I Got Reincarnated as a Zombie Girl-Chapter 347 - 343 – Acknowledgment from the Ancient
Sylvia stared at the book for a very long time. Her fingers trembled slightly not from fear, but from anticipation. Codex Mortifera, the original tome of the first Mortifera, a figure whose very name had long dissolved into the mists of time. The black leather cover felt alive beneath her fingertips, pulsing faintly like a heart that had slept for thousands of years. The faded golden script seemed to call to her, whispering silently, inviting her to open it.
She reached out fully, fingers gripping the edge of the cover. The Death Flame in her chest sang more wildly, like an incomplete victory song. Sofia beside her held her breath, her golden eyes glowing faintly, a mixture of awe and concern.
Then Sylvia pulled.
Nothing happened.
The cover remained sealed, as though bound by an invisible force. She pulled harder, channeling a trace of Death Flame to her fingertips. The black-purple fire touched the dark leather, but instead of opening it, the flame was sucked inward, vanishing like water swallowed by dry sand. The book didn’t budge, didn’t crack, didn’t glow. It simply stayed silent, as if rejecting the presence of the Queen of Death herself.
Sylvia frowned, her pitch-black eyes narrowing. "What is this?"
Simurgh slowly shook her head, her feathers swaying like a breeze brushing fallen golden leaves. Her bright yellow eyes regarded Sylvia with deep understanding not pity, but the understanding of a teacher seeing a student not yet ready for the next lesson.
You are not yet ready, her melodic voice flowed into their minds, gentle yet firm, like water moving between coral reefs. The Codex is not a dead object you can force. It is the very essence of the first Mortifera. It chooses who may read it, not the other way around.
Sylvia released her grip, though her gaze remained locked on the book. The Death Flame in her chest calmed slightly, as though disappointed but understanding. "Then why show it to me now?"
Simurgh slowly raised her left wing, brushing the air above the codex. The book floated up from its shelf, light as a dried leaf, and glided gently toward Sylvia. It landed perfectly in her open palm cold yet alive, heavy yet weightless.
Take it, Simurgh said. It will open on its own when you have been acknowledged by the Codex itself. When you truly become the balanced anomaly not only of death, but of death that embraces life. When that moment arrives, it will whisper the secrets you have unknowingly sought all this time.
Sylvia gazed at the book in her hand. She could feel its faint vibration, like a held breath. With a single finger motion, she stored it in her inventory, in a special empty slot that had seemed to wait for exactly this kind of object. Her eyes turned to Simurgh, filled with unspoken questions.
"But when?" she murmured softly, almost to herself.
Simurgh gave no answer. She simply turned slowly, wings half-unfurled again, and the corridor ahead shifted once more. The stone walls moved like water waves, revealing a new, narrower but brighter path illuminated by golden orbs that shone more vividly than before. The air here felt warmer, more alive, as though the library itself had a slowly beating heart.
She was invited again. There is still more you must see. More that I must give.
The two of them followed. Their footsteps now sounded faint on the smooth stone floor. Sofia walked closer to Sylvia, her hand lightly touching her queen’s arm, offering silent support. Sylvia glanced at her briefly, a thin smile returning cold on the surface, yet hiding unmistakable warmth.
This new corridor was shorter, but each step felt like crossing a different era. The shelves here were sparser, but the objects upon them felt more... sacred. There was a necklace made from the bones of a long-fallen god, an hourglass whose sand flowed upward instead of down, and a golden chalice still containing red liquid blood that never dried. The air smelled of ancient incense mixed with hot metal, as though myths and reality had converged here.
Simurgh stopped before a small altar at the end of the corridor. The altar was made of glossy black stone like obsidian, but embedded in its center stood a nearly two-meter-long golden spear. The broad leaf-shaped blade glowed bright gold like the morning sun, yet faint black cracks marred its surface like wounds that had never healed. The shaft was ancient sacred wood, darkened by age, adorned with faded angelic runes that still emitted a pure, holy radiance.
Simurgh turned not to Sylvia, but to Sofia. Her bright yellow eyes blazed even stronger, as though seeing something only she could comprehend.
This is Lucifer’s golden spear, her voice flowed again, this time deeper, heavier. The weapon he wielded before the Fall. After his descent, he could no longer touch it, its holiness too pure for the darkness he embraced. This spear was drawn here automatically, claimed by the library’s will to collect what has been forgotten.
Sofia stared at the spear with wide eyes, her twelve wings trembling faintly as they responded to the holy aura radiating from it. "Lucifer... the strongest angel once?"
Simurgh gave a slow nod.
Yes. The weapon that once scorched the heavens and pierced hell itself. Now it awaits a new wielder, someone who can maintain the balance between light and darkness, something Lucifer failed to do.
She raised her wing once more, brushing the air above the altar. The spear trembled faintly, as though awakening from a long slumber. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Approach, angel born from the blood of the world’s avatar. Take it if you can. But you will need the spear’s own acknowledgment. It will look into your soul and decide whether you are worthy.
Sofia turned to Sylvia, golden eyes filled with doubt yet also determination. "Me...?"
Sylvia gave a small nod, her hand gently touching Sofia’s back. "Do it. If Simurgh chose you... then you are the right one."
Sofia took a deep breath. Her twelve wings spread fully now, blazing with bright golden light that illuminated the corridor even more intensely. She stepped forward and reached for the golden spear’s shaft.
The moment her fingers touched it, the world changed.
Golden light exploded from the spear, enveloping Sofia like a cloak of fire that did not burn. Her eyes closed, her body trembled gently as though witnessing something invisible to others. Sylvia took half a step back; the Death Flame in her chest reacted not in anger, but in curiosity, like one fire recognizing its counterpart from the opposite side.
In Sofia’s mind, visions flowed like rivers of light: Lucifer in the heavens, his spear blazing in defense of justice, then the Fall, holy fire extinguished, hell swallowing the light. Then Sofia herself was born from the blood of the world’s avatar, rising among corpses yet choosing light amid death, choosing Sylvia. The spear whispered: You are not Lucifer. You did not fall. You are the balance he failed to achieve. Are you ready to carry light into darkness without being consumed?
Sofia nodded within the vision, her soul shining brighter.
The light exploded once more, this time wrapping both the spear and Sofia as one. The spear freed itself from the altar and landed perfectly in her hand, its golden blade now glowing without cracks, the angelic runes blazing anew.
Sofia opened her eyes, her breathing steady but powerful. "It... accepted me."
Simurgh nodded slowly, pleased yet weary.
Now you possess a weapon worthy of an angel like you. Use it wisely for light that shines too brightly can blind, just as darkness that grows too deep can consume. But the two of you can complement each other. That is enough for now.
Sylvia looked at Sofia with faintly sparkling eyes not jealousy, but pride. "Looks like you just got an upgrade."
Sofia smiled widely, twirling the spear once. A gentle holy breeze swept through the corridor.
Simurgh turned again, heading toward the end of the passage.
There is one more. But it is not for you to take now.
Sylvia gave a small nod, though her eyes lingered on the now-empty altar that had held Lucifer’s spear. The lingering holy aura in the air felt like a warm wind, reminding her of the light she had once known before death truly claimed everything. Sofia stood beside her, the new golden spear still faintly glowing in her grasp, beating like a second heart in harmony with her twelve wings.
"Let’s go home first," Sylvia murmured quietly, her voice flat yet deeply thoughtful. "Nocturne is waiting."
Sofia nodded, but before they could move, Simurgh slowly shook her head.
Go. But remember knowledge is not the end. It is a weapon. Use it before the weapon uses you.
The corridor walls shifted once more, opening an exit that led directly to the edge of the forest. The two of them stepped out, leaving the golden light behind.
In the depths of hell ruled by the Seven Deadly Sins, different from the underworld consisting of 72 demons formerly led by Baal, now under the leadership of Sylvia and Sofia, or the Greek Pantheon underworld now ruled by Persephone, all exist in the same world but are separated like layers that never touch each other. Here, the darkness is thicker, hotter, like the never-ending breath of fire.
Lucifer lounged on his throne of fallen angel bones, teeth sinking into the forbidden fruit he had stolen from heaven. Its taste was sweet-sour, brimming with undying sin. The fruit remained fresh, as though freshly picked from Eden, despite thousands of years passing. He chuckled softly, his voice echoing through the chamber where lava flowed like rivers of blood.
Then he stopped.
A strange sensation pierced his chest like an old thread suddenly pulled taut. His lost golden spear, the holy weapon he had abandoned after the Fall, now had a new owner. That pure light aura had ignited once more.
Lucifer laughed louder, but his expression sharpened like infernal steel. His red eyes blazed with anger and curiosity. "Who dares to take my lost weapon?" he muttered coldly, voice like a gust of sulfur wind.
He closed his eyes, his mind stretching like a spiderweb across the entire underworld. But there was no trace. No signal. Only silence, as though swallowed by a place even he could no longer see after his fall, the library of the world, Simurgh’s domain.
He opened his eyes again. His smile returned, now laced with dark promise. "Very well. Let’s see who dares to play with the light that once belonged to me."
