I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

The streets of Anarats were still blanketed with snow, though the townsfolk had tried to clear them since midday. Sylvia walked through the white heaps, her boots sinking up to her calves. Her movements remained steady, but the resistance was clear.

She paused, gazing down the long path ahead. The snow was piled too high; it would make the journey take far longer than she had planned.

"Hm…" her lips moved faintly, crimson eyes narrowing.

She raised her hand. A dense violet Nether Flame appeared, hissing softly like a foreign whisper. The fire wrapped around her legs up to her calves, yet her body did not burn.

When she stepped forward again, a faint ssshhh echoed. The snow around her instantly melted, vanishing into thin mist that curled in the air.

The path that had been blocked now opened, a straight trail forming with every step she took.

"This is better," Sylvia murmured.

The flame continued to sheath her legs, burning away the cold without harming her. Her footsteps left behind a wet trail that froze over again within seconds of her passing.

Some townsfolk still lingering in the streets turned, their eyes widening at the sight. None dared approach, they only whispered among themselves.

"Isn't that Lady Sylvia?"

"That flame… it doesn't burn her body…"

"She truly is different from ordinary humans…"

Sylvia paid them no mind. She kept walking, her eyes fixed on the stone tower in the distance, the branch temple of Lumielle, standing tall on the eastern hill of the city.

The journey felt silent, accompanied only by the hiss of fire and the breath of the wind. She did not hasten her steps, but each one was steady, firm, without doubt.

In her mind, Velthya's words echoed still. About the fractured nobles, her father reduced to a puppet, her vanished mother. All of it spun together, mixing with the doubt growing inside her.

Lumielle… are you truly a pure light? Or has that light already been stained by human hands?

The question haunted every step.

At last, when she reached the foot of the hill, the wind blew harder. Snow scattered, slapping against her face like a thousand needles. Yet the Nether Flame on her legs held steady, carving a path through the white.

The stone staircase to the temple awaited, half-buried in snow. Sylvia lifted her gaze as the temple tower loomed high, torches at its gates flickering under the storm.

She drew a deep breath and began to climb, one step at a time.

From afar, beyond the veil of snow, several silhouettes stirred. Their eyes tracked her, hiding among the trees.

"She truly came… to the temple," one whispered, barely audible in the wind.

Another, face shadowed by a gray hood, lowered his head. "That means the Church will soon know. We must be careful. The Zombie Queen is no ordinary foe."

The figures vanished back into the mist, leaving Sylvia to walk alone toward the temple, the place where answers and secrets awaited.

The snow-covered stairs ended at a wide courtyard. Sylvia halted, standing tall before the gates of Lumielle's temple. The structure loomed, but not in grandeur in desolation. Its stone walls were cracked, frozen moss clung wild, and many of the torches that should have burned at its corners had long gone out.

Sylvia blinked slowly, her gaze sweeping the structure. "It looks like… an abandoned temple," she murmured.

She entered without hesitation. The heavy wooden doors groaned as she pushed them, their echo rolling deep into the hollow halls.

Inside was absolute silence. No temple attendants, no guards, not even signs of life. Only rows of stone pillars stood rigid, many marred by cracks, the floor coated with a thin layer of dust.

Sylvia walked calmly, her boots clicking softly. The sound became the only proof of her presence.

At last she reached the main chamber, the prayer hall where a great statue of Lumielle stood. The statue depicted a woman with wings of light, arms open as if to embrace. But its face was faded, its surface worn with frost and scars of unknown origin.

Sylvia stared long at it, her crimson eyes narrowing. "Empty… not even the echo of prayers lingers here."

She was about to speak when soft footsteps approached.

From behind the statue, a girl emerged. Her hair was long, shimmering pale as though reflecting moonlight. Her eyes were gentle yet deep, her face relieved upon seeing Sylvia.

"At last you've come," the girl said with a faint smile. "I've been waiting for you."

Sylvia did not answer at once. Her gaze sharpened, measuring the figure. "Who are you?"

The girl bowed slightly, then lifted her face again with uncanny calm. "I… am a fragment of Lumielle. My true body is dying, hiding far beyond the reach of the gods who hunt me. So I descend here a shadow, weak, but enough to speak with you."

Sylvia remained silent, waiting.

The girl walked closer, her gown fluttering faintly though no wind stirred. "My true body is now with my friend, Ithara, the Goddess of Stars and Fate. We are in hiding, because we are unlike most of the other gods. We do not treat mortals as mere tools to harvest faith. That is why we have become enemies to those in power."

She stopped directly before Sylvia. Her pale eyes brimmed with quiet hope. "But I cannot tell you where we are hiding. The very walls can hear. That secret must remain in silence."

Sylvia's gaze narrowed. "Then why show yourself to me?"

"Because you must know one thing." The girl's voice grew firm. "You are permitted to strike the Church. Many of them are already corrupted, rotten, full of lies. Destroy them if you must. But do not harm the innocent. There are still pure souls within who know nothing of what is happening."

Sylvia lifted her chin slightly. "And you trust that I will tell the guilty from the innocent?"

The girl smiled faintly, as if with unshakable certainty. "The Goddess of Fate foresaw this. She foresaw, too, that you would come here seeking answers. The path is already laid. All you need is to walk it."

The air grew still. The torches wavered, as if touched by an unseen wind. Sylvia watched the girl's figure, expressionless, yet her eyes glimmered with deep questions.

"Fate, is it…" she muttered.

The girl began to fade. A faint glow enveloped her, her form turning translucent.

"My time is nearly gone," she said, her voice echoing as though from afar. "Remember… do not let your hatred blind you. You will know when the moment comes. And when that day arrives… the world will tremble."

Then she vanished entirely, leaving Sylvia alone in the hushed prayer hall.

Sylvia stood long, staring at the silent statue of Lumielle. Her mind brimmed with questions, yet not a flicker of emotion touched her face.

At last, she turned and walked out of the frozen temple. Each echoing step carried the weight of another burden laid upon her shoulders.

The heavy doors groaned as she pushed them open. The outside air rushed in, sharp and cold, piercing her skin though her black cloak shielded her body. She stepped out, letting the doors close slowly behind her.

The temple of Lumielle stood mute upon the hilltop, a relic abandoned, its statue and echoes of prayer long silenced. Sylvia lingered at the courtyard, her eyes sweeping the gray sky dimming toward night.

"A fragment of Lumielle…" she murmured flatly. She raised her pale hand, gazing at her fingers. "The goddess is said to be pure light… hiding, dying. This world crumbles further still."

The wind stirred, scattering snow that clung to her dark hair. Sylvia pulled her hood over her face and began descending the stone stairs. The Nether Flame had already been extinguished, but its memory lingered each step crunching into the heavy snow.

Yet she knew. From the moment she had ascended the temple stairs, something had been watching her.

The silence was too tight. The wind too often cuts off. The faint scent of breath held back by living beings. None of it escaped her undead senses.

Halfway down, she stopped. Her head remained still, only her eyes sliding toward the frozen trees swaying faintly in the wind.

"Enough hiding," she said calmly. Her voice was low, but it carried through the snow. "You've been following me since I began the climb, haven't you?"

Silence. Then, the crunch of snow footsteps is soft but deliberate. From the mist, three figures emerged. They wore gray cloaks, hoods covering their faces, leaving only faint glimmers of eyes shining in the dark.

One stepped forward, his voice deep and cold. "Undead Queen… Sylvia Hortensia."

Sylvia said nothing, crimson eyes cold as ice.

"We were ordered to observe," the hooded figure continued. "Not to strike. But your steps today… will reach the Church's ears."

Sylvia lifted her chin slightly. "Do you expect me to be afraid?"

No answer, only the wind carrying snow between them.

At last, Sylvia advanced slowly. Each step pressed the snow with a heavy crunch. "Leave. Before I change my mind. If you are only watchers, then remain shadows. But if you attempt more than that…"

Suddenly, violet Nether Flame hissed into her hand, lighting the mist with a baleful glow. "…you will become ash."

The three cloaked figures glanced at one another. For a tense moment, the air hung heavy. Then, almost as one, they withdrew. One by one, their forms blurred into the mist until only faint trails of footsteps remained.

Sylvia watched their retreat, then extinguished the flame in her hand. "The Church already knows… so quickly," she whispered.

She resumed her descent down the hill. Night was falling, swallowing the gray sky into pitch black. In the distance, the warm flicker of Anarats's torches shone, beacons against the storm's fading wrath.

Yet Sylvia knew this night was only the beginning. The words of Lumielle's fragments, the Church's spies, and secrets yet unrevealed all pointed toward one truth: a greater storm was coming.