### **COLD OPEN: BLACK SCREEN. SOUNDS OF A STORM.**
The **roar of the wind** howls like a wounded beast. **Distant thunder rumbles**, rolling across the sky like the footsteps of forgotten gods. **A single breath—ragged, desperate.**
**FADE IN:**
#### **EXT. THE WASTELAND – NIGHT**
A **vast, barren expanse.** The land stretches **endless and broken,** cracked earth forming jagged patterns like the veins of a dying world. No trees. No life.
Above, the **sky churns in unnatural colors**—deep **red and swirling purple**, like an open wound festering in the heavens. The air itself **seems heavy**, thick with the weight of something unseen.
The **storm is not made of rain—but of ash.** Blackened embers drift through the wind like ghosts of a past fire.
Amidst this **desolation**, something **moves beneath the dirt.**
A hand.
**BURSTING** through the cracked ground, fingers clawing at the air.
A **MAN** rises, gasping, coughing up dust. He **rolls onto his back, staring at the sky—confused, broken.**
His **face is bloodied, smeared with dirt. His dark hair is matted with sweat.**
**His body trembles.** He grips his chest, **his breathing sharp, erratic.** His ribs move like they were never supposed to.
His clothes are in tatters—what's left of a long black coat, now nothing more than rags hanging from his battered frame.
He forces himself to sit up.
And then—he sees it.
#### **THE MESSAGE**
Carved into a massive slab of stone **right beside him**:
### **"YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO EXIST."**
The words look **old, ancient.** But fresh **blood drips from the letters.**
His breath **shudders.** Something inside him—**a distant, cold terror—claws at his mind.**
And then he feels it.
His **left arm burns.**
Slowly, shakily, he pulls back the sleeve.
His **own skin is branded with the same words.** The flesh is burned, scarred over as if the sentence has been there for **years.**
**His hands begin to tremble.**
**WHAT AM I?**
His mind is **a void.** No memories. No name. Only the raw, searing pain in his body.
And then—**a sound.**
A distant **rumbling.**
He looks up—toward the horizon.
#### **THE RUINS**
Far ahead, past the cracked wasteland, stand the **remains of a once-great city.**
Towering structures **lean against each other like dying giants.** Stone bridges are **shattered**, massive **statues broken and defaced.**
The city **is long dead.** But something about it **pulls at him.**
A **whisper** in his mind. A ghost of a memory he **doesn't recognize.**
But before he can move—
A **low, mechanical hum fills the air.**
He **turns sharply.**
#### **SILHOUETTES IN THE DISTANCE**
On the far horizon, a **line of figures appears.**
**Black-cloaked warriors.** Their capes flow in the wind like shadows given form.
They ride **on machines that resemble skeletal horses,** metal legs moving with unnatural fluidity.
At their head, a lone figure **removes their mask.**
A **woman. Pale skin. Eyes as cold and hollow as the world around her.**
Her name is **Veyna. The Shadow Saint.**
One of the warriors leans toward her. **His voice is a whisper in the wind, almost lost to the storm.**
**WARRIOR**
*"We found him. The anomaly exists."*
Veyna doesn't react.
She already knew.
She wasn't hunting a man.
She was hunting **a mistake.**
---
#### **EXT. THE RUINS – NIGHT**
The Nameless One moves through the **crumbling skeleton of the city.**
Broken towers lean at dangerous angles, their foundations swallowed by time. **Statues of forgotten rulers lie shattered, their faces lost in the dust.** Every step he takes **echoes through the silence,** his breath ragged from exhaustion.
He doesn't know why he's here.
But something in his **bones** tells him **he belongs.**
---
#### **FLASHES OF A LIFE HE DOESN'T REMEMBER**
Suddenly—**a vision strikes.**
- **Flames devour the city** around him.
- **Screams.** Echoing through stone corridors.
- **A woman's voice, crying out a name.** *His name?*
- A throne—**not made of gold, but of bone.**
- And a whisper—one that **crawls into his mind like a parasite.**
**WHISPER (V.O.)**
*"You are not real."*
The Nameless One **gasps, clutching his skull.**
The visions **fade**—but the **pain lingers.** His hands are shaking. His body feels **wrong.**
Like it doesn't belong to him.
---
#### **EXT. A CRACKED FOUNTAIN – RUINS**
He stumbles forward, **falling to his knees** before a **long-dry fountain.**
A pool of **collected rainwater** sits in the basin, reflecting the city's broken remains.
He leans forward. **For the first time, he sees his own face.**
And then—**his reflection flickers.**
Just for a second.
Like it **wasn't really him.**
Like the face **was trying to change.**
His breath catches. He jerks away, heart pounding.
"What the hell am I?"
A distant **creaking** interrupts his thoughts.
He **whirls around.**
---
#### **EXT. MERCHANT CARAVAN – APPROACHING**
A group of **travelers** makes its way through the ruins.
A caravan of **old wooden wagons** pulled by strange, **four-legged beasts** covered in plated armor. The creatures **snort, their breath steaming in the cold night air.**
The leader of the caravan is **Gideon**—a **towering man with a thick beard, scars lining his face like a map of old battles.**
He spots the Nameless One, **raises an eyebrow.**
---
#### **EXT. CAMPSITE – LATER**
A **fire burns.** The caravan has stopped for the night.
The Nameless One sits near the flames, **his body still trembling.** He barely touches the **bowl of food** placed in front of him.
Gideon crouches nearby, sharpening a knife.
**GIDEON**
*"You look like shit, friend."*
The Nameless One doesn't respond.
**GIDEON**
*"You got a name?"*
Silence.
Gideon watches him, then lets out a slow sigh.
**GIDEON**
*"No memory, huh? Ah. A ghost then."*
He gestures to his men.
**GIDEON**
*"Happens to the lost souls here. This land doesn't let the dead rest easy."*
The Nameless One watches the fire, expression unreadable.
Then, **softly**—
**NAMELESS ONE**
*"I saw something… in the water."*
Gideon raises an eyebrow.
**NAMELESS ONE**
*"My reflection… it wasn't mine."*
A pause.
Gideon studies him carefully. Then—he smirks.
**GIDEON**
*"Then maybe it's time you became someone new."*
For the first time, the Nameless One feels something **strange.**
**Choice.**
He's never had it before.
Maybe he does now
#### **EXT. MERCHANT CAMP – NIGHT**
The campfire **flickers weakly.** A half-empty bottle rolls across the dirt. The merchants are **deep in laughter, drinking, sharing stories.**
The **Nameless One** sits at the edge of the firelight, apart from the others. His fingers trace the **burned words on his arm.**
*"YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO EXIST."*
His mind is a battlefield of flickering images:
- **A city in flames.**
- **A woman's face, blurred by memory.**
- **A throne of bone and gold.**
- **A whisper: "You are not real."**
He exhales sharply, shaking his head.
Across from him, **Gideon watches.** The burly merchant leader swigs from his flask, then shoves it toward the Nameless One.
**GIDEON**
*"Drink. Clears the head."*
The Nameless One hesitates, then takes a sip. **The burn is immediate.** He coughs, and Gideon laughs.
**GIDEON**
*"See? You're alive enough to choke on bad liquor."*
The Nameless One stares into the fire.
**NAMELESS ONE**
*"I don't know if I'm alive."*
Gideon's grin fades. He leans in, voice lowering.
**GIDEON**
*"Then you better figure it out before the world does."*
Then—**everything changes.**
The **firelight dims.** The wind **stops.** The **laughter dies.**
**Silence.**
A **presence** settles over the camp.
The Nameless One **feels it.** A wrongness in the air, a creeping cold slipping into his bones.
He looks up—**the shadows around the ruins are moving.**
Then—**a voice.**
**VEYNA (O.S.)**
*"You don't belong here."*
---
#### **EXT. CAMP PERIMETER – THE ATTACK**
From the darkness, **figures emerge.**
Assassins—**cloaked in black, moving like living shadows.** Their blades **catch the moonlight.**
At the center of them all:
**VEYNA, THE SHADOW SAINT.**
Her pale face is **calm, emotionless.** Her eyes—**cold as winter steel.**
The Nameless One slowly **stands.**
Gideon **draws his sword.**
**GIDEON**
*"Who the hell are you supposed to be?"*
Veyna doesn't answer.
She **steps forward—then vanishes.**
A blur of motion—
Then—**blood sprays across the fire.**
Gideon's **throat is cut open.**
He **falls without a sound.** The fire roars higher.
**Screams explode through the camp.**
The assassins **descend.**
---
#### **EXT. MERCHANT CAMP – THE FIRST MOVEMENT**
A blade **swings toward the Nameless One's neck.**
**His body moves before he thinks.**
- **He ducks—** the assassin's sword **whistles past his head.**
- **Spins away—** grabbing a broken spear from the ground.
- **Blocks an incoming strike—** sparks fly as steel clashes.
The world **slows.**
The Nameless One's movements are **unnatural—too precise, too efficient.**
The assassin **lunges again—**
- **He parries the blade aside.**
- **Twists the assassin's wrist.**
- **Disarms them with a brutal snap.**
A second attacker **charges.**
**The Nameless One reacts instantly.**
- **He sidesteps.**
- **Grabs the assassin's shoulder.**
- **Drives his knee into their gut.**
- **Elbows them in the temple—knocking them out cold.**
A third assassin comes from behind.
The Nameless One **feels the attack before it comes.**
- **He pivots.**
- **Catches the assassin's arm mid-strike.**
- **Tears the blade from their grip.**
- **And buries it into their chest.**
The assassin **chokes on blood.**
**Falls.**
The Nameless One **stares at the dying man.** His breath ragged. Hands trembling.
**How did he do that?**
He doesn't know.
But his body **remembers.**
---
#### **EXT. CAMP – THE DUEL BEGINS**
The fire **burns high.** Bodies litter the sand.
Veyna steps forward, **calm, untouched by the chaos.**
She **draws her sword.**
**VEYNA**
*"Show me what you are."*
She **strikes.**
The Nameless One **barely reacts in time.**
- **He blocks—** but the impact **shakes his bones.**
- **Veyna is fast. Too fast.**
- **She attacks again—** a flurry of precise, lightning-fast strikes.
He dodges. **Barely.**
- **A slash toward his ribs—he twists away.**
- **A stab toward his throat—he leans back.**
She's **toying with him.**
The Nameless One **counterattacks.**
- **He swings—** she dodges.
- **He lunges—** she sidesteps.
- **She parries his strike—** and kicks him square in the chest.
He **flies backward.**
Crashes into the dirt.
Veyna **approaches slowly.**
**VEYNA**
*"Not yet. You're not ready."*
She **lowers her sword.**
**VEYNA**
*"Run."*
The Nameless One **doesn't hesitate.**
He turns and **sprints into the ruins.**
Veyna watches him go. Her expression unreadable.
One of her assassins steps forward.
**ASSASSIN**
*"Should we pursue?"*
Veyna smirks.
**VEYNA**
*"No. Let him run."*
She turns away as **the fire consumes the camp behind her.**
**VEYNA (WHISPERING):**
*"He always does."*