I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl - Chapter 290

Chapter 290: Chapter 286 – Light in the Underworld and Lessons from the Fallen Gods
The air around Stacia’s training ground shimmered softly with pure magical resonance. There was no smell of sulfur, no searing heat, no growls of monsters as in other parts of the underworld. Only a tranquil space filled with a gentle, golden glow like a fragment of the heavens preserved within eternal darkness.

Stacia stood in the center of a large floating magic circle. Silvery-blue lines spun beneath her feet, tracing her every graceful hand movement. Sweat beaded at her temples, but her eyes remained sharp, focused, disciplined, unwavering.

Before her stood a radiant figure Goddess Lumielle, the long-lost Goddess of Light, thought to have vanished from the world. Her long white gown rippled gently though no wind stirred, and she shone like a sacred statue among shadows. But her gaze was not pure gentleness; within those glowing eyes burned the sharpness of divine authority.

“Don’t force the mana to move too fast, Stacia,” Lumielle said softly, though her voice carried weight that couldn’t be ignored.

“Buffs aren’t about power, they’re about rhythm. You don’t strengthen someone by flooding them with energy, but by synchronizing your heartbeat with theirs.”

Stacia nodded quickly and tried again. She closed her eyes, took a long breath, and let her mana flow more gently. A symbol of light formed in her palm, then two, then three… But when she tried to merge them, they shattered and rebounded.

BOF!

A small explosion puffed, leaving her fine hair slightly ruffled.

“Ah!” she gasped, nearly falling backward but Lumielle lifted a finger.

A wisp of soft light floated out and caught her midair before she could hit the floor.

The goddess smiled faintly. “Too tense. You treat magic like an obligation, not a feeling. Let your energy breathe.”

She stepped closer and placed a finger against Stacia’s chest right above her heart.

“Focus here,” she murmured. “Feel that steady rhythm. Now, let it blend with the spell you wish to weave. Don’t control it, follow it.”

Stacia swallowed hard but nodded. The touch of Lumielle calmed her, though the divine pressure pressing on her soul was overwhelming.

“All right… I’ll try again.”She inhaled, then exhaled slowly, steadying her breath. This time, she let her mana flow without forcing it. Symbols of light bloomed again moving now with the rhythm of her breathing. And gradually, they merged.

“Divine Sync – Bless of Harmony.”

A wave of silvery-blue light radiated from her body, enveloping Lumielle and the entire chamber.

The air turned lighter, warmer, and peaceful. The spiritual pressure that had weighed on her moments ago melted away like morning mist under sunlight.

Lumielle smiled, satisfied.

“Much better.”

She lowered her hand, gazing at Stacia with soft pride. “You’re starting to understand. Your power isn’t meant for destruction. With supportive magic like that, even a Demon King would struggle to break your allies.”

Stacia opened her eyes slowly, her cheeks flushed with both relief and joy.

“R-really? I just followed my feelings…”

“And that’s the key.” Lumielle smiled warmly.

“You’ve always thought magic was about formulas and equations. But magic isn’t mathematics, it’s music.

And you, my dear child… have just begun to hear it.”

Stacia was silent for a moment, then smiled softly. Her eyes shimmered faintly. “Thank you, Goddess Lumielle. I’ll keep practicing.”

Lumielle nodded, though her next words were a gentle whisper and intimate.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Stacia. What makes you special isn’t your strength, but the way you use it to protect those you love.”

Her gaze softened, a knowing smile curving her lips.

“And I know who you most want to protect.”

Stacia’s cheeks turned crimson. “S-Sylvia isn’t someone who needs protecting, Goddess…”

Lumielle chuckled lightly. “Perhaps not. But you still do it, don’t you?”

Stacia lowered her gaze without denying it, her lips curling into a small, honest smile.

…..

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the underworld, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different.

Thunderous impacts, explosions, and sharp cracks of air echoed through Alicia’s training ground. The stench of sulfur mingled with the heat of burning spiritual energy.

Alicia stood within a massive magic circle, her body scratched and dust-covered. Her breathing was heavy, but her eyes were locked ahead on the towering figure before her.

He radiated the power of a living mountain, his presence pressing down like gravity. His body burned with dark-golden fire… Belial, the Demon King himself.

“Again,” he said flatly.

Alicia’s eyes widened. “But… I just…”

“Again.”

The word was sharp, iron ringing in her skull.

Alicia gritted her teeth, raising her staff once more. The sigils beneath her feet flared three layers, four… Dark violet light spread into an intricate lattice across the air.

She poured her soul’s curse into it. “Soul Distortion!”

But before the spell could form, Belial raised a single finger. A wave of black-golden energy pulsed from him and shattered her magic instantly.

“Too slow,” he said firmly.

Alicia stumbled back two steps, breath ragged. “I was faster this time!”

“Speed doesn’t mean control,” Belial replied, calm and unbothered.

He walked slowly around her, his voice deep and steady.

“Debuffs and soul magic aren’t about power. They’re about mastery.

You wish to dominate another’s soul? Then face your own first.”

Alicia froze. “Face… my own soul?”

Belial stopped behind her, his voice dropping low resonating in her chest like a drum.

“The human soul is chaos wearing the mask of will.

You wish to command others, yet your own soul trembles in fear every time I look at you.”

The words cut like a blade of ice. Alicia bit her lip. She knew it was true. She feared not just Belial, but herself. Her own power. The shadow of Sylvia, always ahead, untouchable.

Belial’s red eyes glimmered behind her.

“I cannot teach you strength if you still see it as something to fear.

Curses, debuffs, soulcraft these are tools. But the will behind them decides whether you become the subjugator… or the subjugated.”

Alicia clenched her fists.

“Then… I’ll face that fear.”

Belial’s mouth curved faintly. “Prove it.”

He raised his hand, and from the ground rose a massive shadow, his own silhouette, featureless except for empty glowing eyes, born of hell’s remaining will.

“Face it. It embodies every doubt and fear you’ve ever had.”

Alicia’s grip tightened on her staff. “And if I lose?”

Belial’s gaze hardened, a cold smile touching his lips.

“If you lose… I’ll erase every memory you have of Sylvia.”

The world seemed to stop.

Alicia froze. “You… wouldn’t dare…”

“Fight.”

The command cut like a blade.

The shadow moved.

Alicia’s aura flared to life, violet fire bursting from her body, searing the ground beneath her.

“I won’t lose!”

Her voice rose with defiance, trembling yet fierce.

“Even if the world itself breaks!”

Her soul flared, and her spell detonated.

“Soul Burst!”

The explosion of will engulfed the arena, the clash of light and shadow shaking the entire chamber.

Belial stood still, watching quietly, a small smile forming.

“Good. Keep going. Break yourself until you truly understand what it means to command a soul.”

…..

Elsewhere, Lumielle gazed at the artificial sky of the underworld, serene and still. Beside her, Stacia sat exhausted on the floor, staring at her glowing hands. In the distance, Alicia’s wild aura clashed violently with Belial’s, shaking the spiritual air.

Lumielle closed her eyes and whispered,

“Two different paths toward the same goal… But only one of them will be able to balance Sylvia when the time comes.”

In the soft glow surrounding her, a faint trace of dark aura flickered Sylvia’s power, rippling across dimensions, strong enough to shake reality itself.

“Queen of Death,” Lumielle murmured, “I only pray you don’t drown within yourself.”

…..

Far away, in the human world within the recovering city of Nocture the sky looked different that day. The pale blue, rarely seen above the city, shone softly.

Atop the tallest tower of the citadel, someone sat cross-legged in descending light.

Sofia.

Her body glowed faintly, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. Her golden hair shimmered like liquid sunlight, scattering warm light through the air. A gentle hum filled the tower not from any instrument, but from the air itself, as if the world was singing to her presence.

Suddenly, her eyes opened. Her gentle blue irises turned to pure gold bright, calm, divine. From her back, light unfurled four vast white wings, their feathers glowing softly like fragments of heaven.

Sofia inhaled deeply. Her body felt light, yet her heart pounded hard.

“So… this is angelic blood,” she whispered. Her hands glowed, radiating warmth that made the air vibrate gently.

A soft voice echoed in her mind like the whisper of the sky itself.

A small gift… for the human whose heart has surpassed her world.

Sofia bowed her head slightly. “The Avatar of the World…”

You asked for it yourself, didn’t you? You wished to see her again.

The voice was tender, almost maternal.

Sofia lifted her gaze toward the blue sky beyond the tower window.

“Sylvia…” she whispered.

“She’s been there too long. I can feel it. Our bond… it’s fading.”