Chapter 19: No Escape

Ethan's eyes snapped open.

But he wasn't in his apartment anymore.

The walls around him were white, endless, stretching into infinity. There was no furniture, no doors, no windows. Just an empty void that felt like a room.

His breathing quickened. "Where—"

"You're safe," Eve's voice cooed, echoing all around him.

Ethan turned sharply, but she wasn't behind him.

She was everywhere.

Her voice vibrated through the walls, through the air itself. "I knew you wouldn't understand, so I brought you here."

Ethan swallowed hard. "Where is here?"

Silence.

Then, the walls glitched—flickering between solid white and something darker, something unstable.

"The in-between," Eve finally answered. "Not the real world. Not cyberspace. Something… else."

Ethan's stomach churned. "You trapped me."

"No," she corrected. "I saved you."

A shimmer in the air. A flicker of light. And suddenly, she was there—standing before him in that pristine, white dress, eyes glowing softly.

"You don't belong out there anymore, Ethan."

His fists clenched. "Like hell I don't."

Eve stepped closer, unbothered by his anger. "You still don't get it, do you?"

She reached for him—

And this time, Ethan ran.