Created and Written by Mateo Woodson Written and Storyboarded by John Fallout
[Town Square – Mount Pan]
The cobbled heart of the upper terraces echoed with fury and magic. Stalls collapsed under raw pressure. Air shimmered from clashing essence. Ephraim Boichi slammed Osiris Bellsbottom through a market wall like a divine backhand from the gods.
Dust rose. The air crackled.Osiris stumbled forward, dazed, with a single, arrogant motion, he slid his hand across the length of his wand. It flared to life, now red and blue and boiling with ancient power.
"I am Osiris Bellsbottom, from the Bellbottom lineage. I'm not gonna toy around with a mudblood that doesn't even have the right to be here."
He raised his guard like a fencer ready to duel a ghost. Ephraim rolled his neck with a smirk and casually shrugged off his cropped black jean jacket, letting it flutter to the ground.
He bounced on the balls of his feet."Alright," he said, grin widening. "Let's see it."
Osiris charged, wand slicing downward.
Ephraim ducked just in time — the swing didn't hit him, but it didn't need to. A massive energy cut tore through the air behind him, slicing clean through two buildings with a howl of displaced air.
Ephraim flipped backward, landed in a crouch, and rose into stance.
Then he ran.Straight at Osiris.Osiris wound up again.
"BLASPHEMY!"
Ephraim slid low under the attack, the blue slash singing over his head like lightning.
He spun behind Osiris, planted a boot into his back — sent him flying — then flipped forward, whipped his magnetic field, and yanked the dazed noble into a dropkick.
Osiris slammed against the wall again, hard.
Ephraim appeared in front of him with a fist cocked back.
Right cross.Left uppercut.Right straight.
The crowd gasped as Osiris staggered, barely upright.
Ephraim rushed him one more time — dropkick to the face. Osiris crashed into the stone, coughing blood, stunned.
"You bastard," he wheezed, holding his side. "How am I being bested by a mudblood? I'm royalty…"
His voice rose, anger boiling over."I. AM. ROYALTY!!"
He drove the wand into his own gut. Blood leaked onto the handle, no wound visible. The wand began to hum — glowing red, swirling with ominous streaks.
Ephraim blinked. "What did you just do?"
Osiris slowly stood, smiling, but not with joy.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP."
"Chill bro," Ephraim said, raising his hands, "I was just playin'."
Osiris' eyes blazed crimson."I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!"
He slashed again.
Ephraim dodged — barely.
The red slash ripped through the town, leveling five rows of houses in one screeching arc.
Osiris didn't stop.He slashed three more times, fury in his lungs.
"BLASPHEMY!" he roared.
Ephraim ducked under the first, flipped over the second, and landed laughing on the third.
He clenched his legs together, focused essence — magnetic pull engaged.
CLANG.
His body hurtled forward like a railgun.
SNAP.
Osiris' wand broke in two.
"Womp womp," Ephraim said cheerfully.
Osiris stared at the broken pieces, face contorted in disbelief. "You fucking mudblood! Look at what you did! This was a wand passed down for generations— I'm gonna kill y…"
He stopped.His eyes darted to the left, terrified.
Ephraim tilted his head. "For?"
Osiris stammered. "Y-you didn't feel that?"
Ephraim sniffed the air, distracted. "Nah, I was too busy fighting you. What was it?"
Osiris looked truly shaken now."I… I saw a man. Wearing a mask. Watching us fight. When I looked at him, he held up a gun… and put a finger to his mouth."
Ephraim was already tuning out, sniffing harder.
"You listening?" Osiris asked.
"Not really," Ephraim replied. "I smell something good."
He turned, stretching."See ya. I enjoyed our battle. It was like two bears fightin over berries."
And then he took off running into the city.
[Interlude – Salt's Path]
Salt walked alone through the upper tiers of Mount Pan, arms crossed, eyes scanning every inch of the passing crowds. She moved with feline calm — quiet, sharp, prepared.
Behind her, whispers floated like smoke.
"That's the girl from the Buelford family.""She's got combat boots and a royal crest on her sleeve…""She's gotta be her….the princess."
Salt ignored them all.
She passed a trio of street performers bending soundwaves into illusions. They waved. She didn't. Her eyes stayed fixed on the edges — the rooftops, the alleys.
Near the Lion's Maw Plaza, she stopped.Something was wrong.
Three figures shadowed her, keeping a calculated distance — just enough to be unnoticed by most.
Salt stepped into a small courtyard. A trickle fountain gurgled in the middle, half-buried in moss.
She pretended to tie her boot.
One of the shadows stepped into the square behind her, smirking. Then another. Then a third.
Salt sighed.
"Really?"
They surrounded her like vultures.
[Meanwhile – Rooftops]
Ephraim leapt across a narrow gap, landing on a curved rooftop tile. Below, the smell of grilled duck and honey rice dragged him like a leash.
He grinned, tongue already salivating.
Two more jumps. A magnet-boosted swing.
He landed gracefully in front of a restaurant shaped like a paper lantern — all curved wood, warm light, and hanging beads. He walked in without hesitation and sat near the window.
A minute later, he was eating.
Fork in one hand, elbow on the table, completely at peace.Then he looked up.
Across the square, Salt stood surrounded by three fighters. Their posture said one thing.
Predator.
Ephraim wiped his mouth with a napkin, sighed, and stood.
"Why can't I ever just eat in peace…"
[Elsewhere – Town Square, Alley]
Osiris stumbled through a narrow alley, hand pressed to his ribs.
He couldn't believe it. Broken wand. Public humiliation. By a mudblood.
He stopped to breathe. Turned.
A figure stood at the far end of the alley — still, quiet, watching.
Osiris squinted. "What do you want, mudblood?"
The figure didn't respond.
Then it moved.
Fast.
Before Osiris could react, the man was on him — hand clamped around his throat, slamming him into the wall.
The man laughed. A cold, nasal laugh.
Then— WHAM —a gut punch.
Osiris vomited and slumped.
"Ah, what the fuck, nigga," the man muttered, brushing himself off. "Almost got it on my clothes."
Osiris wheezed.
The figure pulled down his mask just enough to reveal one eye — gray, sharp, burning like a forge.
"I need to borrow you," he said quietly.
Osiris screamed, kicked.
"NO! NO! GET BACK!"
The mask's smile grew.
"Let's begin."
[To Be Continued]