The Rival Who Wanted My Crown

Vespera Nyx stood beneath the broken streetlight, watching the zombies disappear between abandoned cars and damaged buildings. Their movements were slow and unsteady, but she could feel their presence even after they had moved beyond her sight.

It was a strange feeling.

She could sense their hunger, their fear of stronger creatures, and their desperate need to obey her. Their thoughts were not like human thoughts. They were simple, filled with instincts and scattered images, yet somehow, she understood them.

She was their queen.

But she had no kingdom, no loyal followers she could trust, and no idea where Caedmon Veyr and Liora Sable were hiding.

Her fingers curled into fists.

“Where are you hiding, Caedmon?”

She remembered his face when he had demanded that she sign away her properties. She remembered how easily he had abandoned her. Most painfully, she remembered the way he had kissed Liora while she watched.

Seven years of marriage had meant nothing to him.

Her sacrifice had meant nothing.

Even her life had meant nothing.

Vespera lowered her head, forcing herself to control the anger rising inside her.

She could not afford to lose herself in memories.

She was inside the world of a novel now, and this world was far more dangerous than the one she had left behind.

In the original story, the apocalypse had begun with a mysterious infection that spread through the population. Within days, entire cities had fallen. Within weeks, the dead outnumbered the living.

But the novel had never explained where the infection came from.

The author had only described the outbreak as a natural disaster, something humanity could neither predict nor prevent.

Vespera now suspected that the truth was different.

She remembered a chapter describing a research facility outside the city. Before the apocalypse, the government had funded a secret project called Project Lazarus. The scientists involved claimed they were developing a treatment that could repair damaged human cells and prevent death from certain diseases.

The project had been shut down after several workers disappeared.

According to an old news report mentioned in the novel, the facility had suffered a serious accident shortly before the outbreak.

The government had denied everything.Then the infection appeared.

Vespera looked toward the distant skyline.

“If this was really caused by humans, someone must know what happened.”

A faint electronic sound interrupted her thoughts.

The blue screen appeared before her eyes.

[Royal Authority: Active.]

[Nearby infected: 47.]

[Nearby living humans: 12.]

[Warning: Abnormal mutation detected within a five kilometer radius.]

Vespera frowned.

“Abnormal mutation?”

A new line appeared.

[Mutation strength exceeds standard infected classification.]

She stared at the message.

The novel had described several types of zombies. The ordinary ones were slow and driven by hunger. Mutated zombies were faster and stronger. Some could climb walls, while others possessed enough strength to tear through metal doors.

But a creature that exceeded the standard classification this early in the apocalypse was unusual.

She had to be careful.

For all her new power, she did not know how to fight properly. She had never held a weapon longer than a kitchen knife, and her knowledge of the Zombie Queen came from a novel that had barely explained her abilities.

She could command the undead, but she did not know the limits of that command.

She could feel their hunger, but she did not know whether they could turn against her.

Most importantly, she had no idea what would happen if she died again.

“First, I need information,” she muttered.

She moved toward a nearby convenience store.

The glass entrance had been smashed, and shelves lay scattered across the floor. Empty food packets covered the ground. Someone had dragged a refrigerator away from the wall, leaving dark marks across the tiles.

Vespera stepped over the broken glass.

A body lay behind the counter.

She stopped.

It was a young woman wearing a blue uniform. Her eyes were open, and her fingers were wrapped around a mobile phone.

Vespera approached cautiously.

The woman’s phone screen was still glowing.

A message filled the display.

Please open the door. I know you are inside. I can hear you crying. I promise I will not take your supplies. I only need somewhere safe to stay.

Below it was a reply.

You should have thought about that before you betrayed me.

Vespera stared at the words. A second message appeared.

You took my husband. You told him I was cheating. You ruined my life, and now you want me to save you?

The conversation ended there. Vespera slowly lowered the phone.

The dead woman had been begging someone for help.

Someone she had betrayed.

Or perhaps someone who believed she had been betrayed.

In this world, everyone seemed to have a reason to hate someone else.

She looked toward the store entrance.

A weak scratching sound came from outside.

Three ordinary zombies stood near the doorway, staring at her.

Vespera felt their attention settle on her. One of them shuffled forward.

She lifted her hand.

“Stop.”

The zombie froze. Vespera’s eyes widened slightly.

It had obeyed her without hesitation.

She pointed toward the body behind the counter.

“Did you kill her?” The zombie tilted its head.

A series of broken images entered Vespera’s mind.

A frightened woman running, door slamming shut.

A man striking someone with a metal rod.

Then darkness.

Vespera pulled away, pressing a hand against her forehead.

“What was that?” The images vanished.

She looked at the zombie again.

“Show me where the man went.”

The creature turned and shuffled toward the back of the store.

Vespera followed.

A narrow door led into a storage room. Several boxes had been opened, and canned food lay scattered across the floor. At the far end was a second exit leading into an alley.

Fresh footprints marked the dusty ground.

Someone had escaped through there.

Vespera stepped outside and studied the footprints.

The man had been running.There were several drops of blood beside the wall.

She crouched and touched one with her finger.

A strange sensation passed through her body.

For a brief moment, she felt the man’s terror.

He had seen something.

Something that had frightened him more than the zombies.

Vespera quickly withdrew her hand. She stood up and stared down the alley.

“This world is hiding something.”

A loud crash came from the main road.

She turned sharply.

Several people were running toward the shopping center.

There were six of them, all carrying bags. A middle aged man led the group, holding a metal pipe. A young woman stumbled behind him while another man pulled her by the arm.

“Keep moving!” the leader shouted.

A zombie emerged from between two cars.

The leader struck it in the head.

The creature fell. The group continued running until another infected appeared in front of them.

The young woman screamed.

“Please, don’t leave me!”

The man pulling her arm shoved her toward the zombie.

She fell to the ground.The creature immediately turned toward her

The other survivors ran away.

Vespera watched in disbelief.

The young woman struggled to crawl backward, crying for help.

“Please! I have children!”

No one returned.

Vespera felt a familiar pain twist inside her chest.

She had begged Caedmon and Liora in the same way.

She had begged people who had promised to protect her.

And they had all walked away.

Her hands trembled.

For a moment, she wanted to turn away. She wanted to tell herself that the woman was a stranger and that she had no reason to interfere.

But she could not forget the look in the woman’s eyes.

It was the same look she had seen in her own reflection before she died.

Vespera raised her hand.

“Stop!”

The zombie froze just before reaching the woman.

The young woman stared at it, too frightened to move.

Vespera walked toward them.

“Get up,” she ordered.

The woman scrambled to her feet.

“Run toward the building. Do not stop until you reach the door.”

The woman obeyed.

Vespera turned to the zombie.

“Follow me.”

It lowered its head.

The woman reached the store and collapsed beside the entrance, sobbing.

Vespera watched her for a moment.

“Why did they abandon you?”

The woman wiped her face.

“My name is Nerissa Quill. I was traveling with my brother and his friends. We were looking for supplies when the infected surrounded us.”

She swallowed.

“My brother pushed me toward them so he could escape.”

Vespera felt a cold anger settle inside her.

“Your own brother?”

Nerissa nodded.

“He said there was no room for everyone in the vehicle. He said I was too slow and that I would get them killed.”

Her voice broke.

“I have protected him my whole life. I paid his debts. I helped him when he lost his job. I even gave him my savings to start a business.”

She looked at Vespera with red eyes.

“And he left me to die.”

Vespera remained silent.

There were no words she could offer that would make the woman’s pain disappear.

Nerissa looked at the zombies standing obediently nearby.

“Why aren’t they attacking you?”

Vespera glanced at them.

“Because they know better.”

Nerissa stared at her.

Vespera almost smiled.

It was not a joke, but she could not explain the truth to a stranger.

“Stay here for now,” she said. “Do not open the door for anyone unless I tell you to.”

Nerissa quickly nodded.

Vespera turned toward the street.

She had no intention of becoming a savior. She could not save everyone, and she would not sacrifice her own survival to help strangers who might betray her later.

But she could not ignore what she had witnessed.

The apocalypse was bringing out the worst in people.

The infection had made the world dangerous, but betrayal was making it cruel.

And if the apocalypse was the result of human experiments, then humanity had created its own punishment.

Vespera walked farther into the street.

She needed to find Caedmon and Liora before they established themselves inside the settlement described in the novel.

She remembered the name of the place.