(Opening Scene: Headmaster Theron stands near Zane's bedside, his earlier assessment complete. Eclipse remains coiled protectively, its gaze now fixed intently on the headmaster. Astrid watches the interaction with a growing sense of unease and curiosity.)
A subtle tension lingered in the infirmary, the weight of Headmaster Theron's understanding presence filling the room. He hadn't made any move to approach Zane further, nor had he dismissed Eclipse. There was a silent acknowledgment between the two powerful beings, a connection that Astrid couldn't quite decipher.
Then, Headmaster Theron reached into an inner pocket of his robes and withdrew a small, obsidian shard. It pulsed with a faint, internal darkness, and as he held it, a barely perceptible ripple of shadow seemed to flow from Eclipse towards the shard.
Astrid gasped softly, realizing there was more to this silent standoff than she understood. The shard seemed… familiar, somehow echoing the very essence of Eclipse.
It was then, for the first time since its manifestation in the void, that Eclipse spoke aloud. Its voice was not a mental projection, but a resonant, ancient sound that seemed to vibrate through the very air of the infirmary, sending a shiver down Astrid's spine.
"Tether," Eclipse intoned, its dark eyes fixed on the obsidian shard in Headmaster Theron's hand. The single word hung in the air, heavy with meaning and a hint of… longing?
Headmaster Theron's expression remained calm, but a flicker of understanding crossed his features. He held the shard out slightly, observing the faint tendril of shadow that now visibly connected it to Eclipse.
"This… fragment," Headmaster Theron said, his voice soft, addressing Eclipse directly. "It has been in my family's keeping for generations. A relic, we believed, of a powerful shadow entity." He looked at Zane, then back at the serpent. "We did not understand its true nature… its connection to you."
Eclipse remained silent for a long moment, its gaze never leaving the obsidian shard. The air in the infirmary seemed to thicken with unspoken history and a deep, mysterious bond.
Finally, Eclipse spoke again, its voice carrying a note of undeniable urgency. "Return it. It is… part of the whole. Its absence weakens the connection. Weakens… him." Its gaze flickered towards the unconscious Zane.
Astrid's mind raced. A fragment of Eclipse… in the headmaster's possession? Could this explain the familiar's unusual protectiveness, its immediate hostility towards any perceived threat to Zane? And if this fragment was weakening their bond, what were the implications for Zane's recovery and his control over his powers?
Headmaster Theron regarded the obsidian shard with a newfound understanding. The silent giant, the powerful familiar, was asking for a piece of itself back, a piece that had unknowingly been held by his family for generations. The implications were profound.
After the crown manifested in Zane's battle the shard which was in the headmaster's possession became restless.
It kept moving then the headmaster realised it had something to do with Zane that's why he came to the infirmary.