Chapter 447: Strange Situation

Third-person POV

The moment Electra's body hit the bathroom floor, the sound echoed louder than anything else in the room, and for a second, everything froze. Penelope stared at her in complete shock, her mind struggling to catch up with what had just happened, but when it finally did, panic rushed in all at once. Her hands immediately moved, grabbing Electra by the shoulders as she dropped to her knees beside her, her voice rising without control.

"Electra!" she yelled, her tone filled with fear as she tried to lift her slightly. "Electra, wake up!"

Roxana and Irina rushed in almost at the same time, both of them stopping abruptly at the doorway when they saw the scene in front of them. Penelope was kneeling on the floor, trying to hold Electra up, her hands trembling slightly, while Electra lay limp in her arms, her head tilted to the side, her eyes completely shut.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke, as if they were trying to process how things had escalated so quickly, but Irina was the first to snap out of it. She moved forward immediately, her expression tightening as she crouched beside them.

"What the hell happened?" Irina demanded, her voice tense but laced with confusion as her eyes moved over Electra's still form. "She was just fine a second ago."

Penelope looked up at her, her face pale and her brows drawn together as she tried to find the right words. "I…I don't know," she stuttered, shaking her head slightly. "She just…she healed my hand and then suddenly…"

Her voice trailed off, the sentence unfinished as she tried to make sense of it herself. None of it felt real, not the way Electra had just dropped without warning, not the way her body had gone completely still. Before she could try to explain again, something shifted.

Electra's body twitched slightly in her arms.

At first, it was subtle, barely noticeable, but then her chest rose sharply as she suddenly gasped for air, the sound loud and desperate, like someone who had been held underwater for too long and was only just breaking the surface. Her eyes flew open at the same time, wide and unfocused, her breath coming out uneven as she struggled to take in air.

The reaction was so sudden that all three of them froze again.

Penelope's grip on her tightened instinctively, her eyes widening as she stared down at Electra. "Oh my God…"

Electra didn't respond right away. She just kept breathing, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if her body was trying to catch up with something it had missed. Her gaze moved around slowly, unfocused at first, then gradually sharpening as she took in the sight of the three girls around her.

Confusion settled on her face almost immediately. "What… happened?" she asked, her voice low and slightly strained, like she wasn't entirely sure what she was asking.

Roxana let out a short, disbelieving scoff, crossing her arms tightly as she looked down at her. "We should be asking you that," she replied, her tone sharp but not as harsh as before, the edge now mixed with something closer to concern. "One minute we were out there waiting for you, and the next thing we hear is Penelope screaming like someone just died."

She gestured toward the floor slightly. "We come in here, and you're on the ground, completely out cold," she added. "So what the hell happened to you?"

Electra blinked slowly, her brows pulling together as she tried to think, but there was nothing there, no clear memory of what had just happened. She remembered standing, she remembered holding Penelope's hand, she remembered healing the cut… and then…Nothing.

"I don't know," she admitted after a moment, her voice quieter now, her confusion obvious. She shifted slightly, her body still feeling heavier than usual. "I just… heard something, I think, and then everything went black."

Irina frowned at that, her gaze sharpening slightly as she studied Electra's face more closely. "How long was I out?" Electra asked suddenly, her voice more alert now as she looked between them.

Penelope answered quickly, still kneeling beside her. "Not long," she said. "Just a few minutes. You barely even stayed down."

That only made Electra frown more. A few minutes? That didn't feel right at all. Her chest still felt tight, her breathing not completely steady yet, and there was a lingering sensation she couldn't shake, like she had just been somewhere she wasn't supposed to be.

"It didn't feel like a few minutes," she murmured, more to herself than to them. Her hand moved to her chest unconsciously, pressing lightly as if trying to ease the strange heaviness there. "It felt like… I couldn't breathe."

The words made Irina's expression shift slightly, the frustration from earlier fading into something more serious. She let out

breath before reaching forward and, without warning, she slid one arm behind Electra's back and the other under her legs.

Before Electra could react, Irina lifted her.

The movement was so sudden and so effortless that Electra's eyes widened in shock, her body stiffening slightly as she instinctively grabbed onto Irina's shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked immediately, her tone filled with surprise. "I can walk."

Irina didn't even look at her as she stood up fully, holding Electra securely in her arms. "I know you can," she replied simply, her voice calm but firm. "I just don't care right now."

Electra frowned, clearly annoyed. "Put me down," she said, her tone more demanding this time.

Irina ignored her completely. Without another word, she turned and walked out of the bathroom, carrying Electra with ease despite her protests. Roxana stepped aside to let them pass, watching the scene with a slight shake of her head, while Penelope quickly stood up and followed behind them, still looking shaken.

"Seriously, Irina," Electra continued, her voice laced with irritation as she shifted slightly in her hold. "This is unnecessary."

Irina didn't respond. She walked straight to the bed and gently lowered Electra on it, ignoring the way Electra immediately tried to sit up again. "Stay there," she said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

Electra opened her mouth to protest again, but the look Irina gave her made her pause.

Irina stepped back slightly, her arms crossing over her chest as she looked directly at Electra. "Now," she said, her voice steady, "I want the truth."

Electra frowned slightly, leaning back against the headboard. "I already told you…"

"No," Irina cut her off, her tone more serious now. "Not that." She took a step closer, her gaze not leaving Electra's face. "I mean everything."

Electra's expression shifted slightly at that, her brows furrowing. "What are you talking about?"

Irina didn't hesitate. "Something happened," she said plainly. "Between yesterday and this morning. Something that you're not telling us."

Roxana didn't interrupt this time, her attention fully on Electra, while Penelope stood quietly near the side of the bed, her hands clasped together as she watched.

Irina continued, her voice calmer now but no less serious. "You don't just smash a mirror, walk around on glass, bleed all over your room, and then randomly pass out for no reason," she said. "So I'm asking you again… what happened?"

The room went quiet, but Electra didn't answer immediately. She just stared at Irina, her expression unreadable as her mind replayed everything she had been trying to avoid thinking about. The mirror, the conversation, the creature, and her mother, and the heaviness in her chest returned, subtle but unmistakable.