~ Twenty Minutes Earlier ~
By the time the sun dipped low enough to stain the horizon in copper and blood-orange hues, the ruins had become the center of the city's gravity.
Over six gangs now occupied the flattened wasteland that used to be a neighborhood.
Awakened auras clashed invisibly.
Both mundane and supernatural weapons were kept close at hand.
Another battle had broken out earlier that day.
It had been brief, brutal, and pointless.
Flames had scorched the ground. Shockwaves had cracked already-fractured earth. Bodies had flown with some injured and some dead but eventually, reason had prevailed over pride. The gangs realized that tearing each other apart before entering the ruin would only weaken whoever survived.
So they negotiated reluctantly.
Finally, an agreement was reached.
Black Furnace would enter first due to arriving at the location before anyone else.
They would be given a twenty-minute head start once the entrance opened.
