The Spare's Second Chance in Apocalypse
Chapter 313: Ch 312: Against a God- Part 3

Chapter 313: Ch 312: Against a God- Part 3

All across the planet, chaos reigned.

What was once Earth had now begun its descent into madness.

People—ordinary civilians, hunters, even the weak and the elderly—began to mutate. Some grew twisted limbs.

Others sprouted jagged bone armor or scales that tore through their skin. And as they changed, their eyes dimmed.

The light of humanity in them flickered out, leaving behind only vacant monsters with insatiable rage.

Entire cities vanished beneath the weight of the monsters they had once harbored.

Towers crumbled. Skies turned red. Rationality, reason, and mercy no longer belonged to this dying world.

Noah stood in the midst of it all, ice crawling up the side of his neck and shoulder. His right eye had turned completely white, and every breath he took fogged the air around him.

Still, he stood.

He had to.

Nora fought beside him, slashing down mutated forms of people she once might’ve passed in the market.

Friends, strangers, neighbors—it didn’t matter anymore. They were all monsters now.

"Noah, talk to me! Are you still—?"

"I’m fine. I’m still me."

He lied, wincing as a shard of ice cracked down his chest.

But even as he said it, he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to keep saying it.

The system had flashed the message just moments ago:

[Global Purification Initiated. All entities must evolve or perish. Embrace your new selves. Welcome the new world.]

They had no idea what "purification" truly meant—but its effects were clear.

Across the sky, the world began to fall apart.

Meanwhile, deep inside the heart of the final dungeon, Ethan was losing.

He had never held back in a fight before. Not like this. Not when the stakes were this high.

But it was Selene.

And Selene was inside that body.

The entity wearing her skin had no such restraint. It launched devastating bursts of core energy, its strikes laced with destruction and fury.

One blow sent the first Ethan skidding across the black crystal floor, coughing up blood. The second Ethan tried to flank, but a pulse of dark energy repelled him violently.

The third Ethan—the one formed from the fused soul they had once met in the false dungeon—watched carefully. Unlike the others, he wasn’t focused on the fight.

He was watching Selene’s eyes.

"She’s still in there. She’s still holding on"

He muttered.

The second Ethan grunted.

"Are you sure?"

"She is. But if we keep holding back like this, we’ll lose before we can reach her.""

The third said.

The first Ethan wiped blood from his lip.

"We can’t hurt her."

"I know. That’s why I’ll do it."

The third said.

The others turned to him in surprise.

"You’re going to fight her?"

The second asked.

"No. I’m going into her mind."

He said quietly.

The first Ethan blinked.

"You think we can reach her that way?"

"I know we can. She’s trapped. Lost. You’ve both seen what the entity can do. It buried her so deep she can’t even move. But if I can get in—really in—I can bring her back."

His gaze narrowed.

"And what about the entity?"

"That’s your job. While I’m in there, you keep it busy.""

He said with a faint smile.

There was no time to argue.

The next wave of energy came crashing down, and the three Ethans scattered.

The third one gathered his power, closed his eyes, and during the next collision—when the space around them shook from the backlash—he slipped forward, dove through the cracks in the barrier between flesh and mind, and disappeared into the storm of consciousness.

Inside the mindscape, it was quiet.

White, endless, and cold.

The third Ethan landed with a grunt, his body forming from pure will. The void around him shifted, faint whispers tickling at his ears.

Memories, regrets, fragments of dreams. They floated in the void like shattered glass.

"Selene."

He whispered.

Nothing.

He took a step forward. Then another. His footsteps echoed in the silence.

And finally—after what felt like hours—he saw her.

Selene sat in the center of the void, knees pulled to her chest, eyes hollow.

Chains of light wrapped around her body. And behind her, the silhouette of the entity loomed like a shadowy beast, watching him with glowing red eyes.

"You’re not welcome here."

It hissed.

"I’m not here for you. I’m here for her.

Ethan growled, stepping forward.

The entity bared its teeth.

"Then die here."

It lunged.

______

The chains around Selene pulsed with a cold light.

They didn’t hurt her—not physically—but they numbed her, drowned her in silence, and dulled the edges of thought. Time didn’t pass here. Or if it did, it was meaningless.

Everything felt like fog.

Distantly, she heard something—a voice, maybe. Familiar. But she was too far gone to respond.

She had tried, once.

Tried screaming. Crying. Fighting. But nothing had worked. The entity had locked her in here like a broken memory.

And then came the moment when she simply... gave up.

But something cracked in the fog now. A ripple passed through the void. Then footsteps—sharp, deliberate, echoing in the distance.

Her head twitched toward the sound, though her eyes stayed dull.

The chains shivered.

"Selene."

That voice.

Her breath caught. Slowly, she raised her head.

Standing not too far away was Ethan.

Not a memory. Not a hallucination.

The real one.

He looked older. Tired. Worn. But his eyes were the same.

Alive.

"You’re... not supposed to be here. You should leave before it sees you"

she murmured, her voice hoarse and weak.

"I’m not leaving without you. Not this time."

He said.

"You don’t understand. It’s too late. It’s already taken everything."

Selene said, her head lowering again.

Ethan stepped closer. The chains pulsed, reacting violently, but he pushed forward. For each step he took, the void trembled.

"It hasn’t taken you. That’s why I’m here."

He said.

Selene flinched. Her fingers trembled slightly.

The entity’s voice rippled across the air like a wave of thunder.

"She belongs to me now."

It emerged from the shadows behind her, monstrous and fluid, eyes burning like twin suns. Its form twisted constantly—one second a beast, the next a figure cloaked in darkness.

"You’re too late. I’ve buried her deeper than you can reach. She gave up. You saw it.""

It hissed at Ethan.

"She didn’t give up. You crushed her until she couldn’t scream anymore. But I know her. I know her strength. And you’re afraid of that, aren’t you?"

Ethan said through clenched teeth.

The entity growled, a low, inhuman sound.

"You can’t touch her in here. She’s already broken."

It said.

"Then I’ll remind her who she is."

Ethan stepped right up to Selene and dropped to one knee. She didn’t look up, but her breathing hitched.

"You remember when we first met? You were already stronger than all of us. Not just because of your power—but because you chose to carry all of it alone."

He asked softly.

Selene’s hands tightened into fists.

"You never needed saving. But we came anyway. Because you’re worth it. You’re not a monster, Selene. You’re you. And I’m not leaving this place unless it’s with you."

Ethan continued.

The entity screeched and lunged forward. Ethan stood, summoning a barrier of light to block the strike. The shockwave knocked him back several steps.

"You will not take her. This world is mine now. She chose me."

The entity spat.

Ethan coughed, but forced himself upright.

"Then let her say it."

The void trembled.

Selene’s eyes flickered.

The entity snarled, but paused.

Ethan turned to her.

"If you want this world to end, if you want all of us to disappear—say it. I’ll stop fighting. Just say it."

Silence.

The chains around Selene shuddered again.

"I..."

she whispered.

The entity loomed closer, claws twitching.

"I never asked for any of this. Not the power. Not the responsibility. I just wanted to be free."

Selene said, louder now.

"I gave you freedom! I unshackled you from weakness!"

The entity roared.

"No. You just gave me a different set of chains."

Selene said, eyes flashing with clarity.

Cracks formed around her, light pouring through.

The chains split apart.

Selene stood slowly, legs shaking but firm. Her hair lifted slightly in the current of power rising from her body.

The entity recoiled.

"No—NO!"

Ethan reached out.

"Come on."

Selene looked at him—and for the first time in what felt like forever—she smiled.

Her hand met his.

The void split open.

And the two of them were pulled into a blinding storm of light.

Back in the real world, the second Ethan staggered as a surge of energy burst from Selene’s body.

She froze mid-strike. Her eyes widened. Her fingers trembled.

The entity inside her let out a scream so sharp it shattered the stones beneath them.

"NO!"

Selene’s body shook, power flaring around her in violent pulses as if her very soul was rejecting the invasion.

And then... she opened her mouth.

"Ethan."

The voice was hers.

Weak. Barely audible.

But unmistakable.

"She’s fighting back,"

The second Ethan whispered.

"Then it’s working."

The first replied, eyes narrowing.

They stepped forward in unison.

"Let’s bring her home."