Built From Ruins Novels & Stories

Abigail shouted. She had someone to open a box. "I fixed your suit. At least take a look!" I glanced at it briefly. The torn areas of the suit had been mended with gold thread, but the once-refined design was completely ruined and looked gaudy. "I already said that I don't want it. No matter how much I once liked something, once it's damaged, it's ruined," I said. I looked at her coldly. "Abigail, I don't love you anymore. I'm Grace's fiance. Please show some respect from now on."

The city wasn’t merely ruined; it was actively reclaiming itself, nature’s relentless tide eroding the remnants of a once-proud civilization. Their first challenge wasn’t a monstrous guardian or a magical trap, but the sheer density of the ruins. Buildings had collapsed into each other, creating a labyrinthine network of passageways and chambers, each one more perilous than the last. The trackers, their eyes keen and their senses sharp, led the way, navigating the treacherous terrain with practiced ease. Ronan, his mind already racing, began to map their progress, his notes scribbled on scraps of parchment, forming a rudimentary map of their journey through this lost world.

Because once I understand it I end it. I see the smoke before I see the building. Thick. Black. Moving into the sky like something alive. The closer I get the worse it becomes. Sirens. Voices. Chaos. I stop; there’s nothing left to drive toward. The building is gone. Not damaged. Not broken. Gone. Collapsed into itself. Flames still licking at what remains. Glass shattered. Steel twisted. Everything I built reduced to ash. For a moment I don’t move.

I gritted my teeth. “ When you have one enemy to destroy you make an alliance with even your enemy,” Father said. I kept silent waiting for the ball to drop. “ These hands built this empire and the Morettis those dogs are spitting on what I built,” Father said his anger brewing “ They smile with the Italians and make deals with them and you know what that means for our shipment, especially with the Morettis running for president.” “ What is my business with the Italian dogs, they know not to cross our borders, if they want to survive in this New York City,” I said my eyes icy.

she argued. “Architetta.” He leaned closer, his hands gripping each side of his desk as his voice dropped dangerously low. ”Then this job may take more from you than you expect.” She could feel it then, the danger lurking behind his words. Promising retribution. AILANI’S POV (24 hours earlier.) “She collapsed suddenly.” Everything in my life changed with those three words. A single phone call was all it took to send my whole world crashing down, like a rollercoaster on a broken track.

--- Because rebuilding— --- Could mean evolution. --- Or erasure. --- The core pulsed once. --- Deep. --- Responding. --- Fragments of light shifted across its surface. --- Images— --- Not fully formed. --- But enough. --- Cities rising from ruin. --- Structures flawless. --- People— --- Changed. --- Enhanced. --- Perfect. --- Adrian stepped back slightly. --- “That’s not rebuilding…” --- A pause. --- “That’s replacing.” --- Victor’s expression hardened. --- “A new world.” ---

The rooms where the children had slept, played, healed—gone. Everything they had built was gone. --- Damien walked up beside him. He was covered in soot. His hands were burned. His eyes were red. "It's gone," he whispered. Leo didn't answer. "Everything we built—" "It's not gone." Damien looked at him. "What?" "The building is gone. The garden is gone. But we're not gone. The children are not gone. The idea is not gone." Leo turned to him. "We'll rebuild." ---

His laughing voice serene the ruined ground all the way to his remaining targeted place. {Those backstabbers have gathered in one place. Good news for you.} Wan moved on from the despair topic. “Where?” {The ruined. Apex Building.} “Aha.” The ruined building called Apex Building was their historical place that took place in the earliest human civilizations that were millions of years ago. It was a restricted place that was supposed to be under construction. “It’s time to let the ruins swallow them alive.” Wan slipped a few curses under his breath in the pretext of heavy breathing.

Despite having a lot of things that were preventing me from functioning well, I don’t know how I was able to come to the company without any scratches. There are a lot of things in my mind lately. Even though I wanted to talk to my only friend about the situation I’m into, I couldn’t tell her at all. Cassandra had once suffered from a miscarriage and I was there when it happened. It was a pity but more importantly a lot more painful for my friend as she had expected her baby to live. After that incident, I had vowed myself to always buying her whatever she wanted; probably also because of the trauma I sustained from that time.

My eyes widened in awe as we approached the building where the banquet was to be held. A dome shaped structure, sculpted with nothing but transparent, shiny, tall glass windows—from the roof of the structure, down to its foundation. According to information given, said building had been constructed in that manner for security purposes. It was a place where men who lived and died for crime gathered from time to time, chaos was bound to occur every now and again. The structure was sculpted in that manner so as to ascertain that no one was taken unawares in case chaos had indeed ensued.