SFX: [WHOOOSH—CRACK]
Dante plummeted through the abyss, shards of light flashing around him — fragments of faces, screams, and burning cities spiraling in every direction. Each piece flickered like dying memories.
He gasped, reaching out, trying to grab one. The moment his fingers brushed the edge of a shard—
SFX: [FLASH]
The world snapped back into form.
He was standing in a battlefield of shadows — a world washed in twilight hues. The sky above was cracked, dripping liquid darkness. Broken weapons littered the ground, their blades whispering faint echoes.
And there — in the center — stood a man.
Tall, cloaked in black and violet armor, his face hidden behind a cracked mask. The same faint purple crystal that now beat inside Dante's chest pulsed in his.
Dante (whispering): "…That's… him. Men'Sar…"
SFX: [BOOM—BOOM] thunder rolled across the barren landscape.
Mancer stood over countless fallen warriors, his sword dripping with black flame. His voice came out hollow, tinged with grief and rage.
Mancer: "They called me a monster… when all I wanted was to protect them…"
Unknown voice (echoing): "And yet you consumed them… one by one."
The air shimmered — and from the mist emerged another figure, clad in white and gold. The two stood opposite — light and shadow, hope and despair.
Dante (thoughts racing): "A memory…? No—this is a replay of what happened… centuries ago."
Mancer raised his weapon, the ground trembling beneath his power.
SFX: [ZRAAAAK—!]
Mancer: "You don't understand what it means to fear death! To see the ones you love taken—"
His voice broke — and in that moment, the crystal in his chest flared violently. Black tendrils of shadow erupted from him, devouring the light itself.
Mancer (screaming): "So I made a promise… to never feel fear again!"
SFX: [DOOOOM] — A shockwave of cursed shadow exploded outward, freezing everything in place.
The white-clad warrior fell — disintegrating into crystal fragments that scattered across the void. One shard — glowing faintly — drifted toward Dante.
As it floated closer, the images around him shattered like glass once more.
SFX: [KRRRSHHH—TINK]
Dante reached out instinctively — and when his fingers met the shard's surface, a flood of memories invaded his mind.
Voices overlapping:
"A promise to become fear itself…"
"The one who inherits my shadow…"
"When the world forgets my name, I'll rise again—through him…"
Dante stumbled back, clutching his chest as the purple crystal beneath his skin pulsed in rhythm.
SFX: [THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…]
Dante (gasping): "So that's it… You didn't just choose me… you marked me…"
Mancer (echoing faintly): "You carry what remains of me. My shard… my sin… my will."
The battlefield faded, replaced by a vast mirror reflecting Dante's shadowed silhouette. His reflection twisted — slowly changing into the Shadow Mancer's form.
Reflection (Mancer's voice): "But remember, boy… power born from fear only obeys one truth — it consumes or is consumed."
SFX: [CRACK—!]
The mirror fractured. Light and darkness collided — and Dante's consciousness was torn free.
🌒 Back in Reality
SFX: [GASP—!]
Dante jolted awake, lying amidst the ruins. His chest still glowing faintly violet. Ada and Raen knelt beside him — both wide-eyed.
Ada (worried): "Dante! You were out cold—what the hell happened?!"
Raen: "Yeah, you were twitching like you saw a ghost. Don't tell me that shard was giving you visions now!"
He slowly sat up, clutching his chest. His gaze distant.
Dante: "…It's not just a shard… It's someone's will. A cursed promise from centuries ago."
Raen frowned.
Ada raised a brow.
Ada: "Great. So now you're carrying around an ancient emo ghost. Fantastic."
Raen (snorts): "Guess that makes you the new Shadow Prince, huh?"
Dante (smirking faintly): "Maybe… but if his power chose me, then I'll decide what it becomes."
As the night wind howled through the ruins, the faint shimmer of the shard's light flickered on his chest — like a heartbeat.
But deep within that glow… Mancer's eyes briefly opened.
SFX: [TUK…TUK…TUK…]
A whisper echoes faintly—
"We are not done yet… Dante…"