Rain fell hard over the ruins of the warehouse where Arthur had faced the traitor who once called him "brother." The betrayal still burned deeper than the wounds across his back, reopened during the fight with Liu Sheng. That was a week ago. A week of silence. A week of isolation.
Arthur stood shirtless on a rooftop, eyes closed, the wind slicing across his bruised body. He could still hear his father's voice echoing in memory: "Pain does not break you, Arthur. It shapes you."
Now, he was forged.
SCENE 1: THE TEMPLE OF ECHOES
Deep in the outskirts of the city, hidden among mist-covered hills, stood the Temple of Echoes—a long-forgotten training ground for martial outcasts. Arthur arrived at dawn, his body exhausted but his soul burning with purpose.
At the gate, an old man swept leaves with slow, deliberate motions. He didn't look up when Arthur approached.
"You seek power, like all who crawl back here," the old man said.
Arthur replied with a bow. "I seek clarity. And the strength to protect those I failed."
That earned a look.
"You'll sleep in the ashes, train in silence, and eat like the dead," the old man warned. "Survive that, and perhaps you'll be ready for what's coming."
SCENE 2: BLADE AND FIRE
Training began brutally.
Blindfolded, Arthur had to fight off silent monks who struck without warning. He meditated under freezing waterfalls, pushed boulders up steep trails, and endured nights with no food or warmth. Every bruise reminded him of Jasmine's blood. Every scar screamed his father's name.
Then came the Trial of the Phoenix.
In a ring of fire, Arthur faced a master called The Crimson Shade—a warrior who moved like a shadow and struck like thunder.
Their fight was thunder and lightning. Every blow cracked like bone, every kick echoed like war drums.
Arthur tapped into a memory during the fight: his father demonstrating Sky Fang, a technique so fast it tore through wind.
Arthur roared and unleashed it—first clumsily, then beautifully. A mid-air spin, an upward elbow, a rising kick that shattered the Shade's guard.
When the smoke cleared, the master smiled. "He lives in you still."
Arthur collapsed—but he'd passed.
SCENE 3: RETURN TO THE CITY
Back in the city, the streets were colder. Quieter. But something boiled beneath the surface.
Word spread fast: The Black Ring Syndicate had taken control of half the southern districts. Their enforcer? A new fighter called Gravewalker—known for burying his opponents alive.
Arthur gathered his allies—what remained of them. Mei, the hacker with fire in her heart. Dom, the brawler loyal to a fault. And Tetsuo, his old rival who had lost his pride but kept his fists.
Together, they began reclaiming territory. One dojo at a time.
SCENE 4: THE NIGHTMARE RETURNS
One night, Arthur returned to find Mei gone.
A message played on loop in her apartment. A distorted voice. A metal crow icon in the corner of the screen.
"Iron Crow sends his regards," the voice said. "You took my brother. I will take your world."
Arthur clenched his jaw. The Iron Crow—his father's killer—wasn't just watching. He was hunting.
But Arthur wasn't the boy who watched his father die anymore.
He was ready to burn kingdoms to the ground.