The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 274: Ch 273: Breaking Free - Part 3

Prince Atticus felt the shift in the air, the sudden disturbance that made the dungeon tremble ever so slightly—but he didn’t flinch. He stood tall, his voice calm.

"You think I’m afraid of whatever you’ve brought with you? This dungeon is under my command. There is nothing you can do here that I will not be able to counter."

The young prince was a picture of arrogance and annoyance. He stood still, and his eyes looked at the pair in front of him with caution and certainty.

Darkness rose from the ground, forming twisted, blobby shapes that took on the vague form of humans. Dozens of them.

They hissed and groaned as they charged at Selene and Ethan.

Ethan didn’t wait—he summoned flames to his hands and sent out a wave of heat, incinerating several of the creatures before they could get too close.

"Selene, stay calm. Don’t do anything you’ll regret. You should allow me to take care of this situation."

He said, panting. Ethan did not want Selene to use her powers anymore than she had to. Especially in her current state where he had no idea what happened to her.

But Selene didn’t even look at him. Her hand rose into the air, fingers loose, and she waved—just once.

The darkness vanished. Gone in an instant. A gust of wind followed the action, as though the blobs had never existed.

Atticus’s eyes widened.

"What... what did you do? What the hell did you do to my people and my powers?"

"Nothing worth explaining to you."

Selene replied, her voice carrying across the quiet clearing.

The prince narrowed his gaze.

"Don’t think this is over. I’ve still got plenty of tricks left."

His voice was edged with anger now.

His spear appeared in his hand as if pulled from thin air. He pointed it at Selene’s heart.

But she wasn’t fazed.

She snapped her fingers.

The ground vibrated, the air warped, and the very dungeon around them began to shift.

Ethan gasped as he felt the dungeon’s energy start to bend—not toward Atticus anymore, but around Selene. As if she was now its anchor.

"What... what are you doing?"

Atticus took a shaky step back, struggling to hold onto his weapon as the dungeon rejected him.

"Stop this!"

"It’s not your dungeon anymore. You were just a placeholder."

Selene said, stepping forward.

Atticus growled.

"You think you can just come in and—"

He was cut off as glowing chains rose from the floor and formed a seal around him, locking his limbs in place.

"Let me go!"

He shouted, but it was useless. The chains didn’t even budge.

He stared at her, his expression turning to fear.

"You’re not her... Who are you?"

"A puppet doesn’t need to understand the hand that pulls its strings."

Selene said, smiling—darkly, cruelly.

The entire dungeon began to collapse and rebuild. Walls shifted. The floor groaned. Magic twisted and reformed, responding to Selene like a heartbeat responding to its master.

Ethan stumbled slightly, watching the transformation.

"Selene... what are you doing?"

Selene said nothing. She walked toward Atticus, slow and deliberate. When she reached him, she raised her hand and placed it gently on his shoulder.

Atticus thrashed, but it was no use.

"Goodbye, little prince."

She whispered.

Her fingers dug into his chest, and with a clean pull, she yanked out his glowing core.

"No! Don’t you dare—Selene, don’t!"

Ethan shouted, lunging forward.

But she looked at him, eyes glowing with unfamiliar power. And she swallowed the core whole.

The energy rippled out of her, slamming into Ethan like a wave. He fell to one knee, struggling to breathe through the sudden surge of oppressive magic.

"Selene..."

He whispered.

She turned her head toward him.

Her eyes were different now—dark, endless, inhuman.

"This body is not like the things you know. It adapts. It consumes. And it grows."

She said slowly.

Ethan stood shakily, clenching his fists.

"Get out of her."

"I’m afraid not. She asked me to help. And I intend to help as much as I want to."

Selene said with a mock pout.

"She didn’t ask for this! You’re twisting everything!"

"Don’t act like you wouldn’t do the same in my place."

Ethan’s rage boiled. He couldn’t tell where Selene ended and the entity began—but it didn’t matter anymore.

She was losing herself, and if no one stopped it, she might be gone for good.

"Fine. If you won’t come out... I’ll knock you out."

He growled.

Selene raised an eyebrow, the smile never leaving her lips.

"Try it. I’ve always wanted to see how strong you really are, Ethan."

And then the space between them cracked with tension as they stared each other down—Ethan, desperate to bring her back, and Selene, cloaked in a power that wasn’t hers... but had never felt more at home.

Ethan stood frozen for a second too long—and that was all the time Selene needed.

A blast of energy came his way, and he barely rolled out of the way in time.

Chunks of shattered stone flew past his face. He gritted his teeth and summoned a shield of flame around himself, steadying his breathing.

He could see her—no, it—standing in the center of the room, her body loose and graceful, her eyes gleaming with otherworldly power. His stomach twisted.

"I can’t hurt her. Not like this..."

He muttered to himself.

But the entity inside her didn’t share his hesitation. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Selene’s body lifted her arm, and the ground cracked beneath Ethan’s feet.

Debris, metal, and even parts of the ceiling flew at him like thrown daggers, each more precise than the last.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "What do you want from her?!"

The entity giggled, a high, airy sound that came from Selene’s lips but didn’t belong to her.

"I want her to grow. To unlock all the power inside her. To become something no one else can control."

It said cheerfully.

"Isn’t that what you want too, Ethan? For her to be free?"

Ethan’s grip on his blade tightened.

"I want her back."