SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 27: Karnak-The Old Town
The hours dragged on as Ren and Luna threaded through the secret passage Kiyomi had shown him. The earthquake that she spoke off, Ren was familiar with, it happened when he was 16, and it was said that many people had died. And though the duke of the nation gave a Public speech, expressing his heartfelt sadness, he refused to do anything about the roads. He never gave a reason, but many people believed it was because Karnak never gave anything to the empire.
Gave anything in such a sense that they never had any youth awakened. It was a town of normal people. Those were the rumours that spread around, but delicate whispers said otherwise, they said that the town was notorious for hiding its awakened youths. Out of fear that the empire would turn them into mindless zombies.
Karnak was forgotten. The people cried for help and mercy, but the empire only gave them deaf eyes and blind eyes. Leading to the eventual ruin and habitation of monsters.
On the oath Ren was on, he had faced a few corrupted snakes, nothing more than that. It was a simple cleanse and tame. A few poisonous plants here and there but nothing out of the ordinary. They had been walking for a while and Luna let out a whine, the first thing she had said since the beginning of the path.
"Okay, we can rest here." It was pitch dark, the only source of light was the torch he carried and with that, they built a tent in a clearing and Luna went to hunt for food. As he set things up, his eyes caught a glimpse of the stars and for a moment, Ren genuinely smiled. A pleasant memory washing over him.
A memory of him and his older sister, when they were much younger, they had run away from their mother to stargaze under the night sky. Then, Hanabi had just awakened, and many people had gossiped that she would be taken from the empire, reaching his ears. Little Ren didn’t want to lose his sister and he had asked her if she would leave him. She promised him that she would never leave him. She could never leave her family. Unfortunately, that week, the empire came to take Hanabi away from her family despite Miyo begging. Ren was miserable, and he didn’t see his sister for two years.
When Ren was 16, she came back to celebrate his birthday and had gifted him his most precious item, a dagger. He used it for everything, hunting, fighting...
Ren brought out the dagger from his tunic and tears were almost forced out of his eyes, "I want to see you again sister." his concentration was broken when he heard Luna again, whining. She had brought game for them and as they sat down to eat, Ren could tell she was sad. She was not eating as much as she usually did.
"What is it?" he nudged her head, but it was just another whine. Her tail was deflated too, and her sad eyes gave her away, "it’s about the wolves right?" he guessed, and she whined in affirmation. He could only imagine how she must have felt to see her siblings under the corruption. And while he couldn’t do much, he gave her more head rubs and a kiss to make her feel better.
They watched the stars together and were even fortunate enough to see a shooting star, upon which Ren wished, "I want everything to go back to normal." a silent whisper before sleep took him away.
At the breaking of dawn, they began their journey again and Karnak was closer than estimated. Eventually, they reached the gate. It was old and almost crumbling and when Ren took in the environment, he felt the misery of the old town.
The town was utterly lifeless, but it wasn’t just the absence of people that made it feel this way—it was the emptiness that spoke louder than words. The sky above churned with dark clouds, heavy with the promise of rain. The first drops fell as he crossed the broken stone bridge at the town’s edge, turning the dirt beneath his boots into a muddy mess.
The buildings were in various stages of decay—crooked wooden beams, crumbling stone walls, and shattered windows. Their broken forms leaned as if trying to hold onto one another, resisting the inevitable collapse. The air was cold and damp, carrying with it a faint smell of rot and earth. Ren swore he could almost hear whispers in the wind—distant echoes of laughter, cries, and the bustle of a life long gone.
Ren could feel the anger and sorrow still lingering here, woven into the very stones of the town. This wasn’t just a forgotten place; it was a graveyard of dreams.
As the rain grew heavier, it washed over the empty streets, trickling through cracks in the stone and pooling in the uneven ground. The sound of the raindrops on the rooftops was rhythmic and hollow, like a mourning song. Ren’s eyes lingered on the abandoned carts and scattered tools left in the open, as if the town’s people had dropped everything in a desperate rush. Somewhere, a lone wooden sign creaked in the wind, its faded letters unreadable now.
A broken statue stood at the town square, half-buried in mud and rubble, its features worn away by time and neglect. It looked like it had once been a symbol of hope or pride, but now it stood as a cruel reminder of how the empire had turned its back on this place.
Ren tightened his grip on his sword. He wasn’t alone here. He could feel it. Monsters had claimed what humanity had left behind, but the real monster, he thought bitterly, was the empire’s indifference.
Abruptly, Luna stopped, her nose twitching in the air. She turned around, sniffing more, before she began barking. Loudly. As if trying to scare someone to come out. Ren halted, and wondered what she had seen. But as he crossed the distance between them, the whistle of the wind shot through his ears.
Ducking almost immediately into a roll, he evaded a shuriken that was strong enough to slice the remnants of the broken statue into two. Such a clean cut. Ren’s eyes widened, if he hadn’t moved fast enough, the ninja star would have taken his head right off his body. His eyes scanned everywhere, looking for who had thrown the weapon at him. His instincts kicked in again, dodging swiftly to evade another shuriken.
"Show yourself!" he screamed to the air, only the raindrops were audible, his eyes darting from left to right. Then. The whistle. With a take-off, he dodged multiple shurikens of smaller size thrown at him, his form bolted, using an old carriage as a springboard to avoid being killed. His eyes caught a shadow on top of an abandoned building, "Luna, strike!" he gave the command and with the flick of her tails, she threw lightning bolts at the intruder, causing the building to crumble completely.
"This place is not meant for people like you." a snarl came from all around, and soon enough, the intruder revealed himself. He was in black ninja attire and a sturdy mask covered his face. Ren’s brows furrowed, was he another one sent by the empire to hunt him?
"You have no say in my business." Ren took a battle stance, with Luna beside him. The assassin cocked his brows, wondering who he was but not wanting to waste any more time, he drew a battle stance.
"The dead have no business in the land of the living."
