Belladonna stepped forward, her boots sinking slightly into the damp earth. Sunlight filtered through a thick canopy of trees, dappling the ground with golden patches. The air was different—lighter, cleaner. It smelled of fresh rain and blooming flowers, but there was something wrong.
She turned slowly, her heart pounding. The portal behind her flickered before snapping shut with a final hiss, leaving her stranded.
"Where am I? Is this Earth?"
Her eyes swept across the unfamiliar landscape. This wasn't the ruined, post-apocalyptic Earth she had left behind. There were no crumbling cities, no skies choked with smoke, no howling monsters lurking in the shadows. Instead, the world around her was… peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Then she heard it. A distant hum of voices, laughter, civilization.
Belladonna moved through the trees, cautious, her muscles coiled for a fight. When she reached the forest's edge, the sight before her sent a cold chill through her spine.
A thriving city stretched out in the distance. Tall, pristine buildings gleamed under the sun. Cars zipped smoothly down paved roads. People walked the streets without fear. Large screens displayed bright advertisements—normal things. Modern things.
Her breath hitched. This wasn't the Earth she had left behind.
It was an Earth ten years after the apocalypse ended.
"Did it end after I was sacrificed?" she thought, a bitter taste rising in her mouth.
Belladonna's fingers clenched into fists.
"Ah! Seriously... They used me, sacrificed me... and—"
Her thoughts fractured when the ground trembled beneath her feet, a low, ominous vibration that sent a jolt of alarm through her veins.
She whipped her head around just in time to hear a scream.
A boy stood frozen at the edge of the road, his small frame trembling as the pavement beneath him cracked apart. The tremors intensified, deep fissures splitting the street open. Then—a monstrous claw burst from the depths.
The creature that emerged was massive, its twisted form rising from the earth in a shower of debris. Jagged, insectoid limbs glistened in the sunlight, its elongated maw dripping with venom. It let out a guttural screech, eyes locking onto the terrified child.
Belladonna's breath hitched.
"What? I thought there wouldn't be any monsters. Did I plan wrong?"
Her instincts screamed at her to move. She reached for her sword—only to realize she had none.
Damn it!
She was about to lunge forward anyway when a streak of light shot past her.
A group of figures clad in radiant armor descended upon the monster, their movements swift and precise. Each carried a different weapon—one with a glowing spear, another with twin blades, and the last wielding a staff crackling with divine energy. Their presence was suffused with an almost unnatural brilliance, a stark contrast to the dark, chaotic energy she had once wielded.
One of them raised a hand.
"By the light of Isa, be purged!"
A surge of golden flames erupted, engulfing the monster in a holy inferno. It shrieked, thrashing violently before its body crumbled to ash. The moment the creature disintegrated, the tremors ceased.
The child fell to his knees, sobbing, as the armored figures stood tall.
"The Holy Apostles of Isa," someone whispered in awe.
Belladonna's breath caught in her throat.
"Isa? Wait… that sounds familiar… Isa, as in Isabella?"
Her stomach twisted with something sharp and ugly.
"She has a group dedicated to her?! That wretched witch?!!"
Her nails dug into her palms as she watched the so-called Holy Apostles bask in the admiration of the onlookers. People murmured their names with reverence, their eyes shining with gratitude.
One of the apostles—a man with silver hair and piercing gold eyes—turned his gaze in her direction. His expression was unreadable, but something in the way his eyes narrowed sent a warning through her.
Belladonna swallowed hard and stepped back into the shadows of the alley.
This world was wrong. Completely wrong.
The apocalypse should have been over.
"What could have gone wrong? I was sure a sacrifice was needed… unless—"
A chilling realization crawled up Belladonna's spine.
"Unless there was a specific type of sacrifice needed?"
Her breath came faster, her mind racing. She had been the one chosen. The one thrown into the void. Had she misunderstood? Had her sacrifice been wrong somehow?
Her pulse pounded in her ears as she clenched her fists.
Isabella—no, Isa—was revered. The apocalypse hadn't just ended; it had changed. The world had been reshaped under that wretched witch's influence.
Belladonna gritted her teeth.
I need answers.
She cast one last glance at the apostles, their golden light almost blinding. The silver-haired man was still watching her.
Belladonna turned sharply and disappeared deeper into the alley.
She had to find out the truth. And if Isabella had stolen the world she died to save—
She'd take it back with a dash of revenge.
"Hey, Arthur, what are you staring at?"
The voice snapped the silver-haired man out of his thoughts. He blinked, his golden eyes narrowing slightly before shifting to the fellow apostle who had spoken—a young woman clad in the same radiant armor, her expression curious.
Arthur hesitated for a moment before responding, his gaze flickering back to the alley where the mysterious woman had disappeared.
"...Nothing Emily," he said finally, though his grip on his weapon tightened.
That woman—something about her felt wrong. Not in the way monsters did, but different. Like an echo of something long forgotten, something that shouldn't exist anymore.
And yet, here she was.
Belladonna exhaled shakily, pressing herself against the cold brick wall of the alley.
She had nothing. No home. No allies. No weapons. Everything she had fought for, everything she had sacrificed, was gone the moment she was thrown into that portal.
Her hands trembled.
What do I do? How do I get revenge?
She forced herself to look up, desperate for any sign—any clue as to where to start. That was when she saw it.
A massive billboard loomed over the street, its bright, flashing display impossible to ignore.
Isabella.
Alexander.
And the rest of the so-called hero party.
They stood together, smiling like gods descended to bless the world. Isabella was at the center, radiant in divine light, her long red hair flowing behind her like a mockery. Alexander stood beside her, his sword resting on his shoulder, the same sword Belladonna had once reforged for him with her own hands. The others flanked them, their faces familiar—each one a person she had fought alongside.
Yet she was nowhere to be seen.
She was the strategist. The one who had laid the groundwork, made the impossible plans, ensured their survival. And yet, in this new, rewritten history, she had been erased.
Belladonna's nails dug into her palms, rage bubbling under her skin like molten fire.
"I was the mind behind everything… yet they excluded me."
She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. It didn't matter why they erased her. What mattered was that they thought she was gone.
Good.
That meant she had the advantage.
A slow, bitter smile stretched across her lips.
"I will exact revenge no matter what."
For now, she would lay low. Observe. Learn.
She would live as a regular citizen, unnoticed, forgotten—just like they wanted her to be.
And when the time was right…
She would tear down everything they had built.