Shrouded Seascape

Standing on the deck, Lily cast her gaze the skies, and her furry face clouded with worry as she watched her companions caught in an animated discussion.

"I dare bet my head on it! They're definitely hostile toward the Captain! We need to mobilize the entire Hope Island's navy and charge into the Sea of Mist!" Dipp shouted, his voice laced with fury.

"The crisis has just ended and you should be well aware of the current precarious state of the Subterranean Sea. Yet you are thinking of starting a war now? Do you want to see Hope Island crumble completely?" another crew member retorted.

"So what? Compared to the captain, does any of that matter? If we're suffering, they shouldn't be having it easy too!" Dipp countered.

"Enough, both of you! The gods of the Haikors are our allies. Perhaps they inadvertently took the captain away along with the darkness."

"I agree," another crew member interjected. "Perhaps the captain ran into some unexpected issues. Give it some time and he might just come back on his own, like how he did that time in the past."

"Stop thinking so kindly of them! If they had good intentions, how come they aren't responding to any of our telegrams?"

"Because telegrams don't exist in the Sea of Mist! They don't use them, you smart genius!"

Caught up in a heated argument, the crew members' faces were flushed from irritation.

Clearly, their opinions deviated about what had happened to Charles. Now, they were unsure if the Haikor's gods had taken him away intentionally or accidentally, especially considering that the darkness had anchored itself to Charles via the black ring around Charles' wrist at that time.

To be honest, some of the crew still had a rather good impression of the Haikors' gods. Despite the fearsome appearance of the tribe's gods, the gods had proven themselves in the recent battle. Even their followers, the Haikor giants, had also given their all in the early phase of exploration, and many had even sacrificed their lives.

In a way, the Haikors and their gods could be considered comrades with the humans of the Subterranean Sea.

It was hard to believe that the gods harbored ulterior motives, especially since the darkness of the Subterranean Sea had indeed returned.

"Erm… Maybe we should ask Monster Sister about this?" Lily's soft voice interrupted the argument.

Everyone's gazes turned onto the golden mouse, and she continued, "Since Monster Sister is Mr. Charles' wife, she's probably thinking about this as well."

"Sigh, Lil' Lily, it's more complicated than that," Dipp remarked, reaching out a hand to pat Lily's head, but the latter deftly dodged it.

Tap, tap, tap!

Bandagesrapped his fingers lightly on the ship's railing before pointing toward the distant horizon where the silhouette of Hope Island was coming into view.

"We…are… home… Go home… first…. I'll… speak to… Anna… about the… captain's situation…"

Without the captain around, the command had shifted to the first mate. A single statement from Bandages had effectively ended the debate. The crew began packing their belongings and preparing to disembark.

Charles' disappearance was far from overshadowing everyone's excitement of returning home.

As the Narwhale pulled into the harbor, the sight of their families standing on the muddy docks stirred a wave of emotions through the crew.

Some were so eager to reunite that they couldn't even wait for the ladder. They jumped overboard into the water and swam to shore.

Cries of joy filled the dock. Elena's eyes were filled with tears as she spotted a young man in the distance slowly unwrapping the bandages over his body. He was her eldest son, Weister.

Weister put on a smile as he approached his family members. He noted that his younger siblings had grown taller, and his mother who had visibly aged. "Mom… I kept… my promise… I'm… back…"

From afar, Lily watched Weister embrace his family, a hint of envy crossed her eyes.

Everyone had someone waiting for them—expected for her. In the past, she could still stay by Charles' side, but now, even Charles had disappeared.

Leading the mice that had survived the ordeal, Lily quietly walked along the edge of the dock.

"Lily, are you upset?" Tobba, who also had no one waiting for him, asked cheerfully.

He was holding a pile of empty cans he had pilfered from the kitchen while everyone else rushed to the deck.

"No, I'm fine," Lily replied. As soon as her words fell, a family of three ran past her. One of them was the Lily of this world.

This world's Lily had fully matured, her beauty drawing the attention of everyone around her. Despite being clad in a simple canvas work outfit, it couldn't shadow her charm.

Laughing and chatting, the family of three headed toward the distant docks. From their conversation, it seemed like they had a relative who worked on the surface, and they were here to receive him.

Seeing the happy family of three, Lily's feigned indifference crumbled. She covered her face with her tiny paws and burst into tears.

At Lily's outburst, Tobba crouched down and placed the cans he was holding onto the muddy ground. He gently patted her head, trying to comfort her.

After a few moments of crying, Lily's tears subsided, and a look of resolve returned to her eyes. "It doesn't matter even if I can't change back into a human. It doesn't matter, even if they hate the way I look now! I can't wait any longer! I want my mom and dad here! Yes! I'm going to bring them over to this world!"

Lily then turned around and issued new instructions to the mice behind her. She commanded them to gather all surviving mice on Hope Island. She was going to form an expedition fleet immediately to fetch her family from the parallel world to this world.

Now that the darkness had returned, there was nothing left to worry about.

In times of disaster, mice always fared better than humans. Soon, a large group of mice swarmed onto a ship. Under Lily's order, they set out toward V12 Containment Site.

As she watched the ship fade into the horizon, Lily's eyes glimmered with hope. Her heart raced with excitement as she started to imagine the moment in the future when she'd finally reunite with her family.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a crisp voice sounded from behind Lily.

Lily turned around to see a fully grown Sparkle. Wearing a white dress, she looked as graceful as a white lotus.

"You are… Sparkle? You grow so fast!" Lily exclaimed in surprise.

Sparkle had no idea what to say as she stared at Lily. The mouse's thoughts were jumping around too fast for her to comprehend.

"My father once told me about you. How long has it been since you left home?" Sparkle asked.

Lily pondered for a moment before answering with a hint of hesitation, "About ten years, I think?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Sparkle began. "Your parents have likely given birth to another child to take your place. If you truly care about their well-being, it'd be best not to disrupt their lives.

"Bringing someone from another parallel world to ours isn't a great idea. Perhaps they might be overjoyed at first, thrilled that their daughter, who they thought was dead, is still alive. But they'll eventually find it hard to live here.

"Because in this world, another version of them lives here. They will find it hard to fit into everything in this world. In exchange for gaining a daughter, who has become a mouse, they'd lose everything."

Lily's ears drooped, and a complicated expression marring her face as she sank into a dilemma. "But… I really miss them so much…"