Narrator's Voice (Intro):In the world of drifting skylands, fate doesn't tap you on the shoulder—it punches you in the gut. And just when Kael and Zayen thought they were getting their bearings, Vantaria whispered a secret through the wind. One word. One forbidden name. Soulfruit.
Scene 1 – A Mission Wrapped in Lies
The Academy announces a sudden, high-priority "scouting mission" to Skyland Aetherion—a forbidden zone where mana storms twist time and gravity itself. Only top-tier students are selected.
Kael, Zayen, Riven (still hiding her identity from others), and two new student elites—Liora (a weather-manipulating mystic) and Vayne (a smirking beast-bonded rogue)—are chosen.
But something feels off.
Master Izel's final warning before departure:
"You may find answers. But you might not survive the questions."
Scene 2 – The Forbidden Temple
The team arrives at Aetherion. There, hidden in a ravine split by lightning and mist, lies an ancient ruin—the Temple of Unseen Roots. Etchings depict a fruit bursting with radiant veins… and people warping around it in agony and rebirth.
Zayen touches the carving. A pulse of energy rattles his body.
Zayen: "This... isn't just legend. This is real. This is calling."
Kael, unsettled, sketches a defensive sigil into the air—Sketchstep flickers, then shifts unexpectedly. The ink morphs mid-air into a symbol he's never drawn.
Narrator:It wasn't Kael who shaped the ink this time. It was something older... reaching through him.
Scene 3 – Romance in the Ruins
While the others investigate the deeper chambers, Kael and Riven are left behind due to a crumbling bridge.
In the quiet, Riven finally opens up—revealing how hard it's been to live a double life, hiding her identity as a girl, her family's cursed bloodline, and her fear of bonding with anyone.
Kael listens, silent at first. Then he just says:
"You're not alone anymore. You got me. Weird sketches and all."
She blushes.They laugh.The moment lingers.
But as they're about to leave—a shadow emerges. A corrupted sky beast.
Scene 4 – The Battle and Evolution
The creature attacks, feeding off ambient mana. Zayen joins the fight, unleashing his Burst Loop... but it fractures and reshapes.
Time Riff: A new version activates—Zayen can now briefly distort cause and effect. He uses it to rewind the beast's attack and counter it before it happens.
Kael's Sketchstep also surges. His lines draw themselves, forming a protective dragon-shaped barrier—without conscious effort.
"It's like… it's weaving itself," he whispers.Scriptweaver…
They defeat the beast, but it leaves behind a fragment—a glowing fruit shard, humming.
Vayne pockets it, too quickly. Liora notices.
Scene 5 – The Whisper of the Crown
Back at the Academy, the instructors seem unnerved by what the students brought back.
Later that night, Zayen hears a whisper in his dream:
"The Soulfruit blooms not in soil… but in sacrifice. And the Crown watches."
He wakes in a cold sweat.
End of Chapter 9