Darkness.
Silence.
Then—breath.
Ethan opened his eyes for the first time in what felt like eternity.
Cold air filled his lungs, sharp and metallic.
A faint ticking echoed in the chamber around him.
With a hiss, the capsule door slid open.
Blinding white light spilled out, revealing a vast underground hall lined with rows upon rows of pods.
Some were open.
Some remained sealed.
And some… would never open again.
Ethan staggered out, his legs heavy, his mind hazy.
In his pocket, a small survival kit:
a sharp knife, a fire starter, a small binocular, and a black suit resistant to heat and cold.
Voices broke the silence.
Groans. Shouts. Questions in dozens of tongues—English, French, Spanish, Arabic.
He counted quickly.
Seventy-eight capsules had opened.
Forty-two men.
Thirty-six women.
First Encounters
A towering figure stepped forward. Nearly two meters tall, muscles bulging beneath the black uniform.
He beat his chest and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice:
"My name… is Mukonda."
The hesitation in his tone did not escape Ethan's sharp eyes.
There was something hidden there.
A moment later, Mukonda snapped.
When another survivor brushed against his gear, he exploded—grabbing the man by the collar, nearly crushing him.
It took two others to pull him away.
His strength was terrifying, his anger worse.
Then, another voice—calm, steady.
A young woman walked out, hair black with a faint blue sheen, gray eyes like cold steel.
"My name is Anna."
She didn't raise her voice, yet all eyes turned to her.
Her beauty was striking, almost unnatural, but it was the sharpness in her gaze that silenced the chaos.
Ethan said nothing. He simply observed.
He already knew—strength alone would not keep them alive.
The Message
A flicker lit the far wall.
A massive screen sparked to life, barely functioning.
Static. Distortion. Then—
a man in a white coat appeared, half his face blurred by digital noise.
"If… you are hearing this… then humanity… is not yet lost.
Each chamber holds one hundred… You are the future…
The world outside has changed… Do not… return to the cities…
You are… groups… scattered… You will find the others… if… there is still time…"
The screen died.
Silence swallowed the hall.
Someone tried to reboot the machine—useless.
Ethan closed his eyes, muttering under his breath:
"…We're not alone."
Watching Eyes
Among the confused survivors, a few stood out.
They did not panic.
They did not shout.
They watched.
Too calm.
Too natural.
Ethan noticed them in the corner of his vision, but said nothing.
He had bigger questions burning in his mind.
End of the Chapter
In the cold chamber, three figures stood together for the first time:
Ethan, with steady eyes.
Anna, with her razor-sharp gaze.
Mukonda, with his brute strength and untamed rage.
Different. Yet bound by the same fate.
And then—
A scream echoed from the far steel doors.
The sound of something… waiting.