The ruins stretched endlessly.
Broken buildings. Shattered streets. Smoke drifting lazily through gaps in concrete like ghosts unwilling to leave.
Sora walked with his hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the environment but not really seeing it. His mind was elsewhere—on the shockwaves from earlier. The ones that had rattled windows. Made the ground tremble.
Someone's going all out.
Behind him, Luke was talking. As always.
"I'm just saying," Luke gestured wildly, "whoever caused those explosions earlier? They're trying way too hard. Like, it's an exam, not a war. Save some energy, you know?"
Mina walked on Sora's other side, silent, arms crossed. She hadn't said a word in ten minutes.
Sora glanced at Luke. "You felt those shockwaves, right?"
"Yeah, obviously. The whole city felt them."
"And you think they're trying too hard?"
Luke huffed. "I'm just saying there's such a thing as overkill—"
"They're fighting to win," Sora said simply. "That's what we're supposed to do."
"Yeah, but—"
"And if we run into whoever made those explosions," Sora continued, "we're going to have to fight just as hard."
Luke opened his mouth to argue.
Closed it.
Sighed. "...Yeah, okay. Fair point."
Silence.
Just boots on broken concrete. Wind carrying dust.
Then—
A sound.
Faint. Scraping.
All three of them stopped instantly.
Sora's hand moved toward his side. Mina's stance shifted, weight balanced, ready to move. Luke tensed, eyes wide, scanning the shadows.
"Did you hear that?" Luke whispered.
Sora nodded once. "Stay alert."
The scraping grew louder.
Closer.
Something moving through rubble. Small. Fast.
Luke's breathing quickened. "What is that—"
A shadow darted from behind a collapsed wall.
"CONTACT!" Luke screamed.
The figure emerged—
A rat.
Just a rat. Small, gray, scurrying across broken tile before disappearing into a drainage pipe.
Silence.
Luke blinked.
Then screamed—high-pitched, genuinely terrified—and launched himself at the nearest person.
Which happened to be Mina.
"AHHHHH—!" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, clinging like his life depended on it. "DID YOU SEE THAT THING?! IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE—"
Mina looked down at him.
Her expression didn't change.
She just... grabbed him by the collar.
And dropped him.
THUD.
Luke hit the ground hard, groaning. "Ow—HEY!"
He scrambled to his feet, jabbing a finger at her. "You can't just DROP people like that! That's assault! You know what? I'm DONE being nice—"
He rolled up his sleeves, stepping forward aggressively.
Sora sighed and grabbed his arm. "Luke. Stop."
"LET ME GO!" Luke struggled. "She's been asking for this! I've been PATIENT, but there's a LIMIT—"
Sora let go.
Luke stumbled forward half a step—
—then immediately spun around and grabbed Sora's hand, holding it tightly, feet planted.
He pointed at Mina with his free hand. "You see that, Mina? Sora stopped me. You're lucky."
Mina stared at him.
Then at their clasped hands.
Then looked up at the sky like she was asking the universe a question.
"How did I end up with him?" she muttered.
Sora shook his head, pulling his hand free. "As stupid as always."
"HEY!" Luke protested. "I'm not—"
The sky changed.
All three of them looked up.
Above the ruined city, projected against smoke and fading light, a massive holographic display materialized. Sleek. Digital. Impossible to miss.
[CURRENT RANKINGS]
Numbers and names scrolled into view, glowing blue against the gray.
1ST PLACE: TEAM 1 — 27 POINTS
2ND PLACE: TEAM 2 — 18 POINTS
3RD PLACE: TEAM 9 — 9 POINTS
The list continued downward.
6TH PLACE: TEAM 7 — 6 POINTS
Sora stared at it.
Luke's jaw dropped. "Twenty-seven?! How does Team 1 have twenty-seven points?!"
Mina said nothing, but her eyes narrowed slightly.
Sora's expression didn't change, but his mind was already working.
Team 1 is almost at thirty. That's... four times what we have.
Team 2 has eighteen. Triple our score.
Team 9—Lucy's team—has nine. They've been fighting hard.
We're sixth.
Luke groaned. "We're so far behind! How are we supposed to catch up to—"
He stopped.
Sora felt it too.A presence.
Heavy. Watching.
All three of them turned slowly, instincts screaming.And looked up.
On the rooftop of a tall building—maybe fifty meters away—three figures stood silhouetted against the dying light.
Perfectly still.
Perfectly aligned.
Their eyes glowed.
Red. Blue. Green.
The one in the center—red eyes burning like embers—stood slightly forward. Leader. The other two flanked him, silent, predatory.
No one spoke.
The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
Luke's earlier bravado evaporated. His hand drifted toward his side, fingers trembling slightly.
Mina's posture shifted—subtle, but ready.
Sora didn't move.
He just stared up at them, calm, focused, every sense sharp.
Team 2.Second place.
Eighteen points.
The figure with red eyes tilted his head slightly, as if appraising them.
Deciding if they were worth the effort.
The silence stretched.
Tense.Absolute.
Then—
Sora's voice cut through the quiet, calm and certain.
"They're here."
Hey everyone! 👋
First of all, thank you so much for reading this far—it genuinely means everything.
We've had some insane moments lately:
Aren's terrifying debut
Lucy's Creatio Ex Nihilo reveal
Rin's RUIN FLARE: ONE HUNDRED
Team 2's entrance
And trust me—it only gets better from here.
If you're enjoying the story, if any moment made you hold your breath, clench your fist, or smile—
Please drop a Power Stone! 🗿
It takes literally two seconds but means the absolute world to me as a writer. Power Stones help the story reach more readers and keep me motivated to deliver the best chapters I possibly can.
Every stone tells me you want MORE—
More fights. More reveals. More moments that hit harder than RUIN FLARE: ONE HUNDRED.
If this story has earned even one reaction from you—drop that stone.
I'll keep cooking as long as you keep reading.
See you in Chapter 26.