Novels by Chris Ahafa

Jonah floated in the dark. There was no ground, no air, no sound of breathing. Only a vast red sky turning slowly above him, and a city hanging upside down in the distance. The buildings were broken, hanging by threads of light. He reached out, but his hand passed through them like smoke. The Hive had no shape, but it had a memory, his memory.Every step he took, the ground formed under his feet: burning streets, shattered windows, the old city he once knew. He walked through it in silence, the world flickering like fire seen through water. The more he walked, the more the city changed. Faces appeared in the smoke, Lisa’s, Kevin’s, the people he failed to save. Their eyes watched him, unblinking. “Jonah,” they whispered.He turned toward the sound. A voice rose from the mist, soft, warm, familiar. “You did this for them,” it said. “You wanted to protect. You wanted peace.”Jonah clenched his fists. “No. You’re not her.”The mist thickened, forming into Lisa’s shape. Her smile was g

The tunnels were no longer quiet. They breathed. A slow, heavy pulse moved through the black stone, like air being dragged through lungs made of rock. Lisa stood with her hand pressed against the wall, feeling the strange rhythm under her palm. It wasn’t the wind. It wasn’t water. It was something alive.Behind her, Kevin clung to her jacket sleeve, trying not to cry. “Lisa… it’s doing it again,” he whispered. His voice echoed weakly down the tunnel, then came back to them, distorted, like someone else was repeating his words.“It’s alright,” Lisa lied softly. Her heart pounded. “We keep moving. That’s all we can do.”Rae and Ellis walked a few steps behind, their flashlight beams cutting shaky lines through the dust. Everything smelled like metal and smoke. The walls looked melted in places, scorched by fire, Jonah’s fire. It left twisted patterns in the stone, marks of his struggle.They followed the trail because it was the only thing that made sense. Every few meters, Lisa woul

Lisa woke to silence. Her head throbbed, her mouth dry as dust. When she tried to move, her arm brushed against stone, slick and warm. For a long moment she lay still, afraid to open her eyes. The air was heavy and thick with the smell of rust.Then she remembered the fall. The ground splitting, the light, Jonah’s hand reaching for hers, then nothing. Her eyes snapped open.Above her stretched a ceiling so vast she could not see where it ended. It shimmered faintly with a red glow, the same hue that had haunted them since the forest. Strange shapes hung from it, roots or wires, glowing like veins. She realized she was lying in a shallow pool of water that glowed faintly from below. “Lisa?”The voice came from somewhere close. She pushed herself up quickly. Kevin was kneeling nearby, holding his flashlight.The beam cut across the space, flashing against twisted metal and broken walls. “Are you okay?” she asked.He nodded shakily. “I think so. My leg hurts, but I can move it.”Lisa’s

The ropes slid down into the mist, disappearing after only a few meters. The red light made it hard to tell how deep the pit truly was. It could’ve been twenty feet or two hundred.Lisa went first. Her boots scraped against the glassy walls, leaving black marks on the surface. The air grew hotter the lower she went, thick with the scent of ash and metal. Her fingers burned against the rope, but she kept moving. Every few seconds, a dull pulse shook the wall beside her. It was like descending inside a heartbeat.Kevin came next, his flashlight swinging wildly as he tried to steady himself. He didn’t complain, didn’t cry, though his face was pale. Lisa kept glancing up to make sure he was okay. Below her, Ellis and Rae followed slowly, whispering to each other to stay calm.After a long time, Lisa’s boots hit solid ground. The surface beneath her feet was smooth stone streaked with lines of red. She turned in a slow circle, raising her light.They were standing in a tunnel. The walls

The city burned beneath a rain of red light. Crest’s towers stood like broken teeth, their neon signs flickering weakly against the storm clouds.The streets below were silent except for the hum of awakening, a low, rhythmic pulse that came from deep beneath the earth.The pods had opened. The Hollow King army had risen. Kai stood on the edge of a crumbling overpass, the storm whipping at his coat. Rhea stood beside him, rifle in hand, her face pale in the shifting glow. Far below them, shapes moved through the ruins, dozens at first, then hundreds.Each one carried his face. They walked in unison, their movements perfect and lifeless. Their eyes glowed faint red through the rain. Rhea whispered, “They all look like you.”Kai’s voice was quiet but steady. “They’re not me.”She turned toward him, trying to read his face. His expression was calm, almost too calm, like a man standing at the edge of something final. “What do we do?” she asked.Kai looked down at his hands. The red lines

Jonah hit the ground hard. It was not dirt this time. The surface beneath him rippled like liquid glass, red and black flowing in slow waves. When he stood, the world stretched in every direction without a horizon. Buildings hung upside down in the sky, their windows glowing faintly as if fire burned inside them. Rivers of light ran upward instead of down.He wiped ash from his face and looked around. The air hummed, deep and steady, like the sound of a giant heart. “This is the real hive,” he said quietly.A voice answered from behind him, soft and calm. “It is the part you keep hidden.”He turned. Another Jonah stood there. The same height, the same face, but the copy’s skin shimmered faintly like cooled metal, and both of its eyes burned red.The second Jonah smiled. “You fought so hard to escape. But you cannot burn yourself.”Jonah steadied his breathing. “You’re just the infection.”“I am the crown,” the other said. “You are the fire. Together we finish the work.”Jonah shook h

The world was gone. Riley felt nothing, no heat, no sound, no pain. Only emptiness. His body floated in a vast, silent void. There was no up or down, no sky or ground. Just endless gray light stretching forever. He tried to move, but his limbs didn’t respond. He wasn’t even sure he had a body anymore. “Where… am I?” he whispered.His voice didn’t echo. Silence, then, faintly, a sound, like a heartbeat. Slow. Heavy. Distant. Thump. Thump.With each beat, faint ripples spread across the emptiness, and pieces of memory flickered in front of him, flashes of faces, battles, laughter, screams.Akira. Hogan. Doyle. Alira. The Titan’s roar. The Shadow’s eyes, then, the explosion. Riley gasped, his body snapping upright.He was lying on cold ground. The air was damp and thick with mist. Shadows shifted around him like living things, whispering faintly.His head pounded. His body ached all over, burned and broken, but somehow he was alive.He looked down, his armor was cracked, his clothes tor

Riley felt the power drain from his body like someone had ripped his soul away. His sword shattered into fragments of fading light, scattering into the molten air. His system’s voice, the calm tone that had guided him through every battle, went silent. For the first time since it began, he felt truly alone.The Titan’s massive hand swung toward him, the heat like a storm of fire. Riley tried to move, but his limbs were heavy, unresponsive. The infection burned through him, black veins crawling up his face.He fell hard onto the crumbling bridge, his breath ragged and short. Alira screamed his name, her voice echoing across the cavern. “RILEY!”The Titan’s molten eyes gleamed. “It ends.”The world slowed. Riley looked up, the reflection of the Titan’s blazing hand filling his eyes. Time felt thick, heavy, like he was sinking through it. His thoughts drifted back to his team, to Akira’s worried face, to Hogan’s stubborn loyalty, to Alira’s voice telling him he was chosen.He wanted to

The cavern shook with the Titan’s laughter, deep and cruel. Lava spilled down the throne, dripping into the chasm below. The heat was unbearable.Riley stood at the edge, sweat streaming down his face, his chest heaving. His body trembled from exhaustion, his infection burning like fire under his skin.Behind him, Hogan, Doyle, Miller, and Akira stayed close. Their weapons were drawn, but their eyes showed fear.The Titan raised its massive blade of shadow and fire. The flames licked the cavern ceiling, sparks falling like meteors.“You are weak,” the Titan rumbled. “You crawl, you bleed, and yet you think you can take what belongs to me?”Its furnace eyes glowed brighter, fixed on Alira. “She was always mine.”Alira lifted her head slightly, her silver eyes faint but defiant. Her voice, weak but steady, cut through the heat. “No. I will never be yours again.”Riley’s chest tightened. He gripped his broken, flickering blade tighter, though it barely glowed now. He muttered under his b

The cavern shook as the Titan’s molten body retreated into the darkness. Its burning chains dragged Alira across the floor, her silver glow flickering as she struggled against them. Her voice echoed through the heat and ash.“Riley!”Her cry pierced his chest like a blade.He tried to move, but his legs buckled. His arms shook violently, his blade gone, his vision swimming in red haze. The infection inside him surged like fire, tearing through his veins. His system blinked in frantic warning.SYSTEM ALERT: Collapse Imminent.HP: 45/500.Infection Progress: 94%.“Not yet,” Riley whispered through bloodied lips. He planted his hand against the molten ground, forcing himself up inch by inch. His breath came in ragged gasps. “Not, yet.”But the Titan was already gone, vanishing into the glowing tunnels with Alira bound in its grasp. The last echo of her cry faded into silence.Riley collapsed again, coughing hard. His blood hit the black stone, sizzling on the heated ground. He clenched

The Titan’s roar shook the cavern walls. Lava dripped from its body, glowing rivers running across the floor. Its molten chains dug into Riley’s skin, each link burning like fire pressed into his flesh.He gritted his teeth, pulling against them with all his strength. His system blinked in his vision:ALERT: Shadow Bind, Escape Chance 5%.HP: 110/500.Not enough. He was trapped. Alira stepped forward, her silver glow faint but steady. Her eyes never left the Titan’s burning face. “You still live,” she whispered.The Titan’s voice rumbled like a grinding stone. “And you still run. But not this time, Alira.”Riley’s chest tightened. The Titan knew her. He forced the words out through clenched teeth. “What, what are you to him?”Alira’s gaze flickered briefly toward Riley, then back to the monster. Her voice was calm, too calm. “He was my creation’s first host.”Riley froze. His stomach dropped. “What?”Alira’s eyes darkened. “Before you, before me, the Titan bore the system.”The chamb

The valley was silent. The screaming mist had gone. The glowing moss no longer pulsed. The ground lay broken, ash from the fallen Guardians scattered like gray snow.Riley stood on shaky legs, breathing hard. His blade had dissolved, his energy almost gone. His arm still throbbed with black veins, faint but stubborn, crawling beneath his skin like poison that refused to leave.Alira stood a few paces away, her silver hair glowing faintly in the dim light. She seemed calm, too calm for the destruction around them.Riley forced himself to speak, though his voice was hoarse. “You said, my team. They’re alive?”Alira turned her glowing eyes on him. “Yes. Alive. But held in a place worse than death.”Riley’s chest tightened. “Where?”Her gaze shifted toward the distance. Beyond the shattered valley, the horizon burned faintly red. There, a mountain rose, black and jagged, glowing with cracks of molten fire. “The Titan’s lair,” she said softly. “They are trapped within.”The name itself m

A blast of white-silver light tore through the cavern. Xayn stumbled back, shielding his face as wind howled from the center of the chamber. Stones ripped from the walls, chains snapped, and the torches went out one by one. Dust filled the air until he could barely breathe. “Lia!” he shouted. “Stop!”But it wasn’t Lia anymore. The girl on the floor rose slowly, her hair floating around her as if underwater. The marks of the seal blazed across her skin like living fire. Her eyes glowed pure silver, no pupils, no warmth, just cold light. The ground trembled. Cracks raced across the floor, spreading like lightning.System: “Warning. Unknown energy detected. Intensity, catastrophic.”Xayn took a step forward, his voice trembling. “Lia, it’s me. It’s Xayn. You’re safe now.”Her gaze snapped toward him. The air shuddered. When she spoke, her voice was layered, two tones overlapping, Lia’s soft one and another deeper, older, filled with fury. “You should not have freed me.”The mask pulsed

The sky above the city was pale and gray, the first sign of dawn breaking through the night. A thin fog crawled across the streets, softening the edges of broken walls and burnt wood.Xayn’s footsteps echoed dully as he stumbled through the alleyway. His entire body throbbed with exhaustion. Dried blood streaked his arms. The Shadowglass still glowed faintly in his fist, pulsing like a dying heart. The mask was still on his face.No matter how many times he clawed at it, the iron refused to come off. The edges had fused to his skin, cold and hot all at once. He could feel it breathing, like something alive pressed against his soul.System: “Bond locked. Artifact stable at 99.9%. Warning: external removal impossible.”He ignored it. All he could think of was Lia. He had been gone for too long. Every second mattered.The streets looked different now. Quiet. Deserted. Even the stray market lights had gone out. He turned down the narrow road that led to the safe house, the one he and Ki

The world was black. Not silent, though. The mask laughed in the darkness, its voice echoing like a storm in his skull. “You’re mine now. All mine. No more pretending. No more fighting.”Xayn tried to speak, but his lips wouldn’t move. His body felt heavy, trapped, as if he had been chained in molten iron, then another voice cut through, smooth, steady, calm. “Not yet. He’s still useful.”Xayn’s eyes snapped open. He was no longer on the blood-soaked streets of the Black Market.Instead, he stood in a strange void. The ground was black stone, cracked with glowing veins of red. Shadows swirled like smoke, wrapping around him. Above, the sky was endless and empty, yet alive with whispers, and standing in front of him was the red-eyed man.The cloak around his body swayed though there was no wind. His hood shadowed his face, but his glowing eyes cut through the dark like twin blades.“You’ve walked far,” the man said softly. “Farther than I expected. Most who wear that mask don’t last a

The night was silent now. Too silent. The bodies of Sean’s soldiers littered the street, blood pooling around broken armor and twisted spears. The torches guttered in the breeze, their light flickering over the ruined stones. Xayn knelt in the center, his chest rising and falling heavily. The mask still clung to his face. It pulsed with heat, its hollow crimson eyes glowing faintly, each beat in rhythm with his racing heart.His hands trembled as he reached for the edges of the iron. He tried to rip it off, as he had before, but it didn’t move.His fingers scraped against the cold metal. His nails dug until they bled. Nothing.The mask laughed softly inside his mind. “I told you… this time, you don’t take me off.”The system’s voice crackled in his ear, weak but urgent.Warning: Host identity collapsing.Bond stabilizing at 99.6%.Immediate removal required.Xayn growled through clenched teeth. “Then help me! Tear it off!”Error: External override blocked. Artifact resistance too st

The stones cracked under Xayn’s feet as he lunged forward. The black iron mask clung to his face, burning hot, its hollow crimson eyes blazing with power. His blood-red vision tunneled onto Sean, every muscle surging with violent strength.Sean didn’t flinch. He didn’t raise his weapon. He simply stood there, smiling, and that smile made something deep inside Xayn shiver.The mask hissed in his mind. “Kill him. Crush his skull. Tear out his heart. He dares to laugh at you!”Xayn’s fist roared forward, the air splitting under its speed. At the last instant, Sean moved.Steel sang. Sean’s blade flashed like silver lightning, parrying Xayn’s punch with impossible precision. Sparks exploded as fist met steel, the shockwave rattling the buildings around them.Xayn staggered back a step, his crimson eyes narrowing. Sean had stopped him. The mask hissed with anger. “Impossible. No man can match this power.”Sean tilted his head, his smile never leaving. “So it’s true. The mask accepts you.

The night wind carried the faint smell of smoke and blood. Xayn stood at the end of the alley, his chest heaving, his body still trembling from the battle with the assassins. His hand clutched the Shadowglass tightly, while the satchel containing the cursed mask pulsed faintly at his side, and there, standing in the torchlight with his men, was Sean.Sean’s polished armor gleamed even in the dim night. His eyes were sharp, filled with amusement, as though the entire world was nothing but a game for him. His cruel smile widened when he saw Xayn’s bloodied form.“Well, well,” Sean drawled. “The rat returns from the gutter. I half-expected the Black Market to chew you up and spit out your bones. But here you are.”His soldiers chuckled behind him, the sound grating like metal scraping stone.Xayn’s jaw tightened. His body screamed at him to move, to fight, but exhaustion weighed on every limb.Sean’s eyes flicked to the satchel. “And look at that. You even brought me a gift. What’s in t