“Uhmm... Bella?” uttered Mira as she slashed and dodged away from the zombies who were after her.
While Mira endured the pain, blood flowed from her palm as she pulled herself up with difficulty climbing a tall object.
Being the fastest and strongest one among the rest of the zombies, Alicia began hurling objects towards Mira, causing her to lose her footing and cling to the edge of the elevated platform she was standing on.
Mira attempted to pull herself up for the second time after her injured foot slipped off the edge of the platform. Mira has already lost a significant amount of blood. Her skin became more pallid, and she was taking deep, shallow breaths.
After a short while, the object Mira was standing on began to crumble.
Below Mira was a swamp of zombies reaching after her body, waiting for her to fall.
“B—BELLA!” Mira yelled for help.
On the other hand, Bella remained frozen. She was still on her knees, her arms and head dangling low to the ground, and her eyes closed. Bella’s entire body went utterly still.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
“I knew you could do it.” A deity’s voice echoed.
Bella was in a pitch-black room, squinting around in search of the source of the voice.
“Where are you?” Bella asked but did not receive an answer. Her brows pinched in confusion as she continued running, but it appeared that there was no way out of the chamber. It was endless.
“S—show yourself... Where are you?” In the midst of running about in circles in a dim room for what seemed like an eternity and yet failing to locate anyone, Bella came to a complete stop. Her visions became more precise with the crimson eyes she possessed even in the dark.
“I told you, I’m always here with you.” A bright crimson glow radiated from Bella’s chest together with a tiny bright light in front of her that seemed to be an exit.
Bella sprinted in the direction of the light, but it appeared like she made no progress given the distance.
“You are strong.” The voice resonated in Bella’s head.
Bella halted. “I’ve never been weak,” she argued.
The voice made a soft chuckling sound.
After recalling something significant, Bella’s disposition abruptly changed, and she stayed deafeningly quiet for the next minute. Bella suddenly felt terrible for putting both of their lives at stake. After a few seconds of deliberating on what would be the best thing to do, Bella came to a conclusion.
“Y—you can take over this body...” A gloomy expression is shown all over Bella’s face. “But you have to promise me one thing.” Bella quickly added before her other half could take over her body. “Save Mi—” Bella’s voice was cut off.
“I believe you now have the right to own this body. After all, you no longer are weak.”
Bella made a melancholy look by pouting her bottom lip and squinting her eyes. “I was never wea—” Bella paused in the middle of her argument, perplexed by what her other half was trying to say.
“W—what do you mean?” Bella’s pupils dilated as she waited for further explanation from her other half.
“No time for that. Your sister is already in desperate need of your assistance.”
When the blinding beam of light in front of Bella began to grow steadily, Bella shaded her eyes with her hands.
“It will take some time for you to become used to the bead and work with it. But I know you can make it...”
The bright light gradually becomes weaker after a swarm of swallowtails passes across the area where Bella is standing.
“Always remember what you are capable of doing. I’ll be here with you at all times.” The voice of a deity lingered in Bella’s thoughts as it gives a certain remarkable quality in the sound regardless of its softness.
[¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬ [¬º-°]¬
Mira was struggling when the zombies were within her reach. She kicked the zombies and pushed them away with the sheath of her sword.
Seeing Bella still not moving a muscle, Mira knew it was the end of her. She was already picturing herself being devoured by a swarm of zombies in the marsh.
“Great! I’ll be all bones.” Her groaning persisted as she continued to brush the hands of zombies away from her.
When the object Mira was standing on made another budge, she closed her eyes and waited for the platform to crash down completely.
The undead continued to shove the object, which caused Mira to lose her balance and stumble.
Mira sighed as she sank to the ground. This time around, Mira envisioned herself as a skeletal zombie.
The zombies finally take hold of Mira.
“Hey! “Every inch of my body is a delicious treat!” Mira complained when the zombies began to engage in a tug of war with her body. They were disputing over which portion of her anatomy would be devoured by which zombie.
“No, not that! That portion is one of my favorites!” Mira exclaimed as she struggled and resisted, expending all of her last energy. She kicked the zombie’s hand that was tugging her legs and tried to crawl her way out but was unsuccessful in her efforts.
One zombie has secured its spot on Mira’s body. He opened his mouth, showing his teeth that looked like a line of broken tombstones, and was about to take the first bite.
“Who dares to disobey me?” said a low, irritated voice from behind.
All of the undead trembled and released Mira from their grasp. They were all a little hesitant to turn their heads in the direction where the voice was coming from.
A few seconds later, the undead quickly raced away from Mira and maintained a safe distance between themselves and the woman. Their entire bodies trembled with horror when they became aware of a heavy, dark aura emanating from the woman they feared the most. It was their Queen, Bella. Their instincts warned them to flee for their lives, and so they did.
The sound of bones crunching could be heard coming from the undead when Bella opened her lips. “Magdusa,” the voice spoke with a slow, deliberate tone, causing all of the zombies to shatter their bones and choke on their own flesh as they sank to their knees.
Bella, in a dark red dress, stepped forward. Her eyes and the baybayin script planted on her skin were glowing red as she watched all of the zombies suffer a little longer in silence— the zombies starved for air while they begged for forgiveness.
Alicia, who was a hundred feet away from Bella, shrieked in pain. She got overconfident with the speed and strength she possessed and dashed to advance for Bella’s heart. An inch before Alicia’s rotten fingernails reached Bella’s chest to steal the bead, Alicia completely froze.
Bella locked her gaze on Alicia’s sunken eyes for a more extended period of time. She raised the corner of her lip and allowed Alicia to reach for the bead. Alicia gradually moved closer to Bella against her will. It was Bella controlling her.
When Alicia got to hold the red bead for the second time, a strong gust of wind suddenly blew around them. Bella’s hair danced along with the wind while Alicia struggled to remove her hand out of Bella’s chest, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pull her finger out.
“Bumalik sa impyerno,” gritted Bella under her teeth slowly and clearly.
Alicia’s skin began to dry gradually, starting from her arm. It appeared as though all of the fluids in her body were being slowly drained. A few seconds later, her finger began to burn away and eventually turn into ashes little by little. Alicia braced her neck with her free arm and gasped for air.
In a matter of split seconds, all of the undead who disobeyed their Queen’s decree had dissolved into thin air, leaving a brief burst of flares from their remains.
Alicia was left standing in front of their Queen, unable to speak. She squealed in agony while desperately gasping for breath. Her eyes were trembling with dread as she struggled to evade Bella’s deathly glare, but she couldn’t.
A black ink of tear streamed down her cheeks from her decayed-looking eyes when she dared to stare back at Bella’s enraged gaze. With every stare Alicia exchanges, Bella’s crimson eyes deeply peer into her soul.
After witnessing such a gruesome scene, all of the remaining zombies who had not disobeyed their Queen’s command were left standing frozen in horror. They were all completely baffled as to what to do next. They all came to a complete standstill and awaited the order of their Queen, whether to continue spreading darkness or to cease.
Fear can be seen on the faces of both humans and the undead.
Mira made the decision to shut her eyes closed when she realized that the scene was highly unpleasant and gruesome for her to bear.
The sound of Alicia’s scream reverberated in the area as she turned into tiny black ashes.
After a few more seconds of deafening silence resounded throughout the place, Mira gently opened her eyes. Soon after she blinked her eyes open, she noticed that the zombies were crouching low to the ground with their heads held down to the ground.
An intimidating woman in a dark crimson outfit was staring at Mira with a gaze that could kill her. She glanced at her sword, which was about a meter away from her.
“Why did you do that?” asked the woman, her voice filled with annoyance.
Mira’s brows arched as she blinked her eyes twice. “Huh?” She was expecting the woman in front of her to attack her. “D—did what?” she asked, her voice quivering with surprise.
Unlike Bella, Mira did not possess night vision and was unable to see the woman’s face clearly since it was too dark and hazy due to the tiny ashes from the remains of the undead floating in the air.
Both of them didn’t utter another word.
The woman knelt on her knees and gently took Mira’s injured hand in hers.
As the wind blew away the ashes in the air, the moon slowly emerged from behind the cloud, casting light on everyone.
“…Bella?” Mira asked, a glint of hope in her eyes as she hoped it was Bella. Her physical look had changed. A more mellowed appearance to her figure was achieved, emphasizing the ideal feminine proportion that every female would love to have. Her skin looked radiant, and her wavy hair was growing a little longer than it had been.
Bella’s ruby crimson eyes were ablaze with radiance when she placed her long, bloody-tone nails on Mira’s open wound and traced the cut with her index finger.
The light emitted by the blue moon illuminated Bella’s face, adding to her ethereal beauty.
When a gentle current kissed their skin, Bella grinned with delight. Her long, wavy hair and flowing garment swayed gently in the direction of the prevailing breeze.
“Who else, you silly.” Bella’s final words before slumping on Mira’s shoulder.