(Xyrean Province- Inner Regions)
(The Mermaid's Lake- Forested Outskirts)
Then there was nothing.
Qin Lan opened her eyes and found herself floating in a void of infinite darkness. Thousands of memories appeared all around her body.
They took the form of tiny screens with images playing inside that were too small to make out clearly.
These memories twisted and wriggled as if they were somehow alive. Qin Lan opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
She looked around in confusion since she could not understand how she had ended up in this strange place.
"I give her permission," a cold voice echoed through the void. The tone and cadence of the voice was one that Qin Lan was familiar with since it was her own.
"Transfer her all of my memories... she will understand my request..."
Before Qin Lan could react, the thousands of memories floating in this strange void rushed towards her like an endless tide.
pαпdα Йᴏνê1,сòМ She screamed in pain as the unfamiliar memories burrowed into her mind.
Qin Lan may not have lived for a long time, but her mind was powerful and her memories almost overwhelmed Sui Li.
In this strange void time no longer seemed to have any meaning.
The young woman floating through the darkness wasn't sure if minutes, hours or even days had passed.
Eventually she opened her eyes and the void shattered into a million pieces.
Qin Lan got up from the ground with a painful groan and moved her hands. She froze in place as she touched a warm soft body with her fingertips.
She looked up and saw Eve staring down at her with a conflicted expression on her face. Qin Lan wasn't sure how to react either and both women stared at each other awkwardly.
Eventually Qin Lan moved out of Eve's lap and took a few steps back in order to create some distance.
Her head was throbbing painfully with a massive headache after absorbing all of the memories from the original Qin Lan.
She desperately needed to take a rest and examine these new memories carefully but first she had to deal Eve.
"Listen Eve... I..." Qin Lan hesitantly spoke.
"I... I have a lot to think about... if you are telling the truth then... I..."
Qin Lan wasn't sure what she was supposed to do or how to face the beautiful woman who was looking at her.
According to the original Qin Lan's memories, her brother had always hated her so there was a strong possibility that Eve was trying to protect her in her own way.
Eve walked up to Qin Lan and gently grabbed her hand before the confused woman had a chance to pull them away.
"I love you..." Eve solemnly spoke as she felt a huge weight on her chest suddenly disappear.
The zombie empress did not know why she had just confessed her true feelings to her favourite human, but she felt as though it was the right choice.
"You don't have to answer now... but I want you to know that I will not let anyone hurt you..." Eve promised seriously.
The zombie empress lightly squeezed Qin Lan's hand and a warm smile flashed across her face.
Qin Lan was looking at her with a frightened expression as if she could not believe that this was happening.
Eve wanted nothing more than to lean forward and press her lips against Qin Lan's but knew that now was not the right time.
The pair remained frozen in silence as a few birds flew through the treetops. Gentle rays of sunlight streamed down through the forest and cast long shadows on the ground.
"Eve... I... I need some time... this... is just too much..." Qin Lan finally whispered as she reluctantly took her hands out of Eve's grasp.
"I do have feelings for you but... I just... I can't deal with them right now."
Eve nodded in understanding and took a small step forward. She could see the tiny pores on Qin Lan's skin and could smell her sweet scent.
The zombie empress tilted her head down and pressed a light kiss against Qin Lan's cheek that was as soft as a feather.
Qin Lan could feel her face beginning to heat up as she looked at the beautiful woman who had haunted both her fantasies and her nightmares over the last few weeks.
She had searched through the original Qin Lan memories, and she had never encountered Eve or a mutated zombie capable of disguising as a human.
But that was not to say that it was not possible for a zombie to conceal their appearance.
The original Qin Lan rarely left her base and mainly used her puppets to scout out the surrounding area for supplies and to clear out the nearby zombies.
"What are you?" Qin Lan asked quietly as she raised up her face and stared into Eve's eyes as if searching for something.
A pained look flashed across Eve's face as she heard Qin Lan's question. She knew that she was a monster... an experiment...
Unworthy to be loved.
"I... I was created in a lab..." Eve stammered slightly as she spoke. She lowered her head and was afraid to look at the expression on Qin Lan's face.
Eve took in a deep breath as she opened her mouth and spoke,
"I don't know my real name... I don't have any memories from before. For as long as I can remember, I was floating inside a container."
"There were scientists who would experiment on me... they would inject me with different liquids that made me suffer a tremendous amount of pain, cut and slice off chunks of flesh and worse..."
"Inside my head is a purplish-black crystal that the scientists implanted in my skull that changed my physiology."
"Can you show me?" Qin Lan quietly whispered as she took a step forward until she was face to face with the zombie empress.
Eve almost refused her request but then she remembered that Qin Lan had already seen her terrifying form already.
The zombie empress let out a heavy sigh and focused on the threads of purplish-black energy that were running through her body.
Her height increased by a few extra feet and the excess fat on her body shrivelled up until she had an almost skeleton-like frame.
Eve's skin was now a pale and sickly colour and she possessed pitch-black eyes that were sunken into their sockets.
Her fingernails extended outwards into long black claws that gleamed dangerously under the sunlight.
The zombie empress' terrifying form was now on full display for Qin Lan to see.
The clearing fell silent as the nearby animals ran away from the monstrous creature that suddenly appeared.
The dangerous aura surrounding Eve's body made them afraid. The zombie empress was an apex predator, and the animals could sense her threat to their safety.
Eve's fingers began to tremble, and she drew in a few more shaky breaths. She had never felt so terrified and vulnerable in her life.
Suddenly a warm hand grabbed her trembling palm. Eve hesitantly lowered her head and saw Qin Lan looked at her with an expression of concern.
There was no fear, hatred, or disgust on her face.
"I'm not afraid," Qin Lan gently spoke.
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