I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl - Chapter 317

Chapter 317: Chapter 313 – The Twisted Path and the Sea That Waits
The forest never ended.

That was the first realization after they had walked long enough to understand that their steps could no longer be measured by ordinary logic. The green light overhead never changed. The mist remained just as thick. Roots crossing the ground felt disturbingly familiar, as if they had passed the same place more than once, only from different angles.

Alicia stopped floating.

“…Wait.”

She slowly turned in midair, her translucent hair rippling like thin smoke. “I’m sure we’ve passed that tree before.”

Stacia turned at once. She closed her eyes, her pupils rotating slowly as she traced overlapping layers of time and space. A few seconds later, her brow furrowed.

“…You’re right,” she said quietly. “We’re circling. But not because we chose the wrong path.”

Sofia scanned their surroundings cautiously. “You mean… the forest itself is changing the route?”

Sylvia already knew the answer before Stacia spoke again.

“Yes,” Stacia replied. “Our direction is being manipulated. Space here is being folded subtly. Not an illusion… but a rearrangement of routes.”

The little treant on Sylvia’s head let out an uneasy sound, its branches stiffening.

Plop…

(The forest… is confused. But not angry.)

Sylvia stopped walking. She reached out and touched the trunk of a nearby tree. The bark was warm, its pulse slow, like the heartbeat of a massive creature holding its breath. She could feel the will that wrapped this entire region not killing intent, not a challenge.

Fear.

“…Syvalith,” Sylvia murmured. “She’s the one doing this.”

Alicia blinked. “The forest goddess? Isn’t she neutral?”

“Neutral doesn’t mean foolish,” Sylvia answered flatly. “And it doesn’t mean brave.”

They all fell silent.

The image of Korthan’s fall was still too fresh. The pillar of war in the gods’ world had collapsed. The fire of war that had long served as a stabilizing axis was gone, taken by death without resistance.

For the other gods, especially those who chose quiet stagnation, that wasn’t just the defeat of a single entity.

It was a warning.

Sofia inhaled softly. “If even the god of war fell… it makes sense that Syvalith would be afraid.”

Stacia gave a small nod. “She’s nothing like Korthan. Syvalith doesn’t exist for conflict. Her entire concept is slow-growing stagnation. Forests. Roots. Waiting.”

Alicia snorted. “In other words… she’s lazy.”

“Efficient,” Stacia corrected.

Sylvia withdrew her hand from the tree. Her death aura didn’t surge or press outward. It simply flowed, like cold morning dew.

“She doesn’t want a direct confrontation,” Sylvia said. “And she doesn’t want us destroying her territory. So she chose the safest option.”

The little treant raised a branch.

Plop?

(Disappear?)

“No,” Sylvia replied. “Redirect.”

As if answering that conclusion, a thin wind swept through the mist. Shadows shifted direction. Trees that had been densely packed slowly opened a gap not a straight road, but a natural corridor that curved like a river. The ground beneath their feet grew damp; green moss was replaced by thin, bluish algae that glimmered faintly.

The forest’s scent changed.

No longer wet earth and old leaves.

But… salt.

Alicia sniffed. “Okay. That’s definitely not a forest.”

Sofia tensed. “I smell it too.”

Stacia stared ahead, her expression sharpening. “Humidity is increasing. Air pressure is changing. And…” she paused, “…there’s an echo.”

“An echo?” Alicia frowned.

Sylvia was already walking forward, her gaze fixed on the distance that was now opening up.

“Water,” she said simply. “A lot of water.”

The forest thinned. Colossal trees stood farther apart, their roots sinking into soil that turned into dark sand. The green mist faded, replaced by a bluish haze that rose and fell like the breathing of the sea.

And then…

The forest ended.

Before them stretched a body of water whose scale defied reason.

Not a blue sea like in the middle world. The water here was deep green mixed with black, its surface calm yet reflecting the golden sky with a cold sheen. Waves did not crash; they moved slowly, as if following an unheard rhythm.

In the distance stood a massive structure, half-submerged in the sea.

The Temple of Nerys.

Its pillars resembled the bones of colossal whales, curving toward the sky. Its walls were layered with flowing water-crystals, as if the building itself wept endlessly. Above it, clouds hung low, forming a slow spiral like a vortex of memories.

Sofia swallowed. “So… this is where we’re headed.”

Stacia nodded. “Syvalith didn’t want us lingering in her forest. She guided us to a place she considered… more appropriate.”

Alicia crossed her arms. “Or to a place where the problem isn’t hers.”

Sylvia stared at the sea for a long moment.

She could feel something from it. Not harsh pressure like Korthan. Not oppressive silence like Olmerath.

This was… sorrow.

A sorrow so vast it was no longer sharp.

“Nerys,” Sylvia said quietly. “The goddess who remembers everything that has sunk.”

The little treant bowed its head, its branches drooping slightly.

Plop…

(Sad…)

“Yes,” Sylvia replied. “She’s not like Korthan. And not like Syvalith.”

Sofia stepped closer to Sylvia. “If Syvalith avoided us… will Nerys do the same?”

Sylvia slowly shook her head.

“No. Nerys doesn’t run from anything,” she said. “She accepts.”

Alicia raised a brow. “Accepts us… or accepts death?”

Sylvia watched the slow-moving waves, reflecting her image of the Queen of Death with white fire burning in her chest.

“Maybe both.”

Behind them, Syvalith’s forest closed itself off. Trees grew dense again, green mist thickened, as if the land had never opened at all. There was no farewell. No message.

Only relieved silence.

Syvalith had made her choice.

She remained neutral and remained lazy. Remained alive in a forest that wanted no disturbance. And that was enough for her.

Alicia glanced back, then let out a short breath. “Well. At least she didn’t attack.”

Stacia studied the sea with an analytical gaze. “But Nerys isn’t someone you can avoid so easily.”

Sofia clenched her fist softly. “Whatever happens… we face it together.”

The little treant raised its branch high.

PLOP!

(Together!)

Sylvia stepped forward, her foot sinking into wet dark sand. The seawater touched the tip of her boot cold, but not deadly. A small wave whispered, as if acknowledging her presence.

In the distance, something moved beneath the surface.

Not a monster.

Not a guardian.

But a long shadow like a memory rising.

Sylvia stared straight at the Sea.

“If Syvalith is the forest that hides,” she said softly, “then Nerys is the sea that waits.”

Without hesitation, they stepped into the water, moving toward the goddess who heard every cry and never forgot what was lost.

The sea changed before they could go any farther.

Its once-calm surface began to tremble not from waves, but from something moving below. Small ripples spread in irregular circles, as if hundreds of unseen fingers were tapping from another world.

Alicia stopped floating.

“…Oh.”

Just one syllable, but enough to put Sofia and Stacia instantly on guard.

From beneath the dark green sea, shadows began to rise. Not bodies. Not monsters. But vague forms without clear boundaries, souls without vessels, memories that had never found their way home.

Crying echoed. Not a single voice, but thousands of whispers overlapping. Some were angry. Some desperate. Some are utterly empty.

They did not look at Sylvia.

Not a single one dared approach her.

The death aura surrounding Sylvia made the water around her recede by several inches, as if the sea itself refused to touch her. Souls that drifted too close simply faded, vanishing like mist swept by wind.

But Alicia…

Alicia was different.

The moment the souls sensed her presence, they changed direction all at once.

Like a school of fish scenting blood.

“Hey, wait,” Alicia muttered as her translucent body trembled when the first dozens of shadows rushed toward her. “You guys are… really aggressive, huh?”

The souls screamed. Vague faces formed from water and light hollow eyes, open mouths, expressions frozen between fear and rage. They did not attack with hands or weapons.

They attacked with existence.

Mental pressure slammed into Alicia from every direction. Foreign memories. Emotions that weren’t hers. The sensation of drowning. Of abandonment. Of dying without farewell.

Alicia staggered in midair.

“…Huh. So this is what it feels like,” she murmured, her voice lower. “Standing in the middle of a sea of souls.”

“Sylvia!” Sofia stepped forward instinctively.

Sylvia raised her hand.

“No,” she said calmly. “This is her stage.”

Stacia watched with faintly glowing eyes. “They’re attacking her due to resonance. Alicia has no physical body. The souls see her as… one of their kind.”

The little treant clutched Sylvia’s hair.

Plop…

(Danger…)

Alicia drew a breath by reflex, even though she didn’t truly need air. A gentle light began to gather around her, not holy, and not dark.

Soul-light.

“Alright,” she said, straightening herself. “If you want to come closer… don’t blame me if I answer back.”

The souls surged.

WUUUUUM!!

The first wave crashed into Alicia like surf smashing against rock. Her translucent body shook violently, but did not shatter. The light around her flared brighter, forming slowly pulsing circular patterns.

Alicia raised both hands.

“Easy,” she said, her voice now echoing strangely, as if speaking from within sea and sky at once. “I didn’t come here to devour you.”

Some souls halted. Others grew even wilder, forming shadow-spears that lunged toward the center of the light.

Alicia closed her eyes.

Within her, the core of her existence spun not as flesh, not as an ordinary spirit, but as a dimensional node once shattered and reassembled. She expanded her awareness, touching the souls one by one.

Not with force.

With acknowledgement.

“I know what it’s like to be lost,” she whispered. “I know what it’s like to be forgotten.”

The light around her bloomed softly, not destroying, but embracing.

SHRRRMMM…

The closest souls stopped struggling. Their screams softened into long exhales. Their rough forms smoothed, vague faces becoming calm silhouettes.

Some souls even… cried.

Sofia stared wide-eyed. “She’s… calming them.”

Stacia nodded quietly. “High-level empathic resonance. This isn’t magic.”

Sylvia watched Alicia without blinking.

This was her strength.

Not death.

Not domination.

But the ability to stand in the void… and not break, Yet not all souls wanted peace. From the depths of the sea, heavier shadows stirred. Ancient souls, burdened by thousands of years of memory. They approached not with cries, but with pressure.

Alicia opened her eyes.

“…Alright,” she said softly, a thin smile forming. “These ones… I have to be serious.”

The light around her tightened, then condensed.

And for the first time since entering Nerys’s domain the sea witnessed a battle not of life and death, but of soul… against soul.