It’s day... I don’t even remember anymore. Another day, I wake up in hopes of seeing you again. Another day when I lose a bit of my humanity... for something that wasn’t even my fault.
Zera thought, dipping a finger bone into blood-slurry.
He was writing his thoughts on the walls of his room. It was the only way he could recall his human nature, as the rest of it was long gone.
Just to be around Hina, he had abandoned the principles he grew up with. The hands and spear he only used to hunt mutants were being used to kill humans. Not just to kill them, but also to consume them.
If Hina saw him like that, she wouldn’t recognize him as her brother. But what other choice did he have?
He couldn’t possibly survive the journey to find another camp. Perhaps Min knew that and wanted him to die.
If not for him... I would still be there. Not living in misery... It’s all because of him!
Bit by bit, Zera had lost his rationality. It was a side effect of cannibalism. There had been many documented studies of the effect of cannibalism on one’s mind.
Erratic behavior, strange thoughts, delusions, and even the creation of brain-infecting diseases were common effects.
But instead of all that, the cannibal ’tribe’ of Phoenix insisted that eating humans and undead helped them absorb their strength and other traits of the dead.
That’s why they didn’t hesitate before eating even zombies.
If I think about it, we’re not that different from the undead.
The only difference between the cannibals and the zombies was their former’s rationality and intelligence.
Zombies ate because of their instinct, while the cannibals consumed humanoid flesh because they had rationalized it to be the quick and easy way to procure food.
The sounds of laughter and hooting made Zera peek out of the window. As usual, the tribe was happy, dancing around while drinking a concoction of boiled blood.
The crimson liquid had turned black after the blood of humans, mutants, and undead had been mixed together.
Zera had never tried it but assumed it had some alcohol in it as well. At least based on his observations. Everyone who drank it behaved erratically and drunk.
At a distance, he could see the ’human’ side of the base. The side which he had once fought for. The side that abandoned him without any thought. But what hurt him more was that even his sister didn’t take his side.
Back when the headless turned everyone into zombies, he had saved her, putting his life on the line. Yet, Hina didn’t take a stand for him when it mattered the most.
The thoughts of continuous betrayals made him clench his fingers, crushing the blood-soaked finger bones.
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Didn’t it mean that Min, Hina, and Neha, none of them considered him as family or friends?
What am I sulking for?
It was like he had received enlightenment. If those who didn’t care about him brought misery to him, then couldn’t he just... stop caring about them?
What was the point of preserving his humanity if humanity had abandoned him?
Zera rushed out of the room, joining the others near the fire for the first time. Even the tribe was shocked to see him there. However, instead of sidelining him, they handed him a bowl, and everyone poured a bit of their drinks into it.
"Drink up, brother," someone urged him.
Zera looked at his reflection in the blood. The faces of Min, Hina, and the rest appeared around him. They looked sad, disappointed in him.
However, a moment later, their faces were replaced by those around him. Cheering him on as they hunted the humans on the other side. That sight... brought him peace. It gave him a place to belong.
So, Zera drank the blood. More and more of it until he passed out.
At a distance, a figure watched him, shaking his head in disappointment.
"He’s a lost cause," Min said, patting Hina’s shoulder.
Unlike Zera’s belief, Min had watched over him for a while. Though not like the big brother that he used to be.
He had been too harsh and brought Hina with him so she could persuade Zera to leave that life.
Unfortunately, they were too late.
Zera didn’t want to be saved anymore.
Hina wiped a stray tear rolling down her cheek. It was at that moment that Zera was dead to her.
"Let’s leave, Mister Min..." she said, turning around.
Both of them thought they were doing Zera a favor. Yet it never occurred to them that perhaps they were being played.
Joanne’s death, Zera’s estrangement, and now his abandonment were all carefully placed puzzle pieces that together revealed Neha’s true face.
It had been her plan to divide Hina and Zera from the moment she saw them. They were too dangerous to be left together.
In the past timeline, the two of them had led a militia after taking over the Phoenix and nearby military bases. Their irrational thirst for dominance led them to attack other survivors, either killing them or turning them into militants.
Not wanting the history to repeat itself, at first she tried to educate and recruit the two to work for her.
Despite her best efforts, she understood there were some things that were out of her control. Zera’s bloodlust being one of them. Yet the siblings remained attached at the hip.
She knew she had to divide them, turn them against each other in some way.
That’s why she staged everything.
The human flesh Hina consumed? It was her doing.
The broken conversation Zera heard was also of her doing.
Even now, she had insisted that Min take Hina with him to convince Zera to return.
She knew it was the time for the cannibals to feast, and they’d see Zera either consuming human flesh or doing something he shouldn’t.
But even she hadn’t thought Zera would give up his humanity so easily. That was a bonus for her.
"I don’t feel good about it," she mumbled, watching Min and Hina return. "But I have to do it for the sake of my future. A vision to bring about a world where humans will reign supreme once again. A place where we’ll control zombies and mutants alike."
Despite that, she knew there was an obstacle in the future she wanted.
"Don’t worry... I’ll deal with you soon," she said, eyeing her trump card. "Very soon."
Little did she know, someone was heading her way to fulfill her wish.