Red Death S1

Moments After Shirogane Saga

Smoke coils above shattered outposts. Blood stains the grass.

ERIK runs—limping, staggering—his armor cracked, one pauldron gone, his blade chipped to the hilt. Behind him, Shirogane's defenses stand untouched. His army? Gone.

Dead or worse.

Torches flicker faintly from the trees. Patrols are hunting stragglers. He knows they won't take prisoners.

He ducks behind a fallen log, biting back a curse as a branch scrapes his side. Breathing sharp. Silent.

Then—a rustle.

A shadow approaches.

Erik raises the broken blade.

But—

Man's Voice (calm):"…You're bleeding out."

Erik turns, startled. A stranger kneels beside him, wrapping cloth around his ribs. His face is obscured—hooded, quiet.

Erik (weakly):"Who… are you?"

Stranger (quiet):"No one you'll remember."

When Erik wakes again, the man is gone.

But the path out of Shirogane is clear—cleared.

As if someone killed for him… then vanished.

INT. IMPERIAL WAR TENT – NIGHT

ERIK kneels before VAKUR.

A towering presence with molten eyes and a scar that splits his lip. He reads maps by candlelight and speaks like he's already bored of what you'll say.

Vakur:"You lost seventy men."

Erik:"Hundred-Fifty (150)."

(beat)

"Shirogane didn't kill them alone."

Vakur (glancing up):"Go on."

Erik:"It was… someone else. A man. I think. He was like a beast. Like every time I looked away, someone else was dying."

Vakur:"What magic did he use?"

Erik (shakes head):"No spells. No weapons. Just… raw violence. He moved like he didn't need any weapons or magic."

Vakur (leans back):"No uniform?"

Erik:"Bare hands. Torn cloak. Red eyes."

(beat)

"He killed soldiers. Cut down our officers. Then disappeared."

Vakur rises.

Paces.

Grabs a charcoal stick and begins to circle the Shirogane region on the map.

Vakur (quietly):"You say someone helped you escape."

Erik:"I wouldn't say helped. He killed everything around me, and I just happened to crawl out."

Vakur:

"Doesn't matter.. I would have hung you outside."

Vakur taps the map.

Vakur:"We've been watching Shirogane for three years. They're not worth the blood anymore."

(beat)

"But this one… this unknown… That killed our soldiers."

He turns, eyes locking with Erik's.

Vakur:"A man who burns soldiers with his hands. Who kills captains like gnats. That's the real threat."

Erik (tense):"You want to… find him?"

Vakur:"I want to leash him. Or kill him. Either works."

He scribbles a name beside the circled area:

"Asset X – Hostile. Unknown."

Vakur (low):"No more invasions. No more wasting battalions on stubborn fortresses."

(beat)

"Find that man. Bring me a name, a face, a weakness."

(beat)

"Because if he's not with us—he dies."

Erik salutes.

His eyes flicker—conflicted.

Because part of him still remembers that moment in the trees.

That strange man… kneeling down, patching his wounds.

Saving him.

Without a word.

INT. IMPERIAL WAR TENT – NIGHT

The tent is quiet, tense.

A map of the northern regions lies rolled out across the table. Marked in ink: Shirogane, supply routes, burned caravans.

VAKUR stands with arms crossed. A towering man with fire in his veins and the calm of someone who's buried too many.

A breeze slips in.

Then — a presence.

MIREL steps in without a word, removing her hood.

Assassin. Tracker. Specialist.

Vakur (without turning):"You came. Good."

Mirel:

"You said you had something unusual"

(He slides a report toward her.)

Vakur:

"Eighty men. Gone. No sorcery. No siege weapons. Nothing left but crushed armor and twisted metal."

Mirel (reading):"Cause of death?"

Vakur:

"Bones shattered. Skulls imploded inward. Pressure fractures—deliberate. No hesitation. He moved through armored men like they were pottery."

(beat)

"Scout says some died with a single strike. Spines snapped. Helmets crushed."

He places a torn piece of black cloak on the table. Dried blood clings to it.

Vakur:"Witnesses say he has red eyes. Wears something like this."

Mirel (lifting the fabric):"Is he human?"

Vakur (shrugs slightly):"That's what we think. But who knows if it's a beast in human skin."

Mirel (examining the cloth):"He's not Empire."

Vakur:"Not Shirogane either. One of our scouts said it looked like he was helping shirogane."

(beat)

"If he's not with us — he's a threat."

Mirel (coldly):"Name?"

Vakur:"No name. No records. No clan marks. We're calling him 'Asset X' until you give me more."

(beat)

"I want a face, a name, a weakness."

Mirel:"I'll find him."

EXT. WOODLAND ROAD – OUTSKIRTS OF SHIROGANE – DAY

Mirel walks quietly through the forest edge. Her steps leave no sound.

She pauses at a disturbed patch of earth — blackened moss, cracked stones.

She kneels.

Mirel (murmurs):"Something burned here… but not flame."

She continues.

EXT. WOODS NEAR SHIROGANE – DAY

Mirel walks alone along the overgrown trade route. Every step precise. Every movement intentional.

She crouches beside a trail — light footsteps, narrow stride.

She measures depth. Length.

Mirel (thinking):"Young. Not a man in his forties. Weight's low. Gait is efficient, but not military-trained."

She follows.

Mirel (thinking):"Light pressure. Narrow heel. No armor. Walks long distance — not on horseback."

(beat)

"Carries little. No drag marks. No wagon. No campfires."

She steps into a deeper patch of grass. Finds something scorched.

A broken Imperial caravan lies in shambles along the trade road. Guards — dead. Some crushed. Others scorched in unnatural ways.

She steps over bodies.

Not a single weapon wound. No slice, no arrow.

She finds a locked cage, melted at the latch… and a corpse slumped beside it — an elf. Young. His neck broken with brutal precision.

She crouches beside him.

Examines the body — cracked spine, head twisted too far. His expression frozen between confusion and fear.

Mirel (softly):"…Seems like you're not a hero either."

(beat)

"You're not immortal…"

(beat)

"…Not yet."

She stands straight. Unfolds a small parchment and begins writing a report.

"SUBJECT ID: REDDEATH"Red eyes.Male. Young.No known weapon.Travels alone.No supplies or camp.Confirmed to melt steel — unknown method.Executes with clean physical force.Likely rogue. No confirmed affiliation.Dangerous.

INT. WAR TENT – NIGHT

Mirel returns.

Vakur is waiting. Reading something by torchlight.

She tosses the report onto the table.

Mirel:"Codename's updated. RedDeath."

Vakur:"Why the name?"

Mirel:"Red eyes. Leaves death everywhere. It fits."

Vakur (low):"Keep your distance, Mirel. This one doesn't think like the others. Doesn't hesitate. Doesn't falter."

(beat)

"You said he's young. That makes him dangerous."

Mirel:"He's not a brute."

Vakur:"No. He's a genius. Or something worse."

(He leans over the map.)

Vakur:"Find him. Not just for the Empire. For me."

(beat)

"All I need… is a name, a face, and a weakness."