[Opening Page – Wide Panel]
A crimson haze bleeds over the horizon. The sun hasn't risen yet.
Four silhouettes — Kai, Noa, Vee, Jet — walk along the outskirts of a ruined industrial district. The air smells of rust and smoke.
Narration (Kai's voice):
We're chasing shadows now. And shadows… don't run without reason.
[Page 2 – Panels]
Panel 1:
Close-up on Noa — Her eyes shift nervously at every flicker of light in the distance.
Noa (thinking): That feeling… fear creeping back. Why now?
Panel 2:
Vee walks beside her, hands in pockets, a slight smirk hiding concern.
Vee: "You're quieter than usual, Light-girl. Thinking about someone… or something?"
Panel 3:
Noa forces a smile, looking away.
Noa: "Neither."
[Page 3 – Wide Shot]
The group halts.
In the distance — a lone, burnt-out warehouse. Doors hanging loose. Black stains on the concrete like something crawled out.
Kai: "This is where the trail leads. But…"
His voice lowers. "…we're not the first ones here."
[Page 4 – Split Panels]
Top Panel:
Inside the warehouse — blood smeared symbols line the walls. Empty shells of weapons litter the ground.
Bottom Panel:
From the shadows, two Hollow corpses dangle from the rafters… their skin pale, mouths frozen open in silent screams.
[Page 5 – Close-Up Sequence]
Panel 1:
Kai steps forward, placing his hand on one corpse. His Embraced power activates — eyes glowing faintly.
Panel 2 (Vision Panel):
Quick flashes — a battle, a monstrous figure sewn together, claws ripping through air, a scream splitting the earth.
Panel 3:
Kai's eyes widen.
Kai: "…Rei was here."
[Page 6 – Dramatic Page]
Cut to Rei's perspective.
He stands in the rain, looking down at a Vein user's broken body — the one who fought back against him. Blood mixing with water, running toward a gutter.
Nyx (Hollow who sacrificed sleep) leans against a wall nearby.
Nyx: "You could've killed him faster."
Rei: smirking "And miss the look in his eyes when hope broke? No."
[Page 7 – Symbolic Panel]
The Vein user's Seraph appears faintly in the background — wings of light — before fading, defeated. Rei crouches beside the dying man.
Rei: "I'll give you a choice… fade into the dirt, or stand beside me."
[Page 8 – Return to Kai's Group]
Panel 1:
Jet hurls a rusted barrel aside with telekinesis.
Jet: "So what's the plan, Embraced-boy? Keep walking into these traps until one of us ends up like them?"
Panel 2:
Kai glares, but doesn't answer immediately.
Kai: "…No. We turn this hunt around."
[Page 9 – Closing Wide Panel]
The four stand in the warehouse doorway. Behind them, sunlight finally breaks the horizon, casting long shadows forward.
Narration (Kai's voice):
He wants me to find him. Fine… I will.