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Chapter 10 - When Shadows Begin to Whisper

Page 1-2: Campfire and Unease

[Wide Panel – Nightfall in a ruined clearing]

The four of them — Kai, Noa, Vee, and Jet — sit around a flickering campfire beneath a sky full of stars. The forest beyond is silent. The wind brushes through broken trees and cracked stone ruins.

Narration (Kai):

"Even with fire, the night still feels cold."

[Inset Panel – Jet pokes the fire]

Jet stares into the flames, bruises still fresh but ignored. He's expressionless.

[Panel – Vee leans back on her hands]

Vee glances at the sky. Her long blonde hair drapes behind her like moonlight. Her smile is gone.

[Panel – Noa quietly hugs her knees]

Her style buns are slightly messy now. Her eyes are calm, but her body is tense.

[Panel – Close-up on Kai]

Kai sits with his eyes closed. He tries to rest… but something shifts.

[Last Panel – The fire flickers unnaturally]

A black tendril slithers up from the flames and coils around Kai's wrist.

SFX: "Shhh…"

Page 3-5: The Dream Realm

[Panel – Kai opens his eyes]

He finds himself standing in a monochrome version of the forest. His clothes ripple faintly, and golden cracks pulse on his body. The world is silent… too silent.

Kai:

"Shocked…"

[Panel – Shadows gather like mist]

A childlike figure appears in the fog — blindfolded, barefoot, and humming.

[Close-Up – The figure opens stitched eyes]

Meet Nyx, the Hollow who sacrificed sleep. His eyes are empty sockets. Shadow seeps from them.

Nyx:

"You sleep so loud, Embraced one."

[Full-Page Spread – A red-stitched world]

The landscape warps. The ground cracks into threads. A sky made of fabric stretches open.

Rei walks out — his body stitched with gold and void, one eye glowing bright, the other abyssal.

Rei:

"I was hoping we'd meet like this."

Page 6-7: The Offer

[Panel – Rei approaches slowly]

Rei extends his hand. The dream is eerily calm.

Rei:

"You don't belong with them. You feel it, don't you?

The imbalance. The questions they can't answer."

[Panel – Kai steps back, frowning]

Kai:

"You speak of understanding… but all you do is destroy."

[Panel – Rei smiles faintly]

There's sadness in his expression — but something twisted beneath it.

Rei:

"I destroy what deserves to break. So I can build what should endure."

Page 8: Kai's Stand

[Close-Up – Kai's cracked light begins to glow]

The golden veins on Kai's skin intensify.

Kai:

"You're not building anything. You're just running from what you couldn't fix."

SFX: "BOOM…"

[Full Panel – The dream shatters]

Kai's light explodes. The dream ruptures into shards of glass and memory.

Rei:

"Kai—!"

Page 9: Awakening

[Panel – Kai jolts awake]

The campfire still burns. His body is covered in sweat.

[Panel – Noa rushes to his side]

Noa:

"You're trembling… Did something happen?"

[Panel – Vee watches silently. Jet remains still.]

[Panel – Kai sits up]

Kai:

"He found me. He's close."

Page 10-11: The Stitched Appear

[Full-Spread Panel – Under a blood-red moon]

In a distant wasteland stitched with black threads and broken buildings, Rei stands atop a mound of bones, watching the sky. Behind him—his team.

• Nyx (Hollow of Sleep) stands with his arms crossed, black mist forming symbols in the air.

• The Banshee (mouth hidden behind wrappings) kneels in silence. Power trembles in the air.

• Void (Vein of Imagination), a tall boy with intelligent eyes and messy hair, draws in glowing lines with his fingers. The drawings float—twisting into beasts.

Rei:

"Soon, they'll see.

The world doesn't need heroes or martyrs…

Just those brave enough to reshape it…

Narration (Kai):

"The whisper has become a voice…

…and it's calling for war."

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