Jackson sits on a bed in his cell in Deathrow, something in his hand.

“When I was a kid, I used to be terrified of the dark. I felt like I couldn’t escape it. As soon as the clock struck eight and the level lights began to dim, I would immediately run home.”

The lights in Deathrow begin to click off one by one.

“Darkness encroaching, Arcadia entirely at the mercy of the void that came with it. I would dive into bed, burying my face beneath the blankets as the last hint of brightness was eclipsed by the night. I was hopeless… Until my dad gave me this.”

He holds up an old, decrepit night light

“He told me it was okay to be scared. That even though the darkness was suffocating, that it felt like I couldn’t even breathe… There was a way to fight back.”

The lights go out, leaving Cade in darkness.

“There’s always a way to fight back.”

He plugs in the light, the beam brightening his face.

“My night light was the vanguard that kept the monsters at bay. Every night, from that point forward, I felt safe when the lights dimmed. Because I knew, no matter how pitch black it became, I had something to rely on, something to protect me from the infinite abyss hanging over head. A reminder that day would break.”

He smirks.

“I feel like an eternal night is about to befall Arcadia, my home. As the war looms, the smoke of our wars chokes out the light… And a Dark Cloud falls. Eclipse, Nox, you two want nothing more than to snuff me out, huh? Because both of you know, I’m not the child hiding in his bed. I’m not like the rest of Arcadia, shivering in the blackness and waiting for the warmth of daylight.”

“No, I’m the light shining in the darkness.”

The night light flickers, growing brighter.

“The people of Arcadia are scared for the future, just like I was as a boy. They can see the writing on the wall as the lights go out one by one and people like you two usher in a reign of darkness and depravity. And yet, despite it all, I stand at the vanguard. A single beacon of hope shedding light on your atrocities.”

“And just like my light, I’ll never falter. I hold on my shoulders the hope of the people, the brightness of the future in my hands as I fight with every last ember of my heart and soul. I’m not doing it for the adrenaline, I’m not doing it for the power. I’m doing it for the people who cower in fear every night as the world grows darker.”

He stands, opening the cell.

“Because no matter how bleak, there’s always a way to fight back. And Monday, I’m going to shine brighter than ever.”

“I will continue to shine until day breaks. Until Arcadia can finally feel safe.”

“Until every last one of you has the light of justice shine upon your faces.”

Cut.