Minutes later, the sound of engines echoed again.
Sixteen figures approached from the western end of the wasteland. Their jackets were emblazoned with spiky white markings shaped like fractured anvils.
They were known as the Steel Howl.
A street-level gang but a large one... aggressive, and notoriously reckless.
Their leader, Marek Voss, grinned when he saw Black Furnace already stationed.
"Well, damn," Marek said loudly. "Didn't think you'd beat us here."
Ross straightened. "We're calling dibs. Move along."
Marek laughed. "Dibs?" He spread his arms. "Buddy, the whole point of being in a gang is breaking rules."
His eyes flicked over Black Furnace's numbers.
"Twelve, huh?" Marek said. "We've got sixteen."
Tension thickened instantly.
Darius stepped forward. "Careful. You're out of your depth."
Before Marek could respond another rumble rang out.
Eighteen figures emerged from the smoke with chains tattooed in flame patterns around their necks.
Iron Chain.
At their head walked a familiar figure.
Raze Calder.
His gaze swept over the scene calmly, assessing.
Three gangs.
One prize.
"Well," Raze said lightly, "looks like everyone had the same idea."
Ross's eyes narrowed. "Iron Chain doesn't get priority here."
Raze smiled. "Funny thing about priority—our boss doesn't care for it."
The air snapped.
Someone laughed nervously.
Someone else clenched a fist.
No one backed down.
And then—
Someone struck first.
No one even remembered who but this one action was the tipping point.
Abilities ignited...
Fire met steel...
Shockwaves tore across the empty block as craters formed where streets once were. Fighters were launched through the air, slammed into phantom outlines of vanished buildings with blood splattering across the dust.
The battle escalated due to greed and pride.
No side showed restraint.
Minutes into the fight... the survivors emerged.
Forty civilians stumbled out of the ruin entrance and amongst them was, Aria, Auntie Maribel, Neighbours and a few kids.
They stepped straight into a battlefield ducking and trying to take cover to avoid being collateral damage.
The clash of awakened powers suddenly began to slow after the arrival of the survivors.
And it wasn't because one side was losing... instead it was because a shocked, disbelieving voice cut through the battlefield.
"Survivors!"
The word echoed repeatedly.
"Survivors from the ruins!"
For a brief moment, even the air itself seemed to freeze.
Flames flickered uncertainly before dissipating. Shockwaves died mid-ripple. Awakened fighters lowered their arms one after another as their heads turning toward the ruin entrance almost in unison.
Men...
Women...
Children...
Dozens of them...
They stood there dirty and shaken with some injured, some crying and some clutching each other like lifelines.
"That's… impossible," someone from Steel Howl muttered.
Residential ruins were death traps for civilians. Everyone knew that. Low-level creatures didn't mean it was safe. Not even regular humans could handle low level creatures...
Yet here they were.
Alive.
"How the hell did they make it out?" another gang member whispered.
The three gangs approached cautiously, scanning the survivors like they were anomalies rather than people.
And then, Ross eyes widened the moment he spotted a figure...
"Aria?"
His cigar fell from his fingers, forgotten.
"Babe?"
He moved without thinking, pushing past others and closing the distance in long strides. Aria looked up, equally shocked with her eyes widening when she recognized him.
"Ross…?"
He grabbed her shoulders, rough but trembling. "What are you doing here? How did you—what happened?"
Before she could answer, Auntie Maribel stepped forward instinctively.
"It was West," she said firmly.
Aria reacted instantly.
"I—I came to see my brother," she blurted out.
Everyone paused.
Auntie Maribel blinked.
"Brother…?"
Her eyes flicked between Aria and the memory of West in her mind. Handsome, yes. Close in age, maybe. But siblings?
It didn't quite add up. One had pink hair and the other... black.
Still, she didn't contradict her.
Ross frowned. "Brother? I thought your brother lived in Promethium City."
Aria swallowed, then nodded quickly. "Half-brother. From my dad's side. You don't know him."
Ross hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Oh… right."
"Where is he?" Ross asked. "Is he here?"
Aria's composure finally cracked.
She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. "He's still inside."
This one statement made the survivors began talking all at once.
Voices overlapped.
"He saved us—"
"He led us—"
"He stayed back—"
"He lured the creatures away—"
Auntie Maribel spoke louder than the rest, grounding the chaos with her steady voice. She explained how West had taken charge, how he'd read the terrain, avoided monsters, calmed people down when panic nearly tore them apart.
The beautiful woman whose fiancé had been pinned under rubble stepped forward too.
"He lifted debris no normal person should be able to lift," she said. "He saved my fiancé. And when the creatures came… he ran back. Alone."
Silence followed.
Ross scoffed softly.
"He's dead," he said flatly.
Aria snapped.
Her hands slammed into his chest repeatedly. "Don't say that! Don't you dare say that!"
Ross grabbed her wrists gently but firmly. "Aria. I'm being realistic. An unawakened kid can't survive long in a ruin. Especially alone."
She yanked her hands free with blazing eyes. "Then go in! You and your gang—go save him!"
Ross hesitated then shook his head.
"The entrance is sealed," he said. "Residential ruin rules. No entry for one to three days. It doesn't care who you are."
Aria stared at him like he'd slapped her.
"So that's it?" she said quietly. "You won't even try?"
"It's not about trying—"
She cut him off.
"You're always like this," her voice rose. "Your gang this. Your gang that. You leave me alone all the time for them. And now—now—when I actually need you to do something with them, you turn useless."
Ross opened his mouth but no words came.l out.
Aria turned away sharply, storming off. Auntie Maribel hurried after her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and murmuring soft reassurances.
Aria couldn't stop crying... the tears just wouldn't stop pouring out no matter how much she cleaned them.
'Why am I crying so much... we've barely gotten to know each other... have I fallen for him?' Memories flashed in her head of how he saved her from the crumbling building, held her hands while leading her through the ruins and then turned around to lead the creatures away from them.
If she thought he was amazing before now she believed he was way more audacious beyond her imagination...
Auntie Maribel kept consoling her not knowing what was running through Aria's head. 'You'd better be alive West... we haven't even done it... you better be alive...'
Ross stared at her figure from the distance and sighed when he noticed her shoulders jerking up and down.
'Anyone would feel bad about losing their brother...'
"Tsk," someone from Black Furnace muttered. "Women."
Ross's head snapped toward him.
"Watch your mouth," Ross growled.
The man raised his hands mockingly, backing off.
Ross turned back toward the ruin entrance and walked closer, scanning the slope. He placed a hand against the invisible barrier and gritted his teeth.
Behind him, the survivors continued talking...
Repeating the same name.
"West."
"That boy…"
"He didn't hesitate…"
"He saved us…"
The name spread.
Gang members exchanged looks.
"Who's West?" Marek from Steel Howl asked.
Raze Calder, standing among the Iron Chain members, stiffened almost imperceptibly.
West...
The same name echoed in his mind.
'Is it the same one who had punched Caleb out of transformation?' He wondered.
His lips slowly curled into a faint, dangerous smile.
"…If it's the West I'm thinking of," he murmured, "then things just got very interesting."