As the gunner of the Narwhale, Lily had years of experience under her belt when it came to expeditions. She had once sailed alongside Charles, underwent many adventures, visited many places, faced countless dangers, and fought against all sorts of monstrosities.
Yet no matter how perilous or terrifying those past journeys had been, never once had she felt as helpless as she was now.
She would rather face one of those Divinities in the Subterranean Sea. At the very least, she would have a slim chance of escape. Worse come to worst, at least she could die or just become completely insane.
All of that was better than her current situation—trapped in an endless, time loop and having to deal with these twisted, immortal monsters donning human skin.
The crew lunged at Lily in a crazed frenzy.
A golden light burst forth from Lily and killed all of them.
Time was then reset.
And everything started all over again…
The crew weren't mindless creatures. With each reset of the time loop, they began to adapt to Lily's attack patterns and grew more coordinated in their approach.
Had it not been for the overwhelming power imbalance, they would have taken down Lily by now.
The crew who had thrown all humanity to the wind were vile and horrifying, but they weren't the real threat. Lily was facing a different crisis.
The cursed time loop wasn't changing just the crew. It was corrupting Lily's mind as well.
She had no idea how many more resets there would be. Yet here she was, completely surrounded by former comrades reduced to vile creatures and trapped on this dark and oppressive sea.
Forced to relive the same horror over and over again, the sheer weight all it all pressed down on Lily, triggering a strong desire to self harm.
The crew had already tried suicide, but it hadn't solved anything.
The dead would be revived in the next time loop.
Such a strong feeling of self-destruction had no release, so it festered and rotted within Lily. The decay was slowly eating away at her very soul, challenging her wavering beliefs and morals.
Dark thoughts that Lily had never once contemplated began to take root in her mind. Fear gripped her from the inside out, causing her to shudder involuntarily.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
All of a sudden, Lily shouted with every ounce of strength in her. A radiant light enveloped her as she soared into the sky and darted toward the darkness.
Regret formed in her heart.
She wanted her mother and father…
She wanted to return to the warmth of her home…
Her flight left a beam of light across the inky dark sky. However, it was all futile.
Forty minutes later, Lily was back on the deck.
Once again, she had to face the human monsters.
All these years, Lily had always been spirited and cheerful, as though nothing could break her. But now, the light was gone from her eyes. Her gaze was hollow, empty, like stagnant water.
"She's breaking! She can't take it anymore! HAHAHA!"
Captain Klaus was the first to break out in a peal of hearty laughter. His heart was full with twisted excitement as he stared at Lily, who was on the verge of a breakdown.
Overwhelmed by fear, Lily curled and tucked herself. A soft glow surrounded her, forming a cocoon of light.
The crew closed in on the golden cocoon. They pressed themselves against the glowing shell and licked it in a crazed manner while they mocked and spewed vile words at the girl inside of it.
Meanwhile, Lily didn't know how long she could endure before she became just like them. A year? Or maybe two? Or it could be ten.
But it didn't matter. Her fate was already sealed.
Is there… really no way out?
Lily was trembling uncontrollably. Her features twisted as if she were crying, but there were no tears. The countless time loops had stripped away even the last of her way to vent her emotions.
The time loops continued…
Again…
And again…
Each time a loop started, Lily would retreat into her golden cocoon.
However, the glowing shell around her grew thinner with each loop.
"Mr. Charles!" With her last thread of hope and desperation, Lily called out from within her glowing prison.
As time passed, she realized that her longing for Charles—her yearning for his presence was slowly changing into something else. She was gradually changing into another person—a Lily who was the same as them.
Is it all over? The thought crossed Lily's mind. If Mr. Charles were here, what would he do? He would use whatever resources were on hand to resolve this. But what can I possibly use? What do I even have left at my disposal now? How can I possibly resist this change?
Within the golden cocoon, Lily sat up. For one final time, she gathered the remaining shreds of her willpower to try one last time.
She dug through the satchel at her waist carefully, but she couldn't find anything that could salvage her current situation. She refused to give up and searched again, and again, until her movements became mechanical.
Just as despair was about to take over her once more, a small round-edged bottle slipped out from the collar of her shirt and swayed gently against her chest.
She remembered this bottle. When she left that plane, Linda, the ship's doctor, had given this to her. Linda had told her that if she ever started missing them, she could take a sip of it, and it would bring back good memories.
There was barely much of the potion left. Back when she had returned to her own place, she couldn't hold herself back and drank a bit too much of it.
She uncorked the bottle, tilted her head back, and poured the remaining contents into her mouth. The last drop of potion clung to the smooth glass before it finally slid into her mouth.
The moment she tasted the potion on her tongue, memories flooded Lily's mind. The feelings she thought had been eroded by the endless loops came flooding back.
She remembered her days of adventure with the Narwhale crew and all the feelings she felt back then. And just like that, the emptiness inside of her cracked. The corrupted beliefs that threatened to consume her shattered.
Her despair faded away; the cold, suffocating void was breaking down. Her heart stirred back to life.
However, the feeling was short-lived as a new time loop started.
Once again, the ship's crew surrounded her with lustful gazes.
However, Lily didn't bother. Her hands shook with excitement as she dug frantically into her clothes. She fished out the small round-edged bottle that was still warm from her body heat.
She watched as the last few drops of liquid sloshed in the bottle. Whatever she had consumed in the previous time loop had been replenished.
For the first time since this nightmare of a time loop, the corners of Lily's lips raised into a curve. It was a real, genuine smile that was bright and radiant. She had finally found the way out of this wretched loop.
The potion that Linda had given her back then as a parting gift was the key. With this potion, she would never stoop to the level of those monsters that surrounded her.
Without any hesitation, Lily tilted her head back and drank every single drop. Once more, that strange warmth washed over her. She felt as though the crew of the Narwhale were just beside her.
Every time a time loop started, the first thing Lily would do was drink the potion.
The effects seemed to stack up with each loop, and it reinforced the beliefs within Lily. She felt like she was becoming herself again.
I can endure this! I can do it!
The time loops continued—again and again. However, no one was keeping track anymore. Be it ten years or twenty years, it didn't matter any longer. The crew had long ceased to care.
When they realized that Lily, who had been on the brink of collapse, had returned to normal, rage consumed them.
Their voices rose in fury as they hurled hateful curses and vile words at Lily. They had finally found a way to break their boredom, and now it was gone, just like that.
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However, their anger and frustration soon faded with the passage of time.
Seeing that Lily hadn't become like one of them, the crew eventually lost interest in her. One by one, they wandered off, looking for something else to pass the time.
After an unknown amount of time, all of a sudden, the time loop stopped.
The moment Lily realized that they were out of their predicament, she couldn't quite grasp her complex emotions. She didn't know how to react. She had spent so long trapped in an endless time loop that reality itself felt foreign to her.
And then, the crew noticed as well.
The same wild joy painted their faces.
"We're out! We're finally out! Hurry! Now!"
At their fastest speed, everyone reached for their weapons, pointed it at their heads, and pulled the triggers.