[Black screen, heartbeat sound]
NARRATOR (low, almost reverent):
"Before the first Hunt… before the realms had names… there was only one.
The Pinnacle. The Origin. Asatarō-ō."
[Visual montage]
Molten rivers of Seishu energy churn across a void, shattering into twelve blinding streams.
Silhouettes form from the light — some majestic, some monstrous — the first Eclipseborn Spirits.
Lightning arcs as they clash in the dark, the force splitting the void into four realms.
NARRATOR:
"He breathed life into the worlds… and left behind his will.
Some call it power. Others call it damnation."
[Scene shift]
Hunters in ancient armor leap across a battlefield under a red moon.
A warrior's blade glows with living light as they scream in defiance against an Eclipseborn towering above them.
A single slash severs reality for an instant.
NARRATOR:
"From his will came the Blood Pacts…
From despair, the Higanju…
From hunger, the first hunt."
[Abrupt fade to black]
SFX: Wind howling — then snow begins to fall.
[Close-up: Yua Aihara]
Kneeling in snow, blood soaking through her kimono, breath fogging in the frozen air.
Her katana clatters into the snow beside her.
A shadowed figure stands over her, Seishu bleeding between their fingers like liquid starlight.
UNKNOWN VOICE (calm, almost pitying):
"Poor child… your rebellion is wasted here."
A gloved hand wraps around her throat. Her eyes widen—
[CUT TO BLACK]
NARRATOR (now over the faint sound of Ryo's breathing):
"Many will chase destiny through fire and frost.
But only one thing is certain—"
[Visual: Modern Serenia]
Ryo Kenzaki stands in a crowded street, staring upward.
Above the city, something impossibly vast moves behind the clouds, blotting out the stars.
NARRATOR:
"—the first Eclipseborn awakens tonight."
VENARI