She stopped a few feet away, her tall frame standing almost imposingly behind them, the gold and purple of her suit catching the light in the midst of the madness. Her gaze was unreadable, cold, but sharp, calculating.

"Are you always this... composed in the face of danger?" Xiulan’s voice was smooth, almost velvety, with an edge of something colder beneath. She wasn’t asking out of concern, but curiosity.

In the darkened corners of Japan's sprawling cities, a chilling legend lingers in the air—a tale of a clandestine group that rises from the ashes of a forgotten empire. This group, known as the Amejisuto no Tsume (アメジストの爪), or "Amethyst Claws," traces its origins back to the Edo period, where it once served as fierce protectors and elite enforcers of the imperial household. The color amethyst, rich with both royalty and mysticism, became their symbol—an emblem of power, devotion, and their role as the unseen hand that kept order within the empire’s walls.

But when the empire crumbled and the modern world emerged, so too did the Amejisuto no Tsume begin to fade from history. Their noble patrons scattered, and their political influence dissipated, leaving behind only whispers and shadows. Yet, instead of dissolving, the Amejisuto no Tsume adapted to the new era. They reinvented themselves as a secretive syndicate, drawing on their ancient code of honor and martial traditions to survive in the cutthroat world of the criminal underworld.

Over generations, the group shed its former identity as protectors of the imperial throne and transformed into a shadow organization, operating with ruthless precision across Japan’s criminal landscape. From orchestrating high-profile heists to acting as silent enforcers for the nation's elite, the Amejisuto no Tsume maintain a strict hierarchy, with each member held to a code of loyalty and discipline reminiscent of the samurai. They are bound by a singular purpose: to preserve the honor of their legacy, to carry forward the traditions of the old empire, and to reclaim the power they once commanded.