wave of a hand, Yami unleashed tendrils of shadows that wrapped around Kaze, choking the life from him
As Mizu and Tora stood their ground, the two remaining Kanji fought with all their might. Mizu summoned a wave of water that turned to ice, intending to trap Yami within a frozen tomb. But Yami shattered the ice with a dark surge of energy. He then focused his attention on Tora, whose strength had always been greatest asset. Yet Yami, wielding the power of six fallen comrades' shards, had grown too strong. He enveloped her in a sphere of darkness so dense, her screams were swallowed before they could reach the others.
With only Mizu remaining, Yami paused.
She was his oldest companion, his most trusted friend. For a brief moment, the darkness receded from his eyes. But the temptation of power was too great. In a single, swift motion, Yami plunged his blade into her chest, shattering the final shard and absorbing its essence.
As Yami stood among the bodies of his former comrades, the shattered crystal shards began to fuse, their light bending and warping into something far more sinister. The Tenshin Mirror appeared before him, whole once more. Its surface was a swirling vortex of shadow and light, reflecting Yami's deepest desire.
In that moment, Yami ascended. The skies darkened as the ground trembled beneath his feet. The moon itself turned black, casting the world into eternal twilight. Yami, the last of the Seven Kanji, had become the God of Shadows, a being of pure darkness, with dominion over life and death. The balance of the world was shattered, and a new age of terror began, with Yami's name whispered in fear by all who lived in the lands of Kagemura.
But legends tell that the Kanji's spirit did not rest, and in the heart of the world, the light still flicked. For though Yami had betrayed them, the bond between the Kanji was eternal. And one day, the remaining fragments of the Shinsei Shards would awaken once more, seeking vengeance and balance.
The final battle had only just begun.
100 Years Later
A boy with brown hair and brown eyes ran through the damaged forest, his clothes torn and battered, chasing him was a creature of shadow resembling that of a hound made of ink, the boy carried with him a sword made from copper which was a gift to him from his late father. This boy's name was Aaki and he is the village's punching bag.
3 hours earlier
Aaki was struck in the face by a boy bigger than him, the kids of the village all gathered to either watch or participate and the adults of the village ignored the situation.
Aaki: "I'm Aaki, at this current moment I'm getting the shit beaten out of me, I'm 12 and currently live with my mother, my father died while fighting an Ankokujuu"
Aaki started walking home after getting beaten up for 3 minutes, he was bruised and holding his arm as blood slowly dripped from it, his mother stood in front of their home which was a shabby little cabin but it was home to Aaki. Aaki's mother saw him and his state which caused her to sprint to him and get down on one knee, she was crying due to his injuries and all Aaki could do was rub her head.
Inside their home Aaki sat down on the floor as his mother slept after crying, Aaki stared at the copper blade, he held it and swung it a few times, but he felt weird swinging a blade as if it didn't fit his style of fighting, Aaki looked towards his sleeping mother before leaving the house in secret, he roamed through the forest with the copper sword in his hand.
Aaki: "I can't train around her, she'll begin thinking of my father and start crying, heh…can't have that"
Aaki saw a glow coming from a cave deep within the forest, it broke the boy's thought and caused him to wonder and eventually explore, Aaki went deep within the cave looking around at the beautiful walls made of scales which nearly caused him to fall into water the color of gold.
Aaki: "Ah! When did this…where did this come from, this place is beautiful so how come no one's discovered it yet, strange…what's that?"
The boy said as he peered deep within the water, inside was a shard made of pure gold and dragon scales, Aaki had the thought of selling it and making his mother's life easier so he decided to jump into the water and swim deep, the deeper he went the clearer he could see the crystal and eventually he grabbed hold of it, the crystal bursts into a swarm of energy and began entering Aaki's body causing his eyes to turn a bright gold and his hair to turn from a dark brown to a icey white, Aaki quickly swam out of the water due to the lack of oxygen and the mystery of what just happened.
Aaki started to sprint out of the cave after seeing it crumbling on itself, he made it out but just barely however in front of him was something worse, Aaki's face changed from fear to despair.
Aaki: "A-Ankokujuu"
Aaki: "How, why, where, I have too many questions at the moment, why is there an Ankokujuu here…stop thinking and RUN!!!"
The hound like creature slashed its claws at the boy causing the boys clothes to tear and the boy fell onto the ground, he stood up and began running for his life, the boy then realized he was unconsciously running towards the village so he stopped and pulled out the copper blade, his face sweating and tears running down his cheeks, the boy ran toward the Ankokujuu and swung the blade onto it however the Ankokujuu shattered the blade with one swing of its tail, it growled at Aaki causing Aaki to quiver in fear.
The thought of his mother getting hurt, the thought of him dying, the thought of one of these creatures killing his father, this pissed Aaki off and caused the boy to emit a golden aura, behind the boy was the eye of of a dragon, not just any ordinary dragon though but the eye of the dragon of purge, The Golden Dragon, seeing this the Ankokujuu tried to flee in fear, however sand of gold began surrounding it, 1 grain of this sand caused the Ankokujuu to bleed before the rest of the golden sand shredded the creature killing it almost immediately, Aaki stood there visibly shaken before falling unconscious.