As expected, I couldn’t sleep. It felt as if I’d been cursed with insomnia. Something extraordinary kept happening, making it impossible to relax and rest.

This time, I couldn’t stop thinking about the words Neight had mumbled in his sleep. Was there any meaning to them, or was it all nonsense? I could only ask him when he woke up. But would he even want to share with me? It might be something too personal, too private. Something he’d rather keep secret. But if our lives were truly in danger from enemies, then it concerned me too.

Argh! Why does everything have to be so complicated?! As if we didn’t have enough trouble with the water, now I have this to worry about too!

I pulled a notebook out from under my pillow. My eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so I squinted immediately as the screen’s bright light flared up when I touched it.

The clock read 25:58.

Damn, this won’t work. If I go without sleep again, I’ll be in big trouble and won’t be able to get anything done…

After hesitating for a few more minutes, I decided to use the capsule, no matter how much I hated the thought of it. I had no choice; I needed quality rest. And, if I thought about it, it wasn’t so bad. Last time, it had made me feel significantly better.

Bracing myself, I reluctantly made my way to the lab.

----------------------------------------

Lying in the capsule still felt very uncomfortable. Such tight, enclosed spaces didn’t excite me, and I kept feeling as if the oxygen could run out any moment. I just hoped this thing wouldn’t break down while I was inside.

When the lid closed, I heard a click and the now-familiar hissing sound. I started to worry automatically, but unlike last time, I didn’t try to resist. A semi-transparent white mist began to envelop my body, slowly filling the entire space. Maybe it was because I was calmer this time, or maybe I was less exhausted than before, but I didn’t pass out instantly. Instead, I felt my muscles gradually relax, and my mind cleared of all anxiety and worry. Even the pain, especially the aching in my right shoulder, faded away.

I lay there like that for some time until I finally drifted off to sleep.

----------------------------------------

It feels so good to get a proper night’s sleep. Feeling a pleasant rush of energy, I stretched and bumped my hands against the walls.

Oh, right. I’m still in the capsule.

I was in a great mood and felt fantastic. With this attitude, I could tackle any task without worry. I wondered if the capsule always had such a positive effect on sleep quality. Maybe that’s why Neight preferred to sleep here?

I wonder if he’s awake?

"Neight, are you here? Are you awake?"

The closed capsule muffled some sounds from outside, but the white mist had already dissipated, and I caught some movement in the corner of my eye. Remembering I wasn’t wearing any clothes—and that Neight presumably wasn’t either—I quickly turned to face the wall in embarrassment.

"No, not anymore," came a sleepy voice. His “not” was drawn out and louder due to a long yawn. "Turns out you’re here too. I didn’t notice you came in."

"Yeah… I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I might get at least a bit of rest here."

I recalled the night and the words Neight had spoken in his sleep.

"Is something wrong?" he asked suddenly.

It seemed my voice had given away my worries. I hesitated, unsure if I should stay silent or reveal everything. But I’d already resolved to be more open and honest with him, so hiding the truth would be wrong—for the sake of our cooperation. For survival.

"Actually, yes…" I said with a heavy sigh and began telling him what I’d heard in the night.

He listened silently, without interrupting. I was anxious, uncertain of how he’d react. Yet, I wanted to believe that everything would be okay. At least after all that had happened in the past few days, I no longer felt threatened by him.

"I really did have a nightmare," Neight reluctantly admitted when I finished, "but I think you should know that dreams are just dreams. They usually have nothing to do with reality."

On one hand, I knew he was right, yet I still felt uneasy. It seemed like there was more to his nightmare.

"I understand. But tell me, this professor… he really exists, doesn’t he? Do you… fear him?" I asked cautiously.

Neight didn’t answer immediately. It seemed to be a painful subject for him.

"Fear isn’t exactly the right word. It’s more that I feel guilt… for failing to meet his expectations. For not fulfilling my purpose. Sorry, it’s hard for me to talk about this…"

I felt sorry for him. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. Now, all I wanted was to encourage him somehow.

"I don’t know your professor or what happened in the past, but I think you shouldn’t be beating yourself up over it now. Besides, whatever expectations were placed on you, that world no longer exists," I said, with a touch of sadness.

For a moment, my mind flashed back to my own happy, peaceful life before the catastrophe. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"So," I continued, "isn’t it better to focus on the present and future? And speaking of our current reality, if anyone has a reason to be proud, it’s you."

In response, I heard a chuckle.

"You think too highly of me," he said.

"Oh, don’t be so modest! We’re still alive only because of you! Trust me, most people wouldn’t last even a couple of days out here. You really are remarkable, even if you have your quirks. But hey, no one’s perfect, right?"

He went quiet for a moment. Had my praise embarrassed him?

"Thank you, Emma. I… Your support really means a lot to me."

His voice, unusually soft and slightly uncertain, stirred something strange within me. It felt as though I wasn’t speaking to an unwavering super-soldier with plans for every situation, but a regular person with understandable, ordinary feelings.

"Oh, it’s nothing," I replied, slightly flustered. "We’re probably stuck here together for a while, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to become friends… What I mean is, if something’s ever bothering you, I’m here to listen."

"Okay. I’ll keep that in mind."

I was certain he’d said that with a smile—a real, genuine one, not the formal, polite expression he usually wore. The thought made me feel warm inside.

"By the way," I remembered suddenly, "I have great news about the water!"

I filled him in on the analysis results.

"That’s indeed great news," Neight said, pleased after listening to my report. "Now we just need to decide on our next steps. Let’s discuss it over breakfast. To be honest, I’m starving."

How did I not think of it sooner? He hadn’t even eaten since we returned to the ship.

"Yes, of course. I’ll prepare something," I said apologetically.

Just as I was about to climb out of the capsule, I remembered one small but important detail.

"Neight, could you close your eyes? I need to get dressed…"

"Alright. Whatever you say." He replied calmly, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

----------------------------------------

Unlike me, Neight didn’t look the least bit worried, finishing his last spoonful of jam and closing his eyes in contentment. It was almost amusing to watch him finally stop hiding his love for the dessert. Once he finished breakfast, he pushed the empty plates aside and turned serious again.

"So, let’s discuss our options. We still have only two real choices."

With these words, Neight propped his elbow on the table and extended his thumb to begin counting.

"First, there’s the option of going into stasis, which I assume you’re already familiar with. The upside is that I’ll be able to fully recover during the sleep period, and we’ll save resources. It will make things easier moving forward. However, there are some downsides."

"We could be discovered and captured while we’re defenseless," I chimed in.

"Correct. That’s probably the main drawback. Unfortunately, our navigation system ran for too long, and it’s possible that we were detected. So it would be better to stay alert and prepared."

A chill ran down my spine at his words. If Neight thought we could have been spotted, then this was serious. At the same time, I felt a pang of guilt, knowing that it was my actions that had forced us to use the navigation. If only I hadn’t lost control and run off without thinking, things might have turned out differently.

"So what should we do, then?" I asked, feeling lost.

"There’s still a second option." Neight extended his index finger. "We could connect the lake we discovered to the ship’s water system and draw water from there."

"But how would we do that? I can’t quite imagine it. We’re not going to move the ship all the way to the lake with the monster, are we?"

"Of course not, that would be too dangerous. And we definitely shouldn’t activate the navigation system again for flying. There’s another way. We can run a hose connected to a pump to the water."

"Do we have one long enough?" I asked, cautiously.

"We do," Neight replied calmly.

"And what about the water hardness? Won’t it damage the ship’s systems?"

"You underestimate the level of technology here," he said with a satisfied smile. "Remember, the system was built to recycle water over and over. So you don’t have to worry about that. There definitely won’t be an issue with reducing the hardness."

Hearing this, I felt encouraged and was ready to act.

"Perfect! So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get to it!"

I was about to jump up and start preparing for our next outing, but Neight stopped me, cooling my enthusiasm.

"There’s one catch," he said, sighing as he noticed my questioning look. "Neither of us should go near that lake. It’s too dangerous."

I froze in place, processing his words.

"But didn’t you say that giant worm was seriously injured and wouldn’t be back for a while? Do you think it could’ve recovered so quickly?"

"Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t want to risk finding out," he admitted. "Actually, I should apologize to you… Yesterday, I wasn’t in my right mind and couldn’t properly assess the situation. I shouldn’t have asked you to get that water sample after everything we’d been through."

His words touched me somehow. I could see from his downcast, regretful gaze that he genuinely felt sorry for putting me in danger.

"Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m not upset. Besides, we got some valuable information, didn’t we?"

My response clearly encouraged him, as his eyes lit up again.

"Yes, without the sample, we’d have to forget about the second plan."

But our problem still wasn’t resolved.

"Back to the main issue. What do we do if we can’t get close to the lake?" I asked.

"We need to come up with a way."

"Maybe we could throw it into the water somehow?" I started suggesting.

"And how do you imagine that?"

"I don’t know… Maybe build something like a catapult or a slingshot and launch it with something heavy."

Neight smirked.

"Even if we spent time building something like that, it’s too unreliable. Hitting the target would be difficult. We could make tons of attempts and still miss the mark. Not to mention that every failed attempt could wake up the lake monster with the noise."

I thought for a moment.

"Do we have any sort of controllable drone?"

"No," Neight replied bluntly. "If we had, I’d be using it for scouting instead of going out there myself."

"Maybe we could try pushing it with some branches?"

"Where are you going to find branches that long?" he laughed, which stung a little.

"There are tall trees here!" I replied defensively, but Neight shook his head. "Maybe we could tie it to the top of a tree and then topple it toward the lake?"

"I’m afraid that first, someone would have to climb to the top. Neither of us can manage that, and I’m afraid the trunk would snap before it worked," he said, barely holding back laughter.

"At least I’m trying to come up with ideas!" I said, turning away and puffing out my cheeks.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you."

I sneaked a glance at him and saw that he was looking at me with a guilty expression. It was enough to cool me off a bit.

"You know," he said, "while you were coming up with ideas, I had one too."

"Oh, really? And what is it?" I asked, still feigning a slight pout.

"We’ll need some rope. Ever heard of a ropeway?"

I felt a bit confused, not sure what he was getting at, but I nodded.

"We’ll make a ropeway over the lake," he said confidently.