Location: Ruins of Dharavi, Mumbai
Date & Time: January 26, 2025 | 02:00 AM (IST)
The vast, shattered godown in Dharavi was now a graveyard. This wasn't the usual E-Rank trash. The floor was littered with the mangled remains of over twenty D-Rank monsters, their final shrieks finally fading into a deathly silence.
Rudra stood in the center of the carnage. His breathing was heavy, and his clothes were splattered with dark, viscous blood. He clenched his fist, and the dark mana coursing through his veins suddenly boiled over, erupting from his body in a solid, invisible shockwave. The air pressure in the room spiked instantly.
"10,100 MP," Ruin Soul's voice echoed, as cold as ever. "You've crossed the threshold. You are officially a C-Ranker."
But there was no joy or pride on Rudra's face. He vanished his dagger back into the void of his inventory. His eyes held a haunting emptiness. He walked slowly to a crumbling wall and sat down, taking a deep, freezing breath as he stared at the bodies surrounding him.
"Ruin Soul..." Rudra's voice was quiet, yet heavy with an unspoken burden. "I need to ask you something. What am I even doing?"
"Speak plainly. What's on your mind?" Ruin Soul asked directly.
Rudra closed his eyes. "You know there's no one left in my family. My father, my mother—everyone is gone. So, why am I doing this? Why am I becoming more powerful? I have no one to call my own, no one to protect. Even if I become more powerful than an A-Ranker one day... then what? Will I just be standing on a mountain of corpses? Thousands of monsters and humans I killed, just to gain strength?"
He struck the wall weakly with his fist, his voice trembling with grief and helplessness. "And what's the use of this power anyway? When innocent people were being slaughtered by monsters, I couldn't save them. I didn't even move from my spot. I spent a week hiding like a rat."
Suddenly, a massive, dominating pressure weighed down on Rudra's mind. Ruin Soul's presence grew vast and suffocating.
"You're being a fool," Ruin Soul's voice boomed with icy logic. "First of all, given the circumstances back then... if you had jumped into that swarm, you wouldn't have survived. You would have died without killing a single monster. Your hiding wasn't cowardice; it was survival."
Ruin Soul paused for a heartbeat before continuing in an even harsher tone. "And you ask about the use of this power? You idiot, the strength you possess is something very few can even dream of. The only reason you are alive to even have this mid-life crisis is because of these powers. Did you forget? It was this strength that allowed you to feed those starving people. You saved that girl. You killed feral mutants who would have continued to prey on the innocent if they were still breathing."
Rudra remained silent. He had no counter-argument for these cold, hard facts.
"And as for who you're becoming powerful for, since you think you're alone..." Ruin Soul's voice shifted into a deeper, ancient resonance. "You can use this power to help others, as you've already done. And remember one thing—the future is unwritten. You may be alone today, but no one has seen tomorrow. Who knows? Perhaps one day you will have people of your own again."
Rudra looked up into the darkness.
"And when that day comes, if you are too weak to save them, you will know a regret so deep it will consume what's left of your humanity," Ruin Soul explained. "It will turn you into something you can't even imagine."
The weight of centuries seemed to bleed through Ruin Soul's tone.
"I have seen things you cannot conceive. I have seen the lengths a person goes to when they lose someone they love. I have seen beings so powerful that the entire world bowed before them... yet because they couldn't save their own, they unleashed a destruction so absolute it would make your soul shiver."
This final line hit Rudra like a physical blow. He realized that Ruin Soul wasn't just speaking in metaphors; he had actually witnessed such catastrophes.
"Forget this for now," Ruin Soul said, returning to his cold, practical tone. "Keep this in mind: You are alone today, but you won't be alone forever. Do you want the people you might care for in the future to suffer the same fate as those on the streets? No? Then gain power. Become so strong that the entire world is forced to bow before you."
A long silence filled the godown. The survivor's guilt within Rudra began to thaw, replaced by a cold, dark fire in his eyes. He looked at the monster corpses again. They no longer felt like a source of guilt; they looked like the stairs to his ultimate destination.
He extended his hand. [Gluttony] and [Darksmith] activated. The corpses dissolved into materials and cores, flowing steadily into his inventory.
Rudra stood up from the wall. His C-Rank power had finally settled perfectly within him. "Fine," he said quietly into the dark. "I'm ready."
Chapter Summary
Location & Time: Abandoned Godown, Dharavi | January 26, 2025, 02:00 AM.
Rank Advancement: Rudra officially hits C-Rank (10,100 MP). He experiences a physical and mana-based evolution.
Mental Conflict: Rudra suffers from survivor's guilt and existential dread, questioning the purpose of gaining power when he has no family left to protect.
The Reality Check: Ruin Soul provides a brutal logical rebuttal, reminding Rudra that his power has already saved him and allowed him to help others. He warns Rudra that being weak in the future will lead to an unimaginable regret.
Foreshadowing: Ruin Soul hints at having witnessed civilizations destroyed by powerful beings who failed to protect their loved ones.
Current Status: Rudra accepts his role as a predator. He clears the godown of materials and prepares for the next phase of his journey as a C-Ranker.