Chapter 14: The First Ruins

Two days. That’s how long it took for the convoy to reach the ruins.

Two days of driving through twisted landscapes, camping under the sickly sky, and watching the wasteland grow stranger with every mile. The recruits had settled into a rhythm: drive, scavenge, rest, repeat. The tension between nobles and prisoners hadn’t disappeared, but it had softened, worn down by shared danger and exhaustion.

On the morning of the third day, Commander Darwin called a halt.

"Everyone out," he barked, stepping down from the lead truck. "We’ve reached our first major objective."

Gio climbed down and looked up.

Before them stretched the remainings of an old-world city. Skyscrapers leaned against each other like drunkards, their glass facades long shattered. Vines as thick as tree trunks coiled around rusted steel beams. The streets were flooded with murky water that glowed faintly green, and mutated vegetation erupted from every crack and crevice.

But what caught Gio’s eye was the building at the city’s center: a massive, half-collapsed structure that looked like it had once been a research facility. Its concrete walls were scarred with old burn marks, and a faded logo was barely visible above the entrance: Pacific Institute of Evolutionary Biology

"Evolutionary biology," Kojiro murmured beside him, reading the sign. "Hmmm, That’s... ominous."

"Scavenging teams, form up," Darwin ordered. "We’re searching that facility for supplies, data, anything useful. Soldiers will provide perimeter security. Recruits, you’re on interior sweep."

He pointed at Gio, Melody, Kojiro, the twins, Lloyd, and a burly prisoner named Grom who possessed the gigantification mutation. "You six are on point. Move out."

---

The interior of the facility was a tomb.

Collapsed ceilings blocked half the corridors. Filing cabinets lay scattered like fallen dominoes, their contents spilled and rotting. The air smelled of mildew and something else, something chemical.

"Spread out," Kojiro said quietly. "Let’s Look for anything intact. Data drives, hard copies, lab notes."

Gio moved through what looked like a reception area, his plasma handgun raised. His wasp construct hovered near the ceiling, its glowing form casting eerie shadows on the walls. He had summoned it an hour ago, using it as a scout.

"Hey!" Tabitha’s voice echoed from down the hall. "I found something!"

They gathered in what had once been a laboratory. Equipment lay shattered on the floor, but in the corner, a reinforced safe had survived the collapse. Tabitha stood beside it, her invisibility flickering with excitement.

"It’s locked," Reuben said, hefting his mace.

"Allow me," Grom grunted. The prisoner stepped forward, and his body began to swell. Within seconds, he’d grown to three meters tall, his muscles straining against his tactical suit. He grabbed the safe door with one massive hand and twisted.

Metal screamed. The hinges gave way, and the door fell to the floor with a thunderous crash.

Inside were a few intact data drives and, miraculously, a single paper folder. Lloyd picked it up with trembling hands, brushing away decades of dust.

"This is... a research log," he said, his voice hushed. "Dated three months before the first asteroid impact."

They gathered around as Lloyd opened the folder. The pages were yellowed, the ink faded, but still readable.

"Project Velithari - Director’s Personal Log, Entry 47"

Gio stiffened as he heard that Word.

"The subject continues to show unprecedented adaptive capabilities. What began as observation of deep-space radio signals has evolved into something far more concerning. The signals are not random. They are instructions. Protocols for... forced evolution."

"Dr. Carol believes the signals originated from beyond our solar system, possibly extragalactic. She argues we should shut down the project, report our findings to the World Government Alliance. But I can’t. Not when we’re so close. The subject has already begun to respond to the signals. Its DNA is rewriting itself."

"If we’re right, if these signals are truly a template for evolution, then we’re not just observing the future of life on Earth. We’re midwifing it. And when the first asteroid strikes, when the cascading catastrophes begin, humanity will either evolve... or perish."

"I know what I’m doing is monstrous. But I also know it’s necessary. The signals demand a response. The asteroid is not an accident. It is a catalyst. And when it strikes the Pacific, the true work will begin."

"God forgive us all."

Silence.

The words hung in the air like poison gas.

"What..." Melody started, her voice shaking. "...What does this mean?"

"It means the apocalypse was engineered," Kojiro said quietly. "Someone knew. Someone caused it."

"The asteroid," Gio whispered. "The first one. In the Pacific."

Lloyd looked up from the folder, his face pale. "This log says the asteroid wasn’t an accident. It was a catalyst. Part of some... experiment."

[System Notification - Accessing information...]

[Hidden Quest Generated: The Truth of the Apocalypse]

[Discover the source of the Velithari signals at the Pacific Impact Site]

Gio’s heart pounded. The System was confirming it. This was real.

Before anyone could process what they’d found, the ground trembled. Not a footstep this time. Something else. Something underneath them.

"Everyone back!" Grom roared, already growing larger.

The floor exploded.

A gigantic worm burst through the concrete, its segmented body thick as a truck, its mouth a circular nightmare of rotating teeth. It was easily ten meters long, its hide a sickly grey-green, pulsing with bioluminescent veins.

[System Alert]

[Bioform Detected: F-Rank Mutagenic Tunnel Worm]

[Threat Level: Moderate]

Reuben glanced down at his wrist. His communication bracelet was flashing red, its built-in bio-scanner whining as it read the creature’s energy output.

"F-Rank!" Reuben shouted, dodging a spray of concrete debris. "The scanner says it’s F-Rank, but that thing is huge!"

"Size won’t always match rank!" Kojiro yelled, teleporting out of the worm’s path as it lunged.

The worm’s mouth opened wide, rotating teeth grinding, and it dove straight for Lloyd.

Grom moved.

With a roar that shook dust from the ceiling, the gigantified prisoner lunged forward and caught the worm’s head in his massive hands. His feet skidded across the floor, carving grooves in the concrete, but he held. The worm thrashed, its body coiling around his arms, but Grom’s strength was immense.

"Hold it!" he grunted, veins bulging in his swollen neck. "Someone... kill this thing!"

Gio didn’t hesitate. He reached inward, feeling for the thread of light that connected him to his stored Bioform.

’Come’

White energy erupted from his palm, swirling and condensing. The cost was steep—15% of his Bioenergy—but he had 150% to spare.

The Iron-Boned Bear materialized in a flash of light, towering over them all. Its iron-dark bone plates gleamed in the dim light, and its eyes glowed like hot coals. It let out a roar that rivaled Grom’s, and the worm actually flinched.

"Kill it," Gio commanded.

The bear charged.

It slammed into the worm’s coiled body with the force of a freight train, its iron-plated shoulder cracking through the creature’s hide. The worm shrieked, releasing Grom to focus on this new threat, but the bear was relentless. It grabbed the worm’s midsection in its massive jaws and bit down.

Bone-crunching sounds echoed through the lab. The worm thrashed, its rotating teeth snapping at the bear’s armor, but the iron bones held. The bear shook its head violently, tearing the worm in half.

Green goo sprayed across the room. The worm’s two halves convulsed, then went still.

Silence returned to the laboratory, broken only by heavy breathing.

Grom shrank back to normal size, collapsing to his knees, exhausted. The bear dissolved into white light, returning to the Bioform Storage. Gio felt the familiar drain—15% gone—but he still had 135% remaining. More than enough.

He walked over to the worm’s corpse and placed his hand on its hide.

[F-Rank Mutagenic Tunnel Worm Core detected.]

[Absorb? Y/N].

Gio stared at the glowing orb in his palm. His third and final storage slot was still empty. It was tempting to fill it, to add another creature to his arsenal. But as he looked at the core, his tactical mind took over.

What did this worm actually offer? Burrowing. But what good was digging holes when he was facing threats that could level buildings? It was just a weak F-Rank. His E-Rank Iron-Boned Bear had just ripped it in half without breaking a sweat. If a monster was strong enough to genuinely threaten his life, an F-Rank worm wouldn’t save him. And if it was weak, his bear could handle it anyway.

The worm was completely redundant.

He needed his limited slots for creatures that brought overwhelming, game-changing advantages. Not just filler.

’No,’ Gio decided, dismissing the system prompt. ’I’ll wait for something that actually matters.’

"Hey," a voice said beside him.

Gio turned to see Kojiro leaning against a shattered console, eyeing the core in Gio’s hand. "You gonna eat that, or can I have it?"

Gio blinked, then tossed the core to him. "It’s yours. I don’t need it."

Kojiro caught it deftly. He pulled a rag from his tactical pouch, wiped the worm blood from the glowing green surface, and slipped it into his pocket. He gave Gio a lazy wink.

"Thanks, kid. Never know. Might come in handy later."

Gio frowned slightly but didn’t press it. Before he could ask what Kojiro planned to do with an F-Rank core, Lloyd’s voice cut through the quiet.

"Gio."

He turned. Lloyd was standing a few meters away, watching him with an expression Gio couldn’t quite read....

Awe? Respect?

"You..." Lloyd started, then stopped. He swallowed hard. "You summoned that bear. Just like that. Without hesitation."

"Yeah? It’s my ability," Gio said simply.

"I know." Lloyd’s voice was quiet. "I’ve been... watching you. Since the wasp fight. Since you... saved me from that bear. You could have let me die. You... should have, after... what I did. But you didn’t."

He took a step closer.

"And now this. You’re getting stronger. Faster than anyone else here." Lloyd’s eyes flicked to the space where the bear had just been, then back to Gio’s face. "What are you, Gio?"

Before Gio could answer, Kojiro’s voice cut through the tension.

"Hey! You two! Grab the data and let’s move. Darwin’s going to want to see this log."

They packed up the folder and the drives in silence. The revelation of the engineered apocalypse hung heavy over the group, casting a long, dark shadow over their mission. They filed out of the ruined laboratory, their boots crunching over broken glass and debris, completely focused on the path ahead and the commander waiting for them.

None of them looked back. None of them noticed the shattered window on the far side of the building. And none of them saw the silhouette standing atop a distant, collapsed skyscraper three hundred meters away.

It was tall. Lean. Perfectly still.

It watched the recruits emerge from the facility, its posture radiating a cold, calculating patience. It didn’t move. It didn’t make a sound. It simply observed, memorizing their faces, their numbers, and the lingering scent of bioenergy in the air.

A ghost in the ruins.

Then, as the recruits disappeared back toward the convoy, the silhouette slowly turned and melted into the shadows of the dead city, completely and utterly undetected.