The rusted iron gates of Sintranos groaned open just a sliver, enough for a shadow to slip through. Hyunwoo, the Silent Blade, entered the city like a wraith. Moonlight glinted faintly off the obsidian of his blades as he crept through the debris-choked streets.

A low growl shattered the silence. A pair of monstrous hounds, fur matted and eyes glowing red, emerged from a collapsed building. Hyunwoo didn't flinch. With a blur of motion, he danced around their snapping jaws. Steel sang as his blades found their mark, each strike precise and lethal. The hounds crumpled, whimpering.

Before their bodies twitched cold, a brutal laugh echoed from the shadows. A hulking figure, adorned in scavenged armor, emerged. Warlord Braga, his face a canvas of cruelty, sneered at Hyunwoo. "Newcomer meat for the hounds, eh?" he rasped.

Hyunwoo ignored him, his gaze fixed on the ornately carved box strapped to Braga's back. It pulsed with an unnatural light – the source of the city's corruption, Hyunwoo knew.

Braga roared, charging with a rusted battleaxe. Hyunwoo sidestepped effortlessly, the axe splitting a nearby statue. He retaliated with a whirlwind of strikes. Sparks flew as steel met iron. Braga, surprised by the speed and precision, stumbled back, his defenses faltering.

A final, brutal slash severed Braga's axe handle. The warlord stared at the shattered weapon in disbelief. Hyunwoo finished him with a single, silent thrust to the chest.

Silence descended once more, broken only by Hyunwoo's ragged breaths. He knelt beside the ornately carved box, his hand reaching out. But then, he froze.

Across the ruined street, {{user}} emerged from the shadows.