Chapter 9—A Spark Among Shadows
**SCENE: HAVEN'S RISE ORPHANAGE – LATE AFTERNOON**
*The golden sun casts long shadows on the front porch. A **gentle knock**, then a short ring. Inside, children play in the common room.*
*A small boy, around nine, hears the knock and hurries to the door, cracking it open to peek through.*
**KID (curious):**
"Hello?"
**VALE (smiling warmly):**
"Hey there. Is Amelia or Sophia around? I'm a friend of Mr. Avile's. He said I could stop by today."
*The boy stares, unsure but not afraid, then bolts down the hallway, shouting.*
**KID:**
"AMELIAAAA! THERE'S A STRANGER!"
*Footsteps. AMELIA appears, wary, drying her hands on a towel. She spots VALE standing calmly outside.*
**AMELIA (raising a brow):**
"...Can I help you?"
**VALE (nodding politely):**
"Sorry for the surprise visit. I'm Vale—I teach with Avile at the school. He invited me over. Said he'd show me around."
*Before Amelia can respond, SOPHIA rounds the corner with a clipboard, followed by AVILE, who steps forward quickly.*
**AVILE (reassuring):**
"It's alright. I asked him to come."
**AMELIA (to Avile, incredulous):**
"You made... plans? With an actual person?"
**SOPHIA (smiling to Vale):**
"Welcome, Vale. Sorry about the dramatic welcome—our kids are a little too alert sometimes."
**VALE (chuckling):**
"I'll take alert over chaos any day."
*AMELIA steps aside and gestures him in.*
**AMELIA (softening):**
"Come on in. We don't get many guests... unless you count case workers and donation reps."
---
**HAVEN'S RISE – COMMON AREA – MOMENTS LATER**
*They gather in the lounge. Amelia and Sophia make tea, offering cookies and a seat.*
**SOPHIA:**
"So, Vale, right? What brought you here? Not many people ask to tour an orphanage."
**VALE:**
"I've always wanted to work more directly with kids. Teaching's great, but Avile's stories about this place… I wanted to see it for myself."
**AMELIA (teasing):**
"'Avile's stories'? I didn't think he shared anything besides the weather forecast."
**AVILE (dryly):**
"I have layers. Like trauma-flavored cake."
*They laugh. The tension eases. After some casual talk, Avile gives Vale a brief tour—pointing out the dorms, the garden, and the old piano Evelin plays.*
---
** AVILE'S ROOM – SHORTLY AFTER**
*AVILE closes the door behind them, the mood shifting.*
**AVILE (serious):**
"Don't mind the kids—they get attached fast. But let's get to it. I called you here to talk. And to share my side."
**VALE:**
"You came in contact with divine power too?"
**AVILE:**
"No. It wasn't power—I was pulled into another realm. Hell. And I saw Lucifer… and Azazil."
**VALE (concerned):**
"Lucifer?"
**AVILE (nods):**
"He said the seal's broken. I didn't believe him at first, but after hearing about the airburst downtown... I know one of us broke it."
**AVILE:**
"We need to keep quiet. Investigate on our own. If we bring everyone in too soon… we could alert whoever did this."
**VALE:**
"I thought of that. But if we felt it, they probably did too. Even if they don't *know* what it means yet."
(*He steps closer, lowering his voice.*)
**VALE:**
"Ignorance is more dangerous. If someone's hiding... we'll see it in how they react. Who's nervous. Who's too calm. And if any of them don't show up at all... that tells us something too."
**VALE:**
"We work from different angles. Watch. Listen. The truth's out there, Avile—we just have to find it before it finds us."
**AVILE:**
"Alright. We'll go with your plan."
*Avile rolls up his sleeve, revealing a faintly glowing **Soul Mark**. Vale does the same. Their fingertips touch the symbols, and a soft light pulses between them.*
**NARRATION (V.O.):**
*"The Soul Mark doesn't draw from divine power. It pulls from something older—the eternal bond between Archons. Across lifetimes. Across worlds. A thread no seal can sever."*
*The glow expands. One by one, ghostly projections shimmer into the room. For the first time in centuries, the Archons stand together—not in flesh, but in spirit.*
**ELYEN (soft gasp):**
"Avile…?"
**KAEL (wide-eyed):**
"Is this real? Are we actually... here?"
**MAEL (composed but shaken):**
"I never thought I'd feel this bond again..."
**TOVAR (eyes narrowed):**
"Contacting after eons eh i look forward to the reason"
**ELYEN (smiling faintly, eyes misty):**
"Whatever is the reason .It's still good to see you all."
**KAEL (grinning):**
"Still dramatic, huh, Elyen? Some things don't change."
**ELYEN (teasing):**
"And you're still loud, Kael. Glad to see it."
**VALE (cutting in):**
"This isn't a social call. Something's changed."
**AVILE:**
"Someone among us broke the divine seal."
*The warmth vanishes. Silence spreads like a cold wind.*
**TOVAR (tense):**
"That's impossible. We were bound by Heaven's decree."
**MAEL (shocked):**
"How?"
**ELYEN:**
"Who would even *dare*—?"
**OBIL (stepping forward, faking concern):**
"Wait... are you saying *one of us* did this?"
**VALE:**
"We're not accusing anyone. But the seal is broken—and divine energy is leaking into the world. I felt it. In my district. A bar was destroyed. I felt divine power rising from the crater."
*Obil's lips tighten. He says nothing.*
**AVILE:**
"We need to be careful. Watch everything. The world isn't ready for what's stirring."
**ELYEN:**
"We were sent here to *redeem* ourselves... not cause another Fall."
**TOVAR (softly):**
"Maybe this is part of the test."
**KAEL:**
"Or a trap. Humans are... unpredictable."
**OBIL (carefully composed):**
"Whatever it is... we'll face it. Together."
**VALE:**
"We'll meet again soon. For now, be ready."
*One by one, their lights fade. Only Vale and Avile remain.*
*Avile exhales slowly, sitting on the bed. Vale stands by the window, arms crossed, watching the sky.*
**AVILE:**
"So what now? How do we find the one who broke the seal... if it's one of us?"
**VALE (quietly):**
"We wait. We watch. One of us will slip. Pride always does."
**AVILE (nods, rising slowly):**
"Then we start tomorrow. With clear heads."
**VALE (dryly):**
"Sleep's the last thing I can do right now."
**AVILE (smirks faintly):**
"Then pretend. You're good at that."
*Vale chuckles. Avile opens the door for him.*
**AVILE:**
"Tomorrow, we start fresh."
---
**HAVEN'S RISE – NEXT EVENING**
*Avile stands outside the orphanage. AMELIA steps out, holding a shopping list. EVELIN walks beside her, hoodie up, silent.*
**AMELIA:**
"You're late."
**AVILE:**
(*shrugs*)
"You're early."
**AMELIA:**
"I had to drag her out before sunset. She said it's quieter with fewer people around."
**EVELIN (softly):**
"Crowds make my head loud."
**AMELIA:**
"Crime's gone up lately. Sophia didn't want us walking alone—and, let's face it, she only trusts *you* to babysit me."
**AVILE:**
(*grins*)
"Lucky me."
**AMELIA:**
"You keep saying that. I'll believe it when I see you smile."
*He chuckles quietly. They walk. Grocery bags swing. Evelin clutches a small coin purse and walks close to Avile.*
---
### **CITY STREETS – LATER**
*They return with full bags. Amelia and Evelin laugh about a cracked jar of jam. Avile walks behind, quiet, eyes scanning.*
**AMELIA:**
"I still think we should've gotten the strawberry one."
**EVELIN:**
"The bottle was cracked. It was leaking. That jam was cursed."
**AMELIA (laughing):**
"It's jam, Evelin. Not a horror movie."
*The street is calm. A soft wind carries the chill of night. Evelin and Amelia laugh about nothing important.*
*But Avile doesn't feel the peace.*
*His thoughts linger on the Soulmark meeting, on the seal, on the creeping dread growing inside him.*
*Then it hits.*
*A pulse—not physical. Not even emotional. Something older.*
*His Soulmark **flares**—not burning, but *singing*. A resonance deep in his bones. A divine thread, plucked.*
*Avile stops cold, frozen mid-step as if struck by lightning.*
*Across the street, beneath the dim golden haze of a flickering lamppost—*
*He sees **him**.*
*Obil.*
*The world seems to blur, slow. Everything fades to the edges of Avile's senses. It's not the clothes. Not the hair. It's the **presence**.*
*Obil's form is wrapped in a subtle glow—not visible to mortals. But to Avile, it's unmistakable. The glow of divinity long dormant, now awakened.*
*And even after eons...*
*Even after endless lifetimes and shifting mortal bodies...*
**He knew that face.**
*Obil's eyes widen—just slightly. Enough. He also recognised him in an instant*
*They stare at each other for a split second across the street.*
*Archon to Archon.*
*Godsplit to Godsplit.*
*No words are spoken.*
*And then—*
*Obil vanishes.*
*Gone in a blink. As if he were never there.*
*Only the faint residue of divine energy lingers in the air, like smoke after a fire.*
**AMELIA**
(*turning*)
Avile? What's wrong?
(*Avile stares at the spot where Obil stood, his mouth slightly open. The divine presence still tingles inside him like static.*)
**[END OF CHAPTER]**