DEAD STAR

[Opening Page: Wide panel — Rain and the Moon Person stand in the middle of the Grand Tether Nexus (G.T.N.), a vast celestial cathedral floating in a black sea of galaxies. Ethereal, endless, haunting.]

Moon Person (off-panel):

"Mastering the stars will be like trying to hold fire in your lungs… and smiling through it."

[Next Panel: Close-up on Rain, arms crossed, clearly skeptical.]

Rain (deadpan):

"So… a cosmic STD with fireworks. Got it."

Moon Person (grinning faintly):

"If you cannot control them… a single sneeze could erase your planet."

[Next Panel: Beat panel. Rain's eyes widen slightly. He turns his head.]

Rain:

"…Wait. You're telling me I can commit planetary genocide with allergies?"

Moon Person (completely serious):

"The essence you now host is not passive. It stirs with thought, with breath. Even gas carries divine weight."

[Next Panel: Rain looks horrified.]

Rain:

"…So what happens if I fart?"

[Next Panel: The Moon Person pauses, puts a finger to their chin, visibly trying to come up with an answer.]

Moon Person:

"…Perhaps the Andromeda Cluster would feel… a slight quake."

Rain:

"Perfect. So I'm a gassy death god with memory loss. Why not throw in a love triangle while we're at it?"

[Next Panel: The stars above flicker. One of the galaxies twists unnaturally.]

Moon Person (suddenly tense):

"Silence."

[Page Turn: Double page spread. The G.T.N. begins vibrating. The cosmic floor beneath them fractures slightly, like an earthquake through starlight.]

Rain (backing up):

"Yo. I didn't fart yet—what's going on?"

[Next Panel: Close-up on the Moon Person's face. Their eyes, typically warm and cosmic, are wide—fear etched into the cracks of their glowing skin.]

Moon Person:

"Something breaches the veil. I had hoped to speak longer… but it seems you've drawn attention."

[Next Panel: In the far distance, a tear in reality begins forming — jagged, purple, bleeding energy. A sickening void leaks through.]

Rain (staring, voice low):

"…Is that supposed to be there?"

Moon Person (whispers):

"No."

[Next Panel: Moon Person walks toward Rain, reaching out and placing their glowing palm on his chest.]

Moon Person:

"You are not the only Star Bearer in existence. But you are the only one in this universe. And the first in a very long time."

[Panel inset within panel: Rain's shirt glows where the Moon Person touches. The stars flicker silently in his pupils.]

Moon Person:

"You must leave. Now."

Rain:

"Wait—hold up. I've got questions! You can't just—"

[Page turn: Rain begins dissolving into particles of starlight, sucked backward through the dimension.]

Moon Person (final line echoing as Rain vanishes):

"Be wary… of the silence between stars… it is where the old gods rot."

⸻

[CUT TO: Rain jolts awake in his bed, drenched in sweat. Gasping. Eyes wide. The ceiling is plain. The smell of incense from the smoke shop is faint in the air.]

Rain (panting):

"…Did I just get kicked out of a cosmic TED Talk?"

[Visual: Dawn enters the room mid-yawn, holding a cup of coffee. She stares at Rain, confused.]

Dawn:

"You good? You were mumbling something about farting and gods. I thought you were fucking dead for a minute."

Rain (rubbing his eyes):

"I thought I was too."

⸻

[Scene Transition: Breakfast. Rain devours a mountain of food with robotic speed. Dawn watches from the kitchen island, horrified.]

Dawn:

"Okay. You never eat like this. Did dying turn you into a black hole?"

Rain (between bites):

"Might be a god now. Jury's still out."

[Beat Panel: Dawn blinks. Decides not to ask.]

[Final Pages: Mourn steps through a crater of burnt grass and shattered earth on the outskirts of the city — face unseen, body draped in torn cosmic robes.]

Narration (Moon Person's voice overlapping):

"You were chosen by the stars… not to thrive. But to carry what must not be lost."

[Visual: Mourn looks up at the city skyline — his arrival begins to poison the atmosphere with quiet dread.]

Narration:

"And now something ancient knows your name."

⸻

⸻

[Page 1 – Visual: Rain's dark room, lit only by the blue glow of his monitor. He's hunched over, headphones on, in a Discord voice chat.]

[Panel 1]

Rain, smirking faintly at the screen.

Rain (V.O.): "Alright, hypothetical time—if you woke up with the ability to destroy Earth with a sneeze… what the fuck would you do?"

[Panel 2]

Discord chat overlay appears, showing his friends' avatars lighting up as they respond.

Friend 1 (V.O.): "Bro I'd lock myself in a vacuum-sealed room and never breathe again."

Friend 2 (V.O.): "Cap. You'd go viral sneezing buildings off the map."

Friend 3 (V.O.): "I'd monetize it. 'Pay me or I'll nuke your city with a sniffle.'"

[Panel 3]

Rain laughing, but eyes a bit empty.

Rain: "Yeah… I figured y'all would say some dumb shit."

Rain (V.O.): "Still… what if it wasn't a joke?"

⸻

[Page 2 – Transition panel: Rain walking down the cracked sidewalk, hoodie up, early evening sun bleeding into the horizon.]

Rain (V.O.):

"Every time I blink, I see that weird old fuck with the moon-face…

talkin' about the 'essence of eternity' like he was on shrooms."

beat

"Stars, powers, destruction. Why me?"

⸻

[Page 3 – Visual: Storefront glowing neon. Sign above reads: "BROKEN YET FLAWLESS." Graffiti style logo. Customers loiter outside smoking. Rain approaches, expression unreadable.]

Rain (V.O.):

"This place used to feel normal.

Now even the damn neon feels like it's staring at me."

⸻

[Page 4 – Interior of the dispensary. Vibe is cozy but chaotic—posters on the walls, rap music playing low. Behind the counter, TOBI BLAZE is checking inventory, gold chains and all.]

Tobi Blaze:

"Yo Rain, you good? You look like you seen a ghost and fought it in a back alley."

Rain (dry):

"More like the ghost saw me, gave me the powers of God, and dipped."

Tobi (laughing):

"Shiii—pass that strain, I wanna hit what you smokin'."

⸻

[Page 5 – Visual: Rain walking to the back office, passing DAWN who's rolling a blunt on the counter.]

Dawn (noticing Rain's face):

"You alright?"

Rain (shrugging):

"Define 'alright.' If I told you I might vaporize the planet next time I sneeze, would that make me alright?"

Dawn (deadpan):

"…Don't sneeze in here."

⸻

[Page 6 – Visual: Rain sitting alone in the back, looking up at the ceiling tiles. Voice echoing in his mind from earlier with the Moon Person's warning.]

Moon Person (V.O.):

"Power like this… it is not a gift, but a curse with purpose.

Control it… or destroy all you touch."

Rain (thinking):

"…The hell does that even mean?"

beat

"…And what happens if I fart?"

⸻

[Page 7 – Visual: A sudden chill runs down Rain's spine. A flicker of cosmic energy pulses in his eyes. The background around him shifts subtly, like the walls themselves know something's coming.]

Moon Person (V.O., distant and fading):

"We are not alone. I must go. But we… will be in touch… soon."

[Panel 4 – Close-up of Rain's eyes, narrowing.]

Rain (thinking):

"Every time I think I've got a grip… the universe slaps me across the face with more bullshit."

⸻

[Page 8 – Ending Panel: Rain steps outside to light a blunt. He exhales slowly, eyes to the sky… the stars still missing.]

Rain (V.O.):

"If you were me…

Would you even wanna know the truth?"

[End of Chapter 5]