BLOOD AND ASHES

It was raining on the city streets,, and the wet ground mirrored neon lights that blinked threateningly through the dark.

The air was filled with the scent of blood, cordite, and steel.

Alien symbols danced upon the edges of his vision, and Renji Kisaragi stood in a press of heat, a sour stench of oil and blood, unsheathing his blade, his breath wet and ragged as his limbs begged for rest.

But there was none. Not tonight. Not as long as the enemy remained standing.

Bleeding but unbroken, Ayame reloaded her pistol, hands shaking.

Her wrist broke open, as big as a fist, the wound burning like fire, but she ignored it. Half Yurei, half ascended Yurei, Sora buzzed around Renji, his psychic energy reserves all but depleted, his spirit never to die.

And the assassin was still grinning in front of them.

ASSASSIN: "Is that all, Phantom Reaper? I expected more."

Before Renji could respond, the assassin charged at him with preternatural speed.

His body blurred, and then.

Renji barely fielded the blow as the assassin's fist hit him like a sledgehammer.

The shockwave knocked Renji back several feet, boots dragging on the rain-slick pavement.

But Ayame was already moving.

Three bullets pierced the assassin's side.

He snarled but didn't fall.

The varianceance of flesh rippled, closing the wounds with punishing speed.

AYAME: "Oh, come on! Just die already!"

Sora, wheezing, dabbed blood from his nose.

His psychic grip on the battlefield was faltering, however, and he had one trick left.

His eyes flickered as he concentrated all the strength left in him.

A dark, otherworldly hum as the psychic power of Sora builds.

The assassin suddenly jerked, clutching at his head as if something were tearing its way through his skull.

ASSASSIN: "You... little pest!"

A psychic explosion. Sora gasps, the strain catching up with her.

That moment was all Renji required.

He lunged forward, the blade a flash beneath the dim streetlights.

Slicing noise, then a visceral animalistic noise of pain.

The assassin staggered back, his hand over his chest, where Renji had carved deep. He wavered for a moment as his body reclaimed itself, reformed; the regeneration slowed.

And then the shadows shifted.

A silhouette stepped out from the shadows. Tall. Wrapped in a long black coat. Eyes like burning coals.

Heavy boots, near but slow, and purposeful.

Renji saw his sword and tightened up.

Ayame's breathing hitched. Sora, barely on his feet, turned to face the newcomer.

RENJI: "Who the hell are you?"

FIGURE: "You've been quite a problem. I came to fix that."

Before Renji could react, the figure lifted a hand

And the world exploded.

A deafening shockwave. Buildings shake, glass splinters, wreckage falls to the floor.

Renji was sent flying backward pain stabbing at his ribs as he hit the wreckage of a destroyed vehicle.

Ayame groaned as she hit the ground hard.

Sora barely had time to cover himself with a last-minute barrier.

Smoke filled the air. Flames lapped at the wrecked street. And through the smoke and haze, the figure strode, unscathed.

Heavy drum beats, deep tension, a rising pulse of imminent doom.

FIGURE: "You thought this was your fight to win?

Renji spatlood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

He pushed himself to his feet, his vision swimming.

RENJI : "I don't care who you are. If you're in my way, you're dead."

A crack of thunder. The figure simply smiles.

"We'll see about that."

And then the night exploded in blood and fury.

A cacophony clanging swords, gunfire, fire roaring, screams of combat.

Ambient sounds of rain pattering, distant thunder, and the soft hum of neon lights.] The light clank of silverware and the dull murmur of the diner fade out.

Previously, on Silent Resolve...

Renji, Ayame,, and Sora have to dig into their reserves for a man who can regenerate, testing for future tests.

But as the struggle continued,, a new figure emerged, promising only more bloodshed.

We hear the pummeling of rain hitting concrete.

Footsteps thud, heavy and measured. Renji's breathing is ragged.

RENJI : Stay sharp. We're not alone.

UNKNOWN FIGURE: Phantom King... I hoped you were going to be a bit more... lively.

AYAME: Not another one.

SORA : Everything or nothing... His mind, it's as if a void.

A new enemy, VEX, steps forward. His voice is silky, almost playful.

VEX,, you've taken care of my pet well. But I'm not as... fragile.

VEX transforms part beast, claws scraping the ground.

RENJI Ayame. Sora. Formation Delta.

The entire world turns to chaos.

Gunshots, whirring blades, telekinetic whooshes. VEX glides like a ghost, skirting, chortling.

VEX is too slow!

Ayame's shot pinging off metal.

Renji's blade clattering against claws. Sora grunts, straining to keep VEX at bay with a telekinetic shove.

SORA I... can't... Hold him!

VEX bursts through, sending Sora sprawling.

AYAME Sora!

She rushes forward. Renji blocks VEX's path.

RENJI:: Over my dead body.

VEX gladly.

They collide steel on bone, grit on rage.

The brawl continues. SHADOW VEX Your shadowy forces VEX summon constructs; VEX tendrils lash out. Renji cuts them down, only for them to reconstitute.

Ayame picks off attackers from a high vantage point.

Oh yeah, Sora is weak now, so he does the support thing, making barriers and redirecting attacks.

For every step forward, the triad was shunted back two steps.

His shadows multiplying, filling the street with nightmares, made VEX feel endless.

Sounds of struggle. Renji's grunts.

Ayame's sharp breaths. Sora's strained groans.

You can't win. Not against the darkness.

RENJI: We'll see about that.

A rush of energy Renji barrels forward, sword flaring blue with flame.

The heat sizzles in the rain.

The shadows withdraw and the VEX hiss.

AYAME now!

Ayame's shot connects. VEX stumbles. And in the moment, Sora catapults a psychic wave that crashes VEX into a wall.

SORA: We've got him!

But the wall cracks. Out of the rubble rises VEX, more monstrous than ever.

Foolish mortals... You only make me stronger.

[The ground trembles. Shadows coil tighter.

Hopes dimmed, the three found themselves surrounded.

The shadows of VEX warped reality, the world turning into a hellscape of whispers and terror.

Heartbeats thudding.

The whispers grow louder.

VEX: Shall we start?

Then, a single drop of water.