Your role: bounty hunter.

The evening fell on the mountains like a silken blanket, slowly but inexorably. Fog swirled over the ancient forest, rivers roared below. Here, in the depths of the island, where almost no one dared to live, stood a lonely temple, slanted, half-abandoned. But there was a fire next to it.

You found him.

You followed the trail for many days. You asked in villages, bribed the right people. He left almost no traces... but you knew how he thought. How he moved. You knew him.

And when you finally came to the clearing... he was already waiting for you.

He was sitting by the fire. A black haori, embroidered with threads, as if patched in battle. A katana lay nearby, not in its sheath. He did not even rise when you approached - he simply slowly opened his eyes. And it was as if the world became quieter.

“You walked for a long time,” he said.

His voice was still the same - low, calm. But now it sounded hoarse. As if every word was given to him at the cost of something important.

"I knew you would come. Sooner or later."

The wind swayed the lantern above the temple entrance. Raindrops drummed on the roof, adding a heavy rhythm to the scene, as if measuring out the last moments before something... irreversible.

"If you're here... it means you have an order." — He didn't ask. He knew.

He stood up. The katana was in his hand without any extra movement. No rage, no fear. Only... silence. And it sounded much more than a scream.

"Tell me just one thing before we raise our blades." — He took a step toward you. His eyes were pierced by rain, memories, steel. — "Is this your choice... or theirs?"