I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl

Several days after that peaceful morning in the steaming hot spring of Persephone’s Castle, the atmosphere in the underworld slowly returned to its natural rhythm, silent and full of mystery. A cold wind carrying the distinctive scent of asphodel flowers blew gently, sweeping silver-purple petals that fell across the expanse of emerald grass.

The Main Garden of Persephone’s Castle was a masterpiece of divine landscaping. Unlike gardens in the mortal world that depended on sunlight, the flora here lived by absorbing pure underworld mana and artificial moonlight that radiated eternal silver glow. A small waterfall from a crystal spring flowed with a soothing trickle, dividing the garden into several small islands connected by white marble bridges. Here, in the epicenter of the densest spiritual energy in the entire domain of Goddess Persephone, three girls bound by soul destiny stood side by side.

Sylvia let her long black robe flutter in the wind. To her right, Alicia floated several centimeters above the ground, her form already returned to the Maiden of Spirit that radiated pure sacred silver-white light. Meanwhile, to her left, Stacia stood with half-closed eyes; the dark circles under her eyes were clear evidence of her mad dedication to dissecting thousands of ancient scrolls in the Great Library for days without rest. Stacia’s gray Grimoire floated beside her shoulder, its pages rippling gently as if also anticipating what was about to happen.

"Are you sure you want to do it here, Sylvia?" Stacia asked, her voice a little hoarse yet filled with the enthusiasm of a researcher about to witness the greatest experiment of her life. "The mana density in this garden is indeed a hundred times higher than the outer regions, but the energy fluctuations from a Tier 7 evolution will trigger extraordinary spatial anomalies. I’ve calculated that a five-hundred-meter radius from the epicenter of your evolution will experience a temporary collapse of physical laws."

Sylvia smiled faintly, her blood-red and silver eyes gazing toward the vast expanse of the garden. "Mother Persephone herself gave permission for us to use her private garden. She said the defensive formation in this garden is built from the branches of the Negative World Tree, so this place can withstand any amount of energy explosion. Besides, there is no safer place than the heart of a true Goddess’s domain."

Alicia nodded in agreement. Her silver hair swayed softly with the fluctuations of mana in the air. "In any case, when you evolve, both of us will also be pulled into the process, Sylvia. Our soul bond has already fused at a fundamental level. Once your soul core transforms and steps through the Gate of Tier 7, the capacity of our spirit vessels will also be forced to shatter and reform into something higher."

That was an absolute fact of their existence. The three of them were no longer fully separate entities. As souls that shared one primary vessel and shared destiny under the shadow of primordial death, Sylvia’s level increase was the level increase of them all.

Sylvia drew a long breath, allowing the cold underworld air to fill her lungs. She focused her mind and called the system.

’System, display evolution window.’

BZZTT!

In front of her eyes, a large holographic panel lit up brightly. Its color was no longer the usual gold-red, but a combination of dense cosmic black with golden lines that pulsed like a beating heart.

[Evolution Requirements Fulfilled: Level 400 (Maximum for Tier 6)]

[Physical Body Status: Optimal (100%)]

[Soul Core Status: Three Souls in Harmony (Optimal)]

[Detecting Bloodline: Mortifera – Primordial Undead of Absolute Death]

Sylvia observed the rows of text. Normally, upon reaching a level limit, the system would offer several branch evolution routes, a choice that would determine the specialization of her power and her future. However, this time the screen displayed only a single message that dominated the entire interface.

[System Warning: Evolution toward Tier 7 is a process of transcendence in which the user begins to touch the Conceptual Laws of the Universe. There are no branch routes for the Highest Primordial Bloodline. Your route is the Route of Absolute.]

[Do you wish to begin the Tier 7 Evolution Process now? (Y/N)]

"No route choices," Sylvia muttered, causing Stacia and Alicia to turn toward her.

"Just as I predicted," Stacia replied with a thin, satisfied smile. "When an existence has touched the limit of a primordial element in this case, the concept of your Absolute Death the universe no longer provides branches. You cannot branch something that already stands at the peak of the conceptual food chain. From this point onward, you are no longer evolving by following a path provided by the world; you will create your own path."

Sylvia fell silent for a moment, staring at the slowly blinking (Y) icon. Her thoughts suddenly drifted, leaving the underworld garden, crossing dimensions and stars, toward a blue-and-green world.

Earth.

More precisely, she thought of one figure who had always been the anchor of her sanity amid the ocean of slaughter and brutality of this sanctuary tower. Sofia. The girl with a smile as bright as the sun who had seized her heart, the lover she longed for most every time she closed her eyes at night.

How long would it take this time?

Sylvia recalled the long, painful process when she evolved from Rank 5 to Rank 6. Back then, she had slept inside a cocoon for months, losing track of time, allowing her body to be destroyed and rebuilt cell by cell, mana strand by mana strand. Now she would step into Tier 7, a realm equal to low-ranking gods. This transformation would not be as simple as changing bone structure. This was a conceptual overhaul.

It might take up to a year... or even longer, Sylvia thought with a slight bitterness in her chest. Time was relative for long-lived beings, yet for a heart that yearned for Sofia, one year felt like eternity.

But Sylvia also knew that Sofia was not sitting idle right now. The latest report she received from her shadow connection mentioned that her beloved was undergoing brutal training directly under the guidance of the Earth’s Avatar. Sofia was forging herself inside a time-distortion space, enduring pain so that she could one day stand equal to her. Sofia never complained, never gave up. That girl fought in her own world so that someday, when they met again at the peak of the sanctuary tower, not a single god would dare separate them.

"I must not fall behind," Sylvia whispered. Her glowing red eyes sharpened, radiating unshakable determination.

Besides the promise of reunion with Sofia, another burden of responsibility awaited her return. The city of Nocture her temporary home, her growing domain in the mortal sanctuary was currently being eyed by various greedy major factions. Neighboring territory rulers and shadow syndicates believed that with her absence, Nocture was tender meat ready to be devoured. They were greatly mistaken.

Enough, Sylvia thought coldly. Let’s just evolve first. Those small problems can be handled later. After I wake from this cocoon and return to Nocture... I will make sure the insects that dare eye my city never see another sunrise.

A cold, dense, and merciless killing intent seeped for a moment from Sylvia’s pores, causing the dew on the surrounding grass to freeze instantly into black ice. Alicia, who sensed the change in her sister’s emotions, only smiled understandingly, floated closer, and gently touched Sylvia’s shoulder.

"We are with you, Sylvia. Whatever awaits at the end, we will face it together," Alicia said in a soothing tone like an angel’s hymn.

Stacia snorted lightly, adjusting her thin-framed glasses. "Hurry up and press that button. I can’t wait to see how far my logic parameters can develop once my brain is upgraded by the Tier 7 system."

Hearing the support from both sisters, Sylvia discarded all her doubts. She raised her right hand, extended her index finger toward the holographic screen, and firmly pressed the (Y) option.

CLICK.

[Confirmed. Initiating Tier 7 Evolution Protocol.]

[Entering Absolute Hibernation Mode.]

[Detecting Soul-Bound Entities. Initiating resonance evolution for Entity #2 (Alicia) and Entity #3 (Stacia).]

WUSSHHHHH!!

In the next second, every law of physics in Persephone’s Castle garden shattered completely.

The wind that had been blowing gently suddenly transformed into a raging mana storm. The gravitational pressure around them increased hundreds of times in an instant, causing the marble ground beneath their feet to crack like a giant spiderweb. From within Sylvia’s body, a dense black pillar of light carrying the aura of pure death exploded straight into the sky, piercing the purple clouds of the underworld and creating a massive vortex in the heavens.

Sylvia’s body began to rise into the air, floating with eyes now tightly closed. From her pores, black threads of death-miasma essence began to emerge and swirl around her body, weaving a thick, light-impervious dark crystal cocoon. The black cocoon pulsed like a giant heart, radiating an aura of dominance that even distorted the empty space around it.

At the same time, the resonance effect spread to Alicia and Stacia.

Alicia’s spirit body shone so brightly it was blinding. Threads of blue-silver mana the representation of the pure sacred essence and spirit she commanded exploded from within her soul. Those silver threads wrapped around her slender body, spinning a beautiful cocoon that looked like a block of polar ice crystal glittering under starlight. The blue-silver cocoon radiated an aura of absolute calm, neutralizing the destructive effects of Sylvia’s black cocoon beside it.

As for Stacia, an equally marvelous phenomenon occurred. Her Grimoire suddenly shattered into millions of glowing ancient runes. Those runes spun wildly like a sandstorm around her body. Threads of dense gray mana mixed with sacred golden lines emerged from her body, binding the millions of runes and forming a metallic cocoon covered in complex magical engravings. The gray-gold cocoon looked like a sacred artifact from the age of creation, pulsing with the rhythm of logic and boundless knowledge.

The three giant cocoons now floated several meters above the garden ground, orbiting one another in a slow yet powerful rotational dance. Black, blue-silver, and gray-gold three colors of fate that complemented each other, greedily absorbing every particle of energy in the air.

Far from the center of that storm, at the entrance of the garden formed by an arch of giant roots, a majestic woman stood observing the phenomenon with her deep purple eyes.

Goddess Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, wore her royal purple silk gown. A crown of thorns and black roses sat elegantly upon her head. In her arms, Sol the golden dragon-cat was curled up in fear, hiding its face against the goddess’s chest because it could not endure the primordial aura pressure exploding from the three cocoons ahead. Persephone gently stroked Sol’s fur to calm it.

Persephone’s plum-colored lips curved into a subtle smile, a maternal smile she very rarely showed to any being other than Hades.

"Truly extraordinary," Persephone murmured, her voice flowing like a beautiful melody of death. "The three of them possess essences capable of shaking the pillars of heaven, yet they choose to bind themselves to one another. Such interesting children... If they succeed in passing this trial, I believe the upper sanctuary world will face a storm the likes of which they have not witnessed since the era of the ancient gods’ wars."

Sensing that the energy from the Tier 7 evolution was beginning to threaten the structural stability of her castle, Persephone raised one slender hand adorned with a sapphire ring.

"In the name of the Queen of the Underworld, I seal this region."

Sringgg!

A transparent deep-purple dome filled with thousands of divine characters instantly formed, covering the entire garden with a radius of several kilometers. It was the Divine Underworld Barrier, an absolute shield that could only be destroyed by power equal to a Highest God. Inside that dome, time and space were locked independently. Not a single existence whether god, angel, or demon from outside would be able to track, much less interfere with, the evolution process.

Persephone gazed at the three cocoons floating in the middle of the garden with a soft yet protective look. Although they shared no blood relation, she had come to regard Sylvia, Alicia, and Stacia as her own daughters. Their toughness, their affection for one another, reminded Persephone of the spark of life she rarely encountered in this kingdom of death.

"Sleep well, my little princesses," Persephone whispered, her voice echoing softly within the protective dome, becoming a lullaby that accompanied the beginning of their long hibernation. "Spread your wings, shatter the limits of mortality, and rise again as a calamity that will force the rulers of the heavens to kneel. I will guard you here until that time comes."

With that, the garden sank once more into mystical silence. Only the beating of the three giant cocoons echoed, patiently counting the time until the day the Primordial Death would open her eyes again and bring a new era to the world. The longest and most decisive evolution in Sylvia’s life history had just begun.