Crimson Veil
Episode 16: Hourglass Break — The Timeline Inversion!
[Page 1] – Splash Page
Scene: The sky fractures like glass. Pieces of time spiral outward, distorting reality. Ren stands at the center, the Fourth Fragment pulsing within his chest. Kael and Lira float nearby, caught in frozen flashes of movement.
Narration Box:
"Time has shattered. The past, future, and present now bleed together."
[Page 2] – Falling Through Time
Ren plummets through endless versions of the world. One moment, he's a child watching his village burn. The next, he sees himself as an old man standing alone in a ruined land.
Ren (gritting teeth):
"This... isn't real. It's a trap."
A voice responds — dark and mocking.
???:
"Not a trap. A lesson."
[Page 3] – Zareth's Voice
Zareth appears as a shifting shadow across time. In one form, he's a noble king. In another, a weeping child. In the last — a horned demon bathed in fire.
Zareth:
"You seek to stop me, yet carry my fragments inside you."
Ren (defiant):
"They don't belong to you anymore."
[Page 4] – Meanwhile: Kael's Vision
Kael walks through a world of broken circuits and failed futures. He sees his own body — burned, surrounded by mechanical corpses.
Kael:
"This… this is my worst failure. The AI War…"
A version of Kael steps from the smoke, eyes glowing red.
Dark Kael:
"You were too weak to save them."
[Page 5] – Lira's Trial
Lira faces her mother, held in chains of divine light. Her village lies in ruins behind her.
Lira's Mother:
"You chose the wind over family. You flew too far."
Lira (weeping):
"I didn't have a choice…"
Suddenly, Lira clenches her fists — and the wind bursts through the chains.
Lira:
"No. I made my choice. And I'll keep choosing it."
[Page 6] – Ren's Answer
Ren finds himself in a white void — only one thing remains: a mirror. In it, he sees himself… wearing Zareth's crown.
Ren (shaking):
"That's not me."
Zareth's Echo:
"But it could be."
Ren smashes the mirror with his bare hand. His mark burns red-hot — and time begins to snap back.
[Page 7] – Time Rewinds
The fragments glow in sequence. The hourglass glyph above the city implodes. Kael, Lira, and Ren land on solid ground, panting, but alive.
Kael:
"What... just happened?"
Ren:
"We saw who we could become. Who we won't become."
[Page 8] – Oracle's Last Message
A voice echoes in the wind — the Oracle's fading presence.
Oracle:
"The Fifth Fragment lies where demons are born... and gods dare not walk. The world beneath all worlds — Nekron Abyss."
[Page 9] – Final Panel
Scene shifts to a dark realm deep underground. Massive beasts howl in chains. A gate pulses with red lightning. In front of it — a new enemy stands. A woman with six arms and a halo of bones.
Narration Box:
"And in the Abyss… something even Zareth fears waits to be awakened."