[SCENE: A quiet mountain village blanketed in snow. Children play in the distance, unaware of the dread creeping closer. Smoke curls from chimneys. Birds scatter suddenly.]
NARRATOR (V.O.)
In a world where cursed blood runs like poison through the veins of descendants, peace is never guaranteed. The exorcists ensure that.
[SCENE: The village gates tremble as armored figures on horseback charge through, their banners marked with crimson crosses. Villagers scream and scatter.]
EXORCIST CAPTAIN
Lock down the exits! If there's a cursed one here, we burn the entire village before it escapes.
[The exorcists storm through doors, kicking them down, inspecting each child and adult. A woman holds her son tightly.]
MOTHER
Please, he's just a boy!
[The boy trembles as his shirt is ripped open, revealing a faint flicker of a glowing mark.]
EXORCIST CAPTAIN
The curse doesn't lie. We purify him.
[He draws his blade, cold and mechanical.]
[SCENE: A rooftop overlooking the chaos. Raen Valen crouches beneath his hood. His eye faintly glows beneath the shadows.]
RAEN (V.O.)
I've seen this before. Always the same story. One mark. One scream. One fire.
[He grits his teeth. His breath clouds in the cold.]
RAEN (V.O.)
They say they're saving the world… but it's just murder with a holy name.
[FLASHBACK: A memory. Raen, younger, hiding under a floorboard. Flames rage above. Screams echo. His mother's voice fading.]
MOTHER (O.S.)
Run, Raen! Don't let them see your back!
[BACK TO PRESENT. A scream tears through the village. Raen closes his eyes.]
RAEN (V.O.)
I shouldn't be here. I should keep moving.
[Suddenly, he hears a voice.]
GIRL (O.S.)
Your hair…
[He turns sharply. A young girl stands at the edge of the roof, eyes wide.]
GIRL
It's turning white.
[Raen clutches his hood and pulls it tighter.]
RAEN
Go home.
[He leaps across rooftops. Behind him, more houses are lit ablaze by the exorcists.]
[SCENE: Forest beyond the village. Raen runs silently, weaving between trees. His breathing is shallow, his mark pulsing faintly beneath his shirt.]
RAEN (V.O.)
The Will is getting louder. It feeds on moments like this.
DEMON VOICE (V.O.)
More fire… more death… more fuel…
RAEN
Shut up!
[He collapses against a tree, shaking.]
RAEN (V.O.)
Every time they attack someone with a curse… the Will remembers. It's like it wakes up.
[He glances at his reflection in a frozen stream. His eye glows faintly red.]
RAEN
I can't lose control again. Not now.
[SCENE: Cut to the exorcist camp outside the village.]
[Two soldiers kneel before the Exorcist Captain.]
SOLDIER 1
We didn't find him, sir. But we tracked this…
[He holds out a torn piece of cloak — Raen's.]
EXORCIST CAPTAIN
The Will fragment. Still alive after all these years.
[He clenches his fists.]
EXORCIST CAPTAIN
Mobilize the Death Ward. Tell them the heir of Will has resurfaced.
[SCENE: Elsewhere, miles away. A figure stands in an open field. Snow falls lightly. His eyes are closed.]
[It's KAEL DREIN. His sword is stabbed into the ground beside him, made of red, vein-like metal.]
KAEL (V.O.)
The snow here smells like fear. That means the Exorcists found someone again.
[He opens his eyes. One is gray. The other faintly pink. His hair is black… but at the roots, we see white.]
[He pulls out a small vial of black dye and pours it into his hair.]
KAEL
Can't have people thinking I'm strong yet. Not until I'm ready.
[He picks up his sword. It pulsates faintly, as if alive.]
BLOOD BLADE (low whisper)
Kill him. Take the Will.
KAEL (smirking)
Yeah, yeah. We'll get there.
[SCENE: Raen reaches an old shed near a river. He pushes the door open.]
[Inside sits a girl with white flames flickering around her hands. LIRA ANZEN. Her curse mark is partially exposed on her neck. She turns slowly.]
LIRA
You led them here.
RAEN
I didn't mean to.
[She stands. Her eyes glow faintly blue. The air around her feels heavy.]
LIRA
You're one of them, aren't you?
RAEN
So are you.
[They stare at each other. A long silence.]
RAEN You've lost someone too.
LIRA (coldly)
Everyone.]
[She walks past him.]
LIRA
If you stay here, they'll find us both. I won't burn again for you.
RAEN (quietly)
I'm not the enemy.
[Outside, the faint sound of hooves. Exorcists again.]
RAEN
They're close.
[She sighs. Her flames burn hotter.]
LIRA
Fine. One time. Then we go separate ways.
[SCENE: Exorcists arrive at the shed. It's empty. Only scorch marks and a charred symbol remain.]
[Cut to Raen and Lira fleeing deeper into the woods.]
RAEN (V.O.)
We're all running. Cursed by the same thing. Split by fate… united by fear.
NARRATOR (V.O.)
And behind them… in the snow… Kael watches.
KAEL (V.O.)
This game's getting fun.