[Opening Scene – Warehouse District, 3:04 AM]
Rain lashes down as the camera pans over the lifeless bodies of the Crimson Knives — a brutal gang left shattered across the alley. Standing in the center, fists still steaming, is KARL VIREN — the Bloodchain bearer.
He wipes his knuckles, his breathing heavy. His blood-linked gauntlet glows red, pulsing with the rage of his ancestors.
"They were just the warning. Someone bigger is pulling the chain."
[Flashback – The Blood Ritual]
We're taken back to Karl's childhood — a haunting ceremony in a hidden monastery where the Bloodchain was fused to his arm. His father, chained before him, screams in agony as the blood rite links Karl to the family curse.
"You carry our sins now. And you must break the chain... or be broken by it."
That's the first time Karl saw fear in a man's eyes. It never left him.
[Present – Meeting with the Informant]
Karl tracks down Juno Vale, an ex-enforcer turned rogue informant. She sits in a cyber bar surrounded by flickering screens and empty bottles.
"The man you're looking for... he wears white gloves, always clean. That's because he doesn't touch blood — he controls those who do."
"Name?"
"They call him... Cardinal Vein."
Karl slams the table, cracking it in half.
[New Enemy Introduction – Cardinal Vein]
Cut to a luxurious high-rise. Cardinal Vein, a ruthless manipulator in a white suit, is surrounded by mercenaries drinking champagne. He watches footage of Karl destroying his men.
"He bleeds well. I want to see what happens when we squeeze harder."
He signals his elite strike force — the Serrated Circle — assassins bonded to their own Bloodchains, but twisted into corrupted versions.
[Action Sequence – Rooftop Ambush]
Karl is ambushed by the Serrated Circle on a rooftop — four assassins with mutated Bloodchains. Each one specializes in a different pain style: burning, slicing, crushing, and draining.
🔻 FIGHT BREAKDOWN 🔻
Karl takes on two at once, using the chain like a whip, wrapping one's legs and throwing him off the roof.
He blocks another's blade with his forearm and uses a spinning elbow to shatter the attacker's jaw.
He's wounded, bleeding, but channels it into the chain — making it glow hotter.
Ends the fight by snapping the chain around the final enemy's neck and saying:
"You want blood? Here's your flood."
[Final Scene – Message to Cardinal Vein]
Karl finds a comms node and records a message, eyes blazing.
"I know who you are now. I'm coming for you. And when I do… I'll drag your legacy through every drop of blood you've ever spilled."
"This chain doesn't bind me anymore. It's your countdown."
He crushes the device.
END OF CHAPTER 4