Scene 1 — The Aftermath
SFX: drip… drip… drip…
The once-pristine halls of the Glass Tower now lie in ruin — cracks spread like spiderwebs across its glass walls.
Rain seeps through the shattered ceiling, droplets hitting the floor where Dante lies motionless.
SFX: hummmm… crackle… hiss…
Ada kneels beside him, her face pale from exhaustion, fingers trembling as she tries to stabilize his breathing.
Raen stands guard, her weapon still drawn, eyes darting across the wreckage.
Raen (low): "He's still breathing?"
Ada (weakly): "Barely… The shard left its mark inside him. He's—"
Her voice falters as Dante suddenly gasps and jolts upward.
SFX: GASP—! THUD!
His eyes shoot open — flashing faintly with blue light before fading back to brown.
Ada (relieved): "Dante! You're—"
Dante (hoarse): "It's… still here…"
Ada freezes.
Ada: "What do you mean?"
Dante (quiet, haunted): "The whispers… they're still in my head."
Close-up — faint crimson symbols flicker briefly beneath his skin like veins of light.
Scene 2 — The Whisper
Inside Dante's mind: darkness. Echoes ripple like a heartbeat.
A faint, distorted voice murmurs.
Voice (whispering): "Do you feel it, host? The hollow where I once lived?"
Dante grips his head, sweat dripping down his temple.
Voice: "You thought you were free… but I left you a gift."
"A promise made in fear… is a promise that never dies."
SFX: THUMP-THUMP—THUMP-THUMP—!
His heartbeat grows louder, syncing with the whisper.
Ada (off-screen): "Dante! Look at me! Breathe—!"
He snaps out of it, gasping. Ada grips his face between her hands, grounding him.
Ada (softly): "It's gone. It can't control you anymore."
Dante (quietly): "Then why… can I still feel its heartbeat?"
Scene 3 — The Awakening of the Redd Knight
SFX: WHOOOOOM—
Far outside the city, deep within the storm's eye, something moves.
The Redd Knight stands atop a ruined skyscraper, rain pelting against its armor.
Steam rises from its joints as red lines pulse beneath the metal — alive, throbbing.
SFX: drip… clang… drip… clang…
Each step it takes leaves a faint scorch mark on the concrete.
A low hum resonates from its chest — the crystal core embedded within.
Inside the armor, the shard's consciousness stirs.
Shard (echoing, calm): "Freedom. A form at last."
"No longer bound by flesh… now only by purpose."
It raises its arm — the metal creaking — staring at the clawed gauntlet that replaced its old chains.
SFX: CLANK—CLANG—CLANG—!
In the reflection of a rain puddle, the armor's visor splits — revealing four glowing eyes burning like coals.
The red aura ripples outward, distorting the air.
Redd Knight (low, distorted): "Fear will guide this world again."
The storm crackles above.
Lightning strikes the tower ruins in the distance — where Dante lies recovering.
Scene 4 — Dante's Recovery
SFX: rain tapping… distant thunder
Dante sits on the edge of a ruined balcony, wrapped in a torn blanket. Ada stands beside him, arms folded.
Raen leans against a broken column, silent.
Ada: "You nearly died back there."
Dante (weak smirk): "Yeah, thanks for the reminder."
She glares but can't hide her concern.
Ada: "That thing — the Knight — it's no longer bound. It could level the city if we don't—"
Raen (interrupts): "If we don't stop it, we'll all be dead before sunrise."
Dante stares into the storm, his reflection distorted in a puddle of water.
In it, for just a moment — four red eyes blink back at him.
SFX: blink—blink—
Dante (whispering): "Then we hunt it down."
Ada (frowning): "You're in no condition to fight."
Dante (smirking faintly): "I'm not fighting it because I want to. I'm fighting it because it's still a part of me."
Scene 5 — The Knight's March
Cut to: a wide shot of the ruined city skyline.
Rain falls in sheets as the Redd Knight descends from the skyscraper rooftop.
SFX: THUD… THUD… THUD…
Each footstep reverberates across the city streets — cars quake, streetlights flicker.
Its red aura spreads like veins through the fog.
Narrator:
"Fear was never meant to be conquered.
It was meant to be understood.
But when man caged it… it learned how to wear armor."
As it walks into the darkness, the faint echo of Dante's voice lingers in its mind.
Dante (voice, echoing): "You don't control me anymore."
Redd Knight (reply, faint): "Then watch how I control the world you left behind."
SFX: CRRRRKKK—BOOOOOOM—!
Lightning flashes — illuminating the Knight's silhouette as it vanishes into the mist.
Final Panel / End Quote:
Dante stands beneath the rain, clutching his chest, the faint red glow pulsing beneath his skin.
Narrator:
"When a promise breaks…
the echo becomes the fear that follows."
Text Fade:
Next Chapter — "The Hollow March."