Chandel_Neetu

The world ended in fire, tsunamis, and endless catastrophe. Just when humanity faced total annihilation, the last survivors were forcibly transported to isolated islands—each left alone, with nothing but a broken hut and a cryptic system demanding their survival.

Lena, cunning, ruthless, and unyielding, refuses to be controlled. She will carve her own path, build her own strength, and rise higher than anyone expects. But she soon realizes this world is far from empty.

Something stirs beneath the surface. Something watches from the shadows.

He is powerful. Intelligent. Dangerous. And unlike anything—or anyone—she has ever encountered.

He doesn’t belong to the shattered world she left behind. He doesn’t belong to humanity at all.

Their meeting is inevitable. Their fates tangled in ways neither of them understands.

But on an island where the system decides who survives and who perishes, some threats don’t come with claws and teeth. Some are far more seductive. And far deadlier.

Islands of the Forsaken

The ruins stretched before her, ancient and crumbling, yet somehow untouched by time.

Lena pressed her palm against one of the towering stone pillars, feeling the faintest vibration beneath her skin. Not wind. Not movement. Something deeper.

A low hum, like the remnants of a heartbeat beneath the earth.

She stepped back, scanning the cracked surface of the ruins.

(Something is underneath this place.)

The carvings were intricate—elongated figures with outstretched hands, their wide eyes all staring in the same direction.

She inhaled slowly, running her fingers over the moss-covered symbols. The ruins weren't just old. They were hiding something.

Behind her, Riven stood a few steps away, arms crossed. Watching.

"You knew about this," she said, not looking at him.

Lena scoffed. "Of course you did."

He said nothing, but she swore she caught the ghost of a smirk.

(If I ever strangle him, I'll call it self-defense.)

She crouched, studying the carvings. The symbols weren't just decorative. They formed a pattern. A path.

A notification flickered into view.

(Alright, system. What exactly do you want me to find?)

She followed the pattern with her fingertips, tracing the lines as they weaved across the stone. The figures were pointing. Leading.

She stood and turned in the direction they indicated.

A half-buried stone slab at the center of the ruins, nearly hidden beneath vines and fallen debris.

Lena moved toward it. Riven didn't stop her. He just watched.

She crouched, brushing away the moss. More carvings—symbols she didn't recognize, words in a language that looked almost… shifting.

Her fingers trailed over the edges of the slab. The stone was unnaturally smooth.

A low rumbling echoed through the ruins, the vibration growing stronger beneath her feet.

She barely had time to register Riven's voice before—

The world dropped out from under her, and she was falling.

The last thing she saw before the darkness swallowed her was Riven reaching for her.

"Great," she muttered as she plummeted. "I hate everything about this."

Chapter 13: The Echo Below