INT. THE ARK – MAIN HULL – NIGHT
The chamber shakes. Nyxira's hand closes, hurling Kairo across the void like a broken doll. Kwame braces, gauntlets raised, but the impact buries him into a shattered pillar. Cassian slams into the wall, her crimson glow sputtering, Herald's aura fading.
Arven (shouting): KAIRO! KWAME! CASSIAN!!
Half the survivors break formation, rushing toward the fallen. The rest lock shields and blades, their circle trembling as thousands of lesser demons pour through the ruptured hull.
Narration: The battle split in two. Some dragged toward the unconscious. Others forced to stand against the Sixth Sigil herself.
EXT. THE ARK – FRACTURED HALL – CONTINUOUS
Arven, Grace, Tanaka, Lyra, and Kael clash with Nyxira's silhouette. Her power deepens, shadows rising like chains. Every step she takes chokes light, every gesture turns weapons against their wielders.
Nyxira (voice): Shadows obey me. And shadows are you.
Three soldiers scream silently as their own silhouettes coil, blades driving into their flesh. They collapse without a word. Fifty-five remain.
INT. THE ARK – SUPPLY RING – SAME TIME
Dozens of survivors form a wall, dragging the unconscious Kwame, Cassian, and Kairo behind them. The flood of demons smashes against their line—fangs, claws, wings. Supplies scatter, lanterns fall, screams vanish under the silence.
Dimitri (roaring): Hold them! Protect the fallen—no step back!
Steel rings. Guns spark. The air fills with blood and fireless smoke.
INT. THE ARK – MOMENTS LATER
Kairo stirs. Fingers twitch. His breath steadies. In a single motion he rises, catching Cassian and Kwame with both arms. Demons lunge—
—and vanish. Tens erased in an instant, bodies shredded before eyes could follow. The survivors freeze, stunned by the blur.
Viktor (staggered): He shouldn't... be standing yet...
Kairo pulls cloth across Cassian's Herald glow, snuffing the crimson aura. His voice cuts sharp through the dark.
Kairo (shouting): No shadows—no chains! Kill the light!
He smashes a lantern. Others follow, plunging the Ark into pitch black. Nyxira falters, her control disrupted. But the silence only thickens, and her form melts into the dark.
Kairo (low, grim): In her dark, she is stronger.
A hiss—then Nyxira appears. Three soldiers drop instantly, their throats torn before blades can rise.
INT. THE ARK – CENTRAL HULL – CONTINUOUS
Kwame coughs dust, dragging himself to his feet, gauntlets sparking with rage.
Kwame (growling): Over. This is over.
He closes his eyes, instincts burning. He strikes. His fist shatters the silence, smashing into Nyxira's shrouded form. She stumbles, shadows recoiling for the first time.
Survivors roar, charging. Grace and Arven strike at her flanks. Lyra's daggers flash. Tanaka hurls steel arcs. The Ark itself groans, walls splitting under the clash.
INT. THE ARK – LOWER HULL – SAME TIME
A crack ruptures beneath their feet. Heat and stench erupt upward. The ground splits, flames coughing from the abyss.
From the dark rises a colossal wormlike demon, flesh writhing with human arms, a mouth unhinged into endless rows of teeth. Its scream shakes the Ark.
Narration: Silence was not their only enemy. Something deeper had awakened below.
To be continued...