Chapter 52: The Whisper of Blood
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Scene 1: Kim Han's Group – The Burned Village
The sky was overcast. The smell of ash hung heavy in the air.
Kim Han stood in the center of what used to be a village.
Now, it was just ruins—burned houses, shattered wagons, the earth still soaked in dried blood. Not a single body remained.
Aya crouched beside a burnt wooden doll, its face blackened. "No one survived."
Taro walked out of a collapsed house. "There's something wrong. No signs of wild beasts. No arrows. Just… fire and vanishing."
Kim Han's eyes narrowed. "They weren't killed to make a statement. They were erased."
Mikasa found strange markings carved into a stone wall, partially hidden by soot. "These aren't tribal. They're… ritualistic."
Kim Han studied the sigil.
It looked like an eye pierced by thorns, surrounded by ancient runes.
He touched it—and for a brief second, the world around him went silent.
No wind. No birds. No sound.
Then a voice whispered in his mind:
> "We've been watching you, Ronin."
His eyes snapped open.
He turned to the group. "We leave. Now. We're not alone."
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Scene 2: Daijin's Group – Forest Edge
Daijin walked ahead while Haru scouted from the trees. Yeon followed quietly behind, still uneasy from the previous battle.
Suddenly, Haru whistled sharply.
Daijin rushed forward and saw it.
A slaughtered patrol squad, not from their side.
Armored men, their weapons still drawn—but their faces were contorted in terror. Mouths open, but no wounds.
No blood.
Akane examined one of them. "It's like… their hearts just stopped."
Yeon found something clenched in one dead man's hand. A piece of black cloth with a red sigil on it.
The same eye with thorns.
Yeon whispered, "I've seen this before… in the old scrolls. It's a mark of execution used by the Crimson Circle. A group that was erased from history because they were too dangerous."
Daijin's jaw tightened.
> "Looks like they're not so erased after all."
He turned to the group.
"We need to find Kim Han. Now."
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Scene 3: Deep Underground – The Crimson Chamber
The woman in crimson stood before a group of masked figures. The chamber was lit only by the blood-red crystals pulsing with dark energy.
Each figure was cloaked, unmoving.
She raised her hand.
"It's time to unveil ourselves once more," she said. "Tenshi failed… but we are not like him."
She looked at the cloaked man from before.
"You will be the first to act."
The man bowed. "Yes… Lady Saryen."
Her lips curled into a smile.
> "Let the hunt for Kim Han begin."
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