Rude Ruby

01: Excommunicado

Watch your thoughts, they become your words: 01 | Excommunicado

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To hesitate is to invite failure,
to falter is to court death.

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Kailan ba ako nag alinlangan? Kailan ba ako nag dalawang isip? Kailan ba ako huling nalito sa aking mga plano? Sa pagkaka-alala ko ay hindi pa ako nagkakamali sa aking mga desisyon noong inagaw na ng kadiliman ang aking puso at isipan.

Hindi na ako nakakaramdam at hindi na dapat pa tumulo ang aking mga luha ng makita ang sariling walang magawa nang iniwan at pinagtaksilan ng kahuli-hulihang taong pinagkatiwalaan ko.

Bigla ay parang gumuho yung pader na sinasandalan ko. Bigla ay nawala iyong pag asa na pilit kong pinanghahawakan. Ngayon ay nilalamon na naman ako ng mga isiping hindi ko alam kung naiisip ba ng may tamang pag-iisip.

Pero hindi dapat ito ang inaalala ko. I way better than my own thoughts, I am the doer of what I think. I can make them true if I wish to and I can alter them for my survival if I had to.

I can't afford to falter—not when I'm this close to my rebellion, my revenge, and the ones who doesn't matter in this story. Failure isn’t an option, not when the end is within reach. The first parasite is gone, wiped from the plot before it could ruin everything.

Now, it's time to dig out the rest of the vermin hiding in the cracks. They won't see me coming, but they'll know when it’s too late—when the ground beneath them shifts, and there’s nowhere left to run.

My pulse quickens before I check my bounty, a blend of exhilaration and a subtle twinge of something else—a hint of remorse, perhaps.

However, in my line of work, emotions are a luxury I cannot afford. They blur judgment, slow reflexes, and undermine effectiveness. Every mission requires clarity, precision, and detachment.

Because in this world of shadows and secrets, sentimentality is a weakness, a vulnerability waiting to be exploited. So I must I steel myself against the pull of emotions, for they are the shackles that bind the unwary and the downfall of the unprepared.

Surviving in this unforgiving land requires a brave heart and commitment. The deed is done, the reward obtained... My only option now is to flee the country.

It's a desperate move, but in a world where danger lurks around every corner, escape becomes the only path to ensure survival.

And I'm uncertain how my body executed all the necessary actions, as if my survival instincts guided every move.

Astonishingly, I found myself departing the country the following morning, comfortably seated in a first-class suite aboard an aircraft. And I was taking these actions without a conscious thought.

All I knew was that I had to depart and forsake my former life.

I must.

Or else, there's no escaping death.
           

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PHILIPPINES

Ruby’s excommunication hit the criminal underworld like a bomb, triggering a storm of whispers and rumors. Then came the real shock: The Continent slapped a staggering bounty of one hundred million euros on her head.