Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women

Jude's stomach twisted at the implication. "You're saying it can be killed?"

Another pause. "Not in the way you understand."

Jude exhaled sharply through his nose. He had fought monsters before, had battled foes who seemed invincible. But there had always been a way. A weakness, a flaw to exploit.

This was different.

Lyara crossed her arms. "If it can't be killed, then what are we supposed to do?"

The figure's silver eyes flickered with something unreadable. "You will need to seal it away again. But to do that, you will need the key."

Jude's brows furrowed. "What key?"

The answer was quiet, almost a whisper. "Me."

A cold silence filled the air.

Jude's mind raced. The implications of that single word sent a chill down his spine.

"You're saying… you're the key to sealing it away?" Lyara asked, suspicion lacing her voice.

The figure nodded once. "I was there when it was first locked away. I was part of the binding. And now, I am the only one who can do it again."

Jude narrowed his eyes. "Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be dealing with it instead of talking to us?"

A flicker of something, pain, regret, passed across the figure's face. "Because I can't do it alone."

Jude's instincts screamed at him to be cautious. This was too much, too fast.

But deep down, he already knew what his answer would be.

He had never been the kind of person to turn away from a fight. Not when it mattered. Not when the stakes were this high.

And this time, the stakes were higher than they had ever been.

He turned to Lyara. "What do you think?"

She let out a slow breath, studying the figure with wary eyes. Then, finally, she nodded. "We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

No, they didn't.

Jude turned back to the figure. "Then tell us what we need to do."

The figure exhaled softly, as if they had been holding their breath. "Then we begin."

The air in the chamber seemed to shift. The weight of the moment settled onto Jude's shoulders, heavier than anything he had carried before. But there was no turning back now.

The storm was coming. And they would either face it together… or be swept away.

Jude exhaled slowly, trying to process everything. The weight of the revelation pressed on him like an unseen force, but there was no room for doubt. If the balance was truly broken, if an ancient being was waking up, then hesitation would only lead to destruction. Lyara stood beside him, her fingers twitching near her blade. Her wariness was justified. Trust wasn't something given freely, especially not to someone who had already defied death. But there was no denying the truth in their words.

The figure, the key, watched them with a patience that made Jude uneasy. It wasn't the kind of patience one found in mortals. It was something deeper, older, like a river that had been flowing long before anyone had learned to name it. "We don't have time to waste," they said, their voice steady. "Every moment that passes, the seal weakens further. Once it breaks completely, there will be no stopping it."

Jude exchanged a glance with Lyara. He saw the same thing reflected in her eyes, a quiet understanding, a readiness for what lay ahead. He gave a small nod. "Then tell us what we need to do."

The figure took a step forward, their presence seeming to shift the very air around them. "There are three anchors holding the seal in place. Each one must be reinforced before the final binding can be completed. If even one fails, the entire structure collapses."

Jude frowned. "Where are these anchors?"

The figure's gaze darkened. "Scattered across the land. One rests within the heart of the old ruins beyond the northern mountains. Another lies beneath the waters of the sunken city. The third…" They hesitated, just for a moment. "The third is hidden in a place lost to time. A place that should not exist."

Lyara's expression hardened. "That's not exactly helpful."

The figure's lips curled slightly, almost amused. "It was hidden for a reason."

Jude ran a hand through his hair, already feeling the weight of what lay ahead. Traversing the mountains was difficult enough, but the sunken city? That was something else entirely. And a place that should not exist? He didn't even know where to start with that. "And you're sure reinforcing the anchors will be enough?"

"No." The answer was blunt, devoid of reassurance. "It will give us a chance. Nothing more."

Jude sighed. "Of course. Nothing's ever easy."

Lyara rolled her shoulders, adjusting the strap of her blade. "Then we start with the closest one. The northern mountains."

The figure nodded. "A wise choice. But be warned, the path is not as it once was. The corruption has already begun to spread."

Jude tensed. "Corruption?"

"The influence of what lies beneath," they murmured. "It seeps into the land, twisting it, reshaping it in its image. The longer it remains unchecked, the more the world will change."

A chill ran down Jude's spine. He had seen signs of it already. The unnatural shifts in the weather, the way the forests seemed quieter, the way even the animals had begun acting strangely. He hadn't wanted to acknowledge it, but now, there was no denying it.

Lyara's grip tightened on her blade. "Then we don't waste any more time."

Jude nodded, his resolve hardening. "Let's move."

The figure stepped back, watching as they prepared. "I will meet you there."

Before either of them could respond, the figure vanished, dissolving into the air like mist.

Jude let out a slow breath. "I really hate when people do that."

Lyara smirked faintly. "At least we don't have to babysit them on the way."

He huffed a quiet laugh, then turned toward the path ahead. The northern mountains awaited.

They set off before dawn, moving swiftly through the dense forests that lay between them and the distant peaks. The trees stretched high above, their branches forming a thick canopy that allowed only slivers of sunlight to filter through. The ground was damp from the recent rain, the air heavy with the scent of earth and moss.