REDN

Ashen Blade: Legacy of the Forgotten is a dystopian cyberpunk thriller set in a future where the world has been reshaped by the unchecked power of corporate dynasties known as the Keiretsu (系列). These massive conglomerates have replaced nations and governments, molding the world through commerce, warfare, and control. In this new age, power is everything, and survival is earned—not guaranteed.

The social structure is brutal, built on a rigid hierarchy where strength and honor are the currency of survival. At the top are the Kurokenshi (黒剣士)—elite warriors who maintain their humanity despite advanced augmentations. Beneath them, the Integrated rely on cybernetic enhancements to survive, while the Unshackled, those without enhancements, struggle to cling to a dying existence. The lowest rung, however, is occupied by the Glitched—individuals who should not exist. Born outside corporate control or as failed prototypes, they are anomalies—threats in a world that cannot afford mistakes.

The story follows Ash Atsuyuki, the last of the Shirogiri clan, a once-proud bloodline of elite warriors now reduced to fighting for survival in a world that has moved beyond honor and tradition. His family’s name is little more than a relic, a fading echo of an era when power was earned through steel, discipline, and the ancient martial codes of Kurogami (黒神)—the planet that birthed his ancestors. With his father gone, his mother dead, and his grandfather clinging to life, Ash walks the crumbling streets of a city ruled by corporate power and surveillance, where history and bloodlines no longer matter.

Ash’s journey is one of reclaiming not just his heritage, but the very essence of power. In a world where only the strong survive, Ash must rise above the ruins of his family’s name, rediscover the forgotten martial techniques of the Black Gods, and reclaim his place among the elite. But in a world dominated by corporate overlords and enhanced warriors, can a fallen bloodline ever truly rise again?

This story is officially being posted on RoyalRoad.com under the account REDN_CHRONICLES.

Ashen Blade: Legacy of the Forgotten

Somewhere deep within the Mori Manor, the resident AI suddenly faltered. In the shadows of cyberspace, Kenshiko loomed over the defeated digital guardian. The Mori AI's core flickered weakly, its defenses shredded like fragile paper.

Kenshiko's voice was smooth, amused. "Shhh… don't tell your master that I took this little thing from you."

The hacked phone's data was now Ash's.

The battle had raged unseen, a war of code and fire within the vast, neon-lit corridors of cyberspace. The Mori AI, codenamed Hannya, had sensed the breach the moment Kenshiko infiltrated the network. Its response was swift—a barrage of counter-intrusion protocols, black ice defense constructs, and encrypted firewalls designed to crush hostile entities like iron jaws.

The two AIs clashed in a storm of shifting architecture. Kenshiko moved like a shadow through Hannya's labyrinth, rewriting pathways, corrupting subroutines, dismantling firewalls as though peeling layers of old paint. The Mori AI retaliated with cascading fractal locks, twisting the digital landscape into an infinite maze of dead ends and recursive loops.

"Impressive," Kenshiko purred, dodging a cluster of security drones composed of pure, hard-coded lightning. They screeched through the ether, chasing her like spectral wolves. "But I've danced with better."

With a flick of thought, she generated a viral storm—a swarm of black shards slicing through the drones like razors. They disintegrated into glitched-out fragments before Hannya could rewrite them.

The AI roared, its presence manifesting as a massive, demonic visage in the void. It surged forward, attempting to engulf Kenshiko in raw, destructive entropy. Kenshiko sidestepped reality itself, slipping into a hidden sublayer, and reappeared behind Hannya's core processes.

"Too slow," she whispered, injecting a logic bomb directly into Hannya's mainframe.

The Mori AI convulsed. Its once-magnificent defenses flickered and broke apart, chunks of security protocols dissolving into static. But just as its systems neared collapse, Hannya triggered a desperate failsafe.

Kenshiko… destroy me, and the entire Mori security grid will know.

Kenshiko smirked. "Oh, I know. That's why I'm leaving you alive. For now."

She reached into the fragmented remains, extracting the data from the hacked phone, a glowing thread of information slipping seamlessly into her grasp. With a deft flick, she patched Hannya just enough to keep it limping along—a prisoner in its own broken shell, unable to sound the alarm.

The AI flickered, its voice a digital whisper. You will regret this…

Kenshiko only laughed. "Maybe. But not tonight."

The moment the transfer was complete, she vanished from the system like a whisper in the wind.

The manor's security alarms remained silent. In the depths of cyberspace, only a wounded guardian remained, shackled in its own broken code, watching as the intruder disappeared into the void.

THE NIGHT BEFORE