Read Novel Full Chapter 370: Unconscious
Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Unconscious
"We all evolved from the same ancestors," Ivy murmured, voice low as she pressed her fingers against her temple.
The room felt unusually warm, the air thick with tension.
"To say two humans share only five percent genetic similarity is... almost impossible. That number is too low. Something’s wrong."
Bella blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? Ivy... what are you trying to say?"
Ivy battled with her thoughts for a moment before answering.
"When my family first realized who I was, they tried confirming it with a blood comparison. Their match with me was also just five percent. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But now..." Ivy exhaled shakily.
"Now I can’t ignore how strange the entire situation is."
Bella froze completely.
Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. For years she had believed her abilities... her fast healing, her high pain tolerance, and her resilience were blessings given by fate so she could survive hardship.
She had never questioned it. Not even once.
But Ivy’s words cracked something deep inside her.
"I always thought I was just... lucky," Bella whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
"Only five percent match with my family... I thought maybe I was adopted. Or a miracle child. Or something else. But now... hearing you say your match was also five percent..."
She lifted her gaze slowly. "Ivy... were either of your parents researchers?"
"Yes," Ivy replied, surprise flitting across her expression. "Both."
Bella’s breath hitched. Tears welled faintly at the corner of her eyes.
"Then that’s... that’s a coincidence. Because my parents were researchers too."
A cold shiver swept through Ivy’s spine.
Too many coincidences. This isn’t normal. Something is definitely wrong.
She took a slow breath and placed a hand on Bella’s arm.
"Bella, something about us... about both of our pasts, is incredibly suspicious. I’ll confirm it with my parents. But for now, you need to be careful. Don’t mention this to anyone. Not a single soul. There’s a chance you might be hunted by certain people... strange people."
Bella’s brows knitted. "What kind of people? Ivy, what are you talking about?"
"I can’t explain yet," Ivy whispered, though she looked confused too, as if she couldn’t believe that she was the one who was saying it.
"Just... stay safe. Please."
Bella looked at her, uncertainty shading her features.
Then her lips trembled slightly before she confessed,
"I don’t know why... but I keep feeling like I need to stay close to you."
Ivy blinked. "Close to me?"
Bella blushed faintly.
"It may sound strange. I swear I’m not trying to make things awkward. But from the moment I first saw you, I felt this... pull. Like I’m somehow connected to you. Like I’m supposed to protect you... or follow you."
Ivy’s breath momentarily halted. She studied Bella carefully.
"It doesn’t feel strange. I... don’t feel the same instinct, but I can’t deny that I’m more comfortable with you than I should be. I’ve told you things I’ve never told anyone else."
Her voice faltered. ’Why do I drop my guard around Bella so easily?’
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
"There’s something I’m forgetting... something important."
As soon as the thought surfaced, her vision warped.
The world tilted.
Colors collapsed inward, and suddenly Ivy was standing somewhere entirely different.
A sharp, sterile breeze swept against her skin... clean, artificial, almost metallic.
The city around her was breathtakingly advanced, far beyond anything humanity had achieved before the apocalypse.
Towering structures with shimmering surfaces rose around her. The sky above was the wrong color... too clear, too vast. And...
Two moons hung above her head.
Her breath caught. "Where am I...?"
She took a step forward. The ground beneath her feet felt unnaturally smooth, humming faintly like flowing energy.
There were no people at first, only silence. Then she heard the faint laughter of children.
She turned sharply.
In the distance, a few young kids played in a glowing courtyard.
Their faces remained blurred and indistinct, as if she wasn’t allowed to see them. A lump formed in her throat.
’What is happening to me?’
A sudden flash of light flickered from a massive billboard overhead. Ivy’s eyes snapped toward it.
Her mind went blank.
Her own photograph filled the screen.
A news anchor spoke urgently, though Ivy couldn’t see her face. She only saw the subtitle appearing in bold letters across the bottom of the screen:
THE PRINCESS HAS BEEN FOUND.
A jolt slammed into her, like someone pushing her with tremendous force. Her knees buckled.
Her eyes flew open.
Air rushed into her lungs in sharp, painful gasps. Her skin felt clammy, her heart hammering erratically as if trying to escape her chest.
Voices echoed around her.
"Ivy!"
"Get her some water!"
"Don’t crowd her!"
Shapes blurred, then sharpened.
Her vision steadied enough for her to see Silas, Kael, Felix, Ember, and even Jay leaning over her with panic etched into their expressions.
Her mouth trembled. Fear clung to her like a shadow.
Her eyes met Silas’s, and something inside her snapped.
She lurched forward and threw herself into his arms.
Silas stiffened for a second, startled by the sudden intensity.
But instinct took over and he immediately wrapped both arms around her, pulling her tightly against him.
His hand rubbed her back in soothing circles.
"I’m here," he murmured softly, voice trembling despite his composed tone.
"You don’t need to be scared. I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you."
His warmth seeped into her skin, grounding her. Calming her.
He sat down with her still clinging to him and placed her gently on his lap, rocking her slightly, ignoring everyone else in the room.
Because to him... no one else existed.
Silas was furious. Terrified.
When he heard that Ivy had fainted, he nearly destroyed half the Nightbane household in his rage.
He blamed them for neglect. He blamed himself too. For letting her work too hard. For letting her starve herself without noticing.
She was thinner than she had been five days ago, her skin pale, her cheeks hollow.
Five days. She had been unconscious for five days.