Lost at Sea and in Another World

Nearing the End

If given a chance, would you take it?

Every time I would sit by the empty beach and stare at the wide and open horizon before me, the question repeats itself inside my head. I just continue to sit still and ponder the rare peaceful times I have. Nothing is interesting here that I wonder why I persist this long.

"How long do you plan on staring at the beach? It's rare for you to be lucid, yet you're just here sitting and doing nothing"

Prinz Eugen stands less than a meter behind me. Even without turning around, I'm aware she's crossing her arms and frowning in annoyance. I'm not proactive in anything since nothing could be changed whether I act now or not.

"Everything felt surreal up until now....." I briefly shift my gaze to my right side
"Let me rephrase my question. How long do you plan to stay depressed? No wonder Victorious always said you're such a drama queen of the north"
"....."

Hearing that name after a long time makes me instinctively widen my eyes and raise my eyebrows. The image of that person lingers in my mind, so the reminder just makes me lower my head and stare at the countless sand beneath me.

"I feel like I'm not doing my past self a favor. What do you think she will say if she sees what a pitiful existence she would become?" I'm not certain about my past alter ego
"Ugh, I'm not going to babysit a brooding zombie" Prinz Eugen rubs her temples
"........"
"You practically expired a long time ago" Prinz Eugen pokes my forehead
"Ex....pired. Even my will to live expired a long time ago....but there's still a reason why I'm still here"
"You just can't stop yourself until you achieve what you want"
"It's just a simple wish of a fool...."
"This is a gamble. There's no guarantee it would work. You know that, right?"
"....."

Prinz Eugen's right. This is just a chance I'm betting on, but I couldn't tell her it's the only method I know. I just don't care anymore, so I will follow this plan even if it takes time to achieve or if I lose an arm.

I hate myself......

Over and over, I just remind myself how I can just end myself right here. That's an option, but I can't die yet. There's still one thing left for me to do before I reach the end of my miserable life.

"When did you get so brooding, Tirpitz?"

Welt, as usual, appears and interrupts without permission. This reptile slips everywhere she pleases and now she comes to disturb me. It's as if playing games where she appears sitting on a nearby rock with half of a coconut in her hand.

"You lost everything and you're wasting your life" She takes a sip of the open coconut
"Look who's talking, lizard who slacks while your puppet Siren is doing all the work" Prinz Eugen insults her without hesitation
"I don't intend to interfere much. My goal is to fulfill the wish of an old friend. I'm being honest this time and not sarcastic" Welt just keeps slurping the fresh juice
"How is it related to screwing with Iron Blood? Your target is Enterprise" Prinz Eugen steps forward
"That's not something we should talk about. Rather, it's not something I prefer to discuss with the likes of you"
"Now you're just-"

I grab Eugen's hand the moment she steps forward, clearly intending to settle this physically. Welt has a habit of testing other people's patience on purpose to narrow down who she could have a decent and long conversation with.

"Leviathans are mysterious, no? Their existence is volatile. What exactly are they? Where do they come from? How much they are capable of?"
"Are you just bored? Aren't you one of them?"
"Hmm.....that much is true, but I don't exist in some timelines. This is one of the timelines where this Leviathan exists. In that timeline, my existence has been severed so I wasn't even born there"