While not awful…

there are a lot of graves.

Neo is already in a bad headspace – not that hers is ever truly a society-appropriate one – when she enters the graveyard of Ikana Canyon. Not that she knows the name or what it stands for. What permeates is the feeling. The lingering regrets. Her stride falters, eyes darting around wearily.

The feeling of knowing you are surrounded by the dead. Neo almost makes it through. Illusions drop. Umbrella tip trails. She's almost there. Almost across.

("Mummy?")

The handle drops from limp fingers. The young woman is frozen. Unseeing.

("Daddy?")

Hearing something that no longer exists. Familiar. Broken.

("Wake up!")

There are tortured cries from those too young- The scent of rotting and death- The memories-

The young woman falls to her knees, eyes flashing. She breathes in-

If no one's alive to hear, who can prove someone's screaming?

;;;

Night of the Second Day: 36 Hours Remaining

Neopolitan lands in front of one of the gaudiest fortresses she's ever seen. She is not looking forward to the trek back – there were ghosts and flying heads – and so can only press forward until the world ends again.

How disappointing.

She enters.

The screams of the Apathy do not harm her as she punches holes through their head. Neo flicks her umbrella open, letting the sunlight reflect around the room. Pathetic.

Their corpses do not fade like a Grimm's. Not like the other monsters. Neo takes out a lot of repressed rage while they're downed, making sure they stay down.

Her heel squelches out of a creature as the wall before her turns into blue flames. Rolling her eyes, the ice cream-themed young woman struts onwards, umbrella resting on her shoulder. No need for another falling accident like earlier, with the hooded swords people. Garo, they called themselves.

They'll just be back when the loop starts again.

None of this really matters. It's just information gathering.

Not like she'll ever have to come back.

Neo's emotionless smile broadens as the blinds shut out the light of the throne room she's just walked into. A voice – another dead person – taunts her by taking the chair. Two more skeleton guards appear, one of each side of the dead general.

Neopolitan wastes no time breaking bones. After all, the scariest things in the dark are the living.

;;;

35 Hours Remaining

Neo sits on the empty throne, fingers digging into and cracking stone. Terrifying her memories into submission feels good.

Isn't it ironic? The sweetest farm was far worse a place to be then in a dead kingdom full of regrets and fallen warriors.

Neopolitan moves on.

;;;

1 Hour Remaining

It's nothing helpful. Rocks and sands and cliffs and boredom. There is nothing here, no hints on how to return to Remnant or find peace. A lonely, soulless place that may have been grand in the past. Time has weathered it without upkeep, and those who lived are gone. For just one day, every moving body that stood for Ikana Kingdom is really very dead. No bodies, barely dust. No longer walking around.

Neo is exhausted. Everything hurts, everything searched. Now it's the waiting game. She'll – unfortunately – feel better soon. Must get worse, though.

What a day. What a three days. At least she knows where not to go, or to at least start bribing to see if people can search for her.

She misses Roman.

;;;

Neo drops.

Morning of the First Day: 78 Hours Remaining

Goes north.

;;;

If it weren't for her aura, she'd have frozen over plenty of times by now. As it is, she might just freeze before she accomplishes her search. That, or fall off a cliff because of the strong winds.

At least this confirms Neo's suspicions of purgatory. Even if Remnant was bad, it wasn't a closed loop of awful. This place likely wants her to… repent or something stupid like that. Show her all the things that made her a 'bad person' and force a change over the resetting days.

Orgy tree people who are weak. Probably there to try and soften her with their cute, helpless appearances.

Fish Faunus missing her eggs. Face down the bandits and probably cross as ocean to assist her. As though Neo is supposed to care for the plight.

A graveyard of the defeated. To overcome the nightmares of Apathy, or to let them affect her?

A cold, cold mountain too reminiscent of winter. Of the struggle. Of frostbite on the unlucky without aura.

A whole farm dedicated to her past with Roman. Of all the rotten chances.

A town filled with idiots. Civilians. Not a single one prepared to fight some of the horrors she's lived through.

It is rather obvious, now that Neo thinks about it. The world needs her to change to become its hero. It needs someone who cares about all these woes and worries. Once she's stopped the big-bad moon drop, then she'll either pass on or return to her world.

Too bad she isn't going to change.

Not even for a modicum of freedom from this place. Ignoring the world-ending event and not having this place conform to Remnant rules, it's rather peaceful. No Grimm, no hunters and huntresses, no underground society. Neo is the second biggest bad in the entire land.

The first goes to the little monster she's eventually going after. Just have to make it through the snow this loop.

;;;

Even with stone walls, the crying is hard to miss. Neo is nothing if not the best at finding secrets, bashing open the door once she warms up enough.

First tree people, then fish people, now rock people. Disappointing that most seem to have rocks-for-brains because they could have been very attractive. Neo stays only long enough to warm up, not wanting to have to face all the thick people when she enviably snaps and kills the only child who won't. Stop. Crying.

And here Neo thought she was actually fond of kids, once upon a time. Must be an age bracket, or maybe the short ones who act mature. Either way, what a waste of time. She's learned nothing of importance. No burning breakthroughs or clearing up how to go about 'saving' this place from eternal snow.

The only interesting thing is that she may be queen of a wolf pack now. Who knew sending them flying into a wall was how to learn the lanky beasts' approval? At least they have a cave for her to relax in and start a fire.

She misses dust, and Neo hates the stuff. So useful, too dependant a society on it. It would be nice not having to start a fire with sticks though. Nice, too, if the blacksmith's she passed by could read sign language. The owner understands the grunts of his – slave? Neo still isn't too sure about that – assistant but hand movements are too troublesome.

Neo lets her head fall back against the cave. Hopes her thoughts are wrong. That this world can be fixed with a bit of violence and – unbelievably – magic. That she alone doesn't have to worry about correcting the mistakes of others. Please, let it only go smoothly from here.

The wolves come back with an offering of raw meat. Neo grins as the wood catches aflame before her. Looks like she'll be having some camping food tonight.

The wolves shiver and guard the entrance.

In the cold, this loop feels like forever.

;;;

Neo drops.

Morning of the First Day: 78 Hours Remaining

The fairy struggles the whole way to the fountain. The so-called Great Fairy has no clues.

Neo is stuck. But not really.

;;;

One foot on the water. Then another.

At the end of three days, Neo can stand with both feet on the ever-moving shoreline. She balances and leans as the water drags her in and out.

Emotions aren't worth the effort, but this? This skill could save her life.

And Neo has all the time to learn it.


A/N: Thank you for reading! A really big thank-you to Kevin Bakeland, bob115, and KitsuneNaruto135 for reviewing! The support really means a lot.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day