.PROLOGUE
Live Broadcast: Channel 8 – Earth Exclusive: "Dungeons & Drama" (On-screen tagline: "Alden Island: Superpower or Supercult?")
[Opening jingle. A burst of synth-pop over glittery graphics. The camera fades into a glossy studio where two overly styled hosts sit at a sleek round table. Clips of hunter battles, magical explosions, and grainy paparazzi footage spin behind them on a looping feed.]
STEVE (male host, smirking):
"Welcome back to Dungeons & Drama. I'm Steve. Still human. Still unranked."
LACEY (female host, sipping tea with a fake laugh):
"And I'm Lacey. And yes, before you ask, I have survived three dungeon breaches without crying. Barely."
[Laughter track.] [On-screen graphics flash: "ALDEN ISLAND: WORLD'S STRONGEST FAMILY?"]
STEVE:
"Tonight, we're talking about royalty—no, not kings. The Aldens."
LACEY:
"Ha ha ha! When we talk hunter elites, there's only one royal family we mean."
STEVE:
"Who are the Aldens, you ask?"
LACEY:
"Well, five years ago—2023, to be exact—just as the world was starting to adjust to dungeons and monsters, a whole-ass island the size of Hawaii appeared overnight in the Atlantic ocean. Right between North America and Africa."
[Satellite view of Alden Island appears: lush greenery, glowing barriers, a wide estate at its center.]
STEVE:
"We'd been getting the occasional otherworlder showing up in dungeon breaks—but this was different. This was an entire island, population and all. And let's not talk about how the Hunter Association tried—and failed—to subdue them."
LACEY:
"Steve, we're not supposed to talk about that. The Association's already threatened us with shutting us down. But, you know... freedom of speech."
[Laugh track.]
STEVE:
"Anyway. The island is ruled by the Aldens. The current leader or king—"
LACEY (correcting him without looking up):
"Archon, Steve. The title is Archon."
[Laughter.]
STEVE:
"Right. The current Archon, Thorne Alden, and his husband Noelle Alden, have four biological children."
[Dramatic music cue. Tacky sparkle animation plays.]
STEVE (with a shudder):
"Yes. Biological. Apparently, men can give birth. I mean—we've got portals, demons, people flying through the sky—but that still creeps me out."
LACEY (shrugging):
"I mean, we heard rumors about otherworlders having secondary genders. You know—men with wombs, heat cycles—"
STEVE:
"Chicks with dicks!"
[Lacey rolls her eyes. The laugh track cuts in, slightly forced.]
LACEY:
"Let's just leave the biology to the scientists. We're here to gossip."
STEVE:
"Right. First up—the oldest: Mirelle Alden. Age 22. One of only five SS-ranked hunters on the entire planet. The heir to Alden Island. Ever-adorned with a frown."
[Clip: Mirelle in a sharp coat at a diplomatic summit. Ice-blue eyes, completely emotionless, ignoring reporters as guards walk at her side.]
LACEY:
"Zoom in, zoom in. Look who's walking behind her—that hottie with the curly black hair? That's Adrian Raymond. S-Rank. Berserker class. Also part of A4."
STEVE (groaning):
"That name—A4—it's so tacky. Who came up with that?"
LACEY:
"Earth fans did. It stuck. And the redhead twins are part of it too—Jason and Jamie. Also high ranked no one knows the actual level, also unnaturally hot. Look at this."
[Clips roll of the twins and Adrian casually walking down a shopping street. A red hair twin with glasses is yawning. The other is holding a cocktail. Mirelle looks ready to commit homicide.]
STEVE:
"Next up—the nineteen-year-old Alden twins. Niall and... is it Thy-ren?"
[Someone off-screen corrects him.]
LACEY:
"Thie-ran, Steve. He's the loud and flamboyant one. And yes, both S-ranked hunters. Can you imagine?"
[Video clip: Thieran, clearly drunk, stumbling out of a club. Trees explode from beneath the concrete, growing upward and swallowing a traffic light.]
STEVE (laughing):
"This trended for weeks. And then? Nothing. They vanished. No posts. No sightings. Word is big sis grounded them hard."
LACEY:
"Also—did you see the collar on Thieran? Unlike the others, he's an omega. Explains the ethereal beauty. And that waist. I've seen elves and they don't come close."
[Images slide through Thieran's socials—modeling campaigns, close-ups of an ethereal garden, naughty expressions.]
STEVE:
"I swear, if I had a child with an omega, they'd come out ranked and runway-ready."
LACEY (laughing):
"Apparently it's a genetic jackpot. Good luck finding one."
[Laugh track.]
STEVE:
"Now, the outlier. Rami Alden. Honorary. Adopted. S-Rank. Of course."
[Image: Rami in a dark coat, head bowed as he steps over a dead dungeon beast. Ink-black tattoos peek from his collar. His nose ring gleams under dungeon light. No smile. No expression.]
STEVE:
"Been with the Aldens since he was thirteen. But here's the kicker—he's the grandson of Ramek Veer, SS-ranked hunter and master of Flaming Tiger Guild."
LACEY:
"And the Aldens and Flaming Tiger? On sight. They see each other in dungeons—it's bloodshed, baby."
[Dramatic sound effect. Zoom in on blurry fight footage.]
LACEY:
"No one knows the true story, but does this mean he was in the other world seeing as to how Alden island just showed up 5 years ago.... Well that aside he's hot."
[Studio lights flicker. The feed glitches slightly.]
LACEY:
"About the two responsible for giving us these children nothing is known about them, they just keep to themselves on the island and neither is there information about the youngest Alden-"
STEVE (blinking):
"Uh... power cut?"
[Low rumble. The desk shakes. Off-screen, a scream. Ceiling panels fall. Lacey ducks as the back wall begins to split.]
LACEY (rising, panicked):
"Is this—? This isn't a drill, right?"
STEVE (shouting):
"Security—"
[BOOM.]
The back of the studio collapses in a cloud of rubble and dust. A steel beam crashes to the floor. Lights burst overhead. Sparks fly.
[Silence. Dust. Then—he walks through.]
Rami Alden.
He looks at the wreckage—and then at them.
"You talk too much."
His voice is low. Calm. Final.
"Consider this your break."
[Feed cuts to static.]