Chapter 17: A Man Out of Time
Lena gripped her knife, staring at Alek like he was a particularly annoying puzzle she had no interest in solving.
The man in the pod was still stretching like he'd just woken up from a long nap—not like he had been frozen in a vault beneath an ancient ruin for who-knows-how-long.
"Well," Alek said, cracking his neck, "not exactly the warm welcome I was expecting, but I'll take what I can get."
Lena narrowed her eyes. "Start talking. Who the hell are you?"
Alek's gaze flickered to her, sharp but amused. "Alek. Formerly human, currently—" he gestured vaguely at himself, "—whatever the system turned me into."
Lena's grip on her blade didn't loosen. "Not an answer."
Alek sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. Then, with a lazy smirk, he turned to Riven.
"And you? Not even a hello? I thought we were friends."
Riven's golden eyes remained unreadable. "We were never friends."
Alek let out a low whistle. "Ouch. Cold as ever."
Lena's eyes flicked between them. They definitely knew each other. And judging by Riven's reaction, it wasn't a pleasant history.
She crossed her arms. "Alright, someone explain before I stab something."
Alek glanced at her knife. "You're going to stab a guy who just woke up from a sci-fi coma?"
"If you keep talking in circles? Yes."
Alek chuckled. "I like you already."
Riven exhaled through his nose, a clear sign of irritation. "Alek was part of the first cycle."
Lena's stomach tensed. "The first cycle?"
Riven nodded. "The earliest group of survivors the system transported here. Long before you."
Lena frowned. "That's impossible. If he was part of the first group, he should be—" She stopped herself.
Dead.
Alek grinned. "Oh, trust me, I should be. But here I am."
Lena didn't like this. Not at all.
Alek was too… aware. Too put together. Like he wasn't just a survivor—he was something else now.
And the system knew it.
A new notification appeared in her vision.
---
[System Alert: Unregistered Entity Detected]
Warning: Subject #042 is not within standard survival parameters. Adjustments pending.
---
Lena's blood ran cold. (Adjustments pending?)
Alek's smirk faded slightly as his eyes flickered toward something unseen.
"Oh, that's not good."
Lena tensed. "What's not good?"
Alek exhaled. "The system is trying to decide whether I should still exist."
---
System Interference
A low hum vibrated through the vault. The symbols on the walls flickered, glitching in and out of sight. The air thickened, pressing down like an invisible force.
Then, the system's voice echoed—not in Lena's mind, but out loud, vibrating through the chamber.
"Subject #042 is an anomaly. Processing…"
Lena took a sharp step back. (What the hell?)
Alek, to his credit, didn't look panicked. If anything, he looked… bored.
"Here we go again."
Before Lena could ask what he meant, a shockwave of energy pulsed from the vault walls. The air crackled. The system's presence grew stronger.
Lena's vision glitched.
For a split second, she wasn't in the vault anymore.
She saw—
A shattered island, broken pieces floating in midair. A storm raging above a dark sea. Shadows moving beneath the waves.
Then—a face.
Familiar.
Not hers.
Not Riven's.
And then—pain.
Lena gasped, stumbling as the vision shattered. The vault snapped back into focus.
Riven was already at her side, steadying her. His grip was firm, grounding.
"Lena." His voice was low, controlled, but there was a sharpness in his eyes. "What did you see?"
Lena swallowed hard. "Something's wrong with the system."
Alek rolled his shoulders. "Yeah, no kidding."
Lena turned to him, still breathless. "What's happening?"
Alek sighed. "Well, the system is freaking out because I'm technically not supposed to be here anymore. Which means it's about to either erase me… or crash trying to process what to do."
Lena's mind raced. The system was failing. That had never happened before.
And if Alek was the cause, that meant—
Before she could finish the thought, another shockwave pulsed through the vault.
The walls groaned. The symbols flickered wildly.
And then—the vault started collapsing.
Lena barely had time to react before Riven grabbed her wrist.
"Move."
---
End of Chapter 17