The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 263: Ch 262: No Skills for You- Part 2

Selene dragged herself back to her room, footsteps uneven.

Her hands trembled at her sides. Her breath hitched in shallow bursts she couldn’t quite control.

Every inch of her body ached—not from injury, but exhaustion. The kind that dug deep into her bones and stayed there.

She closed the door behind her and stumbled toward the edge of the bed. Her knees gave out, and she sank down, elbows resting on her thighs as she buried her face in her hands.

The voice returned.

[You could’ve ended that so much faster.]

She said nothing.

[You’re wasting time. You refuse my help, but you want to survive. Why pretend like your pride matters?]

"Shut up," she whispered, pressing her palms harder against her forehead.

"Just... shut up."

The voice went quiet.

For a moment.

Then silence truly followed.

Too much silence.

Selene lowered her hands slowly, blinking into the dim room. Something felt off.

he air had shifted—thickened. Pressing in on her from all directions.

Her breath stilled.

That’s when she noticed it—someone else was in the room.

She hadn’t heard footsteps, hadn’t sensed a thing. But she felt it.

A weight. Like gravity had grown stronger.

Her eyes lifted slowly.

He was sitting beside her.

Or at least, something was.

A figure cloaked in swirling black smoke, its form hard to distinguish.

It didn’t look like a person so much as an outline of one—humanoid, yes, but featureless.

An absence of identity wrapped in shadow.

Yet the pressure that came from it wasn’t hostile. If anything, it felt... isolating.

Like the world had decided to give them space.

Selene looked around and realized the guards who usually loitered nearby were gone.

No voices echoed in the hallway. No footsteps passed her door. No presence lingered in her mind—not even the voice.

Everyone was pretending she didn’t exist.

Like they couldn’t even see her.

She glanced at the figure beside her.

"Did you... do this?"

The entity didn’t move. But the air shifted in acknowledgment.

Selene hesitated. She had a thousand questions, but only one came out.

"Do you... want something from me?"

The figure turned slightly. She still couldn’t see a face, but somehow she knew he was studying her. Curious. Watching.

Then, the distorted voice came.

"Outsider..."

It was almost mechanical. Layered.

Like a thousand voices were trying to speak at once but couldn’t agree on how to say the words. She had to focus hard just to understand the fragments.

"You are... not of this world."

Selene nodded slowly.

"You’re not the first to notice."

The entity tilted its head.

"Are you... here to free us?"

That made her pause.

"Free you from what?"

The entity didn’t answer immediately.

Its form shimmered slightly—like it was glitching out of sync with the world around them.

Selene reached out on instinct, as if touching it would somehow stabilize the interaction.

She barely lifted her hand before the entire room shook.

Hard.

The air turned hostile.

A low hum filled her ears like the static buzz of interference. Something in the world itself screamed no.

Then—

[Don’t speak.]

The voice in her head was back, urgent and sharp. Her jaw locked against her will.

Selene’s breath caught.

She wanted to say something, to ask questions, to understand—but her mouth wouldn’t move.

Her body was no longer hers. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms, trying to resist.

The entity turned toward her again.

And somehow—it understood.

It didn’t seem surprised.

"You are... already compromised."

Its words drifted to her like they were being spoken underwater.

"You are not alone in your mind."

Selene’s heart skipped a beat.

The entity leaned closer.

[Be careful. The thing influencing you... is not on your side.]

Selene felt like she was sinking.

Every word the entity said pulled her deeper into confusion. None of it made sense. And yet—her gut told her it was telling the truth.

The world felt warped.

Bent.

Nothing she saw or heard was entirely real anymore. She didn’t know who to trust—including herself.

The entity paused.

Then, gently, it placed a hand on her shoulder.

It was the only clear thing in all that smoke—its hand. A human hand. Pale skin. Scarred knuckles. Warmth seeped through the contact.

Selene’s eyes widened.

"You’re—"

She tried to say.

But the words never formed.

In the space of a blink, the figure was gone.

The pressure lifted. The silence scattered.

She was alone again.

Her shoulder still burned faintly where he’d touched her.

The guards were back outside her door. She could hear them again. Talking. Shifting in place. Acting like nothing had happened.

The voice in her head was silent.

Selene stood slowly, heart racing in her chest.

Something inside this dungeon was very wrong. And whoever that being was—he was the only one who hadn’t tried to use her.

Not yet.

She pressed a hand to her shoulder, remembering the feeling of warmth. The clarity.

______

Ethan and the others gathered around the bound attacker, eyes sharp with suspicion.

The soldier stirred, groaning as he regained consciousness. His gaze snapped to Ethan first, then darted to the rest of the group.

"You’ll regret this. You don’t know what you’ve done."

He hissed, voice hoarse but steady.

Before anyone else could speak, Zara stepped forward and crouched beside him.

"Save it. If your life means anything to you, you’re going to guide us out of this forest. Now."

She snapped.

The man glared at her but didn’t argue.

Ethan watched him closely, noting the tension in the man’s jaw and the way his eyes flicked around—calculating, planning.

Orion stood behind him silently, arms crossed and ready to act if needed.

Nora kept her hand on her weapon. Noah just rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed.

"I’d move fast if I were you. Because I’m not nearly as patient as the rest of them."

Zara added coldly.

The soldier looked at Ethan again, then at the forest behind them. After a long pause, he finally gave a short nod.

"Fine!"