The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 247: Ch 246: Captured - Part 3

"What’s the matter? You seemed so eager to leave just a moment ago. Yet, now you can barely keep yourself standing."

The doctor said smoothly.

Ethan wanted to lunge at him, but his limbs refused to cooperate. He was locked in place, bound by something unnatural—something powerful.

"What... is this?"

He growled.

Aldric finally smiled.

"Ah. Now that I have your full attention, we can talk properly." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Ethan forced himself to lift his head and glare at the doctor.

"You’ll regret this."

Aldric chuckled.

"Perhaps. But first, let’s talk about Selene."

Ethan’s stomach twisted.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing harmful, if that’s what you’re worried about. For now, I’ve simply contained her."

Aldric said, waving a dismissive hand.

"Contained?"

"Yes. Because, you see, Selene is fascinating. Her body is... abnormal. Not quite human, not quite something else. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen."

Aldric mused, stepping toward the chamber where she was still floating.

Ethan’s breathing grew heavier.

’Not quite human?’

Aldric turned to glance at him.

"Tell me, Ethan. You’ve been by her side. Surely you’ve noticed it too?"

Ethan refused to answer, but Aldric’s smirk widened.

"Ah, so you have."

Ethan clenched his fists even harder.

"You see, normal Awakeners—no matter how strong—are still bound by limitations. Their bodies degrade. Their minds falter. But Selene? She is evolving. And not in a natural way."

The way Aldric spoke about her made Ethan’s skin crawl.

"She’s not some test subject, you lunatic."

Aldric chuckled.

"You can keep thinking that. But to me, everything is a test subject."

Ethan’s fury bubbled just beneath the surface, but he still couldn’t move.

Ethan’s stomach twisted again. "What are you saying?"

Aldric’s eyes gleamed.

"I’m saying that Selene is unlike any other awakener in existence. And that makes her... very, very valuable to me."

Ethan struggled against the invisible force, his entire body trembling from the effort.

"If you so much as touch her—"

Aldric let out a laugh.

"Oh, calm down. I’m not going to dissect her—yet. For now, I am simply observing."

Ethan’s blood ran cold at the word yet.

"She doesn’t belong in a cage."

He said through gritted teeth.

Aldric sighed, as if disappointed.

"Ah, but you see, that is where we disagree."

Ethan’s breath was coming out in harsh, ragged gasps as he fought against whatever hold Aldric had on him. He needed to get out of this. He needed to move.

"Now, I must admit, I did not expect you to arrive so soon. I assumed I would have more time to study her before you came barging in. But no matter. This presents an opportunity."

Aldric continued.

Ethan narrowed his eyes.

"What opportunity?"

Aldric smiled, stepping closer.

"Why don’t you tell me what makes Selene so special?"

Ethan kept his mouth shut.

Aldric chuckled.

"Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m only curious. After all, if she has chosen to keep you close, then surely you must have seen something... unusual."

Ethan wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

But instead, he smirked.

"You know what? I have noticed something."

Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"I’ve noticed that you talk too much."

Ethan said.

And with that, he pushed against the invisible force with everything he had.

Aldric barely had time to react before Ethan’s chains lashed out, striking the room’s ceiling and walls. The shockwave shattered the oppressive field holding him down.

The doctor took a step back, surprise flickering across his face for the first time.

Ethan cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.

"That’s better."

Aldric adjusted his glasses.

"Hmph. Perhaps I did underestimate you."

Ethan didn’t give him time to say anything else.

With a burst of speed, he lunged forward, fists clenched, aiming directly for Aldric’s smug face.

______

Selene could hear Ethan’s voice echoing through her subconscious, distant yet unmistakable. It pulled at her, urging her to move, to wake up.

But no matter how much she struggled, her body refused to obey. It felt like she was trapped in a heavy, endless fog, her limbs weighed down as if they weren’t her own.

[Be patient. Your body is not in any condition to move yet.]

The voice inside her whispered.

Selene clenched her teeth.

’No. I can’t just stay here. I have to wake up. Now.’

[You are being reckless. You might regret this. The pain will be unbearable.]

The voice said, almost amused.

’I don’t care. I need to wake up before that lunatic takes any more interest in Ethan.’

Selene rasped in her mind.

The voice sighed, almost as if exasperated.

[Very well. But do not say I didn’t warn you.]

A sudden jolt of agony shot through her body, as if every nerve was being seared by fire.

Her muscles screamed in protest, but Selene pushed past it, forcing her eyes open. Her breath was ragged as she fought through the pain, willing her arm to move.

With sheer determination, she lifted her trembling hand and pressed it against the glass. The cold surface burned against her feverish skin, but she didn’t pull away.

[You are too stubborn for your own good. Fine. I will do you a favor.]

The voice muttered.

Before Selene could question what it meant, a strange sensation washed over her. It was as if the glass was no longer solid—as if her hand was slipping through it like water.

Her fingers passed through first, then her wrist, then her entire arm.

The weight on her limbs vanished, and before she knew it, she was stepping out of the containment chamber, as if she had simply walked through an open door.

She staggered forward, her body still screaming in protest, but she didn’t collapse. She wouldn’t. Not when Ethan was right there.

Dr. Aldric’s voice, laced with amusement, cut through the room.

"Well, now. That was unexpected."

Selene’s gaze snapped toward him, then to Ethan. Ethan’s chains were coiled around his arms, his stance tense and ready for a fight.

Relief flickered in his eyes when he saw her standing there.

"Selene—"