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

Lena woke up face-down in the dirt.

Her body ached, her head throbbed, and something sharp was digging into her ribs—probably a rock. Or maybe just karma for every bad decision she'd ever made.

She groaned, rolling onto her back. The air was thick and stale, carrying the weight of something old. Not the salty dampness of the ocean breeze, but something deeper, untouched for centuries.

She blinked up at the darkness. High ceiling. Jagged rock. No light source except the faint glow of her system screen.

Lena exhaled sharply. (Perfect. Just perfect.)

A notification flickered into her vision.

[New Location Discovered: Subterranean Ruins]

(Oh, now you're analyzing things? A little late, don't you think?)

Lena sat up, her muscles protesting. No broken bones. Just bruises, soreness, and the overwhelming urge to punch the next obstacle in her way.

She scanned the underground chamber. Massive pillars, worn stone walls covered in carvings, strange metallic structures half-buried in the dirt. The air carried a faint metallic tang, like rust and something else she couldn't place.

Soft. Faint. A brush of sound against her ears.

Lena's knife was in her hand before she had even registered the movement.

(Not the wind. Not my imagination.)

She turned her head slightly, her breath slowing.

A shadow moved between the pillars.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Yeah? Well, tell that to the floor that decided to betray me."

System Alert: Unstable Energy Signature Detected. Proceed with Caution.

(Unstable energy signature? That's not concerning at all.)

Lena exhaled through her nose. Focus.

Third priority: Maybe punch him, depending on how long he takes to show up.

She scanned the chamber again. Her eyes landed on a faint glow coming from the far wall.

She moved toward it cautiously, blade steady. The whisper followed, just at the edge of hearing.

If something was waiting for her in the darkness, it would just have to get in line.

Aboveground, Riven stood at the edge of the collapsed ruins, staring down into the dark pit where Lena had disappeared.

The air was quiet, but something about the stillness felt unnatural.

He sighed, tilting his head slightly.

"She's going to kill me when I get down there."

Then—without hesitation—he jumped.

Chapter 14: Beneath the Island