The silence in the ravaged plaza was heavy, broken only by the mournful groan of stressed metal from the skeletal remains of the Kagu research tower. Ren Kagu stood motionless amidst the devastation he had wrought, his serene gaze fixed on the shattered entrance. The oppressive presence he had detected moments before intensified, coalescing from a diffuse miasma into a focused point of terrifying power emanating from the darkness within.
A figure stepped out, deliberately, into the harsh light filtering through the smoke-choked air. He was human, unremarkable in stature, dressed in the high-collared, deep crimson robes favored by the Red Chalice Cult's upper echelons. What set him apart was the sword he carried – a long, wickedly curved blade that seemed forged from solidified shadow, radiating waves of palpable miasma – and the aura that clung to him like a shroud.
