Novels by Vya Kim

The shadows in the rafters didn't just loom; they hung with a predatory patience that made the hair on Darius’s neck stand up. The air was thick with the copper tang of blood and the ozone burn of short-circuiting cables. General Aris stood beside him, chest heaving, his hand tight around the grip of his standard-issue sidearm. "What do you mean, they're here for you? You said they were mindless."Darius kept his gaze locked on the rafters, his rifle steady. "I was wrong. Or maybe I was just playing the part they expected of me. Look at them, Aris. They aren't tearing the walls down. They’re carving a corridor.""A corridor to what?" Aris demanded, his eyes darting toward the encroaching swarm. "To me," Darius replied. "They’re herding us. If I hold back, they burn the station. If I let go, they win the game.""Then don't let go," Aris spat, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and genuine terror. "Whatever you are, whatever is inside you, keep it under lock and key. We are the mi

The darkness wasn't just a physical presence; it was a cold, suffocating weight that pressed against the walls of the corridor, turning the sterile metallic air into something viscous and oily. Darius stood at the eye of the storm, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. "You have no idea what you’re asking for, General," Darius said, his voice overlapping with a phantom echo that seemed to vibrate the very floorboards.General Aris didn't recoil. He adjusted his coat, his expression a mask of granite, unmoved by the supernatural display. "I’ve seen enough, Sergeant. Secure him. And use the dampeners. I don’t want him fading into the vents."The security team didn't hesitate. They lunged forward, not with the panicked flailing of the corrupted, but with the cold efficiency of trained killers. They jammed a high-frequency nullifier into the small of Darius’s back. The pain was instantaneous—a white-hot spike that severed the connection to the void. The shadows reced

"I’m done running," Darius repeated, his voice barely a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a vow.Elara didn’t flinch. She watched him, her eyes searching his face as if looking for the exact moment the humanity in him would buckle under the strain. "The hallway, Darius. They aren’t just coming. They’re already inside."The lab's ventilation hummed, a rhythmic, mechanical pulse that seemed to shudder as a shadow detached itself from the corridor wall outside the reinforced glass. It wasn't a trick of the light; it was a void, a humanoid silhouette that seemed to eat the flickering fluorescent glow of the hallway.Darius didn't wait for her to elaborate. He reached for his sidearm, checking the charge. "How many?""Two on the surveillance, but there could be more," Elara said, her fingers dancing across the console to lock the lab doors. "If they find you here, Darius, they won't just kill you. They’ll scrub this entire sector. They’re here to erase the anomaly.""They're here for m

The ground shuddered one last time, a low, tectonic groan that vibrated through the soles of Darius’s boots. He stood on the edge of the crater, his chest heaving, his fingers still white-knuckled around the stock of his rifle. The dust began to settle, coating his armor in a fine, grey veil of pulverized history."You look like you’ve been dragged through a meat grinder and spat out, man," Kael muttered, stepping up beside him. He pulled a canteen from his belt and held it out. "Seriously, what happened down there? You’re pale as a ghost. Did you find some hidden cache or a structural support beam you wanted to fight?"Darius took the canteen, his hand trembling slightly as he downed the metallic, recycled water. He didn't look at Kael. He couldn't. "It was just a dead end. A vault of old tech. Nothing useful."Kael snorted, glancing at the collapsed tunnel. "A dead end that tried to swallow you whole? You’re a terrible liar, Darius. You know that, right? You’ve got that ‘I’m keeping

The ash-covered plains of the Dead Zone crunched beneath their boots like crushed bone. The horizon was a jagged silhouette of ruined skyscrapers, their skeletal frames clawing at a sky bruised with toxic violet clouds. Darius kept his eyes locked on the crimson beacon flickering in his HUD, his heart echoing the erratic rhythm of the hidden seed within him."You’re really quiet, man," Kael said, his voice crackling over the comms. He kicked a piece of twisted rebar, sending it skittering across the dry earth. "Usually, when we’re out this deep, you’re barking orders or checking the perimeter. You’re acting like you’re walking toward a funeral.""Just stay sharp, Kael," Darius replied, his voice flat. "The air out here is toxic for a reason. Don't let your filter get clogged with that silt.""I know the drill, boss," Kael retorted, though he checked his oxygen levels with a nervous tap of his wrist console. "But seriously, why this direction? The recon map said the primary cluster was

The violet light in the creature’s eyes burned with a flicker of recognition that made Darius’s skin crawl. Before the creature could lunge, a heavy blast door slammed shut from the far end of the corridor, triggered by the automated alarms Kael had set off. The screech of reinforced steel sliding into place drowned out the creature’s clicks, and the swarm began to claw frantically at the barrier.Darius didn't wait. He turned and bolted, his lungs screaming as he sprinted back toward the safety of the main barracks. *Two days later, the sterile hum of the High Command office felt like a noose tightening around his throat. Darius stood at attention, his uniform freshly pressed, though he felt like a fraud in every fiber of his being. "At ease, Sergeant," General Aris said, his voice deep and gravelly like grinding tectonic plates. He stood by the window, overlooking the bustling colony. "I’ve reviewed the logs from Sector 4. It’s a miracle the structural integrity held, and it’s an