I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl-Chapter 324 - 320 – The Night That Refuses to Sleep

Chapter 324: Chapter 320 – The Night That Refuses to Sleep

The night in the depths of the ocean is never truly dark.

It merely loses its colors.

Beyond the balcony of Nerys’s temple, darkness stretched like a thick cloth draped before the world. There were no stars. There was no moon. Only the pressure of the water, so dense that even light surrendered before traveling too far. Occasionally, gigantic shadows drifted slowly in the distance, the bodies of ancient sea monsters swimming calmly, their eyes glowing faintly like old lanterns, marking their presence without any intent to disturb.

Sylvia stood there, both hands resting on the black coral railing of the temple balcony.

She did not sleep.

Even when she closed her eyes, her mind remained awake, spinning aimlessly like a current trapped in a trench. The Death Flame within her was calm, not raging. The War Sun Flame was also under control. Her body was ready. Her soul... was not.

She exhaled a long breath; a thin gray vapor escaped her lips, then vanished instantly under the ocean’s pressure.

"Four have already fallen..." she murmured softly. "And two remain."

She didn’t need to say their names out loud.

She could feel them.

Xynareth.

Space that lives before form.

Zha’gor. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The beginning that devours the end, and the end that gives birth to the beginning.

They were not gods that could be lured out with provocation. They were not gods who would grow angry over the loss of their kin. They were foundations. Pillars that stood even when the other gods were still learning to name themselves.

Sylvia lowered her head slightly.

Her power was sufficient.

Her experience was sufficient.

Yet the world never crumbled simply because of one overwhelmingly strong entity.

What weighed on her... was the others.

Her thoughts drifted inside the temple.

Sofia still lay there, her body suspended between consciousness and dreams. The conceptual wound had not worsened, but it had not healed either. Her wings, once proudly spread with confidence, were now folded fragilely, their feathers still stained with traces of blood that light could not fully cleanse.

Alicia...

Alicia could not sleep because she was unable to. The souls now regarded her as their center. A queen without a crown, a binder without chains. Every time she closed her eyes, there were whispers. No longer screams, but hopes. And hope, Sylvia knew, was far more exhausting to bear.

The Little Treant...

He still tried to appear cheerful. Still hopped around, still said "Plop" as if the world were fine. But his branches were cracked. The fine roots at his feet had not fully recovered. He was strong, yes. But he was not a creature of war. He was life forced to stand between death and gods.

And those who could truly stand right now...

Were only her.

And Stacia.

Sylvia closed her eyes.

"If I go alone..." she whispered, almost like a confession. "It might be easier."

She knew it was true. If she were alone, she could move faster. More brutally. More freely. No need to hold back. No need to worry about losing anyone but herself.

But she also knew the consequences.

She had already felt it.

When she had lost control earlier when the world chose to open a path rather than restrain her there had been a sensation that was too... comfortable. A soothing emptiness. Power that asked no permission from reason.

If she walked that path alone for too long, she would not return as Sylvia.

She would return as something else.

And that terrified her.

Sylvia raised her hand, then moved her wrist in a small motion. The space in front of her trembled faintly. From her system space, a simple table appeared, followed by two chairs. Nothing grand. No ornamentation. Just dark wood that felt warm to the touch, in contrast to the cold coral and sea.

She brought out a teapot; warm steam immediately rose, the light scent of dried leaves spreading strangely how the aroma could still be felt in the ocean depths. A small bowl of roasted nuts followed, making a soft sound as it was placed on the table.

Sylvia sat down.

Her movements were slow, careful, as if moving too quickly might shatter her thoughts.

She poured tea for herself, lifted the cup, then paused a moment before sipping. The warm liquid flowed down her throat, giving her the real sensation of something simple, human, and deeply missed.

"Earth..." she murmured.

She missed it.

But the mission in this world was not yet complete.

That damned World Avatar, the creature that had dragged her here, had vanished the moment things grew complicated. No guidance. No help. No explanation.

"Coward," Sylvia muttered, taking another sip.

And soon...

She would face primordial gods.

She knew, in theory, that this fight could also serve as training. To strengthen the others. To accustom them to the pressure of the highest-tier entities. Because when they returned to Earth, the challenges might not be any lighter.

Her original world was changing.

And change rarely brought anything gentle.

Yet still...

She stared at her cup, the surface of the tea trembling faintly with the pulse of the ocean.

"Bringing them along..." she said softly. "Always makes me hesitate."

A soft footstep sounded from behind.

Not a threat.

Not a surprise.

Sylvia did not turn.

"I know you’re not sleeping," said the voice, calm, even, yet carrying a restrained concern.

Stacia.

She stepped onto the balcony, stood beside the table, then gazed at the same ocean darkness. Her hair fell neatly, her aura stable, yet there was a slight tension only visible to someone who had known her for too long.

"You neither," Sylvia replied.

Stacia sat in the opposite chair without being invited. She glanced at the teapot, then at the empty cup in front of her.

Sylvia poured without a word.

Several seconds passed in comfortable silence. Only the distant sound of the sea and the soft clink of Stacia’s cup as she lifted it.

"You’re restless," Stacia said at last, not a question.

Sylvia gave a faint smile, without humor. "I always am before something big."

"This time is different," Stacia replied. "Not because of the enemy. But because of who you’re carrying with you."

Sylvia stared straight ahead. "I don’t want to lose them."

Stacia nodded slowly. "And you don’t want to lose yourself either."

The words hit precisely.

Sylvia exhaled, setting down her cup. "I’m strong, Stacia. I know that. But this power... it’s too easy for it to swallow everything else. When I’m alone, I can hold it back. When they’re there..."

"You’re afraid you’ll have to choose," Stacia finished.

"Yes."

Stacia sipped her tea, then carefully set the cup down. "Then don’t force yourself to choose right now."

Sylvia turned. "What do you mean?"

"We rest," Stacia answered simply. "We recover. We realigned. Sofia needs time. Alicia needs space. You need... an anchor."

Sylvia fell silent.

"And when the time comes," Stacia continued, "we won’t step forward as burdens on your shoulders. We’ll step forward as a team. Like earlier. You hold the line. I coordinate. Alicia stabilizes. Sofia challenges."

Sylvia gave a small, genuine smile this time. "You always talk as if everything can be tidied up."

"Because time does exactly that," Stacia replied. "It doesn’t care how great your power is. It only cares whether you give it enough room."

They fell silent again.

Outside, another gigantic sea monster drifted past, its eyes glowing briefly before sinking into deeper darkness.

Sylvia raised her cup once more.

"I’m still afraid," she admitted honestly.

Stacia nodded. "Good. That means you’re still Sylvia."

The ocean breeze swirled gently around the balcony. Nerys’s temple stood silent, steadfast, withstanding the pressure of the world around it.

The silence lasted longer than Sylvia had expected.

Not an empty silence, but the kind filled with substance like the air before a rain too heavy to breathe. The tea in her cup was half gone, its steam thinning, but Sylvia did not sip again right away. She let the warmth remain, as a reminder that time still moved even when the world seemed to hold its breath.

Stacia broke the silence first.

"You know," she said, gazing into the ocean darkness, "Xynareth won’t come the same way as the others."

Sylvia nodded slowly. "Space does not attack. It displaces."

"And Zha’gor," Stacia continued, her voice lower, "does not fight. It ends."

The word fell heavily.

Sylvia traced her finger along the rim of her cup, making the tea ripple gently. "That’s why we’re not moving now," she said. "If we force it, they’ll set the battlefield. And their battlefield... isn’t something raw power can protect."

Stacia turned, looking at Sylvia longer than before. "You’ve already thought that far ahead?"

"I was forced to," Sylvia answered curtly. "After tonight, I no longer have the luxury of being reckless."

The ocean breeze swirled a little stronger, making the distant monster shadows seem closer before drifting away again. Sylvia watched them without fear. Those creatures were at least honest. They existed, they were hungry, they swam. No hidden schemes.

"I want them to recover," Sylvia said at last. "Not just their bodies. But their intent."

Stacia understood. "You don’t want them to step forward because they feel obligated."

"Yes." Sylvia sighed. "Sofia fights because she wants to stand beside me. Alicia endures because too many souls depend on her. The little Treant... because he doesn’t know how to stop caring."

She gave a faint smile when mentioning the last one.

"If I force them to continue now," she went on, "I’d be no different from the gods we just toppled."

Stacia looked down briefly. "That’s a hard line to hold."

"But it must be held."

They fell silent again. Deep inside the temple, there was a subtle shift perhaps Sofia moving in her sleep, perhaps Alicia taking too deep a breath. No sign of danger. Just life slowly rearranging itself.

Sylvia stood, lifting her cup one final time that night, then drank the rest. The warmth closed a small circle in her chest, enough to clear her mind a little.

"We’ll wait for a dawn that has no sun," she said softly. "And when Xynareth tries to fold space around us... we’ll already be ready."

Stacia stood as well. "And if Zha’gor moves?"

Sylvia stared straight into the darkness, her eyes reflecting a faint gleam that came from no flame at all.

"Then we won’t fight the end," she said calmly. "We’ll change its meaning."

Stacia gave a faint, almost invisible smile. "You really have changed."

"Maybe," Sylvia replied. "Or maybe... I’ve finally stopped running."

They cleared the table without hurry. The chairs and teapot vanished back into the system space, leaving the balcony empty as before. Yet the feeling that remained was different.

When Sylvia looked out at the sea one last time, the fear was still there. It had not disappeared.

But now, it stood beside something stronger than fear.

Choice.

And for the first time since entering the world of gods, Sylvia let the night pass without trying to conquer it.