A sleek black private jet touched down smoothly on the runway, its engines humming low as it decelerated and rolled to a stop.
The moment the aircraft settled, the doors opened. A young man stepped out first, wearing a black jacket with the hood pulled low and a heavy-duty gas mask obscuring his face. Beside him emerged a young woman draped in a dark cloak, her presence unsettling despite her calm posture.
No one was there to greet them.
Despite that, the two walked forward as if the airport belonged to them. Strangely, no one reacted. Workers, guards, and travelers passed by without a second glance, as though the pair were nothing more than a faint breeze slipping through the terminal.
"I hope my language comes out right," the man said, his voice muffled through the mask. "That item lets me speak Japanese, but the phrasing still feels… off."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," the cloaked woman replied softly, her tone almost cheerful. "And if anyone causes trouble, we'll handle it."
"There's no need to kill every D-Gamer you see," the man said with a tired sigh. "You already did enough of that back in the States. Thanks to you, we had to wipe out nearly half the American players."
"But that was mostly your fault," the woman said brightly, her voice shifting with excitement. "That special rule you asked for made you the strongest Ranker alive. The only S-ranker in the world."
"Luna… or Lura," the man said, rubbing his temple. "Can you decide who's driving today? And that rule was just a dumb request. I didn't think the admins would actually approve it."
"Still," Luna said, her tone calmer now, "you were king of the game in the States. Why come here? It took forever to suppress your rules back there."
"I heard about a rising player," the man replied as they walked into the city streets. "First week in the game, he earned a privilege. A week later, he and a small group defeated Eighth. Now he's actively banning Darwin's Game throughout his territory."
He paused.
"I think his clan's name was… something with Raven."
A gunshot rang out.
The bullet stopped midair above the man's head, suspended as if caught in invisible hands. A second later, it dropped harmlessly to the pavement.
He slowly turned toward the sound and spotted a small girl in the distance, a sniper rifle still braced against her shoulder.
Before he could speak, a chain shot out from an alleyway, hooks gleaming as it aimed straight for his chest.
His body blurred.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared just out of reach as the chain sliced through empty space.
"Thanks, Luna," the man said calmly, checking his phone. "Looks like they're not worried about points. They didn't even start a match."
"It's Sunset Ravens," a deep voice said.
A man in full body armor stepped forward at the end of the alley, a light machine gun held loosely in his hands. Beside him stood a blonde girl in a red dress, chains with hooked ends floating ominously around her.
"So your group just patrols the streets ambushing players?" the masked man said. "That's reckless."
He raised his hands in surrender and gestured for Luna to do the same. She hesitated, then complied.
"I'm not here to fight," he continued. "I want to meet your clan leader. The one with the Creation Sigil."
The group froze.
"Why should we?" the girl in the red dress asked sharply. "We're trying to shut the game down entirely. And the only way to issue a clan battle is if he's present."
"That's fair," the man replied. "And I respect what you're trying to do. But it won't work the way you think."
He tilted his head slightly toward the armored man.
"I'm here to form an alliance. And your friend there can tell I'm not lying."
The armored man stiffened, surprised that his Sigil had been noticed.
After a brief exchange of glances, the group escorted the newcomers to their base.
Inside, a high school-aged boy sat on a couch, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp.
"What do you want?" he asked. "And how do you know our Sigils?"
The armored man, the blonde girl, and the young sniper positioned themselves behind him.
"Before I answer that," the masked man said, "I genuinely want to form an alliance. I believe it's the smartest option for both of us."
The boy glanced back. The armored man nodded once.
"Fine," the boy said. "I'll consider it. But tell me your Sigil and what you bring to the table. I won't accept anyone useless if we're ending this game for good."
"Fair enough," the man said.
He gestured to the woman beside him.
"This is my girlfriend. Luna… or Lura. She has dissociative personalities, and each one has its own Sigil."
"Luna's Sigil is Temporal Existence," he continued. "It forces all possible outcomes to exist simultaneously for a target, then allows her to select which one becomes reality. That's why the chain missed."
He shifted slightly.
"Lura's Sigil is Temporal Judgment. She can re-inflict wounds that have already healed, as long as she knows about them. She can also delay attacks, storing their effects and releasing them later in open space. Very effective for traps or regenerating opponents."
He reached up and removed his gas mask, taking a deep breath.
Dark hair fell around sharp features, and crimson-red eyes locked onto the room.
"My name is Max," he said. "My Sigil is called Ragnarok."
"It allows me to generate and manipulate a red energy that destabilizes atomic structures. I can cause matter to disintegrate… or explode."
"So Lura stopped my shot?" the sniper girl asked quietly.
"No," Max replied. "She didn't even know you were there."
He met the girl's gaze.
"That was one of my privileges. It's called Raise It Up. After battles, if certain conditions are met, I can take Sigils from my opponents. I used one of theirs to stop your bullet."
Silence filled the room.
"That's…" the sniper girl hesitated. "You're trusting us with a lot of information."
"Not really," Max said with a faint smile. "You don't know my limits. You don't know how many Sigils I have. And you don't know the conditions."
"I keep my cards close," he continued.
He spread his hands slightly.
"So," Max said. "What do you say?"
[Author: this is a side story. Im stuck on my others so this is my dump story. Not dropping either story. Just need a story is don't have much to think of]