Bella was too quick for Mira to keep up. When she noticed that people were screaming all over the place, Mira decided to assist them rather than race after Bella, whom she had already lost sight of in a blink of an eye.
The instant Bella walked away, the battalion of zombies came to a complete standstill. After a minute or two, it took them all to form a line and march forward, following the direction where their Queen had fled to while leaving the humans in their trail completely unharmed.
Bella was uncontrollably sobbing as she sprinted far from where Mira was standing. She has traveled quite a distance and has gone into hiding in a public restroom.
With her teeth clenched together, Bella slammed the door shut with a bit of force that left a dent from the restroom’s doorknob and a few cracks on the wall. “I told you to shut it!” Bella’s whole body was shaking as she tried to suppress her anger. She walked straight in front of the mirror and glared herself in the eyes with a death stare. Her face contorted with rage as she waited for her wicked other half to appear but refused to reveal herself.
Bella suddenly heard a voice inside her head. “Do you think if she finds out who killed her beloved mother, she’d still love you? Protect you?!” her other half exclaimed in a taunting tone.
Bella’s entire body trembled even more upon hearing her other half’s statement. Her eyes, which had been filled with rage, were now filled with terror.
“M… Mira will understand,” Bella cried out, desperately attempting to persuade herself that Mira would accept her apology for what she had done. “A--after all...” She nibbled the inside of her lower lip as she struggled to keep her sobs under wraps. “I’m her sis--” Bella was abruptly cut short when her other half emerged in the reflection and began to speak.
“Blah, blah, blah! I’m her sister,” mumbled her other half with a roll in her eyes. “Oh, I’m so sick of it,” she uttered and stuck her tongue out, displaying a disgusted expression on her face. “Stop being delusional! I bet my life that she would despise you!” the other half went on, emphasizing the tone of her voice as she spoke.
The other half flapped her lips together as she phonated a silly vibration with her lips. “Sister, my ass! Nobody in their right mind would ever consider anybody not in their bloodline to be her sister after killing her mother. Not to mention she’s the only family she has left,” she exclaimed.
Bella refused to talk back. It would be pointless if she forced herself to believe what she wanted to think. She knew that her other half had a point and remained silent throughout the argument.
As soon as the other half of Bella was satisfied with the results of her brainwashing, she disappeared into the refection— her eyes filled with deception and a sneer on her face.
“You’re right. How could I ever face Mira?” Bella mumbled in a hushed tone. Her voice sounded forlorn.
A deafening silence has filled the room. Bella is entirely at a loss for what to do. She remained frozen and silent for about a minute or two.
After a long period of silence, Bella began to open her lips.
“You mentioned that the bead was the one that saved our lives. So, what exactly is all of this?” Bella inquired, her voice sounding too dejected. She then clenched her fist, which rested on the sink. Tears quickly streamed and streaked down into the sink when she pressed her eyes tight and lowered her head.
Bella could no longer suppress the pain and sadness she all had kept inside her. She sobbed uncontrollably and let all her emotions out.
When Bella had almost cried it all out, another reflection of herself has appeared in the mirror. “It is,” a voice that sounds like a deity says. It was the exact reflection she saw back in the ruins of the undead, where she had made the pact and envisioned herself as the Queen and ruler of the undead. The lady in the mirror was dressed in the same clothes back then, but something seemed to have changed— her skin appeared to be a little hazy.
“The bead has saved all of your lives.” The reflection paused for a second. “Except for those who took the vaccine long before you have found the bead,” she further explained. “I told you, all those who took the wrong vaccine will eventually turn into evil.” Bella was all ears as her other half explained the rest of the details, stating that Alicia was the one who had spread the curse and desired to possess the bead.
“The red bead was stained with Alicia’s curse. One of us must take full control of this body and fight the demon that is trying to take you over, or else the red bead will turn completely black.” The red bead blinked a dull crimson light for a few blinks before disappearing entirely into the light.
“If only you hadn’t just been too stubborn and stayed in the realm like how I asked you, then we won’t be having any trouble arguing with the demon inside you.” Bella’s downcast eyes are met with a frigid glare from the lady in the reflection.
Bella shook her head in disbelief after hearing her other half’s statement. She took a few steps back as she recalled all of the reminders that her other half had told her and lowered her head, placing the palm of her hand against her chest, near the area where the bead is located. When her knees softened, she quickly rested her hand back on the sink to keep her body from dropping.
“There shall be only one color in the bead. As you can see, black has already dominated red. The curse is far too powerful to be easily broken. Even far more powerful than you are right now.” The lady in the mirror made a small wobbly motion in her head and stated, “This time, it’s no longer oblivion.” Upon hearing her other half’s voice sounding too solemn, Bella’s eyes were filled with tears as she elevated her gaze to meet her image in the mirror. “Termination,” the reflection stated, with a tinge of fear, sadness, and coldness in her voice. As Bella’s eyes widened in horror, tears continued to stream down from her cheeks.
“I am you, and you are me. Without you, I am dead. Without the red bead, I don’t exist.” The young lady in the reflection extended her hand to show Bella with a gentle movement. Her arm was slowly vanishing from view.
The reflection took a few steps backward, revealing the lower half of her body— which was already missing. Her legs had already disappeared, and the upper portion of her body was beginning to fade away. “You chose termination over oblivion. If you only allowed me to take over this body before it was too late, then our lives would not be ending here,” Bella’s reflection complained.
When Bella saw how her other half was currently feeling, she shuddered and shook her head. She does not want her life to come to an end and doesn’t care if no one recalls who she is. All she wants is to spend time with Mira and Mirabella. Bella was blaming herself for being overly stubborn until her demons attempted to take control of her once more.
Bella pleaded with her other half to do something before the lady in the reflection could completely vanish from her sight. However, the lady in the mirror shook her head in refusal. She lifted her arm for Bella to see and stated that she no longer had the ability to do so and that everything was left in Bella’s own hands.
On the other hand, Bella’s wicked other half was trying its best to corrupt Bella’s mind in order to permanently shut her down and take complete control of her until the clock struck the last second of her eighteenth birthday.
The group of the undead that was left standing earlier from where Bella ran off was still marching forward, joining the other undead troops as they continued to march in all the same direction without harming a single human they came into contact with. They were like soldiers waiting for their Queen to give the orders before they could act.
When all of the zombies left the streets, the survivors grieved and rested for a short while. Everyone appeared to be exhausted and depressed as a result of losing someone they cherished.
But the calm didn’t last that long.
In a gloomy dense mist emanating from the fine specks of dust out of the wrecked buildings and homes, Bella, in a dark red dress, is standing fierce on top of a church’s cross.
Her dark crimson clothing and her wavy hair billowed when a cold, eerie breeze of the wind brushed her firm pale skin. Her dazzling face shone boldly in the bright blue moonlight as she leaped from the cross to a nearby building, which was higher than the cross.
Only a few more establishments have remained undiminished from the collision.
Bella was searching for something until she locked her sight in a single direction, eyeing something from a distance.
It was the glint of light that drew her attention as it reflected straight to her ruby eyes.
It was too dark and far distant to see, but her gory crimson eyes appear to be able to see everything clearly as day.
Mira was standing tall and brave in a red dress at a distance. Her sword reflected in the moonlight that drew Bella’s attention. Her deep ocean blue eyes shimmered as bright as the moon.
Mirabella was in front of Mira, ready to fight and protect Mira and the people.
The street lamps had all gone out, and the area had been partially demolished. Some of them are still functional, but the vast majority of them have been shut down. The dazzling blue moonlight, as well as the flickering lights of a few broken street lamps, serves as the primary source of light for the entire town at the moment.
Tonight is a blue moon and will be feared by the people in town.
A great deal of terror is gripping the human race right now, and they are doing everything they can to conceal and defend themselves from humanity’s impending doom, which is set to occur this very night.
In a dark red gown, Bella swiftly leaped to the ground from where she had been standing earlier. Her clothing and beautiful wavy hair danced with the wind as she glided gracefully through the air. Her bare feet lightly touched the ground as she made a dramatic facial expression with her eyes closed.
Giving out a strong facial expression, she abruptly opened her eyes, releasing a crimson light from her iris that made the group of zombies behind her cheer and snarl in desperation for more flesh.
When a bloody red baybayin mark patched on her skin progressively revealed letter by letter, the zombies hastily charged forward, passing through her leading to where she had been eyeing previously on top of a building— the location where the humans are gathered.
“I am Bella Barbs, ruler of the realm of the dead, reigning from the ruins of the undead. I command you to awaken and spread... DARKNESS!”