Special thanks to billybobjrextract for helping me with the story.
SpongeBob was on the quest and was in search of something more than victory, specifically, something to hold onto. Luckily, he found something.
Yuri's face.
The only thing that truly held onto him.
And it was that.
With a breath he managed to quell the frenzy and pain that threatened to overtake his body. The burn was starting to settle into his muscles as he felt a slight loss of mass in his arms and legs.
Not a huge amount, but it was something. As he went, the stiffness in his joints seemed to diminish as well.
The emotions were giving him little, but slowly. At the same time, his senses were starting to dull, a little, until they were somewhat centered. He could hear the sea outside, but it was like the sounds of sand.
All of it was, oddly, in a low, even tone. If it wasn't for his hearing, he wouldn't have noticed the faint rumbling of a motorcycle.
This was the fog. It was everywhere. It was closer than he would have thought. Perhaps it was time to give up. It was too late to reach what he desired.
So he pulled a weapon and lowered his head to the ground. The wind would be able to carry the sand all around him and he didn't want his head to be near it, lest he suffer from an, "Oh god, my head, what will happen to my head?!" moment.
Well... here goes.
He was still breathing, but his body was not. It had a burning sensation, like it was being plugged. He could feel blood rushing through his arteries and he was sure his heart beat sounded like it was in a painkiller.
But it couldn't be. There was no pain. His body knew he was alive, but he was alive with nothing to feel.
Was this a dream? Perhaps the entire world was just a figment of his imagination. Maybe he just needed a brief respite. Perhaps the time would come when he could finally reach what he sought.
The corpse of a man lay beside him. As he stood, he noticed the whole, expanse of the beach, the beautiful beach, had been created to resemble this man's skull. It was like a sculpture.
It was sad, it was beautiful. It was a perfect masterpiece, beautifully done. He could hear the waves lapping against the shore, but as he looked around him, he saw no people. Maybe they had been knocked unconscious by the wind and the sand. The reflection of the man in the water kept its gravity and therefore the shape.
It was a perfect obelisk. He looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. Then he looked at the one beside it. It was unblemished by any hole or blemish. Like the other one, the only flaw lay where the eyes would have been. It was like a sculpture of a statue. "Bos'n on the beach," he muttered, "Isn't that what they say? That I don't have to be above water to swim. It just floats in the air."
And suddenly, he realized his illusion. The giant skull was not a sculpture. He had been looking at a man who had a face.
The gigantic form in the water had a body. A body like his own. He was alone, but he could feel the death pulsing in his body like a pulse. There was no water in the sky. He stood on the shore, unable to move.
"You can do this," said Lai'eis. "You have no shadow and you don't have to be submerged."
Saving others was not in his nature. The death of the world would eventually bring him to the brink of sanity. So, he would hold on.
"I hold on."
They have made a sign for us to watch. The sign says: all worlds, join. All worlds will come, and their signs will shine. That was the most powerful symbol of the existence of the great labyrinths, with their many paths, pathways, and portals. On the fifth day, there was no more myth.
"What has my reflection told me?" asked Lai'ei, eyes turned upward.
The truth of the world is greater than every legend.
Everyone needs a reason to walk.
The great being who spoke to me made no gesture to me. It was as if I were not there. I, alone, cannot walk among the gods.
But a god who will speak to me, I can walk among them.
The world's mind will be my eyes.
He was unsure of his words, unsure of the reason he had been told to watch.
The words had to be heard, needed to be understood.
There must be a reason to walk, and a purpose.
The entire world is mine, and not made by my hands.
I am not the great mountain that rolls toward the sea.
The great mountain I have made is greater than I am. I cannot dwell among the gods.
He was silent, but for a deep breath of air.
I will make my own fate, just as I choose. I will make my own fate, and it shall be made by me.
The great mountain is so big I can't stand to sit here among the gods.
If I do, nothing will be made by me, and nothing will be accomplished.
The great mountain is so big that it is true I can't stand among them.
"I can't stand among them."
