Shrouded Seascape

In a cozy bedroom, Lily wearing a pair of white socks was sitting cross-legged on her bed. The Divine Light Order's New Testament was in her hand. The texts written on the pages of the book sounded cryptic and almost indecipherable, but Lily managed to understand them, albeit with some difficulty.

This was her first time learning about the Divine Light Order of her own volition. In addition to the information she had obtained from Mr. Charles, an image of the deceased Light God was gradually becoming clear in her head.

Lily leaned backward and fell on the bed. Just like that, she sprawled out on the bed and stared at the light fixture on the ceiling.

A few seconds later, she gently raised her right hand, and strands of sunlight filtered through the gaps between her fingernails, converging in midair to form a dazzling miniature sun.

Lily grabbed the miniature sun with one hand, and the tips of her hair as well as her clothes began to emit a soft, gentle glow, making her appear sacred.

Lily lazily rolled on the bed and laid down on her stomach. She tilted her head slightly and stared at the light in her hand.

"Why did you leave this powerful energy inside me? It's useless to me. A god's power must be incredibly rare; why did you leave it to me without hesitation?" Lily muttered to herself.

The miniature sun dissipated, and Lily directly buried her head into the pillow. Her legs swung back and forth as she closed her eyes and shouted, "Aaaah! This isn't helpful at all! I still haven't found my life's purpose!"

Moments later, A faint glow emanated from Lily as she levitated before flying out of the window like a shooting star. She skimmed through the roofs as she made a beeline for the cemetery.

Lily was at peace as she stared at the tombstones of the people who had died on the Narwhale. She felt like they weren't dead at all; it was like they were right beside her.

Lily sat on the old ship doctor's tombstone with her legs together, enjoying the breeze blowing past her cheeks. This wasn't exactly helpful with her predicament, but it made her feel a bit better.

The empty cemetery was quiet, and while looking around at the tombstones, Lily suddenly remembered the old librarian's words. She closed her eyes and eliminated all distractions. Soon, her agitation was assuaged.

When the world around her fell silent, Lily decided to follow the old librarian's advice and follow her heart, but even after waiting for a long time, she couldn't feel anything at all.

"No, it's not working," Lily remarked, sounding dejected. When she opened her eyes, however, she saw a young man standing in front of her. He looked much younger, but Lily immediately recognized him as Mr. Charles.

"Mr. Charles!" Lily exclaimed and flew toward him excitedly, but halfway through, she came to a screeching halt. The young man's expression was off; he looked extremely cold and bereft of any other emotions.

Evidently, the young man was not her Charles; he was the Charles of this plane.

"It'd be best if you don't come to this place. These people aren't your comrades. Your comrades' graves are on the other side. What you're doing is tantamount to carving a mark on the boat to find a sword[1]," the young Charles said.

With that, he walked up to the old ship doctor's tombstone and took out a bottle of brandy before pouring it onto the tombstone.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lily felt very uncomfortable upon hearing the young Charles' words. Instead of replying, she turned around to go home, but she immediately stopped before she could even take a step forward.

"Um, can you tell me how Mr. Charles from the other side is doing?"

"He's dealing with something troublesome, but so what? He just has to handle it, and if it cannot be handled, then we'll simply die together," the young Charles replied. Then, his figure became illusory before eventually disappearing.

Lily pursed her lips. She turned around and left without saying a word. After climbing onto her bed, Lily closed her eyes and forced herself to fall asleep, but the more she wanted to sleep, the farther her dreamland became.

Just as Lily reached the transitional state between sleep and wakefulness, she heard footsteps echoing just outside the window. The footsteps came from passing students who were just returning home from a celebration party.

"What do you plan to do in the future?"

"I've already applied for a job at the Colossal Hole Fortress branch of the Relic Research Institute."

"You want a job that far from home? Are you sure your family is willing to part with you?"

"I'm not a child anymore, man. And I can't just stay by my family's side forever."

Just then, Lily recalled Sarthe's words. For the first time ever, she ignored every conflict inside her head and faced her heart—she had finally decided to face her true self.

The memories of the time she spent adventuring with the others, the things Charles had done for her prior to her death, and how he had knelt in front of those sculptures, asking them to save her—they all flashed in her head.

At this moment, Lily finally knew what she wanted to do—she had discovered her life's purpose. This time, what she was about to do was a decision made of her own volition rather than something others had decided for her to do.

Lily wanted nothing but to go back. She wanted to go back to Mr. Charles' side and help him using the power of the Light God within her. The power inside of her was from a god; perhaps she was destined never to live a mortal's life, after all.

Lily's eyes snapped open. She quietly opened her drawer and took out an exquisite little box. A piece of paper with a line of words written by Charles was inside the box.

After reading it again and again, Lily turned around and went downstairs. She walked up to the door of her parents' bedroom and gently knocked on it.

The sleepy Dr. Oliver and his wife opened the door only to find their daughter staring at them with tear-filled eyes.

"What's wrong, Lily?"

"Daddy, Mommy, your daughter has important things to do—far more important than staying here. I'm sorry," Lily announced, with a trembling voice. She had always felt that she had to accompany her family forever, as she had finally managed to come back home after so many years.

However, she was mistaken. She had simply been treating her wish to have a normal childhood as her life's purpose, forgetting the fact that everyone would have to leave their parents to spread their wings one day.

Oliver and his wife looked at each other. Then, they opened their arms and hugged her.

"My daughter, you haven't said it until now, but we knew that you haven't been able to forget that place, so we respect your choice."

Lily was reduced to tears upon hearing that. She hugged them back with both hands and cried nonstop.

On that night, Lily's parents barely slept as they all got busy preparing for their eldest daughter's long journey. When the first ray of sunlight descended, it was time for them to say goodbye.

"This bottle contains your favorite sweet fish soup. I also packed lobster crisps and dried bananas for you to eat on the way."

"Your wallet has some loose change, and the rest of your money is in the Albion Bank. You can take a look at it in the passbook, but make sure to take it out only when needed."

"There are four sets of clothes in the suitcase. Two sets of thick clothes and two sets of thin clothes. I put some gold jewelry between the thick clothes. They're your emergency money, so sell if your wallet gets stolen."

Tears welled up in Lily's bloodshot eyes in the face of her mother's patient reminders.

Dr. Oliver stroked Lily's head, and he looked quite reluctant as he said, "Stop crying now, okay? If you start missing us, you can just come back and visit us. Your room will always be available for you."

Lily nodded firmly. Then, she kissed the faces of her family before pushing open the door with her suitcase in tow.

"Goodbye, sis! Come back soon!" Lily's sister waved vigorously at Lily.

The tears that Lily had been holding back finally burst out of her eyelids. She ran back and hugged her family tightly. Then, she turned around and rushed out of the door with her suitcase behind her.

1. Basically stuck in the old ways of thinking and not adapting to the times ☜

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

We hit 1000!! 153 chapters to go! Thank you for staying with me up till here. See you at the finish line!