The Rune Rebellion Begins

The training chamber was locked from the inside.

Raghav stood alone, sweat already trickling down his back. In front of him floated the Devourer, its body now hosting four fully-lit runes. But beside them, etched faintly in black, was a fifth—sealed.

It pulsed softly… like a heartbeat buried under chains.

> "A fifth rune… but it doesn't respond to core energy."

He reached out—and the moment his fingertips brushed the sealed glyph, a pulse shot through his chest.

Suddenly, he wasn't in the chamber anymore.

He stood inside a ruined arena.

Ash rained from above. The sky was gray. The court—broken stone.

In the middle of the wreckage stood a figure in charred armor, face hidden beneath a cracked visor. His racket glowed with the same Devourer symbol, but it was fractured—its runes bleeding dark mist.

"You're not ready," the figure growled. "But if you open it… it won't wait for you to catch up."

> "Who are you?"

The figure raised the Devourer, but it roared, not hummed.

> "The fifth rune feeds on instinct. Rage. It remembers the old courts. The blood matches. You unlock it… you change."

Lightning cracked through the sky.

Then everything shattered.

---

Back in the chamber, Raghav gasped, falling to one knee.

The fifth rune now flickered—half-lit.

He wasn't sure if he had opened it… or it opened itself.

---

Later, at the food court of the Iron Tier, a match was being broadcast on the upper screen. But Raghav wasn't watching. His mind was elsewhere.

Until someone slid into the seat across from him.

A girl with short silver hair and burnt-orange eyes. No name badge. No faction ring.

Her Relic—if it was one—looked like a curved, glass-bladed racket. But no runes lit on it. None at all.

She pointed at his Devourer.

"You've unlocked something you don't understand," she said.

Raghav narrowed his eyes. "And you are?"

"Someone whose Relic refuses to be devoured."

That caught his attention.

"You're lying."

She smiled. "Try it."

He focused the Devourer's intent—just slightly. No full contact, just a touch of will.

Nothing.

No reaction.

No hunger.

The Devourer… didn't devour.

He stared at the glass Relic. "What is that?"

"A shard of the Worldline Court. Pre-Hidden Era." She leaned forward. "It was built to resist consumption. Yours was built to consume everything. Eventually, they'll clash."

She stood up.

"But not here."

She flicked something onto the table.

A copper coin, cracked in the center, with three vertical slashes.

Invitation Token – Rune Rebellion

"Off-grid tournament. No Arbiters. No leash."

She leaned closer, voice a whisper:

"Unlock your fifth rune there—and see who survives the fallout."

Then she vanished into the crowd.

---