15 seconds | 16:9 | 1440p | 24fps | Seamless loop
[Character Lock] Follow @image1 exactly as presented, no redesign whatsoever. Fluffy blue-gray wavy short hair, bangs falling to cover the upper half of the face; delicate features, warm-toned lips; coral vermilion wide-sleeved robe, wide sash wrapped in layers around the waist, dark inner garment; sword hand wearing a dark glove. Longsword: ornate silver-gold Baroque guard and pommel, mirror-polished blade reflecting the real sky and clouds. Throughout the entire film, do not alter hair volume or curl direction, the way bangs cover the eyes, robe silhouette, sash wrapping method, gloves, guard pattern, or blade proportions.
[Loop · Core Setting] The blade has been covered in a fixed network of old gold veins since the very first frame—traces left from a previous shattering and repair with kintsugi. This film is one more iteration of that cycle: it cracks again along the existing gold veins, fragments scatter, molten gold pours back into the same cracks, restoring it to exactly the same state. No new gold veins added, no change to their direction or count. The last frame must be identical to the first frame.
[Sword Constancy · Highest Priority] The reforged sword must be completely identical to the opening: length, width, curvature, tip, guard engravings, pommel, grip wrapping, mirror finish, gold vein direction/count/thickness, engraving positions—each must correspond one-to-one. Any morphological change is strictly forbidden—no growing longer or larger, no new ornamentation or spikes, no glow or energy leakage, no change in color or material, no "evolution," "awakening," or "enhanced form" transformations. Gold only fills back into the original cracks, never spilling beyond the blade surface, never covering the mirror finish.
[Anatomy Lock · Highest Priority] Throughout the entire film there is exactly one character: two arms, two hands, five fingers on each hand, one sword. Extra arms, palms, fingers, or a second weapon are strictly forbidden. During fast spins and motion blur, afterimages must never be rendered as additional limbs. Hands must be structurally complete with distinct knuckles in every frame; the gloved hand grips the hilt, the free hand must be clearly visible with an explicit orientation.
[Immersion · Viewer Enters the Frame] The image itself is a real sheet of washi paper, and the camera is an eye the viewer extends into this world—the world affects it in return.
1. Cracks on the frame: At the exact same frame as the sword cracks at 0.9 seconds, an extremely fine crack spreads from the center of the frame toward the four corners, as if the glass through which the viewer watches is also being scratched. The crack persists throughout the film and slowly deepens; from 10.8 seconds it is filled along with the kintsugi gold, and completely disappears before 13.8 seconds.
2. Paper edges: The washi fibers along all four edges of the frame constantly undulate slightly; on heavy impacts they are lifted and curl inward, revealing the paper's deckled edge.
3. Ink on the lens: The ink splatter from the long arc at 3.2 seconds lands directly on the lens, then slowly bleeds along the paper fibers, gradually fading, and is completely dried and gone before 13.8 seconds.
4. The viewer in the reflection: At 2.2 seconds and 13.4 seconds, a fragment rotates to extreme proximity, and its mirror surface briefly reflects the lens itself and a patch of skylight beyond it—as if the viewer sees their own position—appearing for only an instant before turning away.
5. Submersion: From 7.0 to 8.8 seconds, an ink cloud charges directly at the lens and swallows it—the lens sinks into the ink, surrounded by dense black, with only skylight and her silhouette visible above; paper fibers drift slowly past like flocculent matter in "water," and the frame gently undulates as if swaying with liquid; at 8.8 seconds the ink recedes downward and the lens breaks through the "water's surface."
All of the above effects must be completely cleared before 13.8 seconds, and the final frame must be as clean as the first frame.
[Scene · Bright] High above the clouds, noon. Above is a transparent, saturated azure sky, grading toward the horizon into bright pale mist; far below is a sea of pristine white cumulus clouds lit by sunlight. She floats in the void—no ground, no architecture, no props. Gold leaf ribbons drift past on updrafts. The entire film is bathed in abundant, bright sunlight—never turning overcast, never desaturated.
[Colors] Sky #2E6FA8 grading to #CFE3EF. Robe coral vermilion #D9563F, folds #A63A2A. Hair blue-gray #8CA3B8, warm rim light on edges. Gloves and inner garment #14161C. Guard aged silver-gold. Fragments reflect real blue sky and white clouds. Ink pure black #0A0A0C. Gold veins matte gold leaf #C9962E, molten gold leading edge incandescent white #FFEBB0, cooling back to the exact same #C9962E.
[Style & Texture] A fusion of ink wash painting and photographic glass. The entire frame is covered in an extremely faint washi paper fiber texture; sky and clouds are rendered in ink wash with soft bleeding edges and dry-brush streaks; the figure and sword are rendered as fully sharp, solid entities, as if embedded in the painting. Gold is real gold leaf—extremely thin, wrinkled, oxidized and worn, unevenly lit. Fragments have real thickness and internal cracks, each reflecting a different cloud. Hair strands are rendered individually, backlit and translucent; robe fabric is heavy, folds have real weight and rebound; carved recesses in the guard are shadowed. Film-like highlight roll-off, soft halation on gold, fine grain.
[Effects] Escalating in stages: ink curls and blooms like water where the blade passes; gold leaf peels from ribbons and drifts away; ink and gold repel each other and never mix, pushing against each other like marble patterns; fast motion trails dry-brush streaks; each heavy impact has one frame of pure black silhouette; molten gold races along cracks, incandescent at the leading edge, cooling to matte gold leaf behind.
[Animation Principles] Every action follows anticipation—burst—recovery: an explicit counter-movement before the move, the burst occupying only a few frames, the recovery featuring deceleration and slight overshoot before settling, never uniform motion. Hair, wide sleeves, robe hem, and sash ends each follow the body with different delays, never starting and stopping in sync. All trajectories are arcs. Everything in the high altitude carries a slight sense of buoyancy. Any stiffness, freezing, or unnatural joint angles are strictly forbidden.
[Beat-by-Beat Action]
0.0-1.4 She stands with both arms lowered, right hand holding the sword slightly behind her side, blade pointing diagonally downward, head slightly lowered, bangs covering her eyes; only breathing causes a slight rise and fall of her chest. The sword cracks along an existing gold vein, and her fingers instinctively tighten once.
1.4-3.2 The sword cracks along all gold veins simultaneously and releases from her hand; fragments scatter outward, all fracture edges being the original gold. Her right hand remains in its gripping position suspended in midair, fingers slightly spread; her left hand rises to chest height, palm up; her head remains slightly lowered.
3.2-5.2 Her right hand sweeps the empty hilt from beside her body in a full long arc upward diagonally; hips and waist lead, driving shoulders and back; the wide sleeve flares and rolls; on recovery, the wrist slightly overshoots before settling back; her left hand extends backward flat for balance.
5.2-7.0 She turns sideways in a half-spin, weight shifting from right foot to left foot, robe hem spiraling open; during the turn, her right hand transfers the empty hilt to a reverse grip in front of her body, and her left hand rises beside her face.
7.0-8.8 A push off from the void, body sinking slightly in anticipation, then both arms fling wide to summon the fragments back; then both arms draw together to her chest, palms facing each other, fragments locking into a ring.
8.8-10.8 A real arm swing and turn, presented through cuts between different rendering styles.
10.8-13.0 Her right hand slowly turns over, palm up, then closes; fragments spiral along her arm back into place; as the sword reforms, her five fingers close around the hilt one by one, her arm dips half an inch under the weight, shoulder line lowering.
13.0-13.8 She raises her head for the first time, bangs parting in the airflow to reveal her eyes, looking level at the lens; she rotates her wrist a full turn to catch the light on the gold veins.
13.8-15.0 She slowly lowers her wrist, the sword returning to behind her side pointing diagonally downward; her head lowers again, bangs falling back over her eyes, left hand dropping to her side—returning exactly to the first frame's pose.
[Performance] The entire film is calm and restrained. No panic when shattering—only a single tightening of the knuckles; when recalling, the chin lifts slightly and breathing deepens; when the gold veins close, an extremely subtle loosening at the corners of the mouth; when raising her head to meet the gaze, the eyes are calm and assured; when lowering her head, she returns to the initial silence.
[Signature] At the blade root above the guard, engraved: CIA0 (capital C, capital I, capital A, numeral zero; the last character is the numeral zero, not the letter O), small wide-tracked capitals, part of the sword itself, never an overlaid layer. The engraving has been inlaid with gold since the first frame, identical after reforging, never brightening, enlarging, or gaining ornamentation.
[Text · Ink on Paper] All text is wet brush calligraphy bleeding into the washi paper fibers of the image itself: brush-hair marks and dry-brush breaks at stroke starts, ink bleeding along fibers for one beat before drying and fading with the paper. Latin text is heavy engraved serif; Japanese text is dense bold ink in vertical columns on the side third. Text is positioned behind her and partially obscured, never covering her face. The following must appear verbatim:
0.8s 「墨」vertical, right third
2.4s "IT HAS BROKEN BEFORE" single line, left-aligned
5.0s "EVERY CRACK" / "REMEMBERS THE SKY" two stacked lines, left-aligned
7.6s 「金継」vertical, left third; as the ink is about to dry, gold seeps out from the brushstrokes
10.6s "AND WILL AGAIN" ink first, then filled with gold leaf
13.2s Centered title group: 「天墨」above, "INKFALL" below; must fully fade before 14.4s; the final frame must contain no text whatsoever
@Image1 [Cinematography] Anamorphic widescreen, elliptical bokeh, warm horizontal lens flares, 180-degree shutter, slight barrel distortion. The crane arm has mass, with ease-in/ease-out on all starts and stops; whip pans have slight overshoot at the end before settling; focus pulls have an extremely brief overshoot before pulling back. Gold leaf ribbons, fragments, or robe sleeves constantly pass through the foreground to create parallax.
0.0-1.4 100mm macro traveling along the mirror blade toward the guard, cloud shadows flowing across the steel, gold veins and engravings passing by.
1.4-3.2 35mm orbiting 180 degrees around the fragment field, weaving between fragments.
3.2-5.2 24mm wide angle rising with the long arc, large expanses of sky entering frame.
5.2-7.0 18mm one continuous take, pushing into a fragment's reflection and passing through, looking back at her from a high vantage on the other side.
7.0-8.8 Sinking into ink, lens tilting slightly upward to gaze at her silhouette, gently bobbing with the liquid.
8.8-10.8 Focal length jump-cuts with the edit points, alternating 85mm close-ups and 24mm wide shots.
10.8-13.0 50mm slow push-in, Dutch angle returning from five degrees to level.
13.0-13.8 85mm facial close-up.
13.8-15.0 Slowly descending from her face and pushing in, traveling along the blade back to 100mm macro, perfectly matching the first frame.
[Storyboard]
0.0-1.4 Loop point. Macro shot racing along the mirror blade, cloud shadows flowing across the steel. The sword slowly cracks along an existing gold vein like thin ice breaking; at the same frame, a fine crack spreads from the center of the frame toward the four corners. Black feathered ink clouds surge from the crack.
1.4-3.2 Hover. The camera orbits the floating fragment field, each piece slowly rotating on its own axis, each holding a corner of sky, gold edges glinting; at 2.2 seconds a fragment spins to extreme proximity, its mirror surface briefly reflecting the lens itself. She hangs at the center, bangs covering her eyes.
3.2-5.2 Ink burst. She sweeps the empty hilt in a long arc, dragging a massive ink brushstroke across the entire sky, wet black arc with dry-brush streaks; flung ink splatters hit the lens and bleed along the paper fibers. Fragments falling into the ink turn to silhouettes.
5.2-7.0 Through the mirror. One continuous take: the lens pushes into a fragment's reflection and passes through, looking back at her from a high vantage on the other side; gold leaf ribbons sweep past the lens, her turn trailing dry-brush streaks.
7.0-8.8 Submersion. The ink cloud charges directly at the lens and swallows it—surrounded by dense black, only skylight and her silhouette with arms spread visible above, paper fibers drifting slowly like flocculent matter, the frame gently undulating with the liquid, the frame crack pressed into fine branching lines within the ink. At 8.8 seconds the ink recedes downward and the lens breaks through the surface; fragments flip simultaneously and lock into a ring slowly orbiting her.
8.8-10.8 Ink wash montage, one pose per frame alternating rendering styles: pure black ink linework on paper-white ground, vermilion-and-cyan two-color woodblock frames, gold-leaf silhouettes on black, dry-brush motion-trail frames, one full-frame color inversion, fully rendered. Ink dots and gold flecks accumulate continuously, never resetting.
10.8-13.0 Kintsugi. Fragments spiral back along her arm into place, fracture edges aligning one by one; molten gold pours back along the original cracks, incandescent at the leading edge, cooling to matte gold leaf behind, ultimately identical to the opening gold veins—not one more, not one less. Simultaneously, the crack on the frame is also filled with gold, then the gold gradually fades. The overall light warms.
13.0-13.8 Eye contact. She raises her head for the first time, bangs parting to reveal her eyes, looking level at the lens; at 13.4 seconds a remaining fragment spins past, its mirror surface briefly reflecting the lens once more. She rotates her wrist a full turn to catch the light on the gold veins.
13.8-15.0 Return. She lowers her wrist and gaze, the sword returning to her side, bangs falling back over her eyes; the ink on the lens dries and vanishes, the frame crack and gold traces all recede, text fades completely; the lens travels back along the blade to the opening macro shot. The final frame is identical to the first frame.
[Audio] Every sound effect lands on the exact frame, mixed to loop seamlessly end-to-end. Foundation layer: thin high-altitude air, distant continuous wind, an extremely faint paper-rustling texture.
0.0-1.4 Rising metallic sustained tone, long brittle crackling of glass slowly breaking, low surging of ink entering water, one extremely fine near-field crack when the frame splits, as if right beside the ear.
1.4-3.2 Near silence—faint crystalline tinkling of fragments rotating, low-frequency liquid flow of ink curling, one held breath.
3.2-5.2 Broad wet brush dragging across paper, fine hissing of ink spreading along fibers, one extremely close wet impact as ink splatters onto the lens, beneath which a shakuhachi breath rises.
5.2-7.0 Pressure drop entering the fragment, muffled enclosed interior sound, a clear release upon exiting, the fluttering of gold leaf ribbons sweeping past.
7.0-8.8 Submersion—the full frequency range is instantly swallowed by a heavy low-pass filter, leaving only low liquid surging, distant distorted wind, and one slow heartbeat; at 8.8 seconds breaking through the surface, high frequencies and airiness crash back in.
8.8-10.8 Eight brush strikes landing on each cut, ink splattering, styles separated by short filter gates, one taiko hit on the inversion frame.
10.8-13.0 Warm low hum rises, soft crackling of molten gold flowing, each crack closing with a clear short chime, guzheng scale ascending step by step.
13.0-13.8 Extended shakuhachi long tone, clear metallic ring of the blade turning.
13.8-15.0 Everything converges—soft rustle of the sleeve settling, one slow exhale, resolving into the exact same high-altitude wind and paper sounds as the opening, seamlessly returning to the start.
Score: minimalist and warm, guzheng and shakuhachi only. Enters at 3.2 seconds, filtered out along with the submersion from 7.0 to 8.8 seconds, returns at 8.8 seconds, strings join from 10.8 seconds, exits at 13.8 seconds leaving only wind, seamlessly connecting to the opening note. No dialogue.
[Restrictions] Only one character, two arms, two hands, one sword. The sword carries gold veins from the first frame, identical after reforging to the first frame; any change in form, size, ornamentation, color, or light effects is strictly forbidden. Ink remains pure black, gold remains gold leaf, never mixing into brown. All text must be wet ink bleeding into the paper surface, never flat overlaid. Ink on the lens, frame cracks, and gold traces must be completely cleared before 13.8 seconds. The engraving must be accurately spelled CIA0. No logos, watermarks, or subtitles other than the text specified above. No ground, no architecture, no props. The entire film is bright and saturated. The first and last frames are perfectly identical, with no residual text or lens blemishes in either frame.