Celestial Drift: Chronicles of the Ember Soul

[Scene: Grayholt – Chaos in the Streets]

Shadow creatures burst from the sky-rip. Screams echo. Town guards panic. Shops get wrecked. A bakery explodes for no reason.

Lyra raises her staff. Magic circles spin into existence.

LYRA"Voidspawn. Class-B or higher. They shouldn't be here—!"

KAI (hands glowing)"Welcome to Grayholt. Please enjoy our complimentary nightmare monsters."

Toma hops onto a crate, arms raised like a conductor.

TOMA"Hero moment! Unleash the ancient power! Dramatic pose! GO!"

KAI"I don't have a pose—!"

[Scene: The First Fight]

A shadowbeast charges. Kai instinctively lifts a hand—A burning sigil forms in the air.

BOOM. A massive flame wave launches the beast across the street, flipping three carts and one very confused goat.

KAI"Whoa. Did I do that?"

TOMA"Yes. And you also just scorched Mrs. Belwin's cabbage stand. RIP."

More voidspawn close in. Lyra leaps into action, her magic graceful and deadly. Ice lances. Mirror shards. Glowing runes.But she keeps glancing at Kai.

LYRA (irritated)"What are you? Normal people don't do celestial fire. Or float."

KAI"Pretty sure I'm just very… emotionally flammable?"

[Mid-Battle Comedy Break]

Toma gets caught by a small shadow imp. It starts dragging him into a portal.

TOMA"I REGRET NOTHING—except trusting shiny objects!!"

Kai hurls a mini fireball, barely missing Toma's fur.

TOMA"YOU SINGED MY BUTT!"

KAI"You're welcome! You still owe me rent!"

[Scene: Aftermath – The Dust Settles]

The voidspawn retreat, pulled back into the portal. The rift seals with a crack of thunder.

Silence.Burned streets. Smoke. A melted statue of the mayor.

Kai stands, chest heaving, hands smoking.

KAI"Okay. So. Shadow beasts. Random fire powers. Possibly divine possession."(beat)"Yeah, I think I need a nap."

He collapses. Lyra catches him before he hits the ground.

LYRA (softly)"You're not normal, Kai Arlen. And that terrifies me."

[Scene: Guild Tower – Later]

Guild medics scan Kai with glowing crystals. He's unconscious, muttering in a foreign tongue:

KAI (sleep-talking)"Zarion… Solmara… Emberlight…"

Lyra watches from the window, arms crossed. A senior guild official appears behind her.

GUILD OFFICER"He's dangerous, Veylin. That flame is older than the gods."

LYRA"Then we keep him close. Dangerous or not… he might be the key to stopping what's coming."

The officer nods grimly.

[Scene: Elsewhere – Far Across the Stars]

A distant realm. A masked figure floats over a black ocean of stars.

MYSTERIOUS FIGURE"The Ember Soul awakens… after all these years."(a pause)"Send the Eclipsed Blades. We'll snuff him out… before he remembers who he is."