Chapter Seven: The Isle That Doesn't Exist
"Some places are not lost. They were never meant to be found."
Maps were lies.
At least, that's what the Mapbreakers believed.
They were a group of rogue cartographers who once drew "forbidden coordinates"—places the Authority erased from the public domain. Hidden locations. Ancient cities. Dimensions barely tethered to real time.
The Isle of Eyes was the most dangerous one.
And now… Nyah needed to find it.
Mission Briefing – Rebel Base
The Rebellion had intercepted an old Authority broadcast: static-laced, half corrupted, but laced with words like:
"Temporal nodes… Subject NY–77… Island Gateway…"
The message referenced her.
And an island that shouldn't exist.
Sora tracked the data stream's origin to a collapsed sector once known as Delta-13—outside the safe zones, near what old rebels called the Forgotten Lands.
Kael, Sora, and Nyah volunteered for the recon.
They left at dawn.
The Forgotten Lands – 13 Hours In
Trees twisted in unnatural ways. The air bent light. Compass needles spun out. Even the sun hesitated overhead.
"Time's fractured here," Sora muttered. "This entire region is one big paradox."
Kael walked with one hand on his blade. "Or a trap."
Nyah moved silently. But inside, something stirred. She felt drawn toward a pull deeper than gravity. Like something old remembered her.
They found the Mapbreaker's Ruins by nightfall—ancient structures carved with spirals and glyphs.
And one strange carving stood out:
A woman. Standing in flame. Surrounded by eyes.
Underneath: NYAHRUNE.
First Encounter – The Watchers
That night, a fog rolled in.
Eyes appeared in the mist — not glowing, not blinking. Just watching.
Sora set up shields. Kael lit the perimeter with torch-sparks. Nyah stood frozen.
The fog spoke.
Not with words. But memory.
Suddenly Nyah wasn't there anymore.
She was 6 years old, alone in the Authority Lab, drawing circles on the wall. A white-coat whispered behind her: "When she dreams of the Isle, she'll awaken the gate."
Then the fog split open.
A path appeared.
And Nyah, as if in trance, whispered: "We go now."
The Isle
They crossed over just before dawn.
The moment they stepped onto the Isle, time stopped.
No birds.
No wind.
No decay.
Only a silent sea. And eyes carved into every stone. Real ones. Watching. Blinking without lids.
Sora's scanner fried instantly. "This place isn't on any plane I know," she muttered. "It's not even here."
They reached a central temple with spiraled steps. Inside it — floating — was a throne made of memory-fabric.
Nyah stepped forward.
The Vision
As soon as her fingers grazed the throne, the world exploded in silence.
Suddenly she stood in a world of white.
Ten versions of herself surrounded her — all at different ages. One was 7. One was 22. One was an old woman.
They spoke in unison:
"You were split, not broken. You were hidden, not erased."
"You are the key to remembering what the world forgot."
A flash.
A name.
"There were twelve of you. You are the last one left."
She collapsed.
Back at the Ruins
Kael caught her as she dropped. Her nose bled. Her eyes glowed faintly for a moment before returning to normal.
Sora placed her hand on Nyah's forehead. "Her readings are impossible. She's no longer just human."
Nyah opened her mouth.
Her voice was layered. Two voices speaking at once.
"They erased the others. But I remember now."
Kael stared at her. "Who?"
Nyah looked up slowly.
"The Originals. The first generation. I was never supposed to survive."
Final Scene – Authority Command Center
High above, in a tower of steel and glass, an Authority Director watched the readings from the Isle spike on a red-screen terminal.
"She made contact," he said calmly.
A masked woman behind him nodded. "So what now?"
He smiled coldly.
"Now… we activate The Hollowborn Protocol."
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN