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> "He who breaks heaven
must answer to what sleeps beyond it."
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🌩️ Scene 1 — The Crack Appears
At dawn, Aegis woke to a sky split down the middle.
Not a cloud. Not a storm.
A fracture, glowing white-blue, stretching from horizon to horizon.
The stars were visible… at sunrise.
Cassia clutched her sword.
Myles dropped his book.
Aric stood at the academy balcony, looking up calmly.
> "They weren't lying," he whispered. "The Hollow really is waking."
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⚖️ Scene 2 — The World Reacts
All across the kingdoms:
Temples fell silent.
Oracles wept blood.
The sun blinked—once.
In the Divine Citadel, the last god-priest screamed to the Council:
> "The Favor was refused. The mortal has voided the Pact!"
The old gods didn't reply.
Because they were already leaving.
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🧪 Scene 3 — Echoes of the Hollow
Back in Aegis, Aric entered the Astral Labyrinth—a forbidden place where divine light was studied.
He placed a sliver of the broken sky onto a mirror array.
And what reflected… wasn't Aric.
It was a faceless version of him.
Eyes full of stars. Mouth sewn shut.
> "That's not a reflection," Myles whispered.
"It's an echo. Of who you'll become if you keep going."
Aric touched the mirror.
The echo bled.
And whispered in his mind:
> "You're not breaking the world.
You're replacing it."
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🔊 Scene 4 — The Hollow Speaks
At exactly 13:13, every clock in the academy stopped.
Wind froze.
Flames reversed.
Shadows began moving upward.
A voice, deep and endless, rumbled through every soul:
> "YOU OPENED THE WOUND."
Aric stepped into the ritual chamber.
> "I know."
> "WE REMEMBER YOU."
> "Good. Because I remember you too."
The Hollow's voice cracked stone:
> "IF YOU REPLACE THE GODS…
YOU MUST ANSWER THEIR DEBTS."
Aric didn't blink.
> "Then start the ledger."
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🔥 Scene 5 — Flames of the Forgotten
A ring of ancient spirits appeared—burned children, forgotten kings, erased soldiers.
All lost by the divine system.
Each one stepped forward and placed a mark on Aric's skin.
Pain. Vision. Guilt.
He staggered. Blood poured from his eyes.
Cassia tried to intervene. Aric raised a hand. "No. Let them mark me."
Myles whispered, "He's letting the Hollow make him its judge…"
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🧬 Scene 6 — The God-Skin Tear
The crack in the sky widened.
From it dropped a single tear — golden, alive.
It struck the ground behind Aric, exploding into a god-shaped figure.
Not flesh. Not fire.
Memory itself given form.
It screamed and attacked.
Cassia leapt. Myles summoned spellfire. But nothing slowed it—
Until Aric opened his palm and whispered:
> "I'm not your priest.
I'm your end."
The memory-being froze.
Aric whispered a name—his mother's true name—and the creature shattered into dust.
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📓 Scene 7 — Notebook Update
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"Phase 13: The Scream Begins"
Sky: cracked
Hollow: awakened
First echo: mirrored self
First debt: accepted
First false god: destroyed
> "The world hasn't ended.
It's just remembering how it was broken."
> "And I will become its scream."
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