Page 1:
Panel 1: Deep within the vault, Kael and Lira run down a narrow passage. The light from the gem and the blade illuminates carvings on the walls — forgotten faces, lost battles, crowned ghosts.
Lira (looking around):
“Why do these faces feel... familiar?”
Kael:
“Because your blood remembers what your mind forgot.”
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Page 2:
Panel 1: They emerge into a hidden sanctuary — a vast underground garden, long overgrown, filled with silver-leafed trees and glowing petals drifting like snow.
Lira (softly):
“It’s beautiful…”
Kael:
“No one’s been here in years.”
Panel 2: A stone bench beside a blackened statue of a queen. They sit. Silence. Then:
Lira:
“Back there, when you touched the sword…
did you see her?”
Kael (stiffens):
“…My mother. She said something strange.”
Kael (remembering):
“The moon will return to the throne.”
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Page 3:
Panel 1: Lira closes her eyes, touching her pendant.
Lira:
“When I was locked away, I used to hear a voice in my sleep.
She’d whisper poems... and one line always stayed.”
“‘When blood sings to blood, the crown will bleed light.’”
Panel 2: Kael gently takes her hand.
Kael:
“Maybe she was trying to guide you. Maybe she still is.”
Lira (whispering):
“Kael… if all of this ends in war… would you stay beside me?”
Kael:
“Even if the world burns around us, Lira.”
---
Page 4:
Panel 1: Meanwhile, back in the archives, the battle has stopped. The Thorn Chain and Hollow Crown forces stand over bodies, both sides bloodied and exhausted.
*Vark and Seraphine face each other. Tension crackles.
Vark:
“They escaped you, too. Impressive.”
Seraphine (coldly):
“They’re not running. They’re remembering.
And when they do… this world will change.”
---
Page 5:
Panel 1: Back in the sanctuary, Kael examines a hidden chamber behind a broken tree trunk. Inside: faded scrolls, cracked mirrors, and a small, locked chest.
Lira (from behind):
“What’s in it?”
Kael (holding it up):
“A family seal. Looks like it hasn’t been touched in decades.”
*Panel 2: He opens it. Inside, a torn journal. The last page reads:
“If you find this, son — protect the Moon Child.
She is more than heir. She is memory itself.”
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Page 6:
Panel 1: Kael looks at Lira — truly seeing her. The pieces begin falling into place.
Kael (thinking):
She isn’t just a princess… she’s the seal of the old kingdom.
She is what the world forgot… and what it fears remembering.
Lira (noticing his stare):
“What?”
Kael (quietly):
“You’re not just wearing the Veil…
You are the Veil.”
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Page 7:
Panel 1: A low hum vibrates through the sanctuary. Petals swirl unnaturally.
Lira (alarmed):
“What’s happening?!”
*Panel 2: A figure in a cloak emerges from the trees — neither Hollow Crown nor Thorn Chain.
*Kael draws his blade, but the figure raises a hand calmly.
Stranger:
“If you want to reclaim the throne… you’ll need more than memories.”
---
Page 8:
Panel 1: The figure throws back the hood. A young woman with silver hair and one missing eye.
Stranger:
“My name is Nyra.
And I was the Queen’s shadow.”
Narration:
“As the Veil thins, ghosts return.
And what was hidden in darkness… prepares to rise.”
---
[End of Chapter 6]
