Shrouded Seascape

Ten years...

Everyone was trapped in this endless time loop for ten whole years. The only thing that kept them going was Wrench's words—the belief that they would be free after ten years.

But reality played a cruel prank on them. They had stayed here for a whole decade, yet they were still imprisoned in this same nightmare.

Driven by desperation, the crew lunged forward like a horde of undead and frantically clawed through the snow with bare hands until they dug Wrench out into the open.

"What's going on?!" the crew demanded an answer. Their hysteria twisted their faces, making them no different from madmen.

"Huh?" Wrench was evidently confused. "We're still stuck here after ten years? Maybe I remember the time wrongly… Maybe it was twenty years? Or was it a hundred years?"

His casual and indifferent tone made it seem the prolonged period of time meant nothing. Yet those words shattered whatever remaining sanity of the others present.

The crew exploded in rage. Faces flushed and veins bulging, they lunged at Wrench, biting and clawing at him, tearing into his flesh as they unleashed a decade of pent-up fury.

***

Again, they were sent back to the deck. This time, they didn't lunge at him, tearing and devouring his flesh. Instead, they tied him up.

***

Wrench screamed in agony as pain surged through his body, his lungs violently contracting. Coupled with the eagle tattoo etched across his skin, it appeared as though the blood eagle itself was flapping its wings, struggling to break free from its resting place.

This was the most infamous method of torture used by the Sottom pirates. They named it the Blood Eagle. It was a slow, excruciating torment designed to slowly suffocate its victim.

The more pain Wrench suffered, the more satisfaction lit the crew's faces. Their twisted smiles widened as their eyes gleamed with a sadistic pleasure.

Another time loop started...

This time, the crew dragged Wrench forward. They had a different torment in mind—feeding Wrench clumps of hair.

Captain Klaus inhaled a deep breath before stepping forward. "What's the use of all this? Stop this madness!"

The fists holding clumps of hair halted in mid-motion. The crew turned to look at their captain for a split second and turned back to continue stuffing hair down Wrench's throat.

No one respected Klaus' authority anymore. The entire order aboard the ship had completely shattered at this moment.

For the past ten years, order had been maintained because everyone held on with the shared hope that there would be an end to their imprisonment.

Yet now, that hope was destroyed. No one knew how long they had to stay in this oppressive, tortuous time loop.

Nothing was more terrifying than hope taken away—than seeing it torn apart into pieces right before your eyes.

"For fucking sake, I said stop! Are all of you deaf?" Klaus roared. Green scales erupted across his skin as he morphed into a half-serpent, half-human monster.

With buttons as eyes, the doll on his back clung onto Klaus as he lunged forward.

Threads of dark yarn shot out and wriggled their way into the crew's nostrils and down their throats. They then twisted deeper and penetrated into their veins and writhed along the crew's blood vessels.

The crew knew Captain Klaus's powers and relics inside and out. That knowledge was their best friend when they started their counterattack.

Every attack was accompanied by venomous curses and swears.

"You call yourself a captain? Fuck that shit! A real captain would've gotten us out of this bullshit! You pathetic piece of shit!"

"Fuck you! There were so many people in the bar; why did you step forward to take this dumb mission! This is all your fault! You fucking son of a bitch!"

Chaos erupted, with everyone entangled in the brawl. The scent of blood and sulphur rapidly filled the deck.

All the while, Lily stood at the side as if she were a spectator rather than a participant in this tragic drama.

Suddenly, she stepped forward, and a burst of golden light erupted from within her to envelop every single person aboard.

Though she was close to breaking down herself, Lily refused to give up.

"Everyone!" Lily called out. "Since Wrench could get out, we definitely can as well! Maybe we'll be free after the next cycle?"

Everyone froze and turned their gazes toward Lily. However, their expressions didn't seem like they had been persuaded. Rather, their faces were painted with hatred and raw murderous intent.

"Get out? How much longer? Ten years, twenty, thirty? Or a hundred?"

"Right! And you! You're the cause of this, you damn bitch!"

"If not for your fucking mission, would we end up in this state?"

They had now found a new target to direct all their anger onto—Lily. Though immobilized by her golden light, they could still curse and swear at her.

Lily herself was similarly exhausted from the current situation. But she tried her very best to compose herself and said, "I'm really sorry things turned out this way. When we return, I'll make sure Charles compensates all of—"

Before she could complete her sentence, another time cycle started. Free from the golden light, the crew closed in on Lily. Their eyes burned with animalistic desire as their lustful gazes locked onto the young woman.

"We don't need any compensation. Just lie down and let us have a ride."

"It's been ten years; you must be thirsty for it as well. It's really euphoric. Women enjoy it, too. I assure you that you'll get addicted to it once you try it!"

"Yeah! He's right! Take off your clothes!"

"Hurry up! Stop taking your own sweet time and strip!"

A few of the crew had already dropped their pants, their tongues licking against their dry lips as they toyed with their manhood while staring at Lily.

After losing respect for authority and order, the crew had now abandoned even the most basic sense of dignity.

Lily's breath grew labored as she stood in her spot. Exhaustion was apparent on her face as she watched the scene unfold.

Suddenly, a shadow lunged from behind and pulled her into a tight embrace.

The very next second, a brilliant spear of golden light erupted from Lily and pierced straight through the assailant's body. Despite that, he felt it was worth it.

As he fell, he didn't forget to make a vile remark. "This bitch has such soft shoulders! Like cotton!"

His words were the spark that ignited the crew's madness. Without a moment's hesitation, they charged toward Lily.

The soft glow of sunlight burst forth from Lily, effortlessly killing off every resident of the Subterranean Sea in front of her. One by one, they fell—no one was spared.

But it didn't take long before time was restarted again. The revived crew immediately rushed at Lily again.

Again and again, they fell, but they knew death was no longer a threat. They didn't want to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where they could release their pent-up frustration.

As time restarted again and again, Lily's attacks grew increasingly fierce, but it didn't change anything.

When yet another time loop began, Captain Klaus stepped forward to block his crew from approaching Lily.

"Enough! I have a solution!" Klaus announced.

The crew turned their eyes onto him in unison. They watched as Klaus slowly turned toward Lily.

His once firm, authoritative expression gradually twisted into one of lust as he sized Lily up and down.

"How about this?" Klaus suggested, the corners of his lips curled up with twisted amusement. "Why don't you end yourself and leave your corpse behind for us to satisfy our needs?"

The air seemed to freeze at his words. Lily stared at Klaus, her eyes wide in disbelief.

As the captain of the Maiden's Love, his will had always been resolute and unshakable. But now, even he had succumbed.

The endless time loop had slowly corrupted the crew's mind. The relentless repetition—again and again—gnawed away at their beliefs, dignity, and hope.

Their sanity was reset with every loop, so they didn't go insane. Yet, the current situation was much more terrifying than madness itself.

They could no longer be called human. Each of them had surrendered entirely to their darkest desires and impulses, transformed by this place into monsters merely disguised by a thin layer of human skin.

And the worst part was Lily could feel the same darkness clawing at her own heart.