*Chapter 4: "Prison of Eternal Regret"**
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**Page 1:**
**Panel 1 (Full-page spread):** Sanctuary 7—a cathedral-like structure fused with skeletal remains, its stained-glass windows depicting necromancers being devoured by their own Shades. The door creaks open, revealing a foyer lit by candles made of human fat. **Caption**: *"Sanctuary: A pretty word for a cage."*
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**Page 2:**
**Panel 1:** Jin staggers inside, his body now 40% ash. Min-ah's Shade-core pulses in his chest like a second heart, whispering: *"Liar. Murderer.* **Coward.***"
**Panel 2:** Yuri surveys the room, her blue eye scanning shadows. *"Stay close. Sanctuaries breed traitors."*
**Panel 3:** A child's laughter echoes. A girl in a bloodstained dress skips past, her shadow stretching into claws.
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**Page 3:**
**Panel 1:** **The Keeper** materializes—a towering figure cloaked in funeral shrouds, their face hidden. Their voice is a chorus of mourners: *"Jin Soel. Your mother's* **debt** *remains unpaid."*
**Panel 2:** Flashback: Jin's mother's Shade, post-massacre, clawing at a contract etched into the hospital floor. **Contract Text**: *"One soul to bind. One soul to burn."*
**Panel 3:** The Keeper's shroud parts slightly—revealing Jin's mother's face beneath, eyes sewn shut.
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**Page 4:**
**Panel 1:** Jin's void-eye bleeds black tears. *"What debt?!"*
**Panel 2:** The Keeper's hand extends, holding a dagger made of Jin's ash. *"She promised* **you.** *But you lived. Now, you pay."*
**Panel 3:** Yuri steps between them, chains swirling. *"He's* **mine.** *Try collecting, and I'll unmake this tomb."*
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**Page 5:**
**Panel 1:** The Sanctuary trembles. Necromancers peek from doorways—a man with roots for veins, a woman carrying a coffin on her back.
**Panel 2:** The Keeper retreats, dissolving into smoke. *"Rest, Jin Soel. Your final dawn approaches."*
**Panel 3:** Yuri shoves Jin toward a corroded elevator. *"We need the* **Archive.** *Your mother hid something here."*
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**Page 6:**
**Panel 1:** Inside the elevator, Jin's reflection shows his corpse-counterpart grinning. **Corpse Jin**: *"She knew you'd fail. Just like with* **me.***"
**Panel 2:** Yuri slams the elevator button. *"Ignore it. Reflections here feast on fear."*
**Panel 3:** The elevator plummets. Min-ah's Shade-core shrieks: *"Don't trust her! She* **lied—**"
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**Page 7:**
**Panel 1:** The Archive—a cavernous library where books scream and pages are made of skin. At the center, a mummified librarian stitches a tome with hair.
**Panel 2:** Yuri grabs a book titled *"Veyra Bloodline."* It bleeds when touched.
**Panel 3:** Jin opens it. The pages animate: his mother signing the contract, her Shade tearing free, and a final entry—**a photo of Jin as a baby, covered in black veins.**
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**Page 8:**
**Panel 1:** **Text from the Book**: *"The Rot is no curse. It is a* **gift** *—the Veyra lineage transcends death by becoming death."*
**Panel 2:** Jin's hand crumbles further. *"Transcend? I'm* **dying—**"
**Panel 3:** Yuri's chains suddenly bind him. *"No. You're* **ascending.** *But the Eclipse Society wants your power… and I need it first."*
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**Page 9:**
**Panel 1:** The librarian's stitches burst. Eclipse Society cultists pour from the bookcases, led by the mouthless Harvester.
**Panel 2:** The Harvester's shadow blades aim at Jin. *"The Society sends its regards…* **Mother.***"
**Panel 3:** Jin freezes—the Harvester's voice is his mother's.
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**Page 10 (Full-page cliffhanger):**
**Panel 1:** Jin's body disintegrates uncontrollably. Min-ah's Shade-core erupts, merging with his Rot to form a monstrous hybrid—half-Jin, half-Shade, with glowing void eyes and serrated bone claws.
**Caption**: *"You wanted to cheat death, Jin Soel. Now become it."*
**Cliffhanger Text**: *"Next: The Deathless Prince."*
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**Key Developments**:
- **Jin's Transformation**: The Rot isn't a curse—it's his birthright, but embracing it risks losing his humanity.
- **Yuri's Betrayal**: She orchestrated Jin's suffering to weaponize him against the Eclipse Society.
- **The Harvester's Identity**: A Shade wearing his mother's soul, enslaved by the Society.
**Visual Madness**:
- **Sanctuary 7**: Think Giger-esque biopunk fused with gothic decay.
- **Jin's Hybrid Form**: A grotesque mix of crumbling flesh and shadow, with Min-ah's face visible in his chest.
**Why It's Addictive**:
- **Moral Freefall**: Jin must choose: die as a human or "ascend" as a monster.
- **Twisted Revelations**: Every answer (his lineage, Yuri's plans) spawns darker questions.
- **Race Against Rot**: His body is now 60% ash. Readers will dread each page turn—what part of him vanishes next?