Cut from the opening town-square panel of Issue 09, where the village of VeeWorld is introduced. Captures young Lukas leaning against his mother Ilana at the fountain's edge beneath the lettered plaque — the very first appearance of the grieving family whose loss drives the whole issue. A quiet, aching beat before the curse arrives.
Cut from the heart of the issue's transformation splash, where Lukas's eyes flash green and the cursed sword claims him. Captures Lukas's tumbling silhouette wedged between the towering letterforms of the FOOM blast, with the halftone explosion texture behind. The pivot point of Issue 09, the instant the boy becomes the storm his uncle must face.
Cut from the aerial battle late in Issue 09, as Lukas, consumed by the cursed sword, unleashes green fire on the uncle who came to bring him home. Captures armored Theo bracing under the diagonal blast, helmet set and arms raised, refusing to strike back at the boy he loves. Same battle page as the shield-deflection and shattered "KRAAÓS!" panels, so watch for companions.
Theo seated on the school bench absorbing Lukas's accusation — "You could do it. You could hunt down his killers but you WON'T." From the panel right before "Men didn't kill Markos. INFECTION did."
Extreme close-up of Lukas mid-transformation: wild green hair whipping across the frame, eye squeezed shut, a single tear escaping. From the second panel of the page where he flings Theo across the sky — the one crack of grief in the monster.
Tight profile of Theo — "I KNOW." — as the old flower vendor's praise for Markos hangs in the air behind him. Second cut from the marketplace page, companion to "We All Loved Markos."
Lukas's fist closing around the sword's wrapped hilt, red-eye pommel glowing against black — the wordless close-up from the night he takes the abandoned blade outside the smithy.
Theo hurled back by the green energy blast, head thrown against the sound effect — from the "This is STRENGTH. I finally have it." page, the moment Lukas turns his new power on his uncle.
Lukas in the dark woods gazing up at the cursed sword — "This is what I need. This will show everyone." Opening panel of the sword-practice page, adjacent to the previously cataloged "This Will Show Everyone" cut.
Green-washed Lukas stands head bowed in the forest at left, beside Kind Warrior's full-color arm and maroon wristband.
Ilana and Theo at the market stalls as the old flower vendor calls Markos "such a kind young man." Cut from the marketplace page where Ilana confides that Lukas is facing expulsion, six months after his father's death.
The angry customer jabs a thumb at himself mid-rant in Theo's smithy — "HYPOCRITE! And what will you say if my wife chooses to sink that knife into my back one day, hmm?" From the widescreen panel that sets up Theo's kindness-first business model.
Lukas glares over his shoulder, "And where'd he get the wounds from, huh? He was a SOLDIER! A WARRIOR!", refusing Theo's explanation that infection, not men, killed Markos. From the bench argument at the heart of the issue.
Lukas hoists the cursed sword overhead against pitch black in the woods outside town, moments before the fateful swing. The blocky crossguard and red-eye pommel are front and center.
Soot-streaked Theo, scarf and tool-pocket apron, shuts down the hooded stranger's request, the "PLEASE LEAVE" panel from the midnight visit that dooms the village.
Theo's pained refusal, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't work on weaponry.", as the hooded woman presents the cursed sword. Second cut from the midnight-visitor page, companion to "Please Leave."
Overhead panel of Theo arriving with the wine bottle as Ilana asks if she's failing as a mother, "You're grieving. We all are. It's part of the process." First panel of the quiet domestic page before everything breaks.
Theo pours Ilana a glass of wine across the table — "He's looking for someone to blame. We'll all be okay. One day at least." Adjacent panel to "It's Part of the Process"; second cut from the same page.
Green light floods the room as Theo and Ilana whip around at the WRROOOOOO, the cut captures Theo's stunned face and the sound effect's "ROO" letters. The moment Lukas's transformation announces itself.
Sword-corrupted Lukas streaks down a green energy tendril (KAAZZZ) toward Theo's raised shield, cut from the town-square battle page, just before the shield block and the "KRAAÓS!" impact.