Opening Scene: The Crimson Eye
Setting: Aetheria's Observatory Tower, where the star charts suddenly rearrange themselves into a terrifying constellation—a hollow-eyed skull wreathed in flame.
(Lyria's new wings prickle with unease as Headmistress Orla reads the ancient text aloud, her voice shaking:)
Headmistress Orla:
"When the Blood Moon rises, the Devourer shall wake... and the Eclipse Fairy's light will be his feast."
(The stained-glass windows rattle as a deep, resonant pulse echoes across the realm—like a heartbeat from underground.)
Zephyra (tense, for once not joking):
"Yeah, that's not ominous at all."
SCENE 1: THE CRACK IN THE WORLD
Setting: The Crystal Catacombs beneath Aetheria, where the team descends into glowing violet tunnels.
(The walls weep black liquid where Malrik's shadow magic has infected the crystals. Kael traces a hand along the cracks—his fingers come away stained red.)
Kael:
"It's not just corruption. It's blood magic."
(Lyria's locket shatters the nearest crystal—revealing a hidden mural:
A monstrous figure with a maw of stars chaining fairies.
A Eclipse Fairy (Lyria's ancestor?) sealing him away with a golden dagger.
The dagger—now embedded in the mural's center—is missing.)
Marina (whispering):
"Uh. Please tell me that's symbolic."
(Seraphina pales, touching the empty dagger slot:)
Seraphina:
"It's not. The Starfire Dagger was real. And if Malrik has it..."
Vesper (finishing grimly):
"...he can unseal the Devourer."
SCENE 2: MALRIK'S GAMBIT
Setting: The Obsidian Fortress, where Malrik kneels before the giant crimson eye in the crystal.
(He plunges the Starfire Dagger into the crystal—black veins spread like spiderwebs as the eye focuses on him.)
Malrik (breathless with reverence):
"My lord. The vessel is ready."
(The crystal shatters—and the shadows in the room CONSUME Malrik whole! His screams echo as his body twists, elongates—
—and when the darkness clears...
Malrik stands transformed: his wings are now jagged obsidian, his eyes fully crimson, his voice distorted with another's presence.)
Not-Malrik (smiling):
"Ah... freedom."
SCENE 3: THE BATTLE OF AETHERIA
Setting: Aetheria's Grand Courtyard, where students flee as the sky bleeds red.
(The possessed Malrik teleports atop the central spire, his shadow magic ripping the ground apart!)
Not-Malrik:
"Little heir... come. Let me thank you for unlocking my prison."
(Lyria launches into the air, her team beside her—
BATTLE CHOREOGRAPHY:
Marina summons a tsunami—Malrik drinks it into his shadows.
Vesper's lightning is absorbed like sugar in tea.
Zephyra's wind blades pass through him harmlessly.
Only Lyria's eclipse magic makes him flinch—but it's not enough.
(Malrik backhands her into the library tower—it COLLAPSES on her!)
SCENE 4: THE CHOICE
Setting: Under the rubble, Lyria crawls toward a single glowing book—its pages flutter open to reveal Queen Solara's last words:
Solara's Echo:
"The Devourer cannot be killed... only contained. To cage him, a Starfire must become the dagger."
(Lyria understands—she* must take the dagger's place. Sacrifice her magic. Her wings. Herself.)*
(Kael's voice shouts through the debris—he's digging her out, his hands bleeding:)
Kael:
"LYRIA! Don't you dare—"
(She smiles at him—then TELEPORTS to Malrik's chest**, her body flaring like a supernova!)*
Lyria (yelling):
"NOW, SERAPHINA!"
(Seraphina throws the real Starfire Dagger—Lyria catches it mid-air and plunges it into her own heart—
BOOOOOOM.
(A gold-and-black explosion engulfs Malrik—his screams are cut short as the light condenses into a new crystal prison around him!)
(Silence. Then—
Lyria plummets from the sky, her wings dissolving into sparks, her body limp—
—Kael barely catches her as the Blood Moon shatters into dawn.)
CLOSING SCENE: THE COST
Setting: Aetheria's Healing Gardens, days later.
(Lyria sleeps peacefully, but her wings are gone. Her magic is dormant. The team stands vigil—
—when her fingers twitch. Her eyes open... ordinary amber again.)
Lyria (hoarse):
"...Did we win?"
(Marina tackle-hugs her, sobbing. Vesper pretends to inspect her nails, but her shoulders sag in relief. Zephyra whoops. Kael just presses his forehead to Lyria's, eyes closed.)
Kael:
"You idiot."
(But the camera pans up—to where Malrik's crystal prison already has a single, hairline crack...)
(To be continued)