5: Rebirth

".....wake up....from your false reality..."

-???

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"...Sou....."

".....Len...."

"...Soulen...."

A voice called out to her. It was soft, gentle and calm. It gave off a welcoming aura while offering safety with just its voice alone.

A hand gently placed on her cheeks as it caressed it gently.

The touch was familiar, every detail about it itching at a memory deep within her mind. She couldn't pinpoint who it was nor who the voice belonged to, yet her mind refused to forget it at the same time.

Slowly, she opened her eyes to find herself near the edge of a cliff, her head resting on the highs of a muscular male.

Though she was still drowsy from her sleep, she focused on his facial expression before being greeted by a smile.

It was her father. His smile welcoming and honest. He gently placed his left hand on her head; a gentle headpat that caused her to nuzzle into it.

"...Did you sleep well pumpkin?" He answered. His voice sounding so far yet so close at the same time.

She simply nodded before smiling as she nuzzles up closer to him. Her eyes trailed back to the building behind them. Their home.

It was a duplex with a front porch, a small pool and the back was a training ground for guns and melee weapon training.

A home she was proud of way before the infection even happened.

Her father gently hugged her while staring at the city. Though ruined, it had a beautiful scenery that Soulen couldn't deny.

"....This is nice... But I know this can't last forever.... You met some nice people...but also some people who don't understand you..." Her father began to speak, puzzling her slight.

She turned to look at him as the sun blocked his face from view. When she finally focused on his appearance, his face was completely burnt, his appearance shifting to a slight burnt mess excluding his face.

A huge horizontal cut appeared on his tummy for a split second until everything looked perfect again.

Her eyes widened as she covered her mouth, tears running down her eyes as she remembered.

"....you....your dead....how."

She began as her father smiled; the building behind them shifting from a burnt and broken state to a perfectly standing home.

"...Heh... I am always in your heat pumpkin. And I will always watch over you... Even after death... That is to say, you can't die... Not yet." He would say as he held her hand.

Once he did, she felt a surge of pain and relief quickly rise from her arm into her body.

Her body froze, her eyes slowly rolling to he back of her head as she gasped for air. She wasn't sure what was going on with her body, but it was changing. And it was changing rapidly.

"..... Don't waste your new life kiddo. Make me proud and kill the bitch who killed me." He said finally she lost sight of everything around her.

Seconds later, she awoken; gasping for air as the sun's blinding light blinded her briefly.

The ground was cold and slightly sticky, causing her to turn towards it to inspect what it was. Once she faced it, her eyes widened a bit. It was blood, Specifically her own blood. Or at least what used to be her own.

The color had slowly changed to a blueish shade as she noticed her hand.

Connected to to her arm err vines that wrapped around it. They weren't tightly wrapped but it did cover the whole of her hand.

She pulled out of it gently as she stared at the single blue flower that stood amist the vines. It pulsed gently and radiated a warm aura which caused her to relax lightly.

Her skin was pale now. she could clearly see that. Did she die? She probably did. But she was confused. Wasn't she suppose to be a mindless zombie that roamed the earth now?

The dream she had. It felt so real, seeing her father's face and feeling his touch. It could probably be her mind messing with her.

One thing to her was sure though, she was given another chance at life. But as what?

Weakly standing up, she scanned her surroundings and looked at the infected that roamed the place. They paid no mind to her and either just walked passed her or slept where they stood. Fascinating. They were ignoring her? Was she something similar to them? A mutant?

The vines on the ground slowly reached towards her leg and wrapped itself. It was calling for her. She knew it and could feel it. How? She wasn't quite sure.

With very little options however, she devided to heed it's call.

She stood in place as multiple, larger vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around her; blocking the view of her surrounding for a few minutes before reopening in a different location.

She had been taken to another location, though unsure where. But what she saw was breath taken.

A huge tree that was around 50ft tall was buried beneath the earth in a very large cave. The air was fresh, the ground slightly decorated with blue flowers and the pulsing glow from them were breathtaking. How long has the tree been underneath the earth? Months? Years?

She knew not the answer and it caused her to be in awe and be troubled.

Recalling her hand being wrapped by the tree when she awoken, she concluded that her death was somehow avoided by this trees doing. It was probably alive.

This was further confirmed when one of the vines moved by itself and reached towards her.

It gently wrapped itself around her left arm and slowly pulled her forward which she willingly accepted.

As she walked, she gazed into the little ponds and river where she finally saw how she looked.

The color in her skin was gone, replaced with a pale and blueish skin tone. Her left eye was glowing blue gently while her right still had the same Brown eye color.

Her left arm currently had vines grown and attached to it all the way to her elbow. It was slowly growing down to her arm now that she looked at it.

While her right arm was completely fine.

Above her left bossom was a sort of open medium sized wound that had a blueish exposed organ which pulsed in the rhythm of a heartbeat. It was probably her heart. But why was it like that?

She had multiple questions in her mind as she walked. Her emotions were...flat, they weren't gone but she couldn't express them like how she wanted to. Was this alsoa. Result of changing?

There was a chance they could return later in the future.

Finally at the base of the tree, she stared up to it and took in its majestic appearance before the vines let go of her hand and reached towards her forehead.

It slowly touches then attached itself before explaining slightly as her consciousness left her body and instead was in a white space.

She turned around to examine where she was; walking forward at the same time before stopping when a blue glowing orb appeared infeont of her.

Instinctively, she grabbed the orb which her body instantly absorbed and her mind were filled with memories. Memories of how the tree was formed and some other information.

A few minutes after, she was brought back to reality and the vines on her head retracted back.

This tree had began growth a year after the incident. For some reason, a lab near here had exploded with a lot of casualties and deaths. She remembered hearing the news of multiple labs having issues during the first two years while she was still alone.

This particular lab however, had some of the "V-virus", the term everyone used nowadays, and it leaked out unto some chemical spoilage then trailed towards a single small growing tree.

The tree, instead of rottening away from the contaminated nutrients, it absorbed it and mutated. This caused the tree to retract into the earth to a cave where it grew over the years to what it was now. It took 6 years for it grow this way. That was some rapid growth.

The tree was also responsible for her transformation.

She was nether alive nor dead. She was in-between those planes of reality. She still had the infection within her but it was being controlled by the new element within her system. It also explained the pulsing organ on her left chest and the slowly growing flower on her left shoulder

The flower growing on her shoulder would play a vital key point in the future as it would be able to give her the ability to control the output of the element that stabilized he virus.

The more the virus entered her system, the stronger she could get. But it also means she could loose her rationality and also die.

Even if she was dead by the lack of the fluid from the plant, if it was supplied back, she would gain consciousness again. Which was both amazing and terrifying. She was basically a monster now. Not a human.

A being between life an death, a thing brought back from the dead

A revenant.

Yes, that had a nice ring to it. She was the first Revenant in this world. A new race both humans and infected would soon meet.

Her posture had worsen now that she was a revenant. Not as bad as the infected though which was a relief to her.

Her left shoulder sulked downwards and her legs were inwards slightly. She also lost the ability to speak. Only grunts and growls, similar to an infected. Her walk wasn't as lady like nor was it like an infected. It was a mix of both. In the most weird and intriguing way possible.

Aside the flesh wound on her left chest, all previous scars and injuries were healed and she looked beautiful. A pale, bluish creature with a sunny beauty.

Her hair had changed from crimson to silver. With a hint of blue lining and cyan highlights at the top and tips of her hair.

Although she knew she was different, the humans who would see her would just call her a special mutant. So interaction with them was a no for now.

Her minded drifted to Cassei and her team. She wondered if they were doing fine. Which brought her another question. How long was she dead for? Days? Probably. She wasn't exactly sure but must have been days. The blood from earlier was no longer fresh when she awoken.

She decided to disregard the thought for now. Even if she wanted to go and see them, they would shoot her down instantly anyway.

She slowly sat down Infront of the tree, her knees up and her arms around it. She curled herself up into a ball and stared at nothing with a blank gaze as she thought of what to do

Though greatful to be alive, she was also thinking that perhaps it would be better if she died. At least she would be with her father.

Sensing the depression from her, the tree's vines slowly wrapped around her. It gave a warning embrace and caused her to feel safe which made her relax.

Yeah, thinking about it wasn't going to changee the fact she as Alive now. What she should do instead was figured out her next step from here.

Suddenly she recalled one of the informations she got from the blue orb. An interesting experiment she could try as she was bored.

Firstly she could control the vines, though that would require more practice to master as she attempted it some seconds ago and it smacked her on her forehead.

The second and the most interesting one so far was that she could create other Revenants. There two procedures. And one was easier to do than the others.

'....Let's go make my children....' she thought as the vines wrapped around her once again and took her straight to the surface.

The world would soon know about the birth of the Revenants. Would it affect the humans? Or would the humans side with them? She wasn't sure. But it was a curious thought indeed.