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 world was dark, weightless, wrong.

It was a complete tearing of her existence.

Like the system was ripping her apart and putting her back together.

Her muscles seized, locked, twisted.

And for a terrifying moment, she wasn't sure if she was still human.

Buildings stretched toward the sky—not ruined, not destroyed.

And in the middle of it all, a name was carved into the stone.

Lena's body slammed into the ground.

Her lungs burned as she choked on air.

Her fingers curled into damp sand, the grains rough beneath her skin.

Wind rushed past her, carrying the scent of earth and rain.

A notification flickered into view.

[System Message: Location Registered]

Potential Safe Zone Detected. Status: Unclaimed.

Lena barely had time to process that before another alert followed.

[System Warning: Reset Incomplete]

Data Fragment Detected—User Mismatch Error

Correcting… Correcting… ERROR.

(The system… failed to reset me?)

She pushed herself up, her muscles weak and shaky.

A golden mark, faintly glowing beneath her wrist.

Not a system prompt. Something else.

And as soon as she saw it—the ground beneath her pulsed.

Lena exhaled sharply. (What the hell is this place?)

Before she could test it further—

Lena moved carefully, her footsteps silent on the damp ground.

The jungle was dense, humid, the air heavy with the scent of moss and unfamiliar plants.

Two figures stood near a makeshift shelter of woven leaves and branches.

One was tall, broad-shouldered, speaking in a low, measured tone. The other was leaner, restless, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Lena focused. Their words were clear.

"We can't stay here. The island's changing."

Lena exhaled slowly. (They're aware of the instability.)

Then, a voice behind her. Calm. Steady.

"You've been tracking us for a while."

And found herself staring down the barrel of a gun.

The woman holding the gun was tall, dark-skinned, with sharp green eyes and a scar cutting across her left cheek. Her grip on the weapon was steady, her stance calculated.

She wasn't panicked. She was in control.

The woman didn't smile. "Nice knife."

One of the men from the clearing called out. "Mari? Who is it?"

Mari didn't lower the gun. "Someone who thought sneaking up on us was a good idea."

Lena exhaled through her nose. (Not how I wanted this to go.)

"I wasn't sneaking," she said. "I was tracking."

Mari's eyes narrowed. "Big difference?"

A pause. Then—Mari lowered the gun.

"Come with me," she said. "You have five minutes to convince me not to shoot you."

Mari didn't smile. "It really isn't."

Chapter 23: A Name That Shouldn’t Exist