Inside a plainly decorated home, a casually dressed woman with fiery red hair sat on a small couch.

A couple of hours had passed since Ged's passing at the arena. She held a white, acrylic-like card to her ear, engaging in a casual conversation with someone on the other end.

"What is it now? Can't I get a moment of peace?" she spoke quietly through the phone in a playful manner.

A groan of annoyance emanated from the other end as a manly voice responded to her question, "You claim to me that you are always bored, and that I should talk to you more. But, when I take a break from work to call you, you give me this attitude?"

She muffled a laugh.

"Brit, you claimed to me that you were on the verge of death last time we spoke. But, I guess now you must be doing quite well then," the male voice continued.

Brit smiled warmly, "No, no, Carl. I really am dying. I haven't eaten anything since the morning... if you can even call what I ate food." She made a sour face. "My brother still hasn't come back from going out this morning. I'm starting to get a little worried," she responded.

"Your brother? He should be fine. It's a guy thing; us men just sometimes gotta leave for hours and do stuff. I'm sure he'll come back once he's finished," Carl reassured Brit. "Did you get a chance to think about my idea of moving out of Shark Village and joining me in Hamville?"

Brit hesitated for a moment before responding, "I did. I'm still uncertain about whether I want to or not. My brother seems really adamant that we can make it work here. But with Ross the way he is now, I have considered it. I want to at least wait until I speak with Ged before giving you my decision."

Suddenly, a sharp ringing of knocks echoed through the door.

Startled by the noise, Brit rose from the couch. Still holding the card to her ear, she spoke a little louder, continuing into the phone, "I'm sorry, Carl. I have to go. Someone is at the door." Carl bid a brief goodbye, and she ended their call, stashing away her card into her pocket.

She fixed her hair and put on shoes, yelling out to the front door with a simple, "I'm coming."

Once Brit felt she was properly presentable, she walked over to the front door and opened it to see who was waiting on the other side.

Standing behind the door were two men. In front was a tall, older man with a white beard and a bald head, and behind him, a well-dressed younger man with combed-back hair.

"Oh my! Hello there, beautiful young lady," the older man opened up with a bright smile.

"My name is Ralph; I am the mayor of this humble town, and this is my assistant, Fern. Would someone by the name of Ross happen to be around?" he continued.

Brit was startled by the mention of his title. She couldn't imagine why the mayor would visit their household of all places, given the horrible state Ross was in. A cold and creeping feeling dripped down her spine. She didn't respond and instead looked blankly towards the two men.

Fern cut in. "Please don't misunderstand us, ma'am. There has been a terrible accident at the arena, and we rushed over as soon as possible to discuss the event with the owner of the household."

When Brit heard mention of the arena, she was startled, and then it clicked in her head.

Something must have happened to Ged.

"This event at the arena," she tiptoed through to say, "Does it have something to do with my brother, Ged?"

Fern and Ralph went momentarily silent, carefully choosing their words in response to her question.

Ralph broke the silence to say, "Yes, ma'am. This is about Ged, and it's fairly serious. I'm sorry, but it would be much easier to explain what happened once I have your entire family present."

Brit's heart shook, but at least she had reason to believe that these men weren't responsible for what happened to Ross. She cleared her throat before responding, "Ross is... Well, he's not doing very well at the moment. Let me go check to see if he is able to come to the door."

She left the men at the front door and walked over to Ross' room.

Ralph turned to Fern and said, "What a sweet girl. She must have been worried sick as soon as we said the arena. She knew immediately. I do hope that Jen keeps her promise and helps us bring that boy back."

Fern gave a slight nod, reminding Ralph not to be too hopeful. "That boy's heart had stopped completely, and his body is near irreparable. Even if Jen kept her word, as I said earlier, it will be easier to just tell them the truth and say he is dead."

Ralph frowned at Fern. "Perhaps you don't know, but in this world, if one pays the right price, even death can be escaped. If Jen keeps her promise, that boy will escape his fate. I am a little suspicious of her intentions, however."

Fern shook his head. "Even if she was being completely honest and had a lot more money than I think she has, I still don't think she would be able to conjure up something like that so easily. Do be mindful of your expectations."

Stolen novel; please report.

While the two talked, Brit knocked on Ross' door.

"Ross?" she called out.

But the bedroom gave no answer. She hadn't seen Ross at all since her terrifying encounter the night prior, and he hadn't left his room once. Although she could occasionally hear the stirrings of the man, he never made much of a sound otherwise.

Brit opened the door a crack, and a foul stench wafted up to her nose. Holding her breath, she opened up the door.

Seated on the bed with his back against the headboard was Ross. His bed was in shreds; during the night, he had ripped up his bedsheet, and part of it was now wrapped around his face, while the rest was blood-soaked and discarded on the floor. Brit had already braced herself for the morbid scene, but even still, the sight was nerve-racking. But she felt relief to see that he was awake.

"Ross? The mayor is here, and he told me that he has some bad news about Ged from the arena," Brit spoke, trying her best to hold herself together through the nauseous atmosphere.

Ross barely blinked. He had one eye covered with the bedsheet, and the other lazily stared at Brit from his seated position.

Ross opened his mouth to speak, but only a gasping cough came instead, for his throat was too bruised to speak. He looked at Brit with empty eyes, his thoughts unclear about her announcement.

Brit stared at the motionless Ross with a look of panic and worry. She fled from the room, shutting the door behind her. Trapped between two doors bearing bad news, her panic and fear heightened. She pondered the possibility that her brother was badly hurt or worse deceased, but the idea was too terrifying to accept. She steeled herself as best she could before meeting again with the two men behind the door.

Brit stood in front of Ralph and Fern, saying, "Ross can't come to the door. He got beat up so bad last night that he can't even speak." Brit began to tear up as she finished her words.

Ralph and Fern looked at each other with confusion.

***

Deep within the primordial gray.

A green-haired boy named Ged and a beaver named Manduka stood by a strange board game, unaffected by a cyclone of gray smoke that whirled soundlessly in the background.

"You want to return to reality?" Manduka gave out a hearty laugh. "That is only natural; we are representations of the future, boy. We all want to go to the present." His voice rang.

"But the return to reality is near impossible, and even when we do return, once we get there, the path ahead is a long and harrowing one. Let me ask you something, are you presently dead?"

"I didn't see myself die, but likely I am dead," Ged replied.

"Then consider yourself lucky; your return to reality has some legs to stand on," Manduka said.

Ged was ecstatic upon hearing those words.

"But, even if you return, it will not be the same as when you were your present self. That's because we are representations of the future. We are like debris in the ocean; eventually, we will merge and become one with the waters, losing ourselves and our minds to this great beyond. The present is temporary, where the living and the unliving look to get replaced."

Ged remembered the years of madness and his days spent wandering around the primordial gray without coherent thoughts. The thought of losing his mind, learning about the intricacies of everything, and spending his days in excruciating pain was a solemn but alarming concept that Ged really didn't want to be a part of.

He pleaded with Manduka, "Please, is there any way to stop the assimilation and return back to being temporary?"

"Yes, there is a way. You must become the present. You were once an ambition of yourself, correct? You must realize that ambition to completion, only then can you become the present."

"Realize my ambition?" Ged thought. He contemplated his three futures that he wanted more than even his own life—Ross, Brit, and him eating meat together; a slow country life with a wife and kids; and becoming a strong king. Those three futures were something he already planned on following through to completion, so he was hopeful about his return.

"But the precedent of returning is extremely difficult and has never been done successfully before. It has only been documented half-heartedly in one of the perspectives shared by a single explorer," Manduka explained.

Ged, not hesitating, said, "Even if it's incomplete. If it can help me, then I would like to know about it."

"It is called a Bench Press Rebirth," Manduka explained. "By bench pressing your present body's total mass, you can eliminate your present existence and replace it with your future existence."

"However, be aware, as an enlightened existence, we have given up on the path of mass building by discarding our bodies. So, in order to complete this lift, you will need to create yourself a brand new set of chest muscles," Manduka continued.

Ged nodded, thankful for Manduka's helpful words.

"But how to create those chest muscles. I'm not really too sure; my best guess is to get closer and study the gray closer to the beginning of everything," Manduka pointed at the eye of the gray cyclone behind them, "see if you can't get lucky in finding some stable mass from which you can make a chest when you're there, then train it to lift enough to be able to lift your body mass."

Ged pondered Manduka's words, but he wasn't sure which direction was toward the eye and which was toward reality.

Manduka looked at Ged's confusion and continued, "You seem to still have your doubts. I don't blame you." Manduka shook his head. "If you are worried that billions of years of your 'time' are gone, you won't have to worry. Reality and where we are located are at much different points along the cycle of everything."

Manduka thought to himself for a second before he reached into his eyeball and pulled out a small red dot. "This is the pupil I use to see reality. It was created by an explorer many years ago who just wanted to gaze at reality's majesty one more time," Manduka said.

Conjuring up his scimitar, he sliced through the pupils with two quick slices. A second and third hand grew from his tail as they caught the red dots and carried them over to Ged. Manduka then put the remaining red pupil back into his eyeball.

Ged, mimicking Manduka, used his fingers to fit the pupils into his eyes, and thankfully they went in just as easily. Ged looked around at the world; he could now see small particles of mass floating in the world around him.

"Ged, I feel we have experienced many insights in each other's company. But this must unfortunately end. I am also on my way to the center, but I do not wish to travel together. While sharing perspectives is great, insights are best gathered alone. I hope you understand."

Ged felt saddened to part with Manduka; with his ever-flowing knowledge, finding a chest muscle of creation would be much easier. "Thank you for everything, Manduka." Thinking that Manduka may be going to the center of everything to look for the chest muscle of creation as well, Ged continued, "Are you also going to the center to look for your chest muscles?"

"After only providing a single perspective, you ask me three questions," Manduka chuckled. "But I will also answer this one. No, I will not return to reality, despite my desires to return. That is because I am still alive in the real world, and to complete the Bench Press Rebirth would be the obsolescence of the present me, which is not something I wish to do." Manduka stared off solemnly.

Manduka said his final farewells before drifting off along a river of gray towards the center of everything.

Leaving Ged all by himself next to a bunch of 'dings' he still hasn't figured out how to put away.