Wind howls through the shattered remains of an ancient exorcist temple. Statues lie broken. Spirit wisps drift like ash—glowing, mourning, fading. The ground is littered with the remains of a recent battle.

[SFX: Flickers of aura, distant veil hum, crackling fire]

Young Raiko (mid-teens, breath ragged, face cut and bruised) stands above a mountain of corrupted spirit husks, his spectral blade flickering like it’s barely holding together.

⸻

Young Raiko:(solemn, older tone)

“Before the eclipse… before the chains… before betrayal carved itself into my soul… there was a promise I made.”

“And a promise I shattered.”

⸻

Behind him, a younger Nael clutches his arm, breathing fast—barely able to stand.

Nael (scared whisper):

“R-Raiko… I don’t want to die here…”

Raiko (urgent but soft):

“You won’t. I swear it on my soul.”

A heartbeat. The sky rips open—a jagged, swirling rift in the veil pulses above them.

[SFX: Deep hum, like the universe exhaling wrong]

⸻

Raiko (desperate):

“No—NO—stay with me!!”

Nael (screaming):

“RAIKOOO!!”

Raiko lunges, grabs his hand—but the pull is too strong. Nael’s body is ripped away into the rift, light and debris exploding outward. Raiko’s scream is swallowed in silence.

[SFX: Sudden silence… then a faint whisper:]

Whisper (from the rift):

“…you promised…”

⸻

CUT TO BLACK.

Title Card – “Echoes Before the Eclipse”

(Ink-like calligraphy on faded parchment. A distant scream echoes behind the score.)

⸻

Scene 2 – Spirit Academy: Training Grounds (3 Years Earlier)

Ancient trees surround a moss-covered training field. Spiritual wards float mid-air, glowing faintly. Students clash with weapons charged with aura. A whistle blows sharply.

⸻

Master Tae (commanding):

“FOCUS! Control your aura or you’ll cut your own spirit in half!”

⸻

Genshi (grinning, dodging Ayame’s strike):

“Don’t worry! I already did that last week.”

⸻

Ayame (mocking, but impressed):

“Maybe try fighting your opponent this time—not the wind.”

⸻

Off to the side, Kairo sits cross-legged beneath a tree, flipping through a tattered notebook. He sketches—detailed runes, theoretical glyphs. A faint flame flickers at the edge of the page.

[SFX: Subtle crackling]

Kairo (quiet, to himself):

“The pattern changed again… It’s getting clearer.”

The sketch slowly reveals the haunting symbol of the Spectral Obelisk, bleeding through ink and aura.

⸻

Ayame (from the field, teasing):

“Kairo! You gonna join us or just whisper to your notebook all day?”

Kairo (smiling faintly, but hiding his shaking hand):

“I’ll… catch up later. This one’s important.”

⸻

Scene 3 – Raiko’s Quarters (Present Day)

Raiko sits alone. Older. Hardened. He flips open Kairo’s old notebook—staring at the same drawing of the Obelisk.

Raiko (low, almost to himself):

“You were already hearing it…

Long before we did.”

A faint wind rustles the pages… like the book is breathing.

⸻

Final Scene – Hidden Veil Research Lab (Past)

An ancient, rusted exorcist lab, sealed with glyphs. A recording crystal spins mid-air, glowing red.

⸻

Elder Exorcist (recording, voice trembling):

“The Obelisk was a mistake. A whisperer.

It chooses vessels… and unmakes them.”

Camera pans slowly to a glass tank filled with spectral fluid. Inside floats a child-shaped figure—his body wrapped in spiritual chains. His face is obscured—but his presence is cold, wrong.

⸻

Elder Exorcist:

“They said it was mercy to bind him.

But mercy doesn’t scream.”

⸻

[SFX: Crystal glitching. A voice—wrong, layered—rises from it.]

Zukuro (first whisper):

“…I remember… everything…”

⸻

CUT TO BLACK

⸻

Post-Credits Scene

Kairo, no older than 10, sleeps peacefully under the moonlight. His fingers twitch. His eyes snap open for a moment—faintly glowing violet.

[SFX: Heartbeat. A whisper… then silence.]

Faint wind blows as the screen opens on a secluded, chained courtyard behind the Spirit Academy. A young boy (age 13), barely conscious, lies crumpled in the dirt, bound by spectral chains that glow faintly. His name: Kazuya.

Guard 1 (whispering):

They say he walked in from the Outer Veil… chained like that… and smiling.

Guard 2:

He’s not smiling now. Look at those marks—whoever sealed that spirit inside him wasn’t trying to save him… they were trying to bury him.

Camera zooms on Kazuya’s blank eyes as we hear a faint echoing voice inside his mind.

Spirit Voice (calm, ancient):

“You are mine, and yet… I am yours.”

Kazuya (barely conscious):

“…What are you?”

Spirit Voice:

“The weapon you’ll one day call salvation—or sin.”

**Echos Before The Eclipse**

Kazuya awakens with a jolt, restrained to a bed by spiritual seals. Raiko, younger and already a prodigy, stands over him with folded arms.

Raiko:

You’re awake. Good. What’s your name?

Kazuya (slowly):

…Kazuya. Where… am I?

Raiko:

The Spirit Academy. And you’re in one piece, despite the chains. That’s rare.

Kazuya:

These chains… I can’t take them off.

Raiko:

They’re not meant to come off. They’re spectral binds. Living ones. You’re carrying a sealed entity inside you—something powerful. Dangerous.

Kazuya tries to sit up but winces in pain.

Raiko (lower voice):

You’re not the first to arrive broken. But you might be the first to survive it.

⸻

SCENE 2 – Spirit Academy Training Yard

Cut to Kazuya being introduced to the class. Among the crowd are Young Ayame, Genshi, and Kairo.

Instructor:

This is Kazuya. He’ll be joining you—if the chains don’t consume him first.

Snickers from the crowd.

Genshi (to Ayame):

That kid looks like he hasn’t slept in a month.

Ayame:

He’s got those “I talk to spirits in my head” vibes.

Kairo, scribbling in a notebook, looks up—his Obelisk senses momentarily flicker.

Kairo (to himself):

Something’s… wrong with him. Not evil. Just… wrong.

⸻

SCENE 3 – Spirit Bonding Chamber (Later)

Kazuya is locked alone in a sealed chamber where students are tested for compatibility with their inner spirit. The lights dim. The chains react violently as the spirit within him speaks again.

Spirit Voice:

“They will never trust you. They only fear what they cannot bind.”

Kazuya:

I don’t care what they think. Just… tell me why I’m still alive.

Spirit Voice:

Because you haven’t killed anyone yet.

Kazuya’s eyes glow faintly red. Chains twitch and begin reshaping into armor over one of his arms.

Instructor (watching through a glass wall):

What the hell…? The chains are responding to him now. Adapting.

Raiko (watching too):

He’s not just a host. He’s a conduit.

⸻

SCENE 4 – Dorms (Night)

Genshi sneaks in to talk to Kazuya, who sits alone in the moonlight.

Genshi:

Hey… sorry the others were being jerks. Academy life’s rough, but we’re not all bad.

Kazuya:

You don’t need to pretend.

Genshi (grinning):

Who said I was pretending? I just like messed-up kids. They make for good drinking buddies when we’re older.

Kazuya chuckles weakly. The chains around his wrist rattle like they’re laughing too.

⸻

SCENE 5 – Flashback (Kazuya’s Past)

We see brief glimpses of Kazuya as a child—abandoned in the Outer Veil, surrounded by corrupted spirits. A voice offers him a deal.

Spirit Voice (from the past):

“Let me bind to your pain… and you’ll never be alone again.”

Kazuya, bloodied, accepts. Chains erupt from his body, subduing the spirits and leaving him unconscious.

⸻

FINAL SCENE – Academy Roof (Late Night)

Raiko, Ayame, Kairo, and Genshi sit together after lights out, watching the stars. They begin discussing Kazuya.

Ayame:

He’s different. Quiet. Like he’s listening to something none of us can hear.

Kairo:

I heard it too, for a second… when I was near him. That voice. It wasn’t human.

Raiko:

Whatever it is, we keep him close. Not because we trust him… but because one day, we’ll need him.

⸻

POST-CREDITS SCENE

Kazuya stands alone in his room. The chains rise from his back like wings. His eyes glow softly.

Kazuya (to himself):

If they fear me… maybe that’s enough to keep them safe.

Spirit Voice:

“For now.”

Hidden Ruins Beneath the Academy

Faint light leaks through cracked stone as Raiko (young) and Nael (younger) descend a staircase cloaked in glyphs and spiritual dust.

Nael (whispering):

Raiko… are we even allowed to be down here?

Raiko (focused):

No. That’s the point. The instructors said these ruins predate the academy. I need to see what they’re hiding.

They reach a sealed door engraved with Veil symbols. Raiko places his hand on it, and it glows faintly.

Raiko:

It’s reacting to me…

A sudden pulse throws both of them back. The door opens just slightly. A low whisper echoes from within.

Whispering Voice (distorted):

“The Crimson Veil… calls to the broken…”

⸻

Opening Theme Plays – Title Card: Echoes Before the Eclipse

⸻

Scene 2 – Academy Courtyard – Midday

Genshi is showing off a flashy new move to Ayame while Kazuya watches silently from a distance. Kairo sits reading under a tree, eyes twitching subtly as if hearing something.

Ayame (smirking):

That technique looks cool until it snaps your own spine.

Genshi (grinning):

Then it’ll be a stylish spine snap.

Kazuya (to himself):

They’re all smiling… like they don’t feel the pull of the Veil.

Kairo (closing his notebook):

…It’s getting louder, isn’t it?

Kazuya’s chains rattle slightly in response. A cold wind brushes the courtyard. A shadow flits across the sky.

⸻

Scene 3 – Forbidden Chamber, Night

Raiko and Nael sneak back to the chamber. They enter the door they found earlier, now open wider. Inside is a glowing mural depicting an ancient war—the first known Veil War.

Nael (awe-struck):

These people… they weren’t exorcists. They became the spirits.

Raiko:

No… they merged with them. Through something called “The Crimson Veil.”

They find a scroll sealed in crystal. As Raiko touches it, blood pours from his palm, but the scroll responds—unsealing and burning a symbol into Raiko’s arm.

Raiko (gritting teeth):

It… chose me?

Nael (terrified):

Raiko… something’s wrong. Your eyes… they’re glowing.

Disembodied Voice (Ancient and Furious):

“You open what should remain shattered…”

Spiritual winds tear the room apart. Nael clings to Raiko. Red mist engulfs the scene as ghostly warriors emerge from the mural.

⸻

Scene 4 – Aftermath – Infirmary

Raiko wakes up in a bed. Bandaged. Pale. Nael sits nearby, clearly shaken.

Raiko (weakly):

You stayed?

Nael:

Of course I did. I thought you died down there.

Raiko (looking at his arm):

The Crimson Veil… it’s inside me now. I saw everything. The war. The fall. The sacrifice…

Nael (softly):

What if we’re not meant to know this?

Raiko (distant):

Then we’ll be the ones who break what’s “meant to be.”

⸻

Scene 5 – Council Chambers (Later That Night)

The Headmaster and other Spirit Council members argue in hushed tones.

Headmaster:

Raiko breached the Crimson Sanctuary. He should be expelled.

Elder Exorcist:

He wasn’t consumed. That means something. The Veil recognized him.

Councilwoman:

Or corrupted him…

⸻

Final Scene – Raiko’s Room – Alone

Raiko studies his glowing forearm. The sigil pulses softly.

Raiko (to himself):

If the Veil chose me… then I’ll choose how it ends.

A faint glow pulses through his eye. Cut to Nael’s dorm—he stares out the window. A single tear rolls down his cheek as the whispers begin to invade his dreams.

⸻

Post-Credits Scene

A shadowy figure in chains stands in the original mural room—alone.

Unknown Spirit:

Two lights… two fates… only one shall eclipse the other.