WARNING: The following article is a recap of Jinsoyun’s story before we meet her again in the Vengeance Breaks update. This is of course full of massive spoilers for those that haven’t progressed fully through the current story.

Bloom of the Black Rose

The day that Jinsoyun came to Heaven’s Reach became the most important day of Cricket’s life. But for Jinsoyun it was simply another step on the long road of her revenge.

Decades prior to that fateful day, Jinsoyun was but a young child in the Highland Central. She was not there by choice but lived as a slave to a wealthy family of the royal city—like so many others, she fell victim when the gate to the Dark Realm was opened. Prince Sogun’s pride brought ruin to Highland Central and its people. Poisoned by the Dark Chi and wounded from the demonic assault, she would have met her end that day were it not for the Four Guardians. Jiwan, one of the Four and a fellow Yun, offered young Jinsoyun a great mercy in sharing her divine chi and helping to stave off the darkness that threatened to consume her. While the other three Guardians disapproved of Jiwan’s actions, she would not allow yet another innocent to die. She took Jinsoyun on as her pupil and raised her like a daughter, training her to someday overcome the taint of the Dark Chi that lingered within her soul.

What took place in the years since remains unknown to the world, but what has been whispered about in rumors throughout the Realm is that Jinsoyun eventually betrayed Jiwan. Turning on the gentle master who had saved her, she stole her teacher’s holy weapon—the Twilight’s Edge—and as the rumors go the Four Guardians fell one after another as Jinsoyun was consumed by the darkness. First Jiwan, betrayed by one she loved as her own. Then Mushin and Iksanun, both struck with terrible blows they only scarcely survived. Jinsoyun’s rampage would have marked their end were it not for Master Hong managing to defeat her and cast the traitorous pupil down. But the damage had been done, Jiwan was slain and each of the remaining Guardians went into seclusion, staggered by their wounds and loss.

But death was not the end for Jinsoyun. The corrupted chi that festered in her soul called out to the Dark Realm from whence it came, and it received an answer. A terrible voice spoke to her. In return for servitude, it promised her many things. The voice promised her life. It promised her power.

It promised revenge.

While the survivors of the Four Guardians retreated into seclusion, Jinsoyun rose again more fearsome than ever. She easily gained recognition within the budding Talus Dominion, appearing to the war council in a time of dire need. With her strange, dark powers and seemingly unstoppable martial arts, Jinsoyun single-handedly helped turn the tide of war in favor of the Talus and cemented her place in history. They knew her by many names—Lady Blackrose, the Dark Emissary, the Lady in Black—but to the Talus leadership she was a renowned hero and given incredible authority. Jinsoyun took full advantage of her power to set her long plan of vengeance into motion, driving the Talus to begin construction of a Divine Altar. In the meantime, she would hunt down those surviving Guardians, intent on finishing them off once and for all.

Master Hong was the first to fall to Jinsoyun’s machinations. With her devious henchmen Gubong and Yura, as well as the traitor to the Hongmoon School, Lusung, Jinsoyun laid waste to the entire clan. All for the sake of retrieving the Twilight’s Edge, which Master Hong had kept safe all those years. From there her plan only gained momentum as the Dark Emissary marched forward ever faster, manipulating the Talus Dominion to do her bidding. The last remaining student of the Hongmoon School could only follow after her, close on her heels in a desperate quest for revenge and to put a stop to her evil machinations. But it seemed as though there was no stopping her. Master Iksanun fell prey to Jinsoyun’s schemes. Namsoyoo, revealed to be a true heiress of the Talus Emperor, was spirited away out of reach. The fledgling Skyhaven Resistance, a rebellious faction hoping to wrest power from Jinsoyun was crushed in their attempt. Yunwa, the inheritor of Mushin’s Legacy, was in Jinsoyun’s grasp. When it at last seemed that the final Hongmoon student might be able to face down with Jinsoyun, they fell to her scornful attacks and blade alike.

Now the world hangs in peril; a heartbeat from disaster. The Altar of Divine Will has been completed. Namsoyoo remains held for a horrible ritual that demands royal blood. At long last, Jinsoyun stands poised to repeat the same tragedy that nearly took her life so many years ago—to open the Dark Gate wide and allow the Dark Realm to devour all life. A fitting end for a world which raised her as a slave, which revered the Four Guardians she so hated, which wallowed in greed and war.

Now is the time for Jinsoyun to truly have her revenge.