NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: Chapter 4 - Progress?
Back to the Void
Date? Is time even relevant here? Let's roll with "turns" instead. TURN 34.
Hi, I'm Gura, a wonderful yet endlessly stressed shark girl who's currently stuck in a bizarre cycle of dying, trying, and... well, dying again. But hey, I've made some progress, at least.
So here's the thing: on my fifth turn, AMESS—our friendly (not) local omnipotent troll—gave me this fancy record system to track my attempts. Apparently, it's a milestone to die five times. You know, 'Congrats on dying so much! Here's a virtual journal to record your suffering!' And trust me, she's been annoyingly vague with her answers ever since.
Take my sixth try, for example. She hinted hard that it might be my last attempt, which freaked me out so much that I got overly cautious. I avoided everything, drank my own pee to survive, and died trying to eat a suspicious pill I found in the buggy's hidden compartment. Spoiler alert: it wasn't a survival pill—it felt like my insides were being inflated like a balloon. Do yourself a favor: don't take random pills unless you enjoy feeling your guts twist.
After waking up back in the void, I saw AMESS laughing her ass off at my misery. Naturally, I tried to punch her because, you know, impulse. And surprise, surprise, my punch actually landed. Her reaction? She beat the living shit out of me. Picture this: I lost all my teeth except my molars. Terrifying stuff. Then she snapped her fingers, I was back to normal, but... yeah, I'm still scared to mess with her.
Now we're on Turn 34, and I'm feeling a bit more confident. I think I can finally deal with those masked bastards that killed me before. And I have this system AMESS gave me—let's call it AME for short. It's like a virtual screen where I can access all kinds of information, almost like having a superpower at my fingertips. It's insanely useful, but there's a catch: it can't connect to my home universe. I've tried, but no time has passed there. To them, it's like I never left.
Since I'm not the best at explaining things, let me call in the 'expert.' "AMESS, come here."
"Ugh, what do you want now?" AMESS sighs, clearly not amused.
"Explain to the viewers—uh, I mean, explain how time here is slow compared to my world and how I can do almost anything with the system you gave me."
"I've already told you that, you tiny-brained shark!" AMESS snaps.
"Yeah, but it's for future reference, so I don't have to ask you again and waste my questions. Pretty clever, right?"
"Oh wow, you're actually using your brain for once! I'm so proud," AMESS says, dripping with sarcasm.
"Shut it, blondie, and just explain."
"Fine," AMESS grumbles. "AME (Advanced Memory Execution) is a specialized system designed to assist Gura in navigating her trials within this strange, time-warped universe. It acts as a personal interface, providing her with the ability to record, track, and analyze key moments during each of her "turns" (attempts) at survival. AME's most valuable function is its Time Bookmark ability, which allows Gura to set markers at specific points in time. These bookmarks act like checkpoints, enabling her to rewind to earlier moments after death and retry different strategies. However, she must use them carefully, as setting too many or too vague bookmarks could lead to unintended consequences—such as corrupting the timeline or, worse, destabilizing it entirely.
Regarding time, in Gura's original universe, almost no time has passed since she was sucked into this chaotic realm. While Gura experiences death, trial, and error over and over again, her universe exists in near stasis. What feels like days or weeks to Gura is equivalent to mere seconds back home. This time dilation means she could theoretically spend an eternity in the current universe and still return to her world without anyone noticing she was gone. However, this also adds psychological stress—because while Gura's actions here won't be felt in her home universe, the mental and physical tolls she endures remain with her, creating a tension between endless retries and the haunting feeling of being stuck in limbo forever."
"Thanks, AMESS." I grin, though she flips me the middle finger before disappearing.
"Anyway, that's the gist of it. Now you know how this system works, so next time I die, it'll be a bit easier to figure out where I went wrong. Gotta go now, though. Can't get tortured in the void, but AMESS will definitely break every bone in my body if I push her buttons too much. Byeee!"
Footnotes:
(AMESS continues explaining the system with examples of how it works: Gura can create bookmarks at specific moments, track enemies, and set strategies. The system has rules to avoid paradoxes, so Gura can't rewind to before major decisions without risking damage to the timeline. AME helps her survive but doesn't guarantee success.)
Gura tries to ask AMESS about the number of times she can reset and how long she can stay in each time loop, but AMESS refuses to answer, citing "classified information. ".
AME can't undo events entirely, only manipulate them within specific rules to avoid paradoxes. The more Gura bends time, the riskier it gets for her survival.