Thaw out a Second Life

Even Deceit Must End

A daydream in the midst of uneasiness.

The sound of fading waves as it reaches the sandy beachy is a soothing sound Tirpitz often imagines. The clear blue sky and the sunlight on the horizon - just thinking about the endless freedom.

"........"

Thinking about in her best moment of peace, Tirpitz might find herself standing by the beach and facing the deep blue sea.

".........."

She removes her cap and let and combs her hair with her hand as the breeze passes by her and cools her even for a few seconds.

To have this kind of dream. Ah, I see......"

In the end, it's all but an ideal dream. The kind of peace she desires the most but will never achieve due to her nature and her situation.

"........." Tirpitz opens her eyes

Doubt and guilt both weigh over that it's gradually clouding her judgment. Tirpitz's thoughts are so disorganized that even in the silence of her room, a ringing in her ears also reminds her of losing almost immediately to Bismarck META. Even if it's a serious fight without risking Victorious - it frustrates her how she's bound to lose against one of the strongest METAs.

"What are you going to do now, Tirpitz?"

Due to Tirpitz's thoughts being lost and her growing anxiety, she begins to see and hear Victorious META outside her mind. The deceased figure stands in front of her and slowly backs away until she leans on the wall behind her.

"......." Tirpitz looks around while she sits at the side of her bed
"Even if you learn the whereabouts, fighting your sister head-on is suicidal. More importantly, it's a trap. You don't even know what she's truly after" Victorious META wags her index finger
"How do you know this? You're not even real" Tirpitz doesn't even look at her
"You're still hung up on what happened. A part of you lamented that I had to die and you couldn't accept how I chose to die"

Victorious moves away from the wall and bends her back forward, her face a meter close to Tirpitz. Tirpitz firmly believes the figure in front of her is a hallucination yet her presence and voice is no different from an actual person.

"My only goal was to keep our mistake from repeating in this timeline. I didn't want to lie and bear the responsibility......" Tirpitz grits her teeth
"See? That's how you truly feel" Victorious proudly smiles
"I got the peaceful life I've been longing for, but even I would know this isn't right the slightest. How can anyone accept the person in front of them is a corpse possessed a formerly disembodied META?"

Tirpitz squeezes her hands, constantly remembering the empty shell she reluctantly accepts to occupy. She only feels repulsed at her current state whenever she's alone with her thoughts.

"You appreciated your second chance in life, but guilt weighed on you. It's difficult having a conscience"
".....When you attempted to revive me, I didn't think or even care about what was right and wrong. I was poisoned by anger until I became a walking corpse that can't even be called Tirpitz anymore"

Tirpitz slowly closes her eyes and willingly accepts the memories flowing in. As far as she can remember, after her revival, her emotions are heightened that she's consumed by instincts. It's as if her anger stems from her feeling lost and utterly confused at the world.

"I felt betrayed when you didn't let me stay dead. You wanted to revive me because you couldn't accept my death and I abandoned you"
"If you had relied on me like I told you, none of this would have happened. Well, it's too late to blame anyone anyway" Victorious META straightens her back
"You're right, but it's still frustrating that I have to leave everything behind once I deal with my sister"