*Chapter 7: "The First Grave"
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**Page 1:**
**Panel 1 (Full-page spread):** The First Grave looms—a colossal tree of interlocked skeletons, roots plunging into a void where a black sun smolders. At its base, the original Deathless Prince lounges on a throne of calcified Rot, his form a perfected version of Jin's hybrid state: obsidian bones wreathed in ash, eyes twin voids. **Caption**: *"All graves lead here… even yours."*
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**Page 2:**
**Panel 1:** Jin steps forward, his marbled veins flickering between flesh and Rot. The ground cracks beneath him, whispering with the voices of long-dead necromancers. **Original Prince**: *"You've kept me waiting,* **heir.***"
**Panel 2:** Yuri lingers behind, her new Shade-arm twitching. **Yuri (muttering)**: *"Throne's ugly. Fitting."*
**Panel 3:** The black sun pulses. Shadows elongate into clawed hands that grasp at Jin's ankles.
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**Page 3:**
**Panel 1:** Flashback: The original Prince in a primordial era, carving the first necromancer's mark into his chest as civilizations burn. **Original Prince (voiceover)**: *"I gave humanity death… and they called it a gift."*
**Panel 2:** Present. The original Prince rises, skeletal fingers snapping. The tree's roots animate, forming a cage around Yuri. **Original Prince**: *"Let's speak* **privately**, *heir."*
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**Page 4:**
**Panel 1:** Jin's Rot flares instinctively, but the original Prince absorbs it effortlessly. **Original Prince**: *"You cling to that flesh? Pathetic. You are* **Rot.** *You are* **me.***"
**Panel 2:** Jin's human eye narrows. *"I'm not your puppet."*
**Panel 3:** The original Prince laughs, the sound like grinding tombstones. *"Puppet? You are* **my requiem.** *The Eclipse Society… the Sovereign… all pawns to bring you* **home.***"
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**Page 5:**
**Panel 1:** The original Prince tears open his ribcage, revealing a swirling vortex of Rot—a maelstrom of screaming souls. **Original Prince**: *"The First Grave is a* **door.** *Walk through… and unmake the cycle of death."*
**Panel 2:** Jin's marbled skin begins to dissolve. **Min-ah's Voice**: *"Don't! It's a* **trap—**"
**Panel 3:** Yuri's Shade-arm morphs into a blade, sawing at her root cage. **Yuri**: *"Jin! Whatever he's selling—* **don't buy it!**"
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**Page 6:**
**Panel 1:** The original Prince gestures. Visions flood Jin's mind:
- **Vision 1**: A world without death—corpses walking, souls trapped in rotting flesh.
- **Vision 2**: Jin as a god-king, Yuri and Min-ah's ghosts chained to his throne.
- **Vision 3**: The original Prince, free at last, dissolving into the void with a sigh.
**Panel 2:** Jin staggers, his human eye bleeding. **Original Prince**: *"You see? I crave* **rest.** *You crave* **purpose.** *A fair trade."*
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**Page 7:**
**Panel 1:** Min-ah's ghost materializes, her light clashing with the Rot. **Min-ah**: *"He's lying! The First Grave isn't a door—it's a* **cage.** *He's trapped here… and wants you to take his place!"*
**Panel 2:** The original Prince snarls, swatting Min-ah's ghost. She fractures but reforms, brighter. **Min-ah**: *"You're* **scared.** *He's stronger than you!"*
**Panel 3:** Jin's Rot surges—not at the Prince, but at the tree itself. **Jin**: *"Let's see how eternal you really are."*
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**Page 8:**
**Panel 1:** The tree shudders. The black sun darkens as Jin's Rot corrupts the roots, turning them to ash. **Original Prince**: *"Fool! You'll doom us all!"*
**Panel 2:** Yuri breaks free, her Shade-arm now a whip of liquid shadow. She lashes the original Prince's throne. **Yuri**: *"Dramatic exit, now!"*
**Panel 3:** The throne crumbles. The original Prince's form destabilizes, his void eyes widening in panic.
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**Page 9:**
**Panel 1:** Jin grabs the original Prince's skull. **Jin**: *"You want rest?* **Rot.***"
**Panel 2:** Jin's Rot consumes the original Prince, his essence screaming into oblivion. The tree begins to collapse.
**Panel 3:** The black sun fractures, light piercing the void. **Min-ah**: *"The First Grave… it's* **dying.***"
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**Page 10 (Full-page cliffhanger):**
**Panel 1:** The tree implodes, sucking Jin, Yuri, and Min-ah's ghost into a kaleidoscopic tunnel. **Caption**: *"Not the end. A* **beginning.***"
**Panel 2:** They crash into a neon-lit cityscape—modern, but twisted. Skyscrapers are ribcages, traffic lights pulse like hearts.
**Panel 3:** A shadowy figure steps forward, holding a familiar syringe filled with liquid darkness. **Figure**: *"Welcome to the* **real world**, *Prince."*
**Cliffhanger Text**: *"Next: The Harvest of Tomorrow."*
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**Key Developments**:
- **The Original Prince's End**: Jin destroys him, destabilizing the First Grave and unleashing a new era of death.
- **Modern Apocalypse**: The trio is thrust into a dystopian city where necromancy has evolved into a corporate nightmare.
- **New Antagonist**: The syringe-wielder hints that the Eclipse Society's experiments never stopped—they evolved.
**Visual Chaos**:
- **Collapsing First Grave**: Surreal, Boschian decay as the tree disintegrates.
- **Neo-Gothic City**: A blend of cyberpunk and body horror—think bio-mechanical skyscrapers and street markets selling Shade-cores.
**Addictive Hooks**:
- **Jin's New Role**: With the original Prince gone, Jin's Rot mutates unpredictably. Can he control it, or will he become something worse?
- **Yuri's Transformation**: Her Shade-arm now speaks with its own voice, hinting at a buried Shade within her.
- **Min-ah's Power**: Her ghost grows stronger, challenging Jin's Rot—is she becoming a new kind of entity?
**Tone**: Relentless escalation. Jin's victory is pyrrhic; the world is stranger, darker, and more complex. The moral lines blur further—readers will question if *anyone* in this story can be saved.