PACT OF THE UNSEEN - Chapter 1: "THE BLIND AND THE BROKEN"
[NARRATION over visuals of a world in chaos]
NARRATOR (Older Marcus voice):
"Fifteen years ago, the world as we knew it ended. We called it... The Rending."
[Flashback Sequence - Dynamic animation]
Sky tears open with violet-black rifts
Monstrous shadows (Hollows) pour through, destroying cities
Military forces fail against them
Desperation. Screaming. Fire.
NARRATOR:
"Monsters from beyond our understanding—Hollows—invaded our reality. Conventional weapons were useless. Humanity faced extinction... until THEY appeared."
[Shift to glowing portals of different colors]
Majestic creatures emerge: dragons, phoenixes, armored giants, ethereal beings
Some fight Hollows; others observe humans with curiosity
NARRATOR:
"Mythical beings, creatures of legend, stepped through the rifts. And in our darkest hour, some chose to bond with us. The Pact was born."
[Rapid montage of pact formations]
Hands touching glowing beings
Light enveloping humans and creatures
Merged warriors fighting back Hollows
Cities being reclaimed
NARRATOR:
"Those who bonded became Pactbearers—humanity's shield against annihilation. An organization rose to coordinate them: The Predators."
[Present Day Year 2089 - Pan across a massive fortified city]
NARRATOR:
"Today, we survive. The war continues. But the cost..."
[Cut to a graveyard filled with thousands of markers]
NARRATOR:
"...is paid in blood and sacrifice. This is the world we live in. This... is the world of the Pact."
LOCATION: THE ORPHANAGE
[TITLE CARD: "PACT OF THE UNSEEN"]
[Predator Orphanage - Training Grounds, Morning]
(Dozens of children aged 8-17 practice combat drills. Some have small, low-tier bonded creatures fighting alongside them. Instructors bark orders.)
INSTRUCTOR CRAIG (gruff, scarred):
"Faster! Your Hollow won't wait for you to catch your breath! Ben, your Griffin is out of sync—tighten that bond!"
(Camera focuses on a corner of the yard where several younger kids (10-12 years old) sit excluded from training, watching enviously. They have no pact marks on their hands.)
BEN (hopeful):
"Maybe today they'll let us try the Common-rank chamber..."
TOMAS (deflated):
"They said we're not ready. That we'll 'just get hurt.'"
NIA:
"Hey, look! It's Kael!"
(Camera pans to KAEL ASHFORD (17), walking through the yard with a wooden walking stick, tapping it methodically in front of him. He wears simple dark training clothes. His eyes are closed behind dark wrappings. His expression is cold, distant.)
BEN (running up, excited):
"Kael! Kael! We heard you're getting your evaluation today! Are they gonna let you bond?"
KAEL (stops, doesn't turn to face them, voice flat):
"Move."
TOMAS (undeterred):
"But you're seventeen! You've been training just as long as everyone else! And you're really good at hand-to-hand, even without—"
KAEL (cold, cutting):
"Even without sight? Is that what you were going to say?"
TOMAS (stammering):
"I-I didn't mean—"
KAEL:
"I'm not getting evaluated. They've already decided I'm 'unfit for active duty.' Just like they decided for you three."
BEN (confused):
"But... then why are we training at all?"
KAEL (harsh laugh):
"Because they need to look like they care. Because optics matter more than results. You're training to become support staff—cooks, clerks, maintenance. Not warriors."
NIA (tears forming):
"That's not... we can still try, right? We can—"
KAEL (brutally honest):
"You're weak. Statistically, even if they let you bond with a Common-rank, you'd likely die from the shock or the creature would reject you. The Predators don't waste resources on lost causes."
(The three kids look devastated. One starts crying.)
KAEL (walking past them):
"Accept it. Move on. Don't waste energy on impossible dreams."
(He continues walking, leaving the kids behind. Several other orphans glare at him.)
VOICE (female, sharp):
"You're absolutely vile, you know that?"
(KAEL stops. Camera reveals LILLIAN FROST (17) stepping forward from a group of trainees. Silver hair tied back, green eyes blazing with anger. She has a faint blue pact mark on her right hand—recently acquired.)
LILLIAN (pointing at the crying kids):
"They look up to you because you've survived here longer than most. And THAT'S what you say to them?"
KAEL (turns toward her voice, expression unchanged):
"I told them the truth. Something you naive idealists avoid because it hurts your feelings."
LILLIAN (stepping closer):
"Truth? You're just a bitter, blind cripple taking out your anger on children who—"
(The entire yard goes silent. Gasps from nearby students.)
KAEL (voice drops to ice-cold):
"...What did you just call me?"
LILLIAN (realizes she went too far but doubles down, defensive):
"You heard me. You act high and mighty, but you're just as broken as they are. At least they have hope. What do you have? A stick and an attitude problem?"
KAEL (quiet fury):
"And you have a bond you don't deserve and a mouth that runs faster than your brain. Tell me, pig, how long have you had that mark? Three days? A week? Already acting like a seasoned Predator?"
LILLIAN (flushed, angry):
"I've trained for this! I earned my bond with—"
KAEL:
"With what? An Uncommon? Maybe a Rare if you're lucky? Congratulations. You're still fodder. The Hollows will tear through you in seconds. But at least you'll die feeling self-righteous."
(He turns to walk away.)
LILLIAN (shouting after him):
"Better to die fighting than to rot here like you! At least I'm not so pathetic I push away everyone who tries to—"
KAEL (without turning):
"Go squeal somewhere else, pig. You bore me."
(He disappears into the dormitory building. LILLIAN stands there, shaking with anger and shame.)
REFLECTION
[Dormitory - Kael's Room]
(Small, sparse room. A single bed, a desk, basic belongings. KAEL sits on the edge of his bed, stick leaning against the wall. His wrapped eyes stare at nothing.)
KAEL (internal monologue, voice softer):
"Why did I say that? ...No. I said what needed to be said. Hope is a luxury. Hope gets people killed."
(Flashback flickers—young Kael (8), eyes open but unseeing, standing in rubble. Bodies around him. Hollow roars in the distance. Smoke everywhere.)
YOUNG KAEL (screaming):
"Mom! Dad! Where are you?!"
WOMAN'S VOICE (his mother, distant, fading):
"Kael... run... RUN!"
MAN'S VOICE (his father, strained):
"We love you... we—"
(Explosion of dark energy. Silence.)
KAEL (snapping back to present, fists clenched):
"They had hope. They believed they could seal that rift. And it killed them."
(A knock on the door.)
KAEL:
"Go away."
(The door opens anyway. LILLIAN steps in, hesitant.)
LILLIAN:
"I... I wanted to apologize."
KAEL (doesn't look up):
"Apology rejected. Leave."
LILLIAN (stepping inside, closing door):
"I was out of line. Making fun of your... condition. That was cruel."
KAEL:
"Yes. It was."
LILLIAN (sits on the floor across from him, uninvited):
"But you were cruel first. Those kids—they're just scared. They needed encouragement, not... whatever that was."
KAEL:
"They needed reality."
LILLIAN:
"They're ten years old, Kael."
KAEL (finally looks toward her):
"And if they go into a pact chamber unprepared, chasing false hope, they'll be dead ten-year-olds. I've seen it happen. Three times. Is that what you want? Their blood on your conscience because you filled their heads with dreams?"
(LILLIAN is quiet, processing.)
LILLIAN (softer):
"...I didn't know."
KAEL:
"Now you do. And now you understand why I don't waste energy on comforting lies."
LILLIAN:
"There has to be a middle ground between comforting lies and crushing despair."
KAEL:
"If you find it, let me know."
(Uncomfortable silence.)
LILLIAN (standing, awkward):
"Well... I still feel bad. So... to make it up to you..."
(KAEL raises an eyebrow—or where his eyebrow would be under the wrappings.)
LILLIAN (flustered but forcing herself to say it):
"I'll... I'll kiss you. There. Debt paid."
(KAEL's expression shifts to pure disbelief.)
KAEL:
"...What?"
LILLIAN (defensive):
"It's a perfectly good apology! Most guys would—"
KAEL:
"I'm not 'most guys,' and you're ugly, so no."
LILLIAN (indignant):
"UGLY?! How would you even know? You can't see!"
(KAEL pauses. Then a tiny smirk appears.)
KAEL:
"...Good point."
LILLIAN (hopeful):
"So—"
KAEL:
"Still no. Now get out."
LILLIAN (huffing, standing):
"You're impossible!"
KAEL:
"And you're vile. We're even."
(LILLIAN stomps to the door, stops.)
LILLIAN (quietly):
"I really am sorry. About what I said."
KAEL (leaning back on his bed):
"Noted."
(She leaves. KAEL sits in silence for a moment, then that tiny smirk returns before fading.)
LOCATION: THE MARKET
[Fortified City - Market District]
(Bustling streets. Vendors sell food, supplies, pact-related gear. Civilians and off-duty Predators mingle. KAEL navigates with his stick, tapping methodically, his other hand occasionally trailing along walls.)
VENDOR:
"Fresh produce! Grown in the protected zones!"
CHILD (running past):
"Mom, look! A Tier 2 Gryphon!"
(A small griffin-like creature perches on a Predator's shoulder. Civilians give them respectful space.)
(KAEL turns a corner, focused on his mental map of the area. Doesn't notice someone approaching from the opposite direction—)
CRASH
(KAEL bumps into someone. His stick clatters to the ground.)
KAEL (immediately):
"Sorry. Didn't—"
VOICE (male, young, cheerful but with an underlying coldness):
"No problem. Are you alright?"
(KAEL bends down, searching for his stick. The stranger picks it up, hands it to him. Their fingers briefly touch.)
(KAEL freezes. Something washes over him—an overwhelming, oppressive presence. Like standing at the edge of an abyss. His breath catches.)
STRANGER:
"Your stick. Be safe out here."
KAEL (taking it, steadying his voice):
"...Thanks."
(KAEL's "Lightless Sight" flickers instinctively—though he doesn't know that's what it is yet. For a split second, he "sees" the outline of the stranger: a teenage boy with sharp features, blue hair, blue eyes. And behind him, a MASSIVE shadow of something serpentine and ancient, radiating power.)
VOICE 2 (male, older, from behind the stranger):
"Vedi, you could have just walked past. No need to waste time on—"
STRANGER (tone shifts—still cheerful but with steel underneath):
"No. I am not a cruel person. Everyone is equal to me. The blind, the poor, the forgotten. Everyone."
VOICE 2:
"...As you say, young master."
(Footsteps recede. KAEL stands frozen for a moment, breathing heavily.)
KAEL (muttering to himself):
"That guy... that presence... He definitely has a Mythical. No question. Who the hell...?"
(He's lost in thought, starting to walk forward without fully paying attention—)
ANOTHER VOICE (female, familiar):
"KAEL, STOP!"
(An arm yanks him backward. KAEL stumbles. A heavily loaded supply cart CRASHES past where he was about to step, pulled by a bonded pack animal.)
CART DRIVER:
"Watch it!"
(KAEL catches his breath. Looks toward his savior. It's LILLIAN.)
LILLIAN (hands on hips, exasperated):
"Are you TRYING to get pounded into the pavement? What's wrong with you?"
KAEL (recovering, irritated at being saved):
"...I was fine."
LILLIAN:
"You were about to be crushed."
KAEL:
"I would have heard it."
LILLIAN:
"Clearly not. Just... let me help you, okay? For groceries or whatever you're doing."
KAEL (grudgingly):
"...It's the least you could do."
LILLIAN (small smile):
"See? Was that so hard?"
(She falls into step beside him, occasionally guiding him around obstacles.)
KAEL (after a pause):
"Why are you doing this?"
LILLIAN:
"Because you were right. About me being vile. I shouldn't have said what I said. And... maybe you were right about other things too. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you walk around like you don't need anyone."
KAEL:
"I don't."
LILLIAN:
"Everyone needs someone, Kael. Even you."
(KAEL doesn't respond. They walk in silence as the camera pulls back, showing the bustling market, the fortified walls in the distance, and rifts shimmering faintly in the sky far above.)
[Predator Headquarters - High Council Chamber]
(A massive room with holographic displays showing rift activity across the globe. Several high-ranking Predators confer. Camera focuses on one figure standing apart, looking at a file.)
FIGURE:
"Kael Ashford. Seventeen. Orphaned in The Rending. No pact. Evaluation scheduled for... never. Status: permanent support assignment."
(Closes the file.)
FIGURE:
"Such a waste."
Chapter 1 Ends