Episode 7: "The Door Beyond"
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**INT. VEIL REALM – UNKNOWN**
Kael, Lana, and Rhea step into a surreal realm. The sky is fractured glass, the ground pulses like breathing skin. Whispers fill the air—familiar voices twisted into echoes.
**LANA**
I think I liked regular nightmares better.
**RHEA**
This is the Veil. It feeds on memory and fear.
**KAEL**
Then we don't give it anything to feed on.
They move forward.
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**INT. VEIL FOREST – CONTINUOUS**
Trees with skeletal branches reach out. The trio walks carefully. A figure appears ahead—Kael's father. But Kael's father is dead.
**FATHER (VEIL SHADE)**
You let me die.
Kael falters. Lana grabs his hand.
**LANA**
It's not real.
Kael closes his eyes—and the shade vanishes.
**RHEA**
It's testing us.
They press on.
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**INT. VEIL SHRINE – LATER**
A dark stone shrine stands in a clearing. At its center, a black mirror floats. The whispers grow louder.
Kael approaches the mirror. His reflection is twisted—eyes burning, mark covering his entire body.
**KAEL (MIRROR)**
You are the end. The Veil will rip because of you.
Kael raises his hand to the mirror. It cracks.
Suddenly, a blast of force knocks them all back.
From the mirror steps a doppelgänger of Kael—his Veil-self.
**VEIL KAEL**
I am who you become.
**RHEA**
He's a fracture—a living echo.
They battle. Lana uses her sigil charm to shield Kael. Rhea hurls energy blasts.
Veil Kael lunges—Kael channels pure shadow and light, blasting his echo into smoke.
The mirror shatters.
A pulse of energy bursts out. The landscape begins to collapse.
**LANA**
We have to go! Now!
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**INT. SHADOWBOUND GYM – NIGHT**
They tumble back through the Whispering Door just before the Veil realm vanishes.
They're bruised, drained, but alive.
**RHEA**
You saw what waits if you lose control.
**KAEL**
Then I won't.
**LANA**
We'll make sure of it.
They share a look—a triangle of tension, trust, and something deeper.
Kael's mark pulses once... then goes silent.