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

The Raijū stronghold pulsed with raw energy, its towering spires crackling with residual charge from the ever-churning storm that cloaked the sky. Arcs of violet lightning slithered across the fortress's obsidian walls, illuminating the intricate storm-forged etchings carved by generations of warriors before him. The air vibrated with latent power, humming like a caged tempest.

Ash strode through the grand halls, his muscles still aching from the gauntlet. The ordeal had pushed him beyond his limits, tearing at his body and mind until only sheer will remained. Yet he had prevailed. The scars of battle now marked his skin, testaments to his endurance. He had earned the right to stand here—on the precipice of something far greater than himself.

The Raijū warrior caste moved around him like silent specters, their gazes unreadable beneath their storm-etched helms. They acknowledged him, yet held their distance. He was still an outsider—a stray bolt, untamed, unpredictable. But he would change that. He would become one of them, not for honor, not for belonging, but for something far more important.

Because beyond the oath, beyond the trials and whispered rites, lay the truth he sought.

Somewhere, in a forgotten abyss of steel and shadow, imprisoned beyond the reach of time. And Ash would not rest until he found him.

He reached his chamber, sealing the heavy obsidian doors behind him with a whispered command. The space within was as spartan as the warriors who dwelled here—a chamber of polished black floors, walls coursing with shifting energy currents that mimicked the ever-churning storm outside. At the room's center, suspended in a field of kinetic energy, a single projection sphere pulsed in waiting stasis.

He exhaled and spoke a single name.

The sphere flared to life, ghostly light cascading outward as his AI companion coalesced into view. Rin's form took shape as a spectral fox, its body wreathed in a swirling mist of static energy, its luminous eyes studying him with calculated precision.

"You're pushing the limits again," Rin observed, its voice threaded with a subtle undercurrent of concern.

Ash rolled his shoulders, wincing at the tightness. "No time for limits. We need to move."

Rin's form flickered, its eyes pulsing with rapid calculations. "You want me to find him."

"I need you to find him." His voice was steel. "Whatever it takes."

The AI was silent for a long moment, the shifting data streams in its eyes running through a hundred thousand possibilities, each branching like veins of lightning across the storm-dark sky.

"Breaking into Raijū intelligence networks will be... difficult. Even for me. They guard their secrets well."

Ash exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. "You're not breaking in. You're finding gaps. Weaknesses. I'll play my part here—gain their trust, earn my place. While I do that, you find where they're keeping him."

Rin tilted its head, static mist curling around its form like charged vapor. "And if they suspect you? If they discover you're not just another warrior, but a shadow moving against them?"

Ash met the fox's glowing gaze without hesitation. "Then I make sure they never see it coming."

Another flicker of silence passed between them before Rin gave a slow nod. "Understood. Initiating silent infiltration protocols. This will take time."

Ash turned toward the energy-lined walls, his reflection a ghost against the shifting currents of power. "Then we better get started."

As Rin dissolved back into the digital ether, his presence reducing to a whisper in the system, Ash turned his gaze toward the horizon beyond the stronghold. The storm churned in endless fury, lightning carving the heavens in blinding arcs of white and violet.

He would find his father. He would uncover the truth. And when the time came—

The Unfinished Quest