[Flashback - 19 Years Ago, Ukyo Subdivision]
[The sky was ablaze. Smoke clawed at the heavens, blotting out the sun with its ashen veil. Once—quiet streets now screamed with fire, steel, and chaos. Armed police exchanged fire with guerrilla soldiers, neither side giving ground—only death.]
[The ground trembled. Homes cracked and fell. Civilians were dragged into the streets, pleading. Then—silence shattered.]
[A child's sob pierced through the thunder.]
[A little girl—no older than six—trembled in the grip of her older sister's hand. Her pale crimson-red eyes shimmered with tears, her raven-black hair streaked in soot and ash.]
???: Onee-chan... I'm scared...
[Her sister crouched beside her, voice quivering, yet steel-laced.]
Older Sister: Listen to me, Sera. You have to run. Now.
Sera: No! What about you?!
Older Sister: smiling weakly, tears welling I'll find you. Just go. Through the forest. Don't look back. Promise me.
[The world exploded again—gunshots tearing through the air like blades. Shouting. Burning.]
[Then, a final shove.]
Sera: ONEE-CHAN-!!
[She ran. Through flame. Through falling ash. Through her sister's last scream.]
[Until she collapsed in the forest, sobbing, her knees skinned and bleeding. Alone.]
[But not for long.]
[From the trees emerged a man—tall, composed. Cloaked in black with silver filigree. A lotus marking etched across his long coat. One eye covered in a scarred lens.]
[He offered his hand.]
???: Little girl... why do you fall?
Sera: sobbing, desperate Please! Mister! Help my sister! They're hurting her!
[The man kneeled before her, gently brushing her soot-stained hair.]
???: Despair is a poison. Don't drink it. I will end this madness. No more cries. No more fire.
[And then—he walked into the inferno.]
[They called him Seraph. The Fallen Angel. First-born leader of the Sovereign Circle, a mafia feared across the globe for their ruthless justice.]
[The guerrillas who saw him froze in fear.]
Guerrilla 1: Isn't that... Seraph, the Fallen Angel?
Guerrilla 2: The Sovereign Circle's leader?! The one who crushed three mafia syndicates alone?!
[Seraph smirked, calm like death.]
Seraph: You speak truth. I am Seraph—the reckoning of false gods. Now—be judged.
[Then, violence.]
[His coat whipped through the air like wings. Guns were torn from hands, bones shattered with precision. He was a storm—elegant and unrelenting. The guerrillas fell like dominos.]
[When the smoke cleared, blood stained the cobblestone. The cries had stopped.]
[But her sister—gone. No sign. No trace.]
[Seraph returned to Sera's side.]
Sera: Did you... find her?
Seraph: lowering his gaze No. I'm sorry. I only saw this ribbon, I figured this might be yours.
[She takes the ribbon as she sobbed, broken.]
Seraph: Don't cry, little one. I'll protect you now. Redemption awaits. Come with me.
Sera: through tears O-Okay... I'll do whatever it takes... to make my sister rest awhile...
[Flashback - 17 Years Ago, Sovereign Circle's Hidden Facility]
[The underground was frigid, damp, and stank of blood and steel. Echoes of pain lived in the concrete.]
[Eight-year-old Sera stood barefoot, ragged, trembling. Her soul clung to what little innocence remained.]
[Before her stood, Sovereign—an imposing huge man cloaked in ceremonial crimson and black. A glowing red eye stared out from beneath his hood.]
Sovereign: You lived through fire. Most die screaming. But you... you ran.
Sera: quietly She told me to run...
Sovereign: And so you obeyed. But where did that get you? Alone. Weak. Haunted.
[Her fists clenched until her nails pierced skin.]
[Seraph, watching from the shadows, winced at her suffering.]
Sera:hoarse I want power. Enough to burn them all. To make them scream.
[The Sovereign smiled. The monster in him stirred.]
Sovereign: There it is. The seed.
[He snapped his fingers. The doors groaned open.]
[A woman entered. Midnight-purple hair. Eyes devoid of warmth. Armor black as midnight.]
Sovereign: This is Irisyvell. She'll be your instructor—if you survive.
Seraph:stepping forward Creator, I object. She's a child. Iris is too much—even adults fail against her.
Sovereign:coldly This world has no mercy. She must suffer to surpass it.
Irisyvell:smiling faintly Oh, Seraph. I'll be gentle...
Seraph: glowering I trust you as much as I trust a viper.
Sovereign:slamming the desk Silence! Obey.
Seraph & Irisyvell: Yes, Creator.
[Seraph shut the doors. Iris turned to Sera.]
Irisyvell:coldly Kneel.
[Sera stood firm.]
[Iris grabbed her hair and slammed her to the floor.]
Irisyvell: You will learn pain. Live pain. Become it.
Sera:gasping If that's what it takes...
Irisyvell: a whisper of a smirk Then let us begin, Sera Kanzaki.
[Weeks Later]
[Her world was agony.]
[Chains dragged behind her. Blades licked her skin. Rain stung like needles. No rest. No warmth. No mercy.]
[Collapsed in her bunk, barely breathing.]
Irisyvell: watching from the dark You're weak.
Sera: rasping But I'm alive.
Irisyvell: cold You won't last if you keep an attitude like that.
Sera: sitting up, bloodied Then I'll crawl. Until I can stand.
[Iris said nothing. But she didn't walk away.]
[Later That Year - The Blood Trial]
[A ring of masked watchers. One child. One grown trainee. No weapons but instinct.]
Sovereign: Kill... or die.
[Steel clashed. Blood sprayed.]
[The child emerged victorious—cut, bruised, but not broken.]
[She no longer cried. She no longer feared.]
Sovereign: The world chews people up like you, little girl. But if you bite back... it remembers your name.
Sera: I have no name... not anymore.
Sovereign: Then make one. Let it be feared. Let it grow roots.
[He held out a sleek black card. Emblazoned with a sigil—a thorned lotus.]
Sovereign: "Yggdrasil, a seed of immense growth that continues to strengthen eternally, being the protector of Gaia." That's who you'll be now. Welcome to the Circle, and we'll teach you how to make the world kneel.
[She didn't hesitate. With nothing left but her breath and blood, Sera took the card.]
[She was no longer Sera.]
[She was Yggdrasil.]
[Present Day - Meditation Chamber]
[She sat in silence, the memories clawing at her mind like ghosts.]
Yggdrasil: whispers I became what I had to... What they made me...
[She reached into her coat and pulled out a single pink ribbon—burnt on the edges.]
Yggdrasil: softly Onee-chan... would you have hated me... for what I've become?
[She closed her eyes.]
[Outside, thunder rumbled—like a promise of storms to come.]