🔥 EPISODE 13 — "THE THINGS WE DO WHILE WAITING TO DIE"
SCENE 1 — RAVEN LEARNS HOW TO BE USEFUL
The chains don't rattle anymore.
They don't need to.
Raven stands in the center of a circular chamber—barefoot on cold stone, shadow symbols etched beneath her feet like veins in the floor.
The woman from before watches quietly.
"Again," she says.
Raven raises her hand.
The shadow responds instantly.
Too instantly.
A shape forms—sharp, clean, obedient—and slices through the stone pillar across the room.
It falls without resistance.
Perfect.
The woman nods. "See? When you don't hesitate, it listens."
Raven lowers her hand.
Her face is empty.
"…Is this what he wanted?" she asks.
The woman tilts her head. "Who?"
Raven doesn't answer.
The woman steps closer. Her voice is gentle—trained that way.
"He died because he hesitated," she says softly.
"You live because you don't."
Raven's fingers curl.
The shadow hums, pleased.
Inside her chest, something twists—not pain.
Memory.
Aryex standing wrong.
Too close.
Always too close.
Her breath stutters once.
Then steadies.
"…Then teach me not to hesitate anymore," Raven says.
The shadows surge higher.
But one small crack forms—
Not in the shadow.
In her obedience.
SCENE 2 — THE DAY ARYEX LEARNS WHAT BLOOD MEANS
The ruins are quiet.
Too quiet.
Kaien stops walking without warning.
Aryex nearly runs into him.
"Smell that?" Kaien asks.
Aryex inhales.
Iron.
Fear.
Rot.
"…People," Aryex says.
"Alive," Kaien replies. "For now."
They crest a broken wall.
Below them—three figures.
Hunters.
Not Shadow Clan elite.
Desperate ones.
One is injured. One is arguing. One is watching the dark like it might answer back.
Kaien crouches.
"You walk away," he says. "Or you learn something today."
Aryex doesn't move.
"They'll kill you if they see you," Kaien continues. "And they won't do it clean."
Aryex grips the blade.
"…If I run," he asks, "does that mean I chose to live?"
Kaien looks at him.
"No," he says. "It means you chose not to decide."
The hunters look up.
Too late.
The first one charges.
Aryex moves.
Not like a hero.
Like an animal that's done being cornered.
The blade enters flesh wrong—too shallow, too panicked.
The man screams.
Aryex freezes.
Just for a breath.
The second hunter raises his weapon—
Kaien's stick snaps it in half.
"Finish it," Kaien says. Not shouting. Not angry.
The wounded man is begging now.
Aryex's hands shake.
"I—"
The third hunter runs.
Aryex doesn't chase.
The first man grabs his leg.
"Please—"
Aryex looks down.
Sees himself reflected there.
Helpless.
Afraid.
Waiting for mercy that won't come.
The blade comes down.
Once.
It's over.
The world doesn't end.
Aryex staggers back.
He doesn't throw up.
That scares him more than anything.
Kaien watches silently.
Later, when they're alone—
Aryex scrubs his hands until they bleed.
"They were going to kill us," he says. "Right?"
Kaien nods.
"…Then why does it feel like I lost something?"
Kaien looks away.
"Because you did."
SCENE 3 — KAIEN'S SIN (ALMOST SAID)
That night, Kaien sharpens the blade.
Aryex sits across the fireless camp, staring into nothing.
"Do you regret it?" Aryex asks suddenly.
Kaien doesn't answer.
"Do you regret teaching me this?" Aryex presses.
Kaien's hand stops.
"…Every day," he says.
Aryex looks up.
"Then why?"
Kaien's clouded eye tightens.
"Because the people I trained before you," he says slowly,
"I taught them how to be brave."
He swallows.
"I never taught them how to stop."
The fire crackles—though there is none.
Aryex doesn't ask more.
Not yet.
SCENE 4 — THE LIE STARTS TO ROT
Back in the Shadow stronghold—
Raven kneels.
Not chained.
Trusted.
The Shadow Leader watches from above.
"You are progressing faster than expected," he says.
Raven lowers her head.
"Because I have nothing left," she replies.
The Leader smiles.
"That's what makes you perfect."
A pause.
"…Did he scream?" Raven asks.
The Leader blinks. "Who?"
"…The boy," she says. "When he died."
The chamber goes still.
The Leader's smile returns—too smooth.
"No," he says. "He was quiet. Just like you are now."
Something inside Raven recoils.
Aryex was never quiet.
Her fingers twitch.
The shadows hesitate.
Just for a fraction of a second.
The Leader notices.
Interesting.
SCENE 5 — WHAT THEY'RE BOTH BECOMING
Aryex sleeps sitting up now.
Blade within reach.
Eyes half-open even in dreams.
Raven stands tall in a place built to break her.
Eyes empty—but watching.
Both believe the other is gone.
Both are wrong.
And when the truth finally collides—
It won't be gentle.
CUT TO BLACK.