PANEL 1 Nova City burns.

PANEL 1 Nova City burns. Aethel kneels in the street, suit torn, blood at his mouth. Ribs ache under the blue and silver. Above him floats Quix, no grin, just eyes locked on him like he’s studying a locked box.

QUIX: You’re hurt.

Beat.

QUIX: There’s something under that. Something old. Something I can’t unmake. It bothers me.

PANEL 2 Close on Aethel. He doesn’t answer right away. He’s listening. Quix isn’t here to kill him. He’s here to crack him open and see what’s inside.

AETHEL: You think if you break me, you’ll see it. QUIX: I know I will.

PANEL 3 Quix flicks his fingers. The street twists. Gravity flips sideways. Aethel grits his teeth, braces, stays standing. Quix leans in, watching Aethel’s face, not his body.

QUIX: Nothing. Why isn’t anything happening? AETHEL: Because you’re looking in the wrong place.

PANEL 4 Aethel stands. Slow. Deliberate.

AETHEL: You want to know what I am? AETHEL: Then tell me what you are when you can’t hide behind the tricks. AETHEL: What’s your true name, Quix?

The question hits. Quix’s expression shifts. For the first time, he’s not in control.

PANEL 5 Full page. Quix’s face distorts. Reality cracks behind him. He glows, warps, about to speak—

QUIX: MY TRUE NAME IS—

He cuts himself off. Shaking. He almost said it.

PANEL 6 Silence. The warping stops. Aethel steps forward. No smirk. Just truth.

AETHEL: You did. But I didn’t hear it. And I won’t.

Long beat. Quix stares.

QUIX: There’s something in you. Something that kept me from breaking you. AETHEL: I don’t know what it is. QUIX: …I believe you. QUIX: You’ve got my word, Anchor. I won’t break this city. Not while you’re standing.

*Neither of them knew why. But both of them felt it.*