Scene 1 — The Observation Deck
SFX: drip… drip… drip…
Water from a broken ceiling pipe hits the sterile floor of the observation room.
The monitors flicker — Dante sits on the medical cot below, his eyes half-closed, breathing steady but unnaturally calm.
Ada stands near the glass, clipboard in hand, her reflection split across its surface.
Raen leans against the console, arms crossed, staring hard at Dante.
Raen: "He's been like that for hours. Doesn't even twitch."
Ada: "Vitals are stable. Cursed flow is... fluctuating, but contained."
SFX: bip-bip-bip — the monitor displays alternating blue and red pulses instead of a steady rhythm.
Ada (thinking): "It's as if two sources are fighting for control."
Raen exhales smoke from a half-burnt cigarette.
Raen: "I've seen possession cases before. None of them smile in their sleep."
Scene 2 — Subtle Changes
SFX: hummmm—
The room trembles faintly as Dante opens his eyes.
His pupils flash faintly crimson-blue, then fade.
He stretches his hand, cracking his knuckles.
Dante (softly): "How long was I out?"
Ada (guarded): "Nine hours. You were… unresponsive."
He stands slowly, shoulders relaxed — too relaxed.
The air around him feels heavier.
Raen (narrowing eyes): "You remember what happened inside?"
Dante: "Enough to know it won't happen again."
Ada's pen stops mid-note.
Ada: "You sound certain."
Dante (tilts head): "Because I made a deal with myself."
SFX: crack—! — a small ripple appears across the glass wall beside him.
Raen flinches. Ada looks up sharply.
Ada: "Dante… you didn't use cursed energy just now, did you?"
Dante (smirks faintly): "Guess it leaks when I breathe now."
Scene 3 — Private Conversation
SFX: click… hiss—
The containment doors close behind Dante as he leaves for debriefing.
Ada and Raen remain.
The light flickers — red, then blue.
Raen: "You saw that, right?"
Ada: "He's holding something back. His energy signature's… layered."
Raen (mutters): "Layered's one word for it. Feels like he's got someone else wearing him from the inside."
Ada flips to the last page of her report, hands trembling slightly.
Ada: "The shard's resonance wasn't destroyed. It adapted.
Merged with his psyche instead of fading.
SFX: low vibration—
The monitors pulse faintly with Dante's heartbeat in the next room.
His shadow stretches unnaturally along the wall — even though the light doesn't move.
Scene 4 — The Night Shift
Late night.
Ada stays alone in the lab, reviewing data logs.
SFX: beep… beep…
Every sensor shows irregular readings — spikes of fear, suppression, and calm, all looping in cycles.
Ada rubs her temples.
Ada (murmuring): "This isn't normal emotion regulation. It's like… his fear is alive."
She glances toward the camera feed — Dante's room.
He's sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring at the wall.
SFX (faint): whisper… whisper… whisper…
Ada freezes. The sound seems to come from the speakers themselves.
She increases volume.
Voice (distorted): "You promised me… we wouldn't fear again…"
Ada's hand shakes.
Ada (whispering): "That voice… it's coming from inside his cell feed."
Suddenly — Dante looks directly at the camera.
His lips don't move, but the whisper continues.
SFX: bzzzt—!! — the feed cuts to static.
Ada steps back, pulse racing.
Ada (thinking): "He knows I'm listening."
SFX:rain tapping softly on glass
Raen enters the lab, yawning.
Raen: "You didn't sleep again?"
Ada: "Couldn't."
She hands him a drive. "Last night's data. Audio distortion matches his psychic frequency."
Raen raises an eyebrow.
Raen: "Meaning?"
Ada (flatly): "Meaning he's communicating with himself… from the shard."
Raen whistles low.
Raen: "That's one hell of a split personality."
Ada looks toward Dante's cell — now empty.
SFX: door slide—!
voice echoes behind them.
Dante (softly): "Morning, doctors. You're up early."
He's standing in the doorway, calm, carrying two cups of coffee.
Ada (hiding shock): "We didn't call for you."
Dante (smiling faintly): "Didn't have to. I heard you thinking about me."
The sound of glass hums faintly around them —
SFX: vvvvvvvvrrrmmmmm—
Raen sets her hand on his weapon, eyes narrowing.
Ada just stares, caught between fear and fascination.
Narrator:
"The line between man and mirror fades…
And sometimes, what returns from the void isn't the same promise that entered."