SINNER
[Scene: The Ancient Ruins – Midnight]
(Lucian and Elara step into the ruins, their boots crunching against loose gravel. The temple looms before them, its stone pillars cracked with age, vines creeping over its once-grand entrance. The air is thick with magic, the scent of damp earth and forgotten history hanging in the air.)
ELARA: (whispering) "This place feels… strange."
LUCIAN: (grinning) "You mean cursed?"
ELARA: (glaring) "Not everything is cursed, Lucian."
LUCIAN: (mocking) "Says the woman who's been hunted by a mad king and is currently walking into a haunted temple."
ELARA: (gritting her teeth) "Just focus."
(Lucian chuckles but does as she says, scanning the ruins. The entrance is partially collapsed, but there's a narrow opening just big enough to squeeze through.)
LUCIAN: (gesturing) "Ladies first."
ELARA: (raising an eyebrow) "So you can have a perfect view of me getting stuck? No thanks."
LUCIAN: (laughing) "Fine, fine." (He squeezes through first, landing lightly on the stone floor inside.) "Come on, little dove."
(Elara takes a deep breath and follows. The inside of the ruins is even darker, the air colder. The walls are covered in faded carvings—ancient symbols that pulse faintly under Elara's touch.)
ELARA: (softly) "These markings… they're protective runes."
LUCIAN: (leaning in) "Protecting what?"
ELARA: (running her fingers over the stone) "Or who."
LUCIAN: (smirking) "You're saying someone's still here?"
ELARA: (quietly) "Maybe."
(Before Lucian can respond, a distant click echoes through the chamber. They both freeze.)
ELARA: (whispering) "What was that?"
LUCIAN: (grinning) "I'd guess a trap."
ELARA: (muttering) "Of course it's a trap."
(Suddenly, the ground beneath them shifts. A section of the floor collapses, and Elara lets out a gasp as she stumbles. Lucian reacts instantly, grabbing her wrist before she can fall into the darkness below.)
LUCIAN: (gritted teeth) "Hold on."
ELARA: (panicking) "Trying!"
(Lucian pulls her up with a grunt, steadying her against the stone wall.)
ELARA: (breathing heavily) "I hate this place."
LUCIAN: (grinning) "Exciting, isn't it?"
ELARA: (glaring) "You have a terrible definition of exciting."
(Lucian chuckles but turns serious as he looks ahead. The fall revealed a hidden passage beneath the ruins. A faint, golden glow flickers from within.)
LUCIAN: "Looks like we found something."
ELARA: (hesitant) "Or something found us."
(Lucian gives her a pointed look before carefully lowering himself into the passage. Elara exhales and follows, landing on the smooth, dusty floor below. The glow comes from an ancient pedestal at the center of the chamber. A single object rests upon it—a small, ornate box with intricate engravings.)
ELARA: (softly) "This must be it."
LUCIAN: (raising an eyebrow) "And it is…?"
ELARA: (running her fingers over the box) "The king's secret. The proof of his crimes."
LUCIAN: (narrowing his eyes) "Then why hasn't he taken it already?"
(Before Elara can answer, a low voice echoes through the chamber.)
UNKNOWN VOICE: "Because he fears it."
(Both Lucian and Elara spin, weapons drawn. From the shadows, an old man emerges, his robes tattered but his eyes sharp and knowing.)
ELARA: (startled) "Who—?"
OLD MAN: (calmly) "You seek the truth, child. But truth is never freely given."
LUCIAN: (flatly) "Great. A cryptic old man. Just what we needed."
ELARA: (elbowing him) "Who are you?"
OLD MAN: (smiling faintly) "A guardian. A prisoner. A sinner, perhaps."
(Lucian stiffens slightly at the word but says nothing.)
ELARA: (frowning) "Why are you here?"
OLD MAN: "Because someone must protect what lies within that box."
LUCIAN: (tilting his head) "And let me guess—you're not going to let us take it?"
OLD MAN: (smiling) "Not without a price."
ELARA: (firmly) "What price?"
OLD MAN: (looking between them) "A choice. One that will change everything."
LUCIAN: (muttering) "I hate choices."
OLD MAN: (chuckling) "Then you will hate this one most of all."
(He steps forward, gesturing toward the box.)
OLD MAN: "Inside lies the truth—the sins of a king, the blood of the innocent, the key to his downfall. But it comes with a curse."
ELARA: (whispering) "A curse?"
OLD MAN: (nodding) "The one who opens it will bear the weight of all the deaths it contains. Their fate will be bound to it, forever marked by its knowledge."
LUCIAN: (crossing his arms) "So, let me get this straight. We take the box, we get cursed?"
OLD MAN: "Only the one who opens it."
(Elara's fingers tighten around the edge of the pedestal. She can feel the magic radiating from the box, the pulse of something ancient and dangerous. Lucian notices her hesitation and steps closer.)
LUCIAN: "You don't have to do this, Elara."
ELARA: (softly) "Yes, I do."
LUCIAN: (firmly) "You're not thinking clearly. We don't even know what this curse does."
ELARA: (determined) "We know what will happen if we do nothing. The king will keep hunting us. Innocent people will die."
LUCIAN: (gritted teeth) "And what happens if you open it and the curse kills you?"
ELARA: (smiling sadly) "Then I guess you'll have to stop making jokes long enough to avenge me."
(Lucian scowls, but there's something in his eyes—something raw and unspoken. He doesn't want her to do this, but he knows he can't stop her. With a slow breath, Elara reaches for the box.)
OLD MAN: (softly) "Are you certain?"
ELARA: (whispering) "No. But I don't have a choice."
(Her fingers touch the lid. A surge of energy rushes through her, a blinding light engulfing the chamber. Lucian steps back, shielding his eyes as the old man simply watches. And then—silence. When the light fades, Elara is trembling, the box now open in her hands.)
LUCIAN: (low voice) "Elara?"
(She lifts her gaze to his. Her eyes, once warm and golden, now glow with an eerie, unnatural light. Something inside her has changed.)
ELARA: (softly) "I know everything."
LUCIAN: (tense) "And?"
ELARA: (barely a whisper) "We're running out of time."
(Lucian stares at her, heart pounding. Whatever she saw in that box, it wasn't just the king's crimes. It was something far worse.)
OLD MAN: (whispering) "The sinner and the saint… your fates are sealed."
(And in that moment, Lucian knows—nothing will ever be the same again.)
[To Be Continued…]