The Ruins By Scott Smith Novels & Stories

And I stood there, staring at the sister I thought I knew, realizing that what broke me wasn’t just losing my fiancé… it was losing the one person I never thought would hurt me like this. The sound of my mother’s sobs echoed through the house, and Adira’s last whisper trembled through the air… “I never meant to fall in love with him… but I did.” And that was when I realized… this wasn’t the end of something. It was the beginning of ruin. “Did you just say you love him???!!"

“There’s only one path. You need to travel north, through the Wildthorn Forest. The trees there grow so thick that the sunlight barely reaches the ground. There’s a river to the west of the forest—it’s the only way across the land that leads directly to the Ruins.” Alex’s eyes flickered, her expression tight. “You’ll need to stay off the main trails. The creatures that roam those parts aren’t… friendly. You’ll have to be quiet, stay hidden. And when you reach the Ruins…” She paused, her breath catching. “You’ll know you’re there. The moment you step into the place, you’ll feel it. The air is different, heavy, like the ground itself is watching you.” “You need to keep your guard up,” Ronan ad

“Yes, I am done with my meal. Just finish your food, and I’ll find Damon if you don’t mind. “Okay, be careful.” I gave Prof. a grin and then quickly turned my back on her. So, naturally, I looked for Damon around our base camp. I think he should go to an area near our camp. I kept looking for him everywhere but kept my eyes on the Ruins. Its beauty inspires me, and I can see how it will look in my next drawing. The barrier keeps me from seeing what’s on the other side, but I’m curious. I turned around to ensure no one was looking, crossed the fence, and carefully walked inside. As expected, the inside of the Ruins is pitch black. Aside from the cold wind and the strange sounds inside, the in

The ruins of the Vale smoked like a corpse still smoldering. Columns that once held banners of silver and crimson now jutted jagged and black against the sky, as if the earth itself had sprouted broken fangs. Survivors picked through the rubble with haunted eyes, scavenging not for treasure but for bodies, for proof that some part of their lives remained. The wind carried ash and something heavier—an echo of the Hollow that refused to vanish, a taste of shadow on every breath.

I had spoken my wish aloud, my voice steady despite the storm raging in my heart. Now, standing in the dream, I felt the weight of that moment pressing down on me. The ruins seemed alive, their stones whispering secrets I wasn’t ready to hear. --- I approached the center of the ruins, the spot where the moonlight pooled like liquid silver. My heart pounded in my chest, the urgency growing with each step. "What am I searching for?" I murmured, my voice trembling. The air grew colder, the whispers of the ruins rising to a crescendo. And then, amidst the chaos, a single word cut through the noise.

I can feel my hands shaking as I pushed the door opened. And right there, there was Ellaine and Daevon together. Coincidentally, his eyes roamed to look at me and immediately distanced himself from his girl. “H-Honey,” he called out. Slowly, a bitter smile crept in to my face, “For the second time, you ruined me,” I mumbled and quickly turned away from them and ran. I quickly headed towards the elevator down to ground floor to fetch my car. Tears started rolling down my cheeks despite me wiping them over and over. I pulled my car door opened and closed it. For one last time, I looked at the building before starting the engine.

If last night he dreamed of Ruin's arrival, it is certain that in the near future, or even today Ruin could appear and immediately look for his target, Karina, Alice, and go to the white galaxy to kill Dave. According to Dave's explanation, Ruin's arrival is the opposite of Sin Rose, if Sin Rose emits the scent of roses, then Ruin will emit a rotten smell from human bodies being tortured in the bottom hell. The smell is pungent and can even block the respiratory tract and cause death. Ruin's arrival was not an ordinary threat, but rather an apocalypse that would sweep the earth. Dal-Byeol's apartment is quiet today, Karina is walking down the hall to the gym because Wednesday is a good day,

I opened my eyes to light. Not sunlight. Something older. It rippled through the air in waves, bending the ground into glass beneath me. The wind had a taste—metallic, sharp, alive. I stood slowly, the world humming beneath my feet like it recognized its new master. The ruins of the old city were gone. In their place stretched plains of luminous ash, rivers of molten silver carving paths through the earth, and black spires piercing the horizon like the bones of a god.

“Failing badly enough that I have to keep touching your hand to fix it.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, and threw another stone that sank immediately, and he laughed, pulling me against him, the sound of it easy and unguarded in a way I still wasn’t used to hearing from him, even after everything. In the afternoon we found a small shop near the harbor selling nothing anyone actually needed, hand-thrown pottery and secondhand books and jars of local honey, and Damien bought a mug shaped unevenly, clearly made by someone still learning the craft, because I’d picked it up and turned it over twice before setting it back down.

Then— Crash. The sound of fists meeting flesh. Furniture toppling. A grunt. A curse. I flinched. The noise was brutal and raw, along with the unmistakable rhythm of violence. My heels scraped against the gravel as I stumbled backward, and my heart continued to hammer so hard it blurred my thoughts. The sounds from inside grew louder—another crash, a choked cry, the shattering of glass. The night wind howled through the broken stillness, carrying his voice as Mateo’s words replayed in my head, over and over. “I can’t let you leave just yet, Riya…”