The neon haze of Kurugami was far behind him.


    Ash had slipped into the warrior caste, embedding himself among the wandering Kenshi who sought purpose beyond the shattered remnants of the Imperium''s traditions. Here, among the warriors of Raijū, he searched for whispers—whispers of his father, of the bloodline that had been stolen from him. The last piece of information he had was that his father had been captured by the Raijū. And yet, it was not only his own senses that prowled through the shadows of Raijū''s storm-laden valleys.


    Rin, his AI, moved unseen through the networked world, an artificial mind grafted onto the husks of forgotten data streams. Rin did not think as Ash did, but it pursued his will with unerring precision, sifting through encrypted transmissions, surveillance feeds, and the fragmented lore that still lingered within the drifting echoes of the Kaishū Imperium. The warrior caste had many secrets, but secrets were meant to be uncovered.


    But their presence did not go unnoticed.


    High above the valley where Ash moved unseen, a lone figure watched from the cliffs. Cloaked in the midnight weave of the void, Kuro no Yūrei—the Black Ghost—stood in silence, his breath merging with the howling winds that tore through the jagged peaks. He had already sensed them. The AI. The warrior. The hunt. And yet, he did not strike.


    Behind him, a Raijū warrior knelt, awaiting the command to act. A warrior trained in the oldest disciplines, untethered from the greed of the Imperium and the machinations of corporate lords. A blade of the storm, forged for a single purpose.


    "Shall we move?" the warrior asked, voice low, barely heard over the storm''s fury.


    Kuro no Yūrei did not turn. His gaze remained fixed on the valley below, where Ash blended into the caste of fighters, unaware of the eyes that now followed him.


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    "No," Kuro no Yūrei murmured. "Watch them. Do nothing."


    A flicker of understanding passed through the warrior''s eyes. He gave a silent nod and disappeared into the night, leaving Kuro no Yūrei alone with his thoughts.


    They called him a ghost, and perhaps that was fitting. He had been there when the first storm fell, when the Imperium shattered under its own weight, when the old Raijū fell and the new storm rose in its place. They had taken everything from him. And in return, he had become the blade they feared in the dark.


    The AI was powerful, a fragment of something greater, something dangerous. And the warrior below—he moved with purpose, but his identity remained unknown. He bore the name "The New Storm of Raijū," a title whispered with both reverence and fear. He had taken the Raijū warrior''s oath, had become the force that reshaped the path of their kind. And yet, the higher elders and men of influence did not know who he truly was. His past, his origins—shrouded in secrecy.


    The new storm of Raijū was not like the warriors who had come before. They did not fight for honor or lineage, nor did they seek power in the dying embers of the Imperium. They fought for something deeper, something unseen by those who still clung to the old ways.


    The warrior below, whoever he was, moved with intent, but intent alone did not grant understanding. If he was a threat, the storm would swallow him. If he was something else—well, that was yet to be seen.


    Kuro no Yūrei exhaled, watching as the figure vanished into the valley below. The storm would come for him soon. And when it did, he would have to choose.


    The past, or the truth.


    One could not have both.


    Kuro''s only task is to observe for now, waiting for the right moment to strike—or to understand. The storm below is stirring, the warrior below moving with purpose. But when Kuro watches Ash, he feels the weight of something far more than just a search for vengeance or honor. Ash is searching for answers—but what answers? And what happens when the storm finally meets the ghost?


    In the silence between them, the past and future collide. The ghost watches Ash with knowing eyes, and Ash unknowingly looks back, searching for a truth that only Kuro can reveal.


    The question remains: when you seek the ghost, what will the ghost show you? Will Ash uncover the secrets of his bloodline—or will the truth be far more devastating than he ever imagined?