"Prophecies speak of a savior, a deity born of man, whose fate is to wield the heavenly sword." "It is said that a free people will always choose peace over war." "My people have never had that choice." "They called him the raven lord." "Some say he was mortal." "A warlord thirsty for power." "But I swear he rose from hell to scorch the world with hatred." "All humanity would disappear like smoke." "But when all was lost, their salvation, their hope, came from the heavens." "A warrior..." "Mighty enough to challenge even the raven lord." "And shining through the horror, a weapon like no other." "When the battle ended, the heavenly warrior had vanished, never to be seen again." "And so was born the legend of our heavenly sword." "Men tore each other's flesh apart to wield the sword's unearthly power." "This sword, once a blessing upon mankind, had become its curse." "So began the story of our clan, a family of nomadic warriors dutifully charged as sole custodians of the sword, to save man from destroying himself." "Be wary, clan brothers, the green witch is known for her trickery." "Leave Kai alone." "You think you can stop us?" "I only need to stop you, Kyo." "These fools think you're special." "Our special failure!" "The great war will come, and we will fall..." "Because of you, Nariko!" "The prophet said a savior was coming, and we got you!" "You're a curse upon the clan." "If I'm a curse, then you're a fool to make me angry." "Apologize to Kai." "I don't apologize to orphans." "She's not even a member of the clan." "She's nothing but a pet." "I'm waiting." "O-okay, I..." " What is all of this?" " Prophet Takashi, she's mad!" "She attacked us for no reason!" "It was them." "They attacked Kai." "He had a dagger." "What dagger?" "There." "Itsuki has it." "Let go of me!" "Nariko!" "Father?" "How dare you speak to your elder in such a fashion?" "Prophet Takashi, tell him." "You saw." "You know I'm telling..." "Enough!" "You try my patience." "You are forbidden from mixing with the warrior caste." " But all I..." " Go!" "My loving father." "I was his great and only failure." "His living shame." "Kyo was right." "I had cursed him." "Imagine if you actually allowed her to train." "Perhaps she isn't the failure you have always condemned her of being." "Nevertheless, she is not the chosen one." "Nor is she a kitten." "Get in line, Kyo." "You can be next." "Oh, aren't you funny." "You try too hard to be the son your father wanted." "So do you." "Kai, stop it." "We do not kill our clansmen." "Kai won't kill." "Just make some blood." "I believe her." "Come on." "We should be training." "To arms!" "To arms!" "Quickly!" "Get inside!" "Kai, we should..." "Kai?" "Where are you?" " You're welcome." " Thank you." "After everything I..." "why did you..." "No matter who we are or what we do, this clan is my family." "And family protects its own." "Always." "Lower your sword, daughter." "Come with me." "King Bohan." "He was a boy of great destiny, taught to lead and to win." "Bohan was to emerge as the finest of kings." "He was trained to fight with dignity." "But honor and goodness, he did not possess." "Scarred with defeat, his black heart brooded." "He dreamed of a glorious future, but those secret hopes were swiped away with violence and contempt." "He vowed revenge." "And this much he knew:" "His time would come." "Bohan was as malevolent and vicious then as he is now." "Even as a child, he thirsted for power." "But the crown wasn't enough to appease his appetite and rage." "A king?" "Bohan wanted to become a God." "And for that he needed our heavenly sword." "Yes, daddy." "I'll get steady this time." "Those of you within the fortress, bring me this heavenly sword you hold so precious, and I swear to you no one will be hurt or killed." "You will be rewarded for your sacrifice." "How could he know?" "How could that monster know?" "Turn those walls to rubble." "As you wish, sire." "Take the sword, Nariko." "It is yours to protect now." "Our walls cannot withstand such bombardment." "And Bohan must never be allowed to possess the sword." "Me?" "You give this task to me?" "You defeated Bohan's assassins today." "Your skill surpasses the best of my clansmen." "It's true you are no heavenly warrior, but as Takashi said, clearly you are no kitten." "Take the sword, Nariko." "Keep your ego in check." "Remember your chores, your challenges." "I will lead our people east." "Bohan will follow." "You, Nariko, will take the sword west." "Father, no." "They'll destroy you." "You cannot outrun an army." "But you can, and you will." "Their attention will be on us." "That will be your moment." "Kai, come." "Kai will keep you safe." "No, Kai, I have to stay." " Come, Kai!" " But..." "Don't leave me!" "Don't leave me, please!" "Oh, no." "Over there!" "Well done, Nariko." "How do you... how do you know my name?" "I am king." "Now hand it over." " I don't know what you're..." " Now!" "Or I'll make you beg for your own death." "Do you want to suffer as your father suffered?" "As your sister suffered?" " I don't have a sister." " You did." "That little paint-faced idiot." "Kai." "You didn't know she was your sister?" "Naive little girl!" "Nariko, you were firstborn daughter in the year of the Firehorse." "But that was only month one." "Your father, the reckless fool, had plenty of time." "You know about his disappearance the night of your birth?" "Vanished for months." "Everyone thought he'd done himself in." "He went forth spreading his useless seed throughout the land, infecting women like a virus, so desperate to correct his mistake:" "You." "By December, your sister Kai was born, another failure." "Absolute runt of the litter." "But here is the glorious irony." "Something your dear father never even knew." "On the 23rd day of the 12th and very last month, your father had a son." "From the womb of one of the many women he took by force." "Yes, against their will." "But hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." "She gave birth, faked her own death, and fled to the high country, a fishing village in the north, where now, this so-called chosen one, your brother, is a dirty common blacksmith." "You are a monster, Bohan." "You are the king of lies." "And while I don't believe anyone... let alone the bastard son of Shen can bring me harm, legend claims that the one thing that can stop me is the weapon on your back in the chosen one's hands." "So you see, both must be destroyed." "It's over, Nariko." "Your family, your clan, your home all gone!" "Nothing left to fight for." "So let us be done with it." "Drop the sword." "Yes." "Now put it down... and back away." "Don't be a fool." "Even your father knew that thing is cursed." "Why should I care?" "You've left me with nothing to live for." "So much for the easy way." "Kill her!" "In that moment, Nariko sealed her fate." "All she saw was her fatal mistake:" "Delivering the sword to Bohan, to the very evil it was meant to defeat." "And as her death drew near, she new that he must never hold the heavenly sword." "No matter the cost." "No!" "And just as it was written, as the year of the Firehorse began, our clan prepared for this most fateful birth." "Our leader master Shen stood by his wife during this torturous labor, anxiously awaiting the arrival of his magnificent child." "But something was wrong, simply because no one expected that firstborn son to be a daughter." "Nariko was to live and grow, but in the shadows, away from her father's love and attention." "How could he know through those lonely years that I, his trusted friend, was silently creating a warrior of my own?" "And for that, even in the shadow of death, our people will always have hope." "Nariko cold." "Kai!" "Fished you out of the river." "You and... and that." "Kai, how did you..." "Nariko used the sword." "Sword bad." "I did what I had to, Kai." "But how did you survive?" "How did you find me?" "Kai loves Nariko." "I saw you on the cliff." "You jumped!" "You followed me?" "You left the clan before Bohan..." "I had to come." "Kai will protect Nariko." "I'm glad you're here." "Master Shen, he's Kai's daddy." "You heard Bohan?" "Yes, but mama already told Kai." "Not Kai's secret now." "You knew that we were..." "Nariko and Kai are sisters!" "All these years?" "Kai, why didn't you say anything?" "Master Shen didn't want to be Kai's daddy." "I can't believe it." "You must have felt so alone." "Kai not alone." "Always have you." "And that man with the raven, he said we have a brother." "You believe him?" "A brother?" "The chosen one." "We should take it to him." "Yes." "Yes, we must Kai." "Bohan said a fishing village to the north." "There's only one place he could mean." " It's on the dead marsh." " We go there then." "A scout!" " No!" "I can't..." " Shh." "Ugh!" "Kai, I knew you were good, but how did you..." "Nariko, shh." "Don't tell nobody, but Kai likes to make blood." "The village should be east of here, beyond that Ridge." "Kai." "I'd like to hear about your mother." "I'm sorry." "You don't have..." "Mama was strong and funny." "She sang to Kai." "Kai remembers master Shen." "He would give mama gold." "He said to help." "Master Shen never looked at Kai." "Always made Kai very sad." "Kai remembers the fox." " The fox?" " Flying fox." "He's not very big." "Mama, she knew." "She hid Kai in a cave." " She knew what?" " That fox had come to get Kai." "Don't know why, but Kai watched." "The fox and his men make them bleed, Nariko." "Then the fox hurt mama." "Kai wanted to help, but Kai was scared." "You were just a child." "We're too late." "No, no, no!" "You think murdering innocent people is funny?" "Let's see you laugh when your guts hit the floor." "The town's blacksmith." "I need to find him right away." "The other end of town." "Northeast corner." "The big hut." "Go!" "Get your family away from here." "Keep them close, keep them safe." "Bad man take our brother?" "There's no body, no blood." "He could still be alive." "Maybe they took him prisoner." "Nariko." "Don't!" "We mean you no harm." "We're looking for the blacksmith." "You're looking at him." "You're too old." "And you're too thin." "Claude, they're here to see Loki." "I see your father in your faces." "Loki left over a year ago." "This village was always too small for him." "Do you know where he's gone?" "General Whiptail and her army destroyed our home, wanting the same answer." "They're here to kill him." "Oh." "And you want to see him die an old man?" "This sword is his destiny." "Hmm." "Just what your father said." "Whiptail is nothing." "A cruel servant." "But her master is pure evil, lighting a flame of terror." "And the world will burn." "Only your son can stop it." "Loki traveled to the northeast, beyond the great mountains." "He was going as blacksmith for a foreign king." "Went to find his fortune." "Thank you." "Yes, thank you." "King Bohan can't wait to meet your boy at last." "Sorry you're going to miss it." "Kill them all and bring me the pretty sword." "Go." "We're fine." "Stop that serpent hag before she leads them to my son." "Never follow the spider onto its web." "Die!" "You're a fly, little one." "I will suck the life out of you and take the sword to my master." "You think you've won?" "I told the villagers from that burning cesspool that whoever informs King Bohan of the chosen one's whereabouts will be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams." "You see, you lose." "Our task is to deliver this sword to our brother." "Maybe Kai was wrong." "What Nariko did protected Kai." "Sword stopped that horrid fish lady." "Maybe sword isn't bad." "Kai, I felt its power flowing through me." "But as it did, I could feel the sword tearing my soul apart." "The sword will kill the bearer." "It's only a matter of time." "It's too powerful." "Two sisters, two warriors, each with their strengths and frailties, who grew up alone behind a wall of lies their father had built for them." "Innocent children who only knew betrayal and disappointment at his hand." "This shame will haunt him forever." "At least now they have each other." "But for how long?" "Man with the raven knows." "Kai and Nariko too late." "Kai, I don't think he does know." "He'd be racing to get there, wouldn't he?" "We have to get there first." "It's going to be hard enough trying to find Loki in a fortress that big." "Once Bohan's army starts destroying the place, it'll be impossible." "Shall we race?" "Kai!" "Kai, look out!" "Well, they started it." "Nariko make more blood than Kai." "We're close." "You know what's strange?" "I can feel it." "He's in there." "Nariko!" "Sword is bad." "Very bad." "It wants to kill Nariko." "The night is ours, at least." "Bohan's army won't attack until morning." "We have to hurry." "Nariko." "I'm nearly there." "Why do I get the feeling you're about to drop this rope?" "Oh, no." "This is much worse." "The boy, Kai and Nariko's brother, the chosen one, traveled to a distant land." "Blacksmith for a foreign king." "And?" "Bohan isn't coming to attack the fortress." "He's coming home." "Our brother's working for a king who's desperate to kill him." "Unlucky, isn't he?" "Or stupid as an ass." "Nariko, no!" "Father." "He's alive, Kai." "He's alive." "Man with raven lies." "If father's alive, then perhaps the others... must be in prison or worse." "Come on." "Faster, old man, or would you rather be tomorrow's stew?" "Hold still." "Nariko?" "Kai?" "We saw father." "What happened to him?" " Well?" " They tortured him." "Come." "He is guarded at all times." "They never leave his..." "Nariko, is it really you?" "What have you done?" "Why would you bring the sword to this place?" "Foolish girl." "I didn't ask to be rescued!" "We're not here for you." "Little brother is here." "What is she talking about?" "The chosen one." "All your hard work paid off." "You had a son." "He knows nothing of his destiny." "I... have a son?" "So there is hope." "Yeah, thanks to the daughter you ignored and the daughter you rejected." "But don't you worry, father." "We'll deliver the sword you worshipped to the clueless son you never knew existed." "I was doing the right thing for the clan, for the world, and I won't apologize for the choices I made, especially not to..." "Your worthless daughters?" "I'm so sorry." "I am truly sorry." "I understand." "But know as I leave this world, I journey to a dark place where I will rightly suffer for my sins." "Kai!" "Kai not want the first touch to be a hawk." "Thank you, my daughter." "Forgive me." "Nariko, now go." "Both of you." "Find your brother." "Save this world." "Please." "I don't want you to see me die." "Nariko!" "How... how is this?" "You are not the chosen one, Nariko." "You're right, father." "I am not the chosen one." "You must never do that again." "You understand?" " I know what I'm doing." " Hush!" "Don't ever let me do that again." "Now, how do we get you all out of here?" "Don't be a fool." "Bohan's returning." "Just leave us." "You have a job to do." "First we're getting you off this rock, then you're on your own." "We can cross the narrow path to the outer wall, but the trolley is guarded." "Not anymore it isn't." "Oh!" "Trolley ride?" "Make sure it's still clear." "All dead." "Go now." "Lead our people to safety." "Come." "Father, where's Kyo?" "He bought us time to escape." "One man against an army." "Had he known of Bohan's trap, perhaps he would have stayed." "Perhaps he would have lived." "He died bravely, Nariko, for the sake of the clan." "Go, father." "Go with your people." "Nariko, how do we find little brother?" "An army like this would need a huge forge." "That's where to find a blacksmith." "That's where we'll meet our brother." "Race me?" "Of course I'll race you." "We're too late." "Loki, the chosen one." "Little brother." "That's right!" "You and the villagers have turned against one of your own." "I know what you were told." "You come seeking reward." "Others arrived after you." "Within minutes, in fact, all carrying the same information." "They, too, came seeking reward." "They're all dead now." "But you were the first." "Your reward is gold." "Now go." "I must inform your father that we have... the chosen one." "Yes!" "They have found him!" "And they know their orders to kill him... now!" "Hah!" "So, this is the chosen one." "Daddy been lookin' for you." "For a hundred years." "Twenty years." "Yeah, twenty, yeah." "Never had time for me." "I have no idea what you're talking about." "He's saying his daddy wasn't a very good daddy." "I never knew my father." "Let me buy us both a mug of ale, and we can weep into them." "He's so funny!" "I like him!" "Oh, yeah." "I got a nicer dada." "Let him go, big man, if you want to live." "Nariko, give Loki the sword!" "The sword!" "Get the sword!" "No." "No!" "Loki." "Who are you?" "We are your sisters." "I don't, uh..." "I don't understand." "It's true." "Do you know the legend of the heavenly sword?" "I've heard others speak of it." "What does this have to do with me?" "Our father is master Shen." "The protector of the sword is my father?" "Our father?" "And you are his only born son." "That means..." "Brother is the chosen one." "I'm honored to have two brave and beautiful little sisters." "Are you certain that I am?" "All my life I have dreamed of this very moment, but I never thought it could be real." "Never understood what it meant... until now." "The chosen one." "The king's oafish son, I take it." "He'll be angry." "I'm going to do a lot more than make Bohan angry." "Not the king." "His imbecile man-child." "A fall like that wouldn't kill him." "Just make him mad." "Oh, yes, yes." "Now I understand." "And what of the curse?" "You seem more or less alive to me." "Yes." "Perhaps I shan't deliver this immaculate weapon to my master." "With this sword, I should be master." "I will never let that happen." "I respect your commitment in the face of total failure." "You've got a lot of passion for a dead girl." "You of all people should know that holding the sword and wielding it are not the same thing." "You think I haven't held it long enough to know its little tricks, am I right?" "Well, let's see, shall we?" "My turn." "I know some tricks, too." "Would you like to see another?" "You are formidable, which is both unnerving and refreshing." "It's your concentration." "You control your fear, your anger, the sword, and the curse, all at the same time." "Impressive, but I'm wondering what happens when you're distracted." "Kai!" "You know what I find interesting?" "Some people though you would be the chosen one." "Then, of course, all the attention turned to that headless brother of yours." "But no one ever considered Kai." "Childlike, innocent, the perfect vessel." "Shame, really." "We'll never know." "No!" "No!" "Take me home, Nariko." "Sound the alarm." "All forces to the great forge." "If we are to die, we will die with our people." "No!" "You're just going to die." "Of that, I can assure you." "If you lay down the sword," "I vow that I will make it quick and relatively painless." "But run, and I assure you that I will scorch the earth, slaughtering every man, woman, and child in my path until it's in my hands." "How many more innocent people must die because of your insolence, Nariko?" "Do you want any more blood on your hands?" "No." "It's all over yours." "And if I give in to you, then we will have died for nothing." "As you wish." "What are you waiting for?" "Kill her and bring me that sword!" "Hold on tight." "I'm sorry." "Muster the army." "The entire army." "Guards, even men in training." "We leave immediately." "Three days." "Shall I send scouts?" "She has failed." "You don't know that." "How could she not?" "This was never her burden to bear." "If she had found the chosen one, we would have received word by now." "There!" "No!" "Nariko, daughter." "Please." "Look at me." "Where... where is my son?" "Where is the chosen one?" "Your other daughter is dying, father." "Do you not care?" "We all die without him, Nariko." "Please, answer me!" "Your son is dead, old man." "He was no more chosen than the fool that spawned him." "Take her inside." "Make her comfortable." "Bohan approaches." "You led him here?" "But what will we do?" "The same thing you always do:" "Hide." "But you're not..." "You can't possibly win." "Why would you fight for us?" "I'm going to fight for Kai, the only family I have." "Our journey has ended." "There's no turning back." "You know what to do." "Either move aside or die." "I don't care which." "Hello, Nariko." "Kyo?" "It doesn't have to end this way." "All he wants is the sword." "Give it to him." "No one has to die." "I..." "I don't understand." "How did... it was you." "That's how Bohan knew where to find the sword." "You told him." "For us, Nariko." "For the clan." "He was coming." "He was always coming." "It was prophesized." "And with no chosen one to protect us," "I had to do it... to save us." "Give him the sword, Nariko." "I should have let you die when I had the chance." "Give him the sword, and we can finally be free." "Understand this, Kyo." "I will never give Bohan the sword." "He will get it, you know." "And every one of you will die." "No, Kyo." "For now, only you will die." "All my life, I have listened to my people praising you, tell your tales, protect you, die for you." "Well, I curse you." "You wait until now?" "Now to take my life?" "Send me back!" "My people will die." "My sister will die." "Send me back!" "And you?" "You will die, too!" "Bohan doesn't want to hold you." "He fears you." "He's there to destroy you." "He'll be sneering as he throws you into his forge." "Your metal will heat, turn red, and you will melt away until you are nothing." "If I die, you die." "I don't care about you, but you need me!" "Kill her!" "O holy one, grant me the power to send this abomination back to hell." "Please!" "I've given my life to you." "My every waking moment." "Will you not grant me this one wish?" "Do me this honor, and my... and my soul is yours." "Hell beckons, Nariko." "I'm here to send you back!" "It seems to me you're only here to talk." "Help... me." "Help." "No, no, no!" "No!" "Please don't hurt daddy!" "Oh, daddy, daddy!" "Don't go, dad." "My... son." "I won't let her hurt you no more, daddy." "You hear me?" "You go now!" "You go now or roach will fight you!" "I'll fight you good." "My dear child." "It was always you." "I should never have doubted." "You are the chosen one." "No, father." "You were wrong." "We were all wrong." "The sword did not choose me." "I chose the sword." "I love you, sister." "And I love you, Nariko." "I'm sorry I have to... go." "No." "No!" "What have you done?" "I loved..." "I loved a sister I didn't know I had." "Nariko, no!" "Don't..." "Don't leave me." "This was inevitable." "Deities cannot stay, Kai." "This way... this way you can." "The sword, it is yours now." "Keep it safe." "And you, do for her what you never did for me:" "Love her." "No!" "Belief can change worlds, shape lives, but it can also make us blind." "Kai, you know the truth about the sword." "Others have worshipped it, murdered for it, but you will master it." "Keep the sword safe, and one day it may be forgotten." "But you will always be remembered." "Farewell, my sister." "May we meet again in a better world."