Event synopsis: Ancient Forge
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Acting as the beginning of and teaser for the Sui saga, Ancient Forge is actually a B-movie directed by Nian and starred Lava who came to save the day by protecting Lungmen from the destruction wrought by a mysterious monster during the Lunar New Year's Eve with the aid of Rhodes Island and the Lungmen Guard Department led by Fumizuki.
Ancient Forge I
Long time ago, in a Yanese folklore, there exists the "Nian", a ferocious monster that will bring havoc in the eve of Spring Festival. Humans will either humble themselves to their wrath, or bravely expel the monster by using fireworks. But by modern age, most people have forgotten much of the story. Until now...
On a particular night of the New Year Eve, the Lungmen Guard Department receives many mysterious reports such as ignitions of illegal fireworks and sighting of giant monster. But later they receive urgent reports to mobilize large number of personnel, making them tremble when think about the authenticity of the "Nian" folklore. In the meantime, back in the headquarters of the LGD, Amiya, the Doctor, Fumizuki, Ch'en, and Snowsant are analyzing the potential of the Nian's arrival. Despite Lungmen's modern armaments that could easily expel the monster, they must not underestimate the Nian's wrath.
It is night time, yet the city folks slowly realize that the temperature becomes as hot as noontime. In the meantime, they spot some figures resembling Reunion fighters, who should have been long purged, but those fighters neither talk nor make any response as if they are puppets. The "fighters" ruthlessly attack any bystanders, bringing chaos to the community.
Just as the LGD are cracking their heads of this tricky incident, a hero appears in front of them, and the hero is Lava who swears to eradicate the threat of the "Nian".
Ancient Forge II
The Reunion fighter puppets, now being identified as the "terracotta" created by the "Nian," continue to create havoc aimlessly, forcing the LGD to immediate evacuate the residents. Even Snowsant's latest creation, a highly advance heat detector, could not easily detect the energy source of the terracotta due to rising temperature. Nevertheless, Hoshiguma leads some of the forces to repel the terracotta along with the help of vigilant citizens like the Lee's Detective Agency.
With all the data collected, Lava personally uncovers the "Nian" who turns out to be a mere whacky woman in peculiar outfit. Lava points out that the "Nian" has infiltrated Lungmen's central database which allows her to create her terracotta in the shape of Reunion fighters. She even figures out that what the "Nian" wields is not Originium Arts, but an ancient, magical power possessed by some certain ancient beings. Being impatient by her nagging, the "Nian" declares a challenge with Lava: if she defeats her, she will retreat.
Lava accepts the challenge, and a raging fight breaks out. the "Nian's" blazing heat enables her to melt even the tallest building and reforge it into countless weapons and terracotta. Although Lava is in a disadvantage by only using her space manipulation Arts, she reserves a trick that could weaken the "Nian"—firecrackers that paralyzes her. Now being tired of the tricks, the "Nian" decides to unleash her true form.
Ancient Forge III
The battles ends with a devastating result. The "Nian's" power is so ridiculous that it literally melts a portion of the city's mobile plate. Nevertheless, she give Lava a three-day truce as mercy. Ch'en and Amiya take the opportunity to evaluate the damage so that they will come out a better plan against the "Nian."
Lava comes out an idea to lure the "Nian." She will have the LGD relax the defense line to let the "Nian's" terracotta troops to enter the LGD headquarters. Then, Lava will lure her into a room filled with firecrackers and explosives, and the rest will blow up building while sacrificing Lava. Despite the genius move, however, the sheer amount of the explosion does not do damage onto the "Nian." To her, rather than continuing her endless "fight" with her eleven "siblings," having fun with humans are more interesting.
All of a sudden, the city's plates tremble, and the "Nian" suddenly vanishes. Lava and the gang are soon bewildered by such moment: a gigantic, bellowing kaiju rises from the ground and destroys the rest of the city. Lungmen is now forever engulfed by a great fire cast by the wrath of the "Nian"...
...Except all these are just mere movie scripts written by Nian! It turns out the "wrath on Lungmen" is part of her upcoming New Year movie Ancient Forge. However, Lava is totally upset of her poor writing, and she keeps on criticizing Nian for adding useless elements. Specifically, she detests Nian's decision to add kaiju elements into the movie. After endless persuasions, Nian takes up Lava's words and revise the movie's ending.
This time, the "Nian" kaiju fails to bring Its wrath onto Lungmen, and humans finally succeed in defeated It. As the kaiju falls, a mysterious figure, hinting to be one of the "Nian's" sisters, stands from afar watching Its demise. She mocks the "Nian" of her naive interest in cultivating humans that could stop Its rampage in the future and intends to commemorate this humiliating moment in her paint scrolls. She sees Lungmen an interesting place that could become her hunting spot, yet she has no interest in it for the time being until the wrath of the land being quenched.
The movie wraps up quickly as Lava expects... until she sees the pop-out title: Ancient Forge 2. Lava is baffled by Nian's hesitance in releasing the movie's second season, and Nian replies that this is simply because she wants an eye-catching attraction to the audience. In the meantime, she is puzzled by Nian's decision to vilify her sister in the movie out of vengeance over some small daily matters. Most importantly, she is very unsatisfied with Nian's scriptwriting, prompting her to write it on her own. Even then, Nian is glad that Lava is active as usual after moving on from a dark past. She looks forward the movie will be a blockbuster (though it never happens) and hopes the tale will be remembered by the people.
Although this lousy B-movie seems to be a meaningless story, it is just the prologue of a greater scheme in the future, a future where humans triumphs over vindication of "gods", and a saga about an exciting journey in the heartland of Yan.