(The Empire of Pyra Solinaris — the heart of the Fire Clan.
A city of red stone and copper, engulfed in a haze of smoke from the thousands of fires burning on the towers.
The tall pillars bear flags with a flaming phoenix sign.
At the very top of the citadel, in the Hall of Flames, absolute silence reigns.)
(The great hall is illuminated with a golden-red glow.
On a throne of volcanic stone sits Rhaegar Solis, Lord of Fire—his face calm but his gaze like a glowing coal.
A messenger kneels in front of him, his body trembles, his voice cracks with fear.)
Messenger:
"Master… The news has arrived from the Northern Front.
They say… that a Shadow Warrior has appeared.
They call him… Vex."
(Rhaegar rises slowly, his cloak spilling like lava on the stone floor.
A heat wave spreads in the hall — all the guards kneel in fear.)
Rhaegar (in a deep voice):
"Vex..."
"And what do they say about him?"
Messenger (fearfully):
"It is said that… his blade cuts without mercy.
To wear a fox mask.
That it burns, but it doesn't feel...
That he himself destroyed the Lightning company.
My lord, they say his blade is… heartless."
(Silence. Only the crackling of flames.
Rhaegar clenches his fist—flames enveloping his hand, but without anger, more as a sign of thought.)
Rhaegar:
"Heartless, you say..."
"Interesting."
(At that moment the doors of the hall open.
A tall, strong man enters, with scars on his arms and a calm look — Captain Eugen Dalis,
legendary master of fire, hero from the first days of the war.
A heat wave spreads behind him as if he himself carries a flame within him.)
Eugen (nods respectfully to Rhaegar):
"My lord, I have heard the news."
Rhaegar (turns, looks at him):
"Yes. They say that in the north is the Heartless Slashing Shadow.
Vex…
Do you know him, Dalis?"
(Eugen looks up, his face hardens for a moment, but something flickers in his eyes — pride and pain at the same time.)
Eugen (quietly but decisively):
"Yes, Master."
"I know him."
(Rhaegar takes a step forward, his eyes watering from the warmth of the flames wrapping around his shoulders.)
Rhaegar:
"Who is he?"
(Eugen looks down, his breath lost in the silence, and the whispers of soldiers and flame priests pass through the hall.)
Eugene (quietly, almost like a prayer):
"My son."
"Arden Dalys…known in the Shadow as Vex."
(The hall falls silent.
Even the flames on the walls pause for a moment.
Rhaegar looked out the window, into the distance, to the north—toward where the war rages.)
Rhaegar (deep, cold):
"Son of flame… who forgot his heart."
(In the frame — symbolically, the fire behind Rhaegar rises in the form of a phoenix.
Eugene stands motionless, his gaze heavy, but a spark flashes in his eyes — not fear, but determination.)
Narrator:
"Thus word of the Heartless Blade reached the very heart of the Pyra Solinaris Empire.
And with her — and restlessness.
Because even in the realm of fire, there are flames that are better not to wake…"
(The camera rises above the citadel, showing the city lit up in flames — and far on the horizon, the northern front, where Arden still doesn't know that his identity has been revealed...)
— END OF SCENE 1, CHAPTER 8 —
(Flame Hall, late at night.
The hall is empty, only the flames of the torches cast shadows on the stone walls.
A low, thick fire burns on the table between them—the light shimmers on the faces of two warriors: Rhaegar Solis, the Fire Lord, and Eugene Dalis, the legendary captain.)
(Both are silent for a long time. Only the crackling of the fire and the soft wind through the hall.)
Rhaegar:
"So…your son."
"Warrior without a heart."
(Eugen doesn't answer right away. He looks at the flame on the table. There's a glow in his eyes, as if he's trying to find Arden's reflection in it.)
Eugen (calmly):
"He is no longer a child, Master.
He grew up in the fires of war.
And if now the Shadow has a blade that knows no mercy...
let it be the hand of our empire."
(Rhaegar raises an eyebrow, pleasure flickering in his gaze.)
Rhaegar:
"You're saying you're using it as a weapon?"
Eugene:
"No—I'm saying he's a weapon."
"Forged in fire, tempered in blood.
Such people do not seek peace.
They are made to fight."
(Rhaegar smiles, but it's not the smile of a man—it's the smile of a ruler who sees purpose in everything.)
Rhaegar:
"So, Captain, you're not asking us to return it, but to let it burn."
Eugene:
"Yes. As long as he burns for the empire."
(Silence. Rhaegar rises, goes to the window. The whole city can be seen below—Pyra Solinaris, a sea of flame and smoke.
Rhaegar put his hands behind his back and muttered, looking far away to the north.)
Rhaegar (coldly):
"In that case… may Vex be a fire the world remembers."
"Heartless Blade—Weapon of Fire."
(Eugen looks down, but a mixture of pride and pain flickers in his eyes.
He knows that he has just signed his son's fate.
He knows that he no longer burns like a man — but like a flame that will consume everything.)
Eugene (quietly):
"Let it burn until there's nothing left."
(The camera pans out through the hall, as they both stand before the fire—their shadows merge, like two figures of flame and stone.
And as the fire crackles, a cold north wind begins to blow outside the walls—a sign that their destinies will soon meet.)
Narrator:
"So it was decided in the heart of the Empire.
The Son of Fire was no longer a man—he was a weapon.
And the world would soon know the name of Vex."
(Night. Northern Front. Snow falls quietly, but each flake melts as it touches the ground—for the air still smells of burnt metal and blood.)
(In the tent, Nia stands over a map. Around her, several members of the Shadow—black uniforms, masks that hide all emotion.
In the middle, in the semi-darkness, Vex stands. His katana rests peacefully at his leg, but the energy around him flickers like fire under glass.)
Nia (coldly but firmly):
"We have new orders from the south. Direct from the Fire Lord."
(Everyone looks up, silence. No one breathes as she continues.)
Nia:
"Dominion Voltaris is withdrawing its troops towards the ice-ridge fortress — 'Astra Bastion'.
Our mission is simple."
(She pauses for a moment, her gaze sliding to Vex.)
Nia:
"In, eliminate the command, burn the archives, and retreat unnoticed.
The mission lasts three hours.
If we are discovered… no one returns."
(Shadow nods quietly. No fear. No voice.)
Vex (in a deep, low tone):
"When do we leave?"
Nia:
"In ten minutes."
(Silence. Nia hands him a new mask—black, with thin red lines that resemble flames.
Vex takes it, looks at it for a moment, then slowly places it over his scar.)
Narrator:
"Fire asks no one who burns.
And that night, the Shadow set out to burn the cold of the north."
________________________________________
(Later—in a snow-covered forest.
The Shadow moves silently.
Vex walks forward, his breath turning to steam.
The katana in his hand gleams in the moonlight.)
Operational (whispering):
"I can't hear the guard."
Vex (quietly):
"You won't even hear her."
(In an instant, a spark of flame appears on his hand. Just blink — and the fire is gone, and behind them lies the breathless body of the guard.)
(The shadow moves on.
In the distance, a bastion glitters on the mountain, surrounded by walls of ice.
Between them and the fortress — hundreds of enemy ninjas.
But the Shadow does not go around the obstacle. She passes through it.)
Narrator:
"Thus the weapon was set in motion.
Not a man, not a son—but a flame that bears the name Vex."
(The camera pans up above the ice ridge, showing Shadow entering the fortress through the darkness.
The wind carries the ashes, and the snow melts under their footsteps.)
— END OF SCENE 3, CHAPTER 8 —
(Night. Silence. Only the crunch of snow underfoot.
On the horizon, Astra Bastion—huge, carved out of ice, illuminated by the bluish light of lightning.
A shadow moves through the dense blizzard, ten of them, like black shadows swallowing the cold.)
(Niya signals with her hand. Everyone separates.
Vex goes first, his katana acting like an extension of his body—quiet, ready.
As they approach the walls, the silhouettes of the enemy—guards of the Lightning Clan—can be seen through the storm.)
Nia (whispering):
"Five guards. Observation circle. No sound."
(Before anyone can react — Vex disappears.
The sound of footsteps, the whisper of the wind… and then — a flash of red.
One by one, the guards fall, without a sound.
Only traces of smoke and the smell of burning ice remain on the snow.)
(Vex returns quietly, steam in his hair. The katana smokes lightly.)
Shadow Operative (whispering):
"Gods… the ice melts wherever it stops."
(Vex doesn't look at him. He just mutters.)
Vex:
"Ice melts before fire. That's how it has to be."
________________________________________
(Inside — the fortress is like a maze of ice and steel.
Lightning flashes cut through the darkness. Guards patrol, carrying spears from which sparks fly.)
(A shadow moves through the corridors. At one point, lightning strikes a wall — an alarm sounds.)
Nia (quietly but decisively):
"We've been exposed. There's no retreat."
(Vex draws his katana. A flash of flame scatters around him.
His eyes glow in the dark—green, almost demonic.
In a second, an explosion of fire lights up the hallway.
Ice melts, walls crackle, and enemies scream as flames engulf them.)
Enemy (panicked):
"It's him! He from the stories! Vex!—"
(His scream is cut off as Vex flies past him. The katana slices through his armor like paper.
Drops of molten metal fall on the floor.)
(Shadow advances through the chaos.
Vex fights with a precision that seems inhuman — every movement clean, without emotion.
Fire strikes mix with katana flashes, creating a dance of light in the ice.)
Nia (to herself, while watching him):
"So much power… but nothing in his eyes. Just emptiness."
________________________________________
(They finally reach the central hall. A huge metal door—behind it, the command desk and the archives.
Vex put his hand on the door. Fire boils from his hand, the heat shattering steel.)
Nia:
"Everybody back!"
(Explosion. The door melts into melt.
Vex enters first. Inside—Commander Lightning, enveloped in an electric aura, stands ready.)
Commander Voltaris:
"You're that… Vex. They say you're a soulless flame."
(Vex steps forward, tightens his grip on the katana. His voice is quiet, cold.)
Vex:
"They say a lot."
(The fight only lasts a few seconds, but it seems like an eternity.
Lightning strikes from all sides, but Vex moves through them, leaving trails of glowing air.
He ends it all in one move — a flaming arc that rips through the air and cuts the commander in half.)
(Silence. Only the crackling of flames and the smell of ozone.)
Nia (looks at him):
"Task accomplished."
Vex:
"Not yet."
(He turns to the archives, draws his katana.
A blast—the flames explode, burning all the scrolls, plans, maps.
The ice melts into steam, the fortress collapses.)
________________________________________
(As they flee through the northern snow, behind them Astra Bastion burns—the flames illuminate the night.)
Narrator:
"In the north, the ice burned for the first time.
And the name of Vex—it rang through the wind, carrying ashes and fear."