Crazier Things

A black sky hung above an equally dark sea. Rain plummeted from the dark clouds and crashed into the water. Thousands of small dollops textured the open sea and thousands of ripples collided into one another.

Breaking through all the ripples, a light brown ship pushed on. It had fading green sails and a crew of three, all of which were on the hull of the ship haphazardly running around tossing water overboard.

Lightning struck and pierced the sea in the distance. The thunder sent a quake through the ocean, interrupting the ship's natural flow and blasting the ears of the three crew mates.

Far in the distance, in the direction they're sailing, a break opened in the storm. After a couple of hours of sailing, the ship passed underneath the break and the dim, ghostly gray sky shined upon the ship.

The break was considerable in size, given the ship's current speed, it would take a little over an hour to cross the eye of the storm. With that, the crew successfully gathered and eliminated the water plaguing the ship's hull.

One leaned over the railing, one sat and laid against the mast, and the last dropped to the floor and propped themselves up with their arms.

"Finally a break!" Emma heaved, her head dangling over the ship's edge.

"I thought I was gonna pass out," Roman commented, spreading his arms apart until he lay flat on the hull.

"You seem to pass out a lot," Timi added from beneath the mast.

"Twice!" Roman corrected, "That's not a lot!"

"It's more than once," Timi shrugged.

"He got you there," Emma agreed.

"What's your deal anyway?" Roman pressed, "How'd you beat that monstrosity?"

"I'd also like to know how you're so strong," Emma chimed in.

Timi spread his arms in a stretch and yawned. He cracked his neck and cast his gaze towards the sky.

"The Scarab is a King class being. It roams the bottom of the sea endlessly—well—until it finds land to demolish. Its only attack is its energy beam, while it is devastating, it's not particularly challenging to avoid up close."

"Surely its exoskeleton is tough though," Emma commented.

"Ridiculously so—" Timi confirmed, "high firepower, high defense, low mobility. The scariest aspect of it is its size alone."

"So how'd you beat it?" Roman asked.

"I don't know what to tell you, I cut its legs off and immobilized it, then went for its head."

"You're a King," Emma blurted out.

"That's right," Timi confirmed.

"A King?!" Roman shouted, "I thought all the King's existed within a kingdom?"

"All but me—" Timi replied, "I left Fallen Sky a long time ago to explore, but I haven't found much yet."

"You have to come back!" Roman jumped off the floor, "They might need you in the war!"

"I appreciate the invitation, but war isn't really my thing."

"Is it anybody's thing?!" Roman protested, "We fight to protect our way of life! To defend our friends and family!"

A smile coated Timi's scruffy face, but sadness swelled in his eyes.

"Your conviction is commendable and I respect your bravery, but I have nothing left worth protecting."

"But—"

"Roman—" Emma cut him off, "that's enough."

Roman scoffed and walked to the other end of the ship. He leaned over the railing and watched the sea.

"You're really not gonna fight?" Emma asked one last time.

"I have no plans to—" Timi replied, "but crazier things have happened."

Emma repeated the phrase in her head.

'Crazier things have happened'

'You have no idea'

"How long did it take you to become a King?" Emma asked, changing the subject.

"Quite a while—" Timi lowered his head and sighed, "forty years? Somewhere around there."

"Is that just how old you are?"

Timi looked up and met Emma's gaze.

"You think I'm only forty?" Timi burst into laughter.

After wiping his eyes and settling down he looked back at Emma.

"It took forty years to go from Royal to King. You know you age slower as you transcend, right?" Timi asked.

"What?" Emma blurted, "Then how old are you?"

"Ninety-four—" Timi said, "I think."

"You're ninety-four?!" Emma couldn't believe it.

She narrowed her eyes and stared at Timi. Long sandy hair, golden irises, his skin did look a tad rough, but he didn't have many wrinkles. He had the beginning of wrinkles forming on his forehead and around his cheeks, but the man looked perfectly middle-aged.

"When do King's die?" Emma inquired.

"Like all things there are a ton of variables to factor, but a healthy King who doesn't die in battle, late two-hundreds to three-hundred. I'll pretty much look like this for another hundred years."

Emma's jaw dropped. Three-hundred years old? She could live three, no, four lifetimes by becoming a King? Was that even something she wanted?

"What about Enlightened?" She asked, curious about how each tier affected one's life.

"Well—" Timi paused to think, "it's not a flat increase. The moment you transcend is the moment your body begins to age slower. So a person who became King at thirty would live a lot longer than a person who became King at eighty. Becoming Enlightened at twenty is honestly a little behind, no offense, but you're probably looking at a ten year gap. So you'll essentially be twenty at thirty, thirty at forty, and so on. And this pattern will change once you transcend again."

"So the quicker you transcend the longer you'll live."

"Correct. It's always better to advance as fast as possible."

"Is that why you left? To hunt monsters as much as possible?" Emma asked.

"No—" Timi hesitated, "I left for personal reasons. My parents were killed before I can remember and growing up in Fallen Sky back then was nothing like it is today. The day my brother enlisted in the military is the day I left. We each chose different paths then, but I don't regret leaving."

"You have a brother?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, he's got quite the eccentric personality. I guess we're the classic tale of one outgoing, rambunctious brother and one reclusive, isolated brother."

"I have a brother too." Emma said, looking away.

"What's he like?" Timi asked.

Emma's lips drooped slightly and her eyes avoided Timi's.

"I haven't seen him in awhile, but he was brave—is brave. He never hesitated to stand up for me even when I didn't need his help."

"That's what a brother does—" Timi replied, "he protects his family, without anyone asking him to."

"I miss him." A tear ran down Emma's cheek.

"You'll see him again. Remember, crazier things have happened."

"Yeah—" Emma wiped her cheek, "crazier things have happened."