Ship In A Bottle (A Monkie Kid Reader Insert)

Chapter 3: Precious Stone

Magma, machine, and molten alloy. These words accurately described the place that the map led you to. You walked from behind the railing, watching a bull clone pour molten alloy into the very mold that shaped him.

At the very middle was the demon bull king, seething in rage while sat upon his throne of iron. Embers glowing around him, you eyed at the bull demon before making your way to the next room.

By this point, you didn't know where to go. The map led you to the flaming foundry, but finding the gauntlet itself was something you had to figure out on your own. There were still some bull clones busying themselves with their assigned duties, but at least you were now in an emptier hallway.

You looked around for that golden ghost. Maybe his manta rays, or even just a speck of golden light that wasn't ember. Eventually you found something, but this time, it was...different. A school of golden tetra fish swam past you, leaving you with a cloud of golden aura as it led you to the opposite direction.

So you followed. Until now, you didn't know why, but you followed. You didn't know the intentions these specters had, but you followed. A part of you refused to let air inside your lungs until you followed.

Some may call it reckless, others may call it intuition. Whatever it was called, it led you past so many twists and turns in this scorching hot underground system, as a source of golden light grew brighter...

And brighter...

The school of tetras phased through a metal gate, with a golden light leaking through the openings, tempting you to go inside. You pushed one of the doors slightly and went inside, ever so careful as to not make a sound. You finally came face to face with the source of golden light, the one thing the school of fish surrounded.

A suit of armor, presumably belonging to the bull king due to its size, engulfed by an aureate glow. Held by chains attached to the ceiling, below it was something else. Not a man...

A child...

The young ghost wept, hugging their knees without noticing you in front of them. Their chokes and sobs should've been loud enough to alarm anyone nearby in this echo-prone chamber, and yet it was like you were the only one who could hear them.

"H-hey..."

You took your helmet off.

"It's okay..." you assured.

You hesitated, but went to put your hand on their shoulder. Instead of your hand phasing through, you felt the cloth of their sleeve. The child jolted back, revealing the tears of nectar running down their glowing white eyes. They seemed just as bewildered as you were, given ghosts don't usually get touched by the living.

"O-okay, that just happened..." You stuttered, before shaking your head. "B-but it's okay! I'm here now, so just...tell me what I need to do."

No words left the child's lips. Instead, they looked up, at the suit of armor hovering above them. You were just as confused as the first time, puzzled at what you were supposed to do.

"Look, I won't be able to help you if you don't actually tell me what to do..." You gently told them, rubbing the back of your neck before reaching the suit of armor. "Like I get it, something's up with the gauntlet and this armor. But unless you tell me what to do with it, I won't-"

But the minute your hand reached the armor, you were engulfed by a typhoon of golden light. Surrounding pebbles and soot, and even your hair were no longer subjected to gravity. Emotions began flooding inside of you, emotions that didn't belong to you and yet, it felt like it did.

Pain, suffering, agony, it was like drowning in the sea all over again. The school of fish spiraled around you, this time with golden jellyfish, as the child only watched in complete shock.