Racing to Infinity
Episode 1 — The Road That Never Ends (Pilot)
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The Night Before Everything Changed
Neon rain streaked across the windows of Ruko's tiny apartment, painting the walls in flickering red and blue. The room was silent except for the low hum of the old refrigerator in the corner and the faint rattle of the storm outside.
On the table sat a single photograph: two boys, one trophy, and smiles so real they seemed impossible now.
Ruko was thirteen in that picture. His older brother, Kaien, stood beside him — champion of the underground racing scene, feared and respected by every driver worth their tires.
But that was before.
Before Kaien was killed mid-race under circumstances so strange, nobody could give Ruko a straight answer. Before Ruko was left completely alone. Mom and Dad had been out of the picture since forever — off living in some distant galaxy, chasing their own ambitions. They'd never called, never visited, never cared.
It had always been Ruko and Kaien.
And now it was just Ruko.
The Street Below
Under the rusted frame of a collapsed overpass, dozens of racers were gathering for tonight's illegal circuit. The air was thick with the scent of gasoline and the deep growl of modified engines. LED strips pulsed on hoods and undercarriages, reflecting off rain-slick pavement.
Every driver had their own machine — chrome beasts, alien imports, warp-fueled monsters from galaxies most Earthlings had never heard of. Every car looked like it had been sculpted by gods.
Ruko's didn't.
At the edge of the gathering sat his ride — a long, low coupe the color of faded midnight, covered in mismatched panels, rust around the wheel arches, and a cracked windshield patched with tape. The rear bumper was missing entirely, exposing the guts of the exhaust system like a wounded animal.
It wasn't just old. It was Level 1.
Most racers didn't even look at it. Those who did smirked or shook their heads.
Vex
"Ruko."
The voice came from the side. Vex — a wiry racer with white hair and a gold-lined jacket — leaned against his pristine chrome speeder. Kaien had beaten him more times than Ruko could count, back in the day.
"You really think you belong out here? That thing you're driving… it's not even in the database. Looks like a scrapyard tried to spit out a car and gave up halfway."
Ruko ran a hand along the dusty fender. "It's mine."
Vex snorted. "You'll be roadkill before the second turn."
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The Flare
Twenty cars lined up at the start. The crowd roared, the rain came down harder, and the flare gun shot a streak of fire into the night sky.
Engines screamed. Tires spat water and smoke.
Ruko's coupe shook violently as he slammed the accelerator, the steering wheel vibrating like it wanted to break free from his grip. Every car shot ahead, their engines tuned to perfection, while his lagged behind like a dying animal.
He didn't care. He kept his eyes locked on the course, just as Kaien had taught him:
Don't watch your rivals. Watch the road.
The Challenger
Halfway through the course, something impossible happened. A car appeared out of nowhere — black, sleek, and inhumanly fast, its bodywork shimmering like liquid glass under the streetlights. It wasn't on the starting line. It wasn't from Earth.
The driver's helmet reflected the neon around them, but through the comms came a voice — cold and metallic:
"Ruko Kaien's brother. Let's see if you're worth waking up."
Before Ruko could react, the black car shot forward, passing every racer in seconds. It bent reality in its wake, warping the air like heat over asphalt.
Something deep in Ruko's chest shifted — a sudden, violent thrum that wasn't fear. His car responded, almost alive, its dashboard flickering with strange symbols he had never seen before.
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The Awakening
Time slowed.
The rain froze mid-fall. Neon streaks hung in the air like smeared paint. Every curve, every obstacle ahead glowed with faint, golden outlines.
A notification burned across the cracked windshield:
[Skill Unlocked: Velocity Vision — Level 1]
• Perceive time at 10% speed for 3 seconds.
Ruko's hands moved without thinking. He downshifted, tapped the brakes, and drifted through a narrow curve so tight his rear bumper scraped the wall. Sparks lit up behind him.
Two racers went spinning out, unable to react to his sudden burst of precision.
The Finish
By the time the world snapped back to normal speed, Ruko was weaving through the last straightaway. His car roared like it had been sleeping its whole life and just woken up angry.
He didn't win — the black car was already gone, as if it had never existed. But he didn't come in last, either. And when he rolled to a stop past the finish line, the other drivers were staring. Not at him — at his car.
Its engine still hummed, but differently now. Stronger.
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The Invitation
The black car sat waiting in the shadows. Its driver stepped out — tall, broad-shouldered, their racing suit covered in moving constellations, each star shifting and pulsing like it was alive.
"Your brother was one of us," they said, voice calm but heavy. "A racer in the Endless Circuit — the race that spans worlds, galaxies, and dimensions. Ten billion drivers, each with a machine bound to their soul. Win, and you level up. Lose… and the road leaves you behind."
They tossed Ruko a small, hexagonal device. The moment he caught it, his vision exploded outward.
He saw tracks stretching across suns and moons, through cities made of glass, across oceans of lava. He saw alien racers, godlike machines, and Kaien — smiling, alive — before the image shattered into darkness.
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The Stats
The device burned new symbols into the inside of his windshield:
[Driver: Ruko]
• Speed Level: 1
• Handling Level: 1
• Drift Level: 1
• Power Level: 1 (Velocity Vision unlocked)
• Vehicle Tier: 1 (Unique Soulbound Car — current state: dormant)
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The Road Ahead
"Your car is alive, Ruko," the driver said. "Just like you. It grows when you do. Right now it's weak… ugly… but it's yours. And when you reach the top, there won't be a machine in the multiverse that can touch it."
They stepped back into their car, the constellations on their suit fading into the shadows.
"Tomorrow, the Circuit calls. Be ready."
The black car vanished without sound.
Ruko stood there in the rain, the hum of his engine in his chest, and a single truth burning in his mind:
The road never ends. And somewhere out there, past ten billion racers and countless gods, was the one answer he wanted.
How Kaien really died.