Page 1–2 — Morning Calm
Sunlight pierces through the forest canopy.
Kai sits cross-legged, strands of black and gold energy threading around his hands. His eyes are closed, but his breathing is steady.
Nearby:
• Noa channels a concentrated beam of light between her palms. Her hands tremble — fear has started creeping back into her, and it distorts the beam's stability.
• Vee manipulates invisible waves of emotion, pushing sudden jolts of joy, grief, and lust into Noa and Kai. Kai ignores her with a smirk. Noa curses under her breath when her beam flickers out.
• Jet stands shirtless, a deep cut bleeding across his ribs, but his expression doesn't change. Large stones float lazily around him until he crushes one into powder mid-air.
Kai opens his eyes:
Kai: "You're all improving… but none of you are ready for what's coming."
Page 3–4 — The Other Side of Training
Under a ruined cathedral, crimson moonlight filters through broken glass.
• Banshee stands before shattered pews, mouth wrapped in cloth. Rei nods, and Banshee unleashes a focused scream that cracks the stone floor. Dust rains down.
• Nyx sits in shadow, pulling nightmares from a sleeping raven, shaping them into clawed silhouettes that crawl across the walls.
• Void kneels, eyes glowing with an intense pale light. A massive spiked warhound manifests in front of him before fading into smoke.
Rei tightens the stitches across his jaw.
Rei: "The first meeting won't be the real one. We'll just… say hello."
The others smirk in silent agreement.
Page 5–6 — The Encounter
Rumors of a rampaging Hollow user spread through nearby villages.
Both Kai's team and Rei's team set out to find them — each with their own intentions.
In a misty clearing, they arrive at the same time.
The forest is silent except for the caw of a single crow. It lands on a broken branch between them.
Kai narrows his eyes.
Rei smiles faintly, the moonlight catching the glint of his stitches.
Rei: "Kai… I've been waiting to meet you face-to-face."
Kai: "You could've just walked up and talked."
Rei: "And miss the fun part?" grins, pulling at the stitches on his neck "You've got that balance… that I could never have. I need to know if it's real."
Kai: "And if it is?"
Rei: "Then I'll take it… piece by piece."
The air ripples between them.
Page 7–10 — First Clashes
Jet vs. Nyx:
Jet hurls sharpened logs and rocks telekinetically. Nyx sidesteps fluidly, letting shadows devour the projectiles. He flickers behind him, whispering in his ear:
Nyx: "You dream of dying in fire."
Jet's eyes widen for a fraction of a second — then he grins.
Jet: "Guess we'll see if that's today."
He slams him into a tree with a telekinetic shove, blood streaking from nyx lips.
Noa vs Void :
Noa blinds Void with quick bursts of light. He manifests mirrored soldiers of steel, which close in on her. She shatters two with her light beam, but one slashes her arm deeply.
Void: "Pain makes the picture sharper."
Noa glares.
Noa: "Pain just makes me brighter." Her beam cuts down the last soldier in a flash.
Vee vs. Banshee:
Vee sends waves of lust and longing toward Banshee, but he doesn't flinch — his sacrificed voice makes him immune.
He rips a small scream that bursts her eardrums. Blood trickles from her ears.
She grins through the pain:
Vee: "You'll have to scream louder if you want to break me."
She creates illusions of herself to overwhelm him…
The Illusions sends waves of lust and longing towards him…
Page 11–12
Kai vs. Rei
They finally move.
Kai dashes forward, threads of black and gold swirling. Rei meets him head-on, leaking unstable Hollow and Vein energy.
Their first clash sends a shockwave ripping through the clearing — trees bend, the ground cracks.
Between blows:
Rei: "Your balance feels… wrong. Too clean. No one survives both paths without breaking."
Kai: "I did."
Rei: "Not yet."
Rei's fingers tighten — Kai's vision distorts, fragments of Rei's childhood flashing in his mind. The stitched boy kneeling in a pool of blood. Kai pushes it back with a flare of golden light.
They lock blades — inches from each other's faces. Both smirk.
Page 13–14 — The Pull Back
Rei steps back first.
Rei: "This was just a handshake, Kai. Next time, I'll use my real hand."
Kai says nothing, but his knuckles are white around his weapon.
Both teams withdraw, leaving the clearing torn apart.
Last panel: a single drop of blood rolling down Kai's cheek, catching the sunlight… while, in the distance, Rei's stitched smile glows under the red moon.