---
[Panel 1]
Wide shot of the peaceful village at night, bathed in moonlight. A quiet breeze rustles the trees.
Narration: "Wraithcall Atoll had not known bloodshed in years… until the curse awakened."
---
[Panel 2]
Inside a small hut, Kael thrashes in his sleep. Sweat drips from his brow. His body is trembling violently.
Kael (whispers in sleep): "No… not again… stay down…"
SFX: Whum… Whum… (A low, haunting pulse begins to rise.)
---
[Panel 3]
Dark mist begins to seep from Kael's body. A villager walks by outside, glancing at the hut.
Villager (muttering): "That outsider… something's wrong with him…"
---
[Panel 4]
Suddenly, the hut explodes outward with a shockwave of ghostly energy.
SFX: BOOOOOOOM!!
[Panel 5]
Kael steps out of the debris — eyes glowing white, his body half-transformed, markings spreading across his skin, fingers clawed, fangs visible. He lets out a low, guttural growl.
Kael (possessed tone): "Rrrrhhhh—!!"
---
[Panel 6]
Villagers scream and run. Maelis, already geared up, rushes into the scene, sliding to a stop when he sees Kael.
Maelis: "...So it's true."
[Panel 7]
Maelis grips his trident tight, muscles tensing.
Maelis (thinking): "He's lost to it… that thing inside him's taken over."
---
[Panel 8]
Kael roars and lunges forward with animalistic speed. Maelis just barely raises his trident in time to block.
SFX: CLAAAANG!
Maelis: "Tch—!"
Kael (snarling): "RRRAAAAAHHH!!"
---
[Panel 9]
Maelis flips backward and throws his net-like weapon, aiming to restrain Kael.
Maelis: "Binding Net: Iron Veil!"
SFX: FWIP FWIP FWIP
The net wraps around Kael— but he bursts through it with raw force, tearing it to shreds.
---
[Panel 10]
Kael claws Maelis across the shoulder, blood spraying.
Maelis: "AGH!!"
He rolls back, gasping, wounded but alive.
---
[Panel 11]
Maelis plants his trident into the earth, lightning crashing in the sky.
Maelis (gritted teeth): "You're strong. Stronger than anything I've faced… but I can't let you destroy this place."
[Panel 12]
He spins the trident in a dramatic stance.
Maelis: "Form of the Retiarius — Tidebreaker Stance!"
---
[Panel 13]
*Montage of rapid battle:
Kael slams Maelis into a stone wall.
Maelis parries a bite with the trident's shaft.
Maelis lands a spinning kick to Kael's ribs.
Kael backhands Maelis through a hut.*
---
[Panel 14]
Bloodied and panting, Maelis drives his trident into Kael's thigh, trying to hold him back.
Maelis (yelling): "I'm not done yet, MONSTER!"
Kael: "RAAAAHHH!!"
---
[Panel 15]
Kael grabs Maelis by the face and slams him into the ground, cracking the earth beneath him.
SFX: BOOOM!
Maelis' trident clatters to the side. His vision begins to blur.
---
[Panel 16]
Kael roars to the sky. Maelis lies still, unconscious.
Narration: "The guardian of Wraithcall had fallen… but the true nightmare had just begun."
---
[Panel 17]
Kael, now fully lost to his berserk form, turns to the village. Glowing eyes wide, he charges.
[Panel 18]
Villagers scream and scatter as Kael smashes through homes, clawing and tearing. Blood sprays. A woman's scream is cut short.
Villager (off-panel): "NOOOO!!"
SFX: KRSHHHH! THUD!
---
[Panel 19]
Kael slams a man into the dirt. Another tries to run — Kael impales him with a shattered wooden beam.
Narration: "The Hollow Howl returned… and death followed."
---
[Panel 20]
Kael stops. His glowing eyes lock onto something — someone.
[Panel 21]
The boy from before stands frozen, crying silently, soup bowl shattered at his feet.
Boy (softly): "...Mister?"
---
[Final Panel]
Kael steps forward slowly, shadow engulfing the boy.
Close-up on his monstrous face, eyes hollow but twitching.
Tears well up in the boy's eyes as Kael's claws rise.
Narration: "And in the moment before the storm, innocence trembled before the beast."
TO BE CONTINUED.