CHAPTER 8 – "The Star Thief's Shadow"
[PAGE 1]
[Scene: Observatory – Battle Aftermath]
The observatory is wrecked. Pillars fractured. Debris everywhere. Rain stands in the center, the glow fading from his veins. His blade hums, then dims. A long silence lingers. Wind whispers through shattered glass above.
MOURN (off-panel):
Impressive...
Your power might surpass what I expected.
[Panel: Mourn sits calmly against a cracked wall, unbothered despite the chaos.]
RAIN (breathing hard):
So what? You done?
You came all this way just to get humbled?
MOURN (chuckling):
Humbled?
No.
I came to see what you were becoming.
And now... I've seen enough.
[PAGE 2]
[Mourn slowly stands. The air warps around him.]
MOURN (coldly):
Grow strong, Rain.
Let the stars burn brighter inside you.
Because when you finally reach your peak...
That's when I'll take it all.
[Rain's eyes widen. Mourn's silhouette begins to dissolve into black star particles.]
MOURN (last words before fading):
You are the one.
The next bearer of Astrael.
And soon…
You'll burn just like the rest.
[PAGE 3]
[Rain is alone now. The room is dead quiet. His blade lowers slightly. His knees shake.]
RAIN (to himself):
He was gonna kill me.
He could've killed me.
[Panel: He drops to his knees, panting.]
RAIN (thinking):
What the fuck was that?
That power… That voice… It wasn't just me.
It felt like—
Home?
[Small flashback image: A child under a blanket fort. Star map glowing. Father's hand pointing to the sky.]
RAIN (internal):
No.
Don't start thinking that shit.
He's dead.
Long gone.
[PAGE 4]
[Soft shimmer in the background – Moon Person appears again. Same awkward human disguise. This time wearing a "NASA drip" hoodie with fake Yeezys.]
MOON PERSON (grinning):
Rain...
Now you got the juice.
[Pause panel – Rain stares at them like they farted in a funeral.]
RAIN (flatly):
Bro…
Did you just quote Juice?
MOON PERSON:
Is that not… a compliment?
I thought that line SLAPPED. Tupac? He was HIM, no?
RAIN:
You sound like an undercover cop tryin' to fit in at a cookout.
You tryna be racist or just socially inept?
MOON PERSON (panicking):
NO! No! I downloaded 9,000 Earth films! Juice was trending under Black Classics. It came with… Space Jam and Baby Boy.
RAIN:
I need you to shut the fuck up immediately.
[PAGE 5]
[Moon Person kneels down beside him, less goofy now. They lower their voice.]
MOON PERSON:
Okay…
Bad timing.
But the point stands.
You felt it, didn't you?
That warmth. That presence.
That wasn't just adrenaline.
RAIN (quiet):
...So it was something.
MOON PERSON (serious now):
That power... it answered you.
But it comes with consequences.
And soon—there will be Trials.
[PAGE 6]
[Panel: Stars begin to shine above the cracked observatory dome.]
MOON PERSON (voice-over):
Other forces will notice you now.
You'll be tested. Pushed. Torn apart and rebuilt.
Not everyone survives.
And not everyone should.
RAIN:
You mean Mourn?
MOON PERSON:
Mourn is just the beginning.
You're a beacon now, Rain.
You're glowing across dimensions.
You're a walking flare to every star-hungry demon in existence.
[PAGE 7]
[Rain finally rises, gripping his blade again.]
RAIN:
And what?
I'm supposed to just deal with that?
Carry this power around like some fucking target?
MOON PERSON:
You don't have a choice.
But you do have a warning:
This gift…
can become a curse.
RAIN (scoffing):
You don't say.
[PAGE 8]
[Wide Panel – Rain walks toward the edge of the observatory, looking up at the stars. His back to the viewer.]
RAIN (thinking):
So Mourn's gonna wait 'til I'm strong…
Let me train myself into extinction just to feed on me later.
[Panel – His hand tightens around his blade's hilt.]
RAIN:
Cool.
Then I'll just have to become something he can't consume.
[PAGE 9 – FINAL PAGE]
[Final Panel – Close-up of Rain's face, lit by the stars above. Determined. Angry. Focused.]
RAIN (thinking):
Fuck fate.
Fuck destiny.
And fuck Mourn.
I don't care if this is a gift or a curse…
I'll turn it into a weapon.
[Text at bottom corner:]
NEXT CHAPTER: "THE TRIALS OF THE BEARER"
CHAPTER 9 — "This Isn't You"
[PAGE 1]
[Scene: Abandoned Observatory – Post-Battle]
Ash still hangs in the air. Rain's body is sore, blood crusted on his lip. His blade rests across his shoulder, humming faintly. The stars are quiet now—but not gone.
RAIN (thinking):
It wasn't a fight. It was a message.
And I heard it loud and clear.
I'm not ready.
But someone… something… thinks I can be.
[SFX: BUZZZZZZZ — Phone vibrating]
[Screen: "DAWN 💀 — 8 MISSED CALLS"]
RAIN (answering):
Dawn? What's wrong?
DAWN (panicked):
Just come home. Now. Please. It's urgent.
Click.
RAIN (thinking):
If she's hurt… if Mourn found her…
God help this whole planet.
[PAGE 2]
[Scene: Rooftops – Pre-Dawn Light]
Rain vaults off buildings like muscle memory. He's fast—unnaturally fast now. His feet barely touch down. A meteor shoots behind him in the sky.
RAIN (thinking):
I'm coming, Dawn.
Don't you fucking die on me.
[PAGE 3]
[Scene: Apartment – Balcony Shatters Open]
SFX: CRASH—!!
Rain dives through the door, eyes wild, glowing faintly.
RAIN (yelling):
DAWN?!
[PAGE 4]
[Scene: Living Room – Completely Calm]
Dawn sits cross-legged on the couch, blanket over her lap. A handmade sign in glitter marker: "INTERVENTION." A tray of snacks. Luna the cat lounges smugly beside her.
RAIN (out of breath):
You're not bleeding.
DAWN (dry):
Thanks for noticing. Welcome to your intervention.
RAIN:
…You made a banner.
DAWN:
Yeah. Glitter glue and everything. Now sit your cosmic ass down.
[PAGE 5]
[Rain sits on the floor like a child caught doing something wrong.]
DAWN:
You've been scaring the shit out of me. You're talking to walls, eating like a damn cryptid, meditating with forks—
You called the bathroom mirror a "dimensional leak."
RAIN:
It was! Something blinked back at me.
DAWN (ignoring):
You haven't slept. You barely blink. You said the fridge tried to offer you a quest. A fridge, Rain.
RAIN (muttering):
It was a side quest, but I declined.
DAWN (rubbing her temples):
Okay, WHAT DRUGS are you on? Seriously. Coke? Acid? Angel Dust? Cosmic meth?
RAIN (quietly):
Dawn… I've seen things I can't explain. I've felt fire in my blood. Not from pain. From power. Like the stars are in my lungs, trying to breathe through me.
DAWN:
Okay.
That sounds like meth.
RAIN (serious):
Something's changed.
And I think my dad is helping me from beyond. I don't hear him, but… I feel him. In the blade. In the stars.
And I can't tell if I'm being led, or… used.
DAWN (genuinely concerned):
Rain, I don't know what's happening to you.
But I'm scared.
You're scaring me.
[Luna walks between them like a therapist entering the scene.]
LUNA:
Meow. (Translation: "Finally, someone said it.")
RAIN (blinking):
…Did you just say—
DAWN:
Don't start with that again.
RAIN:
No. No, I heard her.
She said something.
DAWN (stern):
Luna. Is. A. Cat.
RAIN:
No. She's a sarcastic demon in fur. And I understood her.
LUNA (sits, tail flicking):
Congrats, dumbass. The stars gave you the Cat's Tongue. You're officially fluent in feline sass.
DAWN (backing up slowly):
I need a shot. Or six. Maybe a lobotomy.
RAIN (to Luna):
How long have you been able to—
LUNA (cutting him off):
Years. You just finally leveled up, genius. I've been roasting your ass since you brought home those hideous socks in 2020.
[FINAL PANEL: Rain sits on the floor, jaw dropped. Dawn stands in the kitchen drinking directly from a bottle. Luna stretches like this is totally normal.]
NARRATION:
Rain's body had changed. His mind too.
But now even the cat talked back.
And Dawn had no clue the universe was just getting started.
CHAPTER 10 – "Signs in the Sky"
[Scene: Dawn's Apartment, Late Night]
Dawn sits on the windowsill, staring up at the sky, skeptical.
DAWN (thinking):
Stars missing?
Sounds like Rain's losing it… again.
She recalls Rain ranting about the stars being gone, but always brushed it off as crazy talk.
A sudden shimmer near the window — The Moon Person appears in a soft glow, unsettling but calm.
MOON PERSON (cheesy modern slang):
Yo, Dawn. You gotta know—Rain's got the juice now.
DAWN (startled):
What the hell? Who are you?
MOON PERSON:
Name's Moon Person. Here to spill some cosmic tea.
They float casually, trying to sound chill but oddly out of place.
DAWN:
Why are you here? And why should I believe any of this?
MOON PERSON:
Look, kid, there's trails coming — big ones. This power Rain's rocking? Could be a gift… or a curse.
They wink awkwardly.
DAWN (suspicious):
Trails? What kind of trails?
MOON PERSON:
Trouble. Big universe-level shit. You wanna help him? Start paying attention.
The Moon Person vanishes as quickly as they came, leaving Dawn confused, scared, and skeptical.
CHAPTER 11 – "She Who Watches"
Dawn sits silently in her apartment, trying to process what just happened.
DAWN (thinking):
A cosmic watcher showing up like a bad sitcom guest…
What if Rain's right? What if the stars really are gone?
She walks to the window, scanning the night sky for something she can't see.
Meanwhile, Rain is inside, distant, battling his inner turmoil.
DAWN (to herself):
I gotta keep an eye on him… but damn, this is way over my head.
CHAPTER 12 – "Luna's Roasts"
[Scene: Dawn's Apartment – Early Morning]
Dawn walks in, exhausted and tense.
Rain is pacing, muttering to himself. Luna the cat lounges on the couch, eyes half-closed but alert.
DAWN:
You look like you're about to lose it.
RAIN:
I'm not crazy. She talks. Luna talks.
DAWN (rolling her eyes):
Right. You're talking to a cat. That's the new crazy?
Luna meows loudly.
RAIN (listening):
She said, "I see why Dawn thinks you're crazy."
DAWN (snapping):
Wait. What?
RAIN:
She said it. Just now.
Dawn looks at Luna, confused.
DAWN:
That's what I said last night… to her.
RAIN:
Exactly. I can understand her now — because of the stars.
Dawn stares at Rain, uncertain if she should laugh, cry, or run.
CHAPTER 13 – "The Shit You Can't Explain"
[Scene: Living Room – Tension Builds]
DAWN:
You're yelling at a cat like she's your therapist.
RAIN:
She talks. I swear.
Luna meows.
DAWN:
She just meowed, Rain.
RAIN (tilting head):
"No. She said, 'You explain shit like a SoundCloud rapper off a bean.'"
Dawn's eyes widen in shock.
DAWN:
I said that. To her. After you passed out with ramen in your lap.
RAIN:
She heard you. She remembers. And now I can hear her.
DAWN (shaken):
No way. I never told you that.
RAIN:
You didn't have to.
Luna blinks lazily, unfazed.
DAWN (whispering):
What the hell is going on with you, Rain?
RAIN (serious):
The stars changed everything.
CHAPTER 14 – "The Invitation"
[Scene: Dawn's Bedroom – Night]
Dawn sits on her bed, restless. The moonlight casts soft shadows across the room.
Her thoughts swirl from her last encounters with the Moon Person and Rain's strange new reality.
DAWN (whispers to herself):
What if this isn't just stress or weird dreams? What if… it's real?
Suddenly, a faint glow appears near the window. The Moon Person materializes quietly, their presence calm but commanding.
MOON PERSON:
Dawn… you don't have to understand it all right now.
DAWN (uneasy):
Why me? Why now?
MOON PERSON:
Because the stars have already chosen you—not to fight, but to watch and hold space.
The walls around Dawn seem to dissolve, replaced by vast cosmic starfields swirling gently.
She feels weightless and suspended between awe and disbelief.
MOON PERSON (softly):
This is your invitation—to see the unseen and prepare for what's coming.
Dawn takes a deep breath, her mind opening to possibilities beyond logic.
DAWN (quietly):
So I'm… not crazy?
MOON PERSON (smiling):
You're becoming aware. That's the first step.
The vision fades. Dawn is back in her bedroom, heart pounding but clearer than before.
DAWN (to herself):
I don't know what's next. But I can't ignore this anymore.
She exhales, gathering herself.
[Sound: soft scratching at the bedroom door]
Dawn turns and sees Luna, pawing gently at the door.
DAWN:
Alright, alright—come on in for your nap.
Dawn opens the door and Luna pads inside, curling up on the bed.
Dawn doesn't notice as Luna looks directly at her, and softly—
LUNA (quiet, barely audible):
You're not ready… but you will be.
Dawn blinks, confused, but Luna is already settling in and purring.
After a few seconds, Dawn shakes her head.
DAWN (to herself):
Did that cat just… talk?
The room falls silent, the cosmic weight still lingering in the air.