[edgtf_highlight background_color=”” color=””]D[/edgtf_highlight]arkness above.
The tide of grey waters sloshes back and forth across a large sandy beach.
Tombstone kneels, taking wooden planks apart.
Around him are the souls of the deceased.
“Take us.”
They chant.
Tombstone ignores them, disassembling something.
“The trip across these intrepid waters is a long and arduous journey.”
“One that does not occur without two distinctly important elements. These waters are governed not by a mere mortal, not by the privileged, damned or the condemned, and not by the Gods who receive them.”
“These waters and this journey are traversed by he who owns their passage.”
“And it is only he who undertakes that difficult trip.”
“He is the first element.”
Another plank is removed with a clunk.
“Their mode of transportation is more than wooden planks and nails. It is more than a place to sit and reflect on the mysteries of life and death. What it means to travel upon a safe haven across a sea of the unknown, is more than any one man could comprehend. However, with your refusal to be ferried, it had become weakened – as had I.”
“The boat is the second element.”
The crowd close in.
“Take us.”
Tombstone ignores them.
“Without either, there is no trip to your final destination.”
The boat is now dismantled.
“My boat was a mighty throne that I sat upon to sail the ocean of destination. It is there that I once ferried the souls of those who have passed.”
“Souls like very souls in attendance here today.”
“I was the King of Destination, Drewitt.”
“And when I sat upon my throne as King, the deceased would undertake their arduous journey in safe hands, knowing that I would get them wherever it was they needed to go.”
“But since you nearly murdered Igor, there is no more throne.”
He looks at the dismantled boat.
He removes his hat.
“And there is no more King of Destination.”
The crowd of souls now stand in circle around Tombstone.
“Because of you, these souls remain lost. They remain desperate for their Ferryman to do his duty. They stand idle, waiting for the Ferryman to rebuild his throne and set upon his journey as King of Destination once more.”
“And there is hope.”
“At Ring King, I will build my throne using the blood, bone, and viscera of you, Drewitt. I will take every morsel of your miserable being and build a new boat, something sturdier than ever before. With it, I will once again set sail across the ocean and ferry souls to their final destination. There will be no escaping the journey.”
“Because with your demise is my rebirth.”
“With your end, starts a new beginning.”
“A King once more, sat upon a throne that cannot and will not be broken as it was once by your refusal to perish.”
“A boat and a Ferryman.”
“A King and his throne.”
“And you should never fear the end, Drewitt.”
“Because the end is where we meet.”
“And when that happens, and all this is finally behind us, I will retake my rightful place.”
“I will send you on your way.”