"Do you understand who you..." The fish paused, staring at Arthur. "No, who we... are?" The fish didn't communicate through his mouth but telepathically. After all, they were one.

Arthur fell to his knees, a flow of pressure plunging him into the sludgy dirt. He breathed through his gills, but still in a flurry of apprehension, he used his mouth to gasp, his breaths deep yet heavy. He concentrated on the goldfish's motions, down to his pupils moving.

'It can't be...' Arthur thought. His head throbbed as he stared at the white-finned goldfish, a fish with an orange body and white fins: dorsal, pectoral, pelvic, and tail. When Arthur was a fish, he saw his own body from the reflection of the tank, so there was no doubt the fish in front of him was himself.

"You sure look like a fish out of the water," the goldfish said, sinisterly laughing.

Arthur stood up from the ground, using all his power. A flow of pressure prevented him from floating. He trekked through the thick sludge of mud, holding his hand out for his fish-self as he tried grabbing his fish-self, but another wave of pressure hit him, propelling him to the floor.

"Arthur. Did you really think you could take my body without consequence?"

Arthur's stomach roared as he vomited a crimson red fluid, thousands of white-finned goldfish swimming out of his mouth.

"I won't allow it. No, I'll make sure you suffer. Feel despair for taking my body and holding me hostage."

The thousands of white-finned goldfish swam around Arthur, circling him. Like a pack of wild animals, they surrounded their prey. They all swam forward at him, slowly nibbling his body, his flesh ripped apart, blood covering the water, preventing anyone from seeing the horrific scene, and in the end, there was nothing more than bone left, but the fish kept biting and biting until even his bones were consumed. They all grew relentless and began eating each other, leaving only the first white-finned goldfish that appeared.

The last white-finned goldfish shifted his skin inside out as he sprawled in red liquid, and he began eating himself inside out. Blood obscured wherever the flesh-fish went, and somehow the fish was transported to its own insides, almost like he changed space.

After ten minutes, the area was back to normal as if nothing had happened.

However, the flesh-fish found himself in an extensive ocean with nothing but black water in sight, except for one object — a throne made of bones, predominantly skulls. An area grim and dark, the only color of hope being the white of dead remains. The fish sat on the throne.

"This is where I'm confined to," a shadowed man said, sitting criss-cross on the throne. "And you had the audacity to complain? YOU?"

The white-finned goldfish was the shadowy figure.

"Come on, Arthur," he said, tapping the throne's arm. "Speak when you're spoken to. Now speak!"

Arthur stood far from the shadowed man. He couldn't make out the man's appearance, all he saw was a darkened figure, not too tall, but whoever the shadow man was, he was muscular. Ignoring his worries, he looked down at his dark green fuzzy suit and walked forward. "What do you want?"

"I could ask you the same, could I not? What do you want with me? Why have you chosen my body as a vessel? It's funny that you dare to ask me such a frivolous inquiry."

"I won't repeat myself. What do you want from me?"

The shadowed man clicked his tongue, an audible sound enveloping the vast ocean. He leaned his head against his arm, pointing at Arthur with his free hand. "I'll cut this all short. For some reason, I find myself bound to your life force, so if you die, I die, but that's the problem. Why the fuck am I bound to a mere fish?"

"I have a similar question, why am I bound to a mere human?"

The shadowed man laughed, slapping the throne as he did. "Surely you jest?"

Arthur remained quiet, continuing to approach the shadowed man. He wasn't scared of the man in front of him, but he was startled at his claims, though he tried not to show it.

"Surely you jest..."

Arthur didn't respond.

"We're running out of time," the shadowed man said, clapping his hands together. "I'm afraid you don't understand your position in the food chain."

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"Let me out of this place."

"Let you out of a place that you've confined me to? Why would I?"

"I have to put Lewis in a fishbowl. I have to. And if you don't let me out... I can't! I can't!"

"Calm down. I echo your anger, and in fact! I resonate with it so much that I'll allow you to leave under one condition. Let me take control of my body, and I'll put Lewis in a fishbowl."

Arthur gripped his fists, closing his eyes as he walked forward. "No. This is something I need to do, not you... not anyone... not even Lewis himself."

"Then... die," the shadowed man said, shaking his head as he flicked his finger towards Arthur. A gust of black Tuam formed on his fingertip, launching towards Arthur and engulfing him in darkness.

His world was pitch black, but that didn't scare Arthur. Such a place was already familiar to him. Despite this, he didn't understand why he was there. Neither did he understand why he was a human or how he could fulfill his goal, but one thing was certain: if he stopped now, he wouldn't be content because only his dream would be prevented. Only until he stopped everyone else's would he be content. If he were to stop, so should others.

'Your name will be Arthur! Arthur Penfish!' Lewis's voice roared in Arthur's head. 'Arthur, you're my best friend.'

"No," Arthur said, grinding his teeth together as he looked around at nothingness. He extended his arm, facing it upwards, a red aura enveloping him as they formed into red whips and lashed at the darkness, cracking the pitch black. The darkened Tuam prison split and broke into pieces, sinking into the black ocean — becoming one with it. He broke through the barrier, stepping out of it.

"Better," the man said, applauding. "Now use this rage, this wrath to attack me."

"Shut up," Arthur said, Tuam developing on his palm. He flung his hand towards the shadowed man, almost like a baseball throw but not as eloquent.

A rigid wave of crimson red Tuam approached the shadowed man, but he flicked it with his hand. "Nicely done. However, if you want to keep us alive, you ought to perform better. Again."

Arthur didn't respond to him. Instead, he chucked five stern Tuam attacks at the shadowed man, and the rigid red waves neared the shadowed man with such a fierce speed that if one were to close their eyes for a few seconds, then they'd already be hit.

He flicked all five of them with his pinky and shook his head. "You're wasting too much Tuam."

"Just die," Arthur said, grabbing his head in pain. "Why won't you just die?"

'Arthur,' Lewis's voice said, ringing in Arthur's head. 'I want to live with you forever and ever.'

Arthur clutched his head, gripping onto his hair, but a clear liquid leaked from the base of his palm as he clenched harder.

The shadowed man leaned forward, rubbing his chin as his sparkling white eyes stared at Arthur. His lips spread wide, growing into a grin, his white teeth showing as he smiled. "Arthur Penfish, is this all you're worth?"

Arthur's hand grew orange scales, and a clear liquid dripped from his palm onto the black ocean floor. He stretched his arm behind his back and hurled his red aura-covered hand forward, and as he did, the crimson red fluid became clear liquid, but the color flickered like a broken light, turning red again. A wave of red Tuam rippled towards the shadowed man, this time the attack had a water-like consistency and wasn't rigid like before.

"Interesting!" the shadowed man yelled, standing on his throne. He raised his hands in the air, a wide smile spreading across his face. The wave of red water sloshed towards the man, but he opened his arms and let the wave hit him.

He let it hit him.

The wave enveloped the shadowed man in red liquid. He stood still, but suddenly the water bubbled as it boiled and emitted steam that obscured the area. Such an intensity of heat enveloped the shadowed man that even a third-degree burn wouldn't describe the aftermath.

The steam died off, releasing into the black sky.

Arthur gasped for air, his heart pulsating with pain, forcing him to fall to the floor.

"Better," the man said, placing his hand over his mouth as he yawned. He sat back down criss-cross. "Hmm, shall I introduce myself? Or shall I kill us both?"

Arthur stood up from the ground and shook his head, gripping his fists. "I can't get distracted."

"Distracted by what?"

"Anything and everything. I only have one goal, and that's putting Lewis into a fishbowl."

The shadowed man laughed, holding his chest as he did. "You joke too much. To think you'd live your life for revenge is so... So interesting."

"What?"

"I won't help you, but I think I won't kill us either."

"Then why do all of this? Why?"

"Arthur, I control more than you think. Sure, I can't control our body, but with enough of my internal interference. Well, I can disturb it. Disturb your feelings, happy times, and even your life span."

"Why?"

"Is that all you ask: why? You are indeed a fool, but I find you funny, so let me tell you, Arthur, you have taken my body without permission. My last memory is of dying peacefully amid the ocean of Raan. But with you controlling my body, I can only imagine a few forces at play. They probably laughed about having me be their guinea pig, but now that I'm free, I want to reverse the roles. So I'll propose a treaty."

"And what is it?"

"Since we're one, you may refer to me as Ruhtra. For the treaty, well, it's straightforward. I want you to accomplish your goal, but as you do, annihilate them all. Eradicate anyone who comes in our way."

Arthur's eyes widened as he huffed, but he didn't let his exhaustion get the best of him, instead trying to negotiate. "What abilities will you lend me to accomplish our goal?"

"Lend? I won't be lending you anything. If you haven't forgotten, I enjoy the fact that you're a clown. A jester that makes me laugh rather extensively. I'll enjoy every second of your journey without interference."

Arthur gritted his teeth and yelled, "Then why bring me here?"

"Unfortunately, our talk must end. They're here."

Arthur's body contorted, his skin revolving as it tore apart. He was twisted like a wet towel, a black acidic liquid leaking from his crunched body. His body fiercely rotated until it was entirely fluid, and when it was, the black fish juice splashed onto the pitch black ocean, becoming one with it.

Ruhtra closed his eyes and tapped his fingers against the throne's arm. "A fish or a man, none of that matters. All I see is a being with a goal, yet he is so foolish. However, I adore such a folly. So I cannot help but wonder, what will it be, Arthur? What will it be that you choose from this accursed hope that we call life?"