The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse-Chapter 285: Ch 284: A Place to go back to - Part 2

The morning sun had barely risen when Selene stepped outside, her eyes shadowed with determination.

She moved quietly through the hallway, careful not to wake anyone, but just as her hand reached for the doorknob, a soft cough stopped her in her tracks.

Zara stood nearby, her figure leaning against the wall.

Her complexion was pale—too pale.

Her skin, once full of warmth and defiance, looked ashen now, and her eyes carried a weight Selene hadn’t noticed the day before.

Selene blinked, her steps halting.

"Zara? Are you okay?"

Zara offered a weak smile.

"Yeah. Just feeling a little off lately. Probably just fatigue. Nothing worth worrying about."

But Selene didn’t believe it. Not when Zara looked like she might collapse right there. And not when the voice in her head growled low in warning.

[She’s lying. Her body is collapsing. She’s not fine. If she meets Madam Verta, she won’t survive. She will be offered. Sacrificed.]

The voice hissed.

Selene clenched her jaw, her gaze never leaving Zara’s face.

"Listen... I don’t know what you’re dealing with, but stay away from Madam Verta."

Zara blinked, caught off guard.

"What?"

"I’m serious. If she contacts you, don’t go. Just—trust me on this. I have a bad feeling. A really bad one."

Selene said. "

For a moment, something flickered in Zara’s eyes. Surprise? Doubt? Maybe guilt.

But she covered it quickly.

"Alright. I’ll be careful. Thanks for worrying."

She said, brushing off her pants and straightening up.

Selene hesitated a moment longer before giving a reluctant nod and stepping outside, the door clicking shut behind her.

But even as she left, unease knotted tighter in her gut.

Zara stood still for several long seconds, the false smile slowly slipping from her face.

Her hand trembled slightly as she pulled her phone from her pocket and looked down at the flashing notification.

[Madam Verta – One message: Come if you want to live.]

Zara exhaled shakily, staring at the screen like it held her final judgment.

Her chest ached—both physically and emotionally—and Selene’s warning replayed over and over in her mind.

But she felt cornered.

Trapped in a body that was failing her, in a future already written in blood.

With a trembling hand, she opened the message.

’The choice is yours, Zara. But time is running out.’

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall.

"Sorry, Selene. But I don’t want to die."

She whispered.

And with that, she gathered what little strength she had left and walked out, heading toward a fate she wasn’t sure she could escape.

Zara pulled her hood tighter over her head as she moved quickly through the winding alleys, trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing.

Her chest felt heavy and her legs weaker than usual, but she pushed through it.

The memory of Selene’s warning echoed in her mind, but so did the growing fear inside her. She didn’t want to die—not like this, not so helplessly.

She arrived at the secluded building Madam Verta had instructed her to come to.

It was quiet, cloaked in shadow and mystery.

Madam Verta stood waiting at the entrance, her posture as regal as ever. Isabelle Thorne leaned lazily against the wall beside her, smirking like she already knew how things would play out.

"You made the right decision. This is the only way for you to continue living... unharmed."

Madam Verta said softly as Zara approached.

Zara hesitated.

"What is the treatment?"

"A formula. It will stabilize your collapsing body. All you have to do is drink it."

Verta said, producing a vial filled with a glowing blue liquid.

Zara stared at the vial, her fingers trembling as she took it. Her instincts screamed at her not to trust it.

Not to trust her.

But the thought of death creeping closer by the day made her hesitate.

She brought the vial to her lips—

—and it froze solid.

A second later, it shattered, shards of frozen glass and blue crystal scattering across the ground.

"What the hell?"

Isabelle hissed.

Zara turned in shock to see Noah stepping out of the shadows, his hand still raised.

"Don’t drink that. I’ve seen that liquid before. In Dr. Aldric’s lab. It’s a stimulant. A poison. It forces a ranker’s core to overcharge—then they explode."

He said.

Zara’s heart dropped.

"Is that true?"

She demanded, rounding on Madam Verta.

Madam Verta’s expression remained calm, but her silence was telling.

"I trusted you! You said this would save me!"

Zara snapped, throwing the broken vial to the ground.

"It would have prolonged your life. The side effects are a small price to pay—"

Madam Verta said coolly.

"You were going to kill her. Just like the others."

Noah interrupted, stepping between Zara and the two older women.

Isabelle’s smirk returned as she moved forward.

"I don’t know who you think you are, kid, but you’re punching way out of your weight class. I’m rank #8. You? You’re still in the triple digits."

Noah tilted his head, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"You might want to check that again."

Isabelle narrowed her eyes and flicked her hand, pulling up the rankings list on her device. She scanned the screen—

—and her smirk vanished.

Zara saw her eyes widen.

"You’re in the 30s now?"

Isabelle muttered, her voice cracking slightly.

"Guess I’ve been busy. You’ve been slacking. I haven’t."

Noah said with a shrug, though his eyes were anything but casual now.

Madam Verta stepped back slightly, reassessing the situation.

Zara stared at Noah, overwhelmed with relief.

He had followed her—saved her—and now stood like a shield between her and the women who would have used her. Her body still trembled, but her mind had finally cleared.

"Looks like I still have a place to go back to. The kids came for me, so I will be rejecting your offer and heading back with them. I wish you good luck in finding someone else other than me for your plans."