I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl-Chapter 346 - 342 – The Call of Simurgh

They ventured deeper, and the silence grew increasingly suffocating.

It was no longer an empty silence; it felt like a thick blanket covering their mouths, noses, and ears all at once. Every breath they took felt heavier, as if the air in this forest had decided to no longer be friendly. The trees grew denser, their trunks pitch-black and veined like hardened dragon sinews, their branches intertwining overhead to form a natural dome impenetrable to light. The underbrush, which earlier had merely been a nuisance, now felt like invisible hands trying to drag their feet downward.

Sylvia continued walking ahead, the Chain of Abyss still floating beside her body like a vigilant guardian serpent. The Death Flame in her right palm burned dimly, its light no longer attempting to pierce the darkness just enough to show that it was still alive. Sofia followed right behind, her spear half-raised, her eight wings slowly unfurling bit by bit the deeper they went, as if her body instinctively tried to catch the last remnants of light.

There was no sound of footsteps. No snapping twigs. Even the beat of their hearts if the undead still had heartbeats felt muffled.

"Too quiet," Sofia whispered, her voice barely audible. "I’d rather something just attacked us outright. This... it feels like we’re being watched, but whatever it is, it’s too scary to come closer."

Sylvia didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes kept scanning the darkness, searching for gaps, searching for patterns. She could feel the Death Flame in her chest trembling faintly not in anger, but in... recognition.

Then, suddenly

Light.

Ahead, between the densely packed wall of trees, a gap of illumination appeared that shouldn’t have existed. It wasn’t moonlight, nor the crystalline light of Nocturne, but a pale golden radiance warm, gentle, and... ancient. The light emanated from a grand structure standing alone amid the silent forest.

The building was majestic, yet not in the style of gothic castles or the usual temples seen in Nocturne. Its towering pillars were adorned with intricate carvings of birds, lotus flowers, and swirling flame motifs. The roof curved softly like half-spread wings, made of cream-gold stone that seemed to store light within itself. The main gateway was wide, framed by a pointed Persian-style arch, flanked by two enormous bird statues whose wings formed the entrance’s curve. The entire structure felt like a relic from an era long buried yet still alive, still breathing.

Sylvia stopped.

Her eyes widened slightly, a rare reaction from the Queen of Death.

"...This..." she murmured softly.

Sofia also halted, her spear lowering a little in awe. "What is this place? It feels... sacred."

Sylvia took a deep breath. The Death Flame in her chest suddenly sang louder, as though greeting something it hadn’t met in ages.

"Isn’t this... the place of Simurgh?"

The name slipped from her lips like a memory just freshly uncovered.

Sofia turned quickly. "Simurgh? The legendary bird from Persian mythology?"

Sylvia gave a small nod. "I came here once... a very long time ago. Before Nocturne existed. Before I became what I am now. She allowed me to choose two items from her domain."

Sofia looked at the building again, this time with deeper reverence.

"So... this is a sanctuary of knowledge?"

"More than that," Sylvia replied. "This is where she chooses who is worthy to know."

The two of them fell silent for a moment, staring at the wide-open gateway with no guards.

Then, from the darkness beyond the entrance, something moved.

Huge wings slowly unfurled.

A gigantic bird stepped out its body the size of a young dragon, its pale golden feathers mixed with deep blood-red, its long tail tipped with small, harmless flames. Its bright yellow eyes held immeasurable wisdom, and when it looked at Sylvia, there was recognition there that ran thousands of years deep.

Simurgh gazed at her for a long time.

Then gave a single, slow nod.

Afterward, it turned and walked back into the building, its wings sweeping the air gracefully, as though inviting or more precisely, commanding them to follow.

Sofia instinctively took half a step back, raising her spear again.

"Sylvia... we’re going in?"

Sylvia watched the great bird disappear into the inner darkness.

"No need to hesitate," she said calmly, though a rare warmth colored her voice. "She is Simurgh. A legendary sacred beast of ancient Persian knowledge. She never attacks without reason, and she never invites anyone unworthy. If she nodded to me... it means she wants us to enter."

Sofia stared at Sylvia for a long moment, then gave a small nod. "Alright. I trust you."

The two of them stepped forward.

The moment they crossed the threshold, the world changed again.

The oppressive forest silence vanished instantly, replaced by faint sounds like wind playing among golden leaves, the gentle trickle of water from an unseen source, and the calm, deep breathing of Simurgh herself. Golden light filled the vast interior, illuminating walls covered in story carvings: a giant bird lifting a prince, the tree of life whose roots pierced both sky and earth, and ancient figures reading open books beneath her wings.

In the center of the great chamber, Simurgh had already settled upon a round stone dais surrounded by a small pool of glowing water. She regarded them both once more, this time longer, deeper.

Sylvia dropped to one knee a gesture of respect she rarely ever showed. Sofia followed, though hesitantly.

"It’s been a long time, Simurgh," Sylvia said softly. "I never thought I would return here."

The great bird let out a sound not a roar, not a chirp, but a long note like an ancient wordless song, full of meaning. The sound flowed into their minds like water filling the cracks of memory.

You have changed, Child of Death. Yet your essence remains the same. The darkness you embrace has grown deeper, but the light within it has not yet gone out.

Sylvia gave a faint smile. "That light... perhaps because of her." She glanced briefly at Sofia.

Simurgh shifted her gaze to Sofia. Those bright yellow eyes studied the golden-haired girl for a very long time.

An angel born from blood given by the world’s avatar. Light that grew among corpses. You are an unexpected balance.

Sofia blushed but kept her head bowed in respect.

Simurgh shook her head gently, her feathers trembling, sending ripples of light across the pool.

Then, without any sound, she raised one massive wing soft yet commanding. The wing swept through the air once, and the wall behind the round stone dais parted slowly like silk curtains drawn by an invisible breeze. A new corridor opened, wider than the entrance gate, its walls lined with towering stone shelves stretching far into darkness, yet illuminated by small floating golden orbs like eternal fireflies.

Simurgh stepped forward, her tail brushing the floor with the soft sound of a summer breeze. She glanced back once at Sylvia and Sofia, her bright yellow eyes blinking slowly an invitation without words.

Sylvia rose. Sofia followed at her side. They walked after the great bird into the endless library corridor.

The moment they entered, the world seemed to expand.

Stone shelves rose to an unseen ceiling, filled with ancient yellowed parchment scrolls, cracked dragonhide-bound tomes, faintly glowing memory crystals, even legendary swords embedded in stone stands with runes still dimly alight. There was a round shield engraved with sun and moon said to have once belonged to the earliest kings of civilization, a staff of life-tree wood still dripping eternal green sap from its tip, and faded silk robes that still emanated the aura of long-extinct gods.

In every corner stood transparent crystal cases containing small objects: cracked gemstone rings, broken half-crowns, golden arrows whose tips were still stained with undrying black blood. Every item felt heavy not from physical weight, but from the burden of history clinging to them.

Simurgh stopped in the middle of the main corridor, wings half-spread, creating a warm breeze that carried the scent of old paper and ancient incense.

This place is no longer merely a temple, her song-like voice flowed into their minds. It has become the last library of this world. The repository of everything ever created, possessed, and lost. Treasures of fallen kings, weapons of heroes broken alongside their masters, artifacts of gods no longer worshipped. Most are damaged because they were carried to death, because time rejected them, because the ever-changing world no longer desires them.

She shook her head gently, the feathers along her neck swaying like falling golden leaves.

Yet knowledge never truly dies. It only waits for someone worthy to read it.

Sylvia touched a nearby parchment scroll. Her finger brushed the fragile surface, but the scroll did not crumble instead it glowed faintly as if recognizing the touch of absolute death. She withdrew her hand, eyes narrowing.

"Why has this place never been found?" she asked quietly. "I know many powerful beings exist in this world now. Liches, Archdemons, even the new gods who can once again interfere with the world. They should have sensed this place’s existence."

Simurgh turned to her. Those bright yellow eyes regarded Sylvia with a deep, almost... weary gaze.

There is a special barrier, she answered. A barrier created by the will of the world before this world was reborn. This place is only visible to those who have already been touched by true knowledge and who still carry balance within their darkness.

She paused, then looked at Sylvia even longer.

And then there is you.

Simurgh let out a breath the sound of the great bird’s exhalation like wind passing through an ancient valley, long and heavy with burden.

Anomaly.

The word hung in the air like mist.

Sylvia showed no visible reaction. Only the corner of her lips lifted slightly a cold little smile, but with a glimmer of understanding in her pitch-black eyes.

"Anomaly," she repeated softly, as if tasting the word. "You’ve been watching me for a long time, haven’t you?"

Simurgh did not answer immediately. She only continued walking, leading them deeper into the branching corridor. Here the shelves grew sparser, but the objects stored were far more... dangerous. Swords with blades of solid darkness, shields whose surfaces acted like mirrors yet reflected the darkest possible version of whoever looked into them, and a black crystal orb inside which a dying galaxy seemed to writhe.

Anomaly is not a curse, Simurgh finally continued. It is a gap. A gap where the rules of the world can be broken. You should not have been able to become a Primordial Undead while still carrying light. You should not have been able to create a city of the dead that still sings. You should not have been able to stand here, together with an angel born from the blood of the world’s avatar.

She stopped before a small solitary shelf standing in the middle of the corridor. Upon it rested only one object: a thick book bound in black leather, its faded gold lettering still clearly legible.

Codex Mortifera

Sylvia stared at the book for a long time. The Death Flame in her chest suddenly sang much louder, almost like a suppressed cry of joy.

"This..." she murmured.

The original tome, Simurgh said. Not a copy. Not a translation. The book written by the first Mortifera before you existed. The book that was never meant to be opened again. But you... you are the anomaly who might be able to open it without being destroyed.

Sofia stepped forward half a pace, eyes widening.

"What’s inside it?"

Simurgh turned to her.

Everything you fear to know. And everything you need to survive.

She raised her wing once more, this time pointing toward the ever-darkening corridor behind the shelf.

Go. Read. See. Feel. But remember once you turn the first page, you cannot close it again. Not physically. Not in soul.

Sylvia stared at the book for a very long time. Her fingers trembled slightly not from fear, but from anticipation.