Shrouded Seascape

"Yes, ten years! A full ten years! A whole ten years is 5,256,000 minutes! Each time loop lasts 40 minutes, which means I've been through 131,400 time loops!!"

Wrench grew more and more agitated; spittle flew out of his mouth as he added, "Do you know why I know that? Do you know why I haven't gone insane yet? It's all because with each time loop, my mind and sanity are reset except for my memories!!"

A deathly silence descended upon the deck. The crew members covered in snow all over froze and glanced at each other. A faint sense of despair permeated the air.

Realizing that the morale of the crew was rapidly declining, Klaus immediately exclaimed, "Don't listen to his nonsense! Back then, he was alone, but there are so many of us right now! We'll definitely figure out a solution!"

"We're in a strange situation, but we have to remain calm to think of a solution. And haven't we encountered something similar to this before? Remember that island with the fish? Wasn't that island far more dangerous than our predicament?"

Thanks to Klaus' rapid response, the morale no longer declined. However, it wasn't enough. They had to resolve the issue at hand.

Klaus and the decision-makers of the Maiden's Love—the First Mate and the Second Mate huddled together to brainstorm a solution. Meanwhile, the time loops continued, and they returned to the deck again and again.

"I can't just sit here. This issue isn't going to stop me! All of you, go inside. Let me try something," Lily said and took to the skies. Moments later, her slender figure was engulfed in light.

A dazzling ray of sunlight emanated from her, illuminating everything nearby.

The swirling snowflakes in the air and the nearby icebergs began to melt beneath her radiance. At this moment, it was like a sun had manifested in the Subterranean Sea once again.

Knowing the dangers of sunlight, the crew dared not stare at her for too long. They were filled with awe as they took shelter in the cabin. When the sunlight vanished, the snowflakes and the icebergs were no longer around.

Their absence meant that the crew no longer had to worry about colliding with an iceberg or shaking off the strange white powder.

"Did it work?" Klaus led the crew out and looked up at the pitch-black sky. The snowflakes had disappeared, and the sight made a glimmer of hope appear in everyone's eyes.

The next second, however, the scenery around them flickered, and they found themselves standing on the deck once again. The snowflakes in the air resumed falling, and another time loop began.

Lily pursed her lips and made another attempt. Regardless of her attempts, she would always find herself back on deck every forty minutes.

After fifteen time loops, Lily finally stopped trying.

The power that the Light God had left behind for her was absolutely ineffective against their bizarre predicament, and this was Lily's first time encountering an issue that her power couldn't resolve.

Lily's eyes reddened, and a hint of grievance appeared on her face, but she quickly calmed down. She was no longer a child, after all. She had no one to rely on, so she had to persevere. Lily sat down and began analyzing the experience she had gained from so many attempts.

Meanwhile, Captain Klaus stepped forward and gathered the crew members. After pondering for a few seconds, he said, "The First Mate and I had just come up with a few possible solutions. Everyone must do as I say."

"The reason we're in this strange predicament is most likely due to the fact that we made physical contact with that white powder. We don't know how it's affecting us, but perhaps we can try to ensure that it won't affect us."

"First Mate, I want you to start recording the number of time loops starting from the next time loop. As soon as the next time loop begins, I want you to simulate a wind tunnel using your relic and use that to blow away all the powder in the air.

"Everyone else, I want you guys to use your weapons to sever any parts of your body that have come into contact with the snow, whether it's hair, clothes, or your skin… I want you to cut them off without any delay!"

It was an absurd solution, but none of the crew members objected.

On the ship, the captain's orders were absolute, after all.

When the new time loop began, everyone followed Klaus' orders to a tee, but it was futile. They chopped off their body parts without any hesitation, but it had no effect whatsoever.

Since the first solution had failed, Klaus proceeded to the next solution. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The time loops repeated over and over, and they tried again and again.

Twelve time loops later, Klaus' solutions had finally been exhausted. Everyone stood frozen in place, and no one uttered even a word as a strange sensation pervaded everyone's heart.

"No worries! We'll keep thinking of a solution! This time, I want everyone to think of a solution!" Klaus said, showing no signs of giving up.

They discussed many different solutions, and even Lily joined in. They felt neither hunger nor sleepiness amidst their bizarre predicament. They came up with solutions and tried them out over and over again—that was all they did.

An unknown number of time loops later, they found themselves on the deck once more. This time, no one spoke, not even Klaus. They had come up with all sorts of solutions; their minds could no longer be wrung for anything new.

Everyone's gaze turned to Klaus, awaiting his new orders.

They all tried their hardest not to break down. They had always believed that there had to be a way out—there had to be a solution to this predicament. They believed that was the case… or had they perhaps been deluding themselves?

The crew's gaze felt extremely heavy for some reason, and Klaus felt as if he were carrying a mountain on his back. The oppressive and strange air persisted for several time loops until finally, with great difficulty, Klaus said, "Let's do it! Let's pray to the Divinities!"

Everyone's pupils constricted at the words. They were aware of the dangers that praying to any Divinity while out at sea could bring. In fact, it was so dangerous that it was taboo.

It would be fine if they received no response, but if there was a response, the Divinity's response could make their situation even worse. It seemed that Klaus had truly exhausted all available options, as he had decided to resort to desperate measures.

The Light God...

The Giant Bird of Suffering…

The All-Seeing Eye…

Fhtagn…

Vessel of the Roaring Thunder…

Hypnos…

Edikth…

The Feaster...

The Subterranean Sea had a myriad of Divinities, and they prayed to Them one by one. They even worked together to draw the images of those Divinities on the deck.

They would switch to a different Divinity every time loop.

Eventually, they ran out of Divinities to pray to, but nothing changed at all. Klaus no longer attempted to raise morale. The crew's morale was already nonexistent. How could he raise something that no longer existed?

"First Mate, how long have we been in here?" Klaus asked. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and took a big swig of it.

"I've been counting. We just passed fifteen days," the First Mate said. His words completely crushed everyone's mind.

It had only been fifteen days; they still had to endure nine years, eleven months, and fifteen days of this despair! Everyone vented the fear in their hearts in their own way—some cursed angrily, some howled, and some wailed.

Those whose minds were already on the brink of collapse finally broke down, resorting to extreme methods to vent their despair and fear.

"Damn it! What we've been doing is meaningless! It's all meaningless! I'm out!" a sailor roared and raised a pistol. He aimed it at his own head and pulled the trigger.

A deafening gunshot echoed, and the snowy deck was instantly painted crimson.

There was silence, and everyone subconsciously glanced at their own weapons.

Just then, the time loop began again.

To everyone's astonishment, the deceased sailor reappeared beside them with his head completely intact.

"Pfft! It's useless. Do you guys really think that I never tried to end my life in the past ten years?" Wrench's eerie words drifted into everyone's ears.