Page 1:
Panel 1: The sanctuary glows under Nyra’s presence. Her silver hair catches the light as she steps closer.
Lira (cautious):
“You said you were the Queen’s shadow… My mother?”
Nyra (nods):
“I was her sworn protector. And I failed her the night the Hollow Crown betrayed the throne.”
Kael:
“Then why help us now?”
Nyra:
“Because I failed once. I won’t fail her children.”
---
Page 2:
Panel 1: Nyra pulls out a folded map and spreads it on the ground.
Nyra:
“There’s a hidden citadel in the north. The last loyalists — the Crimson Flame — are gathering.
If we reach them, we can challenge both the Thorn Chain and the Hollow Crown.”
Kael:
“They’ll hunt us the entire way.”
Nyra (smirking):
“Then let them. I’ve missed the thrill.”
---
Page 3:
Panel 1: That night, by a campfire within the sanctuary’s safety, Lira sits beside Kael, watching the flames.
Lira:
“You said once… that we’re both cursed.”
Kael (softly):
“I meant it. But I think I misunderstood the curse.”
Lira (turning to him):
“What do you mean?”
Kael:
“It wasn’t pain that marked us. It was fate.
It made sure we’d find each other.”
---
Page 4:
Panel 1: Silence. Lira leans closer, her head resting gently against his shoulder.
Lira (quietly):
“When this is over… if we survive... would you stay?”
Kael:
“With you?
Always.”
Panel 2: They almost kiss — but a sound from the woods breaks the moment.
---
Page 5:
Panel 1: Nyra appears from the darkness, her blade drawn and blood dripping.
Nyra (grim):
“They’ve found us.”
Kael:
“Who?”
Nyra:
“Not the Hollow Crown. Not the Thorn Chain.
Something… older.”
---
Page 6:
Panel 1: Deep underground, unseen by the main characters — we see an ancient tomb awakening. Shadows shift unnaturally.
Voice (unknown):
“The Veil is weakening.
The child of moonlight walks the earth again.”
Voice 2:
“Then the Gate may open.
And the forgotten king may rise.”
Panel 2: A broken crown floats in darkness. A figure with no face watches it, whispering.
---
Page 7:
Panel 1: Kael, Lira, and Nyra prepare to flee the sanctuary. Vines move as if alive. The silver trees begin to rot.
Lira (frightened):
“This place… it’s rejecting us.”
Nyra:
“No.
It’s warning us.”
---
Page 8:
Panel 1: As they ride into the misty forest beyond the vault, Lira glances back once.
Kael:
“What is it?”
Lira:
“I don’t know. But something’s been watching us since we left that door.”
Narration:
“In the shadows of memory, an older war stirs.”
Narration:
“And the true enemy... has not yet shown its face.”
---
[End of Chapter 7]
