Long, long ago, locked deep inside the Temple Of The Sunken Treasure, Aquari lay wrapped in blankets on the stone floor. In the vault no light from the sun could reach. No aromas from the lush surrounding forest. Silent as the grave the little godling tossed and turned with no perception of time. Piles of gold and gems were his only company in the dark. Endlessly tired and numb except for their fits of desperation and crying. Nothing materd. No one cared. Existing hurt.

But that was not always the case, was it? On occasion his body would become so restless and bored that Aquari could not help but to exit the vault and walk around the temple after a few hours of his mind trying to convince himself to stay still under the blankets.

The Sunken Treasure temple was an ancient relic dedicated to the goddess of the sea. A long marble rectangle with a dome standing in a lush forest. The temple was built to be an inviting place of worship with its many archways leading in. At its center was a water mirror with a statue of a maiden dressed in nothing but her waterfall locks and holding a vase that trickled down lavender scented raindrops into the pool. On a raised platform at the end of the temple there was a decorative alabaster well with a heavy lid depicting sea shells and a hydra surrounded by the inscription of a curse.

“May this door be open to all who give, and locked from those who take. Steal and become eternally beautiful.”

To gain the favor of the goddess in the form of beauty, luxury, love, and protection of travel over the seas, treasure from shipwrecks were offered down the well and were stored in the massive vault below. Time and time again the power of the vault would show itself making the believers devout and loyal.

But gods outlive humans, and sometimes humans die, leave, and forget the marvels that they have built. One day Aquari was led to the temple by his mother. This was supposed to be his safe haven and responsibility. Aquari became the guardian of the forgotten temple of sunken treasures. That’s how his mother had worded it anyway.

Aquari knew his darkness and apathy was making life difficult for his family and he had yet to establish a legend, symbols or gain a single worshiper. His father had threatened his life on multiple occasions and tried to make the boy inherit some of the fire and passion from his parents. Aquari would struggle and then break down crying which made his father leave in disgust. So, to stop the fighting and bickering and the long looks Aquari was stored away.

He didn't dislike the temple in any way. The lush trees around it bore sweet fruit. The birds and lizards were brimming with color. The marble structure was beautifully designed. The water in the pool was heavenly to bathe in. Lastly the vault was dry and dark, perfect for him to make his bed and hide away forever. But still Aquari was sad, oh so very sad that he had to be sent there at all. But a golden cage is still a prison. Even worse there was no lock on this cage. Nothing was keeping the golding there except for the walls he had built up himself in his mind.

Was this it for him? To rot away in an abandoned temple where the gods could forget about this mistake of a child?

Aquari slept. Sleep made time pass. Not that time passing changes anything. He was in limbo. Never changing. He had lost all sense of time staying down there in the dark vault.

Then it happened. Time brought an unexpected gift. Change.

Whispers. Coughs. Wailing. Cutting of leaves. Surprised shouts of jubilation.

Aquari turned over in his tiny sea of pillows and blankets. He was frightened. Someone had found their way to the temple and was drinking from the divine pool. Newly awake and anxious he got up and grabbed a gold plated spear sticking up from a treasure pile. His head was spinning. His thoughts rushed with no coherency.

His legs shook slightly and his grip around the spear tightened. Frozen in place he waited to see what would happen. His heart banging against the cage of his ribcage. Desperately hoping the intruders would not touch the vault. It was bizarre to have anyone disturb his palace of solitude. Just hearing the voices of people in the area made Aqauri feel violated.

Then he heard singing. Voices echoing through the temple walls. The intruders were praying and paying their respects to the god who had provided them with the waters of life in their hour of need. Aquari stood petrified. He didn't know what to do. The voices went silent and the intruders stayed for a while; drinking, bathing and having a rest before they continued on their journey.

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Aquari dropped the spear that clashed way too loudly against a pile of gold. He was at a loss. He wanted to go back to his sea of pillows and sleep while he also wanted to get out and run a marathon. In the end he just stood there in the dark until his legs ached. He climbed the stairs, opened the hatch with a loose sweeping gesture, and stepped out to look at the temple grounds.

Nothing had changed. Everything still looked the same.

The water glowed faintly azure, displaying patterns over the pillars and ceiling. It was night and the forest was at rest. For the first time Aquari was reluctant about going into the pool. Nothing had changed yet he knew someone had been there. It was uncanny.

He stared for a long while, trying to find signs of the intruders to make it all more real. But he knew the temple cleaned itself. There were no strands of hair, specks of dust, dirt or leaves to be found anywhere within the temple. To his relief and horror he did see footprints in the mud outside. Tangible, undeniable proof of the invaders. Proof of change.

Aquari sprang to life and rushed down into the vault making sure the hydra lid was secured before jumping into the sleeping pile and like a scared rabbit sat very, very still under the covers.

XXX

Days trickled down turning into weeks that washed away into the sands of time. Aqauri did not move from his dark hole of sensory deprivation. It took about two months before the godling had his first coherent thought; why am I doing this?

At the pace of glaciers moving he stood up and went up the stairs. His legs were shaking like a newborn deer. For every step up he moved slower and slower, his mind becoming clearer while his body betrayed him with fatigue and fear.

The moment was so drawn out and slow that he barely noticed when he had reached the top. He could not tell if he had been walking up these stairs for ten minutes, half an hour or during the course of a year. But he reached out to the lid, moved it, and recoiled at the bombardment of sensations. The smell of rain, light from the pool, wind gently blowing across his cheek. Once he took a moment to recover, Aquari looked out over his temple. It was the same. He took a deep breath. Smiled. Then turned back to the safety of his vault. This battle that had played out for so long coming to an anticlimactic end.

But having a thought and going outside was still a development infinitely more giving than staying frozen. Few would have the strength and dedication to fight a flight of stairs for three hours.

XXX

Aquari opened his eyes. For a while he didn't know if they were open or not or if he was even awake. It was so pitch black and silent like death. He was becoming restless but his body would not move.

I need to change. A thought told him through the white noise. But what could he do? Aquari had had that thought every now and then. He was a godling with so much time on his hands, would he really spend centuries keeping up this self mummification? Well yes, another thought chimed in. Let's stay here.

He caught the sight of a twinkle in the dark. “True gems sparkle even in the absence of light”, Aquari remembered his mother telling him. He didn't care to think more deeply about it but instead just enjoyed watching the little star in the darkness.

It was a beautiful soft pain.

No, that was incorrect. The pain just is, the beauty is a justification. Was not his entire life built around wanting to escape pain. Escape the pain of choice, of dedication. But then, what was all of this for?

Vaguely Aquari could feel the presence of someone entering the temple. Like before the golding froze in place, focusing their senses to follow the intruders. There were sounds of heavy boots, sounds of awe and gruff voices. There were three of them Aquari measured. They were quick in their step and spared no time heading for the well. All gathered at the lid, prying at it with tools to no avail until one of the adventurers took out a gold coin which the well recognized as an offering and opened up to them.

Leave. Leave. Please leave.

Aquari thought to himself over and over but was unable to move or speak. He knew what would happen to them. The proof was all around him stored in the corners of the vault. Golden hands reaching out in desperation. No, this was not his fault. This was not his battle.

The trio climbed down and stuffed their bags with all they could find, no one noticing the curled up shape in a dark pile of embroidered pillows. When their bags were full the adventures headed back out. They would have taken more but the trip back was perilous and they had their own physical limits.

No. Don’t go. Don’t do this.

They left. Out into the jungle, each one of them to their horror becoming golden statues, watching themselves turn from their feet and crawling up their legs. Gold did not perish like their physical bodies. It would keep them as they are. Eternal. Beautiful.

Aquari rushed out of the vault and found the three adventures and their twisted painful statues.

It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.

Then it clicked. This was the first time his aversion to pain, to act, to take charge of anything, to choose the path of least resistance, had led to the death of others. He saw the death he had caused to himself over and over, all because he did not, could not live with the pain of action.

Aquari took the statues and placed them on display around the well. His three disciples of daring, of reaching out for what you want, of his own personal failing. Aquari hugged each one of them, trying to imagine what their human lives could have been like, though he found his imagination lacking.

“I know it’s selfish, but is it alright that you caused me to break? To change?” Aquari asked the statues and then cried with a smile on his face.

“I will find a path out of pain. I swear. I will become Aquari, godling of… of… “

Aquari looked up at the marble ceiling, the tears falling over him like he was shedding old skin.

This was going to be painful, a hard pain, a living pain. Nothing compared to the soft pain, the slow pain, the life of not living. That was the philosophy he etched into his heart, and as a godling, he had all the time in the world, to build and crumble along this path.