Bodur opened his eyes, seeing a night sky above him. Every single star in the sky was visible, even every planet in our solar system was visible for some reason. "That's not right." he mumbled sleepily. He realized he was laying on a wooden...floor? Why was the floor rocking? He sat upright, and realized he was in a boat. Silently rowing the boat was a hooded man with a skeleton mask. "What's going on? Where are you taking me?" Bodur questioned the rower. "You died bro lol." the hooded man softly replied as he kept on rowing.
Bodur squinted in disbelief, and looked outside the boat, at his reflection in the water. He looked very much alive, with his wild curly hair poking out of his red, yellow, and black luchador mask. He looked back at the ferryman. "How did I die?" he asked. The hooded man shrugged. "I dunno man. You're just... Clumsy I guess. I'm taking your soul to the afterlife. Just like my dad did before me." explained the hooded man, sounding bored.
Picking up on this, Bodur scooched closer. "You don't have to follow in your father's footsteps. You don't have to take me to the afterlife. Couldja let me live?" Bodur asked. Somehow, that got the ferryman to stop rowing. "Y'know...maybe you're right. I wanted to be a rockstar." said the hooded man. Bodur's brown eyes lit up behind his mask. "I can make that happen! We can start a band if you let me live!" Bodur chattered excitedly. "Mkay, cool." replied the hooded man. His voice still sounded kinda flat, but he always sounded like that. He was actually overjoyed! When suddenly--
"O K T A B I S, KEEPER OF THE RIVER OF LOST SOULS." boomed a voice from above. "Charon." the hooded man sighed in annoyance, as his eyes rolled behind his skeleton mask. "YOU WILL CALL ME YOUR FATHER." boomed Charon. "Well maybe I wanna be called Laurence. And maybe I DON'T wanna be a ferryman like you!" Laurence finally raised his voice above its usual flatness. Bodur was at a loss of what to say or do. That booming voice was kinda scary. He'd prefer being rowed to the afterlife with Laurence rather than this loud Charon dude.
"OKTABIS, ARE YOU STILL ON ABOUT THAT METAL BAND? WHO PUT THAT IDEA BACK IN YOUR SKULL?" Charon interrogated. Bodur raised a finger, inhaling a sharp breath. "SILENCE, FOOL!" Charon threatened, lighting up the solar system with lightning, making Bodur immediately clam up.
"It's not a phase, dad! This is what I want! And Bodur The Clumsy here is gonna help me!" Laurence challenged his loud father. Bodur cowered at the edge of the boat, hyperventilating. "YOU JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR MOTHER HEARS--"
"MY MOTHER IS AN APPLE, DAD. A FUCKING GRANNY SMITH APPLE." Laurence's voice boomed even louder than Charon's. If Bodur was really dead, he certainly felt dead now as the lightning struck and the two ferrymen argued.
"TELL YOU WHAT, SON. YOU AND CLUMSY START A METAL BAND IN 24 HOURS. I WILL LET HIM LIVE, AND I WILL BE THE FERRYMAN OF THE RIVER STYX ONCE MORE."
"D E A L ." Laurence boomed back as Bodur passed out again.
