Novels by Chris Ahafa

The night in New Crest did not feel like night anymore. The sky was too bright, too restless, too alive with colors that did not belong to nature. Red veins crawled through the darkness like cracks in glass, stretching from the distant plain toward the city like fingers searching for something soft to crush.Jonah stood on the edge of the central tower balcony, his breath unsteady. The hum inside his chest trembled like a broken heartbeat. He kept pressing his hand against his ribs, trying to calm the wild rhythm that shook through him.Lisa stepped beside him, worry in her eyes. “Jonah, talk to me. What are you feeling?”He closed his eyes and whispered, “The network is splitting again. Something is breaking inside the Breath-Born. A command is pushing through them. Something old. Something wrong.”Lisa swallowed hard. “Is it Olos again?”Jonah wanted to say no. He wanted to promise her that the unity they built would hold. But the truth twisted in his voice. “It feels like him. It

The city felt wrong the moment Jonah opened his eyes. He sat on the edge of the tower platform, staring at the horizon. The sky looked normal. The wind brushed softly against the metal rails. People moved far below like tiny shadows, confused and tired but trying to believe in a peaceful day.Yet Jonah felt something rising inside him like a second heartbeat, something slow and heavy and red.He tried to breathe it away. He tried to pretend it was nothing. But every time he blinked, he saw the same thing behind his eyelids, a single eye glowing red in the darkness, staring back at him.“Not again,” Jonah whispered. His voice shook. “Not again, please.”A soft metal footstep sounded behind him.Lisa approached carefully, watching him the way someone watches a loved one who is pretending to be fine. “Jonah?” she asked. “Are you alright?”He forced a smile. “Yes. Just tired.”Lisa studied him with eyes that already knew the truth. “You’re not lying very well today.”He looked away. “Som

The scream of the hum hit Jonah before the sound even reached the city.It slammed through his skull like a blade of heat. He staggered, gripping the edge of the tower platform as the air shook around him.Lisa ran toward him. “Jonah, what is it? What’s happening?”Jonah pressed both hands to his temples. “The network is shaking, someone is hurting it.”The hum rose again, sharper, louder, full of fear and pain. The towers on the plain flickered in panicked waves of blue and gold. The veins in Jonah’s arms glowed like dim lightning, pulsing with the same erratic rhythm.Lisa grabbed his arm. “Sit down. You’re not steady.”“I do not have time,” Jonah said through clenched teeth, pulling away from her. “They are calling me. They are crying. I must answer.”He started running toward the steps that led down to the street.“Jonah, slow down!” Lisa yelled as she chased him. “Tell me what is wrong!”He did not slow. “One of the towers turned red. It is burning from inside. Something is push

Jonah stood on the balcony of the council hall, feeling the breeze brush against his skin. The sky above New Crest was pale blue, soft and gentle. The people below walked slowly across the streets, whispering, smiling, trying to believe the peace was real.For a moment, Jonah let himself breathe. A calm breath. A human breath. Then something inside his chest twitched.A sharp pain. A pulse that was not his. Jonah grabbed the railing. “No.”The hum changed.It started as a soft tremble under his feet, then grew louder, deeper, vibrating the stone walls around him. Birds scattered into the sky. Children stopped playing. People froze in fear.Lisa ran out onto the balcony. “Jonah, what’s wrong?”He did not answer. He could not. His jaw clenched as another violent pulse hit him from the inside like a hammer made of fire.He whispered, “Something’s coming.”Lisa grabbed his arm. “From the towers?”But Jonah shook his head slowly, sweat running down his face. “No. From the plains.”A deep

Kevin could not sleep. Even though the night over New Crest was quiet, and the towers hummed with the soft color of dawn, his eyes stayed wide open. He lay in the small room the council gave him, staring at the cracked ceiling. His heart beat fast for no clear reason. Something inside him kept whispering, “Wake up. Now.”The sphere on the table pulsed once. A soft blue glow climbed its surface like breath in cold air.Kevin sat up quickly. “You are awake again,” he whispered.The sphere pulsed again, brighter this time. A warm wave filled the room, and then the air in front of Kevin shimmered. Blue dots gathered in the space like fireflies. They moved slowly, joining and stretching, forming a body made of soft light. A child. No older than Kevin himself.The shape finished forming and hovered a few inches above the ground. Its eyes were bright, two glowing circles that blinked gently. Its voice sounded like wind touching chimes.“Hello, Kevin,” it said. “I am Echo.”Kevin’s breath c

The night in New Crest did not feel like night anymore. The towers whispered softly in the dark, their blue glow spreading across the ruined streets like a calm river. People slept without fear, but under the quiet surface, something darker moved.Serra walked alone through the abandoned west sector, her boots crunching over broken glass. She carried no lantern. The faint light from her wrist-scanner was enough. The air around her felt colder than the rest of the city, as if the Breath-Born avoided this place.She stopped beside a rusted metal door. Two guards stepped out of the shadows.One whispered, “Captain Serra. Are you sure about this?”Serra’s eyes were sharp. “Open the door.”They hesitated, but her command left no room for argument. The door unlocked with a shrill metallic groan.Serra stepped inside the old maintenance warehouse.Dozens of people stood waiting, some engineers, some soldiers, some citizens who had once trusted Jonah but now feared what he was becoming. Th

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