Aquaixos's life was either drawing to an end, or he faced a punishment that would plunge his life into destruction.
The floor on which his chair stood came to a halt at a point slightly above the highest rows of seats. He shot upwards rapidly, but gradually slowed down. When he finally reached his destination, Aquaixos had a moment of peace to think profoundly one last time.
The rope, which had been cut in his previous strange dream, causing him to fall back into the sea, which then dried up and sent him crashing onto the hard ground, made him realise that even if he had managed to reach the deck, he would still have been surrounded by walls, even if it did not seem so at first glance.
Now that he was above everyone else, he noticed the striking resemblance. Could he overcome these walls, even if he were on the highest point of the ship or above the clouds?
Who's to say there isn't an even bigger wall behind it, or that if one manages to scale it, an even more colossal wall doesn't lie beyond? The answer was... Nobody. To find out anything, one must seek it out for themselves.
'Am I going to be shot by an arrow now as well? What a short life… I can't remember anything that makes sense. The only thing I really remember is lying on the floor half dead and whatever is happening right now. The rest is a mystery…'
His memories were hazy. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't see through that haze.
'One day I'm given consciousness… Only for them to take it away from me on the very same day? Is that supposed to be fair? Is this some sort of test I have to pass before getting a proper life?'
He thought about many things. Both the questions that arose in his mind and the facts that were revealed to him. But none of it had an answer. Nothing seemed to make sense to him.
In front of him, to his left, to his right and even behind his back, every direction looked exactly the same. The only difference was the Aziyakias, who brought that place to life.
In each of these directions, there was a wide staircase in the centre, covered by a scarlet carpet, leading to each row to the left and right. Not a single Aziyakia dared to linger on the carpet. Even the guards had withdrawn. One guard occupied the first and last seat in every single row. Everything was closely guarded.
Strange patterns could be seen all over the crimson carpets. They depicted blue crescents with an arrow protruding from them. These arrows were pointing at...
'Are they pointing at me?'
If anything were to happen and the guards were unable to intervene in time – which was highly unlikely – there were still the countless openings scattered across the walls. A single arrow was enough to kill someone.
In the row he came from, which was on his left, sat a wide variety of people. To be more precise, there were all sorts of people sitting everywhere. Although they were all Aziyakias, each of their lives was completely unique. Some of them had a good life, some had a bad life, and some had a life that was likely to take a turn for the worse.
An old man was sitting on one chair, and on the other you could sometimes even see children. Children who really had no business being in a place like that...
The walkway on the left of this row was guarded by two guards, and somewhere between the two of them, an elderly gentleman waved to Aquaixos without drawing the attention of the others. His hand waving slightly above his legs. The space to his right was missing a chair. The chair had been taken away, together with Aquaixos, so it was no longer in the spot where it had originally stood. Trapped on the chair, a smile slowly spread across his face.
A cool breeze brushed against his skin. Aquaixos couldn't keep his gaze steady for much longer and turned briefly to one of the guards. He was behaving strangely and kept looking around nervously.
'Strange fellow.'
When he looked back at the old man, he was wiping the tears from his face with his free hand, without even the slightest thought of trying to stop himself from waving. But then he raised his thumbs in a gesture of support and finally stopped waving.
Somehow, that made Aquaixos happy. His final thoughts were that no one would remember him. His confusion as to why everyone hated him had vanished, because it seemed there was someone who didn't. That was clearly worth far more to him. He could have spent his entire life in that peaceful moment.
The problem was… He didn't know what role this man had played in his life. After all, he was a complete stranger to him. Judging by his appearance, it looked like he was living a pretty poor life.
'Is he my father?'
Aquaixos would normally have waved back, but he realised the man didn't want to be seen by the others. So he decided not to, and simply smiled instead. But that was more than enough for the old man.
'I really don't get it. Does he remember more about my life than I do myself?'
Somehow, his wave made the situation better. Aquaixos simply wanted to break free from his chains and never be trapped again. At least, that's what his instincts told him.
But something inside him was rejecting those plans. A mental block. If he wanted to, he could escape and even destroy everyone around him – with the exception of his father, if he was right – and leave them behind. But he was lacking something. His body was missing the fuel to do it.
He searched for a way. What had felt like an eternity, however, was only a few seconds. The silence of the audience was deafening. There was no such thing as absolute silence. Even though everyone was as quiet as they could manage, there was still something in the background. Nevertheless, they waited for someone to speak.
Shortly afterwards, their prayers were heard.
Almost none of the children dared to look up at him. One child's eyes met Aquaixos's. It wasn't long before the boy lowered his gaze to the ground. He could see the look of fear hidden in the boy's eyes.
Aquaixos could hardly imagine that the child had come here of his own free will. But who knew?
The air vibrated with invisible tension. It was almost as if someone were tearing the world apart, just to evoke darkness and horror. Yet that was not what was happening.
Something intangible formed in the air, whilst an azure blue colour enveloped it.
There were no loud noises at that moment. Or perhaps there were… Only they were far too loud for the ears of an Aziyakia to have perceived them.
Aquaixos felt a strange feeling rising within him. One that he himself could not explain.
Was it fear? Was it uncertainty? Was it tension?
The answer was simple, and yet true. It was his desire to survive.
Deep within him, this feeling lay hidden. And had done so for a long time. Long before he had even obtained consciousness.
The question he had asked himself before arose again. Only this time, he understood what he was asking. Without giving it much further thought, he asked it. This time, however, it was different. The question no longer existed solely in his mind. This time, he addressed it to everyone else.
Nobody explained a single thing to him. They all seemed to know what would happen next, who he was and even why he was here in the first place.
Everyone except him.
Should he die before he even knew who he was?
If there were a god of death, the only thing he would have to say to him would be: 'Not today.'
Aquaixos raised his head. His bound hands trembled as he turned his gaze from one row to the next.
Whilst the shimmering turquoise particles were still coalescing into something, he shouted with all the strength he had left, in the hope of receiving one final answer that he believed he deserved:
"Who am I?!"